The Vinogradov Family

The ruling family of the Danzou Theocracy, and heads of the Vsevolod Party

Current and Recent Members

Below is a list of all the current and recent members of the Vinogradov Family. Their name, age, race, and current status are listed below as well as a short description of them.

Stepan Yakov Danzou Vinogradov:
Race: Human
Age: 58
Status: Alive. Enslaved and made the personal property of Naiara Zaragoza, High Valkyrion of the Kassau Matriarchy, main rival nation to the Danzou Theocracy. Due to his enslavement, he has been been stripped of ruling powers and has forcibly passed on the right to rule to his one and only son Aleksei.
Description: A paranoid man who was ill-suited to battlefields, and known to be a coward in martial situations. Possessed excellent business acumen and under his decades long rule, the Danzou Theocracy flourished in the fields of culture, art, and most importantly(to him) - wealth. Its coffers filled up under his watchful eye like never before in ways that were said to be, shockingly, mostly above board - and though its people were no less miserable thanks to him, the economy of Danzou had made great strides under his reign and gone quite far indeed, stablizing and returning the value of the Danzou coin to moderately normal levels...a herculean task indeed. Additionally, though it could hardly be called a triumph by some, he managed what no other High Pontiff had done and brokered a cease-fire between the government of the theocracy and the three underworld crime syndicates that dominated most of the country, and had historically constantly sought to buy the throne or overthrow the government. This gave some much needed breathing room to the government of the theocracy, though they did little to ease their people's suffering.

Aleksei Anatolli Danzou Vinogradov:
Race: Human
Age: 13
Status: Alive. Currently the active ruler of the Danzou Theocracy.
Description: The youngest child and only son of his father Stepan(and only child of his second wife), who is very young and inexperienced. Many claim he should likely not be on the throne, though his benefactors claim he might be able to grow into a proper ruler in time. Thanks to the foresight of his incredibly paranoid father, things were already put in place to ensure he would be given a 'proper' upbringing and would be given adequate training and protection from those who would seek to control him. In truth, many say even his father would likely have never put him on the throne in such a way had he not been enslaved, and had he any other living relatives - that young Aleksei was only placed on the throne due to the "Rapture Clause", which forbids females from holding positions of power until no male heir can be found during a Succession Crisis. He is a young, naive boy that, now more than ever, lives a strict life where little is left to his own decision.

Serafina Oxana Vinogradov:
Race: Half-Elf
Age: 28
Status: Alive and well.
Description: Eldest child and Eldest Daughter of her father Stepan who has a reputation for being a quiet, idyllic Shao-zouan woman - that is to say, one who doesn't stand out, isn't racy, is obedient, has no aspirations, and simply 'exists' from the perspective of most who see and observe her. Many claim it is this docile, unassuming nature that has let her survive in the notoriously cutthroat Vinogradov household where all manner of siblings, uncles, and the like are assassinated semi-regularly. She is largely ignored by her family at large, and forgotten most of the time and left up to her own devices - she has proven all her life even to her notoriously paranoid father that she is no threat to the throne or the safety of he who sits on it. As such, much about her is unknown as none care to even speak to her to find out her personal details, and are content to ignore her completely.

Mira Vlada Vinogradov:
Race: Human
Age: 20, at time of death. Died 8 years prior to modern day.
Status: Dead. Killed on the orders of her father for supposed 'Plots against the government'.
Description: Second Eldest Child and Second Eldest Daughter of her father Stepan, Mira was put to death eight years prior to the modern day for supposed 'Plots against the government' - official reasons were never released, but she was well known as a genuine, down-to-earth girl that was well-liked by the people of the Theocracy...an incredible rarity for a member of the Vinogradov Family. She was an ambitious, charismatic, and eager girl who naturally won over the hearts of many, and was incredibly close to her twin sister Seraphina - who was only spared a similarly grisly public execution as Mira was given by virtue of her quiet and reclusive nature that was judged to be uninvolved with Mira's "revolution". Much of the populace still mourns for her, and active calls for justice sound through the streets even into the modern day for what the people view as a girl killed by a corrupt government.

Tasha Larochka Vinogradov:
Race: Human
Age: 24
Status: Alive and well. Recently returned to the capital of Danzou Theocracy after being exiled to serve as a Tutor and Religious Advisor to the young ruler Aleksei.
Description: The third eldest child and youngest daughter of her father Stepan, and last of the children born to his first wife, who was promptly and summarily executed not long after her birth for being unable to provide her father Stepan with a male heir. She has been hated by her father all her life, and was sent away early in her life to a convent far on the eastern edge of the Danzou Theocracy, in the city of Steckdon. She spent most of her life there, growing up surrounded by nuns and priests who gave her a goodly upbringing in the church of Radoslav the Redeemed. In her late teenage years, she was summoned back to the capital by her father Stepan and given a rare display of mercy as he asked her to serve as his newly born son's tutor and religious advisor. She is believed to be a powerful cleric in service to Radoslav the Redeemed, and is a soft-spoken and merciful woman.

Honorary Members

Honrary members of the Vinogradov Family are those not related at all by blood, but have been given the honor of being treated as one of the esteemed royals for one reason or another. Reasons can vary from serving as a servant to one of the royals, being a bodyguard, or even doing some great service to them. Their name, age, race, and current status are listed below as well as a short description of them.

The High Krovytsar
Race: Unknown. Assumed Human or Half Human.
Age: Unknown. Presumed mid to late 40's or 50's.
Status: Alive and well. Serving as the bodyguard of Aleksei Vinogradov.
Description: The head of an organization in the Danzou Theocracy known as "The Krovytsars", better known as the "Knights of Blood" - an organization that serves as bodyguards to the royal family and protects the government of the Danzou Theocracy. They are the country's most elite warriors, and the most well-trained and well-supplied military force in the entire country as well - and the High Krovytsar is the leader of that organization that is assigned to guard the High Pontiff specifically. They are all bound inside thick, bulky suits of plate rumored to be bonded to their very bodies and sealed inside them for their entire lives, and serve at the whims of the royal family - though none are ever assigned to guard female members of the royal family, they are still beholden to them. Little is known about the current High Krovytsar, save that they have served as such ever since High Pontiff Stepan took the throne decades ago and now serves young Aleksei - though normally, tradition requires the Krovytsar assigned to a target pay with their lives should something untoward happen to them on their watch.

Katya Vassa Maslova:
Race: Half-Elf
Age: 36
Status: Alive and well.
Description: The honored servant of the eldest Daughter of the Vinogradov Family, Serafina. A Shao-zouan girl from the common citizenry who was given to Serafina by her father at a very young age as her own personal slave, bodyguard, and assistant. She was taken from her parents(who were killed by the government) for her promise in scholarly topics and martial combat, then presented to Serafina as a gift. She has grown up with Serafina ever since Serafina was 6 years old, and was trained for almost all of her life to serve her - she is known to be skilled in many things, from martial combat to mathmatics, history, and many more scholarly, practical, and other things. She is considered the right hand of Serafina, and wields equal influence and power as a member of the Vinogradov Family - a feat which even other members of the Vinogradov family respect, though she is often ignored and put out of mind much like her mistress Serafina in the minds of the Vinogradov Family and the nobles of the Danzou Theocracy alike. She is known to enjoy the advanced, cutting edge fashions of the Kingdom of Raoulin and maintains an appearance that is very unusual for a woman of the Theocracy - her odd appearance and strange fashion habits that would normally be considered far too risque and abnormal for any self-respecting Shao-zouan woman are tolerated only because of her value to Serafina Vinogradov and status as her most trusted and valued servant.

Public Agenda

The public agenda of the Vinogradov Family is, outwardly, to ensure the prosperity and continued existence of the Danzou Theocracy - though, to the family better known as such flattering monikers as "The Bloody Ones" and "The People's Traitors", the agenda of bettering their country does not very often equate to bettering the people who dwell there.

Assets

The Vinogradov Family has access to the sum total of all assets of the Danzou Theocracy - all of its treasures, peoples, and resources are at their absolute whims and theirs to use at their leisures.

History

The history of the Vinogradov Family is one drenched in blood - led by the founder of the family Petrov Vinogradov centuries ago as the Shaoshu Empire collapsed, marking the end of the Age of Conquest, the Vinogradov Family overthrew the previous ruling family that had ruled in the name of the unified Shaoshu Empire, the Huxtable Family, and with the assistance of the people they staged a revolution and brutally butchered the Huxtable family and overthrew the government.
Creating a new nation in the ashes of the old, the Danzou Theocracy was thus formed - and ever since, the Vinogradov Family has ruled as a family whose reign was initially everything the people had hoped it would be...though it devolved over centuries into cruel, tyrannical oppression as the family began abusing the power the people had given them. And unlike the Huxtable family, they would not be so naive as to let a revolution happen to them - and despite their brutality, they have coldly put down every hint of rebellion in the centuries since the country's operation and maintained an iron grip on the country, keeping it prosperous and wealthy despite its peoples' suffering.

Blessed by god, we are the light.

Founding Date

4180 ASK

Type

Family

Alternative Names

The People's Traitors, The Bloody Ones

Family Leader

Stepan Yakov Danzou Vinogradov

Subsidiary Organizations

• Danzou Theocracy

Related Ethnicities

• Shaoshuan

Rulers of Danzou

Ever since shortly after the inception of the Danzou Theocracy, the Vinogradov Family has ruled over the Theocratic nation as its absolute tyrants and total rulers - after overthrowing and executing all members of the previous ruling Huxtable family that was an offshoot of the dynasty that ruled over the unified Shaoshuan Empire on the backs of a great revolution inspired by the Family's founding member Petrov Prokhor Vinogradov. After the brutal revolution that brought them to power, the Vinogradov Family installed themselves as the new rulers of the newly formed Danzou Theocracy, coined from a shortened version of the Shao-zouan word "Danzorya", or "Gift from God"(A word that each rightful and true ruler of the Theocracy takes and adds to their name upon the ascension to the throne in the centuries since).
Their rule began as one installed by the people that first and foremost served them, but after about a century and the first few High Pontiffs came and went, their rule slowly became a despotic one - insidiously taking away their people's freedoms one by one over the course of decades until all that remains in the modern day is a country that, while incredibly lucrative, wealthy, and rich in culture and art, is poor in happiness, emotional satisfaction, and a happy populace as the very family the people once installed have became ultimate tyrants who, unfortunately, refuse to commit the same failures that the previous rulers The Huxtables did to get overthrown in the first place...meaning they keep the populace firmly under their boot and unable to rebel.
Traditionally, the means of inheritance in the Vinogradov family have passed down to the eldest son of the acting High Pontiff - regardless of age, though if other valid sons or distant relatives are available that are older and/or more mentally equipped for the role, exceptions have historically been made. Above all, women of the VInogradov family have absolutely no power over inheritance - they are treated as members of the royal family and given many benefits as befits someone of that station, but can never inherit the throne...outside of one extremely specific condition referred to as the "Rapture Clause", which was written into the treaty that founded the Theocracy by the founder Petrov, which declared the following:

...In the event where no direct male heir exists to inherit the throne of High Pontiff and line-of-succession is required, right to rule shall henceforth go to the eldest and most capable of the High Pontiff's children, regardless of gender. Once this clause has been invoked, it shall remain so forevermore.

As such, as the fabled "Rapture Clause" promises to bring ruin to the patriarchal ways of the Theocracy should no male heir be found in times of succession crisises, the Vinogradov family has historically ensured by ANY means possible that a male heir exists to the throne...even if questionable or illicit means are required to do so.

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