Labor, Socialism, Revival (GotW x 1983: Doomsday)

Nationalistic succesor states of the USSR: The Republic of Azerbaijan

Son of the Fire

The Republic of Azerbaijan is a republic in the Caucasus that became independent on Doomsday. It borders Armenia to the west, Iran to the south, Georgia to the Northwest and Dagestan to the north. Much of the territory that it actually claims is currently under occupation of Armenia, or under nominal independence in the case of Nakchivan. But, with the exception of the Baku region, the rest of the territory is under their control.

September 26th, 1983. Baku, Azerbaijan SSR.

Elchin Alizade, the Azerbaijan SSR was awaken by the noise of the police cars. he was trying to know why had the police and military was sent to the city center, but a call made him to leave those thoughts, and answer it. 

He was surprised to know that the call came from Arisha, so Elchin answered as fast as he could -it was done by the Vertushka system, which connected each SSR home thanks to a paralel network to the official one-

"Arisha..." -he yawned- "It's 4 AM..."

"Elchin! I'm Arisha, I have important news for you. Leave Baku as fast as you can, the nuclear war has started!"

Elchin, worried, and knowing that Arisha wouldn't lie to him on those issues, fleed the apartment, and tried to take refuge in the village of Şamaxı, before moving to the provisional capital in Agsu, where a local goverment was established

Azerbaijan was hit hard as its capital city, Baku, and the surrounding region, were destroyed by nuclear strikes. The city of Kirovabad/Ganja was also hit. After Baku was destroyed a tsunami from a missile that had been slightly off course and landed in the Caspian destroyed even more in the immediate area. Later radioactive rain storms affected all the country and an influenza epidemic attacked the country like most of the former USSR. The majority of the military present in the republic, being stationed in the area of Baku, was also destroyed in these strikes. Later on the 29th of December 1985, the Republic of Azerbaijan was established with the capital in Agsu (Ağsu).

August 26th, 1992. Ağsu, Republic of Azerbaijan

Months had passed since the Armenians invaded the area of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), currently under Azerbaijan since Doomsday. The remnants of the Transcaucasian Military District troops in the Azerbaijan SSR, and the 44th Lenkoranskiy Border Detachment, of the Border Troops of the Red Banner Trans-Caucasus Border District, which remained loyal to the Azeri goverment.

These troops were mainly the remnants of the 4th Army, with the 23rd Guards Motor Rifle Division,  368th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment, 370th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment, 131st Guards Tank Regiment, 1071st Artillery Regiment, and the 1057th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment. 

Meanwhile, the 43rd Prishibskiy Red Banner Border Detachment and the 60th Motor Rifle Division, located in Lenkoran, near the Iranian border, was movilized as part of the newly created Azeri border guard.

Both the 366th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment and the 75th Motor Rifle Division, located on Stepanakert and Nakhichevan, had internal differences on their loyalty. It happened the same to the 41st Nakhichevanskiy Border Detachment and 42nd Gadrutskiy Red Banner Border Detachment.

Tension could spark the conflict between the two countries...

Nagorno-Karabakh War

The Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict that took place from February 1992 to May 1994, in the small enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by the Republic of Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan. As the war progressed, Armenia and Azerbaijan, both former Soviet Republics, entangled themselves in a protracted war in the mountainous heights of Karabakh as Azerbaijan attempted to curb the secessionist movement in Nagorno-Karabakh and prevent its cession to Armenia. Azerbaijan was aided by Nakchivan in the struggle, and some fighting occurred there as well. The enclave's parliament had voted in favor of uniting itself with Armenia and a referendum was held, and the vast majority of the Karabakh population voted in favor of independence. The demand to unify with Armenia, which proliferated in the late 1980s, had began in a relatively peaceful manner; however, in the following months, it gradually grew into an increasingly violent conflict between ethnic Armenians and ethnic Azerbaijanis, resulting in claims of ethnic cleansing by all sides.

Inter-ethnic fighting between the two broke out shortly after the parliament of Nagorno-Karabakh voted to unify the region with Armenia on February 20, 1988. The declaration of secession from Azerbaijan was the final result of a territorial conflict regarding the land. Low-level warfare soon began. And, with much of the military resources in Azerbaijan having been in and around Baku at Doomsday - and thus having been destroyed - they fared much worse in these engagements than their Armenian foes, despite their advantage in numbers.

Full-scale fighting erupted in the late winter of 1992. In the spring of 1993, Armenian forces captured regions outside the enclave itself, threatening the involvement of other countries in the region. By the end of the war in 1994, the Armenians were in full control of most of the enclave and also held and currently control a sizable portion of Azerbaijan's territory outside the of enclave, as well as portions of Nakhchivan.

As many as 220,000 Armenians and 950,000 Azeris have been displaced as a result of the conflict. Finally Nagorno-Karabakh formally seceded and then was united with Armenia. A ceasefire was signed in May 1994 when it was realized that the war was a stalemate at that point, and peace talks have been held ever since by Armenia, Nakhchivan and Azerbaijan, with no end in sight. It is hoped that the LoN will eventually intervene and aid the talks, but no offer has occurred as of yet.

As a net result, much of southwestern Azerbaijan and portions of Nakhchivan have passed to Armenian control as well, with the populace slowly being expelled and replaced by Armenians.

May 9th, 1992. Trabzon, Empire of Trabzon

Two years of war, and more than a million of displaced people, were the main reasons to sign a stalemate at that point, and peace talks have been held ever since by Armenia, Nakhchivan and Azerbaijan, with no end in sight. 

The table of the room, where the ceasefire was signed, was only being used by the military commanders of each country. Located next to them, Anahit Nazaretyan and Elchin Alizade looked how their leaders had to stop the war...but they didn't knew how long it would last...

Encounter with Georgia

In 1998, Georgian forces were encountered around the old border. That area had been in much more chaos than in in Azerbaijan and Armenia, even in spite of their war. It did, however, have a stable government, and as a result, diplomatic relations were established. By the end of 1999, postal services were up and running between the two.

December 29th, 1999. Ağsu, Republic of Azerbaijan.

The card was finished, and Elchin send it towards the mailbox. It was some days after a regular postal service between her and Georgia, which made them to be closer than ever since 1983...

Gio and Elchin managed to know of each other after 15 years of desolation and war, being unable to communicate due the wars and infraestructure problems... But was better that than being incommunicated...

January 25th, 2005. Kutaisi, Federation of Georgia.

Gio Jishkariani, Anahit Nazaretyan and Elchin Alizade were discussing about the Soviet All-Union First Programme, which was managed to get recieved by each nation thanks to the transmissions. Despite Snezhana and Arisha tried to reach any of the surviving SSRs, and convince them to rejoin, Gio and his nationalistic goverment refused, mostly to avoid a war like Aralia in 2010... The three nations were glad that the huge distance between the western areas of the USSR and the Caucasus would make them avoid an invasion of the USSR... 

Meeting all of them on a "neutral" place was the best idea to discuss all the events that would happen since 2005...

Due to the warfare with Armenia, as well as the destruction of Doomsday in general, the exclave of Nakchivan was forced to become de facto independent, though still a nominal part of the nation-state.

Also, in recent years, there has been an upswing in radical Islam in the region, likely funded by Iran in some manner. These radicals call for some kind of extreme solution to the war with Armenia, and are increasingly gaining support with the citizens.

For unknown reasons, those who have explored the ruins of Kirovabad/Ganja have somehow come into contact with a narcotic substance in the air. It is unknown as to why this is occurring.

Anahit and Elchin are in good relationship despite their governments, but still have to suffer with their nationalistic politicians...