alt.WAR, Fixing War's problems by writing a new book Options

[sabs]

Although Amazonia's level of Magic is much higher.. Aztlan is no slouch.
It's probably a constant struggle to keep Aztlan mages drain free.. because of the constant threat of magical attacks.

[hermit]

Sure, they can nuke spirits, but it's really hard to cross this strait when you'Re firing artillery into it at the same time. And it's, as sabs says, fair to assume Amazonia has the magical edge over them.

But if you don't like the idea of Aztlan having a foothold on the other side of the Macaibo straits, I can overgrow that and displace the oil storage and tanker docks to the other side of the straits, too. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Another very useful map courtesy of fexes. I asked for permission to use it.

[Brazilian_Shinob...]

What I meant was, eventually Aztlan will take over the other side of the straight. Either be by amphibious strike or even parachuting.
The War begins in November 13th. My draft for Maracaibo is set in December 20th, I think that one month is enough for Aztlan to take over the other side of the straight while Amazonia begins to deploy more muscle to the Basin and surrounding areas

[hermit]

Yup, makes sense. Fexes will do a detail map of Maracaibo for us. So we already have more and more imortant stuff than War! has. He also offered to make maps that show the progress of the war.

I really, really want that subforum.

[sabs]

If you check the Maracaibo thread, I put together a suggested "front line" that's WAY south of Maracaibo.

[Fatum]

Okay, I hope it's not too late to get into the project yet.
As a matter of fact, being Russian, I could proof-read your drafts of the whole Yakut deal, if not write those outright.
Well, and root out the usual bullshit you wild Westerners keep spouting about the glorious Red Army!
:3

Also, could there be a more in-detail write-up on heavy fighting vehicles? The ones in War! really make no sense, since between autonomous drones, RFID-sized sensors and advanced automation, a lot of current problems should be solved, and vehicle designs changed accordingly.

[Kyoto Kid]

...would love to take the Balkans however there is literally nothing to go on canon-wise.

When I developed the region's background for my RiS campaign (which took place in 2062 - 63), it involved nationalistic, corporate, and religious elements who all sought to profit militarily, politically, and/or financially off the ongoing ethnic unrest.

In a sense, it was a "Desert Wars" where the game was for keeps.

One of the "main events" in the region (and for the campaign) was the annexation of Montenegro, and 2052 invasion/ongoing occupation of Croatia by a fascist Serbian state.

[hermit]

Fatum: No, it's not too late, and since elsewhere an issue on SE Asia is being prepared as we speak, I see no reason why not to work on an Eastern Europe edition either.

Kyoto Kid: Very interested in your stuff. Since SoE claims coratia exists as a country (save for Dalmatia, which felt the need to be independent), maybe just reassign numbers to your work, so the invasion starts after SoE?

[Kyoto Kid]

...I could but there are some elements that just would not work in a fully wireless matrix environment.

In particular, the "old" architecture was fundamental to how things worked the way they did. Within the Serbian regime it was pretty much impossible for most to access higher levels of the matrix beyond basic public services without proprietary hardware. With a hardwired (fiber optic) network this is much easier to achieve as it is simpler to control who can go where and what they can see or hear when everything travels through a jack in the wall. It is also not affected by wireless/radio jamming.

All public propa-er-broadcast and telecommunications media was state run with equipment and services provided free (basically the telcom in your flat or business was state property).

All commercial matrix systems were required by law to be registered with the Bureau of Communications and would be routinely monitored without notice.

All "decks" (basically hybrid notebooks with DNI) were issued and registered only to higher ranking officials. Unauthorised possession of such matrix hardware (like cyberdecks), as well as access keys, and satellite broadcast/receiving gear was a capital offence. State Security Deckers were all elite members of the SSID (State Intelligence) and fully authorised to use deadly force.

Extremely sensitive systems were completely standalone requiring "in person" access.

Cumbersome? yes, but in a totally dystopic society where access to information is tightly controlled, simple and effective.

[hermit]

In particular, the "old" architecture was fundamental to how things worked the way they did. Within the Serbian regime it was pretty much impossible for most to access higher levels of the matrix beyond basic public services without proprietary hardware. With a hardwired (fiber optic) network this is much easier to achieve as it is simpler to control who can go where and what they can see or hear when everything travels through a jack in the wall. It is also not affected by wireless/radio jamming.

Quite simply, make the higher level matrix hardwired. It's not like that is lostech or anything. It would make the setting that much more unique. WiFi stuffis bread and circuses, andentirely separate from GovNet, where the real stuff happens. Unwired offers more than enough ways to make a matrix system impenetrable, I can help you there.

All public propa-er-broadcast and telecommunications media was state run with equipment and services provided free (basically the telcom in your flat or business was state property).

All commercial matrix systems were required by law to be registered with the Bureau of Communications and would be routinely monitored without notice.

As done in the Berlin book, the state hands out commlinks. It is illegal to possess third party links. If you're caught, you are in deep shit. Probably, a state company does this and hands out a variety of links so every taste is satisfied. Alternatively, analogous to how China handles this, all commlink manufacturers wishing to sell here have to integrate spyware/restrictware into their product. Unwired has software options for all that, too. Maybe add a state tojan while we're at it.

All "decks" (basically hybrid notebooks with DNI) were issued and registered only to higher ranking officials. Unauthorised possession of such matrix hardware (like cyberdecks), as well as access keys, and satellite broadcast/receiving gear was a capital offence. State Security Deckers were all elite members of the SSID (State Intelligence) and fully authorised to use deadly force.

Extremely sensitive systems were completely standalone requiring "in person" access.

Cumbersome? yes, but in a totally dystopic society where access to information is tightly controlled, simple and effective.

Neat. And totally doable in SR4. The wireless Matrix' liberty is only an illusion anyway, and SR4 still knows what land lines are (as of Unwired).

[Fatum]

Fatum: No, it's not too late, and since elsewhere an issue on SE Asia is being prepared as we speak, I see no reason why not to work on an Eastern Europe edition either.

So what exactly can I be doing that'd be useful?

Quite simply, make the higher level matrix hardwired. It's not like that is lostech or anything.

As a matter of fact, SR4 backbone lines are still very much fiberoptic bunches as per Unwired - just like in real life, wireless bandwidth is enough for single users, but not nearly enough for state-wide uplinks. So something akin to the Great Chinese Firewall is easily doable.

[sabs]

Well, it depends. How much writing do you want to do?
I'll be honest with you.. right now.. Eastern Europe and Russia/Yakut are a big.. what the hell are we doing with them. Until now noone's really stepped forward.

I'd love to see an intelligent take on Russia in 2073. I suspect a Yakut book will probably be all about Japan, Korea, Northern China, Mongolia. But I'm not super sure.

Given what else has happened in the world. Siberia is probably sparsely populated with a couple of population centers, vast swaths of paracritter infested wilderness, and natural resource raping complexes.

[Fatum]

Well, it depends. How much writing do you want to do?

Well, I have nothing against writing, but as you might have noticed my English isn't really up to the task. Neither is, I am afraid, my SR fluff knowledge - I joined the whole affair when 4e had been long out, and while I've read some 3e books, I really can't say I know fluff cover to cover.
Though, of course, I've read SoA (and written a page-long post about all the inconsistencies it had in the part on Russia), and maybe if someone could edit my writing, something good might be the fruit, after all.

I'll be honest with you.. right now.. Eastern Europe and Russia/Yakut are a big.. what the hell are we doing with them. Until now noone's really stepped forward.

I'd love to see an intelligent take on Russia in 2073. I suspect a Yakut book will probably be all about Japan, Korea, Northern China, Mongolia. But I'm not super sure.

Given what else has happened in the world. Siberia is probably sparsely populated with a couple of population centers, vast swaths of paracritter infested wilderness, and natural resource raping complexes.

There's been some info on the conflict in the 6WA, are we using that as a canon source?
Regardless, there's a bunch of valid reasons for conflict, most obvious of them being all those diamonds, oil, rare metals and such. And I doubt that the Awakened would allow uncontrolled resource exploitation, seeing their green agenda and the pro-environmental dragon (not sure if Great) backing them. So there's a lot of potential for a fight right there.

In what comes to what Yakut would be like - I imagine the woolly mammoths being reintroduced alone would change the lives of locals quite a bit. Actually, there's much space for Awakened craziness here, with all the species from chipmunks to wolverines to Siberian tigers having potential to awaken and/or produce shapeshifter variants.

Also, Uzhur and Irkutsk being old Soviet nuclear weapon dislocations, there's bound to be a fight over them, too.

[Kyoto Kid]

...I'll admit, it is intriguing to have pockets of "throwback" tech.

Again as was mentioned, the Crash would most likely not have as such a strong an impact on the already war torn region.

When I still GM'd a 4th ed campaign I already was using isolated matrix systems (well before the release of Unwired). I found the concept a lot more elegant (and cost effective) than having to deal with elabourate and/or exotic wireless security measures and counter measures (and the cost to implement them). You can't hack a system if it isn't on the wireless net. This brought back the need for a more "old school" approach to critical data steals.

I guess I have to think of how, in a totally wireless environment, the Serbian regime was able to launch a successful blitz that caught Croatia with it's knickers down.

[Doc Chase]

One aspect I'm trying to work on as a native Engrish-speaker is the editing process. It's what I'm doing with the Maracaibo doc - and yes, I'm totally still working on it but I need to post those changes, argh - and I'm happy to do it with the rest of the stuff. I like to think I have a pretty good idea of what you'd want to say as opposed to how it comes across. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

In short: The work will be edited, suggestions will be given on content, style and SGP (Spelling-Grammar-Punctuation) will be taken care of. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[sabs]

I'm also working on Editing. I'm almost a native speaker. I'm bilingual enough that unless I tell people I'm not a native English speaker, they have no idea.

I've just been busy when ever I'm home, and I've been suffering from firewall of doom here at work, so I can't connect to googledocs.

So what we're saying is. If you have ideas, but you're worried about not being a native speaker. Don't be. Doc or I will happily cover your work in red ink (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Doc Chase]

If red ink offends you, I will use green.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[hermit]

I guess I have to think of how, in a totally wireless environment, the Serbian regime was able to launch a successful blitz that caught Croatia with it's knickers down.

- Jammers
- Cyberwarfare kills Croatia's network infrastructure
- troops move rapidly, probably with a corp's backing, using the corp's freight planes as camopuflage, Red Dawn style.
- agents and saboteurs within the Croatian government/army screw up the Croatian countermeasures

Also, the Blitz could have happened DURING the crash, with less developed Serbia taking advantage of the richer, better eveloped Balkan states being in turmoil and moving in.

[Fatum]

Okay, so here's how I see the general outlines of the Russo-Yakut War description.
Anything you think I should be doing differently?

[Kyoto Kid]

...yes that could work, particularly the second and fourth points which were very instrumental in the fall of Zagreb in my original storyline.

(a Neo-Anarchist's Digest "condensed" version).

In the history of the scenario the first Serbian regime had outlawed magic and focused on extensive use of tech and cyber. There were both corporate and government players behind the scenes pulling the strings (most notably Yamatetsu). Just prior to the invasion and occupation, there was a radical power shift after the president was assassinated when an explosive device took out in the General Assembly (blamed on "ethnic extremists"). The Bureau of information took control of the country in what was to be a temporary emergency measure until a new president and council were in place. This of course never happened. Three months later Montenegro was annexed with little opposition.

In the summer of the following year the the second airborne and first fighter/bomber and drone wings launched a coordinated attack on Zagreb from both Montenegro and through the disputed region to the south. This was followed by the first and second mechnised divisions. Croat defences never saw it coming. By the time the Croatian military could react, gunship drones were on the outskirts of Zagreb literally flying down the streets on the way to Jelačić Square, the symbolic heart of the Croatian Capital. Once there they opened fire indiscriminately mowing people down with MGs and launching rockets into buildings. This was followed by attack and heavy troop helos of the Serbian Airborne and LAVs of the First Mech unit with additional air support from teh fighter/bomber wing. Within 48 hours it was over. The anemic Croatian forces were no match for the surprisingly "well oiled" Russian equipped Serbian military machine. Zagreb was now an occupied city. In the days that followed, ground units moved into other Croatian cities and in just over a week, Croatia had a new landlord.

Meanwhile, one more "tweak" occurred in the Serbian government. Shortly after the invasion a new organisation entered the scene, the SSPR (Srpski Stanje Pamet Ravnateljstvo - Serbian State Intelligence Directorate) which under it's newly appointed Secretariat-General, Rita Kovec, took full control of the government, effectively taking the final step to moving the nation to becoming a true dictatorship. In an "about face" of policy, the SSPR repealed sanctions against magic put in place by the former regime and began actively recruiting and training awakened individuals, with an emphasis on social adepts who would become the backbone of it's nefarious interrogation division (referred by many as the "Blacksuits").

-----

Admittedly, timing this all with the crash does make sense. It also allows more time for Croatia, Dalmatia and Slovenia to have established themselves following the last Euro war as well as coinciding with certain key events in Russia, most notably the power vacuum in Russia following the death of Orgurznev. I need to go back and re-read Red Storm Rising in SoA.

[Fatum]

Admittedly, timing this all with the crash does make sense. It also allows more time for Croatia, Dalmatia and Slovenia to have established themselves following the last Euro war as well as coinciding with certain key events in Russia, most notably the power vacuum in Russia following the death of Orgurznev. I need to go back and re-read Red Storm Rising in SoA.

By the by, reading SoA has always made me facepalm so hard. Ogurznev is not even a Russian surname, nor is Dzermiya a Russian name (but here I'm giving the writers the benefit of doubt, maybe it's some name from Caucasus region, I am not entirely sure). The nicks of contributors are riddled with spelling errors, the functions of the Russian intelligence and counter-intelligence agencies are messed up, new words are made up by smashing two Russian nouns together, and so on and so for. I really don't know what to do with it in the draft I'm writing - thinking of just stealth-correcting the most glaring issues, but leave out the plot-influencing ones.
Also on SoA, could anyone direct me to Russian history SR version before 2006? How did USSR fall apart there, that sort of thing?

[hermit]

@Kyoto Kid: Like your Blitz idea and how Evo/Yamatetsu spins this, especially the awakened angle (and the Starship Troopers-esque Psi Corps). Maybe some Eurocorps are allied with serbia too, like ZIC, AG Chemie, or ESPRIT? Also what happened to Bosnia and the Repulica Srbska? I could see pro-muslim Meridional back Bosnia. Meridional needs some use anyway.

@Fatum: I like your outline so far. Some Suggestions:

Armed Forces info: Include something on the shifter/human divide, and spirits commanding the shifters (the famed multi-shifters). Also, feel free to go to town with weird folk legends. After all, shadowrun is the world where those things suddenly spring into existence. Also maybe "it's a dog's life - a guide to life in the Russian army", because we all love our clichés (or not, depending on your image of the Russian army in 2074). The Baltic Fleet and Atlantic fleet probably need to have a desertion problem because, well, they tend to lose subs to just about anyone. Also, there'S a weird but kinda fun story in a German novel I can summary if interested (Sturmvogel, involves nuclear weapons, evles, and russian subs).

Consequences: sattelite access should be mentioned (and the troubles with it; you do not want to coordinate your anti-russian operation over Evo's NavStar network).

Game Info: Maps: I really, really second the typical setup maps. Maybe write up a certain outpost, complete with NPC and all, and a few suggetsions on use, and then give guidelines on adapting it to anywhere? Also, a typical russian warship and tank regiment, a rebel base, and maybe a Yakut army camp.

Russian weapons can well blatantly be stolen; I also have a list of weapons canonically mentioned I could put up.

Yakut tribal magic is described in Target: Smuggler Havens.

new words are made up by smashing two Russian nouns together

My sympathies. I hate it when they do that in German, too.

I really don't know what to do with it in the draft I'm writing - thinking of just stealth-correcting the most glaring issues, but leave out the plot-influencing ones.

Yes, that's probably best.

Also on SoA, could anyone direct me to Russian history SR version before 2006? How did USSR fall apart there, that sort of thing?

Before SoA, most info on Russia was in the Target books. Target: Wastelands has something on Siberia and the siberian parts of TPA. Target: Smuggler Havens, which before SoA was the prime source on Russia. History, political setup et al, but it focused on the literal arse of Russia, Vladivostok, as far away from the centers of power as you can possibly be (lots of stuff on Yamatetsu, though). Yakut has some mention in Target: Smuggler Havens, too.

As to the fate of the USSR, that is somewhat mysterious, as it seems to have existed on until the 2029 crash in 1E's history section and somehow vanished in 2E's, to reappear in 3E supplements.

[Fatum]

Armed Forces info: Include something on the shifter/human divide, and spirits commanding the shifters (the famed multi-shifters).

Uh, in 4E terms, that'd be Realistic Form and Multiform powers, yeah?
Also on Armed Forces - if we're going to write up unit compositions, do we have standard icons for that?

Also, feel free to go to town with weird folk legends. After all, shadowrun is the world where those things suddenly spring into existence.

Sure thing. Actually, Siberia has quite a number of caves, and I was thinking of putting something, you know, Mysterious in those, too.

Also maybe "it's a dog's life - a guide to life in the Russian army", because we all love our clichés (or not, depending on your image of the Russian army in 2074).

Yeah well, the general outline of the Army affairs is in SoA, and it's pretty much the cliché one. I'm fine with that.

The Baltic Fleet and Atlantic fleet probably need to have a desertion problem because, well, they tend to lose subs to just about anyone. Also, there'S a weird but kinda fun story in a German novel I can summary if interested (Sturmvogel, involves nuclear weapons, evles, and russian subs).

Actually, I wasn't going to write about the Baltic and Black Sea Fleets, since they are so far from the conflict. But it could make an interesting example/Shadowtalk retort/whatever. So please do tell, I haven't read any of SR fiction (and I don't think I'm going to, eh).

Consequences: sattelite access should be mentioned (and the troubles with it; you do not want to coordinate your anti-russian operation over Evo's NavStar network).

Yeah, see, I have it in the draft:

Military communication over vast distances: floating drones, direct link chains, secure landlines, high-signal transmission; jamming and electronic warfare.

I'm thinking of writing up some actual military-grade electronic warfare jamming, maybe up to the point of something capable of jamming sat connections - what can be more fun than fighting in Siberia without command uplink?

Game Info: Maps: I really, really second the typical setup maps. Maybe write up a certain outpost, complete with NPC and all, and a few suggetsions on use, and then give guidelines on adapting it to anywhere? Also, a typical russian warship and tank regiment, a rebel base, and maybe a Yakut army camp.

Here are some maps I've made for my games. Think something like that would work?

Russian weapons can well blatantly be stolen; I also have a list of weapons canonically mentioned I could put up.

Won't we run into trouble with Pegasus?
That'd be nice of you. I have Arsenal 2070, but again - I only have firm knowledge of 4E stuff, earlier than that I haven't read everything yet. You could just list the books, flipping through them would be useful for me.

Yakut tribal magic is described in Target: Smuggler Havens.

Oh, nice, a chapter on Vladivostok, I'm going to build up my version of the Fleet from what they have there, at least.

Now, there's nothing that unique for Yakut magic in T:SH, just stating that they are shamans (which is pretty much obvious already).
And I'm looking for a bit of new spells, maybe a war ritual - see that Bratsk bridgehead massacre in my draft? My design is: Red Army has a large force there, preparing a move down Yenisei, cutting Yakut in half; when something large and magicky wipes them the hell out. Massive spells, powerful spirits, preset charges hidden with magic so far - the whole works.
That allows for the whole further setup for a massive open warfare battle under Bratsk, Yakut forces trying to cut Transsib in Bratsk-Tayshet-Tulun triangle - it'd be boring if we went with the realistic variant of a much smaller more Awakened-gifted army only falling back to guerrilla strikes.

[Fatum]

My sympathies. I hate it when they do that in German, too.

Well, as far as I know, at least that way of noun composition is used sometimes in German - well, I dunno, take Landwehr or Messerschmidt, off the top of my head. In Russian, it's never never never used just like that - there are compound words, but they are rare, and require a special connector -о- or -е- in the middle between the two roots and the ending from the first simple word is lost.

Before SoA, most info on Russia was in the Target books. Target: Wastelands has something on Siberia and the siberian parts of TPA. Target: Smuggler Havens, which before SoA was the prime source on Russia. History, political setup et al, but it focused on the literal arse of Russia, Vladivostok, as far away from the centers of power as you can possibly be (lots of stuff on Yamatetsu, though). Yakut has some mention in Target: Smuggler Havens, too.

Aha, thanks, I'll read those before writing anything serious.

As to the fate of the USSR, that is somewhat mysterious, as it seems to have existed on until the 2029 crash in 1E's history section and somehow vanished in 2E's, to reappear in 3E supplements.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/silly.gif) Mind=blown.

By the by, have you noticed that the map in SoA has Krasnoyarsk clearly on the Russian side of the boarder, whereas SWA has it in Yakut already? Seriously, I'm going with SoA version.
Also, is Yupiq (see SWA map, Kamchatka) a name of some Trans-Polar Aleut Nation province or what? If "what", why isn't it mentioned as Yakut's neighbor in the book itself? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/silly.gif)

[hermit]

Actually, I wasn't going to write about the Baltic and Black Sea Fleets, since they are so far from the conflict. But it could make an interesting example/Shadowtalk retort/whatever. So please do tell, I haven't read any of SR fiction (and I don't think I'm going to, eh).

Okay then.

[ Spoiler ]

The German novel Sturmvogel is basically about a Reporter character that is widely featured in German-only publications - Poolitzer - stumbling into a terrorist plot of German Nazi terrorist organisation Natioanle Aktion to nuke the German elf enclave Pomorya (those little islands on the German baltic coast plus some coastline) because that's what Nazis do. Their idea is to loot the remains of a russian sub of nukes (a 'Delta IV type sub', meaning the author uses NATO designations - two are mentioned, but their names are German, strangely - Sturmvogel (stormbird) and Sturmbringer (stormbringer). the subs are pretty fast underwater, can fire missiles underwater and are generally really advanced, and fuel cell powered.) and fire them on everyone who displeases them. The sub wa ssunk during the Eurowars, and was moving into place to nuke the advancing Allied forces because apparently, someone watched a documentary about WW3 where that was the USSR's solution to everything). It also manages to sink 2 frigates and 2 destroyers, which would be about half of the Alliance's navy, and fire five missiles, which are redirected by hacking and summarily go astray, four detonating in the Northern Sea, one destroying Воркута (that was never mentioned later though). In the end, a detachment of Russian soldiers, the titular hero and a few runners watching, destroys the sub and the last remaining terrorist, who then nukes himself (that's the toxic incident mentioned in SoE's Germany writeup).

I'm thinking of writing up some actual military-grade electronic warfare jamming, maybe up to the point of something capable of jamming sat connections - what can be more fun than fighting in Siberia without command uplink?

Oh, it's most fun in winter! Especially since there are spirits in SR who will actively fight anyone then. And okay, misunderstood you there with the satcom stuff.

Won't we run into trouble with Pegasus?

We could - probably should - ask them, but so long as we don't sell our stuff, I think we're good.

That'd be nice of you. I have Arsenal 2070, but again - I only have firm knowledge of 4E stuff, earlier than that I haven't read everything yet. You could just list the books, flipping through them would be useful for me.

There you go (with sources):

[ Spoiler ]

Pistols
- Makarow PM (standard-issue Russian sidearm.) [Fatimas Tränen (German novel)]
- PSK-3 Collapsible Heavy Pistol (This weapon (PSK stands for Pistolet Sptsialnyj Kemenova, or “Kemenov Special Pistol”) uses sophisticated mechanics and form-recognizing materials to enable the weapon to be collapsed into a solid block of metal, vastly reducing the overall weapon size and making the metal block hard to recognize as weapon. It was originally developed for the Russian secret police UGB by Feliks Kemenov in 2061 and has found its way into the shadows since the weapon’s “Top Secret” status has been compromised (rumors are that the security breach was set up by the GRU military intelligence agency due to internal struggles between the two Russian intelligence services).) [Arsenal 2070]

Rifles
- Dragunov Drake-1 (A large bore precision rifle. One of the few in the world that was developed exclusively as a sniper rifle. It'S name insinuates it'S about as lethal as a dragon attack.) [Who hunts the hunter]

Automatics
- AK-127 (An advanced assault rifle that actually has mroe in common with an LMG, and slated to gradually replace the aging AK97/98 models in the Russian armed forces. It's twin 100-round provide an enormous ammo supply.) [Arsenal 2070, German extra weapon]
- AK-51 (A russian knock-off of the Ares CAR-32, the prototype of the Ares Alpha) [night’s prawn]
- AK-74 Kurz (AK-74 carabine version) [Jede Wette (German novel)]
- AK-74 Special (An assault rifle that can be easily disassembled) [never trust an elf]
- AK 97 (The most popular assault rifle in the 6th world.) [Shadowrun 1E core book]
- AK 97K (A variant of the AK-97 that is very popular in Arabia.) [Jede Wette (German novel)]
- AK 97 MP/Carabine (Short-barrel version of the SK97) [Cannon Companion]
- AK 98 (An AK-97 with an integrated grenade launcher) [Arsenal 2060]
- AK-98SE (An improved version of the popular AK-98 using IQ-Mag™ a munitions switch mod, a fitting grenade launcher with munition slection, and integral smartgun) [Jede Wette (German novel)]
- PPSK-4 Collapsible Machine Pistol: The PPSK-4 (Pistolet Pulemjot Sptsialnyj Kemenova, or “Kemenov special submachine gun”) collapsible machine pistol was developed by Feliks Kemenov after his collapsible pistol model proved to be a success during fíeld testing.) [Arsenal 2070]

Heavy
- RPK HMG (This heavy Russian machine gun is used by the military of Russia and many Asian countries primarily as a vehicle mounted support weapon. It comes with a detachable tripod.) [Arsenal 2070]
- SG34 „Goryunov“ HMG (A weapon that was mass produced and issued in the Eurowars. Cheap to produce, with litttle extras, but robust, reliable and dependable. The name is the same as a common WW2 weapon.) [some German novel but damn, which one]

Missiles
- SS-N-49 Sirocco (An aging, but widely used and universally feared anti-ship missile of russian design that sees wide use all over the world. It can be launched under water and flies close to the surface towards it's target.) [Rigger 3r]
- R-17 „SCUD“ (An ancient missile of originally Soviet design, this weapon is still being produced in backwater countries and was used a lot by the Alliance for Allah during the Eurowars.) [GmbH, German novel]
- SS-N-28-Marschflugkörper (The current main medium range carrier for the russian nuclear forces. Each missile carries a MIRV warhead, that releases six individual bombs in it's final descent. One warhead is enough to devastate a small country the size of Denmark. Using special cartiges, teh missile can be launched from up to 200 meters depth.) [Sturmvogel]

By the by, have you noticed that the map in SoA has Krasnoyarsk clearly on the Russian side of the boarder, whereas SWA has it in Yakut already? Seriously, I'm going with SoA version.
Also, is Yupiq (see SWA map, Kamchatka) a name of some Trans-Polar Aleut Nation province or what? If "what", why isn't it mentioned as Yakut's neighbor in the book itself?

Yeah, better do, unless you wnat to make that an item, as in the city being taken by Yakut.

As for the weirdness in 6WA ... well, it's brought to us by the people who don't know what a map is, so ... they also seemingly totally forgot to change many borders in Europe and the existence of a couple states that get a writeup because they're sloppy. But I assume Yupiq is supposed to be something like a TPA province. There's a writeup of the TPA in Target: Wastelands.