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Reaver
Does anybody know if there is any canon info on the state of Russia in 2062? I'm just wondering what the political, economic and social environments are.

Thanks in advance.
Herald of Verjigorm
Check here.

It seems Russia and Siberia are different by 2060.
Reaver
QUOTE (Herald of Verjigorm)
Check here.

It seems Russia and Siberia are different by 2060.

Thanks Herald. Doesn't give a lot to go on, but at least it tells me that Volgogrod is still in Russina control. smile.gif
Crisp
Ther's a whole chapter (about a third of the book) on Vladivostok in Target:Smuggler's Havens which includes info on Russian history of the XXI century.

Obviously, since Russia was a major player in the Eurowars SoE should include info on them too but when that book is coming out is anyone's guess...
Reaver
QUOTE (Crisp)
Ther's a whole chapter (about a third of the book) on Vladivostok in Target:Smuggler's Havens which includes info on Russian history of the XXI century.

Obviously, since Russia was a major player in the Eurowars SoE should include info on them too but when that book is coming out is anyone's guess...

My main interest is Volgogrod for a run I have planned. I was just wondering what the political and social climates were like as well. Is Russia back to the old KGB style of influence or are they still economically depressed?
JongWK
It has a pseudo-democracy ruled by Neo-Soviets. The MVD is the KGB's newest incarnation. Nationalism is very strong.
Nath
QUOTE (JongWK)
The MVD is the KGB's newest incarnation.

Actually, the MVD acronym usually stands for "Ministerstvo vnutrennykh del" (Ministry of Internal Affairs) designing in the past an organization different from the KGB. Roughly, the MVD is an equivalent to the FBI, the KGB was the CIA & border guards. In SR, the closest to a KGB reincarnation rather seems to me to be the UGB (Directorate of State Security ?) which controls at least the border guards.

Concerning economy, the regime is nominally sovietic, but Saeder-Krupp and Yamatetsu enjoys important presence. The later especially devellop a strong relationship with the Russian armed forces : they're ready to lend the corp a full division. Lucien Cross also have high placed contacts in the government, but that may be more linked to espionage than economic activities.
lodestar
Yamatetsu has also invested a good chunk in some of the old Russian space program infrastructure. Also in Target: Smuggler's Havens there's a bit about rogue Russian pirates in the North Sea and Atlantic.

For Matrix info that might help both the Eastern Europe haven of Kalinin and the old Beppu one which is now Mosaic in Vladivostok might be of interest. Check out Target: Matrix

Lastly there's a bit on the Vory in the Underworld Sourcebook.
Reaver
Thanks guys. I appreciate all the info. Every little bit helps. smile.gif
FlakJacket
Since they seem to still be pulling the strings of the puppet government they installed in Poland from the Eurowars, I figure they've also got Belarus, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania in their pockets as well what with their considering those countries to be their area of influence and vitally important. The bit on Constantinople in SotA 2063 says several times that Ukraine sent warships to help secure their independence, mainly 'cause they're sitting on the Bosphorus which is the main maritime trade route. But the write-up of Odessa implies that it's still in with Russia.

So you've got several options. They're still under control from Moscow, they're under control from Moscow but with some limited freedom- and using only Ukrainian forces in Turkey was for plausable deniability, or they're kinda like today but are basically in Russia's sphere rather than the West's. Since Russia sold the Tyuratam Space Center to Yamatetsu or Saeder-Krupp depending on which sourcebook you read, they seem to still own the place. Makes sense since further South, Afghanistan and the 'stans will likely have gone to hell and it provides a nice buffer.

In the South the Caucasus mountains will have been a fun place during the whole Alliance for Allah thing ages back and could still be fairly unstable. Then throw in Aden and his little fun and games as well.
Synner
I will venture to add that the Ukraine is actually attempting to become an alternative regional power to Russia, rather than a staunch ally of the country that dragged them into the EuroWars. Where I got that idea is anyone's guess though...

The Constantinople writeup does indicate that it was a Ukrainian (and not Russian) deployment that helped the city-state break away from fundamentalist Turkey (and ignited the local civil war).
Austere Emancipator
QUOTE (Nath)
Actually, the MVD acronym usually stands for "Ministerstvo vnutrennykh del" (Ministry of Internal Affairs) designing in the past an organization different from the KGB. Roughly, the MVD is an equivalent to the FBI, the KGB was the CIA & border guards. In SR, the closest to a KGB reincarnation rather seems to me to be the UGB (Directorate of State Security ?) which controls at least the border guards.

What about them SVRs? The Sluzhba Vneshney Razvedki apparently took over most of the foreign operations, intelligence-gathering and intelligence analysis activities of the KGB's First Chief Directorate. IRL, that is.
FlakJacket
The UGB, Upravleniye Gosudarstevnnoy Bezopasnosti, is basically the old KGB reformed in that it handles just about everything intelligence related through its various directorates. If you want to include intelligence agencies, you might also want to have a look into the GRU.
Austere Emancipator
I mentioned the SVR because that really is most of what is left of the intelligence-part of the KGB. GRU is a different animal, and is nominally just about military intelligence, though apparently it dabbles in the occasional industrial espionage To Upkeep The Russian Military Might or something.

More about Russian Intelligence Agencies here.
Reaver
QUOTE (Austere Emancipator)
I mentioned the SVR because that really is most of what is left of the intelligence-part of the KGB. GRU is a different animal, and is nominally just about military intelligence, though apparently it dabbles in the occasional industrial espionage To Upkeep The Russian Military Might or something.

More about Russian Intelligence Agencies here.

Here's a question for those here. What do you think the social environment will be like? Will the country be as economically depressed as it is now? Better? Or worse?
Austere Emancipator
I'd love to do some in depth analysis on that, because my games do take place quite close to the Russian border, but I haven't got any canon sources for Russia. If the rulers are as fascistic, totalitarian, repressive and jingoistic as our good friend Mr Putin is, or would like to be, then Russia will be at least as, and probably a lot more, economically depressed and overall fucked up.

However, since there's apparently significant corporate presence, it is likely to be better off at least economically. I see there being less of the extremely poor people, because of economic integration and stronger economy -> more jobs, but there'd still be a significant amount of them. The low-middle class, people who can just make do, would be far larger than it currently is, since it would include most of the corp workers. Then there's the huge gap before the filthy rich, of whom there'd probably be as many as there are now.

For those with jobs, preferably with the megacorps, life would be better, or at least more secure, than it is IRL, although still quite a lot below the level it is in Western countries. The filthy rich would number many immigrants. There'd be even greater distinction between higher class and lower class areas. The police and military might well be just as useless for fighting crime as they are now, but corp security forces would probably have taken over that sector in many areas -- perhaps not reducing crime, but at least changing the type of crime.

Maybe if you took Belarus and threw out much of the redistribution of income and introduced the general corporate athmosphere of the 2060s you'd be close.
Reaver
QUOTE (Austere Emancipator)
I'd love to do some in depth analysis on that, because my games do take place quite close to the Russian border, but I haven't got any canon sources for Russia. If the rulers are as fascistic, totalitarian, repressive and jingoistic as our good friend Mr Putin is, or would like to be, then Russia will be at least as, and probably a lot more, economically depressed and overall fucked up.

However, since there's apparently significant corporate presence, it is likely to be better off at least economically. I see there being less of the extremely poor people, because of economic integration and stronger economy -> more jobs, but there'd still be a significant amount of them. The low-middle class, people who can just make do, would be far larger than it currently is, since it would include most of the corp workers. Then there's the huge gap before the filthy rich, of whom there'd probably be as many as there are now.

For those with jobs, preferably with the megacorps, life would be better, or at least more secure, than it is IRL, although still quite a lot below the level it is in Western countries. The filthy rich would number many immigrants. There'd be even greater distinction between higher class and lower class areas. The police and military might well be just as useless for fighting crime as they are now, but corp security forces would probably have taken over that sector in many areas -- perhaps not reducing crime, but at least changing the type of crime.

Maybe if you took Belarus and threw out much of the redistribution of income and introduced the general corporate athmosphere of the 2060s you'd be close.

I'm planning a run to snatch the rifle that belonged to Vassili Zaitsev. Just trying to get an idea of what my players will experience when they are knee deep in Volgogrod. biggrin.gif
Austere Emancipator
Ooh. Next up: Sword of King Arthur?
Reaver
QUOTE (Austere Emancipator)
Ooh. Next up: Sword of King Arthur?

ROTFL, no. The rifle I know is real and exists. The sword we've only got a dead dragon's word to go by. wink.gif
Austere Emancipator
You happened to know Vassili Zaitsev personally? If all you got to go by with the rifle is what people in a war museum tell you... I wouldn't consider the word of a dead dragon much worse.

And Arthur existed. He most certainly had a sword. Whether that sword exists anywhere anymore is another matter. But you should have the same sorts of doubts about anything claimed to have been owned by a legend.

Of course, from a RPG scenario POV, this makes absolutely no difference.
Reaver
QUOTE (Austere Emancipator)
You happened to know Vassili Zaitsev personally? If all you got to go by with the rifle is what people in a war museum tell you... I wouldn't consider the word of a dead dragon much worse.

And Arthur existed. He most certainly had a sword. Whether that sword exists anywhere anymore is another matter. But you should have the same sorts of doubts about anything claimed to have been owned by a legend.

Of course, from a RPG scenario POV, this makes absolutely no difference.

LOL, very true on both counts. smile.gif
Nath
QUOTE (Austere Emancipator)
I mentioned the SVR because that really is most of what is left of the intelligence-part of the KGB. GRU is a different animal, and is nominally just about military intelligence, though apparently it dabbles in the occasional industrial espionage To Upkeep The Russian Military Might or something.

More about Russian Intelligence Agencies here.

Most of the intelligence part of the KGB was turned toward the inside of the Soviet Union. Nowadays that's the FSB (Federal Security Service) based upon the second, third, fifth and seventh directorates and if I understood correctly the border guards. The SVR is "only" the first directorate, foreign intelligence. It was the main concern for westerners during the Cold War but not really the core of the KGB. Also, the eight and sixtenth directorate made up the FAPSI (equiv. NSA) and some other ended in smaller services (stuff like the maintenance of Moscow secret underground trains linking federal buildings).

Anyway SR introduces the UGB which never existed, implying the Russian intelligence apparatus was reformed somewhere along the way.
Austere Emancipator
True. I reached the same conclusions after reading through some of the stuff behind my own linkage. nyahnyah.gif
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