Andrei Zhdanov
Andrei Zhdanov (born 26th February 1896) is the leader of the Communist Party of Komi's National Assembly delegation, an ally of Nikolai Voznesensky, the chief ideologue of Ultravisionary Socialism, and potential leader of Komi. To many, Zhdanov is a fierce and charismatic firebrand who can build a strong political movement.
Biography
Early-life
Andrei Zhdanov was born in Mariupol, Ukraine, on 14th February, 1896. Not much else is known about his early life.
Political career
Zhdanov joined the Bolsheviks in 1915, where he quickly rose up the ranks. He chaired the Leningrad Communist Party before the Great Patriotic War. Zhdanov ended up in the West Russian Revolutionary Front's government, where he served as an influential figure in the fight against the Germans. Once the Front fell and evacuated to Syktyvkar where it dissolved, Zhdanov stayed behind, forming ties with Mikhail Suslov. As time went on, Zhdanov dissociated himself with Suslov's more authoritarian policies in the pursue of a more libertarian form of socialism. By working with Voznesenky's government constantly, Zhdanov has secured himself as the most likely communist to achieve power in Komi. Of course, others in Komi's communist party dislike his cooperation with social democrats, yet they can not deny his character.
Post-reunification
After unifying the western half of Russia, Zhdanov dies of old age and is replaced by either the reformer Nikolai Kardashev or the orthodox Vladimir Chelomey.
Quote upon unification
"All our knowledge - past, present and future, is nothing compared to what we will never know."
—Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Trivia
Many of Zhdanov's experimental armaments are based on real-life weapons that reached the prototype stage, but never were mass-produced (in TNO, however, they can be mass produced).
- TREZUBETS is based on the TKB-059 assault rifle, which was likely not adopted due to the immense amount of recoil from the combined 3 barrels.
- AEROFLOT is based on the Caspian Sea Monster, also known as the Korabl Maket (Ship-Prototype), a ground effect vehicle that would be developed into the actually used Lun-class ekranoplan. It was tested by the Soviet Navy until it crashed in the 1980s, and it was decided not to rebuild it or make a second one.
- SOTKA is based on the Sukhoi T-4 supersonic bomber/reconnaissance plane. It was cancelled due to the Soviets not being able to see the cost-benefits outweighing the investment required to produce it.
- SZHATIE is based on the 1K-17 Szhatie, a ground vehicle that uses lasers to disable the optical equipment of enemy vehicles, aircraft, and missiles. It was abandoned due to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
- CHEREPAKHA is based on the Object 279, an experimental heavy tank meant to traverse territory that conventional tanks would have found inaccessible, and could even have survived the shockwave of a nuclear explosion if necessary. The project was abandoned due to the Soviets in general abandoning the use of heavy tanks.
One of Zhdanov's projects that will ultimately wind up being unsuccessful is the Collective Consciousness Initiative, which is very likely a reference to the Common Consciousness from the STALKER franchise.