Dmitry Likhachyov
Dmitry Likhachyov (born 28th November 1906) is a medievalist poet, linguist, member of the Decembrist salon in Tomsk, and is one of the potential unifiers for Russia.
Biography
Early-life
Dmitry Sergeyevich Likhachyov was born on November 28, 1906 in Saint Petersburg, and early on in his life, he had a heavy interest for literature, despite his parents not being so supportive of such thing. With time, he discovered many great works about Russia's past, culture, history and language, which would only greatly spark his growing interest for Russian culture and its past.
Early-career and World War II
In 1923, at only 16 years old, Likhachov entered the Department of Linguistics and Literature of Leningrad State University. He attended the Roman-Germanic and Slavic-Russian sections at the same time, undertaking two diplomas. At the university, the young Likhachov met many outstanding scientists and developed his own way of thinking. Likhachov graduated in 1928 from Leningrad University and in the same year, at the end of his studies, Likhachyov was arrested and accused of being a member of what Remnick called, "a students' literary group called the Cosmic Academy of Sciences," which "posed about as great a threat to the Kremlin as the Harvard Lampoon does to the White House."
For many years, Likhachyov would be under constant threat of the Soviet authorities for his dissident work, for which many times he had been sent to a gulag. All of this would change with the invasion of the German Reich upon the Soviet Union. As he was no soldier, he could only do so much by helping his family survive the Siege of Leningrad in 1941. Later on, after the failure of the Siberian Plan to industrialize Central Siberia, as well as to hold off the Germany from further onslaught, the USSR would collapse and the Soviet government would evacuate further east. From this point on, Likhachyov and his family were not seen again for many years.
Political career and Siberian War
Likhachyov appeared again in the 1950s, this time inside the newly founded Central Siberian Republic. He met and quickly befriended the current leader, Boris Pasternak, who led the Decembrist saloon to which Likhachyov quickly joined and then started his political career. However, his wishes to implement policies of a Russian cultural renaissance would be temporarily halted by the remnants of the Soviet regime, stationed in Irkutsk Oblast and headed by NKVD director Genrikh Yagoda. Wanting to remove the intellectual republic and preserve the revolution from 1917, he embarked on a campaign to crush the said republic, sparking the Siberian War in the process. It was at this time that the economic crisis struck the Central Siberian government, which at its worst time pawed a way for secessionist states, notably being Novosibirsk headed by Alexander Pokryshkin and accompanied by Vasily Shukshin who rebelled against the central government, backed by the large corporations operating in the region. It was also a time when the Siberian Black Army uprising happened, and at which general Nikolay Krylov was sent to crush it, only to be betrayed by a part of his forces, who declared the military junta of Krasnoyarsk and as a result, the general went into supposed insanity and crowned himself as a reincarnation of Rurik, the first king of the Rus', which made him seceding the area where his remaining forces were located at, forming the Principality of Kemerovo. Despite all these problems they received, the CSR survived against Yagoda's forces, which lead to the collapse of their authority of most of their territories in the Far East.
Present-day
In 1962, Russia is ravaged by many things, but if Likhachyov is to achieve his goal of a unified democratic Russia, one founded upon principles of the liberalism, Russian cultural preservation and environmental protectionism, he would have to overcome many challenges ahead. With nearing death of his old friend, he must prepare for the upcoming elections that will decide the future of the Central Siberian Republic and maybe Russia as whole.
In-game
With the election of Dmitry Likhachyov, the player retains all of the elements from Pasternak's administration, such as the White Duma and as such, the focus tree when Likhachyov is elected is the shortest one. At start, Likhachov will have to deal with prison reforms, protection of environment and securing "three freedoms;" those being freedom of speech, the right to own private property and freedom from foreign aggression. After the reforms are complete, player will have to reunify the rest of region, to which upon completion will unlock the final focus that which will advance to the regional focus tree.
At the regional stage, Likhachov will be tasked to solve the "Cynicism Crisis," a crisis in which people from the newly conquered areas start questioning the system in place for its elitist nature. Unlike Daniil Kharms or Andrey Sakharov, he cannot decrease the amount of political outsiders, but he can increase idealism through his focuses, after which maintaining the number of political outsiders to a minimum should not be too difficult. Later on, with completion of both his military and economic reforms, they get "Decembrist Economy" and "Decembrist Army," which give good buffs to the player. Decembrist Economy is, as evident by their philosophy, oriented towards a free market, similar to other democracies in the world, and Decembrist Army pays a tribute to their ancestral counterpart that fought against Napoleon by adopting the similar but modernized tactics, which improves the military of the Central Siberian Republic significantly.
At the super-regional stage, Dmitry Likhachyov is shown in his focuses for his dismissal of communism for being anti-liberal, to having hatred towards the Russian Fascist Party and their ideology. He will focus on removing political extremists from newly conquered lands. After that is complete, like other saloon leaders, he begins his own project that is unique on itself, as it is meant to be a crucial solution to the Cynicism Crisis that has been plaguing the democracy. After it is completed, it will remove any possibility of political outsiders appearing again, ending the crisis for good and granting large boost towards his saloon's popularity.
Likhachyov supports and will gladly join the Organization of Free Nations when he reunifies Russia, and as a centrist unifier, he can do so with ease as he has an option to unify with other centrist democratic warlords.
Quote upon unification
"Yes, a strange, brilliant, unearthly vista indeed do you disclose, O Russia, country of mine!"
—Nikolai Gogol