Nikolai Bukharin
Nikolai Bukharin (9th October 1888) was the last leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Biography
Early involvement in politics
As a young man he spent six years in exile, working closely with fellow exiles Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky. After the revolution of February 1917 he returned to Moscow, where his Bolshevik credentials earned him a high rank in the Bolshevik party, and after the October Revolution, he became editor of the party newspaper Pravda.
Leader of the Soviet Union (1924-1944)
As Vladimir Lenin's health declined, Bukharin became involved in the power struggle for control with Joseph Stalin. Bukharin eventually won out. As the new leader, Bukharin continued the New Economic Policy started by Lenin, which had introduced more capitalist elements to the economy. The NEP proved disastrous when coupled with the central government's plans to industrialize, however, and the Soviet Union found itself entering wave after wave of famine, all the while failing to meet its industrial goals. Bukharin was barely able to maintain control as the Presidium bickered among themselves after the failure to build an anti-fascist international, the Army fell into disorganization leading to a somewhat smaller buildup, and unrest became rampant. Furthermore, the CPSU was torn apart by factionalism with Stalin forming a rival clique to oppose Bukharin's New Economic Policy and consolidate power. This situation continued until the German invasion of the Soviet Union, known as Operation Barbarossa. As Axis forces swept the USSR, Bukharin mysteriously disappeared, leaving propaganda head and economic chairman Martemyan Ryutin to lead the government until Stalin's attempted coup and the subsequent Second Russian Civil War. Several searches were conducted to no avail, many consider him dead, just as many believe he is still alive.
Trivia
- While the exact circumstances of his ascension to power in the events of The New Order cannot be replicated, Bukharin is notable for being one of the few leaders in The New Order that would be added as a potential leader of the Soviet Union in vanilla Hearts of Iron IV, when the No Step Back DLC added the Right Opposition as a political path for Russia to take. Unlike with what happened in the backstory of The New Order, Bukharin's path in the vanilla game has him largely removed from power, but still connected, and can remove Stalin either through a civil war or in a bloodless coup if they have aligned the head of the NKVD.
- The 2022 April Fools Joke that was a crossover with another Hearts of Iron 4 mod, Equestria at War, allowed Bukharin to become a unifier...albeit under extremely outlandish circumstances: namely, he has become one of the ponies from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and adopts the name Nikolai Buckharin. This was alluded to in the dev diary for the April Fools update of Equestria At War, which stated that it had an "Outsourced" path for Stalliongrad (the Equestria At War equivalent of the Soviet Union), as well as stating that there were new uses for cavalry units.
- Along with Operation Sea Lion, the Iberian Union, the Smuta, and others, Bukharin is one of the key aspects from the 2014 RP Thread A New Order to be carried over into the game and never cut entirely.
Portraits
Nikolai Buckharin in April Fools 2022
Nikolai Buckharin as a pony in April Fools 2022
Nikolai Buckharin as a alicorn in April Fools 2022
