Orenburg/Situation
Situation
The Orenburg Communes are a loose organization of peasant anarchic communes, largely viewed as just a collection of villages rather than a centralized state. Decisions are made at the local level, with things like crime, policing and taxation being decided by a local council. By 1962, the communes have been forced to have some central government of sorts in the form of the "Worker's Council." It operates by having all the communes within the Orenburg area to send representatives to the largest city, Orenburg, and these make up the council which decides some on some issues such as infrastructure, the threat of the Dirlewanger Brigade} and the tide of refugees coming to Orenburg thanks to its peacefulness and acceptance of nearly all immigrants.
Despite this, most issues are still decided on the local level and those issues that are decided by the council often don't go anywhere due to the inability to agree on anything by the councils. The Council has proven itself to not be a competent governing body and this has led to the formation of factions within the Council. While not political parties, these groups of like-minded communal representatives look to work together to force through proper decisions in the Council.
The main issues of concern for Orenburg relate to the increasing ambitions raiders to the east, the Dirlewanger Brigade. Ever since appearing after the West Russian War, the black bandits have pillaged their way across Russia, for their own sickening amusement. They have recently set themselves up in Orsk, but their eyes locked on the Orenburg communes. Despite not being the richest, Orenburg could provide many valuable resources to plunder, and due to their Anarchic structure, they lack any form of a professional army. The only resemblance of an armed force that Orenburg has, are militias organized by the local councils and even then, they aren't highly trained and equipment is scarce. While the major city of Orenburg does have a sizable industrial presence, the vast majority of the communes are primarily agriculture-based. While this does make Orenburg a major breadbasket in the chaos of warlord Russia, it also makes them an attractive target. However, the communes being fiercely independent and relatively unaffected by the West Russian War, has also made defeating them difficult.
The communes hold many attractive natural resources. Additionally, many other public services are poorly organized such as health care and education, as supplies, learning, and qualified workers aren't spread across the communes due to the lack of organization. Orenburg is currently struggling with societal development due to the poor education system and poor training for those who could be qualified. The immigration into Orenburg also has proven to be a challenge for the communes as refugees flee east away from German tyranny, many flow through Orenburg, challenging the already ineffective rural communes. Furthermore, infrastructure development and maintenance has proven to be a major challenge for the communes.
Luckily, Aleksander Burba, an industry magnate and senior engineer of the MCSP has stepped in to help the communes deal with the infrastructure, but this has given way to the first of the council's factions. Using his technical know-how, he has helped rebuild Orenburg after the Great Patriotic War, to such an extent that it's now called the "Venice of Russia." It wasn't long before Burba's influence would grow and a group of representatives supports his effort to greatly centralize Orenburg. Burba hopes to turn Orenburg into a semi-democratic technocracy, mostly to push through the much needed societal and economic reforms.
The communes do struggle with economic issues as profits for funding can never be agreed on what they should go to, not that the communes made much profit in the first place. Despite Orenburg becoming something of a hub for the surrounding communes, most live in obscurity, operating at near medieval standards. This has made Orenburg one of the most technologically backward entities in Russia. Not helping the council's indecisiveness is the sheer distrust between members of the council, seeing each other as agents looking to undermine Orenburg's freedom. This is especially the case with representatives from Orenburg itself, the least anarchic of all the communes, it even has its own city council, largely seen as a threat for the rest of the communes due to its large industry and population. Additionally, these meetings are frequently interrupted by representatives or even workers who are allowed to come to the council to make their concerns as every worker should have their voice be heard. These factors are a nail in the coffin for the council to actually achieve anything.
The second major faction to be found within the councils is the hardliner Bolsheviks led by former Soviet politician and native to Orenburg, Georgy Malenkov. Looking to reestablish a Soviet-style system of governance, this would greatly centralize Orenburg and effectively abolish the communes' autonomy.
While these factions make up a minority in the council, many fear that these groups could use the many issues facing the communes to their advantage to secure more power in the council, an increasingly likely possibility with the upcoming communal elections during which many pro-Burba or pro-Malenkov representatives are expected to assume power.
After all, there are three factions which composed the commune:
Communal Representatives - Composed of representatives who advocate for the status quo and decentralization of the communes, this faction is in power at the start. They are 
Socialists
.
Burba's faction - Composed of technocratic market socialists led by Aleksander Burba who want to centralize and democratize the Commune, transform the militias into a professional military and industrialize the land for building up the economy. They are 
Paternalists
.
Malenkov's faction- Composed of hardliner communists led by Georgy Malenkov who want to centralize the Commune with authority, transform the militias into a skilled military, and industrialize the land. They are 
Communists
.
Note: Both Burba's faction and Malenkov's faction advocate for a single chairman rather than a Workers Council as head of state, so that they can carry out their reforms with ease in order to help Orenburg thrive.
As a form of relief, there is one way they can protect themselves from the onslaught of the bandits and that is their existing friendship with the Ural League. While ideologically incompatible, the two have a common goal of keeping the Urals safe from those looking to terrorize the people, such as a mad scientist or a raider gang. Of course, some in the council recognize that closer relations are needed with the Ural League to ensure the protection from invaders. Burba's faction supports further cooperation with the League and even a proper alliance can blossom between the two. Of course, the communes can try to hold out on their own, but many see that as infeasible and hope for aid from the Urals. Some also propose that some aid should be accepted, but then go off on their own again.
Despite many wanting to force through changes to ensure the protection and development of Orenburg, every time an issue is forced through, the council's anger will rise which means that communes can start to withdraw from the council one by one, eventually leaving just Orenburg itself. This would be a disaster for the security for all the communes. Orenburg has what is known as a centralized power variable, which allows the player to slap down any issues arising, depending on their size. The larger the issue, the more the centralized power is needed to combat it. Of cours,e this also means that the larger the centralized power used, the greater the councils’ anger will be. An example would be that the council could propose to have separate training regimes for the communes militias on a village-to-village basis, but this can be denied with the centralized power. If you want to effectively push through changes without the council completely unraveling, you will have to try and get more support for the pro-centralization factions within the communes. This makes flag|Orenburg a game of trying to get issues changed fast enough to be able to mount a good defense and change for the better, but not too quickly as to where the councils collapse. Of course, this communal problem can be mitigated with larger support for the pro-centralization factions. If the communes are centralized enough, with enough sympathizers in the council, then the risk of losing power reduces. This allows changes to be forced through faster and ensures that the non-loyal elements of the council leave. Basically, with more support for the centralization factions, it becomes possible to entirely seize power in Orenburg and the council can be dissolved. Obviously this entails a victory for either Burba or Malenkov.
While unlikely, it is possible for the councils to continue to exist, but reforming themselves to become more functional. The second choice is having Malenkov take power, declaring himself to be the Protector of the Orenburg Communes. Malenkov is more hostile to the Ural League and will attempt to curb the influence of the League and even throw them out if possible. He fears that they could look to overthrow him and make deals with the bandits on splitting Orenburg, despite this scenario being impossible and not in the Ural League's ambition and probably not even possible to make work in the first place. Despite this, Malenkov can still uphold the alliance with the League and defeat the bandits. He will also look to peacefully drag other Communist nations to the communes and attempt a vast amount of industrialization projects. The third option of having Burba assume power would entail a plan to turn Orenburg into an industrial powerhouse and take the rest of the communes’ territory in a transformation. He hopes to reform the communes into a democracy, heavily influenced by industry leaders, scientists, and engineers, looking to make Orenburg a shining beacon in the Russian wasteland.
In terms of foreign policy, Orenburg can always possess their friendship with the Ural League, and cooperate with the League in many ways. Sometimes, this cooperation might result in a series of mutual guarantees, or even a military alliance between the two states which can lead to a combination in the future. But, if Orenburg can’t manage themselves, they will have to abandon the League.
Politics
National spirits
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Cabinet
| Cabinet member | Role | Ideology | Trait(s) and effects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worker's Council of Orenburg | Head of state | Socialism
|
No Traits |
| Alexander Kovalenko | Head of government | Socialism
|
Flamboyant Tough Guy:
|
| Antonina Osokina | Foreign minister | Socialism
|
Ideological Crusader:
|
| Alexander Khomentovsky | Economy minister | Socialism
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Resource Industrialist:
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| Alexander Rodimtsev | Security minister | Socialism
|
Compassionate Gentleman:
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Political parties
| Political party | Ideology | Popularity | Party leader | Is ruling? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communal Representatives (Представители Общин) |
Socialism |
66% | Worker's Council of Orenburg | Yes |
| Malenkov's faction (Фракция Маленкова) |
Communism |
13% | Georgy Malenkov | No |
| Burba's faction (Фракция Бурбы) |
Paternalism |
21% | Aleksander Burba | No |
Political leaders
| Leader | Ideology | Party | In power | Popularity | Leader trait |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worker's Council of Orenburg | Socialism |
Communal Representatives | Yes | 66% | --- |
| Georgy Malenkov | Communism |
Malenkov's faction | No, can come to power via Event (The Fifty-Eighth Congress event chain) | 13% | --- |
| Aleksander Burba | Paternalism |
Burba's faction | No, can come to power via Event (The Fifty-Eighth Congress event chain) | 21% | --- |
Laws
| Type | Law | Effects |
|---|---|---|
| Political Parties | Multi-Party System |
|
| Religious Right | Secularism |
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| Trade Unions | All Trade Unions Allowed |
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| Immigration | Naturalization |
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| Slavery | Outlawed Slavery |
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| Public Meetings | Allowed Public Meetings |
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| Press Rights | Free Press |
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| Vote Franchise | Support Disenfranchised |
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| Refugees | Give Me Your Poor |
|
Economy
Laws
| Type | Law | Effects |
|---|---|---|
| Trade Laws | Limited Exports |
|
| Economic Focus | Demilitarized Economy |
|
| Tax Rate | Not Applicable | Not Applicable |
| Income Taxation | Not Applicable | Not Applicable |
| Minimum Wage | Trinket Minimum Wage |
|
| Max. Workhours | 12 Hour Work Day |
|
| Child Labor | Illegal Child Labor |
|
| Pensions | Low Pensions |
|
| Unemployment | Low Unemployment Subsidies |
|
Industry
 2 Military Factories |
 2 Civilian Factories |
 0 Naval Dockyards |
 9 Infrastructures |
Although having the second-most factories and the most civilian factories in the area, Orenburg's industrial capability is very limited, due to its demilitarized law, anarchic economy and disordered government structures. Thus at the start of a game, there is almost no chance for Orenburg to build even a building or produce even a weapon. To take shelter from its enemies, Orenburg must keep its friendship with the Ural League, until the triumph of a possible centralization.
Resources
 Oil |
 Aluminum |
 Rubber |
 Tungsten |
 Steel |
 Chromium |
| 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
These numbers represent the available resources, depending on trade law a certain amount may be traded away.
Orenburg in 1962 possesses the second-most steel and the most oil in the region both in units. Unfortunately, Orenburg's industrial capability is very limited as mentioned before; therefore, owning a large number of resources becomes temporarily meaningless.