Salovian Civil War

Salovian Civil War
	File:Collage Salovian Civil War.jpg; Clockwise from top left:
Date	June 18 1985 – October 17 2005; (20 years, 3 months, 4 weeks and 1 day)
Location	Biramura, Volova, Nolova, Nilovia, Tuvaltastan, and parts of Oscrelia
Result	Breakup of Salovia and the formation of independent successor states
Belligerants
Commanders and leaders
Strength
Casualties and losses

The Salovian Civil War was a series of conflicts and battles related to the collapse of The Grand Republic of Salovia. Spanning over twenty years, the civil war included a variety of belligerents, primarily ranging from small guerilla forces, the Salovian government itself, and the revolutionary forces of the Lovelian and Khermali regions. The war is often split into three primary phases: The Revolutionary Phase, categorized by the final years of Salovia and the rise of the Lovelian and Volovan forces, this phase seeing the most bloodshed; the Post-Collapse Phase, marked by the fall of the Salovian government and the replacement of which by Biramura, and the military intrusion by Oscrelia into the northeastern portion of Salovia; and the Stabilization Phase, a period of decreasing military action and a realization of the modern borders officially established by the Treaty of Astravili.

There is no singular catalyst for the civil war, considering the wide range of sociopolitical and geopolitical variables that preceded the war by centuries. However, the events often used as the prelude to the civil war are a series of events known as the Novugdidi Crisis, which culminated with the assassination of Chancellor Ivan Strovani on 18 June 1985. His assassination is widely used as the symbolic beginning of the war (though other conflicts had occured prior to his assassination), followed by a string of uprisings focused around the Shagonar metropolitan region and the cities straddling the Khermali River. Though most of the riots were anti-Salovian in nature, there were a few pro-Salovian protests that had begun in cities like Chita, Neril'stkeli, and Volutsku. By 1990, most loyalist civilian militants had been quashed by Volovan and Lovelian forces, and in that same year a second wave of uprisings and riots began in the northern Salovian strongholds of Chita and Irkula. By 1992, these revolutionary forces had captured the majority of strategic Salovian locations, and in 21 September of that year, Salovia officially collapsed with the exodus of its major governmental officials to the surviving military forces. By 2001, the new political landscape had reached its modern arrangement, and in 2003 all infighting ended with the MBE-EPTO Ceasefire. Two years later, the Treaty of Astravili was signed, officially declaring the end of the war and the formation of Biramura, Kostromastan, and Tuvaltastan.

The civil war has had long-lasting and consequential effects on the geopolitical landscape of Aurora, most notably the debate on which nation would become the legal successor nation, this debate mainly concerning the Salovian colonies in Gondwana and the debate on which nation, if any, should replace Salovia's Auroran Continental Assembly membership. After months of deliberation, a trilateral agreement between Biramura, Kostromastan, and Tuvaltastan had been reached wherein Tuvaltastan would gain the Salovian colonies and the southern islands, Kostromastan would replace Salovia in the ACA, and Biramura would gain all remaining Salovian assets, including the right to claim de jure historical succession. Over time, Tuvaltastan would be seen as the de facto successor to Salovia, especially after its military operations to re-assert control over the small island kingdom of Avutili, and its successful defense against Kostromastan in late 2009 and early 2010 after an invasion attempt on the easternmost regions of Tuvaltastan to gain coastline.

Background

For most of Salovian history, unity and order was maintained through the existence of the Boliari, a collection of individuals from the various ruling classes whose personal interests (be it commercial, political, or otherwise) relied on the existence of Salovia and most importantly the uninterrupted connection between the northern and southern coastlines of Aurora, Salovia's most important geopolitical asset that was first realized with the absorption of the Melit'hasa Kingdom. Barring a few periods of instability, the Boliari and the Salovian Monarchs held the nation together. This stability would permanently fracture with the advent of the Era of Unrest in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Posolic Wars marking the shift away from a unified nation and a drifting towards ethnic, regional, and cultural nationalist movements. Though the Grand Republic eventually coalesced into a working replacement for the monarchy and the Boliari, the cultural differences first instilled during the Salovian Interregnum had been magnified during the Era of Unrest, resulting in an irreversible cultural drift that was exacerbated by the unpopular involvement of Salovia in the Auroran Imperial War. Additionally, the outsized influence of Biramuran individuals in Salovian politics further complicated the efforts towards maintaining national unity.

Pre-war Events

The unpopularity of Victor Victrovavich and his administration's policies led to his electoral loss in 1980 to Ivan Strovani. Though members of the same party, the Zedakhli placed their support with Strovani for his more populist outlook on government, and subsequently became Chancellor. Initially promoted as a vehicle for structural change, especially in regards to reversing many of the governmental cessions made to re-integrate Biramura after the Posolic Wars (known as the Deal of 1816), it became evident by 1984 that Strovani had no intention to implement any changes to the government. His administration was made up of individuals who had served under Victrovavich, which only further angered much of Salovia's Lovelian and Khermali populations.

Novugdidi Crisis

The anger and frustration felt by the south and central Salovian peoples culminated with the Novugdidi Hostage Crisis of December 1984, wherein a group of armed militants captured a number of important governmental buildings located in the city of Novugdidi and held the inhabitants hostage, demanding that Chancellor Strovani either "step down and let the people decide their own fate, or face judgement by the people," which was interpreted by the Salovian government as a death threat to the Chancellor. As such, a covert operation was initiated to eliminate the belligerents and rescue the hostages, among them being the Mayor of Novugdidi and business mogul Yuri Posol and his eleven-year-old son Remis. The belligerents were successfully eliminated, but at a severe political cost. The killing of the abductors by the Salovian government had only catalyzed into a series of riots that coalesced into a multi-regional uprising.

Great Uprising

By May of 1985, the riots that had begun in response to the killing of the Novugdidi abductors had grown into a much larger movement centered around a distinctly anti-Salovian sentiment. Revolutionary organizations began to form around the less-populated and less-enforceable regions of Salovia, with four groups amassing significant numbers: The Nilovian Coalition, The Volovan Independence Front, The Lovelian Liberation Front, and The People's Suvolic Army. The three former organizations survived the initial declaration of martial law by Strovani and the subsequent military suppression that followed. However, the People's Suvolic Army was successfully eliminated by the Salovian government before it could fully organize. The remaining followers of the People's Suvolic Army worked with the Volovan Independence Front to devise a scheme to abduct Chancellor Strovani in an attempt to reverse the declaration of martial law, with a secondary goal of using the abduction as an opportunity to legitimize the Volovan Independence Front. Though successful in abducting the Chancellor on 7 June 1985, the military response to the capturing of the Chancellor proved too significant, and on 18 June that same year, the captors chose to assassinate Ivan Strovani, thus sparking the Salovian Civil War.

Revolution (1985-1992)

After the assassination of Ivan Strovani, Grand Minister Lara Tarasovna inherited the Chancellery, though only from a strictly constitutional sense; no official confirmation vote ever took place during her seven years as the de facto Chancellor. Despite this, the people still loyal to the Salovian government rallied around Tarasovna, who declared war on the three revolutionary forces. Still maintaining the significant military infrastructure and thus the advantage, Tarasovna led a counter-insurgency focused around the Khermali region and the Sea of Tranquility coast, deeming these two regions to be the most strategically important by her military leadership. This intentionally neglected the Shagonar-based Lovelian insurgents, who took the opportunity to expand their territory eastwards towards the major city of Akhalibisi, their primary military objective. It is believed by many that the decision to neglect military action against the Lovelians was in part due to an agreement reached in secret between the Salovian government and Lovelian insurgency wherein the Lovelian region would gain similar political footing as the Biramurans had in 1816. Such an agreement has not been confirmed nor denied since the war's conclusion, and no participants on either side have expressed knowledge of such. It is believed that part of this agreement survived to the present day in the form of amnesty for any belligerants deemed to be enemies of Salovia or Lovelia. As a result, the Salovian military focused efforts towards the Nilovian Coalition and the Volovan Independence Front during the final years of its existence.

Nilovian Campaign

The less significant of the three revolutionary forces, the Nilovian Coalition, sandwiched between the southern end of the Sea of Tranquility and Lake Nilovi, saw its initial gains in the Great Uprising reduced relatively quickly by the Salovian military. Having significant military forces stationed in Akhalibisi allowed for effective air and land campaigns to recapture the Nilovian gains, with a naval blockade preventing sea-based retreats. By 1990, internal disagreements about the direction to take the Nilovian Coalition led to the usurpation of the Coalition by Tamaz Ghuridze and his followers, resulting in the formation of the Nationalist Socalist Party of New Salovia (NSPNS) and its replacing of the Nilovian Coalition. The NSPNS had control of only three major Salovian cities at the time (Neriveli, Vorkumi, and Xeli), and was nearly eliminated by the Salovian military. However, in 1991 the Volovan Independence Front and the NSPNS formed an agreement to share military intelligence and strategies to prevent each other's collapse. This new agreement allowed the NSPNS to gain coastline along the Sea of Tranquility northwards.

Volovan Campaign

The Volovan Independence Front headquartered itself along the fringes of the Salovian territory, even utilizing outposts in the Caltharusian settlements of Koriva and Turigham to acquire weaponry and armor from the black market to fuel their supply chain, thus fairing better than the Nilovian Coalition. This however would only provide so much stability, as the Independence Front struggled to gain much strategic ground in the Khermali region, only controlling three of the nine major cities straddling the Khermali river (the rest of which controlled by Salovia). Seeing an opportunity to form an alliance after the usurpation of the Nilovian Coalition, the Volovans made an agreement to share intelligence and strategy, which further stabilized their hold on territory. Additionally, and without the knowledge of either the Nilovians or Salovians, the Volovans made an agreement with the Lovelians to refrain from capturing territory south of the town of Alinovi, and in exchange the Volovans would receive resources and intelligence from the Lovelian forces.

Final Years of Salovia

By 1989, the Salovian government had been increasingly successful in their efforts to eliminate the Volovan and Nilovian insurgencies, almost entirely removing them from every major strategic location. However, as 1990 rolled around, new uprisings in Irkula and Chita threatened the Salovian government more directly than any prior riot or revolt that preceded it. The populist uprising quickly spread throughout the northern Suvolic region, and eventually engulfed the whole area, resulting in the total collapse of the Salovian government and its subsequent surrender to the newly-formed Biramuran government. A handover treaty was signed by Lara Tarasovna and Biramuran leader Hugo Durgaliuri that symbolically ended the reign of Salovia over Chita, which was signed on 21 September 1992. This date is often used as the official end of Salovia.

Post-Collapse (1992-2001)

Oscrelia and Biramura

Upon the collapse of Salovia, Oscrelian officials opted to claim territory in the northeastern portion of the former Salovian territory under the justification of ensuring stability. Their campaign into Salovian territory resulted in territorial gains into cities like Cape Onera, Menoria, and Dulorien at the expense of Biramura. Realizing this, and seeing an opportunity to expand southwards, the Biramuran authorities opted to establish an agreement with the Oscrelians, wherein a demarcation line is enforced that neither side could cross, but beyond this line either side could claim as much land as they had the capability to gain. This agreement allowed both Oscrelia and Biramura to begin a campaign southwards against Volova. The line established between Biramura and Oscrelia remains the official border to this day.

Lovelia

The fall of Salovia resulted in vast swaths of newly-ungoverned land becoming available to expand into, and the Lovelian forces took advantage of this and marched into the city of Akhalibisi in 1993, a symbolically significant event that effectively eliminated the final Salovian loyalist holdout. This acquisition was not without assistance, as the local guerilla group known as the Altai Rebellion was pivotal in Lovelian efforts to expand outwards to Lake Nilovi. As such, the Lovelian Liberation Front and the Atlai Rebellion reorganized into the Tuva-Altai Coalition, the precursor to Tuvaltastan. This reorganization greatly expanded the territory of both the Lovelian and Atlai groups, as the Altai Rebellion controlled territory along the Sea of Tranquility, meaning the Tuva-Altai Coalition (TAC) held dominion over two large regions of former Salovia. Over the remaining years of the Post-Collapse period, the TAC focused its military efforts towards unifying the two regions territorially, as the two areas were split by the Volovan forces.

Volova and NSPNS

Though initially enjoying significant territorial gains upon the collapse of Salovia, both the VIF and NSPNS began to experience significant resistance from the north, east, and west, in the form of the newly-created TAC and Biramura, and the more established power of Oscrelia. Realizing the ramifications of such a significant geopolitical shift in military priorities, both the Volovan Independence Front and NSPNS reorganized into the Kostro-Nilovian Independence Front in 1998 to further integrate their militaries to prevent the collapse of either side. Though this unification would slow the advances of Biramura, Oscrelia, and the TAC, it would still see a slow reduction in their overall territory.

Stabilization (2001-2005)

The TAC's goal of unifying their two territorial regions together was finally realized in 2001, thus marking the shift into the Stabilization period. During this time, all participants in these conflicts would see a slow continuation of the status quo, with the Kostro-Nilovian Front (KNF) slowly losing territory to the TAC while holding the frontlines against both Biramura and Oscrelia. Split into two regions by the TAC, the KNF struggled to maintain its hold in areas south of Lake Nilovi, and by the end of 2002 the KNF-held territory had been reduced to two cities. By 2003, a ceasefire initiated by the MBE and the EPTO was signed among the four belligerants, and for the final two years of the war, no significant losses of life ocurred. In 2005, the Treaty of Astravili was signed, which finalized the borders of Biramura, Oscrelia, the newly-formed Kostromastan, and the newest organized region of Tuvaltastan.

Non-Salovian Participants

WIP Part, will discuss the involvement of the MBE and Ethalria in backroom deals and the like.

(OOC: Pending Dylan) The Lovelians reached a deal with the government of Matriarchal Ethalria to fund and assist the relatively unscathed western part of the Lovelian territory. When they gained independence in 2005, Tuvaltastan was very economically and geopolitically close to the Matriarchy. Biramura postured itself as the true Salovian successor and buddied up with the MBE to cement that position. Kostromastan found itself close to the Ethalrian Republic (maybe? still gotta figure that out)

Aftermath

Though the Treaty of Astravili finally ended the Salovian Civil War, it did not fully resolve every dispute between Kostromastan and Tuvaltastan. One of the most major issues was the question of whether Kostromastan should be given a coastline, despite the fact that the Kostro-Nilovian Independence Front had lost all but a few coastal cities prior to the ceasefire. As such, Kostromastan began an invasion into Tuvaltastan in an attempt to gain coastline. This effort was eventually quashed by the young Tuvalt military, and militarily weakened Kostromastan.

Due to the relative stability in the Shagonar region, the western half of Tuvaltastan became the nation's economic powerhouse, soon overshadowing Akhalibisi in influence and economic strength. This allowed Tuvaltastan to quickly regain control over the Gondwanan colonies that once belonged to Salovia, and soon afterwards Tuvaltastan went on to regain control of Avutili.

After the Aurora-Pacific War, Kostromastan fell into disarray and was replaced by Volova, Nolova, Tula, and Astra, the two latter nations opting to join the more stable and more powerful Tuvaltastan. This marked the first territorial change in the region of Salovia since the civil war itself.