Volkian Civil War

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The Volkian Civil War was a civil war fought in Volkia between Volkian government forces and several monarchist militias from 1925 to 1926. The fighting resulted in the defeat and disarmament of the militias by the Volkian military. It marked the end of major monarchist unrest in Volkia.

Volkian Civil War
Part of pro-monarchist unrest in Volkia
A residential area in Kursavka after a government shelling
Date March 9, 1925 - May 18, 1926 (1 year, 1 month, 24 days) Location Volkian Federative Republic Result Government victory: Republican government preserved Volkian territorial integrity preserved Disarmament of monarchist groups End of significant monarchist unrest in Volkia
Belligerents
Government forces	Monarchists
Commanders and leaders
Stefan Gurkovsky Mikhail Vernadsky Grischa Yeltsov Ivan Lyapin Radomir Trekchov  †	Sergei Vinogradov  † Aleks Mikhaylov   Miroslav Zaytsev   Anisim Dmitriev  † Radomil Kuzmin
Strength
195,000	120,000
Casualties and losses
17,500 killed 21,750 wounded 5,600 missing Total: 44,850 casualties	27,200 killed 24,200 wounded 13,500 missing Total: 64,900 casualties
10,000 civilians killed 119,750+ total casualties

Volkia's monarchy came to an end in 1887 and was replaced with a federal republic in 1888. While the majority of voters elected to abolish Volkia's monarchy, there were still many ardent supporters of the Kamenevs throughout Volkia. While these supporters hailed from all parts of Volkia, there were many concentrated in Yekartovsk Oblast. The province was the epicenter of multiple monarchist uprisings by monarchist militias since the failed Purple Rebellion in 1890, but the civil war was by far the largest and deadliest monarchist conflict.

The war began when a group of Kamenevists, led by Anisim Dmitriev, attacked the federal armory in Kursavka on March 9, 1925 in order to secure weapons and ammunition. The skirmish resulted in the deaths of seven government soldiers and four monarchists, and the capture of five monarchist militiamen. The next day while visiting the battle site, President Stefan Gurkovsky announced that the government would root out the monarchist militias.

Background

Since 1880, the Kingdom of Volkia had been experiencing severe economic stagnation and increasing social unrest between the various social classes. The harvest of 1885 exacerbated things, as it was a massive failure due to an outbreak of stem rust that devastated the country's cereal crops. Famine spread quickly throughout the country and food riots grew in both size and frequency. The largest of these riots took place in Volkgoroda on May 2, 1885 which led to the deaths of approximately 850 people. This particular riot is considered to be the start of the Volkian Revolution.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to feed the kingdom's army due to the food shortages, resulting in large numbers of disaffected soldiers who began siding with the peasantry and joining in on the riots. Members of Parliament began speaking out against the monarchy, with some beginning to encourage the removal of King Yuri IV by May 15, 1885.

Unable to control growing republican sentiment and with escalating violence across the country, Yuri IV agreed to abdicate and was replaced by a provisional government on May 25, 1885. The monarchy technically remained in place but had lost all power following Yuri IV's abdication. The provisional government enfranchised men and women over the age of 18 regardless of property ownership; previously only males who owned property could vote. A national voter list was created and was first used for the national constitution referendum on April 3, 1888. With 62.5% of voters approving the document, it was ratified on April 17, 1888 and completely abolished the Volkian monarchy.

The abolition of the monarchy created tension between those in favor of the new federal government and those who wished to bring back the monarchy. Monarchists began creating militias and political organizations in order to further support for the return of the monarchy. Some organizations supported bringing back the Kamenev dynasty, while others supported crowning a new king. The first monarchist revolt happened June 5, 1895 and was contained to several cities within Yekartovsk Oblast. It was defeated the next day by federal forces. Small-scale monarchist attacks continued to happen between 1901 and 1922, all of which were defeated by the government.

Monarchist groups grew quiet over the next several years as they rebuilt and continued to recruit in secret following the failures of the two decades prior. The Kamenevists, a monarchist group dedicated to restoring the Kamenev dynasty, decided to resume attacks on federal supplies to take them for themselves.

The federal response

Open conflict

End of the war

	Volkian Federative Republic
Main article: Volkia
Important Topics: Culture ♦ Lupine ♦ Volkian language ♦ Lunarism ♦ Volkian korona ♦ Defense Forces
Government: Federal Government ♦ President ♦ Cabinet ♦ National Assembly ♦ Federal Supreme Court ♦ Political Parties
History: Grand Principality of Volkia ♦ Duchy of Volkia ♦ Kingdom of Volkia ♦ Volkian Civil War ♦ Northern Revolt ♦ Volkian Revolution
Important Figures (Past and Present): Yuliya Surkova ♦ Aleksey Pushkarev ♦ Stefan Gurkovsky ♦ Ivan Ogarkov ♦ Vasily Tolmachyov ♦ Yulian Lebedev