The Romanov Empire

The Romanov Empire is a secessionist state in northwestern Russia with limited recognition status.
==History==
===Human-Vannai War===
====Second Russian Civil War====
The Empire as it is known today did not truly begin to form until after the Kursk Incident. With the situation in Russia rapidly deteriorating thanks to Green Initiative meddling, Hanse Behörde was forced to look for a radical and fast way to stabilize order in the region. Support for a monarchy was facetiously present before the war, but mainly Hanse was able to draw upon the surviving elements of the Eastern Orthodox Church and its followers for its purposes, which felt threatened by the anti-religious communists Bunyip's Green Initiative forces were supporting. By working with these figureheads, Hanse was able to establish a legitimate government that would also have popular support, consolidating power around a collective of influential businessmen that had already positioned themselves in support of a supposed distant descendant of the tsardom, Alexander Romanov. At Hanse's behest, roughly one third of the Northwestern Federal District announced its secession from the Russian Federation: the Pskov Oblast, Novgorod Oblast, Leningrad Oblast, the Republic of Karelia, the Murmansk Oblast, and parts of the Vologda and Arkhangelsk Oblasts. With the Moscow Neutrality Zone still in place, the Russian Federation had no way to mobilize troops from elsewhere to prevent the secession, and the rebels under the GI demanded more attention. The Federation opted to simply cut the secessionist states off from its oil and natural gas supplies until the monarchists reconsidered. The death toll that resulted from lack of power and heating is unknown against the backdrop of the Human-Vannai War, but without the direct support of Hanse Behörde would have likely succeeded. Hasty deals were worked with the Scandinavian Federation to purchase oil and gas from them instead until a new source could be procured. 
===Post-War===
After the Human-Vannai War ended in 2017, the Romanov Empire encouraged Hanse to establish a greater presence in St. Petersberg. Having become the new center of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Empire also attracted Moqaddas Pilots and ethnic Russian Pilots that found themselves ostracized from the now fiercely anti-ACC Russian Federation. Some of these stragglers would become close to the Orthodox church, forming the basis for the church's Black Order.
With less concern for the ongoing civil war, the Empire used this time to focus on consolidating and rebuilding its infrastructure. The construction of the Murmansk Pipeline in early 2017 allowed the Empire to wean itself off Scandinavian gas and oil. Like other nations, the Empire also used this time to begin reverse-engineering Suit technology made available to them through cooperative Pilots, and launched occasional expeditions to other parts of the world to ascertain the status of things post-war.
In 2019, the formation of the European Federation was received with concern, as the bloody lead-up to the new federation's founding had been observed by the Empire and some very informed, involved and annoyed Hanse personnel. Movement through the Baltic Sea immediately became extraordinarily difficult due to EuF saber-rattling. The Empire began to prioritize military buildup, a move that was not well received by its neighbors to the west, the Baltic Alliance, acting as impetus for the Alliance's joining of the Intermarium League the next year.
Agents of the Romanov Empire were involved in a plot to support the establishment of a monarchy state under the Pilot Michael Garcon in Quebec in exchange for a fork of the AI Blackjack. The plot was foiled by mercenary Pilot Reyna Hoshi, who was hired by the Big Seven to destroy the AI and assassinate Garcon in order for Quebec to undergo a democratic reform that would allow it to accede to the American Coalition instead. 
==Government==
The Empire is officially an absolute monarchy ruled by Emperor Romanov. Many of the details surrounding his life before the war are unknown and the validity of his imperial pedigree are questionable at the risk of imprisonment. Nonetheless, he is endorsed by Hanse Behörde and the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox Church as the rightful imperial ruler.
The truth is somewhat more complex, and while the Emperor is the legal ruler of the Empire with nearly unlimited authority, the true rulers could be said to be the corporate moguls and gangsters of the empire and the figureheads of the church itself. The power both of these parties wield is considerable, with the corporations controlling the economic heart of the Empire, and the church controlling its spiritual heart. The Emperor essentially acts as an intermediary between these two forces.
==Politics==
===Military===
The Romanov Empire's military forces consist of ground, air and naval forces derived directly from elements of the Russian Federation Armed Forces that seceded with it. The core of the Empire's ground forces come from the Russian Federation's 6th Army. Most of the Federation's Baltic Fleet opted to relocate to Kaliningrad rather than join the Empire, leaving the Empire with a modest navy, albeit one still larger than the navies of most other countries. The air forces control three air bases in addition to garrisons in St. Petersberg and Severomorsk.
A major military strength of the Romanov Empire is the fact that it is one of the few countries that has managed to establish its own Suit corps in the Black Order. A church-sponsored and effectively a church-controlled group, the Black Order is a rare ACC-independent Suit organization made of former Hanse Behörde and Moqaddas members. It also possesses a fairly large contingent of non-Pilot combatants and could be said to be a militant arm of the Orthodox Church.
===Economic===
St. Petersburg is, in addition to the political capital of the Empire, it's economic capital as well. Before the 2014 invasion the city contained a large number of offices for foreign consulates, international corporations, banks and businesses. It was considered the cultural capital of Russia and was one of its most modern cities.
After declaring secession, the Russian Federation closed the oil and natural gas pipelines going to St. Petersberg. This required a three-year construction endeavor to build a pipeline through Murmansk to exploit the Shtokman gasfield in the Barents Sea. Petroleum remains very hard to come by, however, which has led to the Empire investigating unconventional alternatives. Nonetheless, the lack of these two critical energy resources has hampered economic performance.
===Diplomacy=== 
Unlike the European Federation, the Romanov Empire has striven to maintain good relations with ACC through Hanse Behörde, of which any agent can find safe refuge within the Empire's borders. It has struggled to gain official recognition from other nations and remains an unrecognized state, however. Even Australasia has refrained from recognizing the Empire out of respect for the severely damaged relations with the Russian Federation, though this has not stopped the two nations from dealing with one another unofficially. The only nation to recognize the Empire thus far has been the Mexican Confederacy.
The Empire has poor relations with all of its neighbors. The Baltic Alliance nations consider the Empire a threat to their sovereignty. The Russian Federation considers its status as a secessionist state illegal, with several border skirmishes between troops serving as a reminder that the Federation does not intend to let the northwestern district simply leave. The European Federation views its close relations with the ACC to be a proximity risk.
Category:PACYOA: TE
Category:TE Nations
Category:Western Russia