Donat/Crimson Revolution

## The Crimson Revolution

The **Crimson Revolution** was an armed conflict that took place in Donat from early 1956 to late 1957. It started a group of organized independent revolts against the Empire of the Rutherland, which had been oppressing the Donatese populace since the conquest of Donat in the 17th century. The revolution got its namesake from the red banners which were flown by Donatians to symbolize their independence from the empire.

The conflict was fought between the Rutherland & the USDR.

## Background

The native population of the territories of Donat and Pokoska was growing very militant in the 19th to mid-20th centuries due to the unlivable wages being given out at Rutherish-made factories in Donat & also due to the exploitation of native resources, especially oil, which were being funneled towards the Rutherish industrial complex. With the Great Famine of Donat (1865) came a surge in dissent towards the Rutherish for not bothering to help the region, discarding the local populace's needs, despite the crown previously insisting that the Donatese territories were an integral part of the empire. Liberal arts and socially conscious theory were on the rise in Donat by this point and the academia was strikingly leftist. This environment eventually led to the publishing of the *Donatese Popular Manifesto*, a work outlining the position of the Donatese worker inside the Empire, in 1891. All of these factors led to a growing national and economic consciousness in the population, which would eventually spark the **March Revolution** (Donatese: Мартска револуција / *Martska revolutsiya)* of 1951 and the **Kralin Uprisings** (Donatese: Кралиншки устанак */ Kralinshki ustanak*) of 1954, two of the Crimson Revolution's greatest, yet unsuccessful, predecessors.

Most Donatians were still heavily underequipped due to the Rutherland having a monopoly on the goods that come in and out of Donat and due to the populace's relative lack of resources. With Donat being a region fairly irrelevant to the world, no nation ever sent volunteers or supplies to help.

### Escalation of tensions

Militarization of Donat soon began, in the sense that, in order to prevent further conflicts, military personnel were sent from the Rutherland to garrison the area. This was an act of fearmongering and oppression of public opinion or dissent towards the Donatese inhabitants. Among scholars, it is thought to be an act that was supposed to ultimately suppress any form of future Donatese uprisings. During this time period, peaceful secession and demarcation were methods several peace speakers sought after, the most prominent way of realizing this being in Radogost during the peaceful protests of 1956. The relative peace was soon broken by Rutherish paramilitary snipers, targeting any protesting group.

## Conflict

The Donatese population was furious and upset at the actions of the Rutherish paramilitary, while the crown strictly claimed it had nothing to do with orders from the crown capital. This, however, only enraged them more, and many cities began declaring themselves as communes independent from the Rutherland. With no official declaration of war, Rutherish non-paramilitary & paramilitary forces began entering these regions, treating them similarly to the uprisings that occurred before - with more than adequate measures of bloodshed. Heavily underequipped, the Donatese began preparing for the war by crafting makeshift weapons and stealing equipment and vehicles from old or unattended Rutherish garrisons.

### Lazar Karaslav

**Lazar Karaslav** was a popular figurehead during the Crimson Revolution and helped consolidate the communes of the territories of Donat & Pokoska into one stable centralized parastate, which would eventually drive the Rutherish out of Donat. His speech during the early stages of the revolution is perhaps his most popular one, as it calls for Donatese unification and the forming of a nation-state. He was the first and only head of state of the USDR, the newly formed singular Donatese state. It was founded on June 2nd, 1956 in the *Proclamation of Popular Donatian Unity* written by the Commoners' Socialist Society, later renamed to the Commoners' Socialist Party of Donat.

### Rutherish defeat and stalemate

By the end of 1957, Rutherish forces were driven out of the majority of the peninsula. The most notorious battles were the **Battle of Klimara** (decisive USDR victory), **Battle of Karlov** (close USDR victory), the **Battle of Tsarshava** (close Rutherish victory) & several others. During the Battle of Tsarshava, the city's town hall, along with thousands of important archival documents, were burnt by the Rutherish paramilitary forces. The total casulties of the war were high for both sides, with the most important leaders & military commanders being **Michael Galley, Martin Caffoel**, **Timwood Grafford(†), Lucas Garold** for the Rutherish side, and **Lazar Karaslav, Dado Sredoye(†), Mladen Koran, Pero Uglyanin(†), Aleksa Tadich', Filip Zhivich'** for the Donatese.

The Crimson Revolution ended in a military stalemate. A year later, the USDR would gain international recognition.

## Outcome

Despite the Rutherland's initial refusal to recognize the USDR, it did not stop other separatist movements within the empire hearing of the Donatese triumph and creating revolutions of their own. The spring of nations that came after the Radogost Revolution would also lead to an eventual reformed and democratic Rutherland.

Lazar Karaslav brought great industrial & economic change to Donat, transforming it into a respected nation.