General Sergei Meranov Unaligned

An official portrait of General Meranov

## Biography

Sergei Meranov was born May 10, 2160 on Earth shortly before the start of the conflict between the Federated States of Earth and the Cervasian Congressional Republic. His early childhood was largely dominated by the tensions and aftereffects of those years which instilled in him both a sense of duty and patriotism. At the age of eighteen, he enlisted in the ground forces of the FSE military. He served there for fifteen years, ultimately attaining the rank of Major, before feeling as though his career had become stalled.

Seeking new opportunities, Sergei ultimately decided to try his chances in one of the smaller colonies and opted to emigrate to the relatively young former colony world of Azuria. He selected it mostly due to its relatively newly formed status but also the reputation it had for having a relatively stable and peaceful transition from colony to independent world. After arriving on Azuria, he was able to commission in the Azurian Army as a colonel thanks to his prior experience. Over the following years he rose through the ranks to his current rank of General.

## Political Positions

### Opinion on Superpowers

Being a native of Earth and a former member of its armed forces, he is understandably sympathetic to Earth.  He supports **Earth-leaning** policies as a general matter.  To the extent that the two superpowers contribute to a “Westphalian Peace” arrangement in the galaxy, he is **supportive** of their continued dominion.

### Opinion towards Galactic Community

While certainly an important institution, he sees the galactic community as a largely abstract body that, for the most part, simply exists to rubberstamp the soft power of the superpowers.  As such, he is **Neutral** towards it.

### Trade Policies

Anyone from Earth can likely tell you first-hand accounts of poverty, resource scarcity, and the trials and tribulations in brings to society.  Having seen this first-hand, he believes that the most important facet of economic policy should be in providing for the citizens the government serves.  He believes that policies such as these help alleviate military conflicts as well as improve the lives of the citizens.  He is there for pro-**Consumer Benefits**.

### Opinion on Militarism

As a career military man, and quiet observer of the political realm that is adjacent to it, he has seen first hand how nations and people without the force of arms to back up their desires are either thrown by the wayside or outright ignored in the decision making process.  Therefore, he believes that a robust military that is sparingly used provides the greatest asset to the continued stability and independence of the Republic.  As such, he is in support of **Militaristic** policies.

### Opinion on Religion's Influence in Government

He did not grow up around religion nor did he seek it out as an adult.  That said, his fundamental belief is that people ought to be free to practice whatever religion they so choose provided it doesn’t interfere with others.  As a result, he is a supporter of **Secular** policies though doesn’t necessarily “push for atheist ideals”.

### Immigration

A government is composed of people and the more robust and diverse the people the better the society.  He sees Earth, despite its history, as an example of this.  While he does not go so far as to see immigration to the Republic as a matter of right, he does believe immigration, as an immigrant himself, is healthy for the growing colony.  He, therefore, supports **Neutral** immigration policies.

### Foreign Policy

As far as he is concerned, a friend is better than an enemy and he’d rather reserve his fighting for those true ne'er-do-wells that are a menace to the galaxy and republic at large.  Informing this opinion are his childhood memories of the destruction and chaos that followed the conflict between the FSE and CCR.  It has led him to support **Cooperative** policies as it relates to foreign relations.

### Expansion Policy

He grew up in a period of upheaval, resource paucity, and conflict.  He knows well from that experience that the best situation a society can find itself in is to have an abundance of resources that it is able to guard against all-comers.  A society that is too slow to expand will miss out and armed forces stretched too thin are incapable of holding the “claimed” resources.  He therefore supports **Stabilist** policies regarding expansion.