Sashok Vitya

Sashok Vitya's official portrait, 1965

Sashok Vitya's signature

Contains some historical materialThis article contains mentions of a real country, person, or place in a use of fiction.Contains fictional materialThis article is fully fictional and none of this should be taken seriously.
**Sashok Lyosha Vitya** was a Soviet officer and the last General Secretary of the Soviet Union from 1982 to 1991. During his rule, he was known for his harsh totalitarian and stifling domestic policies. He also carried out massive government programs to modernize the country. He started withdrawing from areas such as Afghanistan and began suppressing Soviet citizens to maintain order, but this caused a rebellion by the military that his government subsequently capitulated to. These rebellions ultimately lead to the fall of the USSR in 1991.

Vitya was tried for war crimes in connection with the fighting, but was acquitted of all charges. Vitya ordered the silencing of the Salvanian freedom movement in the late 80s.

## Personal life

Vitya was born in Salekhard in September of 1919, one of three children. Vitya reportedly had several family conflicts with his siblings at a young age, including his sister, who was older than him. His mother was reportedly a dedicated Communist and his father died when he was still young.

Vitya joined the Red Army in 1939 at the age of 19, and later served in World War II in 1941. After the war, he continued to rise through the ranks in the Red Army and later became a member of Joseph Stalin's inner circle before Stalin's death in 1953.

### Soviet influence and career

By the late 1950s, Vitya had become the Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union, from 1957 to 1967. During this time, he helped reinforce the Berlin Wall and opposed any attempts to reform the Soviet Union.

In 1982, at the age of 62, Vitya became the last General Secretary of the Soviet Union. He pledged to maintain the integrity of the USSR and prevent the spread of "capitalist decadence" during his time in power. Vitya carried out harsh and controversial policies to maintain the loyalty of the military and pursue a policy of peace through strength.

It was believed that this would prepare the country for a potential threat from the United States. He began withdrawing from countries such as Afghanistan and Cuba. However, Vitya's forceful suppression of freedom of speech in the Soviet Union and his repressive domestic policies, such as the KGB's persecution of dissidents, religious persecution, and the implementation of a command economy, eventually caused dissatisfaction with his leadership and instability within the government.

### Soviet civil war

In 1988, a series of revolutions or protests began in various parts of the USSR. In June of that year, Lithuania declared its independence and established a new government. Vitya had the dissidents arrested, further pouring gas on the fire that would lead to the collapse of the Union in 1991. In 1989, a failed coup against the Vitya regime led by Arkady Genrikh stirred unrest within the Soviet government, including the military. This mounting instability led the Soviet government to begin to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.

Vitya began imprisoning the traitors, which led to armed resistance against the Vitya regime from 1989 to 1991. This armed resistance, combined with the growing discontent from within the government itself and the devastating loss of confidence by the public in the economy, caused mass rioting. The government attempted to suppress the riots, but it was futile as all of the major cities fell into chaos. On top of all this, the republics that formed the Union began declaring their independence.

What remained of the Soviet Union in 1990 fell into a civil war, in which half of the military, no longer loyal to a weakened Vitya, took sides in the conflict, siding with the republics that declared independence from the collapsing government, while the other half sided with Vitya to preserve the Soviet Union. However, by the end of the year, it was clear that the republics would win the conflict, and the Vitya regime, already heavily disliked for its repressive tactics, was considered illegitimate.

Vitya later resigned in December of 1991, and called for a cease-fire in the fighting. By March of the next year, the last of the loyalists had surrendered and the republics were independent.

### Later life

In the years that followed, Vitya retreated from public life and lived quietly in Moscow. Vitya was put on trial in 1993 for war crimes and ultimately found not guilty by a specially convened military court. Vitya lived in Moscow for the remainder of his life until his death in November of 2007.