Nikolai Averin

## Nikolai Averin  Николай Аверин

**Nikolai Stepanovich Averin** (Russian: Николай Степанович Аверин; born 25 July [O.S. 12 July] 1908) is a Russian-born tank commander, currently serving as Marshall of the Gorky Tank Brigade.

While previously fighting for the Soviet Union and the West Russian Revolutionary Front, Averin has since declared his own warlord state, having been cut off from the WRRF leadership in Arkhangelsk.

## Biography

### Soviet life (1908-45)

Nikolai Averin was born to a peasant family on 25 July [O.S. 12 July] 1908 in the village of Averino, Vologda Governorate. In his youth, he recieved elementary education from a school in the village of Makachevo, and worked at the "Averinets" collective farm as a tree feller. In 1934, he joined the NKVD, first as a militiaman and later as a district commissioner and the head of a militia operational point at the Tikhvin station of the Northern Railway.

After the start of Operation Barbarossa, Averin was conscripted through the Vytegorsky Military Registration and Enlistment Office, being drafted into the Red Army as a gunner. From 1942 onwards, he fought on the Eastern Front, fighting in the Northwestern, the 3rd Belorussian, and the 1st Baltic fronts. Averin distinguished himself in the war, being awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union for his service. While he began the war as a gunner, he eventually became a commander in the Red Army's tank brigades.

### Tank Commander (1945-present)

After the end of the war, Averin aligned himself with Kliment Voroshilov's West Russian Revolutionary Front, leading to Averin also fighting in the West Russian War. He further distinguished himself in the war, leading one of, if not the most infamous tank brigade under Voroshilov's command; in one notable instance following the conflict, as Russian soldiers fled the German advance, Averin gathered the bulk of the remnants of the Russian armoured forces and organised a last stand near the city of Gorky, eventually repelling the Germans.

Unable to handle the pressure of their defeat, and the seccession of the Komi Republic, the Front collapsed, leaving Averin and his brigade cut off in Gorky from the Front's command in Arkhangelsk. Taking advantage of this situation, Averin declared the warlord state of Gorky. Initially, the state operated purely under a military dictatorship, with the tank brigade acting as so-called "protectors" of Gorky and the surrounding area, and Averin (as the brigade's commander) as the area's despotic marshall.

However, due to the increasing street fighting between different ideological groups, Averin set up the Gorky Parliament. In an attempt to solidify control, Averin requested that Timofey Borshchev, a friend of Averin's, found his own party that would be aligned with the brigade's interests: the National Security and Unity Party (NSP). In line with this wish, the NSP has little in the way of distinct ideology, with the only general belief being one in authoritarianism and the authority of Averin and the brigade. Beyond that, the party is commonly seen as being made up of kleptocrats, seeking to benefit their own interests rather than those of Gorky as a whole. Despite this, the party has gained a majority in every election since the party's inception; though that majority has steadily lessened with every election, with the 1960 election only granting the party a slim majority. Because of this, the party has found difficulty in passing bills that aren't blocked by parliament, which has detabilised the relationship between the NSP and the brigade.

In 1961, in order to decrease the influence of the KONR in Gorky, Averin launched an anti-terrorist campaign. Known meeting places for Samaran partisans were raided, with the group's local leaders being arrested. Overall, the campaign was successful as the group is publicly believed to be in a state of dissaray.