FAQ

## What is Krasnacht?

The year is 1950, nearly 5 years after the end of the Second Weltkrieg. Europe was torn apart by war, and as the dust has settled, two powers have emerged - the socialist International and the nationalist Saratov Pact. A Cold War has begun... This is **Krasnacht: Twilight of the Gods.** Krasnacht is a look at an alternate 1950s where Socialism and Far-right Nationalism dominate the world. The war in Europe may be over, but the battle for the rest of the world has only just begun. The countries that are caught between the superpowers will be the battlegrounds of the new age. It is here that the future will be determined. Will the world rise up in Revolution or heed the call of National Revival?

## **General Questions**

### What is this mod?

Set two years after the end of the Second Weltkrieg, the socialist Third International and authoritarian SARPAC have emerged triumphant over the German Empire and its allies. Europe is now divided between these competing power blocs, and the Cold War is emerging. Meanwhile in North America the Provisional Revolutionary Government has overthrown the United States and given way to the Commonwealth of America, alongside Canada, which itself collapsed into civil war and revolution. In South America, Africa, Scandinavia and Japan, the remaining powers of the old order cling on to their traditions against both the International and SARPAC.

### When does this mod start? And How long will its play time be?

The Game starts on January 1st, 1950, and will have content and events lasting until 1960.

### What's the status of nuclear weaponry? Which countries have nuclear bombs and have any been used?

When the Great White Army advanced on Warsaw, a city that had been embroiled in civil conflict for months, the Heer was forced to withdraw. However, as it did, so it devastated the city with a powerful new weapon, plunging the world into the nuclear age. In Sicily, after forces of the Entente withdrew to the Fourth Republic and INFOR began preparing for an invasion, a nuclear weapon was unleashed on Palermo. So far these have been the only two uses of nuclear weapons in war. The development of these weapons was a joint Commonwealth-German project in South Africa and the German colony in Southwest Africa, due to the area having favourable testing grounds and distance from the prying eyes of the Socialists and Russians. However the project wasn't enough to prevent the downfall of Germany, as it collapsed nuclear materials fell into the hands of both rising power blocs, as well as Sweden, and the remaining complete nuclear bombs were transferred to South Africa. As of 1950 there are nuclear projects underway in both Russia and INFOR, and it's only a matter of time before new bombs are built.

### Will we be able to do world conquests?

By default justifying war will be disabled. It can be enabled by game rule, but we will strongly be discouraging doing this as it will likely break the mod.

### How will the Cold War be balanced?

The Soviet Union gave it a decent run for almost half a century even with the People's Republic of China going from friend to enemy before the sixties even started thanks to the Sino-Soviet split and with significantly less of the world's oil supply under its control. Russia also maintains regional supremacy over the areas it can directly reach which is difficult to breach into, and with Turkey, Iran, and Greece under its heel and Japan largely mutually hostile to both Russia and the International at best there's fewer avenues to directly put pressure on Russia. America also is not currently deploying troops to Europe to stare down their SARPAC counterparts across the Oder river and as such is not contributing to the pressure being directly put against the Russian mainland.

Having Iran means that the Saratov Pact is able to put a chokehold on all Persian gulf oil supplies which gives Russia a tremendous degree of leverage over energy. While Venezuela is of course, increasingly closely linked to Japan and South Africa who can offer it its only serious means of protection from America.

A lot of countries that have no interest in revolution or reaction will also necessarily have to turn towards Japan for protection and finance, so Japan already has significant economic pull over much of Latin America and Africa. Liberalism still holds fairly considerable ideological sway, and with Japan at the start having the world's mightiest fleets and the Tokyo stock exchange being the new heart of global finance the Empire of the Rising Sun can rise quite high indeed

## **Socialist Bloc**

### Socialist International? What happened to Syndicalism?

The development team feels that Syndicalism as an ideology was over-represented in Kaiserreich and included movements and people who would never be syndicalist, as such the left-wing ideologies in Krasnacht have been reworked as Marxism, Social Nationalism, Libertarianism and Moderate Socialism. There are still Syndicalists, notably in Iberia, America and France, but it’s not a global phenomenon overcasting all over left-wing movements, and Marxism was never “discredited” by the failure of the Russian Revolution.

### INFOR? What’s that?

INFOR - short for the International Workers’ Armed Forces - is the military alliance of the International, composed chiefly of the armed forces pertaining to the socialist states in Europe. Unlike in Kaiserreich - where the Third International functioned as a faction - here there are many socialist parties that are members of the International, such as the ruling parties of Bharat and its sphere, America and Canada - who are in their own military alliances.

### Did Mosley ever take power?

Mosley came to power in 1936 after a constitutional crisis led the TUC to suspend the Federal Congress (the only body elected by universal suffrage in the UOB). This crisis led to an attempted coup by Chief of the Air Staff Arthur Harris and Chief of the General Staff Bernard Paget - who were intent on restoring law, order and royal rule in the country. However, despite the initial popularity of the royalist coup, the socialists opposed to the TUC as well as much of the military rallied around Oswald Mosley; the TUC, unable to challenge Mosley or govern the country, was suspended, and the county governments pledge their support to the new Emergency Government. With the coup defeated by the counter-coup, Harris and Paget fled to South Africa.

Mosley was deposed in 1943 when R.E.D director T.E Lawrence launched a coup, in response to the leaking of the secret Mosley-Derental Pact and the ascension of the War Powers Act. The Mosley-Derental Pact brought Russia into the war against Germany, and in return for recognising Russian sphere of influence, Mosley agreed to betray France at the end of the war. The War Powers Act, popularly dubbed the Grand Protector Act, gave Mosley sweeping personal powers to overrule the Federal Congress and enact laws himself. The removal of Mosley paved way for a wartime government headed by Clement Attlee’s Labour Party in coalition with the Communist Party of Great Britain. An election in 1946, after the end of the war in Europe, returned Labour back to government, which formed a united front government with the CPGB and the newly formed Socialist Congregation. It was formed to oversee the reconstruction, continue the war in Africa and to pave the way for a Constitutional Convention in 1950. Mosley awaits his trial in 1950, too.

### What path did France take?

Krasnacht doesn’t follow Kaiserreich paths to the letter, so we interpret the basic setting after January 1st 1936 as we see fit. That being said, France in 1936 saw a political reformation against the Travailleurs and the overturning of the trade union bureaucracy by the Parti Communiste Francais (Popularly dubbed the Jacobins), and a large scale reformation of the state and economy. This was in part a response to the failure of the Travailleurs to confront Germany over its suppression of the workers movement, and the economic and democratic stagnation gripping France at the time.

### What's up with Spain and Portugal, why did they form into Iberia?

Iberia is a federal republic governed by a broad front coalition of marxists and syndicalists. It has emerged as a war torn nation out of the Spanish Civil War first and the Second Welktrieg later, having survived many threats to its existence. In 1946, after the exile of the Kingdom of Portugal in Angola, Spain and Portugal were fused into a united republic after a referendum which the Iberist movement advocated for.

### Is there some kind of power struggle in the International between the CoF and UoB?

Britain and France have been allies for decades now, and the status of France as leader of the International is uncontested. Any strains that exist may be in the form of policy disagreements, such as nuclear weapons and the economy. Britain is mostly onboard with France’s suggestions for the direction of the international worker’s struggle, and any friction that may exist is most likely to appear between the Americas and Europe.

### What's happening in North America, is Canada still ruled by King Edward? And if Not what's his fate?

Canada experienced its own revolution and civil war simultaneously with the American Civil War, and is a Socialist Republic. The Royal Family and much of the ruling elite have fled to Newfoundland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Edward himself was put under house arrest in Australia during the anti-monarchist coup, his brother Prince Albert (George VI in our timeline) stayed in canada and has integrated himself as Citizen Albert.

### Who leads the Commonwealth of America? How is its government structured?

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn is First Secretary of the People’s Assembly. The People’s Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth, elected by direct universal suffrage. It passes legislation and elects the First Secretary, as well as confirming the FS’ choices to the Secretariat (cabinet). The prime administrative unit is the Labor Council, who manage cities and districts. There is then the Commonwealths, a secondary level of administration that serves as a medium between the councils and the Assembly. Commonwealths don’t have many powers, but they do serve to coordinate Red Guards at a higher level when needed (such as for investigations). The Red Guards act as a police force and answer only to the Labor Councils, while the People’s Liberation Army is controlled by the Assembly. There is also the People’s Justiciary, who are elected every 10 years and serves to safeguard the constitution. The Combined Syndicates of America is the trade union forum of the country. It coordinates the economic activity of the labor councils, trade unions and commonwealths and scrutinises the Secretariat. The capital is Chicago, and the Assembly and Secretariat are housed in the former Merchandise Mart.

### Are there any remnants of the old USA?

There is one remnant of the old USA: The Republic of Hawaii. The Republic of Hawaii is largely made up of exiles from the Pacific states and the Pacific Fleet that was based in San Diego, although much of the fleet is being sold off to the likes of Japan, Russia and other nations. By 1950, Hawaii is led by the 34th President of the United States, and 1st President of the Republic of Hawaii, Charles Lindbergh.

### What’s the status of the original United States constitution?

The United States constitution is no longer the law of the land, no longer the defining government document of America, for somewhat obvious reasons. The flag itself serves as a pretty good illustration of the common socialist (more specifically Marxist) perspective on American history. In the American mind of 1950 and after, there were three American revolutions: the revolution of 1776 (what is called IRL the Revolutionary War), the revolution of 1861-1865 (the Civil War that ended slavery), and the revolution of 1937-1944 (the second American civil war that ended capitalism in America). The Commonwealth of America does not scorn or hate the United States or its political-cultural legacy, and in fact the socialist government often sees itself as the greatest expression of American values of liberty and revolution (one particular group within the Socialist Party of America, centered around the charismatic personality of Jay Lovestone, centers its ideology primarily on this characterization). The US constitution is considered as a valuable historical document born of the revolutionary struggle to establish liberal capitalism in the United States, and many of the philosophical positions underlying it are still looked at in a positive light. The same can be said of the declaration of independence, the writings of Thomas Paine, and the Emancipation Proclamation, all historical documents of their respective revolutionary periods in American history, part of the building up to the working class revolution that undid the repressive capitalist order of 1930s America.

## **Anti-socialist nations**

### And what is the SARPAC?

The Saratov Pact is a treaty of defence, cooperation and mutual assistance. It was founded in Saratov after the end of the Second Weltkrieg, consisting of Russia, Poland, Serbia, Romania, Czechia and Slovakia. It did however expand to include Iran later. In practice it is an alliance of right wing states that fall under the influence of the Russian National Republic.

### How Powerful is the Saratov Pact?

When the Russian State joined the Weltkrieg, the Vozhd’s economic reforms had brought industrialisation to a point similar to that of the USSR by the end of the first five-year plan (i.e. 1932). As such, Russian tactics included the use of mass infantry formations, and used fewer tanks than the USSR. Russian core territory was never invaded by the Germans and their puppet states, and as such, the only damaged industry was in the Lost Territories (Ukraine and Belarus and to a lesser extent, the Baltics). By 1950, reconstruction is almost complete, and Russia finds herself with various allies: the Legionary Kingdom of Romania, the Kingdom of Serbia, the State of Iran, the Polish Republic, the Czech State and the Slovak Republic. The SARPAC is stronger than the WARPAC, especially given nations which can join later on. Most member nations are economically dominated by Russia (especially Iran), and all are supplied with Russian equipment.

### Does the Vozhd have an heir presumptive?

It is assumed throughout Russia that the Vozhd will appoint Mikhail Levitov, Governor of Moscow, Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Privy Council, Field Marshal and Hero of the Great Patriotic War, as his successor. Levitov has come to be Savinkov’s protégé, becoming almost like his son - this may be due to the death of the Vozhd’s biological son during the Russian Civil War. Despite this, Savinkov will never appoint a successor and while his candidacy is understood to be the wish of the Vozhd, it must be discussed by the Council. Little do some of the members know that there are those within the Black Guard with ambitions that even the most devout subscribers to the ideology of National Revival would find distasteful…

### What happened to Austria and its Empire, and what is ‘Cisleithania?

The Austro-Hungarian Empire has long been an unstable agglomeration of myriad peoples and nations, and during the Second Great War it finally collapsed in on itself. A volkisch coup in Austria prompted the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with civil war breaking out in Hungary between nationalist, liberal, and socialist elements. The westernmost portion of the former Austrian Empire were ultimately occupied by INFOR forces during the Second Great War, leading to the creation of the Union of Cisleithania, a federation of the countries of Austria and Czechia that was created via referendum that was largely decided by a big turnout from Sudetenland Germans and the belief among the Czech left that maintaining a shared resource and industrial pool would result in a higher chance of surviving any SARPAC aggression. It is a member of the International and INFOR in contrast to the Czech State (Moravia), which is a Russian satellite. The other major partner in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, meanwhile, ultimately remained out of the claws of either of the factions, although it lost significant portions of territory to SARPAC members. Currently it is a far right nationalist republic under the leadership of Ferenc Szálasi, opposed to INFOR out of anti-socialism and opposed to SARPAC out of an irredentist desire to retake their lost lands from Romania, Slovakia, Serbia, and Russia.

### What's up with Japan?

Japan stands as the sole uncontested power in the Pacific, it has puppets or colonial governments in North Borneo , the Philippines, Malaya and Manchuria.

### What is the status of Finland?

An unpopular kingdom already suffering resistance from the peasantry, developing middle class as well as parts of the upper class, the Kingdom of Finland could not weather the storm that was the resurgent Boris Savinkov's Russia as she intervened in the 2nd Weltkrieg, invading the strategically significant Finland to secure it. Though a surprisingly resilient people led by talented military leaders, the small nation was swiftly defeated. After the conclusion of the 2nd Weltkrieg, Finland was split into Russian governorates as direct parts of the State. However, reformist elements within the NRPR are likely to advocate granting independence to the Finns; tied to Russia, of course.

### What happened to the Entente/British Empire?

In 1950, the ‘Entente’ doesn’t exist anymore, as its signatories (France, the UK and Russia) either fused or left, meaning there’s no separate countries left for an agreement to be held between. Their wartime allies (Portugal and the Two Sicilies) are in exile in their African territories and collapsed respectively. As for the British Empire, and the point about Entente countries fusing further up, the UK and National France unite into one ‘realm’ in the early 40s, after Canada falls to revolution and National France begins to lose its grip. This is partially due to simple military (it allows for easier transfer of troops without the constant political fighting that happened when the same was attempted in WW1) and political (to try and avert fears of abandonment by National French politicians/leadership) reasons, and doesn’t involve the literal fusing of the two countries but instead just a shared head of state and military (somewhat like if France was a dominion, but without the political subservience). What’s left of the Empire is in South Africa (which rejoined in 1936), including the remnants of the Kingdom of France’s army (which swells to include many Sicilians after they evacuate from the mainland).

### What is going on in China?

As China is currently going through an extensive rework in Kaiserreich, we don't not have a clear picture as to what China looks like right now. When we do, we will update this FAQ.

### What’s with the fixation on Africa? What’s up in Africa anyhow?

As in OTL, Africa is one of the battlegrounds between the competing power blocs. It also hosts remnants of the British, German, French and Portugese governments. The collapse of the Fourth Republic’s colonial empire in West Africa and the Mittelafrikan realm has enabled a host of new nations to arise. Given the speed of this decolonisation, the youth of the African nations and the global forces at play, Africa is a fluctuating and dynamic continent, and thus deserving of a lot of attention. A lot of mods don't pay enough attention to the continent, and the focus of any cold war scenario is proxy conflicts - of which there will be plenty.

### What happened in the Middle East (i.e who won between the Cairo Pact and the Ottomans, which party is in control of each nation)?

The Great Levantine War saw the end of Ottoman control over the Middle East, with the spoils going mostly to the Sultanate of Egypt. New states were born, such as the State of Hejaz and Iraq. Old scores were settled for the Saudis and Qajars, and the Sultan’s own friends in the Imamate of Yemen also jumped ship when the time was right. European powers also did not hesitate to intervene for their own gain.

### Can a player retake Germany or Britain as Südwest/New Zealand/South Africa and restore the monarchies there?

The player will not be able to restore such monarchies through internal politics nor invasion, since manually declaring wars will be disabled.

### What is Mohammed Mossadegh doing in this timeline?

Mohammed Mossadegh heads the People's Party, a left wing (using the in-game ideologies, it would be moderate socialist, social democrat, and social liberal, though its socdems predominate, including Mossadegh himself) nationalist party in the Iranian Majles and Senate which opposes the ongoing Russian occupation and Russian exploitation of Iran's resources (namely in the form of the Russo-Iranian Oil Company). His party still exists primarily because of their anti-monarchist tendencies (Mossadegh led the opposition to German economic dominance in the Qajar era) and because Mossadegh did not support the attempted revolution by the Justice Party, Movement of God-Fearing Socialists, and Azeri and Kurdish nationalist groups.

### Will Iran have another path? (e.g. Restoring the Monarchy or Socialist Republic?)

Since Iran is a Russian puppet, even starting out in 1950 partially occupied by Russia, just about nothing can happen in Iran which Russia would disapprove of... Neither a monarchist restoration nor a socialist revolution. There are several paths for the nationalist republic though!

### Why didn’t Central America unite in this world?

Happening so early is a meme, plus there’s two socialist countries and three capitalist. It’s a prospect Ingame.

### How will Eritrea interact with the rest of Africa?

Eritrea in 1950 is aligned with Egypt (and the Cairo Pact by extension) and Somalia, a sort of Egypt-friendly bloc in east Africa that mostly emerged out of Egypt's support for both Mondelli in his struggle against Ethiopia and Somalia in their war against Ethiopia. Eritrea is most definitely an anti-colonial state, but they are not revolutionary pan-Afrikanists like the leadership of Kirenya. Mondelli supports all of the peoples of the Eritrean nation, including the Italians that live there, and his idea of revolution is that of a political republican revolution against backwards agrarianism and feudalism, rather than revolution to liberate the African nation. Doesn't necessarily mean Eritrea is anti-Kirenya though!