Svaboda

The Badge of the Svaboda

Svaboda (Lit, Freedom), is a warlord state in Nurasovask that claims to be the rightful continuation of Imperial Nurasovask. It wears this openly, and with pride, drawing upon support of traditional, disaffected clergymen, ambitious noblemen, and most importantly, the Nozerod Cult. Svaboda is the voice of the Cult in Nurasovsk, with a native form of Low Essospeak openly being encouraged in adhoc schools, alongside traditional languages. The state is primarily maintained by standard Freemen battalions, the cheap, low quality, low maintenance troopers that serve most Warlords, however, Svaboda is the benefitiary of massive Ascendancy backing, with elite troops, known as "The Holy Cnights", being armed with extremely capable training and unmatched zeal and brutality.

The government of Svaboda is deeply influenced by Essotori, as well as Imperial Nurasovsk, being led by the charismatic, yet depressed Brother Regent Tolrey Pidemskim, who holds the clique together with force of will. The eventual goal of the state is to revive the long dead Empire, usually under the claiment Alexis Von Paleolog, as well as installing the cult itself into Nurasovsk. They are not recognised as Christian, though Svaboda utilises Christian iconography and religious practices to drum up support in a opportunist manner.

The regime is only recognised by Essotori as anything more than a warlord regime, though it has recieved support from Konzask in the past due to being opposed to Quangsuh. The regime remained fervently anti Marxist and revanchist, however.

### Ideology

The Svabadan branch of the Nozerod Cult suffers from deviations, primarily efforts to adapt native culture to fit, but also due to the stresses of war. The Svabada branch has been afflicted by the Fallen World Deviation, which states that Entaria completely dominates the entire world, and that the fated Time of Ending is already here. This is not accepted by the mainstream version of the Cult, which states that the Time of Ending only begins when the Palace of Origin itself is lost. The Svabada branch is prone to both ruthless extremism, demonstrated in relentless, forced conversions and mass purges, and outright nihilism, depression and suicide, which ironically is used by the mainline cult to attack Entarian regimes. Suicide has morphed into an active moral good, interpreting the Virtue of Sacrifice to mean suicide, and death itself, is something glorious in and of itself, so long as it is in service to the Cult. The problem has gotten so big, that Tolrey Pidemskim himself gave speeches decrying the practice. The Svabada variation also promotes self harm as a form of tribute, in the form of pain, to the Nozerod. This is deeply offensive to the mainline cult, and prompted an official condemnation by the Council of Tribella, which states that the divine spirit of the Ascended One feels the pain of humanity, thus it is the duty of followers to minimise pain.

Politically, Svabada is dominated by reactionary ideals, blending native Nurasolvsk culture and traditions with the all incompassing Nozerod Cult. They believe that the Empire's fall was not only unjust, but an affront to divinity and civilisation itself. Svabada has it's roots in the defiant nobility, who elected to stand and fight against the Marxists, or fled overseas. These forces assembled in Serste Khrista, though were defeated in the Civil War, prompting most to flee to Essotori, who was happy to take them in. In Essotori, their ideas were not only ignored or tolerated, but actively encouraged, with the government doing it's best to forment any rebellion against the Communist state. Here, the exiles, who were either businessmen, nobility, military officers, and philosophers discussed the causes of the Revolution and how the nation could be revived. In 1921, the All-Empire Conference was called between the exiles, to determine a unified ideological and economic practice. Under heavy 'suggestion', all involved agreed that modernity itself was to blame for the Revolution, that the last Tsar should have never conceded in any regard to social reform, and should have instead directed the economy to best serve the interests of the people. The Conference concluded that distributism, or corporatism, would be the only way to manage the new Imperial economy, in line with Essotori.

## History

### Background and Context

Imperial Nurasalovsk fell in 1917, due to the Pennisular War's defeat, and long standing issues with quality of life and early industrialisation led to a contentious Revolution, which eventually gave way to Communist Civil War. The most hardline Monarchists refused to accept this outcome, however, and led a gurrila struggle for several years, before being expelled. The death of the Imperial Family divided the Reactionary cause, and it would not be for several years that the All-Empire Conference would convene to solidify support for the Paleolog Line. The Monarchists were exiled, generally finding refuge in the last holdout of Imperial rule, Serdtse Khrista.

### Serdste Khrista Civil War

The Imperial forces joined together under the Imperial Fists, fighting against various factions of Serdtse Khrista, seeking to assert the continuation of Nurasalovsk, and restore the Tsar. The last Tsar's cousin, due to his immorality, was sent to govern the relative backwater of Serdtse Khrista, thus, he was safe from Communist execution. Retrospectively, this is seen by domestic political scientists as the last gasp of the Monarchists, who after losing in Serdste Khrista, were forced to enter the embrace of Essotori, who twisted their ideals into the Nozerod Cult, and nourished them. They effectively became puppets, if not direct servants of the Cult, spreading it's ideology.

### Nurasovask Conflict

With the constant state of warfare in Nurasovask, Svaboda was among the first cliques to formally organise, and take to the streets of the vast nation. Funded by Essotori, and governed harshly, the territories of Svaboda were brought under violent order, with the Holy Cnights becoming so prolific in the region that villages would surrender upon hearing they were in their sights. The strategy employed by the Cult, was to establish a presence in a region, and fan out, first using missionaries to peacefully convert and recruit. This would be followed by deploying the Holy Cnights to purge those who would not submit, and secure more land. Should missionaries not be avalible, the Holy Cnights would announce their presence on the radio, and any converts would assemble before the city gates and pray, marking themselves as loyalists and those willing to be saved. Those who refused would be utterly destroyed. The Svabada freemen battalions would be deployed in larger scale conflicts against other warlords, utilising weapons produced locally to protect the Cult. The Holy Cnights, in direct combat, would function as shock troopers and breakthrough specialists. The first city to fall was called Narvoda, which was renamed Tsargorod, the city where the revived Tsardom would crown all future monarchs, with the blessing of the Nozerod. The city's local architecture was destroyed, any rebuilt in the styles of traditional Nurasolvsk architecture, though most of this would be destroyed when Tsargorod was lost in 2017. Svabada was forced to relocate to several different cities since then, taking on a more partisan, nomadic strategy.

### The Safety of the Tsar

The Monarchists were unable to bring the heir to the Paleologs to Essotori, keeping him under the supervision of the new, Democratic government of Serdtse Khrista, however, the new regime did not execute the Tsar. Rather, he and his family were kept as honoured figures, almost sagely. The Monarchists who remained, fled to Essotori, where they were told that the new regime was brainwashing the Tsar, keeping him imprisoned and starving him until he renounced his claim. Essotori has been directly supporting the Cult in Serdtse Khrista since the 1990s, with covert support established before that point. In 2018, Essotori offered the young claiment, Alexis Von Paleolog a subsidised three years study at the University of Radonstinatle, one of the greatest universities in Elparia. Once there, Brother Regent Tolrey Pidemskim himself made a pilgrimage to Radonstinatle, and knelt before the young man, stating "No force in the universe can seperate the Holy Tsar from his people!" With tears in his eyes. Due to the Great Eastern War, and the Norse War, Alexis has been kept in Essotori for the forseeable future.