History of Tulov

## Early Tulov (600-1233)

Tulov was first settled by tribes from northern Tulov, in the region now known as the Lylich Oblast. Though they were predominantly hunters and traders, the tribes of Tulov constantly warred with one another over hunting rights, personal honor and a number of other things. By the 600s they had begun to abandon their early tribal ways and civilize by the year 860 princely states had formed across all Tulov, bringing some stability to the region as the leaders of these new states sought trade with one another rather than conflict, choosing to solve their differences diplomatically.

War would continue to break out amongst these states on occasion, typically over land disputes. By the year 1104 the states of Tulov had begun to form closer together into a loose principality, but remained ripe with instability and infighting. Trade between states continued to boom, however, leading to the growth of Tulov's population and economy. In the year 1206, Ratibor Shvernik ascended to the position of Grand Prince. He demanded the full unification of Tulov into a kingdom and declared himself the first king of Tulov. The other princely states of Tulov however refused to accept his decree and instead chose to dissolve the loose principality.

King Ratibor became outraged at this dissolution and immediately declared war upon the two weakest principalities that bordered him, swiftly conquering them and once again demanding that he be recognized as king of all Tulov. Rather than giving in to his demand, the three princely states to his south grew angered by these annexations and invaded his state. This proved to be a fatal error, as King Ratibor's forces crushed their invasion and marched into their lands, annexing all three of them.

Under the threat of invasion by King Ratibor's forces, three of the princely states finally agreed to recognize him as King of all Tulov in 1209, officially becoming absorbed into his realm. Now the largest state of all the Tulovian clans, King Ratibor felt empowered and launched an invasion of the states to his east, which after a short period of fighting chose to surrender to him in late 1210. With victory after victory under his belt, King Ratibor turned his attention to the states to northeast, invading them in 1211 and conquering them by 1213. King Ratibor continued to press his army further into the north, annexing a further three of the Tulovian princely states by 1214.

During Ratibor's campaigns through the weak princely states of Tulov, the realm of Prince Slavomir Yirchiv had built up an army of it's own to bring an end to Ratibor's warmongering, invading his lands in late 1214. Despite the best efforts of Prince Slavomir, his army was crushed beneath the might of King Ratibor, who launched an invasion of his own into Slavomir's lands, conquering them by early 1217. Shocked by the devastating defeat that Ratibor had managed to deal to Prince Slavomir, a further three princely states agreed to recognize Ratibor as King of all Tulov, becoming absorbed into his realm.

In 1218 Ratibor turned his eyes to the lands ruled by Prince Olov. Ratibor was not eager to fight against another powerful Tulovian state and chose to seek a diplomatic route. Ratibor agreed to marry off the eldest of his daughters to the Prince, in exchange for absorbing the principality into his realm, an agreement which was met favorable by Olov, who agreed to the terms. The marriage was held in the spring of 1219, with Olov's lands absorbed into Ratibor's realm immediately thereafter.

With the forces of Prince Olov now under the command of King Ratibor, another of the few remaining princely states chose to acknowledge Ratibor as King of all Tulov and was absorbed into his realm. The main obstruction to the unification of Tulov was now Prince Zulokov, who had originally controlled the largest of the princely states prior to Ratibor's expansion. Ratibor once again sought diplomatic means, offering another of his daughters in exchange for unification. Prince Zulokov however refused the offer and responded with a surprise invasion.

Despite being reinforced by Prince Olov's forces and those of the other states that had been peacefully absorbed, Ratibor was unable to swiftly fend off the invasion, which became a protracted and drawn out war between the two armies, lasting for seven years before ending in King Ratibor's victory in 1227. Despite Zulokov's defeat, Ratibor had been impressed by Zulokov's leadership and determination, allowing him to continue reigning over the newly conquered lands.

With the last of the major Tulovian states eliminated, King Ratibor turned his attention to those few states that continued to resist his rule, launching an invasion of the two states bordering him to the west and swiftly conquering them by the beginning of 1228. His forces would then turn north, invading and eliminating the last princely state in the north, leaving only one state still resisting his rule in the west. King Ratibor hoped they would choose to peacefully absorb into his realm, once again offering to marry off one of his daughters to the ruling prince. But all offers were refused, with the princely state declaring it would maintain it's independence to the bitter end.

With all diplomatic options exhausted, King Ratibor's forces invaded the small princely state in 1230, but met fierce resistance and were quickly driven out. His forces would regroup and invade once again, only to become locked in another protracted war, which would finally end in the year 1233. With all of the princely states of Tulov now conquered, Ratibor once again proclaimed himself King of all Tulov, officially declaring the Tulovian Kingdom.

## Tulovian Kingdom (1233 - 1820)

Following the unification under King Ratibor Shvernik "the Great', Tulov ushered into an golden era of economic growth and a rapidly growing population. Though Tulov was now stabilized, the lands to it's south soon became ripe with wars, with the Rovnen Republic invading Tulov in the year 1276 and successfully seizing a small portion of Tulov's southwestern territory. Tulov would sit idly by as the nations to it's south warred with each other ferociously, the Kingdoms of Talimka, Varnichia and Yarendil ganging up on the Grand Principality of Krasnodaria again and again, as well as Rovne's invasion of Polvana.

In 1350 Tulov was once again invaded by the Rovnen Republic, as well the Kingdom of Polvana. The war was lost by Tulov and a treaty signed in 1354, with Polvana receiving minor territorial gains and Rovne receiving gains along the northern and southern portions of it's border with Tulov. In 1378 Tulov would once again be invaded by the Rovnen Republic, as well as the Kingdom of Yarendil. Tulov was defeated once more and a treaty of peace was signed in 1380, awarding minor territorial gains to both invaders.

The two nations would invade again in 1409, but with much less desirable results. Though Yarendil made minor advances into Tulov, Rovne quickly signed a treaty of peace in 1410, in which Tulov would make minor territorial gains. Free to focus on Yarendil, Tulov would decimate their forces in the following months, Varnichia came to it's allies aid and launched an invasion of Tulov in 1412. The forces of Tulov rallied against the invaders, crushing both of their forces. A treaty of peace was signed between the three nations in 1415, with Tulov gaining minor territorial gains from Varnichia and massive gains from Yarendil.

In 1443 a border incident would lead to yet another war between Tulov and Yarendil, which was quickly ended by a treaty of peace in 1444, with Tulov once again making minor gains. Years later in 1485, Rovne and Polvana would jointly invade Tulov, but as the war did not go nearly as well as they had anticipated, they would accept minor territorial gains from Tulov in a 1486 treaty of peace.

In 1497 the Tulovian Kingdom underwent a palace coup, dethroning the ruling House of Shvernik and bringing the rise of Yuriy Ushakov and the House of Ushakov. Under King Yuriy's reign, or Yuriy the Terrible as he came to be known, Tulov entered into a violent era of repressions and purges, with Yuriy the Terrible launching internal campaigns against any cities that questioned his rule or were deemed a danger to his power. The ruling nobility were rounded up and executed, their lands seized and given to families that supported Yuriy's rise to power.

Rovne, Varnichia and Yarendil would invade Tulov again in 1499, feeling that the internal troubles of Tulov had created the perfect time to strike. Despite the troubles caused for Tulov under King Yuriy, Tulov managed to mostly resist the invading forces, accepting a treaty of peace in 1501 which ceded territorial gains to all three of the invaders, allowing King Yuriy to continue solidifying his power within Tulov.

By the end of King Yuriy's reign in 1523, Tulov had lost almost a third of it's population and it's economy was in tatters, troops loyal to King Yuriy stood in the streets of all major cities and settlements, ensuring his absolute control over the kingdom. Following his death, Tulov would continue on it's downward spiral and seemingly inevitable collapse, the once prosperous kingdom now riddled with corruption and poverty.

In 1534 Yarendil would invade Tulov and received a large amount of territory in a 1536 peace treaty. However, this invasion had only been to probe Tulov for weakness. As a result, the combined forces of Rovne, Polvana, Varnichia and Yarendil would invade a year later in 1537, seizing a vast amount of territory and forcing Tulov's surrender in 1539, further plunging the Tulovian Kingdom into collapse. Rovne would invade again in 1557, seizing more of Tulov's territory in a 1560 peace treaty.

While these nations had focused so heavily on preying upon the collapsing Tulov, the Grand Principality of Krasnodaria once again risen in the south, forcing the kingdoms of Varnichia and Yarendil to completely divert their attention away from Tulov. In the year 1603 the House of Ushakov finally came to an end following the death of Osip Ushakov, grandson of Yuriy the Terrible. Tulov was plunged into a state of anarchy as a result, with the nobility squabbling over who would ascend to the throne next, resulting in the division of Tulov amongst the nobility.

War fell upon all of Tulov as the nobility campaigned against one another, assassinating and bribing each other as quickly as they could. During this time Tulov was once again invaded by Rovne in 1605, suffering heavy losses and quickly suing for peace, ceding a large portion of territory in Tulov's northwest to Rovne to bring an end to the invasion, resulting in the loss of most of Tulov's ports and finally granting Rovne it's long desired access to the northern seas.

The division of Tulov amongst the nobility finally ended in 1619 when the House of Asmik ascended to the throne, having crushed or bought off all opponents. Most policies from the Ushakov era were lifted, bringing an end to the Time of Terror which had ruled over Tulov for over a hundred years. In 1620 King Gregorovich Asmik would launch an invasion of Polvana and Varnichia, which had been drastically weakened in their wars against Krasnodaria. The two nations would cede over half of their territory to Tulov in a treaty of peace signed in 1622, they were conquered by Krasnodaria a mere three years later.

King Gregorovich then launched an invasion of the Rovnen Republic, retaking the northwestern territories and forcing Rovne into a treaty of peace in 1625, bringing a permanent end to Rovne's presence in the northern seas. King Gregorovich would then turn his attention east and invade Yarendil in 1627, seizing the northern portion of their kingdom. A treaty of peace was signed less than a year later in 1628, as Yarendil sought to focus on Krasnodaria in the south. King Gregorovich would die in the Autumn of 1628, his heir Vasily Asmik ascending to the throne.

Believing Tulov's resurgence to be over with the death of King Gregorovich, Rovne launched an invasion of Tulov in 1629, infuriating King Vasily. The armies of Rovne were crushed beneath the forces of Tulov, resulting in Rovne's near total surrender in 1631, in which over half of the republic was ceded to Tulov. With his impressive triumph over Rovne, Vasily would turn to the east and invade Yarendil for a final time, conquering the remains of the kingdom in 1634.

Under threat of both the Tulovian Kingdom and the Grand Principality of Krasnodaria, Rovne would form a union with it's western neighbor Lvov, forming the Lvov-Rovne Republic in the year 1644. Three years later, Tulov and Krasnodaria would jointly invade Lvov-Rovne under the leadership of King Vasily Asmik of Tulov and Grand Prince Vitali Serebrov of Krasnodaria. While the war would initially favor the invaders, the Lvov-Rovne Republic would deal a series of devastating defeats to the two powers in 1650, under the fresh leadership and military power of Lvov.

The power of Lvov would not last however, as the Republic could not properly maintain an offensive against Tulov and Krasnodaria, nor sustain the occupation of the territories it had conquered, resulting in the collapse of the Lvov-Rovnen counter offensive in 1655 and complete occupation of Lvov-Rovne by 1657. With only Tulov and Krasnodaria now remaining, an era of peace and prosperity emerged between the two nations, but would come to an abrupt end in the year 1676, with the ascent of Vladimir Serebrov to the position of Grand Prince of Krasnodaria, who would then launch a massive invasion of Tulov, sparking the First Krasno-Tulovian War (or as it is now known, "The Patriotic War"), which would become the bloodiest war in the history of both Tulov and Krasnodaria,

Within the first year of the war, Krasnodarian forces made massive gains throughout Tulov, nearly reaching the capital of Tula. In 1677 King Nikodim Asmik had begun a substantial increase of Tulov's military as a result of this war, instating a five year conscription for all males over the age of 16 and had begun immediate reforms to the military, revitalizing it's leadership and seeking to modernize it as quickly as possible. As a result, the forces of Tulov were able to successfully fend off the Krasnodarian siege of the capital, Tula. Despite their defeat at Tula, the forces of Krasnodaria continued to make massive gains throughout Tulov.

By the end of 1678 Krasnodarian forces had managed to reach the northern seas and seized much of northwestern Tulov, while Tulov had managed to regain some of it's territory in the east and push back the Krasnodarian forces that had been threatening Tula for the past two years.

In 1679 King Nikodim began his offensive into Krasnodaria, making massive gains and liberating much of Tulov's southern territories from Krasnodaria, while the Krasnodarian forces managed to retake most of the eastern territories they had lost in the prior year. By the end of 1680, the forces of Tulov had managed to successfully cut off the Krasnodarian forces occupying the northwest of the country, as well as the forces occupying it's eastern territories, fully destroying the surrounded armies by mid 1681. The war would permanently turn in Tulov's favor in 1682, as a result of Tulov's capturing of many of Krasnodaria's generals and the crushing of Krasnodaria's main army.

Though the Krasnodarian forces ferociously resisted the armies of Tulov, they suffered devastating defeats all through 1683 and Tulov advanced beyond it's pre-war borders. In spring of 1684, the forces of Tulov would deal one final blow to the armies of Krasnodaria in the battle of Lvov, resulting in the subsequent Treaty of Tula, in which Krasnodaria would cede the area of Lvov-Rovne to Tulov, as well as much of it's northern territories.

With the end of the Krasnodarian-Tulovian War, Tulov was once again at peace, but had suffered horrendous casualties during the war, it's fields and industries devastated by the forces of Krasnodaria. In addition, the House of Asmik now ruled firmly over the kingdom and though the people of Tulov were no longer as free as they had been under the reign of the House of Shvernik, stability was returned to Tulov and in the years following it's people would grow and prosper once again. The city of Livgorod was founded to the southwest of Tula in the lands conquered from Krasnodaria, as a symbol of Tulov's victory in the war. The city was built around a massive memorial in the city's square, which honored all who had died for Tulov's freedom in the Krasnodarian-Tulovian war.

Many years later, Krasnodaria would launch another invasion of Tulov in 1711, beginning the Second Krasnodarian-Tulovian war. Though the war initially favored Krasnodaria, the tide quickly turned in favor of Tulov, with Krasnodaria suffering devastating losses once again and surrendering in 1712, ceding much of it's northeastern territories to Tulov. Content that Krasnodaria was now significantly weakened from their previous wars, along with Krasnodaria's dissent into economic collapse, the forces of Tulov would invade Krasnodaria in the year 1724. Despite the confidence of the Tulovian leadership, the war did not go as well as they had expected and the war quickly stalemated, ending in a one sided treaty of peace, which allowed Tulov to keep the lands it had managed to take during the war.

In honor of Tulov's victory over Krasnodaria in this war, the city of Cherkiv was founded in Tulov's newly gained territory and declared to be "Tulov's Southern Capital". In the years to come, Tulov's population, economy and military would continue to swell, with Tulov launching another invasion of Krasnodaria in 1748, inflicting a devastating and humiliating defeat upon the Krasnodaria. As a result of this war Krasnodaria would once again cede a vast portion of it's territory to Tulov. Now having access to the southern seas for the first time, Tulov would found the city of Edessatsyn, which was also built as a symbol of Tulov's triumphs over Krasnodaria, in addition to being their first port in the south. The city would become one of the jewels of Tulov, quickly booming and becoming highly prosperous.

In light of Krasnodaria's collapsing state and it's continued losses to Tulov, the leadership of Krasnodaria would in 1776 deem that the only solution to their crisis was to go to war with Tulov once again in hopes of reclaiming lost territories, as it was only a matter of time before Tulov would attempt a full annexation of Krasnodaria. Despite Krasnodarian hopes and in spite of the high confidence of the Tulovian command to emerge victorious, the war quickly drew to a stalemate in which both sides declared themselves to be victorious and both made minor territorial gains from the other.

By 1790 Tulov had grown into a highly prosperous nation, with massive ports in both the north and south, a thriving economy and a massive military. In spite of all this, Tulov had begun to suffer from deeply rooted discontent with it's leadership, discontent that was ignored by the ruling King Pribislav Asmik.

Seeking to further expand into the southern seas, Tulov launched yet another invasion into Krasnodaria in 1792, a war which was fought predominantly by their navies, as Tulov sought control over the Criym Peninsula. This war resulted in the full destruction of Krasnodaria's mighty navy and the emergence of Tulov as a naval power, as well as Tulov's annexation of the Cryim Peninsula by the end of the year, which was promptly renamed to "Krim". The port city of Zavosopol was founded on the western side of the Krim peninsula in celebration of Tulov's newest conquest.

Despite Tulov's newest victory over Krasnodaria and further ascent to glory, a large crowd of protestors petitioned the King in 1793, demanding a Bill of Rights for Tulov, the formation of a Parliament and limitations upon the King's powers. The petition was dismissed by King Pribislav and the crowd was ordered executed, resulting in the Tula massacre, in which over three hundred civilians were killed and various areas of the city declared to be seditious and razed to the ground.

A year later a rebellion rose up in the city of Tula as well as in neighboring settlements, under the leadership of Vladan Kozlov. The rebels attempted to storm the King's palace and overthrow King Pribislav, but were unsuccessful in their attempts. Large areas of the city were seized by the rebels, along with several of the nearby settlements. The rebels under the leadership of Vladan threatened the execution of the members of the House of Asmik that had been captured in Tula, along with the few members of the nobility that had been taken hostage.

Despite these threats and the advice of his advisors, Pribislav would not be persuaded and instead ordered the military to crush the rebellion at any cost. Tulovian troops stormed the city of Tula as a result, resulting in Vladlan carrying out his threat to execute the nobility and members of the House of Asmik. The rebels attempted to hold off the troops of Pribislav, but were ultimately crushed and much of the city razed in the process, thus ending Kozlov's Rebellion. Despite his victory, Pribislav's disregard for the nobility had cost him the trust of the rest of the nobility, as well as the trust of his own cabinet and family.

Still outraged by the loss of Cryim, which had been one of Krasnodaria's oldest territories, Krasnodaria launched an invasion of Tulov in the year 1795. Though Krasnodaria was unsuccessful in retaking Cryim, the Tulovian army suffered devastating losses in 1795, opening the way for Krasnodarian conquest of southern Tulov. Krasnodaria was however, unable to organize a proper offensive to capitalize upon this opportunity and instead opted for minor territorial gains in the treaty of 1796, failing to regain Cryim in the peace settlement. King Pribislav would be publicly assassinated two years later in 1797, leading to much speculation on whether it had been by Krasnodaria or by the Tulovian nobility, though the universal consensus was that he had been killed by the nobility.

## Grand Autocracy (1820 - 1937)

By the year 1820, Tulov had become ripe for rebellion. Hatred for the monarchy was deeply rooted within the population, the House of Asmik had fallen out of favor with both the nobility and the military. Feeling that nobody would attempt to stop them, the nobility attempted a coup in the summer of 1820, seeking to unseat the House of Asmik from the throne. The coup however ended in failure, as Queen Glasha Asmika had anticipated the nobility's betrayal, having many members of the military loyal to her infiltrate the inner circle of the coup members. As a result, all nobility and military officers associated with the coup were arrested and a vicious purge of the military's chain of command ensued, with Queen Glasha using the attempted coup to frame the nobility for the crimes committed by the previous members of the House of Asmik.

As a result, the populace of Tulov immediately turned against the nobility and supported Queen Glasha's purges, resulting in full consolidation of all power within Tulov into the Monarch, transforming the kingdom into a Grand Autocracy and changing the entire society of Tulov, leaving the nobility crushed.

In 1828 Queen Glasha Asmika launched an invasion of Krasnodaria, seeking to put a permanent end to their long time nemesis. Though the armies of Krasnodaria were once again crushed, the forces of Tulov were unable to secure a full victory over Krasnodaria. The two sides would agree to peace in 1830, with Tulov gaining over half of Krasnodaria's territory. Queen Glasha would found the city of Voroningrad in the newly gained territory, in honor of their triumph over Krasnodaria once more, the city was named after General Maxiv Voronin, who had commanded the invasion of Krasnodaria.

Tulov would enjoy many years of peace after this war, though with the death of Queen Glasha, the nation entered into a state of turmoil and stagnation. As a result, Krasnodaria would prey upon Tulov's weakness in 1874 and launch a large invasion. The war would drag on for two years with both sides suffering heavy casualties, before ending in a Krasnodarian victory in 1876, in which Krasnodaria regained much of its territory lost in the last war.

By the year 1890 the iron grip of the Grand Autocracy had finally begun to weaken with the rise of the young King Demian Asmik, who did not have the brutality nor the blood thirst of his predecessors. A series of reforms began throughout Tulov under his rule, severely scaling back the limitations on trade, immigration/emigration, religion and many other aspects of Tulovian society, though he chose not to make any cuts to the military at the advice of his sister, Princess Lera Asmika. The reign of Demian Asmik was however cut short in the year 1894, after he was publicly assassinated by the newly founded Tulovian National Socialist Front, one of many organizations that had been allowed to grow under his reign.

Following the coronation of his sister Lera, members of the Tulovian National Socialist Front were hunted down by the newly formed Tulovian Secret Police forces and executed, with all organizations deemed to be to extreme illegalized by the Queen's decree. Among these were any organizations considered to be Communist, Anarchist and namely, Fascist. Seeing the cracks forming in Tulov's Autocracy, Krasnodaria began calling for a revolt of ethnic Krasnodarians residing within Tulov, calling for a restoration of Krasnodaria to it's former glory. Despite Krasnodaria's hopes, few rebellions arose, as most of the ethnic Krasnodaria population within Tulov had either been assimilated or driven out over the many years.

At the end of Lera Asmika's reign in 1905 her son Tikhon Asmik ascended to the throne, but was assassinated a mere three days after his coronation while he was greeting a large crowd in Tula. His brother, Igor Asmik was in turn crowned as King of Tulov. Igor harbored a deep rage over the assassination of Tulov and once again plunged Tulovian society into an era of bloody purges, with the execution of all political opponents, anyone found with materials deemed to be seditious, guilt by association and anyone who had ever participated in any form of political organization or rally, thus triggering the First Tulovian Civil War.

The First Tulovian Civil war would rage for five years, with Krasnodaria invading in 1907, believing the civil war their chance to reclaim their lost territories. Both the rebellion and the forces of Krasnodaria were brutally crushed by the forces of King Igor, or Igor the VIcious as he had become known. Tulov made massive territorial gains against Krasnodaria and the Grand Autocracy's power was further cemented, the people of Tulov entering their darkest hour since the ending of the Time of Terror, as Igor the VIcious' reign saw unprecedented repressions, resulting in the death of millions from starvation and mass executions. The reign of Igor the VIcious lasted until the year 1935, when he along with his family died in an automobile accident on the outskirts of Tula. An investigation was launched into his death to determine if it had been an assassination, but it was eventually determined to be a legitimate accident and the investigation concluded.

In the first days of 1937 a series of protests erupted across all major cities of Tulov, petitioning the reigning King Edik Asmik, brother of the former King Yuriy the Vicious, for a say in how Tulov was run and threatening rebellion if their demands were not met. King Edik, also known as Edik the SIckly, chose to agree to their terms, to the amazement of all. A parliament was formed, though most control of the country remained centralized in the hands of the Monarch. The 'Charter of Tulovian Rights" was drawn up and signed by Edik the Sickly, though many of it's key components had been picked out by members of the King's cabinet before it had been signed. One key component that remained within the Charter was the Right to Private Property and Industry, which resulted in the "liberation" and selling of land held by the remaining nobility. Though not an official abolition of the nobility in Tulov, it was another crippling blow to them. With the formation of a parliament and the signing of a charter of rights, the Grand Autocracy was thought to be brought to an end.

## Constitutional Monarchy (1937 - 1943)

Despite Edik the Sickly's concessions, discontent was once again brooding throughout Tulov, as Tulov had remained a Grand Autocracy despite the changes by King Edik. The people quickly grew tired of waiting for the sham of a parliament to act on it's many promises it did not intend to keep. People once again protested in the streets and petitioned the King once again, demanding he sign the original Charter of Tulovian Rights that had been drafted in 1937, before the King's cabinet had removed it's most important components and also demanded that free and open elections finally be held for the parliament. Edik the Sickly once again agreed to hear their demands and set up a meeting with the leadership of the protestors and as a result, he along with his advisers and guards were shot dead by the leaders of the protests moments after the commencement of the meeting.

Vlastimil Martyushev, who had led the protests and headed the meeting with Edik the Sickly, as well as personally shot the King, declared the monarchy to be overthrown and rallied the protestors throughout the city against the military, commanding them to stand down as their King was dead and the monarchy abolished. Uncertain of what to do, some units of the military chose to open fire and cut down the protestors, while other units chose to surrender. The Second Civil War had officially commenced.

## Republic of Tulov (1943 - 1945)

With the capital mostly under the control of the protestors, Vlastimil Martyushev proclaimed the Republic of Tulov that same day, with himself acting as temporary president. Parliament was immediately dissolved and it was announced that a congress would be formed, with all parties allowed to run for office. As news of what had happened in Tula spread throughout the kingdom, a ferocious fury was ignited within the King's younger brother Prince Stepan Asmik, who was only 16 years of age at the time. Enraged, Prince Stepand demanded a meeting with the people of Cherkiv, the city in which he had been reigning over as Duke for just a few weeks. He gave a long speech denouncing the newly founded republic, declaring that it's leaders had betrayed the trust of and murdered the former King, deaming the republic along with anyone who dared to support it to be eternally damned. At the end of his speech, he called for the support of the people of Tulov in restoring the monarchy, promising to form a legitimate parliament and expand upon Tulovian Rights in exchange for their support.

In the day's that followed the kingdom was split in two, with the majority of the eastern territories siding with the republic, while the cities of the west rallied to Prince Stepan and the monarchy, igniting the Second Tulovian Civil War. Stepan's forces marched straight for Tula, besieging the city and reclaiming it after three months of deadly fighting, which left most of the city in ruins. Krasnodaria, seeing this as their last chance to regain their lost lands, invaded in 1944, seizing vast amounts of territory from the weak republic.

The civil war would rage on until 1945, the kingdom launching numerous offensives into the republic, with the war finally coming to an end as a result of the battle of Lizirk, where the leaders of the republic had taken refuge for the duration of the war. The city had fallen after three weeks of continuous siege, resulting in the arrest of Vlastimil Martyushev and the other leaders of the republic, who were transported to Tula and publicly hung the next day.

## Second Constitutional Monarchy (1945 - 1997)

With the civil war put to an en end, Prince Stepan was officially crowned as King of all Tulov and honored his promises, to the surprise of most of the nation. He declared an immediate end to the nobility, the formation of a parliament and signed the Charter of Tulovian Rights in it's original form, finally bringing an end to the Grand Autocracy that had ruled over Tulov for many years and restoring freedoms not enjoyed in Tulov since before the 1400s, beginning in a third Golden Age for Tulov, as it's industry and economy grew at an accelerated rate, it's population boomed, it's society quickly modernized and it's scientists beginning to make many discoveries and achievements.

With Tulov once again stabilized, King Stepan (or Stepan the Wise, as he was now known) mounted a full scale invasion into Krasnodaria in 1948, to reclaim the territories seized during the Second Civil War, but also hoped to permanently wipe Krasnodaria off the map. To the dismay of the Tulovian leadership, the army of Krasnodaria had also modernized, in some ways much more so than Tulov. After the first few months of fighting, the war quickly ground to a halt and it became apparent neither side was going to be able to break the stalemate, the treaty of Voroningrad was signed in autumn of 1948, bringing an abrupt end to the war, with Tulov regaining some of the territory it had years prior, while Krasnodaria maintained a fair portion of the lands it had seized.

Tulov and Krasnodaria would remain at a bitter peace in the era that followed, both constantly attempting to provoke the other into attacking, while avoiding direct aggression. The many years of warring between Tulov and Krasnodaria were ultimately, over. Both countries would shift towards their own affairs, while eternally waiting for a chance to expand into the other.

By the late 1970s, Tulov was once again becomming afflicted by internal strife, with calls for a total revolution and an abolishment of the monarchy. In the years of economic freedom enjoyed following the Second Civil War, Tulov's industry had immensely grown, with large corporations dominating nearly every aspect of society in Tulov, massive monopolies held a strangehold on all aspects of industry. The corporate domination of Tulov had led to a massive rift in Tulovian society, as the sick and needy laid dying in the streets and alleys of Tulov, unable to afford medical or any of their other basic needs. As a result of this, Tulov became popularly known as "The Corporate Monarchy", both inside and outside of Tulov.

Facing the threat of revolution and a third civil war, the Tulovian parliament began passing legislation in the early 1980s to help the poorest members of society. The legislation did ultimately nothing however, as corporate backed bureaucrats had thoroughly torn out all key elements of such legislation before it could be passed. On March 17th, 1985, a series of bombings struck all across Tulov's major cities, including the King's Palace, the Tulovian Parliament and Ugolin Tower (which was the home of Ugolin Enterprises, the largest corporation in Tulov.) Smaller bombings were also reported across the rest of Tulov, including multiple follow up attacks throughout the week.

As a result of these bombings, Prince Yerin, 83 members of parliament, 3,117 employees at Ugolin Tower and countless others were killed. Several days later, on March the 26th, Ugolin Tower would collapse from the structural damage it had received, killing a further two hundred people. Investigations were launched across Tulov to determine the culprits for the attacks. Though no official charges were ever pressed, due to a lack of clear cut evidence, as well as an inability to locate him, Aleksandr Zvezdov and his underground revolutionary party, the Rabocheviks, were accused of being behind the attacks. On April 6th, a funeral was held for those killed in the bombings and a memorial was later constructed in their honor.

By the late 1980s Tulov's problems with poverty continued to worsen, with major corporations such as Ugolin Enterprises slashing the salaries of employees who did not vote for corporate supported politicians in elections, as well as firing any workers that they declared to be Communist, whether or not there was evidence to support such accusations. As a result, unemployment within Tulov shot up to over 23% by 1989. Camps of "undesirables" sprang up outside the major cities of Tulov, which were forcefully broken up by the Tulovian State Police in December of 1989, resulting in hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries and arrests, with many others dying in hospitals and jails from lack of treatment, as well as further brutality from police during incarceration.

In September of 1990 a coup was attempted by Minera Corp., which attempted to dethrone King Mitrofan and bring an end to the monarchy. Minera Corp. had secretly raised a private army over the years, as well as contracted many foreign volunteers for it's eventual coup. Despite years of planning and many corporate officials within the government, the coup was a massive failure. By mid November, the Tulovian army had crushed the private army of Minera Corp. and much of the city of Tula was left in ruins as a result. The CEO, head executives and many other employees of Minera Corp. were arrested on November 24th by the Tulovian Military Police, with all company assets seized. Other companies which had supported Minera Corp.'s coup were also raided by the Tulovian Military Police, resulting in many more arrests and further seizing of assets. The cities of Petrovsk, Linsk, Cherkiv, Litz, Edessatsyn, Vorningrad and Livgorod also suffered heavy damage from fighting between Tulovian and Minera Corp. forces.

Over 70,000 were reported killed between the Tulovian Armed Forces and the private Army of Minera Corp. and many more injured. Sixteen thousand civilians were also killed in the battle for the city of Tula. Throughout November arrests would be made all over Tulov, with the arrests of any politicians that had ever lobbyed for Minera Corp. or any of the corporations that had supported their coup attempt. All who were arrested over the attempted coup were given a show trial, then publicly hung on December the 2nd, 1990. The assets that bad been seized were kept by the Tulovian Government and transformed into state run corporations, giving King Mitrofan a near total monopoly on the nation's mineral resources as well as manufacturing.

Ugolin Enterprises was the only major corporation to have survived the fallout of the coup, as they had sided with the monarchy and against Minera Corp. They received a contract to rebuild the areas of Tulov which had been destroyed in the fighting, as a result of their loyalty. Using their political influence, large sections of the cities were declared condemned and unfit for living, even if only minimal damage had been received, or in some cases, no damage. The Tulovian State Police were used to forcibly evict people from their homes and businesses throughout 1991 and 1992, allowing Ugolin Enterprises to demolish and then develop large sections of the cities.

Civil unrest began to grow increasingly strong within Tulov as a result, coupled with the fact years of bad weather had destroyed much of Tulov's crops and created a famine, which harshly gripped the low income and homeless families of Tulov. By 1993 riots and looting had begun to overwhelm much of the country and on August 7th, 1993, a state of marshal law was declared across the entire country, with the military sent into all cities to suppress the violence, restoring temporary order to the streets of Tulov.

In spite of the strong military presence throughout the cities of Tulov, riots began to once again break out across the country in December, with Molotov cocktails being thrown into businesses and government buildings. After multiple attempts to peacefully disperse the rioters, the Tulovian Military opened fire upon the rioters, sparking the Third Tulovian Civil War.

All regions of Tulov were quickly engulfed in the flames of war, with small pockets of the military turning against the ruling government and monarchy. Just two days late, on December the 7th, Aleksandr Zvezdov, head of the underground revolutionary party "the Rabocheviks", declared himself to be the leader of the Tulovian Red Army. Members of the Rabocheviks began to organize partisan brigades all throughout the country, actively engaging the military and on occasion, receiving defectors from the military. The city of Livgorod was the first city to fully defect to the Rabocheviks, taking with it it's massive arms manufacturing industry.

With the city fully under their control, the Rabocheviks rounded up and publicly executed all politicians and corporate heads within the city, broadcasting it across Tulov as a sign of what awaited the rest of the politicians and corporations of the country should they win. City after city began to defect to the Rabocheviks, with their populace turning against their leaders as well as the military and welcoming in the Revolutionary Rabocheviks. The Tulovian government began a brutal campaign of aerial bombardments of all cities that had defected as a result, a move which proved ineffective at slowing the momentum the Rabocheviks were gaining in the war.

By autumn of 1995 the Rabocheviks were closing in on the capital city of Tula and as a result, King Mitrofan ordered the annihilation of the cities of Livgorod, Zomel and Cherkiv, the major strongholds of the Rabocheviks. On October 7th, 1995, a bomber squadron was deployed to each of those three cities with heavy air support. At 14:00 Tulovian time, the order came for each squadron to drop it's nuclear weapon upon the cities. While the order was carried out and the bombers were dropped, the bombers could not bring themselves to drop nuclear weapons on Tulovian soil and had disabled the nuclear weapons. The Rabocheviks seized the nuclear weapons as a result and used them for a massive campaign to turn the populace even further against King Mitrofan, earning him the title "the Murderous".

Mass defections to the Rabocheviks began throughout Tulov, with the entire Tulovian Navy and a third of the Air Force defecting, while only a small portion of the main army chose to defect. On December 14th, 1995, the city of Tula fell to the Rabocheviks under heavy support of the Red Guards Air Force, which had been formed from the defecting members of the Tulovian Air Force. What few members of the government and corporations that had dared to remain in the city were captured and paraded around as trophies, before being executed in Tula square by firing squad. Having successfully taking the capital, the tide of the war had turned completely in favor of the Rabocheviks, with the city of Voroningrad in the southeast falling less than a month later, in January of 1986.

The northwestern territories of Tulov fell in October of 1996 and the port city of Edessatsyn fell on November 7th, 1996. As 1996 neared it's end, the Third Tulovian Civil War also began to drawn to a close, with the city of Petrovsk falling to the Rabocheviks on January 10th, 1997. It had been the last major city in the hands of the monarchy and signaled a total victory for Tulov, as King Mitrofan and his advisers, as well as the remains of parliament and most of the heads of Ugolin Enterprises were captured, paraded around the city as trophies, then shipped of to Tula, where they would be further paraded in front of a cheering populace, calling for their execution. All were executed days later on January 29th.

With all members of the government and the nation's corporations either dead or having fled the country, the main industrial base of Tulov was now firmly behind the Rabocheviks, allowing them to quickly overwhelm and sweep away the few pockets of territory continuing to fight for the King. Despite the Rabochevik's massive gains throughout Tulov, large amounts of the Kingdom's territory had fallen to other rebel factions, namely in the east, but also a small portion of territory in the west. No factions were eager to continue the war

With the Kingdom's leadership dead and the main industrial base of Tulov now behind the Rabocheviks, the few pockets within their territory that remained loyal to the Kingdom were quickly overwhelmed and conquered. Not all had joined the Rabocheviks, however. A large amount of the Kingdom of Tulov's territory in the east and south, as well as a small portion of territory in the west, had declared themselves independent from the Kingdom, and opposed to the Rabocheviks. With none of the factions eager to continue the war, the various rebel factions agreed to peace with the Rabocheviks.

## United Socialist States of Tulov (1997 - )

The Third Tulovian Civil War was declared officially over on March 1st, 1997, with the majority of the country controlled by the Rabocheviks. In the east, the Sheksna Federation, the Nikolskia Republic, the [[Terengul}Kingdom of Terengul]] and the Atkarsky Republic were founded, while the Lvov-Rovne Confederation was founded in the west.

With the war finally over, a series of bloody purges once again engulfed Tulov, as the Rabocheviks hunted down and executed former members of government who were still trapped within their borders, as well as any remaining CEO's, investors and other members of Tulov's former corporations that they could find, as well as those who had betrayed them during the war. An official Treaty of Union was signed on April 7th, 1997, officially declaring the United Socialist States of Tulov. A little over a year later, the USST would officially ratify it's constitution on May 1st, 1998. Aleksandr Zvezdov served as the first Premier of the USST up until February 1st, 1999, when he officially stepped down from office and the USST's first elections were held.

By 2001 the dust from the Third Tulovian Civil War and it's accompanying purges had finally settled, Tulov's industry was already beginning to recover and it's collectivized farms were producing an abundance of harvests as a result of a wave of good weather. While the USST recovered from the war, so did the other states which had broken away from the Tulovian Kingdom, which had adopted sharply anti-USST policies and moved for closer relations with Tulov's long time enemy, Krasnodaria.
Animated map of Tulov and it's neighbors since 1206