Ivan "Russia" Braginsky

IVAN (RUSSIA) BRAGINSKY


We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year
Running over the same old ground, what have we found? The same old fears;

I Feel Like We're Summoning The Devil

[/color]:[/b] Ivan Braginsky
Nickname/Alias: Vanya, Mother Russia, Russky, Commie
Gender: Male
Character Type: Country
Country or Country of Origin: Russian Federation
Canon or Original: Canon
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When I look into all of your stupid faces

I think how fun it will be to pound them into dust

[/color]:[/b] Violet
Hair: Pale Blond
Height and Weight: 6'4" (~194 cm), 225 lbs (~102 kg)
Other Distinguishing Features: Even if he adores the sun, he can not remain under it for long without burning - pale skin nearly matches in tone with the light shade of his hair, bringing out the darker hue of his eyes. Pupils can occasionally appear diluted if one were close enough to see, touching a rather unstable look. Accentuating tall height are rather broad shoulders and torso which, although his stomach is indeed not perfectly flat, he determinedly addresses as being big-boned. Though they are near constantly hidden under the fabric of his over-sized scarf, there are a collection of scarf of varying sizes around his neck - pale but terribly tender, they appear to be remnants of deep cuts from a blade or perhaps something else of rough material. Otherwise, the rest of him is free of scars.

Overall Appearance: Pale hair falls in well-groomed locks over his ears and eyes, a pair of violet hue that are usually met with a calm, happy expression. His cheeks are well rounded and his nose is rather large, a toned amount of muscle found in his arms and legs, just the slightest bit of pudge blemishing the man's stomach. He is most commonly seen wearing a scarf that's tan, though he tends to switch them once in a while - following suit with a variety of outfits, though the Soviet-style trench coat is most favored.

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Man up or I'll beat you with my peace prize!

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Sunflowers
Vodka
Food
Weapons
Blood
Warmth
Folk Music
Rock Music
Traditions
Embroidery
Happiness
Painting
Reading
Poetry
Cats
Rabbits
Winter sports
Bright colors
Plushies / Dolls
Theater
Ballrooms
Outer Space
Cloudgazing
China
The Baltics

Dislikes:
Winter / Cold
Deep Water
His body
Accusations
Harassment of his siblings
Sleeping
Name mispronunciation
Cellphones
Obeying
Fast food
Smoking
Being called Commie
Poland
Soviet Russia jokes

Strengths:
Physical strength - Water pipes aside, his hands alone can also deal a good amount of damage. He does not opt away from using his hands as a weapon if it is necessary (or not necessary, really), and uses the strength in his limbs to his advantage.

Faking - He has a skill in misleading his emotions to seem different than what he is really feeling - his unnerving smile may be present more often than not, though it isn't always easy to tell, except for those who might know him well enough, whether or not it is truly a genuine smile. His actions don't always depict what he is really feeling, either, as he may seem all sunny and calm during a time in which things are exactly the opposite, possibly leading to confusion and discomfort to those who aren't able to tell.

Resistance to cold - For a nation who lived in mostly low temperatures throughout his life, he feels he more used to and understanding of the cold than others would be. It can indeed be his ally at times and he has learned to become used to it, though he couldn't ever bring himself to like it. However, he is certainly not resistant to receiving frostbite or other damages from the cold, though his nearly constant over-dressing in multiple layers of warm clothing always helps.

Understanding of others - He likes trying to look into the minds of others and understanding what their weak points and what their true emotions are, and how they might react to certain things being done to them.

Manipulation - A favorite thing of his to do, manipulating others, especially those that are smaller than him (there are many) to do or get what he wants. It is one of the rare moments that he uses his ability to intimidate to get his way, a rather negative quality that he is yet to see the bad in. His excuse is usually thinking that that is what friends do for each other.

Agility - Centuries of having to run from your little sister chasing after you with a knife equipped does come in handy. He is a fairly good runner thanks to experience and practice, so to speak, and also has an apt for climbing things such as trees. Due to his weight, however, there aren't many things he can climb that can always support him.

High tolerance - He is capable of consuming large quantities of alcohol without getting drunk, usually a full bottle or two will have to do until their effects begin to take him over.

'Magic' - Being immune to and countering the deadly effects of a cursed chair and somehow being able to be summoned in a demonic circle of sorts must count for something. He has also been known to cast 'curses' on other nations.

Weaknesses:
Scarf / Neck - His neck is the most sensitive area on his body for more than just one reason, and they are reasons that he never plans on spilling to the public. He'd rather not share anything about why he always wears his scarf or why his neck is so particularly hidden, and only shares that the scarf is from his dear older sister Ukraine and that he claims it is now a part of his body. He is protective of it and hates when it is touched, trying to take it off of him or steal it will unleash the worst of reactions, and trying to touch his neck itself will result in even worse. It is sensitive, and there are unexplained scars there, after all.

Temper - There are many factors, little or not, that can set his temper off, and he can just as easily go from being a happy child to something much more angry. His anger is most often taken out on someone or something, or sometimes it can simply be bottled up inside of him. It isn't dealt with in any good way, as usually the sight of someone else suffering or simply drowning his emotions in vodka is usually how he can begin to calm down.

Size - Being the largest nation in the world and with a physical body size as big-boned as his brings many disadvantages. He is not very flexible and cannot fit through small or tight spaces without getting stuck, and that is always rather embarrassing.

Swimming -- As aforementioned, he prefers not having to go very deep into water, or simply not going in any body of water at all due to his inability to swim.

Jealousy - He is awful with dealing with his jealousy, and feels it much too often - almost toward anyone. He is simply jealous of those who had a better childhood and life overall than him, hence his strong interest in learning about other people, and his tendency to be overprotective of those he grows to like. There are many he knows have had a better history than his own, and envy of that leads to him wanting to keep these people all for himself, as another thing he does not want to be taken from him.

Fears:
Left alone - Sitting alone in silence for too long with the thought that there is absolutely no one there is the last situation he would want; though he doesn't usually admit to his fear of being lonely. Spending too long without another presence leaves him susceptible to bad thoughts and memories regarding his past returning.

Belarus - Being stalked by your younger sibling is by no means settling. Seeing the tall Russian cowering in the presence of the Belorussian is not a regular sight either, and the very thought of her can send him into a panic. He hasn't any wish to hurt her, for underneath he does care a deal for his siblings, though he can not bring himself to accept how forward she is.

Finland - He can't help it, he has seen enough of Finland's true side and his strength against him in wars of the past, and the shorter nation certainly knows how to handle his guns. It isn't a full on cry-inducing fear, though Ivan is terribly wary and careful when he is around the Finnish nation.

No one to love him - It is perhaps the greatest of his wishes to know that he will not be spending the rest of his life in solitude, that others had more intentions than simply shunning him away. While of course he has what is left of his family, though he is not always comfortable around them, he refuses giving up his attempts on making companionship. He had spent his childhood with a yak as his only friend, and went the rest of years without very many, and would rather not have to die while that fact remains the same.

Loss - There was a multitude of figures he had grown to like throughout his existence, though when you are an immortal nation and those people of your country are mortal humans, you are unable to help but accept the fact that you will be losing them. Catherine and Peter the Great, for example, the physically and emotionally troubled Czarina Alexandra, Grand Duchess Anastasia and the rest of the last of the Romanovs; the loss of those he had grown close to and had seen as a chance of hope for his country took a toll on him in line with the other tragic happenings that he had went through. His sisters are probably the closest to him that he has left, and in result he is rather protective of them, feeling that if he is to lose them - as they had brutally lost their mother - then what is left of his stability will be lost as well.

His past - There were more bosses he had that he disliked than those he liked, and he had seen his country go into the wrong hands an innumerable amount of times. With a history of misfortune and bloodshed that loomed over his shoulders and as memories in the back of his mind, he tries however possible to not let them creep back on him and does what he can to make up for now the childhood he hadn't the chance to enjoy. There were plentiful things that had troubled him enough that he doesn't dare think of and hopes not to be reminded of, memories that can send him into a bit of a trance even nowadays.

Being communist again - Though there are a number of groups in Russia that still wish they were in communist times, that's what he thinks of as a past life that he'd rather was not brought up again. He is affronted when accused of still being communist and knows well enough that things for him would not be going any better were he to try that again. He had had bad experiences with his communist bosses, but that doesn't mean he holds any dislike towards those who are still communist today.

Secrets:

He tried to hang himself after the slaughter of the last of the Romanov family, though was not successful. This is partially the reason for the scars on his neck.

He has no favorite between his two sisters, loving both of them very dearly; no matter how much Belarus can frighten him and Ukraine depress him (though that is since he rarely gets to see her.)

A sucker for cute things: dolls, plushies, small animals, people.

At one period of time while he was the Russian Empire, he had a fascination with and a crush on France. He'd learned a good amount of French and German then, though nowadays both have grown rusty.

Has a very troublesome time sleeping, due to constant nightmares that keep him up at night.

Any Quirks/Habits:
Accent -- There are no articles, a, an, the, in Russian and therefore his English comes off as rather broken. The w and th sounds are not present either and are pronounced with his own accented sounds, and Rs are trilled. He has a habit of speaking other's names in their Russian derivative, and while Russian words may come off as long and rather frightening, he is always more than happy to teach some to others. Questions that are expected to be answered with either a yes or no are ended with 'da?', though he tries not to make a habit of it. This makes him quite difficult to understand at times.

Heart -- His heart is a fragile thing, enough that it will sometimes randomly fall out of his chest and leave behind a bloodied hole in its place. It does not kill him on the spot, of course, and he is rather used to it by now, but he is unable to control when it happens and it can distract and slow him down from anything he might currently be doing. He almost cares about his scarf more than he does his heart, not minding if anyone were to touch or take it, just as long as he can get it back in.

Chanting -- Particularly when he is angered, rather than taking the immediate violent route, a strange violet aura radiates off of him. With a sound coming off as 'kol', which could be questioned if one wasn't spooked enough, used as a way to get others to back off before anything gets worse. A quality of his that others tend to find creepy, though sometimes he isn't aware of it.

Overall Personality: Whether it's a first glance or a double take, initial impressions of a figure whose height towers over most, in correspondence with incredibly broad shoulders and a physique like that of a brick house, aren't bound to be positive. Occasionally completely covered from the neck down in a coat weighed down with who's to know what, rounded eyes of an amethyst hue apt to staring in the least comforting of ways and portraying emotions that appear in contrary to how he might be acting, only contribute to the perplexing demeanor. Intimidation seems to simply radiate from the large, pale-skinned man, to the extent that it's practically visible to the naked eye – though blind to his own. Although this doesn't stray too far from how he actually is on the inside, after all he is more than one would expect; it is something that usually passes over his head. He is unaware of anything eerie about his appearance and just how he comes off as to others, and reactions hinted with fear or discomfort toward him only leave him in question.

But behind that is a mentality unable to grasp the concepts that any other man could, a mind that didn't age in time with the rest of him. The conditions and events in which he spent his earlier years showed little promise for a bright future, no matter how much he yearned, and he hadn't ever the chance to completely grow up. This didn't mean seeing the world as just one big playground and acting literally like a child would, but his perspective on things were different. It was easily discernible to others in the childish tone of his voice, though certainly capable of lowering to unnervingly deep volume, and his cracked laughter. He saw no wrong in his actions, things that would commonly be rendered as strange to others, and very seldom felt any guilt or regret in result to a wrongdoing. In his greedy mind he could have anything how he wanted it to be, and he took to using his sheer height and size as an advantage to getting that.

The world is never a perfect, happy place, and that in itself is a reason to always approach with a smile – a gesture he believes can easily spread onto everyone else, just as he always wants it to be. While his own smiles can come off as erratic or perhaps forced or false, in a feeble attempt to reassure others, he hates to see this in anyone else. They are always complimenting one's features when genuine, showing to him a sign of friendship and acceptance and proving to others that all are capable of remaining happy no matter the situation, and that there is no reason to be down. His temper is certainly not easily bottled in, but senses of depression and sadness easily are. Hidden behind the happy facade, his depression is a sensitive touch that can be tapped easily if someone managed to irk it in a way - even if they don't mean to.

No matter how persistent he is in saying that he doesn't mean being alone, as being left on his own was something he had grown used to, there's an almost desperation for making friends in him. Knowing that someone is accepting of him gives him a sense of hope that he is capable of making a plentiful amount of friends, though being reminded of his lack in any such companion is an immediate wrench in his heart. Though, he doesn't allow it to stop there. He is usually quite forward and blunt in his attempts of making one, putting forth his affectionate tendencies and his apparent incomprehension of the boundaries to personal space - an act to which he habitually refers to as "becoming one". He will take great interest in getting to know someone he has acquainted, and it is rare there is someone with whom he'd rather not. However, it is decided at his own rate whether or not he will allow someone to become close, preferring not to leave himself open to just anyone. He is unaware of whatever reasons may be as to why others can be frightened away by his forwardness, but it is easy for him to become attached to those he sees as considering him a potential friend. Awfully possessive, jealousy comes naturally and if something or someone belongs to him, then he will make sure to show it.

And he certainly does not like sharing anything, living or not. It's another childish aspect of him and certainly comes with his greediness, the need to claim and take anything that sparks interest and make sure that no one else takes it from him. It is in rare moods that he allows something of his possession to be shared or borrowed, though usually it is a concept of not quite trusting others with his things and that they will not be returned to him in the end.

A rather strange and unknown quality, and therefore something he strictly keeps to himself, is that he can be self-conscious about his appearance. Comments made about his personality or behavior are easily brushed off, although bringing up particular subjects – the size of a certain appendage upon his face or the reason as to why his scarf is always worn – are dealt with differently. He isn't violent in his response, instead resorting to a fit of lowered self-esteem and the considering that perhaps that was why people still tended to stray away from him. While almost seeming timid in these circumstances, he doesn't shy away the opportunity to retaliate with some sort of verbal comeback.

Though he is intelligent and by no means incapable of understanding modern technology and concepts under that category, he still prefers remaining in a more old-fashioned mindset. He had developed rather slowly in terms of technological advancements and catching up with the rest of the world over the past, growing up in much less urban places; yet he still enjoys imagining things as if they were still in the older times, where everything was easier without use of silly gadgets and the like. He is very fond of rural areas, vast country sides and such that are more calm and in tune with nature.

His antics can be changed for better or for worse when he is drunk, depending on what had lead him to drink in the first place. He has a rather high tolerance to something so strong as vodka, though of course he is not exempt from getting drunk - if the drinking is done in attempt to flush out gloomy or negative emotions, the outcome could be a rather violent Russian who does not hold back in hurting even those he cares for, or he will simply detach himself from others in an unsociable mindset. And without a doubt, he also finds himself drinking for pure enjoyment or when there is nothing else to do, which will lead to someone much more outgoing, clingy and active with the chance of unconsciously doing something that he might not ever do when sober and will be embarrassed about the next day. Drinking is the only way he can cope with what he's gone through, he feels.

It is well believed that everyone, even the most innocent of people, the quietest and the unsuspecting, has a dark side to them. And hanging dangerously on Ivan's seemingly innocent thread was a sense of cruelty, that tied in disturbingly close with his usual childishness and bighearted demeanor. His outwardly friendly behavior could easily interweave with that of something much less friendly, the constant appearance of a smile and a strange sense of dread about him creating only a false sense of security. It was often that he gave in to violence, showering others with mindless threats and causing harm that only gifted him satisfaction in return; he rather liked seeing pain in others, just as well as he did happiness, and shame was out of the question. Sympathy was something he couldn't feel, or perhaps only refused to feel, and he never had the burden of guilt to hang over his head. And nevertheless, it had always fascinated him to see what sort of reactions he could coax out of others – experimenting things, if you will, to see how the mind of another worked and perhaps the sorts of weaknesses they may have. Harmless, happy dreams aside, his mind ran rampant with cruel thoughts of sorts that were best left unsaid, though it never always remained that way.

While this was true, he knew very well that he did have a heart and it was put to good use on those he felt deserved a special part in it. It can be easy to relate him to an affectionate bear in contrast to his many other sides, exerting himself upon those he is close to with immediate assumptions that they will be completely accepting of it. There are those he refrains from hurting, family and loved ones whom he especially would not want to see upset, which in turn shows a hint of relent in him. Though slow with unwillingness to submit to commands of someone else, he will do so by means of keeping them from becoming upset or angered with him. A rather complex being, in all, past intimidating appearances and mindsets that one may deem psychopathic; someone as warm as a sunflower yet savage like the midst of winter.

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I'm the hero!

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8th-12th Centuries (Kievan Rus' and Novgorod): The early Slavic and Eastern Slavic tribes settled the Western lands of Russia, travelers that hailed from Scandinavia and Kiev.

The Finno-Ugric tribes, those that were already settled in the lands, were eventually converted.

Kievan Rus' rises as the first state and becomes a major prospect in trading with Scandinavia and the Byzantine Empire. The name of 'Russia' is formed.

The Eastern Orthodox religion is started, as well as culture and the Russian language of Kievan Rus'.

Kievan Rus' dissapparates and the states of Novogorod, Vladimir-Suzdal and Halych-Volhynia are formed.

13th Century (Mongol invasion): Rus' is raided by the Mongols and the Golden Horde, the city of Vladimir and other major Russian territories burned to the ground. Called the Tatars, the Golden Horde ruled the invaded nation and tried expanding territory, converting Russia to Roman Catholicism, creating systems and a better military and government. The Russians were overpowered for further centuries by the occupation of Mongols, a disheartening period known as the Tatar Yoke.

1283-1547 (Grand Duchy of Moscow) The principality Moscow is founded by the prince of Novgorod, and the Mongols are finally driven back out. Russia begins to take its own approach on reforming itself as its own territory. The Russian Orthodox Church is started, and Tatars begin to lose power though still remain.

The Grand Duchy of Moscow increases in size under the rule of ruler Ivan III. Ivan III annexes Novogorod and Tver, and wars are fought against rivals the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the remaining Golden Horde. Moscow considers themselves in power over all of Russia, and the start of autocracy - rule of Tsars - begins.

Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible) becomes the first official Tsar. He strengthened the position of the monarch to an unprecedented degree, as he ruthlessly subordinated the nobles to his will, exiling or executing many on the slightest provocation. However, he reformed Russia and brought forth a set of code laws. The Livonian War, which was an attempt to control the Baltic coast and gain access to trade over its seas, was a loss. Siberia is annexed in the late 1500s, which gained a Muslim Tatar population and colonization by the Russian Cossacks.

1570 (The Massacre of Novgorod) The city of Novgorod was attacked by Ivan IV's followers, an immense number of casualties ensuing as well as brutal violence and torture of Russia's people. There were massacres, epidemics, poor harvests and starvation that swept through Russia. The Crimean Tatars took advantage of its weakened state, and Moscow was burned down. The Swedish and Polish-Lithuanian armies attacked as well and wiped out northern Russia.

Early 1600s - The Russian Famine Cold summers wrecked crops and famine and civil wars continued to tread through Russia, and many more cities were left devastated.

1610 - Polish-Lithuanian forces take head through Moscow, replacing the Russian Tsar with a Polish leader and once more burning Moscow down when Moscow tried to revolt.

The foreign forces were driven out and these times, known as the Times of Troubles, slowly calmed.

1613 - The Romanov Dynasty begins. Mikhail Romanov is elected to the throne and makes an attempt to restore peace after the chaos. A truce is signed with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1619, as well as peace negotiations with Sweden.

Advances are made to enserf peasants. The citizens of Moscow revolt several times in the mid- to late-1600s, joined by Cossacks after having escaped from their landlords. In 1670 they are crushed by the Tsar and his army, though that does not stop the revolts in times to come.

1721-1917 (The Russian Empire)
Peter the Great makes a leap to bring Russia into a more European state. Russia begins to expand west, slowly bringing about the rise of population and farms - though with imperfections.

His advanced in military are first made against the Ottomans, and then onto the north. An alliance was made with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Denmark against Sweden, which lead to the Great Northern War (1700-1721). Russia took victory and Sweden sued them for peace.

Access to the sea was granted when provinces around the Gulf of Finland were taken.

1703 - Peter founds the city of Saint Petersburg, which replaces Moscow as Russia's primary city and capital. Peter crowns himself Tsar and the Empire begins.

His model of government is slightly Westernized and Russia becomes an absolutist state. He set up structure in the government and aided with Russia's strength and economy, and by his death in 1725 they had become a stronger power.

For forty years, an array of different rulers took power, leaving the throne undecided. Catherine I, the second wife of Peter, succeeded after him, followed by Peter II, then Anna (daughter of Ivan V) and then Peter's daughter, Elizabeth. In light of this time, Moscow University was started as well as capital punishment.

Catherine II, or Catherine the Great, was next in 1762. She established arts and education as well as rights to the nobility, guiding Russia back on the path to a greater reformed nation. Control over the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was extended. She made legal the selling of serfs separate from land, which nearly started revolts for the taking of Moscow in 1773.

The war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire was begun, expanding Russia even further now to the Black Sea. They were allied with Prussia and Austria which now had Russia expanding westward, into Central Europe.

Alexander I had the Finnish War underway, a battle between Russia and Sweden over the Grand Duchy of Finland which ended in Russian victory.

In 1812, under the power of Tsar Alexander I, France raised a rivalry with Russia. Napoleon Bonaparte launched an invasion of Russia during its winters, which ended in a monstrous failure; the Russians ambushed them and set their cities on fire until the French troops retreated.

When came time the Industrial Revolution, however, this is where Russia began to slow down and fall behind. They were much less modernized than the rest of the Western world was growing.

In 1825, Nicholas I was next in line to rule. The Decembrist Revolt was just beginning, ensued by those that wanted to see a change in the lagging nation. It didn't last long. By 1831, Russia had now expanded to the Caucasus. While Westernization was still in progressed, idealists such as Karl Marx and Frederick Engels made predictions that war with Turkey was at bay.

Russia joined the Crimean War in the 1850s, a war dispute between its Empire and the French, British and Turkish Empires, as well as Sardinia. Russia found itself suffering once more as result.

Alexander II ruled in 1855, a time where serfs were seeking reform. In 1861 he put forth an emancipation of serfs, which brought a supply of free labor to the cities, industry was stimulated, and the middle class grew in number and influence. The freed peasants had to buy land, allotted to them, from the landowners with the state assistance. Local self-government, and reform of the judiciary and military service.

1867 (Alaska) - Alaska is sold to the United States by a treaty signed by Alexander II. The Russians sell what was Russian-America at the time for $7.2 million.

Russo-Turkish war in the 1870s, which increased problems with Austria-Hungary and expanded Russia into Central Asia.

Nihilism ideas began in 1862 which favored the destruction of human institutions and laws, based on the idea that such institutions and laws are artificial and corrupt. Anarchists had Alexander II assassinated in 1881.

His son, Alexander III succeeded him. His rule was much more harsh, as he believed Russia should remain strictly Russian; shut out Western influence, conclude the union of France to contain gaining power of Germany, complete the conquest of Central Asia, and exacted important territorial and commercial concessions from China. He wanted Russification of Poland and the influence of the nation in Europe and Asia, while the Industrial Revolution finally began to pick up its pace in Russia.

When his son Nicholas II succeeded him and began his role as the last Tsar and Romanov of Russia in 1894, his times were immediately met with trouble. Revolutions and rebellions were forming. Marxist ideas were taking over by storm, found in Russian Social Democratic Labor Party, which followed suit along with the Socialist-Revolutionary Party and Constitutional Democratic Party.

Vladimir Lenin (Ulyanov) split the Marxist group into what would become the very powerful and radical Bolsheviks. They sought complete social, economic and political revolution. Socialism was becoming a strong belief.

In 1904 came the Russo-Japanese War, a major defeat for Russia. Tensions between the two countries had remained for a while, and Japan won its victory due to its naval strength over Russia.

Weights were already beginning to crash down on Nicholas II. January 1905 came Bloody Sunday, in which a crowd was lead through the Winter Palace in St Petersburg to bring up a petition for Nicholas. Hundreds were killed despite all Nicholas had done to disperse them, and the first of two major Revolutions was started.

The Duma was created that year in relation with the October Manifesto. Socialists did not agree with its reforms and began organizing more strikes.

To further accentuate what Nicholas had gotten himself into upon the start of his reign, he had to attend to World War I, which left his wife -Tsarina Alexandra - in charge of Russia. She, however, had little political knowledge on how to deal with affairs of the country. She and their children, however, acted as nurses to those who fought at the borders. Olga and Tatiana were the only two old enough to actually work as nurses.

Revolts continued through 1917. The population was beginning to turn against the government, believing that Tsarina Alexandra was a traitor and a "German bitch" because of her previous role as a princess of Germany. Supply of food grew scarce, and a strike began in Petrograd highlighting the women who wanted their food. Grigori Rasputin was a major figure at this time, though he only worsened the populations' view of the Romanovs; believing that he and Alexandra shared a secret relationship and that Alexandra was having an affair with him. However, they relied on him to cure their hemophiliac son, Tsarevich Alexis, who was destined to be the next Tsar. Rasputin was assassinated in 1916.

1918 (Civil War) - Soviets take government control. The Red Bolsheviks oppose the White Tsarists and people begin taking sides: communist or Tsarist. Communism spreads fast as people take hope in its ideas, and begin calling the monarchy corrupt, turning against the Romanov family.

July 17, 1918 - The Royal family are forcefully evacuated from Tsarskoe Selo to Tobolsk, to Yekaterinburg - where they are kept locked up in the Ipatiev House. They were brought to the basement in early morning, executed by a team of ten executioners led by Yakov Yurovsky.

The Soviet Union (1922-1991) - The Russian Communist Party and Lenin take control once the last of the Tsars are finished. The government is based off of soviets, and Russia breaks into the Russian SFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, Belarusian SSR, and the Transcaucasian SFSR. Communism spreads to surrounding countries which are taken under control as Soviet satellites.

Harsher rules take place and religion is banned from the country, as is any Western influence and media.

1929-1939 - Joseph Stalin, from Georgia, takes over after Lenin's death. Leon Trotsky is his political rival, though Stalin is quick to overcome him and Trotsky is put to death. From here on, the USSR goes under a harsh period. Stalin introduces the Five-Year Plan and sets up gulags in Siberia, where over eighteen million people are sent and put to labor, exile, or death. Millions are purged.

Relations with Germany and Japan become strained, as Nazis become primary enemies.

World War II
Starting in 1939, the Soviet Union invades Poland. Axis powers turn against them, and Germany makes a move to invade. They seize Ukraine and Leningrad, reach the Volga and Caucasus, and the battle at Stalingrad - a ruthless loss for the Germans - takes place. The Nazis had the Soviets surrounded, though the Soviets didn't give up. Stalingrad becomes one of the bloodiest battles in history, with casualties of nearly two million.

Soviets invade Manchuria and defeat the Japanese after Victory Day. Berlin is captured in May 1945, putting an end to the battles. The Soviet Union was triumphant in the Great War, though had lost the lives of nearly 27 million - from the war, famine, German concentration camps, and a struggling economy.

Cold War (1947-1991)
Conflicts grow between the Soviet Union and the United States, and the Cold War essentially is a political war; a contest for power. The two nations are wary of each other's power, the strength of their nuclear weapons, and things of the sort.

The United States launched the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in April 1949 to promise Western attack against opposing Eastern forces. The Soviet Union, in turn, makes the Warsaw Pact in 1955 to promise Eastern attack against the Western forces.

The Soviets hold power over the Hungarian Revolution and Czechoslovakia. They oppose the US in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and wanted to influence the spread of communism as much as possible.

Nikita Khrushchev takes over in 1953 and is impeached in 1964, for errors such as the Cuban Missile Crisis - which was when the Soviets secretly planted missiles in Cuba aimed for the US.

Leonid Brezhnev takes over next and puts forth the Soviet economic reform of 1965. Attempts were made to cool relations with the US, but tensions continued now with the Space Race.

The Soviet Union had improved in the 1960s, establishing a good industry, economy and advances in science. They took the role as first satellite to enter space - Sputnik - as well as the first human to enter space, whom was Yuri Gagarin in the Vostok 1. They also achieved the first female in space as well as the first exploration of Venus. They had failed, however, in achieving the first man on the moon; which was a shameful loss given up to the Americans.

Mikhail Gorbachev takes over in 1988. He introduces perestroika in attempt to modernize Soviet times and communism, though this only led to social problems throughout the country. The USSR began losing allies and its economic stability - the Baltic states and surrounding satellites began yearning for something else. Gorbachev ends up losing economic conditions and the profit of products begin to decrease. The plans he had set forward all had dire consequences.

Boris Yeltsin found competition against Gorbachev. In 1991, he becomes president after the first democratic election. Gorbachev wanted to keep the Soviet Union structured, though he was opposed. The Soviets are finally beginning to lose power and control over the nation that could no longer be supported this way, and although many didn't want the change, the Soviet Union collapsed on December 25, 1991.

The Soviet Union becomes the modern Russian Federation, and its satellites all leave and become their own independent countries. The nation slowly became westernized again.

Mid 1990s: A depression hits as financial crisis arise in the newly recovering nation.

Chechen Wars (1994) - 40,000 troops are sent by Yeltsin to prevent the separation of the southern region of Chechnya from Russia. A ceasefire and peace treaty are signed in 1996 and 1997, and rebellions are crushed by current President and ex-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Russo-Georgian War (2008) - An armed conflict between Georgia on one side, and Russia and the separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other. Russia wanted to invade Georgia and protect South Ossetia.

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You've got it backwards! Backwards!

Hurry up and throw it! If you don't hurry up and throw it, you'll go "boom"!

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A symphony of music sounded throughout the spacious, empty ballroom, a gentle melody of notes that rose and wafted through the calm air. It was faint enough to put one in a trance, haunting enough to bring a shiver down one's spine, to make goosebumps surface on the skin. Russia couldn't remember how he had ended up here, but the echoing of the waltz had him entranced to the point that he didn't care to remember. It pained him to see such a beautifully decorated and expensively adorned room as this go to waste, devoid of any forms of life aside from himself, the exquisite furniture and other decorations left to wither over time. The room seemed to stand out so differently from the rest of the manor, a room that gave him a false sense of home and familiarity. He wouldn't quite mind staying here, turning his back to the rest of the manor as if nothing else of it really mattered, to give attention to the ballroom that he would think deserved it.

The thick red curtains that draped over the intimidatingly tall windows dulled the light that tried to show through them, blanketing the ballroom in a dim grey light and making it look all the more abandoned. The intricate sparkle of the floor tiles were just barely able to be seen, the furniture sitting under the shadows and looking as if they were patiently waiting to be put to use again. Music playing without its audience, a dance floor swept with dust and old cobwebs rather than the flow of dresses and the flourish of dancing feet, the rest of the place terribly quiet rather than carrying along the sounds of pleasant talking voices, laughter, wine glasses clinking together. He was feeling more attached to it already, thoroughly convinced to stay, willingly wait until it could be brought to life again.

A hint of a smile twitched at Ivan's lips, his hands cradling his scarf up against his neck as he usually did in times of deep thought - and it wasn't until he looked up and noticed another figure across the room that he realized he had got carried away in his thoughts. The outline of the figure brought him back to reality again, pulling his hands away from his scarf to tilt his chin back up, curious eyes blinking once or twice at the sight. The figure clearly resembled a human, someone much too small to be one of the nations he knew well, perhaps it was one of the younger or micronations?

He couldn't tell where exactly the music was coming from or what is was being played from, but there was a scratching sound, like that of a vinyl skipping on a record player - and the waltz music began to change tune.

The soft notes of a music box now twinkled through the air and into his ears, a tune he could have sworn he has heard before, one that was quick to come over him like a wave of nostalgia. He felt another shiver course through his body to the bone, his gaze quick to catch notice of that distant figure again as it began to move.

It turned to its left in one fluid movement and began walking with a graceful air to its steps, and by the way its hair bounced upon its head and its dress swerved smoothly with each move it made, it was clear for Ivan to see that this was a girl. She was heading for the enormous mirror on that side of the room, each cheerful little step she took only drawing more and more curiosity out of him, the urge to advance closer, as if this younger girl possessed a sort of magnet. He wondered if he was only seeing things, judging by how silent the girl was - aside from the tapping of her shoes against the floor tiles - having taken no notice that he was even there. She seemed so... mysterious, like the rest of the manor didn't matter to her, and as if she had been here throughout the course of its time.

He almost didn't notice that he was already on his way over to her, his feet practically leading him away on their own, the overwhelming feeling not to leave this girl on her own outweighing any caution or feeling that was he was being lead to end of his life. His pace slowed as he neared closer, pausing a few feet beside this woman as she stood in front of the mirror, his reflection towering over her own in the reflective glass. It was stained and dulled in places, more than likely having been standing in the same place for a while, but seeing the image of himself and the familiar girl was suddenly clear as day. Her hair sat in prim curls of strawberry blonde atop her head, dressed properly in an off white gown and blue sash draped over the shoulder. And she had noticed.

He was looking down now into a pair of clear blue eyes, a sudden aching warmth filling his heart and a cluster of other emotions he wasn't sure what to make of. It was a sudden shatter of time, a question of reality and where he really was, a halt of his thoughts... It seemed so real, yet unreal. Either way was too bittersweet.

"M-my printsessa?"

He managed to speak through a knotted throat, looking down at this teenage girl as if it had only been so little a course of time since he last did so, as if nothing had really happened to her. There was a smile curled on her lips, the usual mischievous and rascally glint in her eye - he felt like weeping, like turning away and back only to find she would be gone, yet not wanting to take his eyes off of her.

She reached out a hand to him, porcelain little fingers dressed in white lace gloves, and he could only stand there and look down at it. But there was no resisting, he wanted to test if he was really seeing this, or if the manor was so cruel enough to play such a trick on him - and he lowered his own hand to enclose it within hers, like it was a cue to begin following where the music led them, when she did, indeed, disappear.

His hand had just barely made contact when the grand duchess's figure had suddenly begun to fade away, making his fingers fall through hers and come to fall back at his side. He stepped back and watched as the rest of her followed suit, fading away with a tint of red until vanishing as if through thin air. His breath had hitched again, catching himself shaking internally as he gaped at the empty space before him, where his tsarevna had just been... like he had lost her again. Ivan looked back up to that mirror with a sound of confusion, seeing only the reflection of himself there, the bewildered expression, the humiliation that he had fallen for his own imagination.

The music was back to its original waltz rhythm, echoing even louder than before, practically taunting him as it sounded across the still room. Ivan turned away from the mirror and hugged his arms to himself, staring down at the tiled floor without a single thought left - for the first time, he felt wronged here, and with the suddenly violent want to no longer be alone.

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I Summon thee from far away lands, come forth!

You called?

[/color]:[/b] Jen, Jenski
Timezone: EST

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