Russia (Downfall: Map Game)

The Russian Federation is a semi-presidential federal republic stretching from Eastern Europe to East Asia. It is the largest country in the world by landmass, and a global superpower.

History
For history of Russia before 2018, see History of Russia.

Russia was one of the world's superpower nations by the early 2020s, led by United Russia and in particular Vladimir Putin. In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea, triggering a series of events that would lead to economic decline under United Russia, and the loss of civil and human rights. The Magnitsky Act, named for Sergei Magnitsky, whose death convinced Hermitage Capital Management CEO Bill Browder to pursue this line of action, caused political isolation of the Russian state. In 2017, following the inauguration of Donald J. Trump to the U.S Presidency, relations softened briefly with the United States before hardening by 2018. This was not helped by the passing of the British Magnitsky Act that same year and the passing of a Norweigian and Swedish one in unison in 2021.

The Russian economy began to descent into freefall following the economic crisis of 2023, provoked by the economic turmoil that had been affecting allied China. This was followed by a series of tight laws which strengthened Federal control over economic and political policy even further towards a more Chinese-like state.

The mass migration of Russians that had already been occuring during the 2010s began to increase drastically as the 2030s approached, with U.S foreign policy under Republican President Michael Dugan, who made a more softer approach to Russia. Over 8.5 million Russians from 2026-2029 migrated to the United States and Japan, with small numbers moving to Finland and Ukraine. The collapse of the European Union in 2033, however, caused the disruption of this flow, as U.S and Russian officials met in Berlin to discuss a looming nuclear threat from North Korea, signing SALT III in 2035, supposedly ensuring peace. However, this only resulted in Russian investment in a probable Kinetic Energy Missile System - KEMS - although still years away.

Anti-Chinese sentiment rose as the Chinese nation finally became the world's economic superpower, although it fell behind on technological progress, whose throne returned to the Western Hemisphere. Reports of illicit Chinese robbery and stealing of Russian state secrets further distanced the two allies, which ultimately resulted in the breaking of BRICS and the dissolution of the Russo-Chinese Defence Pact.

The final straw of tensions broke in 2036, when Russian and Chinese troops exchanged fire along the border in what appeared to be an unintentional exchange. This was followed by a rogue Chinese unit entering Russian borders and massacring civilians, which provoked a full-scale war. Russia declared war on the People's Republic of China, as did the United States, Japan and much of NATO.

Initial gains into China were extremely successful as the Russian Ground Forces arrived at the gate of Beijing. This, however, stalled into a stalemate war as the Russian economy yet again began to stagnate.

However, Russia backed out of the conflict in 2039, following the sudden death of Vladimir Putin, who was quickly replaced by moderate Andrei Harkov. Harkov negotiated an end to Russia's involvement in the war, much to the US' displeasure, as right-wing sentiment across the US turned against the country. Harkov went about acting in a more pragmatic manner, negotiating an alliance with Japan and the softening of relations with Ukraine, the Baltic States and Finland.

This was brought to a quick end by the next Presidential elections in 2044, where Harkov's successor and neoliberal Dimitri Kamarov decided to act in a more aggressive manner. Kamarov threatened much of the allied states of Russia into accepting Russian 'advisors' and the stationing of Russian troops - except Southern Japan, which under the 2045 Declaration declared itself not to be 'part of the dictatorship', and under the de facto capital of Osaka made itself independent. This resulted in a Japanese Civil War that consumed Tokyo and much of the island nation, as the U.S further deteriorated in the background. In the end, Russian and Chinese officials begrudgingly signed the 2048 Kyoto Peace Deal, putting into place current borders.

Kamarov marked a turning point in the destruction of the Russian economy. His administration went about creating a modernised, slowly-adapting Russian military as well as a war economy as Russia turned its eyes back towards the West, where Europe was in turmoil. The recent independences of Occitania and Scotland had shaken the region, and following Poland's declaration of war on Germany, the Third World War - 2051 - went into full swing. Russia backed (and slowly took over) Poland's Axis Forces, while the New Allies - Western Europe and Spain - fought back with increasing New English support. An offensive into Germany was deeply unsuccessful, and in the end, the war only ended when the German state collapsed into multiple, leaving Poland as a puppet of Russia. In 2057, the Kiev Association, consisting of multiple Russian puppets and the nation itself, was thus formed.

This marked a boom for the wider Russian economy, which only began to stop thanks to the death of Kamarov, who was replaced by conservative Nicholas Petrov. Petrov, like most of United Russia, was wholly incompetent, and the Russian economy's astounding growth slowed very quickly, from its high of 14% a year before Kamarov's death in 2058, to 7.6% by 2061. The Russian population, however, exploded. Japanese refugees from the JCW escaped en masse to Eastern Russia despite an immense infrastructure funding program, stalling Northern Japan's population growth. Ukranians escaping rebel activity in Ukraine also settled in Russia. By 2064, the Russian population numbered at about 356 million, and the Russian birth rate was one of the highest in the world.