flag of Russia
The Russian Federation is a country in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia, bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean. It is the largest country in the world in terms of area.
Russia emerged from a feodal breakdown of early medieval as an absolute monarchy, proclaiming itself an Empire in 1721. Social instabilities, World War I and an inept monarch led to a revolution in 1917, which eventually resulted in the Bolshevicks (a more dictatory branch of Communism) seizing power. From 1922 to 1991, the Russian government (known as the RSFSR) was part of the Soviet Union. The latter was mostly responsible for the Allies' victory in World War II. The Cold War existed between the Soviet Union and the West from 1947, although isolated incidents of "accidental" friendly fire began in early 1945, to the "discharge" (разрядка) in late 1980's and the country's collapse in 1991.
Despite the end of the Cold War, political tension between the Western Powers and the Russian Federation remains. In 2000, when the Biliskner, infected by Replicators, crashed on Earth and disabled the Russian submarine Blackbird, the Russians suspected American foul play. (SG1: "Small Victories")
However, the Russians recovered the alpha Stargate (which SG-1 had beamed aboard the Biliskner to escape the Replicators) from the ocean and created their own Stargate program with help of Colonel Harold Maybourne. When the program went disastrously wrong, the United States was asked for help and SG-1 went in to do things right again. (SG1: "Watergate")
The Russians agreed to end their Stargate program in exchange for the continued sharing of information and technology. (SG1: "Chain Reaction")
They also sent personnel to Atlantis.
Details
Capital: Moscow
Flag description: Three equal horizontal bands of White (Top), Blue, and Red
Language: Russian
Military
Unlike the US, Russians split their military into the following:
Branches of service:
- Ground Troops (Сухопутные Войска) - mechanized infantry, tanks, artillery (including tactical ballistic missles, with all systems capable of using nuclear shells), air assault units, local air defence and Army aviation: helicopters and fixed-wing close-support (sturmovik) aircraft.
- Air Force (Военно-Воздушные Силы) - all aircraft that do not belong to other branches, and long-range surface-to-air missles. No infantry units.
- Navy (Военно-Морской Флот) - split into several large formations (Northern, Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Pacific fleets and Indian Ocean and Caspian flotillas). Fields a large force of surface craft, including one carrier, and submarines, including ballistic missle-carrying. Supplemented by Navy Aviation (anti-submarine, anti-shipping and maritime reconaissance, search and rescue) and Naval Infantry (marines).
Arms of service:
- VDV (Воздушно-Десантные Войска) - the Airborne. Come with the attitude of the US Marine Corps, magnified by air-deployable armored vehicles.
- RVSN (Ракетные Войска Стратегического Назначения) - Strategic Missle Troops. Those in charge of Russia's massive arsenal of silo-based and ground-mobile ICBMs.
- Space troops (Космические войска) - a recently formed unit that monitors sattelite-based assets, inluding early-warning systems, communication sattelites and the troubled GLONASS positioning system.
The total is measured at roughly 1, 000, 000 personnel. This number is generated through conscription, which is being phased out in favor of a "contract" volunteer army.
Russia is entirely self-sufficient in terms of military hardware since the early 1920's. Soviet military industry has serious achievements in its history, ranging from rugged, cheap equipment like the Kalashnikov AK-47 to the world's first Intercontinental Ballistic Missle. As a minor byproduct, the Soviets created basic spacefaring technology without non-Tau'ri involvement.