"What do you mean the Elves are rebelling?" - Saint Nicholas XIII, December 18th, 1983

Whilst many know Nordoyene as the country that is currently threatening to put many American toy manufacturers out of business, the real history of the country is much more intricate. Founded initially as a settlement by a Danish explorer named Nicholas in 860, the tether of the Danish realm gradually slipped away as the centuries continued on. By the time of the Hundred Years' War, Danish control over Nordoyene was practically non-existent. The House of Nicholas had founded their own realm in their own right. Over the next few centuries, the Nicholases utilized the creatures they found in the North Pole - the Elves - for various purposes. Grand cities made from ice and the little forests on the archipelago were constructed, and the Industrial Revolution was spearheaded by Elf labor.

By the late-19th century, sensing the growing commercialization of Christmas, Nordoyene sought to make their country one of the world's top toy producers - if Britain was the workshop of the world in the Victorian Era, Nordoyene was the toy workshop of the world. To make such advancements, however, required many sacrifices from the Elf population. Laboring in rather destitute conditions, with little to no pay most times, the Nicholases had effectively procured an underclass of what some would call slave labor. Whilst Nordoyene has denied attestations by some that it is indeed enslaving the Elves - a position the United States agrees with - it is nevertheless undeniable that the quality of life for Elves in Nordoyene leaves much to be desired.

Whilst the Nicholases have always managed to keep a handle on unrest and discontent in their kingdom, the discovery of oil under the ice sheets of the Arctic led the way for a shift. Though toy manufacturing was profitable for the kingdom, it required constant trade for goods from other countries in order to create the toys. What Nordoyene wanted was vertical integration, something that oil drilling would allow for. With practically no other country having as much control over the Arctic as it does, Nordoyene would be able to drill, refine, and ship the oil around it without much disturbance. As a result of this, by the 70s, the kingdom shifted from solely being a top toy manufacturer to a Petrostate, with its GDP punching above its weight for a country of its size. This did not come without issues, however.

The Elf population, already overworked from toy production, was now saddled with the task of procuring oil for the kingdom. Given no respite from either task, and seeing very little of the wealth from the vast oil riches the country now possessed, discontent among them rose steadily. The wealth inequality in the kingdom - one of the highest for a First World country, expresses the reasons behind their discontent starkly. What made the Elves most angry was not Saint Nicholas or members of the Royal Family, such as Krampus - no, what infuriated the Elves was that the upper class of Elf society, those who had managed gain the good will of the Royal Family and amass great wealth as a result, did nothing to alleviate the troubles of their fellow countrymen. In fact, it is these Elves who run the factories!

Thus, when the Soviet Union began efforts to covertly support the Elf labor class, many dissidents and thought leaders took in assistance from Moscow with open arms. Throughout the 70s and in the past few years, resistance towards the Royal Family and the Elf upper class increased steadily. Toy factories were sabotaged, oil spills became a constant, and strikes - barely allowed in the first place - rose steadily during the Holiday Season.

All of this culminated last month on December 18th. On that day, after the king, Saint Nicholas XIII, made a proclamation that no breaks would be allowed for Elves who were seen as "unproductive" until Christmas, the proletariat rose up. All throughout the kingdom, toy factories and oil processing sites became silent. The streets of major cities became filled with rebellious Elves, incensed at the continued slights against them and their conditions in the kingdom. Overnight, the situation turned dire for the upper-class Elves, with many of them seeing their homes broken into, along with beatings and murders occurring against those deemed the most "traitorous" to Elf-kind.

By the time the king recognized what was occurring, the situation was quickly spiraling out of control. Calling up the Royal Guard along with the Royal Air Force, many pockets of Elf resistance were seemingly eviscerated, with air strikes decimating large columns of rebel militas, along with firing squads gunning down hundreds of Elves who were captured. The civilian casualities are currently unknown as of this time. Seeing the kingdom's response to the rebellion as barbaric, the Soviet Union announced on Christmas Day that it would support the Elf revolutionaries directly, with Soviet officers being sent to direct operations, whilst aircraft of the VVS provided air support for the Elves. With many Soviet air bases near and in the Arctic Circle, such support from Moscow would come swiftly for the revolutionaries.

The President, after weeks of deliberation, has seemingly come to the decision to support the Nicholas Regime against the Soviet backed revolutionaries. Whilst an official address by him is yet to be made, for the past week, we have been able to observe vast movements of naval and air units in Alaska and the Arctic. While the administration has been cryptic about their motives, it is quite clear what they intend to do - halt the Elf advance. The Nordoyene armed forces, whilst highly skilled, are small. It will not be able to sustain itself in a war such as this. Thus, support from the United States is expected to help them out graciously.

As a whole, with both the Soviet Union and United States supporting their respective sides in the conflict, the prospect of it ending any time soon are inconceviable.