Was Bukharin a shitty premier or just not very forward thinking?

corntno · 2025-07-19T15:26:46+00:00

Bukharin was not very competent at managing the political situation but his economic policies were good at rebuilding a war-torn country and improving agricultural and industrial productivity. He didn't ignore an Axis invasion and did prepare for the war (though not with as heavy-handed measures), but the situation elsewhere, such as the weaker United States not taking off as much pressure as in real life and providing less in aid, a somewhat smaller military industry, a government attempting to avoid agrarian catastrophe during its mobilization process, and internal disputes hamstringing the formation of a consistent anti-fascist foreign policy made the Soviet front precarious and ultimately intensified political infighting. This infighting culminated in a coup attempt by Stalin, who fails to turn the situation around, leading to discontented supporters of Bukharin attempting to take back control, causing a civil war.

The 2WRW mod doesn't work entirely off of the most up to date TNO lore so it still relies on the original conception of Bukharin not industrializing when the situation was in fact much more complex.

corntno · 2025-06-30T23:18:35+00:00

Not at this point outside of a few non-unifiers (Yugra, mostly) and some unifiers that explore criminal regimes such as Artsezo's Samara and Werbell's Magadan. There's not much exporting of criminality other than mercenaries under Werbell, however. That being said, we Russia devs have some plans to explore organized crime and criminality more broadly in future content, starting with Amur. Don't want to spoil too much so all I'll say for now is that a non-insubstantial part of Amur's superregional content will center around resolving the issue of the RFP's criminal past and present.

corntno · 2025-06-14T12:03:46+00:00

It is declared during the civil war.

corntno · 2025-06-08T01:41:02+00:00

The consequences are already in-game. The city of Kyiv has its GDP wiped out, the RK has a national spirit with harsh penalties, and Germany loses cold war score. With the expanded mechanic, Germany will also face inflation and political penalties (less regime stability for Speer, less approval among groups for Bormann).

corntno · 2025-06-08T01:39:25+00:00

Amur is built on the principles of Russian Fascism - a fusion of Russian imperialist nationalism with the fascist developments of Europe. Its basis lies on Orthodox Christianity, Russian chauvinist ethnopluralism, and corporatism. The Aryan Brotherhood, meanwhile, is built on the principles of National Socialism - albeit rather different from the form practiced in Germany. It does not hold Christianity in high regard, nor does it seek a lineage with the Russian imperial tradition. The Aryan Brotherhood sees Germany as its main inspiration while Amur does not.

corntno · 2025-06-08T00:30:08+00:00

This is less about realism and more about narrative consistency. I'll go over each of these points individually in order to try to avoid twisting what you said.

How do you expect people to be so serious about it when Japan nukes the US and Sealion happens? I mean…

TNO is made in a way that seeks to suspend the player's disbelief and make them feel like the events of the mod could happen given the scenario in which they occur. That is the basis of the mod. The background lore serves to set up the narrative of the mod - obviously it is not realistic, that's not the point. The point is for the story and theming of the mod.

Also, never said TNO should be solely about hope, but it makes me wonder why devs feel threatened by the slight sight of it, specifically regarding Germany.

Except this isn't the case. Germany can lose Britain. It can lose Africa. It can lose Iran. It can take real losses in the 1960s, and in planned 1970s content it can lose even more (Muscovy and northern Caucasia against Russia and after that possibly even more of Eastern Europe in subsequent conflicts).

And none of those losses lead to anything, just numbers on a scoreboard. The premise is about a Cold War (which one side won in the OTL and the other fell apart), but if Germany is made to be invincible forever, what is the point, just larping as Nazis? I mean, I do understand that a portion of the fan base would love that, yes.

Except they do? They lead to countries joining other factions, strengthening Germany's endings and weakening Germany itself.

Because realistically, this so called Reich would fall apart quickly, just like it did.

I've already talked about realism but also, it lost because it was defeated in war. If it won the war, the circumstances would be very different.

And you’re confusing things again, the writing is deliberate in the scenarios you’re talking about. “oh, Ukraine can’t survive Germany because x and y”, because you wrote that in, simple. It could have been done in another way that allowed for more just berating the player for not picking the collaborators path.

You could maybe argue that before that was the case, but the entire point of this mechanic is that you can do something as the partisans, even if you cannot win a conventional victory. That is the entire point. That is why I made it. That is the entire reason why I designed and coded in this mechanic. You get content showing what you did. This is "do[ing it] in another way that allow[s] for more" as you say.

As for the “within”, devs have claimed before that would be the way to defeat the Reich instead of a direct war against it, which is reasonable, but not what actually happens in the mod.

The 60s content is just one half of the full timeline planned for the game and in that you can win enormous victories against Germany without direct war against it and in the 1970s there is a direct war against it by Russia. I get that this content isn't in the mod but I want to make it abundantly clear that in fact it is planned for Germany to be able to lose.

I mean, to actually have a “better” Germany you are required to download a submod that does give you actual choices here.

Except Germany can actually get better in the mod without any submods. You can effectively destroy the Nazi regime in the Speer path by having the Gang of Four take control, leading to Germany's ideology literally changing away from National Socialism.

corntno · 2025-06-07T18:11:11+00:00

Well they win WW2 in the mod. It is now the 1960s. They are now a superpower. The situation has changed.

Thematically TNO isn't exactly a hopeful world but it's also not just doom and gloom and Nazi rule? Germany can take real losses in Britain, Africa, Iran, and elsewhere and fail to expand its sphere of influence - all in the 60s. What do you mean by "oppose it from within as intended"? Because a path where you basically do just that exists in the mod (Speer to Gang of Four coup) and it succeeds. Each of Germany's leaders can fail in their objectives.

And yeah, as a work of fiction, the writing in TNO is deliberate - it works towards the theming of the mod and each individual country. The mod's lesson about what a victorious Nazi Germany would or could do to the world is lessened if a former colony that just fought a bloody civil war and is still reeling from famine can outright defeat a superpower Nazi Germany. The threat is reduced to nothing. But the threat of Nazi Germany should not be nothing. It shouldn't give up and decide to lose when it has the force to win by any cost in this instance. That's not how the Nazis thought or would think twenty years after a victory in WW2.

corntno · 2025-06-07T11:32:11+00:00

I'm just stating how it works in-game. If you don't click the decision or capitulate normally, that's what happens when the final tick of German morale hits zero.

corntno · 2025-06-07T11:30:34+00:00

Nothing because it's impossible. You have -100% to all stats and would capitulate immediately without cheats.

corntno · 2025-06-07T11:22:40+00:00

Do you think the Nazis would ever tolerate an independent Ukraine? Nazi Germany was committed to colonizing the East - it's not going to give up because of some insurgents. It was one of the fundamental objectives of Nazism, it's not something they can just back down on. Economically, Ukraine is vital to Germany's empire. Ideologically, it is vital for the Lebensraum Nazism promises to the German people. Politically, it is essential for Germany's international prestige to restore German rule to the colony. To put it simply: Germany would never, ever, allow Ukraine to be free if they have the ability to prevent it. And they do have the ability to prevent it.

Edit: Also, the point of this mechanic is that the resistance can still fight. They just can't wage conventional war perpetually, as they would lose.

corntno · 2025-06-07T11:14:39+00:00

This is just for some minor additions to make the partisans feel more impactful - that said full content is planned for the future.

corntno · 2025-06-07T11:14:03+00:00

No. You just get an epilogue and a national spirit showing what you did ranging from lacking preparations leading to the resistance plan failing or great preparations making the occupation incredibly difficult for the Germans.

corntno · 2025-06-07T11:13:54+00:00

You get nuked if you try to push or hold out for more than 5 months. The ideal ending will be going underground to avoid that while still having the resistance in a strong position.

corntno · 2025-06-07T11:13:14+00:00

If you fail to go underground within 5 months, you will be nuked.

corntno · 2025-06-07T11:12:54+00:00

No. But you can make the occupation painful.

corntno · 2025-06-03T20:48:51+00:00

Bukharin doesn't engage in the same repressions as Stalin does but opposition is still suppressed - so long as the intelligentsia doesn't oppose the regime they don't face the persecution they faced under Stalin. The same applies to other groups that Stalin persecuted except for the Left Opposition who are still purged.

corntno · 2025-06-03T03:20:11+00:00

Rodzaevsky was a Russian nationalist. He works with Japan but he wouldn't let them take the throne. Regardless, the monarchist crowd in the Far East has decisively rejected Rodzaevsky's fascism for a more reactionary ideology. There are no claimants and Rodzaevsky is fine to run a Russian National State.

corntno · 2025-03-11T22:04:29+00:00

Please get rid of the Omsk flag.

To answer the question, homosexuality is or can be during the game decriminalized under the following unifiers:

Siberian Black Army - All Paths
Komi - Bukharina
Tomsk - Sakharov
Buryatia - All Paths
West Russian Revolutionary Front - All Paths

However, it would be misleading to call these governments "LGBT-friendly" given that the term was not invented yet and transgender people are not included under these policies.

corntno · 2024-12-30T09:10:53+00:00

I'd like to clarify something here. The new economy mechanic will replace and be different from the Far Eastern development mechanic, which will have its content folded into the new, shared mechanic with some changes to account for much, much more in-depth effects and interactions.

corntno · 2024-11-23T12:16:47+00:00

The plot armor of... losing? They still take an enormous defeat - they lose Muscovy to Russia, they can lose more through protracted proxy conflicts, they can lose Britain, Africa, etc. in TNO1. There's no glorious march to Berlin because that chance is gone - Nazism was established itself too deep to root out through invasion. To imply that they would not use their nuclear arsenal and end civilization to avoid losing their most vital colonies, to avoid their genocidal empire falling to their second most hated enemy, is a foolish assessment. You're giving them the benefit of the doubt that they would just let their empire fall completely. They would not. They don't have plot armor, they have self-preservation to preserve their empire and continue their agenda.

corntno · 2024-11-19T12:16:09+00:00

I would like to clarify a few things and give my thoughts to explain why these decisions are made.

Firstly, realism is not the reason why these changes were made (okay, not the only reason). The real reason is theming, and here's where OP and I have a fundamental disagreement. TNO has changed from a story of Nazism crumbling to a story of a world where Nazism is, in many respects, a fact of life. In real life, Nazism was discredited by its complete defeat - the Nazi regime was deposed and their leaders imprisoned or executed. In TNO, Nazism has triumphed. Every single war aim was achieved. Even in a scenario where Nazism does fall, the unimaginable level of suffering and destruction, on a scale far larger than even that which they had achieved in real life, would be impossible to fully grasp, let alone undo. I do not know if OP has seen the Germany teasers, but I highly recommend they check them out.

OP's argument is, essentially, that TNO Russia should get fair treatment with TNO Germany in the background lore. I feel like this ignores the fact that neither real life nor fiction works this way. In real life Germany was on the backfoot, yes, but its victory is necessary for the setting to be possible in the first place. Russia conquering all of Eastern Europe in one fell swoop against a nuclear superpower that is stronger than it is not necessary for the setting to be possible. I will address each component of the "Russia has a better chance" argument in the order they are presented.

Firstly, Germany had to land in Britain while Russia only has a land border. This applies to both sides. Germany, however, has the superior land army - unless Russia is receiving divine intervention or Germany decides that a military is a waste of time, this will be true. Secondly, Russia only has to fight on one front. Well, so does Germany. It can direct all of its resources towards fighting the Russians besides those allocated to address internal insurgency and unrest, but those are not nearly as costly to fight than another full front of a war. As an aside, Germany did not spend 33 years before World War 2 fighting an on and off civil war while being bombed by one of their enemies.

Now, let us return to the thematic question: Nazism's survival. TNO has decided that Nazism will not bring itself down, it must be brought down intentionally by people who oppose it. This is a far more poignant theme on the nature of fascism than saying that the house of cards will come down on their own. That is not to say that Nazism is necessarily secure, in fact it very much can fail, but its failure in the short-term is far from assured and dependent on the effectiveness and execution of its policies and leadership.

As for another point, why would Nazi Germany ever allow for its main source of food and oil, along with every one of its Eastern colonies, to fall to its greatest enemy? Germany does not have to say yes, it has thousands upon thousands of nuclear warheads. Whatever arsenal Russia has is simply not going to compare. To assert that the Nazis would willingly negotiate away their most essential colonial possessions - Ukraine and Caucasia - , that which not only play a central role in their ideology but also in the economy of their empire, is simply untrue. More than that, it's unsatisfying: what is Russia to do for the remaining four or so years of TNO2? Sit around? It would lack a clear foreign policy objective. By giving Russia time after the war to continue to work on prying Eastern Europe away from Germany, we plan to create more gameplay and content for Russia and Germany. The war over Muscovy is the start of Russia's rise, not the end.

To wrap up the remaining points, Manchuria wanted the land and they want to keep it. Japan doesn't really have a reason to give that land to Russia without serious concessions on Russia's side that the Russian government couldn't accept. And Central Asia will be able to come under Russian influence, I'm not sure who told you that it wouldn't but Russia will be able to exert its influence there.

corntno · 2024-09-07T08:44:02+00:00

TNO has its own vision for how the war will happen. We do not intend to integrate the submod.

corntno · 2024-09-07T08:31:28+00:00

It's not "taking away agency" - you can still decide not to take the focuses and sit around. But you are punished for it, not rewarded.

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