Tretyakism
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Tretyakism is the means of governing society and implementing social and economic policies which were either implemented or attempted to be implemented in Chistovodia during the years of 1949 - 1964. Though instituted by the Chistovodian General Congress of the time, its name is derived from General Kostyantyn Tretyak -- the leader of the revolutionary forces during the Chistovodian Civil War.
Tretyakism was implemented under the joint plans of President Eduard Bojchenko and Premier Kazymyr Shostak, both of them staunchly of the belief that the workers' revolution was an international armed struggle that should be continuously fought at all opportunities. Bojchenko and Shostak were both of the belief that councilism in the Asterias was under an existential threat of reprisal from the victorious powers of the Great War; who had been given enough time to regroup and consolidate themselves. Unsuccessful councilist uprisings in Asteria Inferior, and the subsequent tension between the Vinalias, led to the development of an ideology that sought to prepare Chistovodia to fight 'an entire continent of enemies', by arming its population and gearing the socialist state to become 'an armed intermediary' before its own dissolution.
Bojchenko forcibly conscripted and armed the population, believing it to be a way to further the policies of 'Councilism in All Countries' whilst Shostak developed the concept of the 'soldier worker': a yet undescribed section of the proletariat that was prepared and willing to fight to overthrow the bourgeoise as his dedicated profession. Both oversaw the development of 'hierarchical command' with the Chistovodian Section of the Workers' International and the 'militarisation of socialism', as well as the pursuing of social policies that regimented daily life to mirror that of a military unit to shift the nation into phase of 'total conflict'.
Economically, Bojchenko oversaw the creation of numerous specialised Presidium positions for industrial expansion whilst Shostak redeveloped the ministry of agriculture by decree of the General Congress into complete state control, removing many of the local authorities that had been set up by the initial revolution. Through contacts in the AIS, foreign thinkers, strategists, economists and inventors were hired to help prepare for what was regarded to be an 'inevitability' of conflict.
History
Tretyak led the Workers' Revolutionary Army during the Chistovodian Civil War, to great success. Unlike many contemporary communalist revolutionaries at the time, the WRA was successful in assimilating many elements of the existing military structure. Babych had instituted policies that had decentralised the Chistovodian army, placing it under the control of regionalist commanders who's authority ranged from but a face for the President or quasi-governors for the sections they operated in. Tretyak had served in the Chistovodian army for much of his life and his defection was viewed as a great boost of popularity for the CSWI, and was fortunate to be in command of the most modernised elements of the Chistovodian forces at the time.
Much of the success of the WRA has been attributed to Tretyak; even by the CSWI itself. Whilst Tretyak never coined a terminology of 'Tretyakism', he did codify his own beliefs down in several journals during the war -- as well as in its aftermath. After denying an invitation to serve as the first President of the nation, he collected his thoughts in the 'Treatise of the Soldier Worker' where he outlined his beliefs in the necessity of the armed struggle, and the necessity of a yet classified strata of society that he called 'the soldier workers'.
Tretyakist Policies
Tretyakist policies are held to be an independent strand of thought amongst socialist thinkers, though some political commentators and politicians have argued that it is the 'logical conclusion' of the beliefs of council communism and revolutionary socialism in what it aims to achieve: the liberation of the working class through a prolonged armed struggle against capitalism.
The ideology was adopted simultaneously by both the Chistovodian executive and legislature with the elections of Eduard Bojchenko and Kazymyr Shostak as President and Premier, respectively. Both quickly made moves to neuter opposition within the CSWI by conducting a fear campaign against the looming threats of the 'internationalist bourgeois', a resurgence of 'functionalism in the Asterias' and the fact that Chistovodia 'stood along as a bastion of workers in the Asterias'. Ruslana Tymoshenko, widely regarded to have been the most moderate and most reformist member of the General Congress, and who led the like-minded market socialists, was quickly placed on trial for the crime of 'treason' and publicly executed three weeks after Bojchenko and Shostak came to power. The strand of the CSWI associated with market socialism was also quickly dissolved, alienated and its members killed, imprisoned or barred from office.
Following this decisive elimination, many sections and factions within the CSWI fell behind Shostak within the Congress; and began to implement policy and plans that would achieve the desires of the Tretyakist movement.
Armed Proletariat
In an address to the General Congress, Premier Shostak declared that "in all struggles, those who are better armed are those who win". This simple principle outlined the government's policy towards the notion of the armed struggle against the bourgeoise. Whilst many councilist nations were hesitant to the idea of the mass ownership of arms, the Chistovodian Section of the Workers' International had come to the conclusion that due to their position as a diplomatically and ideologically isolated nation, the regularities of councilist thought were not applicable.
Historically, the CSWI had a history of irregular combatants composed of the working classes as an important section of their military victories during the Chistovodian Civil War. It was here that Tretyak believed in the usage of what he said was "not necessarily conscription, but volunteering out of necessity". President Bojchenko took this line of thinking and put it into the first piece of legislation that would be tabled by the General Congress.
Whereas many nations that allow the ownership of firearms only permit individuals to purchase firearms, the Chistovodian government provided every citizen over the age of eighteen with a firearm upon the passage of the 'Directive to Arm the Population'. The Directive Required each citizen to take a mandatory course on firearm safety and usage.
Each rifle was given a serial number and a bureau within the Ministry of Defence catalogued to whom each rifle was assigned to. Citizens would be distributed the rifles by either their local police stations or military buildings.
Alongside the delivery of these rifles were 60 rounds of ammunition. It was stipulated that in the event of an invasion, more ammunition would be delivered -- but until then, it was up to the citizen to purchase their own ammo.
The Soldier Worker
Tretyak's ideas on the 'Soldier Worker', were by his admission, directly inspired by the militarism that found itself at the core of the Weranian Revolution. He argued that the Weranian Revolutionaries were the precursors to the councilists, and that they had been led astray by numerous shortcomings of their times -- mainly that an industrialised economy had not been established well-enough to entrench capitalism to the state.
However, he took the militarism central to the Weranian Revolution and wrote that he felt "it was the duty of all revolutionaries to fight", and that for a revolution to be successful it needed "a strong sense of duty and fighting spirit" at its heart. One of Tretyak's most known quotes derives from a similar passage: "It is all well and good to believe in righteousness, but I believe in fighting for it."
In Tretyak's view the establishment of the caste system of classes had failed to account for the fact that they were fabrications and could be altered. He did not believe in the rigid parameters of 'workers' and 'owners', in so far as he believed that violence permitted fluidity between them. He did state that whilst he did "not believe in class it currently exists", and within the workers was an ignored class that should be established to push forth the violence needed to destroy class boundaries.
This unknown section was the eponymous "Soldier Worker", an individual who's sole duty was to fight. Raised from the collective of the working class, he would be trained and drilled to exclusively fight - to serve as a sword for the workers.
The Soldier Worker was instrumental in the establishment of the Chistovodian Workers' State because Tretyak modelled his military units and tactics on the basis of a professional military unit that fought with zeal in what it believed in. He destroyed and dismantled the old system of officer selection and purely focused on a meritocratic belief in "workers working for workers".
The belief of the Soldier Worker elevated the military during the Tretyakist Period - but even outside of it cemented the notions of the military as integrally necessary to the existence of the CSWI.
Councilism in All Countries
On one of the first speeches to the General Congress, Premier Shostak declared that "Chistovodia stands alone against a spectre of functionalism in the Asterias". Whilst many elements of the Chistovodian government were of the belief that the failure of revolutions across the continent had proven that only under certain conditions could socialism topple capitalism successfully, Shostak and the other Tretyakists were of the belief that councilism needed to be exported and adopted in all countries.
The policy of 'Councilism in All Countries' followed two distinct schools of thought. The first was purely to showcase the successes of councilism domestically in Chistovodia and export it through 'good ideas', 'sensible policies' and 'cultural and scientific exposes'. Several scholarships and educational schemes were set up to educate individuals across the Asterias in the hopes that they would be able to form their own 'Tretyakist parties' in their home countries. A foreign aid fund was set up to invest in local communities in poor regions of Asterian countries, even against the wishes of national governments. One of the most controversial policies included the establishment of regular scientific and cultural events in the capital of Misto Myru that were broadcast to the rest of the continent that showcased advances in art and science in the 'communalist culture'.
The other aspect of 'Councilism in All Countries' was handled directly by the Ministry of Defence. Primarily, the doctrine called for the establishment of an 'effective, highly organised and greatly funded' secret service capable of 'espionage, terrorism, smuggling, counter-espionage and assassination'. This aspect of the policy was organised by the Central Command for Intelligence and its Director, Pavlo Borovyk.
Under Borovyk, numerous espionage cells were set up in Rizealand and Marchenia, Ardesian separatists and councilist guerrillas were armed and narcotics began to be smuggled from cartels in Asteria Inferior to Asteria Superior in efforts to destabilise social situations, provide an alternative form of revenue, and to embolden groups that were posing problems for governments hostile to Misto Myru.
The Tretyakists were instrumental in supporting the Aucurian Section of the Workers International during the fearsome Years of Lead.
Renouvellement
Renouvellement (Estmerish: Renewal) was a secret policy and project developed by the Chistovodian government during the rule of the Tretyakists. It was developed without the knowledge of the General Congress. President Eduard Bojchenko and his top military staff were ultimately convinced that if they were not successful in their processes to create a classless, equal world that there would be no redemption for the human race. Bojchenko believed that the fate of the world hung in the balance of Chistovodia's ideas successfully allowing it to become the hegemon of the Asterias.
If that failed, however, Chistovodia would also be prepared. Under the 'Renouvellement' policy the Chistovodians outlined their plans in a secretive military project given the same name. Chistovodia imported nuclear physicists and technicians from across the councilist world to create its own domestic nuclear industry and - in secret - begin the process of enriching uranium for weapons production. By the start of the Chistovodian-Marchenian War, for example, Chistovodia was only a few years away from the construction of its first wave of nuclear weapons.
The purpose of these weapons was, as Bojchenko admitted on trial after the Tretyakists were removed from power, "to bring about a nuclear Armageddon on the planet to allow us to be born anew." Bojchenko was a private advocate for the acceleration of nuclear war in the event of a failure of conventional conflict as a final way to bring about the destruction of capitalism on the planet and to impose on humanity the 'ideal conditions' for the formation of a 'truly socialist society'. General Budker, who served as a witness for the prosection against Bojchenko, testified under oath that "the President was intent on the development of nuclear weapons during the Marchenian War as not only a way to defeat our enemy, but to plunge the world into darkness."
Project Renewal successfully saw the establishment of six nuclear power plants in Chistovodia. It also oversaw, as part of the Ministry of Defence, the enrichment sites utilised in the attempted creation of weapons of mass destruction. Throughout its entire operation it was headed by Kirenian Kaljo Kallas, who was sympathetic to Bojchenko's ideas.
Economic policy
Immediately upon coming to power, the Tretyakists within the General Congress were successful in courting necessary allies through the implementation of a rigid planned economic model called 'The Enhancement of the People'. In principle the Tretyakists eroded decades of localised economic growth that focused more so on creating the conditions for socialism, such as worker controlled industries, into nationalised state run enterprises that some within the socialist world criticised as 'state capitalism'. These measures included the centralisation of economic centres and industries, the implementation of a rigid hierarchy of interests, and a governing board known as the Centre of Economic Planning.
The planned economy called for the collectivisation of agriculture and the promotion of domestic industry. In 1949 Chistovodia was the fourth largest economy in terms of GDP in Asteria Superior; behind Rizealand, Cassier, Marchenia and Eldmark. By 1964, it was the second largest. Much of these successes could be credited to the extensive investing awarded to Chistovodian heavy industry, a key cornerstone of the Centre of Economic Planning's goals for a radically transformed society through its centralised economic model.
Under the policies of the Tretyakists economic growth grew exponentially, yet was viewed as repressive and destructive to local communities in the nation. Some 20,000 individuals were arrested on treasonous grounds of the state and farms that had been broken up from historic landowners soon found themselves integrated in a similar fashion under a new directive.
Industrially, 'The Enhancement of the People' saw the establishment of numerous domestic industries that had been neglected by previous administrations. These included a revamping of the arms industry, heavy shipbuilding and the creation of over 1,800 new logging camps and mines. These were specifically organised under the Ministry for Natural Resources, a newly created body that also had the authority to displace 'native persons' from their land and reservations, even those set up by the native-friendly founders of the Chistovodian Workers' State.
Further industrial reforms included the expectation of quotas of important industrial materials like coal, iron, steel, oil, rubber and uranium. These heavy industries were referred to as 'the building blocks of a new order'. These plans were originally put in place in 1950, and expected to materialise by 1955. However, by 1954 they had, according to the Centre of Economic Planning's statistics, "exceeded their expectations and requirements by 20%". Despite these excellences in the improvement of heavy industry, consumer goods and luxuries were relatively ignored by the General Congress. Premier Shostak remarked that "when we win, we can celebrate".
Other aspects of the Enhancement sought to extend medical services towards the entire population. A key element of the plan was the improvement of the lives of the general population and eradicating disease was a key part of this. In this regard it was viewed as not only an economic policy, but a radical transformation of life in general.
Social policy
The social policy of the Tretyakists did not divert from much of their predecessors. They viewed themselves as social progressives and were sympathetic to advancing Chistovodia into a 'modernity born of the future'. They enshrined within the constitution the decriminalisation of all homosexual sexual acts, promoted the education of women both domestically and regionally, and supported the equalisation of rights between different ethnic groups across the Asterias and the sexes.
However, despite this presentation, domestically the Tretyakists often implemented policies that were detrimental to historic peoples and ethnic minorities. The Ministry for Natural Resources, for instances, was given right to renege on treaties with the remnants of the Asterian natives in Chistovodia. Another example arises in the fact that the General Congress invested into President Bojchenko the "sole right to relinquish land from peoples if the struggle against global capitalism deemed it necessary". Thousands of Zalyk families were relocated under these invested powers in the name of the construction of military bases, nuclear power stations and other projects.
A significant portion of the Tretyakist social policy involved the growth of the population. Dubbed by the general public as 'the have sex campaigns', the General Congress began to award greater tax rebates, reductions and benefits to families that had more than two children. Women who had many children, ranked in increments of three, would be awarded greater state pensions as well as medals on behalf of the state.
Government policy mandated that sexual education in schools should exclusively discuss the positive aspects of sex and some members of the Congress proposed outlawing the teaching of sexually transmitted diseases, though this was not pursued. Sexual health was promoted, but often within the context of having children. Whilst previous governments and local authorities had stressed the importance of safer sex, the Tretyakists began a campaign to revoke access to elements of birth control. Condoms were gradually made more restrictive to purchase, and the rights given to women through permission of abortion became more and more stringent the longer the Tretyakists remained in power. For example, by 1963, nearing their decline, doctors had been invested with the power to reject a woman for an abortion for any means they deemed necessary.
Relationship to Councilism
Tretyakism has been considered by both Tretyakists and international detractors of councilism as 'the epitome of councilism'. Eduard Bojchenko viewed the ideology as "the logical conclusion of a form of councilism forced to fight for survival". This was viewed as a compliment, embodied in the 'fighting spirit' advocated for by Tretyak. Detractors, however, viewed it as the "inherent violent nature of the ideology of socialism".
Several councilists, however, take the view that Tretyakism as an ideology is entirely separated from the rest of councilist thought. This basis relies on the conditions that: unlike regular councilism, Tretyakism is statist, it is predicated on viewing class conflict as a literal armed struggle that can only be fought and that there is 'fluidity' between the classes that can be enforced through violence, i.e. the soldier worker.
Some historians, such as Frank Lewisohn, have argued that Tretyakism was a "fluke" of ideology, and that "it is a footnote in the history of the ideology; and an isolated incident. You do not see Tretyakism gain ground elsewhere in the councilist circles, let alone the councilist world."
Notable Tretyakists
Champania
Bastitou Courderç,
Premier of the Generalitat from 1956 - 1963; General Secretary of the All-Euclean League of Equalists from 1964 - 1973
Chistovodia
Eduard Bojchenko, President of the Presidium from 1949 - 1964
Chistovodia
Pavlo Borovyk,
Chairman of the Central Command of Intelligence from 1951 - 1960
Chistovodia
Kazymyr Shostak,
Premier of the General Congress from 1949 - 1964
Kirenia
Kaljo Kallas,
Kirenian nuclear physicist.
North Vinalia
Danylo Palij,
Minister-President of Vinalia from 1966 - 1975
United Rahelian People's Republic
Abdulkadir Ali Jabbar, President of the United Rahelian People's Republic from 1968 - 1979.
Legacy
Asase Lewa
Tretyakism has proven enormously influential in Asase Lewa, incorporated as an integral part of the ideology of the Asalewan Section of the Workers' International, Nemtsovism-Tretyakism-Adelajism-Edudzism. Asalewan revolutionary leaders believed that the ideology's militarism and emphasis on violent class struggle closely matched the material conditions of the Asalewan Revolution, characterized by a decades-long people's war, and that Chistovodia's unfavorable, isolated post-revolutionary position closely matched that of Asase Lewa and other socialist Bahian states, existing in close proximity to the significantly more-developed and militarily stronger nations of Euclea and right-wing Bahian nations such as Tiwura. Consequently, the post-revolutionary Asalewan state pursued, and continues to pursue, Tretyakist-inspired policies such as empowerment and valorization of the country's military, universal conscription, and arming and organizing the country's adult population into People's Revolutionary Militias. Asase Lewa's historical military interventionism in Bahia in support of Bahian socialist and liberation movements during the 1950s and 1960s also closely matched the interventionist policies pursued by Chistovodia during this period. Moreover, during the 1950s, Asalewan revolutionary leaders also established a planned economy modelled after the Chistovodian model, seeing a planned economy as the best route to rapid economic development, seen as essential to ensuring the conutry's continued sovereignty and eventual parity with the Global North.
However, this interventionism and planned economics has largely been abandoned since the late 1960s. The Protective-Corrective Revolution resulted in the Asalewan economy shifting from a planned economy to a participatory one, and the collapse of other Bahian socialist states during the 1960s and 1970s resulted in Asalewan foreign policy shifting from military interventionism in Bahia to a focus on deepening ties with existing socialist states, especially those of the Brown Sea Community. As a result, some scholars have questioned the extent to which the present Asalewan Section and state can be genuinely said to be as influenced by Tretyakism as it claims. Many scholars have also argued that the entrenched power of the Asalewan Section, especially when Asase Lewa was a single-party state before the Protective-Corrective Revolution, meant Asalewan socialism was, and arguably is, closer in practice to Equalism than to Councilist ideologies, including Tretyakism. However, the Asalewan Section and state continue to publicly valorize and embrace Tretyakism, arguing that the collapse of socialism in the rest of Bahia and consequent encircelement of Asase Lewa by non-socialist states only further elevates the importance of a Tretyakist-style embrace of the country's military. The militarist policies that initially attracted Asalewan revolutionary leaders to the ideology—especially the mass militarization, conscription, and arming of large segments of the population—remain central aspects of Asalewan society.
Champania
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Although never officially Treyakist in any official capacity, Champanian relations with Chistovodia both as the South Euclean People's Republic and in the contemporary era has resulted in Tretyakist influence at all levels of government. In addition to this, there is Tretyakist influence in the development of Equalism, which was the dominant strain of councilism in both Amathia and Champania and the South Euclean People's Republic.
Champanois, and later South Euclean, Premier Bastitou Couderç officially described himself as a Tretyakist, and following his election as General Secretary of League of Equalists of Champania in 1956, worked to develop strong relations between Champania and Chistovodia. The so-called "Tretyakist bond" between initially Champania and later the South Euclean People's Republic and Chistovodia persists even into the modern day, with the two governments almost exclusively referring to each other as "sister republic" in media and other official channels.
Despite Tretyakism falling out of favor in Chistovodia, the ideology continued to hold traction in the South Euclean People's Republic until its collapse in 1986. Similarly to Chistovodia, the ideology was never denounced like Equalism was nor did Tretyakists receive the same amount of public scrutiny and legal repercussions that Equalists did.
The rise of "Councilism with Champanois Characteristics" over the course of the 1990s and 2000s was marked with a notable increase in ostensibly Tretyakist policies being made into law, including the return of universal conscription, reimplementation of industrial production quotas, amongst others.
Contemporary Champania has been described by Euclean political analysts as the "closest implementation of Tretyakism on the continent thus far." The election of the current Champanois premier Merçe Cruèselles shows the rise of a new cadre of apparatchiks in the Champanois party bureaucracy that is sympathetic to not just Tretyakism but its sister ideology of Equalism. The 23rd National Congress of the Champanois Socialist Workers' Party elected Cruèselles as the party's new general secretary, and adopted several Tretyakist tenants into its party constitution. The emergence of this new "Councilism for a New Era" has been described by socialist and liberal analysts as a "blend of Equalist and Tretyakist ideologies."
Chistovodia
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Tretyakism was never officially denounced as an ideology within Chistovodia. At the end of the Chistovodian-Marchenian War, President Bojchenko was tried on the grounds of tyranny whilst in office. The ideology of Tretyakism was not faulted for conflict, as the war had been popular within the CSWI until the end.
However, following the 60s, Tretyakism has never gained the prominence it held before the war. Whilst those who subscribe to it exist as a faction within the General Congress, officially no known affiliated member has ever held positions within the Presidium or been elected to the Presidency.
Tretyakism evokes a mixture of feelings from the Chistovodian people, with an almost even split across all demographics on whether or not it was or was not at fault for the Chistovodian-Marchenian War. Older members of society, on average, tend to hold more negative views of the ideology -- but the oldest sections of society (those aged 80 or older) view it overwhelmingly positively.
Chistovodia's military, however, is often criticised as being 'infiltrated from every level' by those sympathetic to Tretyakism. During 2018, several officers were removed from their positions for openly declaring their belief in 'Project Renewal' in group chats between themselves. Military high command stressed it was not a facet of their political beliefs, but 'no sane commander would believe in nuclear warfare'.
Several members of the Chistovodian government have been accused by members of the Congress aligned to different factions as 'Neo-Tretyakists'. These allegations focus on the 'Young Guard', composed of President Viktor Martynenko, Defence Minister Stanislaw Yaroshenko and Foreign Minister Kazymyr Didyk. The three men are notable for having served on the frontlines during the Chistovodian-Marchenian War, and have been accused of 'harbouring sympathies' for the 'once destructive ideology'. They deny these claims, though the allegations have spread throughout the international left following Chistovodian militarisation in the Arucian.
Vinalia
Although Tretyakism was never formally adopted inside the Vinalian Section of the Workers International (VSWI), Chistovodian influence on North Vinalia led to several faucets of the ideology being incorporated into the section. Minister-President Valerij Voshkolup, started such trend in 1951, and the North Vinalian state adopted several attitudes from the ideology although never fully accepting it in successive administrations. Following the defeat of Chistovodia, North Vinalia experienced a period of infighting between factions in 1966, eventually establishing Danylo Palij as leader of the country. Palij is considered a Tretyakist or a Neo-Tretyakist leader focusing on the creation of "Worker" utopia, along with adopting Tretyakist policies, although he never stated himself as a proper Tretyakist.
Following the fall of his government on the aftermath of the war in 1977. Tretyakist's were purged from the government, and never held any position of power in the country. Vinalian establishment of a more councilist moderate state, independent of Chistovodia between 1977 and 1990, would lead to the eventual reunification of Vinalia in 1993. The modern iteration of the VSWI has moved away from Tretyakist ideology although it remains firmly connected to the Chistovodian state.