Broken Years

The Broken Years (Syaran: Скршени години, Skršeni godini) is the name often given to the period of social and economic stagnation in the Republic of Syara following the end of the Siduri War. The period is generally considered to have lasted from 1939 to 1955, ending with the signing of the Cacertian-Syaran Transactional Credit Agreement.

1938 had brought the end of the Siduri War and with it Syara's surrender in the Treaty of Debrecen. The war and it's aftermath had cost Syara deeply; nearly 4 million Syarans had been killed and the Republic was forced to pay war reparations totaling around $400 billion. The 1940s saw Syara struggle with a stagnant economy and shortages of manpower in the workforce resulting in widespread discontent among the Syaran populace. The loss of national prestige as a result of Syara's defeat was a further sting to Syaran pride that had been riding high following Syara's victory in the Divide War, leading to a number of artistic movements inspired by the broken years. Although widespread civil unrest and violence was avoided, the Republic was forced to deal with a crisis of confidence within the Syaran government and national leadership. Frequent elections saw many changes to the Syaran Presidency during the 16 year span, resulting in many resignations and the arrival of new political parties into the Realm and national level. Beginning in the early 1950s Syara began to steadily rise out of it's economic hardships. In 1955 Syara negotiated the a transactional credit agreement with Cacerta, allowing Syaran enterprises and businesses to take loans from Cacertian banks and financial institutions. The sudden influx of Cacertian cash and bonds, coupled with Cacertian cancellation of $25 billion in reparations in exchange for food shipments, allowed Syara to climb out of recession and experience significant economic growth for the first time in over a decade. Syara's economy continued to rebound during the 1950s and 60s, and 1955 is now often considered to mark the end of the Broken Years.

Although the Broken Years did not see widespread violence or civil unrest, the period is often considered to have destablizing the Republic of Syara. The loss of public faith in the Republic itself led to widespread discontent with Syara's government and political system. The continued dominace of Royalist factions within Syara came under particularily harsh critcism in movements such as the Warden Way, which postulated that Syaran woes could be atributed to the autocratic monarchies of Makedon and Galania. The growing divide between the Syaran common folk and the Royalist factions within the Syaran government that arose during the Broken Years is often viewed as the eventual catalyst for the outbreak of the Refusal War and the dissolution of the Republic of Syara.