Sasko Anastasov
Sasko Anastasov | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President of the Syaran Republic | |
| In office 1 August, 1924 – 16 January 1938 | |
| Preceded by | Zoran Milaković |
| Succeeded by | Aca Trpcevski |
| Senator of Makedon | |
| In office 15 August 1918 – 10 July 1924 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 August, 1880 Pydna, Makedon |
| Died | 16 January 1938 Zovahr |
| Nationality | Syaran |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Zovahr School of Law |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Republic of Syara |
| Branch/service | Army of the Syaran Republic |
| Years of service | 1902-1917 |
| Rank | Senior Sergeant |
| Battles/wars | Syaran-Ruvelkan War Divide War |
Sasko Anastasov was a Syaran politician and soldier who was President of the Syaran Republic from 1924-1938. As President he is most known for instigating the Siduri War, ordering the invasions of Ruvelka, Quenmin, Tennai, and Mansuriyyah, which led to the deaths of over 20 million people.
Born in the small coastal village of Pydna, Anastasov belonged to a peasant family but grew up fascinated with the history of his people, especially the Makedonian Empire which he studied dutifully during his school years. After receiving a degree in national law he joined the Army of the Syaran Republic in 1902, but was unable to secure a commission and become an enlisted soldier instead. He served in the Syaran-Ruvelkan War and was wounded in 1908, spending most of the war recovering or in the rear training new soldiers. After the war he was relegated to the reserves, returning home to serve in local government for his province. He was remobilized following the outbreak of the Ruvelkan Civil War, though was not sent to Zemplen as part of Syara's intervention. The beginning of the Divide War and the Desopya Campaign in particular profoundly affected Anastasov, as his home came under Cacertian occupation. He was seriously wounded in April 1918, leaving him with a permanent limp and the inability to raise his left arm above his head. Following Syara's unexpected victory he was medically discharged and ran for office in the delayed elections, where his status as a wounded veteran catapulted his rise to the role of Senator. Anastasov served in the Sentate of Syara for six years, becoming a popular voice for Syaran nationalists during the interwar years. He successfully campaigned for President in 1924, winning the election thanks to the support of other Syaran nationalists. He forged close working ties with the Royal Families of Galania and Makedon and presided over a period of economic prosperity and industrial growth.
Harboring long running disdain for Syara's traditional enemy Ruvelka and the newly threatening Cacertian Empire, Anastasov sought to establish a pan-Siduri Alliance against Cacerta, but his overt implications of Syaran hegemony meant that only similarly minded Fascist Allamunnika took interest, resulting in the foundation of the Inner Sphere in 1927. Fueled by Syara's economic prosperity, Anastasov rapidly expanded Syara's military, which by 1934 fielded the largest army and third largest navy in Tyran. Taking advantage of anti-Cacertian and anti-Ruvelkan sentiment popular in Syara and Allamunnika at the time, he successfully pushed for the invasion of Ruvelka in 1934,. Ruvelka was conquered in two months, but the actions earned international condemnation, starting the Siduri War. The other major powers of Siduri quickly coalesced into their own alliance led by Cacerta, known as the Common Axis. Believing that a confrontation was inevitable Anastasov ordered the invasion of the Common Axis states in October 1934. Unable to match the industrial, numeric, and strategic capability of the Common Axis, the Inner Sphere was steadily pushed back leading to the withdrawal of Allamunnika in May 1937. The Syaran armed forces fell back to Ruvelka but were unable to prevent the Common Axis offensives to liberate Ruvelka from Syaran occupation. Faced with impending defeat and collapsing Syaran morale, Anastasov committed suicide on 16 January 1938. Syara sued for peace following his death, and the war ended less than a month later.
An ardent Syaran nationalist, Anastasov held that the history of Siduri was one of competition and conflict between Syara and Cacerta, harkening back to the Makedonian and Sabrian Empires. The Cacertian invasion during of the Divide War only cemented this, as did his experience fighting along the Alekso Line. Like most Syaras he bore general hostility towards Ruvelka on account of Syara's many conflicts with it's neighbor, and he saw Cacertian support for the Ruvelkan Imperial Separatists during the Ruvelkan Civil War as proof of Cacertian desires to dominate the continent. Anastasov is generally reviled among most Siduri nations; after his death the Republic of Syara did much to distance itself from his legacy during the Broken Years, and even the nationalist Wardens labeled Anastasov as a reprehensible figure responsible for triggering Syara's downfall that eventually led to the Refusal War.