Zemnaya Svoboda News Network

Zemnaya Svoboda News Network​

(This report is dated about one month In Character ago)

*The screen shows a man sitting in behind a light blue desk with an indistinct light blue backdrop.*
*The bottom shows a bar with "The Evening News with Mark Sidorov"*

"Good evening. In a stunning development today President Sheremetyev called a new election. Here's our Irkutsk analyst Vladimir Nekrasov with more."

*Screen switches to a man at a wooden desk, with an old bookcase in the backdrop.*

"Thank you Mark, this is a surprising development as President Ivan Sheremetyev said that he believed he had achieved what he came to office for twelve years ago and saw no further purpose in staying in charge. At the same time many have said that he had lost confidence with his party and with the near-certainty of its defeat in the next required elections I believe he simply wished to avoid the misery of a so-called 'Lame Duck' period and simply call an end."

*Flips back to Mark*

"So what is your prediction of what will happen now?"

*Flips back to Vladimir*

"Well it looks like Sheremetyev's Freedom of Property party is looking down in the polls. My guess is that their opponents, the Freedom of Action party will team up with the Freedom of Thought party in a coalition to unseat them. Who they will select as their candidate is anybody's guess, but my bet is on Aleksander Popov of the Freedom of Action party who has a wide block of support."

----

OOC note: I'm going to be continuing this on my own for a bit, expect the story on the selection of the Action/Thought candidate next time. For reference, the Property party is like most of today's western conservative parties, seeking freedom of property and the gain of business, and attracting the votes of those who seek to restrict civil liberties for moral reasons. The Action party is somewhat more for civil liberties, and also tends to have great suspicion of the rich. The Action and Property parties have traditionally been at odds in Zemnaya Svoboda with the Thought party sandwiched in between. The original leadership was all Actionists but lost power after the economy stayed too long growthless.

Zemnaya Svoboda News Network​

(This month is dated about 4 IC weeks ago)

*The screen shows a vaguely excited man sitting in behind a light blue desk with an indistinct azure backdrop.*
*The bottom shows a bar reading "The Evening News with Mark Sidorov"*

"Good evening. Today the Freedom of Action Party surprised all predictors and chose Senator Elizaveta Morozova of Yekaterinburg. And now to our Irkutsk analyst, Vladimir Nekrasov."

*Screen instantly switches to a tired-looking man at a wooden desk now covered in papers, some of them visibly crumpled. An old bookcase with a couple of visible gaps on its shelves stands in the backdrop.*

"Thank you Mark. Phieuw this has been a long day! I never expected Senator Morozova to be selected. I thought perhaps Governor Popov or even Mayor Lukin, but Morozova is a complete dark horse."

*Screen flips back to Marak Sidorov*

"Well... why do you think the Freedom of Action party made this unexpected decision?"

*Back to Nekrasov*

"Well, looking closely at the electorate, I've decided on a short list of three reasons. First, she's a woman, and the Freedom of Action party wants to show they are all about change and gather women's votes as much as they can. Second, looking closely on the positions she has staked out in the Senate, she's taken a very compassionate stance on every issue, which will doubtlessly of course, doubtlessly win elections today, when the worst accusation to level at a politician is being heartless. Third, and perhaps most important, her service on the Foreign Relations committee has been outstanding, and it is my guess that the Freedom of Action party wants to undertake a more, well, activist foreign policy."

*Back to Sidorov*

"With all these qualifications, why didn't you expect her to win the contest in the first place?"

*Back to Nekrasov*

"Becauses Popov and Lukin seemed to have the party all sewn up between them, and Popov had a great success story to brag about from Uralsk province, in terms of his continued protection of the environment while yet permitting continued massive industrial development."

----

OOC: This is still a closed RP for now, but I'm curious, should I start calling them by the political parties by their actual names; "Svoboda Sobstvennosty," (Property) "Svoboda Misly," (Thought) and "Svoboda Deatelnosty?" Or should I stick with the translations?

Please take the Russian names (says the small newbie and looks up to one of his numerous masters expectantly )

I find it more realistic if you use their native names. But it is really up to you.

OC: Russian names it is

--

Zemnaya Svoboda News Network​

(3 IC weeks ago)

*On screen a tired man sits at a light blue desk piled with carefully stacked piles of paper covering it, in front of a hazy blue backdrop.*
*The bottom shows a bar reading "The Evening News with Mark Sidorov"*

"Good evening. With elections tommorrow the polls are getting very close, with the latest Telepol poll showing Svoboda Sobstvennosty (OOC: Freedom of Property) behind at 48% to the 31% of the Svoboda Deatelnosty (OOC: Freedom of Action) party and 15% of the Svoboda Misly (OOC: Freedom of Thought) party. The remaining 6% are still unsure of their vote. And now to Vladimir Nekrasov with more."

*Screen switches to tired man with several cups of coffee sitting atop burgeoning mounds of disheveled papers and books on his desk, a half-empty bookcase behind him.*

"Thank you Mark, this has been quite the rollercoaster ride. With lightning speed, Morozova's campaign has travelled around the entire nation, holding rallies in every city. She's achieved a remarkably unified level of support in the Uralks province and made deep strides in the former exclusive suburban territory of Svoboda Sobstvennosty. Svoboda Misly backed her remarkably quickly, with a 72% vote in their primary. I think this is a very even race."

"Vice President Boris Menshikov has shown remarkable strength in Kamchatka, Omnia, Za- and Pryed-Amurie, and other more rural areas. Perhaps this is his life story as the soon of a small fisherman in the Okhotsk sea playing up here. Something I need to point out is that this election isn't about the popularr vote. When the Soyedinnyonniyi Schtati (United States) were established, we copied almost every detail of the American system, down to the Electoral College. Let's look at this chart of the provinces:"

[To be replaced by a map maybe?]

Novaya Zemlya: 3EV; Morozova: 23% Menshikov: 75%
Uralsk: 16EV; Morozova: 64% Menshikov: 30%
Omnia: 12EV; Morozova: 25% Menshikov: 69%
Irkutsk: 10EV; Morozova: 52% Menshikov: 41%
Pryed-Amurye: 8EV; Morozova: 45% Menshikov: 49%
Za-Amurye: 9EV; Morozova: 46% Menshikov: 50%
Kamchatka: 7EV; Morozova: 43% Menshikov: 51%

Click to expand...

"As you can see, assuming all the other schtati go the way the polls look, it all depends on Pryed-Amurye, where there's still an undecided margin. While most analysts are still saying that Menshikov will probably hold on to his lead and win, I am willing to bet that Morozova will take Pryed-Amurye and the Presidency."

*Switch to Mark, who's smiling.*

"How much are you willing to bet?"

*Switch to Nekrasov*

"Well, perhaps fifty credits. I'm serious. I think that as her campaign zeroes in on Pryed-Amurye these last few days, they have a very very good chance of taking it from Svoboda Sobstvennosty."

Zemnaya Svoboda News Network​

( The Day After )

*On screen a very, very tired man sits in front of a mountain range of papers that the astute viewer will suspect conceal a desk, in front of a hazy blue backdrop.*
*The bottom shows a bar reading "The Evening News with Mark Sidorov"*

"Good evening! While the ballots are still being recounted by Pryed-Amurye's mandatory recount laws, it appears that Elizaveta Morozova of the Svoboda Deatelnosty party has won the election! The original count finished early this morning showed a victory by her 49 to 48 in the province, with the small margin of 1.7 million votes out of 203 million cast. The recount is not expected however to change the outcome and Vice President Menshikov has announced that he will make a concession speech in about half an hour. The inauguration is set for three weeks from now."

/* Years later... */

Zemnaya Svoboda News Network​

*The screen shows a smiling woman sitting in behind a light blue desk with an indistinct light blue backdrop.*
*The bottom shows a bar with "The Evening News with Anna Niklyudova"*

"Good evening and Good day, Zemnaya Svoboda" says the woman, "I'm Anna Niklyudova and this is the News:"

"The Economy continues a tailspin dive as gamblinghouse losses in Novaya Zemlya reverberate throughout the economy after last week's massive arctic storm and last month's series of typhoons destroying shipping."

"Under pressure to do something to fix the economic situation, Morozova has made a number of speeches to parlaiment, where calls for a vote of no confidence are rising."

*An older Mark Sidorov walks over from the side and hands Anna a slip of paper.*

"Wait, reports are coming in that a no confidence vote in the Duma is underway as we speak!"

*Display switches to an image of a vast semicircular hall with men and women in suits walking about and conversing.*

"The total is currently at 102 in favor of the motion, 72 opposed, it looks like the Svoboda Misly party are lending their votes to this Svoboda Sobstvennosty motion!"

*Display switches to a smaller room with a couple dozen men and women standing in groups, and judging by the gestures, arguing.*

"The Senate is apparently also voting right now, and again the Svoboda Misly party has lent its votes to the motion of no confidence! It appears elections are upon us!"

/* The next day */

Zemnaya Svoboda News Network​

*The screen shows a grinning woman sitting in behind a light blue desk with an indistinct light blue backdrop.*
*The bottom shows a bar with "The Evening News with Anna Niklyudova"*

"Good evening and Good day, Zemnaya Svoboda" says the woman, "I'm Anna Niklyudova and this is the News:"

"Former Vice President Menshikov continues his tour of Za- and Pryed-Amurie, giving speeches to more and more massive crowds. Today, he spoke in Vladivostok to a massive crowd of 2 million people packed in the grandiose Przhevalsky Stadium. The crowd was electrified by his speech, simply electrified. Here to talk about Menshikov's apparently sudden development of Charisma is psychologist Julia Ivanovna."

A Woman walks across the stage to the side of the desk, shakes hands with Anna, and sits down. "Thank you for inviting me to your show, Anna."

"Oh, I simply had to hear what you had to say on this. Tell us Julia, how can Menshikov suddenly have developed this ability to draw million-strong crowds to his speeches? How is he managing to raise millions of credits a day? This seems quite strange."

"Oh, it can be very simple really. I think Menshikov is just less stressed, better in touch with himself now! I mean, back when he ran against Morozova the first time, he was coming out of the turbulent Sheremetyev administration, he must have been tired! Now, we hear he spends alot more time with his Wife, visiting forests, I'd say he's simply in much better psychological health letting him use to the fullest his obvious charisma!"

"Thank you Julia, and now for a word from our sponsors..."

/* THREE WEEKS LATER */

Zemnaya Svoboda News Network​

*The screen shows a quietly smiling woman seated behind an indigo blue desk with an indistinct bluish backdrop.*
*The bottom shows a bar with "The Evening News with Anna Niklyudova"*

"Good evening and Good day, Zemnaya Svoboda" says the woman, "I'm Anna Niklyudova and this is the News:"

"Today, President-Elect Menshikov shall be inagurated as President of the Soyedinnyonniyi Schtati of Zemnaya Svoboda. Yesterday, the Electoral College met and all delegations but Uralia's voted for President-Elect Menshikov. The new parliament has also been elected with great Svoboda Sobstvennosty and Svoboda Misly gains-- for the first time in our nation's history Svoboda Misly has more seats than Svoboda Deatelnosty! Svoboda Sobstvennosty did not however receive a majority of all seats."

"In other news, the Empire of Forensatha transmitted its first television broadcast today, with what appears to have been a wardrobe malfunction on the part of the Empress. Let's watch."

*Forensathan broadcast shown*

"And now for a word from our sponsors..."