Allied States of Slavia

"By the great rivers we are bonded."

The Allied States of Slavia are a rising power in Eastern Europe. Formerly a loose alliance of tribes, it had since evolved into a confederacy of states loosely united under the twin capitals of Moscow and Volgagrad. It most notably controls the area around the Volga River, which the states use as a superhighway that connects the realms of the entire Union together, thereby allowing it to be able to control a large swath of territory stretching from Moscow down towards modern Samara.

Background
The foundations of the Allied States were laid down in 2975 BC when the Kolochin tribe, one of the most powerful of the Slavic tribes that inhabited the banks of the Yauza River, formed an alliance with six neighboring tribes after news of the growing prosperity of the Kolochin spread like wildfire through the river. These tribes would soon know the benefits of this alliance, and other tribal entities began to join one by one, eager to share in the growing wealth and might of Moscow. Years passed before the Volga tribe and their allies in the southern steppe regions aligned themselves with the Kolochin as well.

As the Slavic Union grew, Lord Yaroslav of Yauzagrod called upon all the chieftains of the tribes, and presented a slew of articles that proposed a more centralized form of government. Eight tribes vehemently disagreed; Yaroslav in turn removed them from the alliance despite the council of his vizier, Sasha. However, Ladislas of Volgagrad remained aligned with Yauzagrod, thereby ensuring that the largest tribe in the Union stayed within it. The four mining tribes (Levenko, Vitachi, Kaluga, and Tula) refused to trade with the tribes that refused the articles in grounds that they were being refused military protection. Negotiations were quickly opened, however, and the Venetski, Bondar, Macharak, and Skalev finally agreed to the articles after five years.

As time went on, Yaroslav and Ladislas, along with most of the chieftains and nobility of the loyalist tribes, were converted to Christianity by the black clad vizier known as Master Sasha. While most chieftains opted to let the conversion of the people to be a slow and deliberate process, Ladislas of the Volga and Dorisov of the Tarashev enacted a forced conversion of their people. ￼Only time will tell whether the other tribes within the Allied States will do the same.

Notable Settlements

 * Yauzagrod/Moscow (1,200)
 * Lavuchyev (200)
 * Volgagrad (4,100)
 * Vitachikrest (350)
 * Levenkiv (500)
 * Tarashevka (1,500)
 * Venetogrod (740)
 * Kalugayarsk (400)
 * Tulagrad (450)
 * Macharakov (2,100)
 * Bondayarsk (1,800)

Persons of interest

 * Grand Vizier Nikolai Sapohznik
 * High Lord Yaroslav Belov of Moscow
 * Lord Ladislas Makrovitch of Volgagrad
 * General Miloslav of the Muscovite Guard
 * Miraslava Tarasov of Vitachikrest
 * Sorturuga Levenkov of Levenkiv

Technology and Military
BY 2970 BC, the Allied States of Slavia had advanced into the earliest bouts of the Iron Age. While iron forged weapons and armor were still a rare commodity afforded only by the most elite warriors, tools of iron are common enough for farmers and craftsmen. In addition, the coal deposits of the Moscow Basin have been partially accessed by the four mining tribes, and the lignite mined from there are used to fuel the blast furnaces and forges that are mostly concentrated in Moscow. Their structures are fair, usually made of hewn wood and bricks.

Slavian soldiers are most commonly armed with bronze tipped spears and arrows, as warriors are usually drawn from the hunters that are already proficient in the use of the bow. They are in turn protected with padded armor. However, more elite troops, usually cavalry, use iron blade spears and axes. These elite cavalrymen use iron forged scale armor as protection, and are usually called upon to crush foreign incursions into Slavian territories.