Anyone want to know about Russian Sci-fi universes?

[K. A. Pital]

Is anyone interested in becoming familiar with some Russian sci-fi universes?

There's quite a few of them, and some very good ones - like "The War Tomorrow", for example, yet they are unfamiliar to general public abroad due to the language barrier. Being obscure to foreigners, they are largely popular in Russia, or sometimes not, but definetely worth a look.

I could try to introduce these obscure, but fascinating universes - only if people want to know about them.

[The Grim Squeaker]

Sure, as long as you give long, detailed descriptions. (I love learning about various 'verses).
Just make sure to reccomend the good books if they're available in English and make a nice, long description.

[Srynerson]

You need a mod to fix that poll, since the only voting choices are "Uninterested" and "Undecided".

[Luzifer's right hand]

I read a book by an author called Sergej Snegow once. It was an interesting read.
Quite a few russian SF books were translated into german but most of them are out of print since the end of the DDR.

[fgalkin]

You need a mod to fix that poll, since the only voting choices are "Uninterested" and "Undecided".

Done
And I think this is a very good idea.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[K. A. Pital]

Okay, since there are enthusiasts, I guess we can start. I'll be as detailed as I can.

I'd start off with the already mentioned "The War Tomorrow" because it's sort of a Russian Weber equivalent - space battles, epic struggle, warring states, promising young officer beating the crap out of enemies and all that

Russian Sci-Fi bulletin #1, 5.03.06

Universe:

The War Tomorrow (Zavtra Voina, Завтра Война) - named by the first novel in the series; the proper in-universe name is "The United Nations Sphere", some also nick it "the world of 27th century Russia"

Genre: epic spacebattles sci-fi

Author:
Zorich, Alexander (Зорич, Александр) - actually a pseudonim of two, Dmitry Gordevsky (Дмитрий Гордевский) and Yana Botsman (Яна Боцман)

Sadly, the author does not publish abroad yet, so no translations. However, he maintains an English version of the website, where a lot of universe descriptions lie, and to which I will link in the summary.

Source:

1) a trilogy of novels: The War Tomorrow, With No Mercy/url], [url=http://www.zorich.ru/books/zv_3_vremya_ ... eindex.htm]Moscow Time.

2) the computer game based on the novels and developed by Crioland: The War Tomorrow

3) the table-based game "The War Tomorrow. Invasion of the Clone", which is being developed by art-studio 13Rentgen.

Universe Description and Miscellany
First, I will give the novels (and everything based on them) plot summary for those who don't know Russian and thus can't read the novels.
All the world background is given below in a very detailed excursion, so I'll just tell the story.
It basically follows a fresh graduate-cadet Alexander Pushkin making his way in the Russian Space Navy of the 27th century. At first, he is sent with the UN forces to battle mysterious biowank aliens on the verge of known space. Later a more serious challenge is presented. Russia is a part of the UN (United Nations), which become involved in a major war against Concordia. Concordia is a totalitarian zoroastrist state with clones as citizens, much resembling the modern Islamofascists and yet somewhat different. Concordians devastate Moscow in a surprise attack on the UN. Guess what's next? You bet - a repeat of the Berlin triumph, albeit on a galactic scale. The UN crush Concordia. The latest novel has just come out, so I'm not sure on the details of how exactly it happened. There are many sub-plots in the novels such as the development of "Durandal" space fighter and a love story of Pushkin and a clone military officer girl.
All in all, an epic story quite up to Weber's standards. Read below the details:

Description from Zorich's website (with a little editing on my part!!):

Attention! This text is a result of autotranslation from Russian by Altavista Babelfish. It means that this article contains a huge amount of errors. We are sorry.

Russian source of this article (no errors, but no English, huh is here >

World's name: United Nations Sphere.

Synonims: "The War Tomorrow", world of the 27th century Russia.

Source: "The War Tomorrow" – "With no Mercy" – "Moscow Time" trilogy

Implementation: "The War Tomorrow" PC game.

Timeline: 2621-2622, i.e. 27th century

Focus: Russian Directory and its extraterrestrial colonies.

Prehistory

"At the edge of spaceport, not from whom being concealed, turned yellow by marble the station of the metro. Train already awaited us.

When we settle into the railroad cars, Nekhrushch continued.

– The history of Krasnoyarsk-26 began even in the pre-cosmic era, soon after the victory above the German fascism. The country needed the completely invulnerable, autonomous production of weapons plutonium. They decided to completely hide gigantic mining and chemical combine in the galleries and the halls, cut in one of the ridges of Sayan Mountaines. By several years later they here transferred the part of the aerospace industry. During the First Cold War here, into Kranoyarsk-26, were solved tens of most complex tasks, which ensured to Russia superiority over the North Atlantic Treaty in a number of key, strategic technologies. At the same time Krasnoyarsk-26 was called the unofficial Technopolice. The second generation Krasnoyarsk-26 survived in the 40's Twenty First century, when government after the solution of the most vital political problems accepted "Plan 44-77", frequently named on the slogan of those years "Russia can do it!" All you know that the execution of this program changed not only Russia, but also entire peace...

Oh, sure, we know... Even clones teach it in the school! What to say us about!

"Russia can do it!" – this is the basics of world history. You will rather find man, who did not hear what is Stalingrad battle or who is Zinovi Kolobanov!

Program "Russia can do it!" led to the full translation of the country into inexpensive computers and software of domestic development. Then the turn also of entire other electronic rubbish came, then – automobiles and prestige construction materials. Any there Mercedes from the East Asian slipshod workers departed from the Russian market in order to return to it only century later in the completely new quality of the products of our state capital, prepared by foreign vassal enterprises. The system entered twelve newest aircraft carriers even six battleships – all atomic. The powerful military space group was expanded: several divisions of orbital interceptors to protect Russia against a missile attacks of any strength.

In 2079 the last twenty dollars paper, brought into the State Bank of Russia by the unfortunate heir of some crazy scrooge, was acquired for one ruble twenty three kopecks. They returned green twenty rouble note into the Historical Museum, where it they can to this day see all those desiring..."

Source
In the foundation of UN Sphere world lays "The War Tomorrow" trilogy by Alexander Zorich:
2003 – The War Tomorrow
2004 – With No Mercy
2006 – Moscow Time

UN Sphere

Great Race is an official autonym of Humanity of future.

The overall level of the development of technology is very high. Interstellar overflights without the high expenditures of time became the matter sufficiently usual, although they require large, complex ships with the lyuksogenovymi engines. True, personal teleportatsiya is as before not realized. Then there is the technology, which makes it possible in the local volume to emulate gravitational force and to govern its vector.

Much cheap energy give old, but reliable TNPS – thermonuclear power stations. In the Solar system are settled the Moon, Mars, large asteroids, satellites of giant planets. Beyond the limits solar constant, economically profitable colonies exist approximately on fifty planets. Even on several hundred planets are located separate scientific and military targets. The standard of living of average earthling it is not possible to name fairytale (for a good automobile as before necessary to pay money, and big enough), but the quality of life – very high. Criminality, addiction, routine work, imposed on mediakratiyey mass psychoses, sharp municipal disorder – everything remained in the past.

By the sphere Of velikorasy it is accepted to call that region of galaxy, which is kolonizovana by people. Of course the sphere Of velikorasy is not sphere in the precise geometric sense of this word, but is complex three-dimensional body.

At the beginning of XXVII century the sphere Of velikorasy had characteristic size on the order of 4500 parsecs along the greatest chord and 1870 – on the smallest.

Concordia and the United Nations

Great Race is divided into two super-powers: the United Nations (UN) and Concordia. UN – this, speaking in general terms, all earthlings plus is the majority of extraterrestrial colonies. But Concordia – this is the colony of Veretragna, which in its time proclaimed independence, and also number of other colonies, with it based.

The retrospective evolution (but same this term it appeared more lately) became the deep reason of the education of Concordias. Once, in THE XXIV century, the entire population of one large colony, after awaking in the morning, came to the conclusion that it simply should accept good faith, i.e., zoroastrianism, under the spiritual leadership of man, who proclaimed himself pervouchitelem on the name Of rimush. Following their wonderful rotation into zoroastrianism all inhabitants of colony sufficiently rapidly mastered the language of Farsi (on which thus far spoke only the insignificant part of the population of colony), they renamed their colony into Khosrov, and planet – into Vertragnu. Then they were turned to the remaining part Of velikorasy the so-called "seventeen postulates Of rimusha" – by the global program, which implied the complete social reconstruction of the United Nations on the zoroastriyskim canons. Of course "postulates" not were taken, after which the population of colony stated about its complete sovereignty and molding of state subject Concordia.

Retrospective evolution

This mysterious phenomenon affected the United Nations. For example, on the planet, which was called large by Moore, live Russian retrospekty, which "carried off" into the such merry Russia– mother with the beards to the belt, oberegami and mixed heathen– Old Faith world view. Furthermore, retrospective evolution is feeled also in the metropole, on the Earth. Therefore instead of the "operator of the systems of tracking" the pilots of the navy speak "aircraft observer", and instead of "personal computer" – "plane-table".

However, the force of the action of retroevolution on the earthlings is considerably weaker than that, which in its time tested on itself the Concordia metropole of Vertragna.

UN political system

The United Nations – confederation of several super-power directories with the official capital on Fiji Islands (islands have exterritorial status). Most significant directories eight: Russian, European, Nippon, Asian, To khindu, Islam, South American and Patsifida. To somewhat less significant directories are brought the non-Muslim states of Africa. The former USA, Canada and Great Britain compose Atlantic directory.

Russian directory – world leader, it follow Europe, South America, Nippon Khindu. Remaining directories are deprived of status of combatants, i.e., participates only in the economic and the cultural, but not in the military-political activity IT. In this case the standard of living, which is substantial, in some nations -nekombatantov is higher than in other combatants. Absolute champion of the standard of living is directory Islam.

Thus, each culture obtained that which more answered its spirit. Arabs, for example, little work and much are entertained, and at the same time still and it is completely released of the need for serving in the army, flying into space and being occupied by other completely nonorganic for them things. In the former USA also they cheer themselves, they drink beer, play into baseball from the morning to the night and at long last they got rid of their tiresome materialism, which to them – in the historical perspective – was there is no time completely alien. But, for example, Europeans and Russians much work, they fly into space, and they move science, and military– space fleets contain – therefore as in these civilizations presently historical predlezhaniye to the impulse, the exploit, the holy cross day.

To the aforesaid one should add that into the United Nations enter also the numerous extraterrestrial colonies, which are allotted for different nation– combatants and they are legally the territory of the corresponding super-powers on the rights of sub-directories.

Concordia

Great Concordia – unitary theocratic state, capital of which is Khosrov city on the planet Of vertragna. Furthermore, to Concordia belong two ten colonies. Established religion – zoroastrianism, language – Farsi. Social device – caste. Highest caste – zaotary (zoroastriyskiye bogosluzhiteli theologians), further – pekhlevany (professional soldiers), entli (intellectuals) and demy (everything else). Demy and part of entli are created industrially with the aid of the cloning. In view of this special feature, conversational name of Concordias in earthlings – clone.

Highest legislative organ – people sofa. Highest executive – Great Divan.

But actually the main power structure of Concordias is the council of supreme zaotarov, named good conference. In the chapter of good conference it costs rakhbar (leader).

The spiritual authority of good conference is so great, that his "wishes" and "recommendations" automatically acquire the force of laws and implicitly they are considered as the foundation for the entire state– administrative activity in both sofas. In this case the citizens of Concordias not privykli to mention aloud either about by good conference or about its rakhbare.

The United Nations through the eyes of Concordian people

Their world is populated by anerami and drudzhvantami. Anery in zoroastrianism – this not "true-believers", but not using personally to evil and lie people, which hypothetically can become ashvantami, i.e., by the conscious servants of good and truth. Drudzhvanty – adherents of Druj, world Lie.

The universal project of miroustroyeniya from the point of view of konkordianskikh ideologists implies the destruction of drudzhvantov and the rotation of anerov into zoroastrianism. Which, of course, is impossible without occupation and dismantling of the United Nations.

However, up to 2622 Concordia supported UN good neighborly relations and willingly sold lyuksogen in exchange for the armament and technologies.

Concordia through the eyes of UN people

Concordia is accepted by the overwhelming majority of population UN is quite neutrally. People of UN relative to Concordia know, chiefly that there live the "clones and some retrospects", that visa to obtain difficultly, the tickets there be worth dearly and making to there "normal person" something.

In this case at the level of staffs and governments of the United Nations Concordia was always received as the source of the constantly growing threat, also, in the best case – not very advantageous ally in the war on the "Factor K" scenario.

Extraterrestrial races

There are four extraterrestrial races near UN Sphere frontier: Sirkhs, Chorugs, Jips and Jagnoo.

Sirkhs. Something average between the large flying squirrels and the tomcats. They are sufficiently cultural, likable, but they do not have developed technologies and they are not inclined to the formation of urban type civilizations.

Chorugs. Reasonable crustaceans, are very advanced technologically – their integral index of development is approximately equal to terrestrial. They are not approached the scale colonization of space, their area of settling is limited by several planets, although the Space Age began in them by several millenia earlier than in earthlings.

With "scientifically-entertaining" purposes Chorugs studied practically entire Galaxy. Therefore information about the majority of extraterrestrial races, whose possessions are located at a distance into tens of thousands of parsecs from the boundaries of the UN Sphere, by earthlings was on the grains obtained precisely from Chorugs.

Jips. The very ancient race, which exceeded the limits of maternal planet hundreds of thousands years ago. They anticipate earthlings in some key industries of technology. Social device is not explained, the limits of morphological variability – also. Outwardly they look like the large flight vehicles having functionally impossible, from the point of view of earthling, construction. Jips settle inside the controlled asteroid-spaceships. Great Race could not be in the contact with them.

Jagnoo. The first contact to Jagnoo took place during April 2621 at the same time it occurred and first combat with this very dangerous, aggressive and technologically powerful race. Details of this story the inquisitive reader learns from the book "Moscow Time", and player – from the game "The War Tomorrow".

To the aforesaid one should add that in space humanity revealed many most different artificial objects and remains, that belong to the unknown races: from the very primitive articles, adequate to our Paleolith, to inexplicable from the point of view of "natural" astronomy metaobjects – for example, aggregation made of several black holes in one orbit. All this is occupied the science of xenoarcheology, and the results of its researches are very thrilling.

The official website also hosts detailed descriptions of:
War and Technologies

...
Basics of Strategy

Battles on Pacific Ocean 1941-1945 between American and Japan navy fleets are the nearest strategic analog of star wars.

The basis of armed forces are powerful space fleets, capable of accomplishing swift thrusts from one stellar system to another. The nucleus of fleets compose the heavily armored battleships, aircraft carriers (up to 100 fluggers each) and frigates – universal combat starships of average sizes.

All these ships and fluggers (aerospace aircrafts) being been based on them are intended:

– first, for the destruction to themselves of the similar;

– secondly – for the suppression of enemy space defense;

– and, thirdly, for guaranteeing the general supremacy in the limits of planetary system, which makes it possible to pass to the main thing: to the massive landing operation and direct occupation of enemy territory.

For the delivery of troops and their landing to the planets are intended several types of the specialized ships, and also the wide spectrum of troop-carrying fluggers.

Finally, assault troops themselves are divided into the the armored assault troops (tanks etc.), the light assault troops (so-called "mobile infantry"), fire support (ordinary, laser and plasma artillery, missile complexes, the means of anti-space defense) and special (diversionary and reconnaissance units – 'osnaz', military engineers, etc.).

Space Weapons

The world of "The War Tomorrow" trilogy by A.Zorich is sustained in the retro style. Therefore there is no doubtful exotic weapons in it. That's why large starships do not incinerate each other with the aid of any there "phusers", "masers" and other phonetic imitations to magic word "laser". Yes, lasers exist – X-ray and optical both – but they so they are called: lasers, laser guns. Moreover – and this corresponds to normal physicotechnical ideas – to create super-power lasers, capable of causing heavy damage to large starships, are simply unprofitable. But as the means of antimissile defense laser guns are used widely as the combat means with fluggers. But starships are attacked and are destroyed by others, where by the more profitable and more effective types of the weapon: by rockets, by the torpedoes (so they are called very large antiship missiles) and... by big shells!

The battleships of future be armed with old good tube artillery, whose caliber reaches 900 mm. the projectiles, stuffed silumitom – by moshchneyshim explosive – they are detonated with the aid of the combination of two physical principles. First, the powerful charge of liquid powder is undermined, and, in the second place, to the windings of stem will be given the strongest electric current, which generates the electromagnetic field, which dorazgonyaet projectile to the cosmic velocities.

Also there are plasma accelerators – sufficiently capricious and not not very long-range. In the essence – such super-power flamethrowers, which spit not by the jet of fire, but by the charge of stable plasma.

Finally, in arsenal are the small-caliber automatic guns, which shoot the usual projectiles (TTP, solid-state guns). They are sufficiently widely used by fluggerami for dealing with the ground-based and low-maneuverable space targets. ...

Military Propaganda of the 27th Century (some amazing art there in the retro-sci-fi style):



Amazing officer's calendar art:


Awesome wallpapers based on official art:
Lieutenant Alexander Pushkin:

Cap.lt. Bogdan Merkulov, Lieutenant Alexander Pushkin:


The PC game from Cryoland and 1C
So far it looks INCREDIBLE, the hope is that it comes out before the graphics become old.

A glimpse of the goodness:

A glimpse on the concept art:


However, they are so outrageously beautiful that I can't see the game failing.
Check the official site.
Even if you don't know Russian, you'll be able to navigate.
The screenshots gallery is here:
http://www.zavtravoina.ru/gal/index.html
Also screenies on Zorich's site and 1C (game distrib) site:
http://www.zorich.ru/gallery/zavtra_vojna/eindex.htm
http://games.1c.ru/zavtra_voina/?type=gallery
Video Trailers:
http://www.zavtravoina.ru/downloads/index.html

There's also a lot of battletech info on the 1C site:
http://games.1c.ru/zavtra_voina/
The info on:
UN space fighters (fluggers)
http://games.1c.ru/zavtra_voina/?type=flugger
Concordia fluggers
http://games.1c.ru/zavtra_voina/?type=con
Space fighter and misc. fluggers
http://games.1c.ru/zavtra_voina/?type=band
UN starships
http://games.1c.ru/zavtra_voina/?type=stars_on
Concordia starships
http://games.1c.ru/zavtra_voina/?type=stars_kon

Possibly I'd give a more detailed description of the tech after finishing with this general stuff

[General Zod]

Is it just me or does the face in the second cover sort of resemble Megatron from classic Transformers?

[RedImperator]

So Americans have turned into a bunch of lazy hedonists who play baseball all day and never work? Not bad.

[Sidewinder]

Russia-wanking with descriptions of Americans as doing no work other than drinking beer and playing baseball. Eh, could be worse. The authors have a right to be proud of their own country-- which is more than I can say for the people responsible for this POS.

Overall, I'm not very interested. Too nationalistic for me.

[K. A. Pital]

Russian Sci-Fi bulletin #2, 5.03.06

Okay, let's venture into the Russian Post-Apocalypse now. The METRO universe is on the table, as a Russian equivalent of "Fallout"...

Universe:

METRO (МЕТРО). Also known as "METRO 2033" (the print novel name), some nick it "the Russian Fallout".

Genre: post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, dark future adventure

Author: Dmitriy Glukhovskiy (Дмитрий Глуховский). A Russian amateur author who currently lives in France. Sadly, no translations yet.

Source: the novel "METRO" (or "METRO 2033", as it is published in print)

Universe description:
An apocalyptic war on a grand scale has devastated the surface of the Earth, leaving deadly radiation and bio-weapons (mutagens and such) changed fauna into dangerous mutants. Moscow Metro, which was built during the Cold War as a giant underground shelter, becomes the last shelter of humanity.

In this bizzare world, over 20 years Metro stations have become independent states, forming confederations and alliances, even fighting wars, trading, etc. The tonnels are a source of constant dangers - radiation, mental threats and mutant predators take lives of many brave people, who venture between stations to trade for life or travel for other purposes. Stalkers are people who risk their lives to go above, in the dead city and it's surroundings, and bring back guns, fuel, and other commodities - even books.

Here's a scheme of the post-apocalyptic Moscow Metro with further explanations (made smaller to fit, that's why some details are a bit hard to see; go via link to the proper-size map with all the small details easily distinguishable):


The Commonwealth of the Stations of the Ring Line ("Hansa")

("Prospekt Mira-radial, a station under Hansa protectorat", (c) Drew and Diamond)

Supreme power: Prime Minister of the Commonwealth Loginov

The Commonwealth of the Stations of the Ring Line emerged shortly after central control was disbanded. Crossing all other lines, these stations were vital points of trade routes. They quickly became the place for all traders, getting incredibly rich in a short while. Soon they understood that their riches would become the envy of others, and took the only possible decision. They formed the Commonwealth. It's official name is rarely used, though, because people were quick to title them "Hansa" - after the Hanseatic League (Hansa), an alliance of trading cities in the Middle Ages. At first, Hansa included only a part of the Ring Line stations, the unification was not momental. The so-called "Northern Arc" included at first stations from Kievskaya to Prospekt Mira, the other fraction consisted of Kurskaya, Taganskaya and Oktyabrskaya. Later Paveletskaya and Dobryninskaya joined the Hansa, and the "Southern Arc" emerged. But the key obstacle to joining this ring of power was in the Sokolnicheskaya (renamed Red) Line. This led to one of the major conflicts in the Metro, the war between Hansa and the Red Line. After this war, with a mutually-beneficial agreement signed by Red Line and Hansa, the circle was complete. Hansa forgot it's old conflict, seeing a worthy trade partner in the Red Line.

Today's Hansa is the extreme capitalism with worst means of exploitation of non-citizen workforce, and is currently suffering from overpopulation - wealth attracts thousands of legal and illegal emigrants; however, the "golden population" of the Hansa are very wealthy. The Commonwealth is one of the few places in the Metro where you can find complete electrification of the tonnels (the other one being the Red Line, obviously) and public transporation on motorized trolleys, rather than hand-powered railcars or bare feet. Sacred books of the Hansa include some famous economists' works (like Adam Smith), despite Hansa lacking any competition - it is basically a giant uber-powerful monopoly. The people of Hansa, especially those born after the War, are indocrinated heavily with career- and money- hunger values.

Hansa is well-militarized to protect it's wealth, all it's stations are heavily guarded, it boasts motor transportation and flamethrowers.

Stations on the radial "dead-ends" usually end up as Hansa's appendages, which have little power and their wealth depends sometimes entirely on Hansa.

Main businesses: trade, stalking, minor production of meat, agriculture.

Red Line

(Red "Kropotkinskaya", (c) Drew and Diamond)

Supreme power: General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Moscow Metropoliten Moskvin

Sokolnicheskaya Line was always special, people say. If you look at the Moscow Metro Map, it always draws attention. Straight as arrow, red as blood on all maps. More than that, all the station names are connected with Red and Communism - Red Village (Krasnoselskaya), Red Gates (Krasnye Vorota), Komsomolskaya, Lenin Library (Biblioteka im. Lenina). Somehow this line drew everyone who dreamt of re-establising the Soviet past. Preobrazhenskaya Ploschad' (The Transformation Square - funny word game, it's also the biblical "Transfiguration", because the word used is from old, archaic Russian) was the first station to officialy re-endorse communism and the socialist type of government. It's neighboring stations did so in a short while, some of them revolutioneered against own governments. All the war veterans, former com.party people, the ever-thriving lumpen-proletarias gathered on the revolutionary stations. At first they created a commitee which was responsible for propaganda of revolution and communism in the whole Metro, with an almost Lenin's name - "Interstational" (note: the original commitee, was obviously called International, for those who are unfamiliar with Revolution )
Interstational prepared revolutioneers and propagandists, sending them further down the line. At first there was almost no conflict, since people on the poor Sokolnicheskaya line were literally starving because their leadership could not provide food, and so they awaited changes that should bring justice. Or, in their view, equity. The whole line soon became communist. Thanks to the luckily-undamaged bridge over the river Yauza between Sokol'niki and Preobrazhenskaya Ploschad' the communcations were steady. At first the short bridge had to be crossed only overnight on ffast hand- or motorcars, but later it was hermetized and deactivated by forces of self-sacrificing workers ("smertniki" - hard to find an exact translation, this means someone who accomplishes smt. through death).

The following stations received back their old names:
Chistiye Prudy became Kirovskaya
Lubyanka became Dzherzhinskaya
Okhotny Ryad became Prospekt Marksa (Marx Avenue)

Some of the more neutral stations were renamed anew:
Sportivnaya became Communisticheskaya (Communist)
Sokol'niki became Stalinskaya (Stalin's)
Preobrazhenskaya Ploschad' became Znamya Revolutsii (Banner of the Revolution)

After that, the line was officially renamed to Red Line, which was it's former nickname, before the war.

The conflict over Komsomolskaya and Ploschad' Revolutsii, which was the cause of war between the Anticommunist Coalition (Hansa and the Arbat Confederation) and the Red Line went for a year and a half. People on both sides were worn out, leaders were losing support. The Red Line concentrated it's power on taking the "Ploschad' Revolutsii" (Revolution Square) from the Arbat Confederation, while Hansa wanted to have the Ring Station "Komsomolskaya", and the Coalition also tried to beat the communists out of "Lenin Library". Revolution Square was somewhat of a holy station for RL, because it was closest to the Kremlin and there, the mausoleum.

In the end Red Line lost it's terminal of the Lenin Library, but it was made a free-for-all transit station. The Arbat Confederation, on the other side, lost the Revolution Square - one of it's few member stations. Hansa benefited the most - it bargained to close the Ring, and the Red Line just could not reject the offer of the Revolution Square.

The Red Line is actively trading consumer goods (food and other commodities) with Hansa, Belorusskaya trade outpost and the plantations and factories behind it. It has electrification of tonnels, but there are hunger problems from time to time, as well as conflicts with the Nazis. Lately there had been no direct confrontation; the Red Line prefers to have freelance revolutioneer brigades fight the Nazis unofficially.

Main business: production (industry), sparse agriculture, meat industry, stalking, trade.

"Polis"
Supreme power: Polis Council

Seen by many as the last hope for humanity, it's last bastion and last think-tank, "the last place on Earth where people live as people, where they still remember what the word human means, and how it should sound". Sometimes named "the City" with a capital C, for most Metro-dwellers it's a dream place.

The Greek "polis" or "city-state" was the term coined probably by one of the station dwellers, and it was only a matter of time before it became official and sticked to the place for good.

Polis is a unique state of the Metro. Only there the keepers of old pre-war knowledge remain in substantial quantity. All scientific knowledge became useless for other Metro states, as they slowly descended into the abyss of chaos and ignorance. Scientists from everywhere, where their skills were useless, came to Polis. Only there you could meet really old people from pre-war universities, the last artists, artisans, musicians and poets, physics, chemists, biologists, mathematicians... All those who kept the knowledge achieved by thousands of years of human history, that will be lost forever as they pass away.

Polis is situated right under the very center of the city that was above it sometime before. And right over the Polis loomed the gigantic building of Lenin Library, the biggest information storage of the old times. After the war it was called "Great Library" and become a religious and sacred place for Polis dwellers, the rest of Metro calls it with respect "Library" with a capital "L". Only Polis of all Metro powers could afford sending stalkers for books. Only there knowledge was still valued worthy to risk your life for it. Polis keeps libraries, and the people there can afford "flats" - trash-built homes inbetween the station pylons or columns. The rest of Metro, aside from a few Ganza citizens, live in tents or even without them.

This may seem unrational, but because it was the last science center, it was never attacked, threatened or devastated, but rather traded with and meticulously guarded. All Metro powers were ready to defent it were it attacked. Even the war between Hansa and Red Line did not touch Polis.

Polis lacks any tonnels, it only has 4 stations, but has full electrification and daylight lamps.

Polis boasts a small, but professional military corps from the former FSB-KGB officers and military leadership, whose buildings were right above the stations of Polis when the War happened.

It's system of govenment and life is borrowed from the indian caste system, which was substantially softened.

The Polis caste system:
- Brahmans are "keepers" or "priests" of science and art. Their tatoo is an open book in front of a colonnade which symbolizes the Great Library (Lenin Library).
- Kshatriya are warriors, former military servicemen. Their tatoo is the two-headed Russian eagle from the Russian Coat of Arms.
- Vaishya are merchants.
- Shudra are servants.
Caste are not given at birth, you can choose when you are 18.
In each caste there are special initiation rituals, which are especially hard for the Kshatriya and Brahman. They fulfill the role of exams.
4 stations of the Polis are dominated by each caste.
The government is called Polis Council. Only the two higher caste (warriors and priests) are allowed to govern in the Council. Brahman and Kshatriya compete for power in the Council similar to a modern bipartisan parliament.

Brahman are deeply religious and even can be called fanatic zealots of knowledge. They have a mystic cult of the Foliant - three ancient books, one of which records all the Past, the second - all the Present, and the Third - all the Future. First two are deemed lost, but they relentlessly search for the third in the Great Library.

Main business: science, art, science stalking, science trade, minor agriculture and meat production.

Arbat Confedefation
Supreme power: president Tvaltvadze

The Arbat Confederation is a moderate capitalist authocracy, so to say, governed by non-russian nationality traders and, as it seems, housing them. Little is known about this alliance. At the beginning of Hansa it used to have substantial power and population, however it's decreasing over the years. With the unseen threat from "Park Pobedy" to the "Kievskaya" station that was only disposed of in the recent years, people have been fleeing the station, which led the Arbat confederation to install a soft quarantine regime on Kievskaya-radial (the blue one). Now Arbat Confederation is nothing more than a weak Hansa satellite.

Main business: trade, minor stalking, minor agriculture and meat. Hansa satellite.

VDNH Commonwealth

("VDNH", (c) Drew and Diamond)

Supreme power: Station administration, no overall power.

This commonwealth formed from an alliance of three stations: VDNH, Alekseevskaya and Rizhskaya, VDNH being the leader. The other two joined it because of the tea industry, which granted VDNH at least some self-value, so that they could avoid being assimilated into the territory-hungry overpopulated Hansa.

Botanichesky Sad, the station next after VDNH, was lost due to fire and mutant threats early in the METRO history, but the tonnel could not have been blown up due to underground water breach threat, or closed, as the hermetic doors were dismantled even prior to that, during the Central Metro Administration times.
No one tried to resettle Botanichesky Sad (Botanic Garden), as something horrible dwelt in the Garden above it. After one of the station's teen dwellers opened the hermetic doors on Botanichesky Sad by accident, the Black - humanoid mutants - came down and started metodically assaulting VDNH. With no means of cutting the tonnel off, VDNH in a few years turned into a war-torn place. This problem of VDNH effectively set in motion the events of METRO novel.

Every station in the Commonwealth has it's own administration (formed from the actual former Metro administration workers even in the first Central Control time), the cooperation consists of free-ride for traders and citizens between the stations of the Commonwealth. Passports are issued for each station, however.

There is a strict law enforcement and harsch punishment on all stations. VDNH also enforces labour duties on every citizen. All men from VDNH, above the rest, must take armed watch in the northern tonnel to Botanichesky Sad.

One of the few radial governments situated in a dead end that can actually make ends meet and even spare some on culture. They have a small library of own and Polis-bought books, high literacy rate with courses for children. Stability and relative prosperity due to "speciality" tea production which is produced for a half of the Metro, attract people, but VDNH Commonwealth is not that immigrant-friendly.

Main business: minor agriculture (mushroom plantations) and meat (pig farms) production, mass tea production.

Year 1905 Confederation (Confederation 1905 Goda)
Supreme power: unknown

This confederation used to be a relatively big alliance, spanning stations from Barrikadnaya to Oktyabrskoe Pole. But after some incident at Oktyabrskoe Pole, the station was abandoned. The situation there is unclear, but some link it to the rumors of Krishnaites who were living there and wanted to blow up the underground nuclear reactor of Kurchatov Institute near the Metro to blast everyone to Nirvana.

After losing this station, they also lost Polezhaevskaya. Nothing solid is known, but horror-stories about Polezhaevskaya are told around the Metro and well-known. The story is usually told like this: first people started vanishing in tonnels near the station, after that something or someone killed all the inhabitants leaving nothing but blood on the floor. All armed patrols sent there didn't come back. After a while, they sent a hundred men strong force to check. Discovering an empty station with blood-stained floor, they blew up the tonnels.

It seems this confederation is also a Hansa satellite. Further details are unknown.

Baumansky Alliance (Bauman Alliance)
Technically nothing about it is known from the novel, but most fans agree that a technocratic leftist government of engineers would emerge on the three stations which are close to Bauman Moscow State Technical University and a lot of factories. Given the premise, it would be easy to imagine this conglomerate trading with Hansa, Red Line and others.

Fourth Reich

(Station "Pushkinskaya" (renamed "Gitlerskaya" - Hitlerite), (c) Drew and Diamond)

Supreme power: Fuehrer

Sparsely populated by hardcore militant russo-neo-nazis, the Fourth Reich is known for it’s atrocities against people of non-russian nationality. They have some motor-powered railcars. Population is terribly unbalanced, there are a lot of men and few women, which means eventually the Reich will die out. As of now, their extreme militarisation and the fear of Hansa satellites could not give way to annihilation of the Reich by blowing up their tonnels or dismantling rail. Small states fear retribution, Hansa and Belorusskaya, as well as the plantations, have some trade business with the Nazis. What sort of trade that could be, remains a question. Possibly slave trade? Nazis are known for raids against the dominantly non-russian, organised crime-ruled stations.

They are despised and hated, but the only way they are fough with is through the hands of free Che-like revolutioneers, who attack the Nazis from time to time and cut their sparse population even more. Nazis seem to realise their doom; there are talks about their plans for an ultimate crusade to capture the Polis; however, that would hardly help them avoid their fate.

Main business: war, war raids, slaughter, financial investments… slave trade? Also it could be possible they maintain some meat and agriculture industry to have at least some self-reliance.

Moscow State University (“Emerald City”)
“Emerald City” is a city from a russian children’s book, a remake of Baum’s “Wizard of Oz”, called “Wizard of Emerald City”. This is a half-mythical state rumored to exist in the three cut-off deep stations below the Moscow State University, where all the scientists from the University dwell, governed by deans and the rector. This rumor is very unlikely, since no one, not even the Red Line, knows what is out there, however, it gets passed around in the still-surviving intelligentsia circles. The myth also involves scientific activity that is still going strong there, and that the Emerald City has developed special protected costumes to cross the river and their scouts occasionaly visit the Metro. Talking about the Emerald City in the proximity of the Red Line is not exactly a good idea. Whatever the Red Line knows about it, it’s very hostile to any mentions of this mythical state. Perhaps the reasons lie in the fact that this rumor was used as anti-redline propaganda during the war.

Plantations and Factories
Three dead-end stations, little about them is known to the general dweller, aside from the fact that they produce tremendous amounts of food and trade with the whole Metro. All tonnels there were converted to mushroom plantations and pig and chicken farms, possibly something else, stations were used up too. The place requires a lot of workforce, so it’s supposedly densely populated. Do they use slaves as cheap workforce is unknown. They also produce “finest in the Metro” pig skin coats and possibly other clothes.
The trade outpost of Belorusskaya is the terminal to plantations, from where their goods go to the rest of the Metro.

Main business: pig meat, agriculture and chicken production. Skin clothes production

Belorusskaya trade outpost
A “fully neutral” radial station, one of the large trade terminals. Neutrality and self-reliance are a result of strategic location between the Hansa and plantations. Having support of the latter it could not be fully integrated into Hansa. It’s under Hansa protection, but not under it’s jurisdiction, it seems.

Main business: plantations and factories’ goods trade, even some sort of banks for high-ranking and rich people. The traders from Belorusskaya call themselves “managers”. The station sees itself as a wealthy neutral spot, good enough for all major powers, like Switzerland.

Kuznetsky Most Technicians (the station’s name means “Blacksmith Bridge”)
Supreme power: station administration

This station is one of the technician’s refuges in the Metro. It houses huge workshops where machinery from the whole Metro is sent for repairs, which helped the station to become relatively wealthy. It’s informally leaning to the Red Line, especially given it’s location.
Misc.: there are two fully repaired and electrified trains on both station railways, reworked for people’s houses.

Satanists
Supreme power: unknown.

Little is known about the Satanists to the general Metro. Their location is even doubted. A live witness of their actions was kidnapped on Belorusskaya and brought to their station. He did not recognise it, although by sparse descriptions and the fact that it’s behind Pechatniki, Lyublino is the most fitting candidate. The station is vandalized, all nameboards are ripped off, walls and floor are blood-stained. The floor in the center is ripped off, and there’s a huge pit where kidnapped slaves from other stations are digging further down, described as being 30 meters deep. Satanists have gone mad; they think that the End of the World already happened, and Metro is the Hellgate – if they go a bit deeper, they would get to Hell and see Satan himself.
The satanists are armed, at least some of them. They don’t maintain any industry and brutally murder slaves on a constant basis. How they trade or kidnap people remains a mystery; perhaps some of their higher-ups work with the Nazis?

Savage cannibals of the Great Worm Cult
Supreme power: priests.

In the very beginning of fights and struggles in the Metro, “Park Pobedy” (Victory Park) was cut off from the rest of the Metro – someone blew up the tonnels for reasons unknown. But little did the dwellers of the larger Metro know that Park Pobedy is connected with the secret government communication network “Metro-2”. The station’s inhabitants are mutant cannibals aged below 20, who have exceptional paranormal hypnotic abilities. Their priests are people who were captured by the cannibals earlier; they introduced the Cult of the Great Worm to control the savage tribe. Cult of the Great Worm is a fresh-made religion based on hatred of technology and machines, thus labelling all people from the Greater Metro “enemies” and making them acceptable to be eaten. Cannibalism was already there when the Cult ot Great Worm was introduced by the priests. The cannibals use the secret government tonnels to kidnap people across the whole greater Metro. Their population seems incredibly sparse (no more than a few dozen), otherwise they could not have supported themselves feeding on other people all the time. They also kidnap children to indocrinate them into the Great Worm Cult and thus increase their population. Their language is a very de-volved, primitivized version of Russian. Recently this threat was discovered and eliminated by the stalkers, when people started dissappearing en masse from Mayakovskaya and Kievskaya (possible cause: increase of the cannibals’ population). Full cleaning of Metro-2 is yet to be done.

Independent Station Paveletskaya

(Tonnel outpost, (c) Drew and Diamond)

Supreme power: station administration.

For some reason, the hermetic gate on this station vanished, probably in relatively recent times, since no replacement could be found. The population is suffering from radiation; however, they do not abandon it, because Hansa supports Paveletskaya with free food and weapons in exchange for guarding the Metro from anything that comes from above. The Paveletsky train station houses some type of mutants which people on the station humorously nicked “city visitors”. At night there are fights with mutants almost all the time. Hansa seems to lack funds to solve the problem permanently. All built-up barricades are demolished at autmn and spring because of water amassing in the hallway, which they cannot hold.

Revolutioneer bases

(Motorized armored car of the Che Guevara honour Brigade in action, (c) Drew and Diamond)

Supreme power: unknown. Seems to be a group of revolutionary brigades with own leaders, formally in disagreement over the course of politics of the Red Line, but informally working with them.

Revolutioneer bases are places where revolutioneers refuel and get repairs. Little is know about them, aside from the fact that they should not be well-known; thus they are hidden in convenient dead-ends, but they must be at least sparsely populated and well-found for repairs and other stuff. The location of the auxillary base is given in the novel (Avtozavodskaya), right after Paveletskaya – a not-for-everybody place, because many people fear going to Paveletskaya already. The main base is generally considered to be behind the “Baumansky Alliance” stations on Partizanskaya (Partisans – a fitting name) – another convenient and faraway dead-end, and handy repairs from the leftist Bauman Alliance, as well as a free-ride, make this location the most probable one.

Main business: attacking Nazis and those working with them, possibly some criminals, propaganda of communism. An all-out revolution gun-blazing against all “capitalist swine” is plainly impossible, since revolutioneers rely on motorized transport a lot, and thus need free ride through main lines, especially Hansa’s tonnels, is essential, because otherwise moving from line to line becomes a pain in the ass and mobility is reduced to 0.

Organised Crime
The Orange Line stations are mostly independent, controlled by various thugs, criminal gangs, etc. Stations live off trade and some natural production (pigs and agriculture).

Transit stations

(On Sukharevskaya, waiting for the caravan to gather, (c) Diamond, Drew)
Sparsely populated for one reason or other, these stations are used as a place of gathering for “caravans” – groups of people travelling from one station to another. Sometimes they settle permanently.

Abandoned Stations
Stations abandoned for one reason or other. Most common reason is lethal danger to human life on the station, such as gas, biohazard in forms of mutant fauna, mental threats, flooding.
Destroyed Stations
Stations destroyed or probably destroyed in the bombardment.
Destroyed Transit Paths
Paths between stations that are destroyed in the bombardment.
Inhabited stations
Various inhabited stations, on which little or almost nothing is known aside from the general fact.
Unexplored stations
Stations about which absolutely nothing is known or hypothized.
Stations struck by plague epidemic
Aviamotornaya, Rimskaya and Ploschad’ Il’yicha were struck by plague recently, which led to Hansa putting Yellow and Green lines on quarantine – guards with flamethrowers burn anyone coming closer than 50 meters to the Greater Metro entry points. The only open way seems to be the Purple line, but nothing certain is known. The situation on the inhabited Green Line part is unknown considering these recent events.
Stations captured by mutants
Stations captured or likely captured by predator mutants from the surface.
Dangerous tonnels
Walking the tonnel may be dangerous for your life. Actually, it is.

D-6
D-6 marks the entrances to D-6 secret government communication network.

Radiation hazard
Although radiation level fell signicantly over 20 years, it’s still a bad idea to show up on the surface for a long time and without special gear.

Biohazard
Biohazard signifies presence of mutants or biological weapons of other kind – like, for example, over Timiryazevksaya, which was devastated (as well as the Dmitrovskaya) by large swarm of mutant rats. The wave of rats killed almost everybody, and only a flamethrower on Savelovskaya stopped them from murdering people further down the line. The current status of Timiryazevskaya and Dmitrovskaya is unknown, however, since the incident happened very early in Metro history, a few years from hour X.

Mental hazard
You never know what awaits in the tonnels of the Metro. Many predator mutants have aquired mental, telepathic and hypnotic abilities. Almost mystic, horrible things may happen in the tonnels.

Tonnel collapse hazard
The tonnel between Polis and Fourth Reich is badly damaged. People don’t maintain it and try to avoid going through it, as in the center there is a burned train with burned corpses inside, and there’s no way round it, because the tonnel is crumbling over the train. Going through the carriages is a very unpleasant experience, and some whisper “devilry” about the place.

Krishnaites
There are rumors of Krishnaites on Oktyabr’skoe Pole, who dream of blowing up the reactor in Kurchatov Institute near the station. Some link the incident which made the station abandoned to the Krishnaites.

Jehowa’s Witnesses
Supreme power: pastor

A JW sect is living just off Hansa border in a small train carriage. They seem to have some sort of farming and even wealth; their carriage is electrified. They welcome strangers from Hansa and elsewhere, although they are trying to indocrinate you into their religion with the usual fundie zeal. They are well-armed, too. Most of their preaching is a staged replay of old Televangelism shows. It’s unclear whether their train, which they call “Watch Tower”, is capable of moving across the Metro, but it seems so.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Metro – Plot and Characters
The plot of “METRO” is similar to Fallout. VDNH, a small but relatively fine-doing station is experiencing problems. The Black (Черные), a race of hostile telepathic mutants, attack from Botanicheskiy Sad. Artem is a young VDNH dweller with a little secret – as a teenager, he snuck on the abandoned Botanichesky Sad station and opened the hermetic gates to the surface. A few years on, the Black invade. VDNH is holding, but their powers are short. A high-profile stalker-assasin Hunter arrives at VDNH, trying to counter the new threat. Before he leaves to Botanicheskiy Sad, he gives Artem a quest – if he doesn’t return, he has to get to Polis and warn a person called Melnik.

There’s the quest.

With the hero we go on an exciting post-nuclear journey unlike anything that has been written before. The METRO setting is well, rather unique, I can’ recall anything like it.

On Artem’s way, he encounters many characters, some of which I’ll try to introduce.

Hunter
Stalker and assasin, he is countering the threats that could possibly be dangerous enough to exterminate the entire METRO. Telepathic mutants attacking VDNH have drawn his attention.

Zhenka (Yevgeniy)
Artem’s friend and companion on VDNH.

”Sukhoi” (Alexander)
Artem’s stepfather, one of the VDNH authorities.

”Burbon”
Burbon is a criminal, who requires Artem’s help to go through a mentally hazardous tonnel. His true intentions or identity are unknown, his death is rather mystic.

Khan
Khan calls himself the last incarnation of Ghenghis Khan. He seems to be an extrasense and a philosopher, or perhaps it’s just his intuition. He believes one thing and suddenly he doesn’t believe it anymore; he talks like an agnostic and cynic, however, he is well familiar with mystic phenomena in the METRO, or at least seems to be. He’s a very powerful and charismatic person, characterizes himself as a “wolf between jackals”. With his aid, Artem makes his way further through a deadly tonnel; the questions Han asked Artem will echo in his mind quite a few times…

Mikhail Porfiryevich
One of the few surviving Soviet-born intelligentsia. He’s an old man with crushed hopes, at some point in METRO history he was involved in anti-communist propaganda and is thus very unwelcome on the Red Line and surroundings. However, he is strangely careless for his age.

Ruslan
A detainee of caucasian nationality at the Nazi prison.

Che Guevara honour International Revolutionary Brigade #1
The first and best brigade of revolutioneers. A bunch of non-Russians including a black man, internationalists and fierce anti-Nazi fighters. Overall simple and sometimes funny folks, they save Artem from Nazi execution. Their life of revolutionary struggle and battle camaraderie is sympathetic to Artem, however, he has to go on his mission.

Mark
Unlucky Hansa émigré; he turns into cheap labour – crap-cleaner - for Hansa in a matter of minutes.

Brother Timofey (Timothy)
A Jehowa’s Witness who brings Artem to the “Watch Tower” and tries to indocrinate him.

Danila
A young Brahman from Polis, who befriends with Artem and helps him on his mission.

Mel’nik
Colonel Mel’nikov or “Melnik” (Miller) as he’s commonly known in the METRO, is one of the best stalkers on Earth. He is the comrade that will never fail.
Anton
One of the few – hell, maybe the ONLY former servicemen of the rocket forces in the METRO.

Ulman
A professional stalker, he’s a determined man with a simple worldview: “Grow your kids”. To grow his kids, he needs to wipe out the mutant predators which threaten the Metro. That’s good enough reasoning for him. He never gives up or whines, unlike Artem, who is constantly lost in some sophisticated thoughts about life.

Great Worm Priest
A fucked up bastard who introduced the Great Worm Religion in the cannibal mutant tribe on Park Pobedy.

Dron
Savage. One of the fighters of the Great Worm Cult tribe.

-----------------------
Mutants

”City visitors” – fast-moving huge mutant carnivores from Paveletsky train station, who assault “Paveletskaya-radial” station from time to time. Looks are uncertain, but can take multiple AK rounds and live.


(assault of the Black on VDNH outpost, (c) Alexander Karavayev)
Black – usually whispered in fear on VDNH; telepathic mutants invading the station from Botanichesky Sad. They are totally covered with black, glossy skin, lack nose and eyelids. They attack in “waves”, just going in raws against the gunfire with horrifying howls. Pretty resilent bastards, but can be killed. Their essential danger is not the horrifying look or battle-worthiness, however – they are a telepathy capable hive-mind, and they induce fear into people who oppose them. All who stay in patrols and watches for a time start experiencing nightmares and lose hope. As Hunter put it, speaking of Artem’s stepfather: “He has already become their weapon”.

Great Worm Children – nasty band of cannibal savage mutants with extremely active hypnotic abilities.

Rats – mutant rats are huge and can reach up to a meter in length. Large swarms of rats have murdered a whole station once (Timiryazevskaya). Usually silenced easily with an AK round if not in numbers.

Dogs – these pesky creatures have been dogs some time before, but now they can easily chew off a firecar’s bumper.

Pterodactyl-like mutant – a group of huge flying mutants live on VDNH pavillon and on the top of the Temple of Christ the Saviour (Hram Hrista Spasitelya, the central Russian Othrodox Church temple in Moscow).

Humanoid fast-moving predators – ugly creatures which hunt people on large streets of the devastated city at night.

Biomass – a telepathic hypnosis capable biomass in the Kremlin, nicked “Ant-lion” by the stalkers who discovered it. It lures people with hypnosis and telepathy, then devours. Said to be the result of some advanced bioweapon used on the Kremlin to kill the people but not destroy the “historical place”.


(Librarian, (c) Drew and Diamond)
Librarians – a nickname for quasi-intelligent mutants, probably from humans who worked in the Lenin Library. They are nasty – instead of lips they got hairy beaks, look somewhat like huge apes (hairy) and they have long claws and immense strength. As any librarian, they hate noise.

Slimeslug – Artem luckily avoided meeting this thing during one of his surface “trips”, however it left a trace of slime in it’s wake. The slime is also considered dangerous by the stalkers.

--------------------------------
Misc.
The universal currency are AK bullets. It seems there’s a shitload of them, so that they became the universal money aside from their value as bullets proper.

It is unknown how METRO maintained energy for 20 years; some suppose that there are nuclear-powered reactors hidden down deep in the government secret network.

Metro is filled with thousands of stories and tales, some of which are true, some are not. A vast post-nuclear mythology has emerged, with such things as “the deepest point of the Metro”, “ghost trains”, “City of the Dead”, “the Invisible Watchers”, “Emerald City”, “the Station of Fate”, “Foliant” and so on. Traders and travellers tell tales to dwellers, tales get passed around, and you never know if it’s true or not, because crazy shit happens in Metro all the time.

The book has become a cult in the Russian PA community, and thus amassed a small base of fans. Sales of the initial print went surprisingly good.

[Netko]

While I'm on a break right now from scifi/fantasy literature, and also there being a language and alphabet barrier (I'm actualy part of the first post-Yugoslav school generation and as such never learned Cyrillic), and as such aren't likely to use all this info any thime soon, I'd like to congradulate Stas Bush on writing/compileing it. Nice work!

Hopefully translations into English will be available soon(ish).

Russia-wanking would be a nice change from US republican wanking present in Weber's and his circle of writers work.

[Spice Runner]

Russia-wanking aside, this is very interesting stuff.

Stas Bush "The United Nations Sphere" game looks awesome

[18-Till-I-Die]

That second series "Metro" is it?

Am i right in understanding that is taking place after a nuclear war, in the subways under Moscow.

That is so fricking awesome. That's like the most different idea ever, its quite refreshing compared to the usual 'desert warrior' post-apocalypse stuff.

[JediMaster415]

I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for English translations of these, and any other, works. I'm trying to get into the sci-fi literature realm more but I'll be interested in the books from any country, provided they're good. Besides, after reading Wingman, where the Russians are bad guys who turned the US into a wastleland of a third-world, I figure America deserves a little payback.

[K. A. Pital]

Spice Runner
It's coming out this summer. Dunno about the English release, but I heard there are plans. Depends on the distributor.

18-Till-I-Die

Am i right in understanding that is taking place after a nuclear war, in the subways under Moscow.

Exactly. No Mad Max wasteland. Mostly underground with a bit of post-nuclear dead-urbanism. It's especially thrilling to those who were in Moscow at least once, or have at least seen the subway. It's style is so majestic and imperial, all that marble and columns, you know, and there you have the perfect Post-Nuclear world.

[fgalkin]

Oh but while the Moscow subway system is larger, the one in St. Petersburg is much more majestic-looking. I had to say that.

Anways, it's looking interesting enough for me to check out. The Zorich books, well, every time I start reading a Russian military sci-fi novel, I get flashbacks of Cherep Na Rukave. God, I will never forgive Nick Perumov for writing that.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[Sidewinder]

'Metro' seems interesting enough. I might've voted, 'Interested' if you put that first. But seriously, Russian Nazis?! I don't know much about contemporary Russian culture, but I doubt any group of Russians would be proud to call themselves that. Maybe the group should've been called "NKVD" or "KGB", something ominous but of Russian origin.

[fgalkin]

Oh, there are lots of Russian nazis around.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[K. A. Pital]

Sidewinder

I doubt any group of Russians would be proud to call themselves that

There's lots of them. In fact, there are whole parties in the Parliament which are supportive of Nazi ideology (LDPR) and many more marginal Nazi organisations which are outlawed (RNE, NBP, White Power, etc). Just type "russian neo-nazi" or "RNE" in Google and see.

[Adrian Laguna]

Metro certainly looks very interesting. It also appears to have a certain quirky sense of humour. Check the list of hazards: "Radiation ... Tunnel Collapse ... Jehova's Witnesses."

[An Ancient]

Oh but while the Moscow subway system is larger, the one in St. Petersburg is much more majestic-looking. I had to say that.

I'd have to agree with you there.

Having been to Moscow though, that Metro one looks very interesting.

[Winston Blake]

This METRO world is fascinating. How incredibly annoying that i don't know Russian.

Librarians:

Am i the only one seeing Discworld in this?

[18-Till-I-Die]

I guess Jehova's Witnesses became cannibals after the Cataclysm.

"Hello sir would you like to learn about the...BRAAAAINS! BRAAAAINS!"

[An Ancient]

I guess Jehova's Witnesses became cannibals after the Cataclysm.

"Hello sir would you like to learn about the...BRAAAAINS! BRAAAAINS!"

Actually, the post lists them;

Jehowa’s Witnesses
Supreme power: pastor

A JW sect is living just off Hansa border in a small train carriage. They seem to have some sort of farming and even wealth; their carriage is electrified. They welcome strangers from Hansa and elsewhere, although they are trying to indocrinate you into their religion with the usual fundie zeal. They are well-armed, too. Most of their preaching is a staged replay of old Televangelism shows. It’s unclear whether their train, which they call “Watch Tower”, is capable of moving across the Metro, but it seems so.

[Gunhead]

I know all about russian sci-fi superiority. While back we held a sci-fi marathon where we watched a lot of sci-fi both good and bad.
This one particular movie was made in russia in the 60's but before watching that we viewed two american 60's sci-fi movies.

Now the americans are sent to investigate the great unknown with snazzy uniforms and rayguns. That's it. No spacesuits, no survival gear, not even fricking flashlights. I shit you not. In one of the movies our intrepid heroe had to build torches for illumination.

Now, our russian friends that are sent to investigate venus get: Spacesuits (with built in accessories, like flashlights and radios), a hovering vehicle to get around, belt full of tools and in general all sorts of stuff you'd want to have if going to venus. The best was yet to come. When our brave spacefarers are attacked by evil venusian lizard men, they do not resort to fancy beam guns or blasters, oh no. They draw makarovs and show those lizardmen that boys from the motherland take shit from nobody.

This particular gem of a movie was actually dubbed in english and a female character was introduced to widen appeal. I don't remember the title at the moment, but I'll try to dig it up, if somebody is interested.

-Gunhead