Workers of Akvilla

[aimway921]

Akvilla. A city in the South of Nizhyn island, it has seen the fastest growth over the last couple decades. Truly, by the mid 1920's, Akvilla has become the industrial heartland of Ashinara. It was home to the largest concentration of factories, workshops, technical schools and industrial entrepreneurs. It is here where the nation's first Ironclad Battleship was built. It is here where the nation's first domestic automobile company was founded. 

Naturally, with all that comes the fact that of all other cities, Akvilla has the largest proportion of the working class population in the country. The working class that just so happened to have been greatly bolstered in numbers by immigrants from the provincial islands. The same ones who, with the Regency's new ruling, were being deported back to their original isles. Many in the city saw this as a foolish move. Many for economic reasons - depriving the industrial heartland of a large portion of workers was sure to negatively impact the nation's ability to continue industrialization. However, for those who fell under the deportation order, the issue was far more personal. They have built a life for themselves here, all their families, their friends were here. Friends... Yes, the friends...

Garkon, the province of which Akvilla was a capital, has long been one of the most progressive provinces in Ashinara, courtesy mostly of it's half-human governor - Count Leontiy de la Feyrr - who has since gone into hiding after the Regency issued a warrant for his arrest, for the same bogus reasons that Tagomych and Khmelnitsky were arrested and executed. One of the effects of that was that Akvilla was the most welcoming city for the non-Ashin citizens of the Hetmanate, allowing them to move to the city half a decade before Queen Yuzura passed the decree of racial integration - the one that the Regency has just rolled back. The city of Akvilla has thus become the most multiracial city in the nation - and if the cultures haven't been largely homogenized during the imperial expansion several centuries ago, it would've been the most multi-cultural as well. 

And so, the friends of those facing deportation came out in droves to support them. It began with small-scale protests - mostly students from technical schools. The news have relatively quickly reached Eyrie, where the socialists have sensed an opportunity to expand their cause onto the Nizhyn island - who now have taken the pledge to protect the rights of the lower classes from abuse by the aristocracy across all of Ashinara. About a hundred Eyrian socialists have come to Akvilla. Thankfully with the entire Ashinan Navy secretly defecting to the socialist side, it was very easy. The socialists have dispersed among the largest workplaces, and quickly began agitating the workers.

It did not take long for the first Worker Union to form. Even less time after that for the first factory to halt it's production due to the first ever worker strike in the nation. Or, at least, the first ever to be recorded. 

[aimway921]

The Royal Gendarmerie of Akvilla has been overwhelmed by protests. The total city police force 2,000 officers was tasked with pacifying almost 10,000 protestors, divided up in 3 different districts.

The biggest protest was in city center, where not only factory workers and their friends stepped out to protest, but also thousands of people who came out with them in solidarity.

The standoff lasted for hours. Orators with loudspeakers were agitating the crowd with fiery speeches, condemning the nobility. Soon enough red flags started popping up in the crowd. Eventually, the first stone flew towards the Gendarmes. The protest has turned to riot.

The Gendarmes have responded in full, as much as they could. Several hundred rioters were brutalized with their boots and batons, with a dozen or so even succumbing to their wounds, while some were stomped to their deaths right then and there.

The first worker riot has ended in a worker victory, as the Gendarmes have retreated and barricaded themselves in the precinct.

But the fight was not over yet. In fact, it was about to escalate, as before the rioting workers cut the telegraph lines out of the city, the Gendarmes have called in the Royal Army, and now the Gendarmes of the Military Police were in their way.

[aimway921]

A somber atmosphere descended upon Akvilla. A day of rioting has resulted in 53 people dead - only 2 of them being Gendarmes - and almost 400 badly injured. The crowd in the city center was enjoying a small victory, as they have driven the Gendarmes to barricade themselves up in the precinct. The situation was not as good in the two outer districts, however. Since most of the protestors have congregated to the center, it left the outer districts with much lower numbers. The narrower streets, while making barricading easier, also meant that the Gendarmes needed less manpower to block off the rioters. And so they engaged in a simple tactic of divide and conquer. Splitting the rioters into smaller and smaller groups, eventually the Gendarmes felt confident enough to rush in and start the beatdown. Many were brutalized, and arrests were being made.

To make matters worse, the Royal Army began to arrive. 3 regiments that were en-route to crack down on the Eyrian autonomy happened to be passing pretty close to the city when the riots started, so the Gendarmes' call for help was responded to way faster than expected - and with a much greater force.

Baron Churko was heading the military unit. And he absolutely loathed the socialists, who's movement ended up getting him put under arrest by the young and impressionable, as he thought, Queen. Of course though, he saw nothing wrong in his own actions of squandering the disaster relief effort several years ago and embezzling the funds. He ordered his men to march down the streets with bayonets fixed to their rifles. They have advanced along the narrow streets, cutting down anyone who didn't get out of their way.

By the evening, the Royal Army has quickly retaken most of the city, funneling the rioters almost entirely towards the center. Panic was starting to spread among some, but a group of the most determined socialists - most of them Eyrians - were ready to stand their ground. Their resolve has helped inspire others, and another standoff was in place. This time, however, the rioters were facing loaded rifles instead of batons pointed at them. A small group of 5, meanwhile, started to quietly make their way to the opposite side of the city's central square.

They were socialists in some of the highest positions, with connections to the Eyrian Autonomous Republic's leadership - who liked to keep tabs on socialist movements in the rest of the nation. Nikolai Shvonder, a veteran of the Tafatu War, he once tried moving to this city before he joined the Army, but the bigotry of the local leadership has pushed him out. Returning to Eyrie after the war and living through the Eyrie Tsunami and Earthquake, he was one of the earliest members of the Black Guard, a unit of veterans that revolted against the Baron he now saw heading the soldiers sent to crush this riot. He himself was sent back to Akvilla less than a year ago to spread socialist and republican ideals among the workers of the city. The 4 people with him were here to help him in that - an Ashin, Gavrylo Lyshko, a Taikivian, Rita Garch, a Tavrian, Fedot Tsipov, and another Eyrian, Klim Voronkin. While not the chief organizers of this riot, there were heavily involved, and knew they were likely not getting out of here alive if the Royal Army or the Gendarmes get to them. But that was not their worry - they were ready to die for the cause. But they refused to let the cause die with them, and if nothing was done, it looked like that is exactly what was about to happen.

"Gavrylo, you're to lead the Northern section out," Shvonder gave out instructions as they walked. Rita, take the South. Try to get the people to leave without trampling eachother. Fedot, you'll be coming with me. We need to get back to Eyrie and warn Chuchupak of what's coming. Klim, you meanwhile do your best to hold the line."
"Won't be easy," Klim replied. "They'll likely just open fire. I'll stand my ground, but will the others? They'll likely panic and run."
"Lock arms," Rita suggested.
"Make ourselves into a barricade..." Klim narrated his own thoughts in response. "Even if we die, the soldiers will have to waste time climbing over our bodies. I believe then, this is the last time we see each other, Comrades."
"You will be remembered as a hero, Klim," Shvonder said, as he offered the man a handshake.
"In that case, I wish you luck in making sure there are people to remember me as one," Klim replied, accepting the handshake.

The group has separated, each heading off in different directions - Klim  going back to the front of the picket line. When he was just about 10 ranks he started singing, motivating the ones he passed to join him. By the time he reached the front, enough people have joined for the song to be distinctly heard and start drowning out the general sound of the crowd. As soon as he made it out there, he linked arms with the two people next to him. They did the same with those next to them, and it has quickly spread. There was no going back.

Baron Churko rode out almost to the front of the Army lines, stopping his horse just 3 lines of riflemen behind. After assessing the situation, his order was simple - "burn this scum out of here."

Nikolai and Fedot were already in one of the back alleys leading away from the scene of the riot - luckily for them they weren't fully surrounded, when the first salvo of rifles opened up. Screams started drowning out the song, but not for long. Confused, Nikolai looked back - he expected to see a stampede of people running away from the guns. Instead, only a few people ran past him. The crowd for the most part pressed on despite the guns firing at them.

The Ashinaran Revolution has begun.


Klim's song:



Do you hear this singing - 
The singing of the angry people?
The music of those who rose from their knees,
And who became free on this day?
Finally all our hearts have united as one,
We shall stand together until the end when day comes.

Let's unite in our resistance,
Shoulder-to-shoulder stand in line,
New life is just there, beyond the barricades.
So stand to the picket line and fight for your life!

Do you hear this singing -
The singing of the angry people?
The music of those who rose from their knees,
And who became free on this day?
Thousands of burning hearts have united as one,
We shall stand together until the end when day comes.

Don't spare for the fight neither patience nor your strength,
We will rip apart the chains and stand up from our knees.
And no one will ever again put this yoke on us!

Do you hear this singing -
The singing of the angry people?
The music of those who rose from their knees,
And who became free on this day?
Thousands of burning hearts have united as one,
And the oppressors will meet their end when day comes.