Rise Of The Ussr In Another World - Volume 2 Chapter 31

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The type of Society Add had envisioned was based on what he inferred from his knowledge of Earth’s history. The new USSR was to be a Socialist state at its core, with the aim of ensuring economic stability and equality among its people. To prevent the acc.u.mulation of wealth at the hands of the few, the government would strictly control the state’s resources, both physical and human. As per his design, the USSR was to be similar to the 21st century European Union, but leaning more on the socialist side. Strict regulations and laws had to be imposed to keep companies and businesses in check, and the government had to stay in touch with the people. Only by living up to the people’s expectations, could a state remain stable and prosper. However, if for achieving all that, he had to act like a dictator, Add would not hesitate to do that as well.

To help in developing and rebuilding the SRR, Add needed a lot of hands, he had not studied management, nor was he an economist, and he had no interest in being one either. So among the first things he did after officially taking over, was establish a new government body. He recruited volunteering young men and women and had them undergo long training in the learning chambers, mainly on topics like administration, economic and management. He chose people from the common class, as they would best know and understand the problems faced by the general populace. Thanks to the learning chambers, which now numbered over a hundred, years worth of learning could be completed in a few weeks.

Within months dozens of aspiring officials and hundreds of clerks were ready to take on their jobs. As a result, he did not have any lack of able hands to undertake this massive task of completely revamping the economic and social structure. The current government of Rigel resembled modern presidential governments, except that there was no house of representatives. Add retained the supreme authority, in all matters regarding the territory. Under him there were the various departments lead by ministers, who directly reported to him. in case he was unavailable, Walter would act as his representative. The overall structure was similar to the governments of the 21st century Earth.

With the inclusion of modern techniques and knowledge of governing perfected over centuries, the newly formed government began its work in full zeal. With their help, the first five year plan was implemented. Unlike the traditional soviet plans which demanded practically impossible rates of development and production quotas, his plan had a more realistic approach. His primary focus was on the areas within a hundred kilometres around Rigel, he did not have the resources or ability to control the entire territory yet. Once this area had been developed to a certain degree, they could then gradually expand their influence and reclaim the entire territory.

As a primary goal of the plan, importance was given on increasing the efficiency and yield of agriculture and mining, which were the two major sectors of Rigel’s product output. In the farming sector, imported varieties of crops from other territories helped increased yields. Growing wheat and potato was encouraged, as these were the staple food source for the populace. Cotton was also being grown widely, to support the well doing textile industry. Aside from these a type of tuber similar to the sugar beet, and several oil producing plants were being grown extensively.

Alongside the introduction of simple machines, and modern agriculture concepts, the infrastructure required for farming was also being developed. A network of canals and irrigation ditches were being dug to bring in the river water, to reduce dependency on rainfall and water wells. Recently, the steam engine was introduced, but currently they were only being used to draw water from the river for irrigation. Thanks to the Red Army clearing monsters and bandits in the region, farming area had increased over twenty fold in the last five years, while yields had increased several dozen folds.

Live stock such as cows, hens, sheep, pigs etc. was also being reared in large numbers by the people. One animal in particular had proved to be the most successful livestock. It was called the Greygrox. This was a species of reptilian creatures slightly larger than a cow. Their body was shaped like a flattened barrel with a wide head that had a large mouth for gobbling up food and a short but bulky tail where they stored fat. These animals had tough skin with bony plates over their backs which served as their only mean of protection from predators, aside from the fact that they lived in large herds of hundreds of individuals. Even their head was covered in bony scutes which gave them an ugly appearance.

Despite looking like a mutated dinosaur, they were cowardly omnivores with strong stomachs that ate almost anything, from grass to bark of trees, and decaying carcasses to bones, allowing them to survive in all kinds of habitats. All these adaptations while useful in survival and protection against most predators and threats they faced, were unable to save them from humans. These animals were relatively mild mannered and usually chose to run away rather than fight, when threatened. Their meat tasted almost like chicken, and due to the fact that they were cold blooded animals, meant that, as long as their environment was warm enough, they required much less food than other common meat animals like chicken and cattle.

This made them an ideal choice for a stable meat source, and soon the Greygorx were being raised by the hundreds on special ranches outside Rigel. Their thick hides also proved to be good material for making leather products such as armour and boots, which was another plus side to raising these creatures. Overall, it appeared as if the Greygrox had evolved to become the perfect meat source by themselves. Add had discovered them by chance while on one of his hunting trips. He had heard from some old hunters in a nearby village that these creatures were quite palatable, so when he killed one of the Greygrox he had decided to taste its meat, and boy was he impressed.

As a result under the orders of the Marshal of the Soviet Union, a campaign was launched to capture these walking bags of meat and farm them on large scale for meat. Groups of locals along with soldiers were tasked with bringing back as many animals as they could, alive that is, and also the eggs of the Greygrox, which were then hatched and raised in ranches. They also had surprisingly high s.e.x drive and bred very fast, laying eggs four times a year, with a single female laying up to two dozen eggs at once.

This was due to the fact that in nature most baby Greygrox were eaten up by predators before they could become one year olds. But in captivity, this meant that their numbers could grow exponentially. After trial and error, currently the Greygrox farming was catching speed and their numbers were increasing rapidly with more being born every day. These farms had already become the chief supplier of meat to the people in and around Rigel, and the demand was only increasing.

The mining sector had also been extensively reformed. The hills behind Rigel were a treasure trove of minerals, owning to their volcanic past. Dozens of mines now dotted the mountains, excavating huge amounts of ores. The State Mining Corporation (SMC), a government body, had taken complete control of all the mines, and employed a large portion of the state’s workforce. The yield of iron alone had increased a hundred fold while other metals like copper were also being excavated in appreciable quantities. The State Geological Survey (SGS) was always on the prowl for new sources of important metals like aluminium, manganese which were relatively rare in the hills.

Aside from these two major sectors many smaller sectors had sprung up, almost all of which had been promoted by the state. For instance, the production of good quality paper was started and its demand soon sky rocketed, given the best paper in this era was little better than rough parchment. Currently the SRR produced the highest quality of paper in Reinglief. Similarly, with the mass cultivation of cotton and other such plants, the clothes industry had also boomed. The sector had also received machines (like more efficient mechanical looms) and techniques from the government at minimum prices, which helped the weavers by a large margin.

Due to all these developments, trade between the SRR and the rest of Reinglief had increased greatly, bringing in valuable currency into the territory. Introduction of standard SI system for measuring, such as the kilogram, the litre, the metre etc. and standardisation of prices on important commodities by the government also helped simplify and facilitate commercial activities.

The old tax system had been abolished, a new one was implemented in its place, and a Central Bank was also opened, the very first one on Iseria. Implementation of a myriad of laws to protect and govern the people resulted in an intense crackdown on criminals and crooks, allowing people to feel safe and secure. Many of these concepts were completely new to the people, and hence the government was also undertaking programs to spread the details of these systems to the masses.

The Education system was also rebuilt from the ground up. The literacy rate of the territory could be said to be 1-2% at best. This was a severe problem, and to counter this, state funded public schools were established to teach the populace. Anyone from the age of five to thirty could enrol at these schools free of charge. The people would mainly be taught the language, simple mathematics, and some other subjects related to their day to day lives. Special focus was given on classes to teach morality and patriotic teachings. As for higher studies, those could wait for the future, not that your average plebeian needed to learn calculus anyway. The teachers for these schools were specially taught in learning chambers, and it was their job to ensure that the populace had the basic ability to contribute to the rapidly developing republic.

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The Arachne Sylvia was bored. She had been sitting in the lobby and eating some cookies. It was early in the morning, and Add had sent maid to call Sylvia, he wanted to her to accompany him on a trip. The person in question however was nowhere to be seen. She had been waiting for half an hour now, the only thing keeping her irritation at bay were the cookies which she found very delicious. When she had finished all the cookies and was wondering if she should ask for another serving, the Marshall finally arrived.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting. I was held by some matters.”

Unlike his usual simple clothes, Add was dressed in a formal full dress military uniform. A stand collar white shirt, a black tie, and a pair of straight black trousers. His hands were covered in white gloves while ankle high black leather boots covered his feet. Finally, there was a black military overcoat which reached till above the knees, and the iconic officers’ hat sat on his head. The hat and the overcoat had golden borders, the latter also had a pair of epaulettes on its shoulders and a golden badge with the state symbol engraved on it, hung at its chest. The state symbol was the usual hammer, sickle and star surrounded on both sides by two ears of wheat.

Add had personally overseen the design of this uniform. He wanted to keep it simple, while still maintaining the innate charisma that uniforms possessed. The uniform complimented his lean and handsome features very well, the maids occasionally took glances at him, with reddish faces, while the male servants could only sigh in sorrow of not being born with such features. Sylvia too was impressed, albeit her interest was more in the clothes than the man himself. The various types clothes of both men and women intrigued her inner weaving instincts, there was so much for her to learn.

“What did you need from me?”

She asked getting up, the next plate of cookies would have to wait for next time.

“I have to do some important tasks today, so I thought I would take you along to have a view of the place. That is if you want to, or you can just stay back.”

“No I will accompany you. After all, this queen is also interested in learning more about human society.”

“Then let’s get going.”

Outside, a carriage was already waiting. While not as comfortable as the jeep they had previously travelled in, for a carriage it was very comfortable and less bumpy. Today, Add was visiting the new city which was under construction for five years now. The continuous work was sucking up a sizeable portion of the state’s earnings, but it was a necessary sacrifice. As they travelled towards the city, Sylvia was constantly gazing at the various things outside, and asking questions. Add who was going through some doc.u.ments, would occasionally explain about them to her. About 1 and a half hours later, they reached the new city.

On the outskirts, a large board was erected beside the road which said, “Welcome To Leningrad”. Indeed that was the name, Add had chosen for the city to honour not only Lenin himself, but also the millions of people who died in the city’s defence during world war II. The city was connected to Rigel by a wide paved road, and there were many carriages and people travelling on it. designed in the form of a square with each side being twenty kilometres in length. It was divided into various tightly packed and compact districts as well.

The central region of the city was the Administration district, which would house all the government buildings. The Industrial district which covered half of the total city area, was for factories and workshops. The majority of the remaining space was taken up by the Residential District consisting of houses and Public facilities such as Schools, Hospitals etc. Lastly there was the Commercial District which was to deal with all sorts of economic activities. The city plan was based on the traditional Soviet city plans, with some major modifications. The larger streets had wide pedestrian pathways on their edges, and were lined with trees making them look green and more alive. All districts had city squares and public spaces like small parks, where people could gather and get together, increasing their social interactions.

The first district they passed through was the Residential district. Wide roads divided the district into smaller parts called ‘micro districts’. Each micro district was to house around 15,000 to 20,000 residents, and would contain parks, health care centres, hospitals, schools, shops etc. Smaller roads branched off from the wider roads, allowing access to the various houses and other facilities of the micro districts. While the wider roads were built with future heavy traffic in mind, the smaller roads between them were made for light traffic such as pedestrians and cyclists.

The idea was that no micro district would be better or worse than any other micro district, to promote a feeling of equality and diminish the concept of social classes. These micro districts were the standardised building blocks of the city and more could be added as and when required. The houses for the people to live in were all made along the same template, and the principle was to provide homes to all people. They were all four storeys tall apartment buildings made with cement and bricks. This allowed for them to be built at a much faster rate. Unlike the traditional Soviet apartments however, these apartments came with considerable space, with rooms for entire families as well as individuals who lived alone. Although they still wouldn’t compare to the comforts of having a villa or a normal house, for that however, people could move to the sub-urban region, which would be developed later.

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