Centered in and around the largest city in SIberia, the Federation of Novosibirsk and Altay arouse out of the fracturing of the Central Siberian Republic. Under the leadership of the so-called 'Siberian Falcon', the strongman Alexander Pokryshkin, it forms one of the largest and most powerful splinter states in the region.One of the primary beneficiaries of Bukharin's Siberian Plan, Novosibirsk itself possesses both an enormous population and an equally impressive industrial base, matched in capacity only by the prodigious agricultural lands of Altay. These dual advantages situate the state well, providing a solid economic base from which to grow.Not all is well, however. The young Federation faces thretaning neighbors, socialist labor agitation, and many decisions regarding the growing influence of elitist groupings within the government - influence strongly opposed by the unofficial 'second man' within the Federation, Vasily Shukshin, the Mayor of Barnaul.Though none can say for certain whether the federation will weather the many challenges ahead, all agree that, should it correctly leverage the significant advantages granted by both position and history, it could serve as the nucleus of a powerful - and ever expanding - nation.