Russia was a land of battling cliques long before the Soviet Union fell to the Germans. In the chaotic days after Lenin's death multiple successors vied for control over the young Union. For a brief moment it appeared as though the crown might pass to Joseph Stalin, but tragedy struck. Stalin met with a mysterious and untimely demise, and his supporters were scattered across the Union, relegated to positions of no importance as Bukharin secured control. One of those men sent to Siberia was Lazar Kaganovich, and he never forgot the teachings of his mentor. When the Union collapsed under the weight of the German invasion, Kaganovich was quick to act. Securing the support of Field Marshal Rokossovsky and Lieutenant-General Karbyshev, he took control of a massive stretch of territory from the Urals to Omsk. Kaganovich proclaimed the West Siberian People's Republic and prepared to retake the Union.It was not meant to be. Both of his allies soon distanced themselves from Kaganovich, eventually breaking away entirely. Rokossovsky seized Sverdlovsk and the Republic's northern territories, while Karbyshev's Black League took the city of Omsk and its surroundings. Now Kaganovich is left ruling a fraction of his former territory from the city of Tyumen. Most men in his situation would have given up, but Kaganovich is made of stronger stuff. Soon his armies will march north and south, annihilating the traitors and reclaiming the Republic. Kaganovich is determined to reunite the Soviet Union and avenge himself and his old mentor, the original man of steel.