Krasnygorod

"The last bastion of a dead ideology on a world far from that ideologies origin, someone should nuke the place and be done with it"

- Elijah Mosely, leader of the Corporatist Party

"Old things haunt this city, things from the Rodina, the swampy bayous and things of this world, alien things, frightful eldritch things"

-Tish, street walker, Barrio Viejo

"The Worker's Paradise exists...HERE IN KRASNYGOROD!"

-Council billboard on the city outskirts

Sprawled along the banks of the Borodin River which empties out into the Tethys Ocean, Krasnygorod began from relatively humble beginnings. When Vanya Mikhailovich Kropotkin aka the Brave Pioneer made landfall on Lazarus he was driven more by curiousity than his desire to found a habitable community where people could live.

The place he chose was a series of ruins stretched out along the banks of a langourously flowing river. In essence Krasnygorod would grow from the first archaeological dig site to be established. Initially dubbed Dig Zero the beginnings of understanding the pre cursor soceities of Lazarus began here as well as one of its first major settlements (Dysonists dispute this claim pointing to the fact that people were already living in Dyson's Landing several years prior to Dig Zero)

The settlers aboard the Soviet American Colony Vessel (SACV) Novo Mir chose Dig Zero to be the main site of their settlement at the same time seeking to get ahead of their fellow settlers in terms of research. It was at Dig Zero that the term Canal Builders was coined. There was areas of canal development funneling the waters of the Borodin into what appeared to be agricultural plots.

The extensive sprawl of the ruins as well as the wealth of various artefacts, common and not so common attracted others to the site. The need for workers meant that settlers migrated from some of the more marginal settlements to Dig Zero, looking for work, food and other necessities. Of course the explosion in population mean that resources could not keep up nor could the nascent infrastructure cope with the sudden increased demand.

The first battles of what would become the first "Dry War" began at Dig Zero as gangs of thirsty, often starving workers fought each other for potable water. This was not restricted to Dig Zero, in other locations similar battles occurred. It is from this that the Razboynik (highwaymen) were born. Gangs roaming the highways looking for those bringing in water or taking water as well as raiding existing supplies. Most of these were dig workers or farm labourers from the settlements to the south, worked to the bone. Briefly the political leadership of Dig Zero considered the feasibility of recruiting these Razboyniki into establishing a dominant presence. Wiser heads prevailed.

In the end the solution to the problem was not to crush the gangs, instead the Party chiefs realised it was time to let go of the ruins and instead focus on building a lasting community. And thus Dig Zero was renamed Krasnygorod or Red Town in honour of the red bricks and stone that the Canal Builders had used in their structures. Thirty five years after Kropotkin's initial landfall Krasnygorod had become a bustling river township. Here and their ruins of the Canal Builders dotted the landscape, but now a Soviet American community had grown up along the banks of the Borodin.

With the shift away from purely archaeological research and consolidation as a habitable settlement things naturally improved. Although it was as this consolidation occurred that the second "Dry War" took place. Whereas the first had been about potable water, the second was about Beer. In this the Party and the Mayor of Krasnygorod were directly implicated, though not physically involved per se.

Metropolitian, a local brewery, had sought to buy out Consolidated, a southern brewery located in Grand Canal. Unfortunately International Consortium, a rival also wanted Consolidated. Battle lines were drawn and war broke out over Consolidated's ultra dry & smooth beers. After two years of bitter conflict both sides had to withdraw after the UN Gendarme Corps intervened. The battle had spilled over from between the combatants into the public arena. This could not be tolerated. Of course in the end it was the grunts who paid, the execs got wrist slaps (if that).

Dry Wars aside, Krasnygorod is now a major settlement in the northernmost regions of the continent. It is a finanical hub, a major transport hub both on world and off, its fishing boats provide fresh seafood to numerous other settlements and it is also a center of education with three major univeristies and several technical colleges. And now that the settlement has been consolidated archaeological activities have resumed. Truly Krasnygorod has become a major success story of the settlement.

Things are definitely looking bright...