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The '''Volgans''' are a [[fiction]]al [[Fascism|fascist]] [[Russia]]n government appearing in ''[[2000 AD (comics)|2000 AD]]'' in the [[Invasion! (2000 AD)|''Invasion!''/''Savage'']] and the [[Ro-Busters]]/[[ABC Warriors]] by [[Pat Mills]]. The stories are set in different times: ''Savage'' in the present day (originally the near future of 1999), after the Volgan conquest of Europe, and ''ABC Warriors'' in 2080s when the Volgans fell to the [[United States]].  (The two series began a crossover from ''Savage Book 5'', with the original [[Hammerstein (comics)|Mark 1 ABC Warrior robots]] deployed in 2009).

''Invasion!'' was originally going to use the [[Soviet Union]] as the main villains but at the last minute, the comic was ordered to change them into a fictional villain to avoid antagonising the Soviet Embassy in London, due to Britain and the Western world being engaged in [[détente]] with the Soviet Union during the mid/late 1970s.<ref>Thrill Power Overload, Judge Dredd Megazine 4.09</ref> In the sequel series ''Savage'' the Volgans are shown to be the Soviet Union after a regime change due to a successful 1991 Soviet coup d'état.<ref>Savage - Book I: Taking Liberties</ref>

==Volgan history==

[[Image:Extreme3.jpg|right|thumb|180px|Cover of Extreme Edition 3 featuring the Volgans]]
The '''Volgan Republic of Asia''' was founded when an individual called [[#Notable Volgans|Vashkov]] united the [[Volgograd]] citizens into a [[fascist]] party named after the [[Volga River|local river]] in 1989. Leading the [[political party|party]] to a military coup against [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] and the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Soviet government]] in 1991,<ref>Prog 1388, ''Savage Book I: Taking Liberties: Part Two''</ref> he declared himself the sole leader of the [[Soviet Union]] which was renamed the Volgan Republic.

After new reserves of [[North Sea oil#United Kingdom|North Sea oil]] were discovered near Britain, he sought the help of a [[fifth column]] to invade the country <ref>Prog 1450, ''Savage Book II: Out Of Order: Part One''</ref> and much of Western Europe along with it. A deal was made with the United States ensuring that it did not get involved with the Volgan activities.

The result was the Eight Hour War of 1999, so named because it took that long for the Volgans to conquer the United Kingdom. The Midlands were hit by nuclear weaponry, diehard politicians and generals were executed, and defiant British army units were massacred at Stonehenge.<ref>Prog 2</ref> Many Britons were sent to [[Internment|concentration camps]] throughout the Volgan empire. The conquered states were renamed the [[European Economic Community|Eurasian Economic Community]]<ref>Prog 1387, ''Savage Book I: Taking Liberties: Part Two''</ref> and the Volgan occupational forces would be called "EEC peacekeepers" by 2004.<ref>1396: ''Taking Liberties''</ref>

The invasion immediately led to a protracted occupation and an organised underground uprising by figures like the Free European Army, Traitor's Gate, former MI5 & military elements, and the notorious [[Bill Savage]] who assassinated Vashkov. Collaborators were nicknamed "Double Yellows" after the twin yellow stripe on the uniform of British State Security officers. Those suspected of terrorism were sent to "Camp Sunshine" in [[Siberia]]. Escapist literature such as [[bodice rippers]], utopian prophecies, and [[space opera]] were mass-produced as a means of keeping the population pacified.

In 2004, a massive uprising led to the Volgans being pushed out of a large part of Britain. In 2006, however, there was a reoccupation under unknown circumstances, and by 2007 the Volgans (partially via a propaganda campaign) were becoming more accepted, and a Reconciliation Month was held as a goodwill gesture.<ref>Prog 1557</ref> At the same time, the United States fell out with the Volgans, and began both landing special forces in the [[Republic of Ireland]] and arming the British resistance.

To force Savage and the resistance to cease operations, the Volgans framed them for civilian massacres <ref>Prog 1583</ref> and attempted to frame them for a rocket attack at [[St Paul's Cathedral]] during Reconciliation Day festivities in order to make America cease their support for this resistance. Bill Savage's intervention meant the rocket was accidentally fired at a spy blimp instead, and when the Volgans executed a hundred civilians in retaliation&nbsp;– a known response to any attack on the blimp&nbsp;– America instead moved further to open hostilities.

In 2009, the [[US Air Force]] had "e-bombed"&nbsp;– meaning [[electromagnetic pulse]] weapons&nbsp;– the occupied London, reducing technology to the level of 1984, and were using local guerillas to identify and bomb key targets in advance of an invasion. The Volgans ramped up fortications under the "Fortress Britannia" initiative, and tried to manipulate the Allied landings into taking place at [[Holyhead]] where defences were strongest. This failed, and the Americans deployed waves of [[ABC Warriors|robots]] in a beach landing as an advance guard. However, the robots could not distinguish enemy targets from friendlies, while the Volgans had developed [[Teleportation|teleportational technology]]; Volgan soldiers were able to teleport behind enemy lines and turn the robots on US soldiers, forcing the US to scale back its plans in the face of public outcry at home.<ref>Prog 1689: ''Savage Book VI: Crims''</ref>

By 2010, the Volgans had developed [[ABC Warriors#Blackblood|their own war robots]], who were also unable to recognise friendlies and were designed for extreme brutality, however the Allies still manage to liberate Britain that same year.<ref>2000 AD progs 1744-5, ''Savage Book VII: Secret City''</ref>

===The Volgan War/Fourth Oil War===

{{see also|ABC Warriors#The Volgan War}}

With the world's oil reserves finally running out, the United States started "'''The Volgan War'''" under the guise of liberation but with the sole intention of capturing much needed [[oil reserves]] (leading to its unofficial name of the Fourth Oil War).

As the war got bogged down, the Americans began replacing human soldiers with their ABC Warrior "War-[[Android (robot)|Droid]]s" on various battlefields in Europe and Russia, starting with the original [[Hammerstein (robot)|Hammerstein]]. The Volgans began using more and more robots themselves, ending up with a vast horde led by the patriotic Volkhan, with their armies including the titanic Stalin war-mechas and the jungle guerilla Straw Dogs under General Blackblood. Their robots were known to be of better quality than the Western ones (almost all designed by [[Ro-Busters|Howard Quartz]]) and, whereas the Western troops had human officers actively controlling the Warriors, the Volgans allowed Volkhan and Blackblood both autonomy and high rank. They could take direct action, command humans, and in Blackblood's case even carry out interrogation of humans. Volkhan himself was hideously powerful and proclaimed by the robots as "Ikon of Ikons", while he whipped them up in a frenzy to make the "ABC Criminals" "pay... the price for oil!".<ref>Prog 2007</ref>

As the war went on, the more numerous ABC Warriors overran Volgan forces and by 2084 the northern front was near [[Lithuania]]. However, an attempt to take the occupied city of [[Vilnius]] by paratroop drop, in order to outflank Volgan forces in [[Kaliningrad]] and [[Belarus]], turned into a massacre that the Allies nicknamed "Zarnhem".<ref>Prog 1521</ref> Later, the US robots pushed into the Republic itself. In one incident, they were forced by human officers to massacre the (fictional) city of Jadrez.<ref>Prog 1558</ref>

The war officially ended after Marshal Volgod, the then-Volgan leader, was assassinated by the ABC Warrior Steelhorn. Many former Volgan robots would be shipped to Mars as labour, while their commanders were incarcerated.

==History within 2000 AD==

The Volgans have featured in many ''2000 AD'' stories created by [[Pat Mills]], and he has linked them into the [[Judge Dredd]] universe. However they are conspicuously absent from the Judge Dredd stories created by other writers, most notably [[John Wagner]]. ''ABC Warriors: The Volgan War Book 1'' has [[retcon]]ned them out of Dredd's universe by showing the war continuing into the 2080s, a decade after the rise of the Judges to power.

==Notable Volgans==

* Marshal Vashkov&nbsp;– Founder and first [[Marshal#Military|Marshal]] Killed by Savage in 2004
* [[Colonel]] Rosa Volgaska&nbsp;– Head of '''State Security'''
* Mr. Granville&nbsp;– Head of [[Disinformation]] and [[Psychological warfare]] against [[Terrorism]]
* [[Field Marshal]] Zinski&nbsp;– High-ranking Military officer
* [[Captain (land)|Captain]] Svetlana Jaksic
* Dr Zakaroff

===War Droids===

* Volkhan&nbsp;– [[Commander-in-Chief|Supreme commander]] of the '''Volgan [[Military]]'''
* Old Horny&nbsp;– First War-Droid built
* [[ABC Warriors#Blackblood|General Blackblood]]&nbsp;– Leader of the '''Straw Dogs'''

==Appearance and real-world parallels==
The appearance of the Volgan soldiers is similar to the uniforms and weapons of the Red Army. In 2004 when ''Savage: Taking Liberties'' was published, the uniforms and the body armour of the Volgan soldiers began to resemble the combat uniforms of American soldiers (possibly as a reference to the US/Allied invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003 by the writers of the ''Savage'' comic series). Despite the change in the appearance of the uniforms and body armour, the Volgans still used Soviet/Russian weaponry and vehicles like helicopters (e.g. the [[Mil Mi-24|Mil Mi-24 "Hind" attack helicopters]]), infantry weapons (e.g. [[AK-74]]s, [[AKSU-74]]s, [[AK-103]]s etc.), and armoured vehicles (with the exception of the American-made [[Humvee]] 4WD truck which the Volgans use alongside their Soviet/Russian vehicles) in their brutal occupation of Great Britain and Western Europe.

The British Resistance/Free European Army forces are equipped with NATO small arms like the American-made [[M16 rifle|M16A2]] rifle and the German-made [[Heckler & Koch MP5]] submachine gun. The use of NATO and American small arms by the British Resistance and the Free European Army is a sign that the United States and Canada are providing weapons to the resistance fighters in Britain and Europe.

Although often given fascist overtones, the Volgans are given a Soviet theme in ''The Volgan War'', decorating themselves with [[hammer and sickle]]s and [[Red star]]s, most likely a throw back to the Volgans original being the Soviets in the early stages of producing series.

==See also==

* [[2000 AD crossovers|2000 AD timeline]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Fascism}}

==External links==
* [http://www.smashthevolgs.net/ '''Smash the Volgs''' website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311050113/http://www.smashthevolgs.net/ |date=11 March 2007 }}

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[[Category:Fictional dictators]]
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