Primary Target

Prologue

With communism a distant memory and oligarchs corruptly seizing hundreds of billions of dollars, political leaders in Moscow faced difficult decisions. The motherland, suffering from an industrial collapse and economic meltdown, was on the brink of social explosion. Would the government be able to overcome the robber barons and their massive security forces before the military took control of the country?

If the tycoons and Mafia were thwarted, would the politicians embrace a Western-style democracy with a market economy, or would they accept a quasidemocratic style of capitalism? Many of the deputies in the Communist party, as well as a large segment of the Russian people, were nostalgic for the cradle-to-grave days of communism. A few of the stouthearted politicians and military leaders openly called for a return to authoritarian rule, whether Communist or fascist, blended with nationalism and militarism.

Thus far, attempts at economic and political reform had been distorted and sabotaged by oligarchs and politicians still faithful to the old Soviet system. Corruption plagued Russia’s fragile economy, from rising crime rates to Mafia ties in the Kremlin. A vast majority of Russians believed that old-line Communists and the KGB secretly transferred billions of dollars out of the country when the reforms were implemented.

The Russian Federation, widely known for questionable election practices, was still considered a menacing and destabilizing force in the world. A force with a powerful military showcased by nuclear-tipped ICBMs and an impressive strategic nuclear submarine fleet. Although the Russian armed forces appeared to be in a state of chaos, the admirals and generals were still actively engaged in preparing for nuclear war with the United States. Unfortunately, the NATO bombing campaign in the Balkan states had exacerbated the situation and soured U.S. relations with Moscow.