The Chernarussian Civil War

If you wish to understand South Zagoria — its burned-out villages, its abandoned checkpoints, its local people who are no strangers to distant gunshots — you must understand the Chernarussian Civil War.

In the late 2000s, our country tore itself apart. On one side stood the CDF — the Chernarussian Defence Force — backed by NATO with the promise of a modern, Western-aligned future. On the other side, the Chedaki, or “Movement of the Red Star”, who sought to return us to the so-called comforting embrace of Moscow.

And in between? Well, in between stood everyone else — local militias, opportunists, anarchists, and more than a few people who just wanted everyone to shut up so they could plant their crops in peace.

The fighting was brutal. Villages were shelled, forests were burned, and entire families vanished between one day and the next. I was in Severograd during one of the shellings — a local library was reduced to rubble in an afternoon. I managed to save a single book. (It was about medieval metallurgy. Not particularly useful, though I did use it to swat a rat once.)

After years of guerilla warfare, the CDF finally prevailed. The Chedaki were crushed, driven into hiding or across the border. Victory was declared, and international aid poured in to help rebuild. UN troops were stationed across the region, “peacekeeping” at checkpoints and airfields — though, if you ask the locals, the peace was thin as cigarette paper.

Did it work? For a time, perhaps. The shooting stopped, which was certainly an improvement. But scars run deep here — burned-out homes still stand, names of the missing are still carved into church doors, and the old political grudges have simply gone quiet rather than disappear.

The war left South Zagoria weakened, vulnerable. And when the infection came… Well, a land that was still recovering from one disaster was in no shape to handle another.

If there is a lesson to be learned, it is perhaps this: For every calamity Chernarus survives, another, often worse, catastrophe is never far behind.

— Dr. Yannick Pomochuk