National Confederation of the Urals
National Confederation of the Urals (NCU)
Origins
The National Confederation of the Urals was born after the Soviet collapse in 1942, when the German offensive reached Stalingrad and the Caucasus. The power vacuum in the vast and mountainous Urals region allowed a group of local generals, Russian nationalist politicians, and regional strongmen to proclaim an independent state with a strongly authoritarian, nationalist, and anti-communist character.
From the very beginning, the Confederation presented itself as the “bastion of the new Russia”, in opposition both to Bolshevism and to any attempt to restore the old Tsarist system. Its flag and propaganda exalted the strength of the Ural people as guardians of the frontier between Europe and Asia.
Alliance with Germany
The Confederation quickly sought the support of the Third Reich, offering in return the region’s strategic raw materials, such as iron, coal, and nickel. Berlin accepted, seeing in this new state a buffer against the remnants of Soviet power.
German military advisors were sent to Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk, where they reorganized the local army. Troops of the Wehrmacht, and especially SS units, established a permanent presence in the territory.
Regional Rivalries
The Confederation’s main adversary was the Supreme Union of Siberian Socialists, a communist state that emerged in the east and was supported by Communist Mongolia. Both shared a tense frontier, marked by constant skirmishes and sporadic clashes.
The situation developed into a true regional Cold War:
- The Asian communist bloc (Siberia and Mongolia) sought to expand its influence westward into the Urals.
- The Confederation remained a peripheral ally of the Reich, avoiding full-scale war but constantly reinforcing its army.
Army and Special Forces
The Confederation’s army was built from officers with experience in the former USSR, combined with German-supplied weaponry. While limited compared to Europe’s major armies, it possessed an effective defense thanks to the mountainous terrain and militarized local industries.
The most feared force, however, was the presence of the SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger, which Berlin relocated to the region as a repressive and shock force. This unit, infamous for its brutality on the Eastern Front, was employed by the Confederation to suppress local uprisings, eliminate clandestine communist cells, and terrorize populations suspected of Soviet sympathies.
The Dirlewanger Brigade became a symbol of German power in the Urals: hated by many, feared by all. Its very reputation maintained strict control over the region, albeit at the cost of a constant atmosphere of fear.
Strategic Position
The National Confederation of the Urals occupied a key space between German-controlled Europe and Communist Asia. Its alliance with the Reich ensured protection but also made it the first line of defense in case of open war with the Siberian Union.
Today, the region defines itself as a hybrid state of Russian nationalism and German tutelage, with a regime that mixes its own ambitions with dependence on Reich power. Among its mountains, mines, and fortified cities, the Confederation of the Urals stands as a living frontier in the great postwar chessboard.
