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The Soviet Union was a country located in Eastern Europe and Northwestern Asia. The Soviet Union consisted of fifteen constituent republic states, the largest and most significant of which being Russia; in the Western world, the terms "Soviet Union" and "Russia" were often used interchangeably.
The Soviet Union was geopolitically opposed to the United States of America throughout the latter half of the twentieth century, with the tension between the two nations being widely referred to as the "Cold War". In the early 1980s, American scientists accidentally opened a gate to an alternate dimension in the small, sleepy town of Hawkins, Indiana. Despite the American government's best efforts to keep this development secret, the Soviet Union learned of what had happened in Hawkins, and began efforts to produce a gate of their own. These efforts led to the creation of Starcourt Base, the extraction of various creatures from the other world, and the kidnapping of Hawkins Chief of Police, Jim Hopper.[1][2]
History[]
1940s-1980s[]
The aftermath of the Second World War left the United States and the Soviet Union as rival superpowers. The two nations were geopolitically opposed throughout the twentieth century; the Soviet Union was nominally a socialist state, while their American rivals favored capitalism. Both countries engaged in a struggle for ideological dominance but avoided direct military conflict. The tension between the two powers was widely referred to as the "Cold War".[3][4]
1959[]
In 1959, American scientist Dr. Martin Brenner discovered that a young boy named Henry Creel possessed remarkable psychokinetic abilities. Brenner convinced higher-ups in the US government that he should take Henry into his custody, proposing that the boy's abilities could be deployed against the Soviets. However, in truth, Brenner was far more motivated by curiosity, and only said otherwise to secure government funding.[5]
1969[]
In 1969, commander Yuri Ismaylov of the Soviet Armed Forces led his men to victory over the Chinese in Damansky.[6][7]
Mid-1980s or earlier[]
By 1984, the Soviet Union had established a secretive military facility in Kamchatka. The age of the facility was unknown, but judging by its rugged appearance, it had likely been in operation for many years.
At some point, the former Russian war hero, Yuri Ismaylov, began smuggling American goods into the Soviet Union, becoming the infamous "Peanut Butter Smuggler". Yuri would fly from his base of operations in Nome, Alaska to his church-turned-warehouse in Kyrzran.
1983[]
Brenner's study of Henry Creel's abilities eventually yielded the births of various child test subjects with psychokinetic abilities, including Eleven. These children were kept top secret by the US authorities, and were raised within Hawkins Lab.
At some point, Brenner decided to use Eleven to spy on a Russian agent. He showed her his photograph, before lowering her into a sensory deprivation tank, where she entered a deeper psychic state. Within this state, Eleven saw herself in an endless mental void, where she wandered until she found a representation of the agent. Thanks to Eleven, the agent, who was in the middle of delivering sensitive intel to an unknown compatriot, had his speech transmitted over the loudspeakers in Brenner's control booth. The agent, meanwhile, had no idea he was being observed, and continued talking. However, Eleven's attention quickly shifted to something else, lurking in the darkness.
1983-1985[]
A further experiment involving Eleven accidentally created a gate to an alternate dimension on November 6, 1983; despite Dr. Sam Owens's best efforts to keep the incident secret, the Soviet Union eventually learned of the Gate's existence. General Stepanov and other officials became hell-bent on creating a Russian-operated gate, hoping access to the other world could give the Soviets an advantage in the Cold War.
Within a year, Soviet scientists had invented 'the Key', an experimental machine that produced gates via a controlled energy beam. However, these machines were volatile and would inevitably malfunction shortly after activation, meaning the resultant Gates could only exist momentarily; the failure of these machines would also fatally electrocute or disintegrate personnel in close proximity to them.
One such incident occurred on June 28, 1984, at the mountain lab in Kamchatka; the fatal discharge released by the machine electrocuted and killed about half a dozen personnel in hazmat suits. Their deaths, along with the machine's failure to keep the portal open, greatly irritated General Stepanov, who told Dr. Alexei he'd face consequences if he failed to produce a stable gate within the next twelve months.
Dr. Alexei and the other Soviet scientists realized the Key was only one half of the equation, the location of the Key itself being the other important component. Keys were unable to work properly in Russia, with Gates only briefly opening before sealing up. However, they theorized that a Key could function as intended in Hawkins. An American Gate had existed in Hawkins and, even though this Gate was now closed, the fabric of space-time there was still healing, and therefore vulnerable to the Key Ray.
From 1984 to 1985, the Soviet Union illegally purchased land in Hawkins, Indiana through shell entities. Covert Soviet forces started building an underground base beneath the town; a space where work on the Key could be conducted without interruption. They used the concurrent construction of Starcourt Mall above to conceal the base's existence. The Soviets also purchased properties all around East Hawkins that were near transformers, using them to siphon off energy from the town’s power grid.
1985[]
On June 28, 1985, the Key under Hawkins was successfully activated, under the supervision of Dr Alexei and various other Russian scientists and officials. The activation momentarily overloaded Hawkins' power grid, triggering a power outage affecting the entirety of Hawkins. The new Gate's creation also reestablished the Mind Flayer's psychic link, allowing him to revive a piece of himself, or proxy, that had lay dormant at Brimborn Steel Works since 1984. Via the proxy, the Mind Flayer could once again affect events in Hawkins.
During this time, Soviet forces somehow acquired or captured a small pack of predatory creatures - "Demogorgons" - hailing from the other dimension, and either shipped them to Russia, or even bred them within Russia; they even managed to capture a piece of the entity known as the "Mind Flayer". These beings were ultimately stored at the Kamchatka facility, with most of the creatures becoming cryogenically frozen. However, one of the Demogorgons was instead placed inside a cell; guards were ordered to occasionally feed prisoners to the beast, which helped it grow and mature into a full-blown adult. The piece of the Mind Flayer, meanwhile, was trapped in a special cell covered in heating devices, preventing it from escaping.
In July, Hawkins police chief Jim Hopper successfully led a mission to infiltrate the secret base built beneath Hawkins. While there, his friend Joyce Byers disabled the technology being used to open the gateway. As electrical activity threatened to flood the chamber containing the machine, Hopper leapt for cover and escaped to another level of the facility. However, Soviet Army soldiers arrived shortly after to capture him. Hopper was took to the Motherland, where officers tortured him through various means, including oxygen deprivation. Eventually, the officers, noting Hopper's 'strength', decided he should be forced into servitude at the Kamchatkan labor camp.
At some point prior to October, Hopper was processed at the Kamchatka prison, and first crossed paths with affable prison guard Dmitri Antonov.
October[]
Later that year, Soviet Army soldiers fed a prisoner to the adult Demogorgon, although they chose against giving up their "American" prisoner - Hopper - to the creature.[8]
1986[]
March[]
to be added
Locations[]
Citizens[]
- Stepanov
- Ozerov
- Grigori †
- Alexei †
- Russian Agent
- Russian Scientist †
- Dr. Zharkov †
- Dmitri Antonov
- Yuri Ismaylov
- Warden Melnikov †
- Ivan †
- Oleg †
- Dr. Karine
- Dr. Orlov
- Mr. Frost
- Anna
- Leonid