Community-Based Chernarus History

[Mullraugh 1151]

WARNING: THIS IS A LONG POST, SO BE PREPARED TO READ.

As always, I'll try to lighten things up with pictures or video, since nobody likes reading a massive wall of text.

 

Also - I'm not sure if I'm allowed to make such a game-changing post, but I sure hope I am and that it gets some attention from the Developers.

 

Alright. I believe somewhere it's been said before that the developers would like player-created history and lore to DayZ, and it's been irking me to finally create this post. I'm sure I can take enough of a break from Green Mountain to create some history and "lore" as some could call it about the country that mothers our DayZ characters.

 

Chernarus.

A land of hopelessness and desperation. A place not many of us really know a lot about... A place we have the power to change. WITH OUR MINDS.

Alright, so first. Where on earth is Chernarus? Yes- most of us know it's based off of a small area in what is now the Czech Republic, but where in the world is it in the Armaverse?

 

I made a picture for a post a while ago regarding how WWII German gear may or may not be in Chernarus (not going to provide a link since it should remain dead.), so ignoring the big red circle highlighting Germany, we can get a basic concept on where Chernarus is.

Disregarding the fact that part, or all of, the Caspian Sea is renamed to the Green Sea in the Armaverse, we can see that Chernarus is located on that "nub" (as I like to call it) that present day Russian Federation (Russia) owns. Obviously the land shape is not the exact same, and I may be off by a few hundred kilometers, but this is the best possible guess I could make given sources from the bistudio forums and other constant debates around the internet, so don't beat me up - at least I try. (This isn't a thread for proving me or anyone else's opinions wrong, this is for community constructive criticism and additions to the Community-Made History of Chernarus)

 

NOTE: we do not know what Earth looks like in the Armavese. It could be completely different for all we can tell. However, since Chernarus and Takistan and most other parts of the Armaverse take up such a tiny area on the globe, and the constant references to other existing countries such as the United States and Russia, we can just assume that the nations and areas in the ArmA series are a part of the world we live in now, with little changes to the national borders of existing countries.

 

ArmA Series Chernarus (Mostly outdated):

provided by bistudio.com

(I don't expect you to read all of this since it's stuff we already know)

 

History:

"The first settlements in the area date back to 5th Century B.C. When the valleys of the Burnaja and Svetlaya rivers were inhabited by Skyth tribes and nomads, who later formed the Takmyr and Karzeg nations. The center of modern Chernarus had been founded in the delta of the Burnaya River and on the coast, divided from the Zagorie region which was under the supremacy of a Moscow Principate by the Black Mountains ridge.

The local Slavic population constantly had to fight off the raiders from the southwest so it was traditionally bound with Russia, but always kept its independence. In the 12th Century it was controlled by dukes, in the 13th century it was united by Taras Kozub. The Kozub dynasty ruled until 1631, when Chernarus joined the Russian empire. After the revolution in 1917 Chernarus became an autonomic federal republic, after the demise of the USSR in 1991 it gained independence."

To summarize the contents in the spoiler, Chernarus is really old and was part of Russia/USSR from 1631 until 1991 - the fall of the Soviet Union.

 

People:

"The population of Chernarus is a combination of Chernarussian and Russian peoples. Russian populations are mostly condensed in the Northeastern region of South Zagoria in towns such as Krasnostav. The two nationalities share tensions, especially on the topic of politics. In times of war, civilians have created insurgencies, most notably in the 2009 Chernarus conflict. Insurgent groups made attacks against ChDKZ and Russian military groups."

 

Geography: Broken into Sections. (this stuff is interesting if you have the time to read it- especially Military Zones)

 

Historical Sites:

"Chernarus has lots of old castle ruins, keeps and fortresses, which were built at the turn of the 11th and 12th century by Duke Kozlov, for the means of protecting important roads and grounds, which were often attacked from the sea and by northern neighbors. The Pik Kozlova above the Chernogorsk city is named after this duke, who is considered a founder of the first Chernarussian state. On the peak above the city there used to stand a warning post which protected the local provinces from pirate raids. This rocky peak is a favorite lookout point nowadays.

The majority of the structures of that time were made of wood, only the ruins of Rog keep and the famous Devil's Castle are preserved to this day. The Devil's Castle received its name many years later, perhaps sometime during the end of the 13th century. After the fall of Kozlov's Principate at the beginning of the 13th century, the fortress system fell apart; fortresses that weren't burned down were taken apart stone by stone, as needed for the structure of surrounding estates, or for different purposes.

The former Kozlovo Castle, now called the Devil's Castle, was supposedly inhabited by the yeoman Jakub Čert (Devil) from Gorka. His bandit campaigns started here at the castle. He enlarged the keep of the castle, using the loot from these raids and the castle holds his name to this day. According to legend, the Devil's Castle was burned down during the zagorian Karzeg's rebellion, Jakub Čert burned in the castle's main tower after he refused to surrender to Ataman Simurg. Only burned walls remain of the castle, haunted to this day by the spirit of Ivan Kozlov. Whatever the truth is, Devil's Castle is one of the most remarkable architectural sights in Chernarus and it became a rewarding destination for tourists."

 

Military Zones:

"Shortly after WWII, the small Red Army airport in the Northern province, designated for parachute training, expanded and gradually evolved into an air base with large military surroundings. In the border mountains there are a few former bases. After the regaining of independence, the Chernarussian Army took over these military bases.

At present, there is a lack of funds needed for security and maintenance; the condition of these bases has become even worse because of fighting between the regular army and rebel units who were using a number of these bases as their foot-holds. Visiting the former military areas isn't forbidden, but due to large numbers of unexploded ordnance as well as the decayed conditions of the buildings it is not recommended."

 

Nature:

"Despite the industrialization and the devastation of the coast, the Northern Province is proud of its untouched wild nature and idyllic agriculture countryside. Mostly because of the highland character of the North East part of the country, this was unsuitable for either industrial production or for collective agriculture.

A large part of the northern area is covered by coniferous or mixed forests, known as the Black forests because of their depth and inviolateness- local legend even tells of a "Sasquatch" roaming. The unique moors on the table-side Dičina on the south of the Vybor is also worth mentioning. In the scientific view the area around the Blunt rocks is very precious: rock formations with the remains of a glacial lake from ice age times. The southern part of the Northern Province suffered through thoughtless construction, so that the original coastal fauna and flora can only be found sporadically, mostly aside the mainland. The best known such place is the Skalistý Island, which during the start of the 90's was declared a nature preserve within the frame of the newly declared Zagorie Protected Natural Area."

 

Industrial Areas:

"For the fast growing industrial production in the second half of the 20th century, the electricity inflow conducted by land from the west was insufficient; also the basic infrastructure of gravel roads was inconvenient. Yearly floods, created from the melting snow were constantly threatening the coastal railroad, built for the purpose of transporting cargo from Chernogorsk to the industrial centers. This was the only secure connection during the long-lasting rains.

In the 70's it was decided to build a motorway infrastructure and also construct a number of waterworks, which would not only reduce the yearly floods, but also allow the generation of electricity from owned sources. The results of this effort are mainly the Pobeda Dam, a number of flood barriers on the main traffic artery leading from Chernogorsk along the coast to Berezino, and of course the great hydro-electric power plant near Elektrozavodsk."

 

Inhabited areas

"The biggest city and the administrative center of the Chernarussian Northern Province is Chernogorsk. What was originally a small fisherman's village quickly grew into a city thanks to the intensive industrialization of the Chernarussian Autonomic Republic, which began in the 50's of the previous century. Chernogorsk has always been a harbor town, once connected to northern trade routes, now a place through which the raw materials flow to Elektrozavodsk.

By the decision of the Soviet Union's government, not only Chernogorsk, but also other fairly undeveloped cities of the Northern Province were supposed to change to the symbol of industrial advancement. The price for urbanization and industrialization was the environmental damage of the coastal areas. The local village population was rooted out and forced to live an urban life, or moved to the northern Kolkhozs. This fact reflects not only in the fast-engineered infrastructure and generic apartment block style housing developments, but also in the architectural spirit of socialistic realism. The dominants of the cities then aren't the historical centers, but industrial zones, lime-kiln and the buildings of long abandoned factories."

 

Major Cities:

• Chernogorsk
• Electrozavodsk
• Stary Sobor
• Zelenogorsk
• Solnichniy
• Vybor
• Gorka
• Berezino
• Krasnostav

Chernogorsk

Chernogorsk is the biggest port and has the most growth of all cities in the region. With a giant factory complex adjoining the city center, remarkable town hall constructed 1955 and a famous hotel built on victory square. During the civil war the hotel served as a residence for separatist government. Nowadays, it is home to the largest tower in Chernarus and is the main tourist destination for visitors.

Elektrozavodsk

A large industrial harbor with a coal-burning power plant is one of the most cosmopolitan places of northern provinces. Dozens of pubs, bars and joy houses add a flavor of a vibrant cultural center to this astounding display of the country´s industrial advancement. This city was hit hardest (next to Chernogorsk) by the aggressive industrialization projections by the government in the 70's, most of it unfinished.

Stary Sobor

Not as big and important as it used to be, it´s still on of the most picturesque locations of northern province. It´s one of the oldest settlements in the region, situated amidst the pastures and medows surrounded by rolling hills. Chernarussians often like to tell jokes about the rivalry of its citizens and inhabitants of nearby Novy Sobor.

Zelenogorsk

Once a military outpost of Chernarussian Dukes, Zelenogorsk retains its military tradition as a base for the local CDF garrison. It´s set in a beatiful valley below the towering green mountain. It´s also well known as birthplace of Jefim Galkin, a famous Chernarussian writer and political activist.

Solnichniy

Also known as the "Gate of Three valleys", Solnichniy offers more then a dirty factory and quarry. It used to be favorite destination on Pre-War times, featuring several pubs along the way to ruins of castle Rog (Hom) trough the three valleys nature reserve.

Vybor

A lively rural town midst of the meadows of the "highland" (as locals call the area), it once profited from the presence of the largest air force bases in the country. It´s famous now for the spring festival of vodka, recently sponsored by the local Bardak & Sons distillery.

Gorka

Gorka is a scenic town located on the outskirts of the Black Forest. It is well known for it's goat cheese and rural people. In the times of the Soviet Government, it was the capital of illegal distilling of alcohol and was the capital of the northern province.

 

Now that all of the above has been read and considered (unless you didn't read it or already know this stuff), we can move on to the community created stuff! (and by Community I mean me until you guys start to contribute and/or I search for meaningful posts in threads other than this one that might be useful)

 

DayZ Community Chernarus:

provided by the DayZ Community

 

History:

Basically the same thing as ArmA2 Chernarus history, but will be updated in by US in the future! Basically, we'll put here how the apocalypse started, what the military and the UN did about it, etc etc.

 

People:

Feel free to create a specific, meaningful person, that could go in this section! Such as the Mayor of Berezino, his name, life, family, roles he played in the apocalypse and things like that for example!

 

Geography:

 

Historical Sites:

For those odd places that seem ancient, like the "stonehenge" type thing on top of Altar for example.

 

Military Zones:

For those new military installations, as well as the old ones - make sure to include the civilian conversion if you're making the history for the North East Airfield. I already have Green Mountain covered for this section.

Green Mountain:

A numbers station erected after WWII in the Cold War era. Thought to be cursed by the urban population due to it's intimidating appearance and location as well as the eerie radio signals it sends out non-stop even after it's abandonment. For more information visit HERE.

 

Nature:

This section could include facts about the flora and fauna of Chernarus, like pigs, or those red berries you can pick from bushes. (I think Shrub Rocketeer would love to do the "unicorn" Pig section.)

 

Industrial Areas:

This section will be for anything industrial. From the piers of Berezino and what they export, to the random construction site in the middle of nowhere that FrankieOnPC famously named as his base

 

Inhabited Areas:

Towns and Villages barely worth mentioning, such as Msta, belong here. You could do anything with these little suckers, really. Just remember to keep it realistic.

 

Major Cities:

This is, I'm sure, the fun part for lots of people. Just remember that any history that you input will be combined with some other person's history or lore to make one big paragraph about Chernogorsk, for example. Be sure to do lots of thinking and put some effort into it if you want your piece of the pie to make sense and stand out. NOTE: Novodmitrovsk is NOT the capital city of Chernarus- Novigrad is, as seen on the map in the beginning of this post.

 

Events:

Here we can take random odd-spots on the map, like that strange crater thing on the highway as you enter Elektrozavodsk from the east, and create a little story about them. Again, be realistic. Once we get more information on the Virus that causes the zombies, we can also put this here. Also, I don't think Chernarus is the epicenter of where the apocalypse started, otherwise there would realistically be far far less survivors than there are in such a small area.

 

Military and Police:

Lore and history about the Chernarus Military and Police forces. (I'm in progress of making the OREL history, but feel free to add your two cents about it as well.)

 

Things with the questionmarks need to be expanded and "Chernarus-ized", since they are already existing Russian forces

Navy:
Air Force:

Airborne (VDV?):

Army:

Special Forces (Spetsnaz?):

Internal Affairs (MVD?):

Military Police/ Riot Control (OMON? OREL):

Police:

External Forces:

United Nations Organization

Russian Military

Takistan:
United States Involvement (ArmAII):

Other:

 

I realize this is practically a wikipedia page all about Chernarus right here, and it has the potential if we, as a community, put it together.

 

Basically, I want you guys to create stories, history, lore, anything about any of the topics listed above. Together we can form more background information into the world we play in so that we can have more facts and strong footholds in any future suggestions regarding the map. Of course, this map is constantly changing and coming out with a new town practically every update, so we'll have something to do that's actually constructive until the game releases.

 

Thanks for reading and I hope to see many new things to add to this post!

 

 

 

 

[Chaingunfighter 917]

We need keep in mind that everything that happened in ArmA 2 is canon in the DayZ storyline, so it has to remain consistent with it, even if some of the "official" details are not elaborated on.

 

While I'm not sure whether it would be classified as a town or just a landmark, the battle-torn and completely destroyed village of Kumyrna is where I'd like to start.

 

 

Kumyrna - ("Chinese Temple")

 

While the village of Kumyrna was officially founded in the 1960s (believed to be between 1963-1964, although no official documents are known to exist), evidence of human occupation in the region through archaeological digs has found relics of early human tools in the woods just 1.5km south of the village, some dating back over 50,000 years (For reference, the South Zagorian plateau, where Chernarus+ is set, was found to have been inhabited by early Neanderthals around 200,000 years ago).

 

For most of its history, the lands that Kumyrna sits on were unoccupied, occasionally used for hunting or woodcutting. One of the oldest buildings nearby, a small log farmhouse which sits on the road west of the town, was originally constructed in 1892, as per the testimonies of the current owners. Said building was eventually expanded into a more modern Slavic design, with little of the original site remaining, but the building was one of few spared destruction after the entire town was burned down (more on that later).

 

Eventually, in the early 1930s, a small Eastern Orthodox church was built, and the provisional government, who were under the control of the Soviets, built the road that runs through the town. As time went on, many houses began to spring up around the church, most of which were made of brick, a rare occurrence in South Zagoria at the time. What really set Kumyrna apart from the other villages was the fact that many of the inhabitants were ethnic Chinese and Korean, and said people continued to hold onto their traditional beliefs. Despite the religious and ethnic cleansing going on throughout the USSR at the time, the villagers built a small Confucian temple, completely out of imported Beech wood, and due to the village's remoteness, the temple remained for over 70 years.

 

In the 1960s, the village garnered it's official name, "Kumyrna", which translates as "Chinese Temple" in Eastern Slavic literature. Later, in 1973, the Eastern Orthodox church in the middle of town accidentally caught fire, killing three residents. Early attempts were made to restore the church, but eventually it was decided that a restoration would be too costly, and the religious assembly in control moved to the newly annexed island of Utes, where a brand new church was built (That would also, erroneously so, be destroyed later, in the Chernarussian Uprising)

 

While mostly insignificant after that point, the village became a centralized point in the early conflicts between the ChDKZ and Chernarussian government. In early 2009, just weeks before the oncoming USMC intervention, a firefight between ChDKZ insurgents who occupied the now desolate and crumbling church, and a platoon of CDF Mechanized Infantry broke out, resulting in heavy damage to the town and the church. Because the CDF were ordered not to utilize explosive weapons in their assault (due to civilian proximity), including the main guns on their BMP-2 IFVs, the insurgents inflicted heavy casualties on the CDF, and were able to drive off the CDF troops until they returned, now reinforced with an Air Corps division and a group of locally volunteered militia. The ChDKZ, in order to buy themselves some time, are believed to have set fire to many buildings in the town, including the Confucian temple, completely destroying the temple and heavily damaging all other buildings, resulting in the deaths of a quarter of the town's population. However, the ChDKZ blamed the fires on the CDF, claiming that they "fired tank shells directly into people's houses" in order to fight.

 

With the ChDKZ insurgents mobilizing across the entire countryside, the remaining populace was displaced to other nearby villages, mainly Guglovo and Novy Sobor, never to return. The town gradually fell into disrepair, although some relics of the once unique village still stand, fighting off time. To this day, the remnants still exist, a constant reminder to the horrors of the old world, however unequal they may be to the new ones.

 

Some time after the infection consumed Chernarus, a CDF Air Corps Mi-8 helicopter crash landed on the outskirts of the village. While the helicopter is riddled with bullet holes, it is believed that the helicopter suffered an unrelated rotor malfunction and crashed (although it did undoubtedly come under fire in flight, most of the bullets were likely fired post-crash). What happened to the crew is unknown, as no evidence of their demise was left behind.

Edited August 8, 2014 by Chaingunfighter

[Mullraugh 1151]

Revive!