MG_Dukov

Maragana Girl

Postscript 3 - Notes on the life and goals of Vladim Dukov

Vladim Dukov's Sentence
Spokesman Dukov's knowledge of foreigners and the trial of Kimberly Lee
ï¿½Vladim the Extortionistï¿½
Mega-Town Associates & the failed coup
Dukov as Danubia's Prime Minister

Vladim Dukov as a political leader

US foreign policy analysts, journalists, and political commentators usually described Prime Minister Vladim Dukov as a cerebral and complex political figure, a leader whose motives for doing things were not always clear. He did not operate from any recognizable ideology, nor was he interested in any material gain from his position apart from taking his normal salary as Prime Minister. He seemed full of contradictions: a reformer leading a conservative party, a former revolutionary and defense attorney who drew his support from his country's oldest and most traditional institutions, a quiet man who was a ruthless negotiator.

The truth was that Dukov's ideology and goals for his country were extremely simple. Danubia's Prime Minister was fixated on the long-term survival of his country's society and the well-being of his constituents. He did not seek "greatness" for Upper Danubia, but rather the more realistic hope that it could be a decent place for its people to live and work. His policies pursued a sustainable society, one that could renew its resources and maintain a pleasant life for its people over a long period of time. He felt that preserving the values of his country was the reason the Creator had placed him in his position as the Danubian leader. He felt obligated to please the Creator by pursuing policies that would safeguard Danubian society.

The Prime Minister knew it was inevitable that modern life would force the destruction of much of his country's culture and traditions. "The Path of his Life" was to preserve as much as possible, to minimize the damage by having his nation adapt to an increasingly hostile and invasive world. The government would have to make sacrifices, in the same way King Vladik had to cede half of the Danubian Kingdom without a fight to save the other half. Dukov and his ministers looked at their nationï¿½s situation in the same way a homeowner facing the loss of a house would approach deciding what could be saved and what would have to be abandoned.

At the beginning of his time in office, other world leaders tended to underestimate Dukov. He rose to power not because he really wanted to, but because the "Old Guard" of the conservative party understood that he was the most competent person available to handle the job of leading the government. He became the leader of a small and very unsophisticated country. He had no prior experience as an elected official, nothing in his resumï¿½ apart from 20 years working as a criminal defense attorney. However, precisely because of his professional background Dukov had a very broad understanding of politics and human nature. Throughout his life he was in constant contact with people from the entire social spectrum of his society, ranging from criminals and police officers to judges and provincial politicians. Of all the people who could have been selected as a candidate for Prime Minister, Dukov probably had more practical experience working with others and a deeper understanding of his fellow Danubians than anyone else. He was well-versed in the country's legal system, knew its history, and was accustomed to arguing and negotiating with judges and prosecutors in court on a daily basis. As anyone who challenged him soon learned, his past, his ability to form an opinion and defend it, and his broad knowledge of life in general made him a formidable opponent.

While in office Dukov always spoke the truth as he saw it, and expected everyone around him to speak the truth as well. He did not like to be surrounded by people who agreed with him just to please him, but instead by people who were experienced in their duties and could clearly express their opinions on policy matters. He was especially adamant that any bad news be reported to him immediately, so he could deal with problems right away. Everyone in Dukov's government liked him as a person, because he never raised his voice to a subordinate, not even to lower-level staff members. He expected to be saluted and spoken to with respect at all times, but also he was respectful to public employees, always calling them by their title before using their name. As for his personal popularity, the only concern he had was whether he and his cabinet were popular enough to do their job competently.

While in office Dukov never forgot where he came from, and continued to live a rather ordinary personal life. He drew his paycheck and lived off that income, but never sought to use his position for any financial gain apart from his regular salary and anticipated retirement. He lived in the Prime Minister's residence out of convenience, but planned to go back to his own house as soon as he left office. In Vladim Dukov's life there was very little pomp and ceremony, apart from what was required by national traditions. He was not a person to waste public resources on himself, and was perfectly content to ride around in a normal police van if he needed to go anywhere in Danube City. He relied on ordinary officers of the National Police for protection. The Danubian Prime Minister would have been horrified at the expense and hassle associated with transporting the U.S. President and his entourage.

Vladim Dukov's sentence

Vladim and Maritza Ortskt-Dukovna grew up in the 1970ï¿½s, a period of political instability in Upper Danubia. The generation who had run the country since 1945 was retiring or dying off and at that time many young people were hoping to change the countryï¿½s society and political direction. The most important political movement challenging the established leaders was the Danubian Revolutionary Front, of which Vladim and Maritza were members.

The DRF envisioned a socialist regime and a flat rejection of foreign capitalism. The party also envisioned a social revolution and close ties to the Soviet Union, which ultimately led to its downfall. The Grand Duke finally ordered the Danubian Secret Police to dissolve the DRF and arrest its leaders in 1973, using its ties to the Soviet Union to justify his actions. All DRF members who had traveled to the Soviet Union were detained and faced charges of insurrection.

In 1973, Vladim Dukov and Maritza Ortskt, both of whom were DRF youth organizers and had Soviet visa stamps in the passports, received five-year sentences and were subjected to judicial switchings every four months. Life soon became even harder for the couple because Maritzaï¿½s parents blamed Vladim for getting her in trouble. Because they were not yet married, her parents denied him permission to sit at their table. To ensure she was not able to see him, Maritza's parents moved her to Rika Chorna and requested that her custody be transferred to a Spokesman in that city.

Maritza and Vladim did not see each other for three years. However, they corresponded by letters that were passed through their respective local Priests. Danubian protocol permitted such correspondence. Even if her parents objected, she was permitted to exchange letters with Vladim via the Church, as long as both Priests approved of the lettersï¿½ contents.

Vladimï¿½s sufferings as a convicted criminal, his constant contact with his Priest, his isolation from Maritza, and his eventual realization that the DRF was indeed little more than a front organization for the Soviet Union, pushed him to seek out the meaning of his life and what it meant to be a Danubian. He first studied political philosophy, but then settled on law, with the goal of becoming a Spokesman for criminals like himself. Along with his legal studies, Vladim decided to complete the entire English program at the National University and left college speaking fluent English. Maritza, meanwhile, concentrated on studying Danubian history at the Provincial University of Rika Chorna. Later her knowledge of history would help her future husband form his political philosophy.

Nearly four years after she was sentenced, Maritzaï¿½s parents relented in their opposition to her relationship with Vladim. At the urging of her Priest, they requested that her Spokesman transfer her back to the Danube City collar-zone so she could see her fiancï¿½e. Finally, after not seeing Maritza for three years, Vladim returned to her fatherï¿½s table and started taking her to the Socrates Club. The couple spent the final year of their sentence completing their university degrees and preparing for their future. Only one day after his sentence ended, Apprentice Vladim Dukov was formally sworn in as a Spokesman for the Criminal. The following week Vladim and Maritza Dukov got married.

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For nearly 20 years Spokesman Vladim Dukov handled criminal cases in Danube City, holding custody over an average of about 80 clients at any given time. At first he was no different from other young Spokespersons, taking simple cases involving petty criminals. However, over time his personal interest in foreign legal systems and international events, along with his knowledge of English and his experience traveling to Moscow and Western Europe, set him apart as the Spokesman most familiar with the outside world. Soon prosecutors and judges began assigning him all of the more unusual cases, including suspected drug users, foreigners, smugglers, and bank fraud defendants. As he struggled to conduct the research needed to deal with the diverse cases of his unusual clients, his practical knowledge of the world continued to expand. Whenever the Danubian government needed to send a legal delegation abroad, Vladim always went along to translate and serve as a liaison to foreign officials. By the time Kim became his client he already had visited the United States three times, along with innumerable trips to Canada and other countries in Europe.

Maritza, as a professor and the editor of a Danubian historical journal, expanded her husbandï¿½s knowledge even more by talking to him about the countryï¿½s past. Shortly before Kim traveled to Danube City with Tiffany and Susan, Vladim helped his wife and two of her students edit and publish the recently discovered diaries of King Vladikï¿½s personal scribe. The renewed interest in King Vladikï¿½s reign profoundly affected the personal philosophy of Vladim Dukov and his over-all view of the world. By the time Kim became Dukovï¿½s client, his intellectual potential extended way beyond simply continuing his career as a Spokesman. Everyone in his life knew that. It seemed that he was the only person who didnï¿½t know it yet.

Spokesman Dukov's knowledge of foreigners and the trial of Kimberly Lee

Because of the taboo against lying in Upper Danubia, Danubian prosecutors have a hard time dealing with foreigners coming from societies where lying is not such a big deal. When Tiffany Walker and Susan Taylor flatly stated they knew nothing about Kimberly Leeï¿½s stash of marijuana, the arraignment panel believed them because its members had little experience interviewing non-Danubians. The prosecutor did have his suspicions about Tiffany and Susan, but wanted to avoid a complicated trial. Thus he decided not to challenge the arraignment panelï¿½s ruling, and authorized the release of Kimï¿½s two friends.

Because he was considered the Ministry of Justiceï¿½s only ï¿½expertï¿½ in dealing with non-Danubians, Spokesman Dukov was incensed that two out of the three foreigners arrested for the marijuana incident had not been brought to his office. Had the prosecutor allowed the Spokesman to first talk to Tiffany and Susan before expelling them from the country, he would have understood that there was no way Kimï¿½s friends could not have known about her stash of marijuana. He would have frightened all three young women into telling the truth by explaining the consequences of committing perjury during trial in Upper Danubia. Then he would have added:

ï¿½I will not lie in court on your behalf, and I will not allow you to dishonor yourselves or each other by lying. You will confront what you have done with honor, you will tell the truth with honor, and you will face the consequences of your actions with honor. I will only help you if you understand that you are not to dishonor yourselves with deceit.ï¿½

From that point Dukov would have gone to trial recommending the three Americans be sentenced for possession but requested that all other charges be dropped. The possession charge would have resulted in five-year sentences for all three culprits, but Dukov would have argued for leniency by asking the court for a reduction. Had Kim and her friends been convicted together, it is likely Dukov would have managed to reduce their time wearing the criminalï¿½s collar to four years instead of five. More importantly, he would have tried to negotiate fewer switchings, knowing that, for a foreigner, a switching was a truly horrific event. Dukov, like most Spokespersons, was more concerned about limiting the total number of corporal punishments than the length of his clientsï¿½ sentences, and he would have exchanged a longer sentence for fewer switchings.

When the American Kimberly Lee was placed on trial by herself, Spokesman Vladim Dukov revealed that Tiffany and Susan had lied and betrayed their companion to escape the country. Their behavior totally shocked the entire court and elicited immediate sympathy for the young drug addict who was so shamefully treated by her loathsome companions. Only Vladim Dukov understood that Tiffany and Susanï¿½s actions were fairly common for non-Danubians, and that foreigners are not always truthful when they speak. During the trial he did not belabor that point, because he felt sorry for Kim and was determined to use the courtroom's shocked reaction to her friends' behavior to get her a light sentence.

ï¿½Vladim the Extortionistï¿½

Prime Minister Vladim Dukov transformed the Party of the Duchy from an aristocratic party to a nationalist party during and after the campaign that brought him to power. Upon entering the Danubian Parliament he discovered the deputies of the Greater Danubian Progressive Party had negotiated several secret deals with other governments and multi-national companies that were not mentioned during the campaign. One of those deals was to build a major trucking route across the eastern part of Upper Danubia that would pass through Rika Chorna and exit through a pass along the mountainous northern border. The EU considered the route an important north-south trade link between its member nations. The logging project in eastern Upper Danubia would provide the money to build the highway.

Upon finding out about the project Dukov responded to its foreign backers: ï¿½You need this highway, we donï¿½t. Iï¿½m not spending the Duchyï¿½s money on something we donï¿½t need.ï¿½ Other European leaders warned Dukov not to cancel the road building project or Upper Danubiaï¿½s membership in the EU would be jeopardized. Dukov responded by formally withdrawing Upper Danubiaï¿½s request to join the EU.

Upper Danubiaï¿½s neighbors needed the road more than Upper Danubia needed the EU. When it became apparent that Dukovï¿½s withdrawal was serious and not just a bargaining tactic, neighboring governments began offering concessions to Upper Danubia to bring Dukov back to the negotiating table. Dukov still was not convinced his country needed or would benefit from a large road, but over time was willing to listen to proposals.

In the end Dukov did finally approve the road. It had to be built completely with foreign money, but using only Danubian workers and subject to Danubian labor and safety standards. Upper Danubia could charge tolls and keep half the toll money. All trucks were subject to Danubian inspections and customs laws. Finally, only Danubians could own businesses near the entry and exit points of the road. In the end, a road that would have cost Upper Danubia its forest reserves instead was built at no expense to the country at all, but with huge benefits to the eastern provinces.

Dukovï¿½s second act of "extortion" came once the upgrade to the Rika Chorna Reservoir was finished. The countryï¿½s hydro-electric capacity increased three-fold, just in time for a major rise in world-wide oil prices. Dukov sold electricity to neighboring countries at an exorbitant rate, fattening the coffers of Danube City at the expense of other nations. When confronted by reporters at a press conference about the electricity charges Dukov responded:

ï¿½You chose the path of buying cars and buying the gas to fill them. We chose the path of electricity and living in harmony with our resources. Now, because of the path you have chosen, the Ancients have given us your money.ï¿½

Mega-Town Associates & the failed coup (from ECï¿½s novel - The Freshman)

Mega-Town Associates is by far the largest corporation operating in the US. The company started out as a discount retailer, taking over nearly 60% of the US retail market with its Mega-Mart discount stores by 1985. During the late 1980ï¿½s, Mega-Town expanded its operations to selling gas and took over several oil companies. From importing and selling oil, the company expanded into running chemical plants. Mega-Town bought several banks to finance its other activities, which by 1995 included advertising. With its advertising revenue, Mega-Town Associates bought two national television networks and a controlling interest in the largest chain of US radio stations. By the early 21st Century, Mega-Town Associates was actively trying to take direct control of the worldï¿½s remaining natural resources.

The CEOï¿½s of Mega-Town Associates had a very clear agenda, one which they openly pursued through their corporate expansion. The companyï¿½s CEOï¿½s hoped to obtain a controlling interest in every important economic activity in the world, and through its control of the world economy seek to control the worldï¿½s political leaders. The idea was not only to take over political institutions, but to launch a massive campaign to reshape human society and values around the needs of global corporate capitalism. By the time Vladim Dukov rose to power in Upper Danubia, Mega-Town Associates enforced its world-wide agenda with a 15,000 member private army. The private army boasted military helicopters, missiles, combat vehicles, and a large assortment of small arms.

Seizing Upper Danubiaï¿½s forest reserves was only a small part of a much bigger project to control global wood production. At issue in Upper Danubia was not only the forest, but also a controlling interest in a proposed land link between the northern and southern parts of Eastern Europe. To control Upper Danubia would allow Mega-Town to control all north-south commerce in that part of the world. It was the fight over Danubian natural resources that brought the companyï¿½s ambitions in conflict with the nationalist government of Vladim Dukov. The companyï¿½s CEOï¿½s felt entitled to take what they wanted from the region, and were indignant that someone like Dukov could so seriously complicate their plans.

The CEOï¿½s who organized the take-over of Upper Danubia were a small group operating independently of the main corporate structure. To everyone on the outside, it seemed that they running a rogue operation, but that was not really true. Mega-Town as a group always disassociated itself from any particular coup plot. There was an informal agreement among Mega-Town CEOï¿½s that any failed plot would be blamed on its organizers and the company as a whole would be shielded from liability. Prior to the Upper Danubian project, there had been a couple of failed coup attempts in other parts of the world, along with many successful ones. In the cases of failure, the organizers ï¿½ownedï¿½ any fallout, but the company as a whole always moved forward.

The plan to take over Upper Danubia followed a blueprint that had allowed Mega-Town to take over the governments of four African countries, three Latin American countries, and a few others in Asia and Oceania. The only detail that set the Danubia project apart from previous operations was the idea of taking over two countries simultaneously; Upper Danubia and its southern neighbor. The plan included killing the political and military leaders of both countries and installing governments lead by people secretly receiving paychecks from the company. In other words, the idea was to have both countries directly run by paid employees of Mega-Town Associates. In both countries Mega-Town already had local leaders ready to take over the governments.

Had the Mega-Town plan to attack Dukovï¿½s government gone as expected, the main target of the mercenaries would have been the Danubian National Police. Two of the primary physical targets of the attackers would have been the National Police Headquarters in Danube City and the National Police Academy. The plan focused on first hitting the buildings with nerve gas and then taking them, along with the National Parliament, by 200 heavily-armed men. Police stations in the provincial capitols would have been taken simultaneously by smaller groups of assailants and their occupants killed. The plan would have killed about half of the Danubian police force outright, with the anticipation that the survivors would be too scattered to mount a successful counterattack. The mercenaries anticipated later dispatching the primitive Danubian Army with ease, because they had a squadron of Blackhawk helicopters at their disposal.

To counter the invasion, Upper Danubia had a 5,000-member regular army, 5,000 army reservists, 10,000 civil defense volunteers, and about 15,000 police officers. The numerical superiority of the Danubian forces was off-set by their lack of modern combat equipment. The Danubians had some helicopters for their military, but they were old and equipped for disaster relief, not combat. Furthermore, many of those helicopters were grounded because they had been damaged during firefighting operations two years before and were lacking repair parts. As for fighter aircraft, the country had a single squadron of British jets that were nearly 30 years old. During a surprise attack the air force would not have been able to get the planes in the air in time to defend the country. However, the advanced warning allowed the Danubian Air Force to prepare the aircraft for use, and by the night of April 20th the squadron was ready for operations.

The Mega-Town plan had one serious vulnerability, one that the Danubians and their neighbors ultimately exploited to foil it. There were only enough mercenaries to attack one country at a time, which meant that the coup participants had to cross the border into Danubian territory from their initial staging areas. That involved moving about 800 men and their equipment north on the morning of April 21. Dukovï¿½s military advisors decided to arrest the mercenaries as they entered the country, with the intent of capturing as many as possible away from major Danubian population centers. The mercenaries would be scattered and in many cases separated from their heavy weapons. Of course no one in the Mega-Town operation knew that Dukov already had learned about the plot, and thus were not really prepared to engage in large-scale combat on the 21st.

On the night of April 20th, 4,000 police offers, 3,000 soldiers, and 3,000 reservists traveled in small groups to the southern border on buses, vans, and trains dressed in civilian clothing. They were told that they were to participate in a nighttime training exercise. It was not until they were deployed that they learned their true mission; to spread out along the border and intercept small groups of foreigners crossing into the country.

The arrests began about 3:00 in the morning. In a few cases there were firefights, and in other instances mercenaries managed to flee back south. In cases of mercenaries escaping the dragnet, the Danubians radioed their positions to their southern neighbors. By 6:00 am about 500 of the 800 mercenaries had been successfully intercepted and detained, about 350 by the Danubians, and about 150 immediately south of the border by the neighboring country.

There were three pitched battles between Danubians and Mega-Town mercenaries on April 21st. The biggest skirmish took place at sunrise 40 kilometers south of Danube City. The location was a clandestine airstrip being used as a supply drop and staging area for the pending attack on the Danubian capitol. The Danubians attacked the strip with 1,000 troops and their entire air force, confronting 300 mercenaries who were guarding and off-loading weapons. The battle on the ground was a serious engagement, because the Danubians, in spite of their superior numbers, were out-gunned.

The attack began with an aerial assault on the runway to strafe and disable the aircraft. The initial shootout caused the downing of two Danubian helicopters, but also disabled all but two of the mercenaries' Blackhawks. The surviving Blackhawks managed to get airborne, but the pilots then realized they were up against the entire decrepit Danubian Air Force. There was a dogfight that resulted in the downing of one of the Blackhawks and a Danubian fighter jet. The surviving Blackhawk managed to fly over the East Danube River and escape. That escape was the mercenaries' only victory that day.

The remaining Danubian aircraft continued to strafe and bomb the enemy positions while the 1,000 soldiers, now reinforced with nearly 500 police officers and reservists, slowly fought their way towards the airstrip. The commander of the airstrip operation desperately radioed for help, not knowing that most of his associates already had been arrested. The Danubians recorded the broadcasts and later used them as evidence during the trials. Finally, when it became evident no help was coming, the airstrip command surrendered. That battle cost 52 mercenaries and 79 Danubians their lives and was the most significant engagement of the coup.

While the battle for the airstrip was going on, Danubian police officers fought to dislodge about 70 armed foreigners who had taken the railroad station and nearby governorï¿½s palace in Rika Chorna. Unlike the airstrip fight, the Rika Chorna battle was never in doubt. Hundreds of National Police Officers surrounded the two buildings and after a couple of hours the mercenaries surrendered.

Dukov did not declare a National State of Emergency until sunrise, because he did not want to alert any foreigners still trying to cross the border that their plot had been compromised. However, as soon as he declared the emergency, the National Police quickly set up roadblocks around the capitol and began fortifying all important government buildings and bridges. Within a few minutes the capitol was completely ready for combat, which fortunately never came.

By noon the military operations were largely over. Danubian police vans were transporting foreign prisoners to Danube City and the National Police had roadblocks and patrols around the country manned by groups of reservists and volunteers. The entire country now was mobilized to defend itself. With the arrests of the foreigners largely completed, the National Police began securing the numerous arms caches around Danube City and arresting Danubian collaborators.

Late in the afternoon there was a third battle, long after the rest of the country had been secured. Of all the events of that traumatic day, the third battle was the one that captured the imaginations of the Danubians. A roadblock manned by a group of farmers and two old police officers was set up in the eastern part of the country in a spot where no one expected any mercenaries to cross. They were surprised when four armored Humvees moving southward attacked their position in order to escape the country. With nothing more than hunting rifles and two police pistols the farmers held off the mercenaries until other volunteers from their village arrived to help. For nearly an hour the entire village battled the four Humvees, losing the two police officers and six of the volunteers. Finally a Danubian helicopter arrived and blew up two of the Humvees. The crews of the other two vehicles surrendered.

A small group of uneducated, terrified middle-aged farmers battling hardened mercenaries and winning gave the Danubian government and the enemies of Mega-Town Associates the image they needed to completely humiliate the company. The surviving villagers were invited to Danube City the week following the coup to meet Dukov and be formally honored. The international press picked up on the story and the soon the farmers became important symbols of global resistance to the goals of the Mega-Town CEOï¿½s.

The government decided the best place to keep the coup participants was in the basement of the heavily fortified National Police Station in Danube City. The mercenariesï¿½ weapons were stored there as well, but all ammunition for the coup was taken to the National Military Academy and later distributed to Danubian Army units.

The failed coup was a complete setback for long-term goals of Mega-Town Associates. Other coup attempts had failed, but none as spectacularly as the one against Upper Danubia and its southern neighbor. There was no way the company could keep anything secret about the coup because the Danubians had captured documents and communications equipment along with many of the prisoners. On top of the new documents were the original CDï¿½s and recordings provided earlier by Jason Schmidt that had alerted Dukov about the coup in the first place. When Jason volunteered to testify at the trials, there was nothing the company could do to refute what had happened or its role in the coup.

The documents, testimony, news coverage, and subsequent trials brought out many details about Mega-Townï¿½s plans to control the world through seizing its resources. The resulting scandal was a public relations disaster that ruined the careers of several executives and their contacts in the US State and Commerce Departments. The company was too large and influential to be destroyed by the crisis, but its CEOï¿½s did have to abandon many of their tactics and spend time and resources to rehabilitate their public image. From that point forward anything Mega-Town did was viewed with skepticism and suspicion, which forced its leaders to lie low for several years and temper their ambitions.

Even as prisoners and weapons continued to arrive at the National Police Station, Dukovï¿½s thoughts moved ahead to using the failed coup to Upper Danubiaï¿½s advantage. Privately, he was furious at the mercenaries and shared the publicï¿½s desire that they all be shot. However, he knew that the foreigners really no longer mattered now that they were detained and that executing them would be stupid.

What the Prime Minister needed to do instead was take advantage of the coup to create international sympathy for his county. He then would use that sympathy to obtain concessions in international agreements and treaties. During the weeks following the coup, Dukov's cabinet ministers quickly fanned out across Europe and approached other leaders to renegotiate several stalled treaties, demanding concessions in exchange for not executing mercenaries. With the international media sympathetic to the Danubians, Dukov pressed his advantage and obtained, among other things, much better conditions for Upper Danubia's entry into the European Union. The coup and Dukov's handling of the aftermath solidified the Prime Minister's control over his country and Upper Danubia's wider influence in Eastern Europe.

Vladim Dukov as Danubia's Prime Minister

During the first years of his government, the Prime Minister scored some huge foreign policy successes. The most significant success was to formalize and secure the nation's southern border and re-claim some small strips of territory still inhabited mostly by ethnic Danubians. The border treaty allowed the country to enter into a formal alliance with one of its neighbors for the first time in its history and ended its long-standing diplomatic isolation. Following the Mega-Town coup the Danubians pressed for international recognition and acceptance of the nation's judicial practices and social values. As revenue from electricity generation and tourism increased, Danubia built up its foreign reserves and eventually became an important regional banking center.

Living standards rapidly increased during Dukov's time in office, financed first by the road project in the east, and later by tourism, banking, and electricity. The Danubians did have to change, modernize, and become part of the world. The most significant change took place in the countryside. Agriculture became much less important and the decline of the traditional village economy became Danubia's most important social problem. Fortunately the government had the resources to fund schools and technical institutes throughout the rural areas, which reduced the need for young people to leave their homes to get education. Still, the egalitarian small farmer society of the villages began to disappear as the older farmers died off and their descendants moved on to other careers and sold their land. The farms consolidated and within a decade a way of life that had existed for 3000 years came to an end. It had to be that way, and fortunately many villages were able to transform without becoming depopulated. However, everyone, including the Prime Minister himself, lamented the loss.

The outward appearance and architecture of Danube City and Rika Chorna did not change much during Dukov's time in office. Any building constructed before 1920 was protected from demolition. However, while kept intact on the outside, most buildings were remodeled on the inside. During much of the administration the streets were torn up as new sewer and water supply projects were installed and the nation's electrical grid modernized. The construction did not cause as much chaos as it would have had the Danubians been reliant on cars. It was very easy for the bicyclists to ride around the torn-up streets and life continued as normal.

The prohibition on private cars remained in place throughout the Dukov years. By the time he left office the number of Danubian-registered vehicles had only risen slightly. There were more urban businesses that owned delivery vehicles, but that increase was off-set by the declining number of farmers eligible to own trucks to move their produce.

The Danubian policy against privately owned vehicles became a major source of conflict between the country's government and foreign interests. During the years immediately before Vladim Dukov became Prime Minister, the US and the EU were pressuring the Danubians to remove their restrictions against privately owned cars. During his negotiations with the EU Dukov's predecessor agreed to lift the ban and allow private cars to be sold in the Duchy. Dukov immediately re-imposed the ban upon entering office and refused to discuss the matter further. He cited plenty of reasons for the ban, which included pollution, traffic jams, the loss of peace and pedestrian safety in the capitol, and a loss of social equality on the streets. There were the issues of road construction, which the Danubian government could not afford, and the trade imbalance that would result from purchasing and maintaining hundreds of thousands of foreign-produced cars. There was the concern over handling and storing gasoline, as well as the issue of what to do with junked cars when their owners no longer wanted them.

To Dukov, the topic of allowing cars into his country was forbidden. If anyone brought the subject up in treaty or trade negotiations, he and his ministers got into the habit of simply standing up and leaving the room. Throughout his 18-year tenure as Prime Minister, on that issue Dukov never budged or compromised.

The Dukov government launched an aggressive public relations campaign against privately owned cars as soon as his opponents began claiming that he was denying his citizens their rights. Danubians soon became familiar with pictures of oil spills, smoggy cities, huge dirty parking lots, massive auto graveyards, and injured pedestrians as Dukov waged his personal war against cars. The campaign convinced the public that Danubia would become a huge junkyard if privately owned cars were ever allowed. Dukov's scare tactics worked, because there was never much public demand for cars during the time he was in office.

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Dukov was well-aware of some of the new threats facing his country and acted aggressively to counteract them. One issue affecting most of Eastern Europe that never really affected the Danubians was drug abuse. Being such a closed society helped the Danubians control illegal drugs, but it also helped that the government took the threat very seriously.

Dukov did not relax his country's tough anti-drug laws during his administration. Quite the contrary, he instituted mandatory drug-testing for all high school and university students, as well as for the military, tourism operators, hotel employees, and anyone returning from a trip abroad. Drug testing became a routine part of clearing Customs; no one could get a re-entry stamp in his or her passport until urine and blood samples were collected. The country was heavily indoctrinated against both drugs and drug users through television ads, school programs, and Temple sermons. The media ran aggressive anti-drug ads and branded anyone selling drugs as an Enemy of the Ancients. The government made sure that there was a huge social stigma against drug use and counted with the full support of the Danubian Church.

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Dukov stayed in office a total of 18 years. Everyone agreed that his government had been the most successful since the reign of King Vladik. A generation of Danubians had grown up not remembering the times before he became Prime Minister, so his retirement shocked many younger citizens. However, after nearly two decades in office he was ready to retire and leave running the country to his younger subordinates. When they begged him to continue, he used a medical exam stating he was susceptible to a heart attack as justification to leave his post. When he left office he left politics completely, refusing even to attend conventions of the Party of the Duchy. He stated:

"I am not a politician. I never wanted to be a politician, but that was what the Ancients called upon me to do for a period of time. That time has ended. The Ancients now have given me the chance to rest, and that is the Path of my Life. I will rest, and others must lead."

Dukov did not rest, however. He fulfilled a lifetime goal by writing a detailed history of the development of Danubian law during the 20th Century. Upon finishing that project, he helped his wife Maritza write a history about Upper Danubia during the years following the death of King Vladik in 1531. He never wrote his own political memoirs, but made himself and his personal library available to assist anyone, Danubian or foreigner, conducting a serious research project about his government.

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Among the researchers helped by Vladim Dukov was a young professor by the name of Annette Dolkiv. The young woman was the daughter of Engineer Sergekt Dolkiv and Spokeswoman Kimberly Lee-Dolkivna.

Annette was 24 years old, a few years older than her mother had been when Dukov first saw her kneeling in his office. How quickly time goes by, he thought to himself. I've always thought of Kimberly as being so young, and yet, it won't be much longer before she retires. How quickly our lives pass us by...how quickly the time comes when we must present ourselves to the Creator and hold up our mirrors...

Dukov quickly pushed that thought from his mind. He sat down with Professor Dolkiv, looked over her research, and prepared to answer her questions.

Postscript 4 - The Danubian Church and the Danubian view of religion