Danijal Varisk

Danijal Obrarezt Mila (born Danijal Obrarezt Kâtyrin), affectionately known as Danijal Varisk, was a Varisk priest, revolutionary and statesman of who ruled the Labourist Federation of Sentryzija from 1918 until his resignation in 1924. Prior to the formal foundation of Sentryzija Danijal served as the head of the Workers and Peasants Revolutionary Army and was one of the main commanders of the revolutionary side during the civil war.

Danijal was born into a modest family living in the large town of Obrazrezt, south of the imperial capital Obratograz. His family all were of Varisk descent, his mother being a second generation Obradinian-Varisk and his father a recent immigrant. Growing up Danijal spoke Varisk at home and elarned Obradinian in school, however he always retained a strong Varisk accent, hence his nickname. Danijals family had all been Orthodox Kvazists and had left the Kingdom of Varla due to the heavy restrictions placed on followers of Orthodoxy. In comparison the empire had a more lenient attitude towards followers of Orthodoxy, albeit still not an equitable one. In 1890 at the age of 17 went to study at the University of Obratograz to be a priest, fully graduating in 1896. Danijals time as a priest would prove to be shortlived as in 1906 he was conscripted by the Imperial Army to fight in the Third Kostenian War. Most priests of Oriental Kvazism, the state religion of the empire, were exempt from conscription. However, Orthodox priests were not granted the same privelage as the church was not viewed as legitemate by the state. Returning from the war, Danijal was very much a changed man. He had developed a strong dislike for the empire and had begin to associate with the political wing of Orthodoxy, the Kâtyrin movement. In 1910 Danijal took part in a dispute in his parish, Obrava. The confrontation revolved around an attempt by debt collectors of the regions lord to confiscate the property of a recently widowed woman in the village. The confrontation culminated in the villagers murdering the debt collectors and amassing a mob from the surrounding villages, and marching on the nearby capital city Obratograz. This was the first event in what would later be known as the Obradinian Revolution. Following the march on and subsequent capture of Obratograz, Kâtyrin united with the Labourists headed by Olik Perángraz Cája. What followed the successful rising was 8 years of brutal civil war. The civil war came to a close in 1918 and that same month the Labourist Federation of Sentryzija was established.

Danijal oversaw sweeping and often controversial reforms to the country, transforming it from a capitalist monarchy into a federal republic with a planned economy. Under his government ownership of farmlands was transferred from landlords to the peasants, railways, factories and mines were nationalised and many social freedoms were granted such as freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and to an extent freedom of religion. One of his most controversial policies, even amongst his own supporters, was the decolonisation of Slova. As part of the decolonisation settlers were forced from their farmsteads, culminating in a grain shortage and subsequent famine lasting from 1920 to 1925. The famine was the deadliest in Obradinian history and led to the deaths of around 8 million people in the country. At the second Labourist Party congress Varisk resigned in shame, despite continuing to hold the support of most party members. Varisk died that same year on the 16th of October of tuberculosis.

In modern times Varisk is well remembered and has a strong legacy. A cult of personality around him, mostly fostered under his successor Vyðrin Mykraz Joko, remains all pervasive in the country. Almost every Sentryzijan government since Vyðrin's ascendance to power has described itself as Variskist. All of the countries major political parties and movements also describe themselves as Variskists. The Variskist movement itself is illdefined, and represents an identity rather than a solid political ideology or platform.

= Early life =

Studies and priesthood
= Third Kostenian War and post-war years =

Return to parish life
= Revolution, civil war and Fourth Kostenian War =

Treaty of Satz
= Leadership of Sentryzija =

Resignation
= Post-leadership, Later life and death =

Death
= Political and religious beliefs =

Political ideology
The political ideology of Danijal is often described as Variskism, however, in the present day Variskism as a term has become somewhat of a buzzword, with indivduals from across the political spectrum describing their beliefs as Variskist, willingly or not. Danijals politics focussed primarily around agrarianism, labourism, democracy, federaism and most importantly, his Kvazist faith, from which many of his other beleifs were supposedly derived.

Agrarianism and land reform
Land reform became a major isssue in the Obradinian Empire in 1961 following the creation of Kâtyrin movement, an agrarian socialist peasants movement focussed on land reform but also religious freedom. The movement was heavily influenced by Orthodox Kvazist social teaching, and as such commanded a large amount of influence over Orthodox Kvazist peasants. Growing up in an Orthodox Kvazist peasants family in Obradina, Danijal was heavily influenced by Orthodox social teaching but also by the movement itself. His father attended meetings of the movement at the village hall, as did his mother occasionally. One of the first political witnessed by Danijal was the proclomation of an edict by the local lord, Hanovak Lensij Talamrin, to ban the movement and its meetings. Despite the ban, meetings continued. The poor treatment of peasants by landlords and the suppression of the land reform movement cemented the belief that reform was necessary in Danijals mind. During the civil war seizures of the land they worked by the peasantry was common, and following the establishment of the Federation Danijal made an edict officialising the transfer of land from landlord to peasant.

In 1920 his land reform would take on a new form, decolonisation. The region of Slova, located in the south of the country, had since the 1730s been subject to a slow but steady inflow of settlers from Obradina. The settlers primarily were Orthdodox peasants adhereing to the idea of Dravalkvaze, or the Will of Kvaz, a concept in some sects of Kvazism that Sorillians are destined, and have a God given right, to settle and live in the geographic region of Sentryzija. Although largely independent, they began to be supported by the government. The settlement resulted in the Slovan wars, a series of 4 conflicts between the native Slovans and the Obradinian settlers. By the time of the revolution, a large portion of north west and central Slova had been either settled by Obradinians or had come under the ownership of Obradinian landlords. Initially Danijal was a support of Dravalkvaze, however following collaboration with Reformed Kvazists and the Secular Labourists he would abandon his view in favour of a newly formulated position, Pan-Kvazism. Following the civil war, his rise to power and the completion of his immediate goals, Danijal turned himself to the so-called Slovan question. Danijals support of decolonisation was very popular amongst the Labourists and garnered favour toeards him amongst their ranks, however it isolated and angered many of his traditional supporters within the Kâtyrin movement. The policy resulted around returning stolen land to the natuve Slovan population, however, the plan contained a major flaw which Danijal supposedly ignored. Slova was the bread basket of the empire and the fact the region was barely touched by the civil war meant that the farms of the region continued to be optional, while farms in the south and the north lay decimated or had their workers recruited and the farms left untended to. This meant that the country had become even more reliant on Slovan grain. The assumption Danijal made was that if the farms were given to the Slovans, they would continue to run them. However, the natives had no clue how to run Obradinian farms, nor any interest, and continued to practice their traditional pastoralist lifestyle. Production of grain in the country soon collapsed, and famine beset most of Obradina, West Kostenia and parts of Siliksiya. Grain production was hastily increased however, by the end of the famine in 1924 8 million people had died and the countries international legitimacy had been decimated.

Secularism
= Legacy =

Internationally
= See also =