national symbols of Poland was punishable by death. The increased power of the Soviet Union and the Republic of China meant that the League of Nations soon signed treaties with the Soviets that allowed them to annex Poland. Meanwhile, another power rose in the south since the followers of Islam created a huge empire in the Middle East. The United States was far enough to ignore European problems but supported those armies conflict with the Soviet forces. Those conflicts were relatively minor and were mostly only "border engagements", as the media called them. In 1935, however, the "Great Bolshevik War" had the Soviets attempt to take control over Western Europe. The war took place mostly on the former Polish and Ukrainian territories and lasted until 1944, when Allied forces dropped three atomic bombs on Lviv, Kyiv and Warsaw to stop the Soviet armies. Millions were killed in the explosions, and many more died of radiation poisoning. The area between the three bombed cities became known as the "Atomic Triangle". Children born there died at a young age from radiation sickness, and the few who survived were consumed by mutations. The Bolshevik War ended with the Treaties of Berlin, which were signed on Prussian territory. The Soviet Union and the League of Nations agreed to stop the bloodshed. Still, the countries taken by force in 1920 remained Soviet republics. After Stalin's death at the end of 1981, the Soviet regime in Poland eased up slightly, but the Soviets still maintained a huge garrison force there since they remembered all the Polish uprisings in Russia during the partitions of Poland. People living inside the "Atomic Triangle" became hardened nearly soulless creatures, balanced on the edge of death and became numb because of the great suffering of the whole nation. Meanwhile, the Soviets had some minor border conflicts with China, Sweden and Prussia. The status quo lasted until 1988, when Xavras Wyżryn appeared. He quickly organised a considerable guerrilla force, commanded his troops with uncommon charisma and valour and fought the Soviets on their own ground. His legend quickly spread around the world, and his victories inspired other nations to fight against the Soviets. Many local conflicts started, when Hungary, the Balkans, Czechoslovakia and Ukraine also started their own revolutions against Soviet occupants. In the south, the power of the Islamic empire increased under the command of a figure known only as Muhammad's