...the harsh rule of the Mongols, the Tzars and the Soviets.
***
Once the shock of the Hag's assault wears off, the mages of Russia began to organize for retaliation. Calling themselves the Bogatyri (after the mystic heroes of Medieval Russian epics), the Tradition mages organize into secretive cells and wage a guerilla war against the armies of darkness. In 1999, the last of the Hag's enslaved mages are hunted down and killed. The mystical barrier collapses and the Hag disappears (her fate being a topic of much debate among Russia willworkers). However, her monstrous followers still haunt the Russian nights and the war continues. The cowards have all fled. The foolish have all died. Those who are left are Bogatyri, and they will defend Mother Russia until their dying breath.
***
Several Traditions contribute the ranks of the Bogatyri:
The Order of the Firebird is a martial brotherhood (the Soviet era saw the first female members of the Order) that traces their roots back to the druzhina knights of Kievian Rus. Since the time of the Tzars, they have existed as a secret society within Russia's military. Many are veterans of Spetsnaz (Russian special forces) and OMON (counter-terrorist units), making them some of the most deadly of the Bogatyri.