Skull Face, the Székelys, & Stalinism [ANALYSIS]

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Even though it's been six long years since Hideo Kojima's final triumph for the MGS series, THE PHANTOM PAIN, one character's memory haunts the fandom like a phantom: Skull Face.

In this, SKULL FACE: A SECRET HISTORY part two of three, we'll dive even further into the character's background - this time, with a special focus on the Hungarian Autonomous Region.

I tend to repeat key pieces of info a few times as we go through, which I don't normally do. The density of this intel just required it, Boss!

And if I got anything wrong, feel free to let me know in the comments! I did my best with this, it took quite a lot of research!

Read more: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Szekler
https://www.amazon.com/Stalins-Legacy...


"As a cornerstone of early Bolshevik propaganda, nationality policy allowed the revolutionary regime to cast the Soviet “experiment” as emancipatory in both ethnic and class terms. Paradoxically, much of the attention paid to the national question vanished from the party canon in 1938, for reasons that have never been fully explained."

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journa...

"The collapse of the Soviet Union and its associated Eastern European states...has prompted...the resurgence of nationalism and ethno-nationalist conflict..."
Introduction, 'Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict, & Class Struggle'


"The Declaration of the Rights of the People of Russia, proclaimed one month after the October Revolution on November 21, 1917, recognized four major principles:

equality and sovereignty of the peoples of the Russian empire;
the right of nations to self-determination;
abolition of all privileges based on nationality or religion;
freedom and cultural development for national minorities (i.e., dispersed nationalities and those living outside their historic territories).
But, after the official declaration of the principles, the Soviet government resisted the realization of these ideals."
https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/...
*NOTE**
I mispronounced this author's name! Apologies to Markus Kornprobst. Sample his "Irredentism in European Politics: Argumentation, Compromise and Norms" here:
https://books.google.com/books?id=uk2...

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"Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a third-person action-adventure game developed by Kojima Productions and published by Konami for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on September 1, 2015.

The tenth and final main installment of the Metal Gear series, Phantom Pain follows legendary mercenary Big Boss (now known by his codename "Venom Snake") as he awakens in 1984 from a nine-year coma following the destruction of his private military company "Militaires Sans Frontières". With help from his old business partner Kazuhira Miller and rival-turned-ally Revolver Ocelot, Snake must rebuild his mercenary army (now called "Diamond Dogs") while plotting revenge against the shadowy organization "Cipher," as well as its XOF paramilitary unit led by the enigmatic Skull Face.

Similar to its standalone prologue Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, Phantom Pain focuses on executing mission objectives in open world environments set in both Soviet-occupied Afghanistan and the Angola-Zaire border region of central Africa, complete with dynamic weather and day-night systems. Stealth is a major component of gameplay, but often optional thanks to Snake's arsenal of combat gear. Players can also upgrade Diamond Dogs' new "Mother Base" in a fashion similar to Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, allowing them to develop new weapons and items. In addition to its single-player campaign, the game includes two player-vs-player multiplayer modes, as well as optional microtransactions and other paid downloadable content.

The Phantom Pain is notable as the final game in the series with involvement from series creator Hideo Kojima and his Kojima Productions team. Several months before the game's release, Konami began a major restructuring of its games division, ultimately leading to Kojima Productions being treated more as a contractor rather than an internal studio. Unlike prior Metal Gear titles from the same team, Kojima Productions' logo and branding is absent from promotional materials and packaging for the final game. After leaving Konami, Kojima would go on to establish a new independent studio with the same name in 2015."
https://www.giantbomb.com/metal-gear-...