Chernarus

In-universe content

This page contains information about content created by Bohemia Interactive that is playable in other BI titles. Playable locations featured on this article are part of the overall Arma universe, and are referenced throughout DayZ.

This page contains information about a map created by Bohemia Interactive that is playable in previous BI titles.
Playable locations featured on this article are part of the overall Arma universe, and are referenced throughout DayZ.

Note: this page covers the Standalone version of DayZ; for information on the Mod, see Mod:Chernarus.

Černarus
Чернарусь
"Black Rus"[1]
Flag of Chernarus
General
National Anthem
Capital	Novigrad
Official Languages	Chernarussian (Czech), Russian
President	Unknown
Area	About 5450 km²
Population	Pre-Outbreak: 3,000,000 Chernarussians 800,000 Russians Post-Outbreak: Unknown

The Republic of Chernarus, or simply Chernarus, is a fictional former-Soviet Republic country in DayZ Standalone, based on the popular Chernarus map from another Bohemia title: ARMA II.

Chernarus was established as a typical republic-style nation after it gained independence, with its formation following the dissolution of the Soviet Union (USSR) in 1991. Chernarus's landscape consists of mostly rural areas, with few larger cities. The capital of Chernarus is Novigrad, located in the south-western region of the country. Players cannot travel to Novigrad, but physical maps scattered around the world display the entire country, showing the capital city in the bottom left-hand corner. Players currently playing in the most northeastern province called South Zagoria. At present, South Zagoria is infested with mindless Infected, as well as Survivors who have to endure a lack of available food and constant threats of the infected and other Survivors. The map of this province in DayZ Standalone is referred to as Chernarus+. Chernarus also shares its similar sounding name to the real-life country of Belarus, a possible influence on the developer's part, as Belarus was a post-soviet state bordered next to Russia.

History

The first settlements in the area date back to the 5th Century B.C. when the valleys of the Burnaja and Svetlaya rivers were inhabited by Skyth tribes and nomads, who later formed the Takmyr and Karzeg nations. The center of modern Chernarus had been founded in the delta of the Burnaya River and on the coast, divided from the Zagorie region which was under the supremacy of a Moscow Principate by the Black Mountains ridge.

The local Slavic population constantly had to fight off the raiders from the southwest so it was traditionally bound with Russia, but always kept its independence. In the 12th Century, it was controlled by dukes; in the 13th century, it was united by Taras Kozub. The Kozub dynasty ruled until 1631, when Chernarus joined the Russian Empire. Chernarus became the Soviet Socialist Republic in 1922 after the end of the Russian revolution of 1917. After the demise of the Soviet Union (USSR) in 1991, Chernarus gained its independence.

Following this, Chernarus was established as a Republic and its army -- the Chernarussian Defence Forces -- took possession of former Soviet military installations and stockpiles. In 2009, it suffered from a civil war that left the country in turmoil, forcing it to seek help from Allied Nations and U.S forces.

The civil war was primarily caused by the Chernarussian Movement of the Red Star (ChDKZ), a communist-socialist faction that had their presence in the northeastern Oblast called South Zagoria. The communist-socialist faction was also known as the "Chedaki", an abbreviation of the full name. They committed several war crimes and attempted to cover them up, with their goal being to create a socialist state within Chernarus just like during the Soviet period of Chernarus's history. Feelings of nostalgia for the Soviet Union and its superpower status under socialism led to their creation and agenda and small gained support among older generations who lived most of their life in the Soviet Union. It was not until a staged bombing in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, that led to the Chedaki's annexation of various regions of Chernarus. After the movement spread across almost all of South Zagoria and several other contested territory of Chernarus, they took the island of Utes and kicked out the CDF forces stationed there, which was only later to be liberated by the United States Marine Corps.

The Russian Federation became involved after the ChDKZ staged the bombing in Russia, killing dozens. The Russian government was fooled into thinking it was the nationalist guerrilla faction known as the National Party (NAPA) that conducted the bombing which had links to the Chernarussian government, thus leading to the presence of Russian troops in the very north of South Zagoria. They gave excessive amounts of weapons to the ChDKZ which was already against the Chernarussian government, in turn causing the civil war of 2009 where the whole region of South Zagoria collapsed into chaos and death. The AN and the US were sent into the southern parts of the oblast, securing coastal cities from the ChDKZ like Chernogorsk to liberate cities and secure any further conflict between the nations. It was only to be revealed in one of the endings of the ArmA II campaign, that a rogue government official in the Russian government sent money and support to the ChDKZ to deface and frame NAPA as the sole perpetrator of the terrorist attack in Russia, and sought to bring war between Russia and Chernarus.

Outbreak

Not much is known about the Infected outbreak in Chernarus, but sometime after the civil war of 2009, the inhabitants of the country became infected, likely with a disease or a similar biological affliction. It can be assumed the infection began sometime between late 2012 and late 2013 however, or was at least occurring during that time due to the presence of the FNX-45 in the loot tables in-game.

In many places around Chernarus, garbage bags marked as "toxic waste" can be found, indicating some clean-up attempt was potentially made during the beginning of the outbreak.

• 

  Toxic Waste

At the same time, military troops of the Chernarus Defense Force, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and the Allied Nations were clearly in Chernarus. If the reason for this was the outbreak or the prior/coincidental civil war, it is not known. Regardless, the combined forces could not stop the hordes of infected and were slowly overrun even with heavy weapons like tanks, which were destroyed or abandoned. The military tried to contain the outbreak and organized the systematic disposal of corpses (as can be seen at Kamensk Military Base).

• 

  Remains of a Military Convoy

• 

  Remains of a Military Convoy

Post-Outbreak

After the outbreak, the local military and civilian defenses were overwhelmed and disintegrated. All inhabitants either fled the country, were turned into Infected, or roam the desolated area as Survivors. The lawlessness led to a rise in banditry and an overall lack of equipment and available food.

Geography

Sign on a local police station referring to the Zagoria Oblast in the top right corner. Russian: (Загорской Области)

Chernarus is located somewhere in the Caucasus Mountains, with the Green Sea on its eastern and southern borders. It consists of rough terrain and even a few islands. It has a rugged yet verdant environment of rolling hills, covered by dense forests and deep valleys, hidden in forested ridges or on elevated plateaus with lush meadows. Its valleys conceal quaint rural villages connected by barely perceptible dirt tracks, while its coastlines support sprawling industrial cities with wide highways and rail networks.

This area has the typical climate of an Eastern European country. It has fairly diverse vegetation with multiple useful plants, and its wildlife consists of former domesticated species and different wild animals. For a detailed description of the different landmarks see the Landscape article.

The larger country is divided into three oblasts: North Trikani Oblast, South Zagoria Oblast, and Central Kopec Oblast. Oblasts are similar to provinces and are commonly used in post-Soviet countries such as Russia or Ukraine.

Politics and Economy

Chernarus previously produced multiple natural resources such as wood and different mined materials, which can be seen among the various factories -- especially the lumber mill in Berezino or the quarry in Solnichniy.

Infrastructure

The country has a developed network of roads and streets, but only a few are asphalt or even two-lane streets. Most rivers are regulated by different dams.

South Zagoria has only one power plant, located in the post soviet industrial city Elektrozavodsk. Multiple power lines stretch out from it all over the oblast. The country also had its own fire and police services.

Towns and Cities

There are five major coastal towns:

• Berezino
• Chernogorsk
• Elektrozavodsk
• Solnichniy
• Svetlojarsk

Major towns off the coast include:

• Krasnostav
• Novodmitrovsk‎
• Novaya Petrovka
• Severograd
• Stary Sobor
• Zelenogorsk

There are also many smaller towns, villages, hamlets, etc. Scattered around Chernarus, you can also find a plethora of man-made landmarks, including multiple historic castles that can be visited.

Police and Military

Before the outbreak, Chernarus had a strong presence of police and military. There were multiple bases in Chernarus, but with the Infected outbreak, even more temporary camps were established.

For a full list of such places, see these articles:

• Military Bases
• Military Camps
• Airfields

Other Civilian Groups

• Chernarus Fire Department

Culture

Language

The day-to-day language of Chernarus is a mix of Russian and Chernarussian, with the latter being fictional but identical to the Czech language, and simply renamed as "Chernarussian". Chernarus was based on both Russia and the Czech Republic during development. The idea of Chernarus being a Slavic country closely bound to Russia is similar to real-world counterparts, where Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia are historically similar in both language and Slavic culture. Additionally, Chernarus is also based on the development team's home country, the Czech Republic. Throughout Chernarus you can see vending machines and signs written in Chernarussian (Czech), alongside Russian ones. The lingua franca of the Northern Province in Chernarus is Russian, thus making the northern province of South Zagoria (the current map of DayZ) close to the border of Russia a rare region to find signs in native Chernarussian (Czech).

Chernarussian is also written in the Latin script, making it easy to distinguish the Cyrillic Russian from the Latin Chernarussian language. Because of the rarity and prominent absence of the Chernarussian language, it is easily assumed that DayZ takes place in Russia whilst it doesn't. In the School buildings found around the map, the primary language used in schools throughout the entire country is Chernarussian, as evident on posters and information boards. Russian is also used as a second language, based off of posters with the entire Russian alphabet.

Religion

The most prominent religion in Chernarus is the Eastern Orthodox Church, as identified by the multiple churches found throughout the map, just as in any typical Eastern European Slavic countries. Orthodox churches can be found in all different sizes, and in every city. The other appearance of Chernarus in ARMA II features priest civilians dressed in Orthodox clothing.

Architecture

Chernarus has well-preserved cities and towns using primarily traditional architecture, which makes it unique. Just like the Czech Republic, Chernarus has more traditional styled buildings than modern, many of which are based on real-life counterparts in the Czech republic. Neo-Classical architecture can be found in many cities, with row houses being a prime example. Stalinist architecture is also another form of architecture that can be seen in Chernarus, however uncommonly. The only example of Stalinist architecture is the municipal City Hall building in Novodmitrovsk, one of the tallest buildings in the game. It is also rare to find any trace of modern architecture other than from the Soviet era. During the Soviet era of Chernarus, many apartment blocks, schools, and stores were built in Brutalist and Socialist Realist architecture styles, Brutalism finds its origins from Western Europe, and was widely used in the USSR during the early 1960s after the severe housing crisis from World War 2.

Map

In DayZ Standalone, the game map known as Chernarus is expanded and hugely overhauled compared to the DayZ Mod. More objects, enhanced models, textures, etc. are used in a more detailed manner. Some assets from ArmA II are still present and might always be, but are slowly being either replaced or enhanced.

A rendered image of the real-life topographic Chernarus Tourist Map, the second edition to be produced thus far (2019). Map scale ratio is 1:25000

To differentiate the maps, the current version in Standalone is referred to as Chernarus+, instead of just "Chernarus".

Outside of South Zagoria

As mentioned above, the Chernarus where DayZ Standalone takes place is only one part of a much larger country, with the playable area being known as South Zagoria. There are other territories beyond what we can see, and indeed other countries outside Chernarus with whom it shares a border.

Other Places in Chernarus

A sign at Bay Tikhaya acknowledging other cities beyond the map's confines.

• Belozersk
• Kirovograd
• Miroslavl
• Novigrad
• Primorsk
• Utes

Bordering Nations

• Russia
• Takistan

Body of Water

• Green Sea

Trivia

• The Chernarussian landscape is based heavily on the Czech Republic, the home country of developer Bohemia Interactive. The geography, roads, and major landmarks of Chernarus are modeled after the municipality of Povrly and its surrounding areas. Elektrozavodsk is modeled after Povrly, Solnichniy after Dobkovice, Berezino after Malšovice, and so forth.
• The Republic of Chernarus is majored by the patriotic political party.

Related Games

• ARMA: Armed Assault
• ARMA II (Operation Arrowhead)
• DayZ Mod
• ARMA III
• DayZ

See Also

• Map
• Landscape
• Towns and Cities
• Vegetation
• Wildlife
• Livonia

References

• ^ Fictional History of Chernarus This was the setting for both ArmA II and DayZ design. Assuming that DayZ takes place in a branching timeline after the events of ArmA II.
• ^ Building Chernarus: Where DayZ's World Came From.