2022 Sartish coup d'état attempt

The attempted coup d'état of February 2022 (: 2022 sacelšanās, : Революция 2022-го) was a revolt against the Sartish Republican Party government of Danis Laiviņš, which was suspected of pro-Yarova tendencies.

The was headed by Gijs Šteins, and broke out on 18 February 2022, but failed to establish itself beyond Ruchava and in most of Sartland. Most significantly, Laiviņš was assassinated on 21 February and the Sartish parliament was subsequently stormed, during which four parliamentarians and seven members of staff lost their lives. The government quickly reacted, and loyal forces under the leadership of Uldriķis Tiltiņš put the revolt down by 28 February, when Šteins himself was forced to flee Sartland. A military intervention by Yarova also bolstered the government forces' strength in quelling the coup.

In the coup's aftermath, a military tribunal was set up, which purged the Armed Forces of officers with socialist sympathies, and ordered the execution of two prominent rebel generals, Gusts Mednis and Antars Balodis on 4 March. Šteins likewise was condemned to death in absentia. Šteins had previously been sentenced to by the Yarovan Military Tribunal in the aftermath of the Boreal War but was formally exonerated on 5 February 2022, along with a number of other senior military figures who fought under  Džiugas Svidrauskas. The granting of his amnesty by the Laiviņš Administration, with the support of Shchyokhov, resulted in an initially peaceful demonstration by the Unionist Solidarity March in Ruchava on 18 February that quickly turned violent after clashing with socialist separatists. This demonstration numbered some 1,000 protestors who called for the reimprisonment of Šteins and his comrades and was met with an estimated 4,000 counter-protestors who opposed a Yarovan presence in Sartland.

In the political sphere, President Tanas Gruzdev met with acting president Dominiks Blekte on 1 March in Shchyokhov to organise the facilitation of a referendum on the unification of the Republic of Sartland with the United Federated Districts in a new state known as the Union of Eastern Artemia.

Causes
The coup attempt was a direct result of the Boreal War, the dissolution of the United Republics of Aukalnia and Sartland and the establishment of the Republic of Sartland, widely regarded as being a of the United Federated Districts of Yarova. The 2020 Sartland general election, which saw the victory of Danis Laiviņš and the Sartish Republic Party, received strong backlash from the international community and earned the recognition of only Yarova, Lestykhol, Rovsnoska, Helinika and Zaporizhia. In addition, Aukalnia and South Kryzhelovschina recognised the election result but both states are also regarded as. Owing to the controversy surrounding the election, it is argued that a sizeable proportion of the eligible Sartish population boycotted the election and contested its legitimacy. A Sartish resistance to Laiviņš's presidency was exhibited on numerous occasions through the course of 2020 and 2021, but media coverage was limited and law enforcement was quick to respond. Human rights organisations based in the West estimated that more than 450 people were imprisoned during this time for dissent against the government.

On 5 February 2022, against the background of the Pischalnikov committee's report on the foundation of a unified Eastern Artemian state comprising of Sartland, Aukalnia, Yarova and Zaporizhia, Laiviņš decided to exonerate eighteen senior figures who served under Džiugas Svidrauskas in the Boreal War. Laiviņš described this move as a "means for unity and reconciliation". Shchyokhov reportedly backed the amnesty ruling, despite it overturning an extensive line of sentencing during the Yarovan Military Tribunal. Yarovan Minister for National Security and Defence Mikhail Korablyov voiced his disapproval, particularly of releasing Lieutenant Major Gijs Šteins and Air Vice-Marshal Savelijs Blaus, believing that it would galvanise socialist separatist efforts. However, the official pardoning was granted and the acquitted were authorised to move freely within Sartland without close monitoring. Within hours of his release, Šteins began conspiring with rebel activists that were operating in Ruchava to overthrow the Laiviņš Administration and declare a socialist republic.

A considerable munitions supply located in the outskirts of the city that had not been recovered by the Yarovan Federal Armed Forces or newly-formed Sartish military was recaptured by the socialist rebels. Hearing of a major demonstration being planned in Ruchava on 18 February, the rebels began making plans to disrupt the protest and target individuals who showed sympathies to Laiviņš or Yarova. The Unionist Solidarity March, a pro-Yarova organisation led by Vitālis Smuģis-Caune, called for the demonstration in opposition to the freeing of the eighteen socialist military leaders. The Unionist Solidarity March was set up in 2008 but the Svidrauskas regime declared the organisation illegal due to its pro-Yarova ideology. Following the collapse of the United Republics of Aukalnia and Sartland and the imprisonment of Svidrauskas, the organisation was enabled to exercise its activities publicly and its membership grew to over 23,000 people in early 2022. It was this group's rising popularity, along with other instances of a perceived Yarovan encroachment such as the 45,000 troops stationed in the country, that Šteins and his supporters sought to confront through means of physical force.