Cold War Hetalia

All characters are adults.

Personifications cannot die forever. They can get shot and die, but their wounds will heal and they'll come back to life. The time it takes depends on the severity of the wound.

America/Alfred Jones: an energetic, cheerful, cocky and confident man. He has blond hair and blue eyes with glasses. He has a crush on Ivan, but he’d rather get his fingernails pulled off than admit it.

Russia/Ivan Braginsky: White Hair, Purple eyes, and a scarf he always wears. A large young man who is seemingly big-hearted and innocent but is in reality childishly cruel. He is intimidating and very tall. He loves Vodka. He had a verbal tick of ‘da’. He perhaps maybe definitely has a crush on Alfred, and only has eyes for the American.

Germany/Ludwig: A tall man with blond hair and light blue eyes. He is strict and tough, with a talent for leadership. He is very cleanly. He loves dogs. Has a crush on north Italy and they might be dating already. Gilbert’s younger brother.

Prussia/East Germany/Gilbert: Ludwig’s older brother who loves to say the word awesome. He’s confident, cocky, and funny. He has a pet bird named Gilbird.

Spain/Antonio Fernández Carriedo: He has somewhat curly brown hair, green eyes, lightly tanned skin. A cheerful country bumpkin, but slightly insensitive.

France/Francis Bonnefoy: He has shoulder-length blond hair and blue eyes, and has a slight amount of facial hair. He’s loves to argue with England over trivial topics. France is infatuated with most of the nations and is known to make blatant sexual comments at every opportunity. He loves wine. North Italy usually calls him Big Brother.

Japan/Honda Kiku: short, slim man with short black hair, dark brown eyes. He is a shy, quiet, and hard-working. He has a katana with him constantly. He loves cats.

Canada/Matthew Williams: His hair is wavy and two-toned: A lighter blond on top, with a darker blond shade on the bottom. He has violet eyes and is the twin/brother of America. Canada is shy, sensitive, and hates fighting. He loves maple syrup and ice cream. He also loves ice hockey.

England/Arthur Kirkland: has messy, short blond hair and lime-green eyes. America’s brother/father figure. he is cynical, sharp-tongued. He often uses British vocabulary, such as wanker, Yank/Yankee, bloody, twit, and git. He is horrible at cooking which caused America’s bad taste in food. Aka he ruined America’s taste buds by making America get used to awful tastes.

Austria/Roderich Edelstein: A serious, musically gifted man with no sense of direction. He’s very reliant on Germany, and raised North Italy when he was younger, granted he did think north Italy was a girl for most of his formative years, having him wear dresses because of this. He did use child north Italy as a type of maid, who helped clean the house. Child labour ig.

South Italy/Lovino Vargas: sarcastic, witty man with a quick temper. He has a dry sense of humor and is North Italy’s older brother, and is very defensive over his younger brother. He’s confrontational. He represents the capitalist side of Italy during the Cold War in this AU.

North Italy/Feliciano Vargas in this AU represents the Communist party of Italy during the Cold War. This makes Ivan feel as if North Italy belongs in his custody with the other communist nations, despite not being his territory. This might be thought because there's a lot of Soviet funding going into the Italian Communist Party so he'd feel a sense of ownership (not in a possessive romantic way, more of a "I've technically bought you" way.) over North Italy. I guess... this makes Feliciano a communist?

The personifications will often slip in words from their native language, like France adding Mon Ami to the end of his sentence.

Germany has a crush on North Italy, but is too nervous to say anything. He hides his crush behind his stoic attitude.

America and Russia also have some romantic tension, not that they’d admit it willingly.

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You may be thinking "But what does this have to do with anything?" Well here's a quick lesson on Italy's role during the Cold War.

During the Cold War, Italy was a crucial Western ally, joining NATO in 1949 and hosting American military bases. The nation experienced economic recovery with the help of the Marshall Plan and developed strategic trade ties with the Soviet Union, often acting as a channel for barter trade and energy imports. However, Italy also faced internal instability, including a powerful Communist party and significant political violence during the "Years of Lead". It was also a major hub for Cold War espionage due to its strategic location and ideological tensions.

The potential "loss of Italy to Communist control would result in profound political, psychological and military damage to the free world," a prospect the USSR actively sought to capitalize on.

Trade with the East: Despite its Western alignment, Italy maintained and developed economic relations with the Soviet Union, particularly through barter trade and large-scale imports of Soviet oil. Energy Deals: Italy used its economic ties to undermine monopolies and leverage new markets, becoming a key player in trade with the Eastern Bloc. (Yes, Italy actively traded with Eastern Bloc nations, particularly the Soviet Union, throughout the Cold War, establishing barter systems for Soviet oil, coal, and timber, despite being a NATO member, much to the consternation of its Western allies, highlighting Italy's unique Cold War stance as a maverick trade partner.)

Italy had one of Europe's most powerful Communist parties (Partito Comunista Italiano, or PCI), which was a significant factor in its internal politics and foreign policy choices. Moscow funded and directed the PCI, particularly through the long-serving party leader Palmiro Togliatti, who had a close relationship with the Kremlin.

Espionage Hub: Italy's strategic location and strong Communist presence made it a magnet for espionage, becoming one of the Cold War's most intense intelligence battlegrounds. Strategic Location: Northeast Italy was considered a key strategic area against potential Soviet aggression, making it a focal point for both NATO defense and intelligence activities.

After Italy's defeat in WW2, both the US and the USSR vied to influence the country's future, with the Soviets seeking to increase their presence in postwar Italy.

During the Cold War, the USSR saw Italy as a strategically important country where it could undermine the Western alliance through its influence over the massive, Moscow-loyal Italian Communist Party (PCI), while simultaneously pursuing profitable economic ties with the Italian government.