Kresimir Bukowski (born 1955) is a Kresimirian politician and former Diviner who has served as a Senator for District VIII (Zahodecelska) since 1992. A senior member of Blue Dawn, he represents the party’s conservative, religious wing.
Bukowski is a fixture of District VIII politics, having served alongside his district colleague Misko Maretic (Vjetrusa) for over thirty consecutive years. The two men, elected in the same year, represent the dual nature of the district’s conservatism: Maretic provides the populist, industrial fire, while Bukowski provides the quiet, theological authority of the central state.
Unlike the radicals of the Sons of Kresimir, Bukowski adheres to “State Divinism”—the belief that the Republic’s central institutions are the divinely ordained instruments of order, and that serving the party is an extension of serving the Lord.
Early Life and Education
Kresimir Bukowski was born in 1955 in Varazdinske, a historic town in the hills of Zahodecelska. Born into a deeply pious family, he was named after the Divine Founder Kresimir Basic, though he would later reject Basic’s revolutionary extremism.
He attended Marin University Varazdinske (MUV), graduating with a degree in History in 1976. Feeling a call to the service, he proceeded to Karlovac University, where he completed his theological training at the Faculty of Divinity in 1979.
The Priesthood
For over a decade, Bukowski served as a Diviner in rural Zahodecelska. He gained a reputation as a compassionate but strict clergyman, focused on maintaining social cohesion in communities strained by the industrial pollution of Cetingrad.
By the early 1990s, Bukowski became disillusioned with the fragmentation of Kresimirian society. He viewed the rise of the liberal Civic Renewal Front (CRF) as a threat to the nation’s moral fabric. Determining that the pulpit was no longer sufficient to protect the faith, he sought political office.
He rejected overtures from the Sons of Kresimir, viewing them as destabilizing zealots, and avoided Vjetrusa, which he found too militaristic and secular. Instead, he joined Blue Dawn, attracted by its commitment to a strong, centralized state that enforced religious values through law.
Political Career
The 1992 Election
In the 1992 election, Blue Dawn was collapsing nationally under the weight of the Wrba Scandal. However, in District VIII, Bukowski’s personal reputation as a holy man insulated him from the corruption charges leveling his party.
He ran a campaign focused on “Stability and Faith.” While the CRF surged elsewhere, they failed to breakthrough in Zahodecelska. Bukowski won the first seat, while the young firebrand Misko Maretic (Vjetrusa) took the second. The two have held the district in a stable conservative lock ever since.
The “Conscience” of Blue Dawn
In the Assembly, Bukowski has served under three Blue Dawn leaders.
- The Sanjakorin Era: He was an uneasy ally of Ljubo Sanjakorin. While he disliked Sanjakorin’s unionist background, he strongly supported the nationalization of industry in 1989, viewing state ownership as more “moral” than the “greed” of private oligarchs like Bran Maj.
- The Vasilis Era: He found a natural partner in Stoyan Vasilis, sharing his rural focus.
- The Stov Era: His relationship with Ari Stov is complex. Bukowski distrusts Stov’s technocratic secularism. However, he voted For the 2015 Digital Vigilance Act, arguing that the state needed total surveillance powers to “guide the moral development of the youth.”
Key Votes
- 1993 Public Office Eligibility Act: Voted For. He argued that non-believers and foreigners could not be trusted with the stewardship of a Divine Republic.
- 2023 Harm Reduction Act: Voted Against. As a representative of the Blue Dawn hardliners, he broke with Ari Stov, condemning the decriminalization of drugs as “state-sponsored sin.”
Ideology
Bukowski is a Centralist Conservative.
- On Religion: He opposes the repeal of the Faith Restriction Clause, believing that citizenship is a covenant with God.
- On Economy: He supports the state monopolies (National Energy, Republic Rail), arguing that strategic assets should not be subject to market whims.
- On Society: He is socially conservative, frequently speaking out against the “liberal excesses” of the capital, though he stops short of the inflammatory rhetoric used by Malik Kondratiev.