Vedyot

Vedyot is a planet in the Solidarity system colonized by the Soviet Union. It is known for being the center of uranium and steel production for the Soviet Union, as well as being a "cold wasteland". Like its neighbor Vladimir, this has earned it the nickname of "planet Siberia," or by critics as "planet Chernobyl."

Colonization
Colonization of the Solidarity binary system began with the settlement of Soyuz in February 10, 1971 by the Soviet Union's space program, but the other neighboring planets of this star system, including Vladimir and Vedyot, were quickly discovered in a matter of days.

After the Soviet capital was moved to Soyuz from Earth's Moscow, there was strong interest in exploring the other planets of Solidarity, so its space program got right to work.

When Vedyot was discovered to house unusually high concentrations of uranium, as well as steel-making components like iron, chromium and nickel, the Soviet government decided to start colonization efforts of that planet.

In doing so, they hoped to both harvest these abundant resources for their ships and war machines, as well as alleviate an overpopulation problem back on Earth as they have with their other colonies.

It was eventually colonized in March 15, 1973, and it was soon populated with both Russians and those from the satellite states, such as Ukranians, Belarussians, Baltics, Poles, Romanians, Slavs, Albanians and even Germans.

Vedyot Steel
Thanks to the higher gravity of the planet and the stronger pressures its components were subject to, the type of steel made on Vedyot exhibited higher tensile strength and toughness than conventional steel. Thus it was given the name "Vedyot steel" after its planet of origin.

It is now widely used across the Soviet Union from spaceships and infrastructure to power tools and kitchen utensils.

Biosphere
The cold climate of Vedyot is very similar to Soyuz, despite the former being closer to its parent star.

Thanks to its relatively lower gravity compared to Soyuz (1.36x vs 2.07x Earth, respectively) both the people and the native fauna and flora enjoy less stress on their bodies, but are as a result less sturdy. Vedyot's atmospheric pressure and composition are also similar to Earth's, allowing ease of breathing, although there is less oxygen.

Because of its low oxygen content, however, Vedyot's biosphere is rendered less diverse but the higher carbon dioxide content allows plant life to flourish, resulting in its famously huge, tall forests.