In 1939 Syldavia was nearly invaded by its neighbor Borduria, part of a plot to oust King Muskar XII. The sceptre was stolen in the hope that the king would abdicate. Tintin had a hand in defusing the situation by returning the sceptre just before St Vladmir's day. The Bordurians then announced they were withdrawing troops 15 miles from the borders. (The situation was very similar to that of Anschluss in Austria in 1938 though the conclusion was not the same.)