Difference between revisions of "Varangian confederacy"

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Varangian confederacy

Flag of Varangian confederacy
Motto: Varangii Semper Liberi. (Varangians Shall Always Be Free)
Map of the Northeastern Quadrant of The Heartland
Region	The Heartland
Capital	Vostock
Official Language(s)	Varangian
Leader	Tsar Konrad Ilyusha Federov I
Population	8.5 billion (August estimate)
Currency	Krona
NS Sunset XML

The Confederated Varangian Nations is an association of three culturally, historically, and linguistically similar nations bound togther by a loose confederate government. These nations: New Varangia, Lituva, and Greater Masuria, share a capital, Vostock, in Greater Masuria. As a single entity, they form a geopolitically relevant and economically powerful block of nations in the northeastern quadrant of the Heartland region.

History

Colonies of an Empire

The first Varangians in the Heartland arrived as colonists of the empire proper which is based in the Nationstates region of Wysteria. The Heartland is part of a powerful troika of regions which also include Wysteria and Texas, which collectively was known as the Trium. As a result of this affiliation, large, multi-nation states systems regularly established footholds in all three regions in the Triumverate, most notably the Harberians and the Vassfforcians. The Varangians followed this example choosing to locate the Colony of New Varangia on the continent of Prudentia in the Heartland.

New Varangia thrived, and through aggressive economic policies grew to rate amongst the strongest economies in the Heartland, ranking amongst the top three in GDP per capita and continously ranking in the top ten in automobile production, wood exports, industrial capacity, information technology, and service sectors.

Rallying to the Cause

In mid-2006, the founder of the Heartland region succumbed to the Vanishing Nation Syndrome. Alerts were posted in the other regions of the triumverate seeking aid to shore up the UN endorsements for the Heartland's delegate to protect the region from invaders. The empire answered the call by placing on of its UN-endowed colonies, Greater Masuria in the region. Greater Masuria claimed a plot on Prudentia northeast of New Varangia. Soon, the empire placed a third colony, Lituva to the east of both New Varangia and Greater Masuria establishing its own troika in the region.

Confederacy and Sovereignty

With three nations in the Heartland and the increasing prospect of becoming a major stakeholder in the region, the leaders of New Varangia, Lituva, and Greater Masuria decided that decision making needed to be streamlined.

Ivan Andreyic, at the time the Colonial Foreign Minister of New Varangia, petitioned the Imperial Valorum in Muscovy, Wysteria for devolution of large amounts of competencies to a parallel government based in central government in Wysteria. Frederico Bossi, the Guarantor of the Valorum, and a strong proponent of devolution to principalities pushed the measure through the Valorum, thus giving the three Varangian colonies a large measure of independence from the empire. The decision was formalized when Imperial Regent Pyotr Orlov proclaimed that a Tsar chosen in the Heartland should be considered the equal to his Wysterian counterpart. From that moment on the colonies in the Heartland would henceforth be known as the Confederated Varangian Nations of New Varangia, Lituva, and Greater Masuria or simply, the Varangian Confederacy.

Politics and Elections

The Varangian Confederacy was founded as a constitutional government, that is governance is based on rights and governmental philosophy elucidated in a document. Analysis and interpretation of the document provides the theoretical basis for the government and its relationship with the governed.

The Primera Carta

The all important document from which all Varangian law and political theory in the Confederacy is based is called the Primera Carta, or First Charter. The Primera Carta is more than a static document written at the founding of the first Varangian colony-- it is organic, revisable when a three-quarters vote of the legislative branch (the Confederate Duma) agree that changes need to be made to the document.

The contents of the Primera Carta outline which competencies the three constituent states and twenty-four palatinates would retain or divest to the central government. Amongst those they must divest are the competencies for the printing of currencies, administration extra-confederate trade, foreign policy, intelligence, and war making. States retained the administration of eduction, health, labor, transportation, and energy.

Organization

The "Primera Carta" establishes a system of checks and balances by dividing the government of the Confederacy into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The Confederacy is also organizationally structured into four levels: the confederacy, the principalities/archduchy, the palatinates, and the municipalities. Wording in the "Primera Carta" strongly favors the palatinate above all others to the degree that the Confederacy is less an organization comprised of two principalities and an archduchy then a confederacy of twenty-four palatinates.

Confederate Democracy and the Confederate Duma

The Confederacy elects its leaders democratically. To become enfranchised, one must simply be aged sixteen or older, a citizen of the Confederacy or its possessions, and register in their municipality. They may vote once every two years for all members that will represent their palatinate in the Confederate Duma. Members of the Duma are called Boyars and the leader they elect to represent them is called the Chancellor. The Chancellor selects a group of advisors to head the various High Commissions that administer the day-to-day operations of the central government. These advisors are known as Commissars and together they form the Privy Council.

The Executive Branch and Tsar Konrad I

The Executive is known as the Tsar. Previous to the establishment of the Duma via the Primera Carta, the individual legislatures of the Principality of New Varangia and the Archduchy of Greater Masuria met in joint session in a body called the Amalgam. Amongst the last duties the Amalgam was tasked with before it dissolved was the identification of an executive who would rule as a dynastic monarch. After much deliberation, the body chose the Archduke of Thoreida, Florenzia in Wysteria, Lord Konrad Ilysha Federov. Tsar Konrad I as he would be called is an avid supporter of the arts, and has an advanced degree in Art History

The Supreme Soviet

The judiciary is based first and foremost on laws explicitly spelled out in the Primera Carta. Established precedence then becomes the source for law, and when new law is needed interpretation of the intent of the Primera Carta comes into play.

The Duma has yet to hold an election, but the major parties that are in contention to form a government are as follows:

Economy

The Varangian Confederacy has an economy based on capitalist principles. Its domestic policies have focused on aggressive growth and the states that comprise the Confederacy boasts some of the largest gross domestic products aggregates, highest gross domestic products per capita figures (Lituva and New Varangia tied for second, Greater Masuria, fifth), and strongest exchange rates per $NS (Lituva and New Varangia tied for second, Greater Masuria, twelfth).

Through diplomacy, the Varangian Confederacy has urged its neighbors and trading partners to decrease barriers to trade and has signed full free trade agreements with the Grand Federation of Liverpool England and the Community of PopularFreedom.

General economic statistics

Note: All economic statistics based on NSEconomy, accessed on AUG 16, 2006

Currency: Krona (currency code: K); 1 K = 100 kr (kronishka)

Exchange rate: 1 K = NS$1.91

Gross Domestic Product: NS$ 379.325 trillion

GDP - per capita: NS$ 38,062 (Greater Masuria), NS$ 43,986 (Lituva and New Varangia)

Exports: NS$ 42.788 trillion

Unemployment Rate: 2.65% average across the Confederacy

Religion

The charter from which laws and rights protect and serve the citizens of Varangia guarantees freedom of religion. However, in practice, most inhabitants of the Confederacy are Eastern (Varangian) Orthodox. The Eastern Church is the legacy of the original settlers from the Varangian Empire in Wysteria. The church is governed through a heirarchical structure, atop which sit the "princes" of the Easter Church, the Patriarchs. Amongst them, the Patriarch of Muscovy is considred first amongst equals.

The following religions are practiced in the Varangian Confederacy:

Society, culture and related issues

Varangian society is quite closed. The language is difficult to learn and to master and those with accents are assumed poorly educated. Since the best jobs go to the best educated people, those who do not read, speak, and write in Varangian well often find themselves on the lowest rung of the economic ladder in the Confederacy.

Traditionally, Varangians are very dour and hardworking. Originally descended from Wysterian-Varangian stock, the Heartland Varangian culture is tremendously affected by the previous groups exposures to harsh winters and living by scratching the land. This way of "clinging" on to existense has permeated the ethos of Varangian culture: it is evident in the prose, music, visual arts, and spoken tongue.

Varangians are also extremely industrious. As latecomers to both regions, Varangians for generations have had to sacrifice so that their nations could take the "great leaps forward" and join the vanguard of economic powers in the Heartland and Wysteria. Due to the sacrifices of these generations of industrious Varangians, hard work is still greatly valued and economic success is viewed as an extremely positive value. Conversely, laziness, individualism, and admitting defeat are frowned upon.

Foreign Policy

The Confederacy has until recently, been a minority stakeholder in Heartland geopolitics. The position of non-interference and non-engagement with fellow nations or the region in general was representative of the awareness within the Confederacy that domestic issues (crime, unemployment) should be dealt with first.

With the emergence of three powerful economies and a renewed urgency by the Tsar for a stronger military, the Confederacy has shrugged off its mantra of inactivity to engage other nations to achieve its interests. Primarily, the Confederacy has sought to flex its economics muscles in order to attain deals that will allow domestic corporations greater market share. The outcome of this arm of its foreign policy is evident in free-trade deals with the Grand Federation of Liverpool England and the Community of Popular Freedom.

The Confederacy also puts great faith in the skill of its diplomats to establish working relationships with nations with whom the Confederacy has never dealt with. It is the belief of the Confederacy's High Commission for Foreign Affairs that active engagement with all nations, regardless if their interests run paralell to its own, preempts any misunderstanding that could possibly lead to conflict. This arm of the Confederacy's foreign policy is evident in its Treaty of Friendship and Territorial Sovereignty with the Kingdom of Herconia.

Finally, the Confederacy's diplomats strive to enrichen existing relationships by creating more robust treaties which cover economic liberalization, strategic coordination, and even cultural exchange. This "upgrading" of existing relationships can be illustrated by ongoing negotiations with the Most Serene Republic of Vassfforcia for a multi-themed agreement.

Space Program

Constantinopolis first began considering the possibility of beginning its own space program in the late 1960's. During the 1970 election campaign, the Socialist Party made the establishment of a space agency a key point of its electoral platform - partly in order to show that they were not any less progressive than the Communists. After winning the elections, the Socialists delivered on their promise and established the United People's Space Agency (UPSA) in 1971.

The UPSA spent the 1970's taking the same first steps that had previously been completed by other nations' space programs. Sattelites were launched, then manned spaceflights began to be made, and a space station was built. Later, in 1983, the UPSA put a man on the Moon. But much greater leaps in technology were soon to be made.

The Communists had won the elections of 1982, and a communist Basileus (the now-famous Justinian Tiberius) had also been elected the same year. Constantinopolis began working more closely with other socialist countries, as well as the rare few who had established communist societies already. One of these was the high-tech space-faring nation of Freebodnik IV. Technological exchanges with Freebodnik IV greatly boosted the space program of Constantinopolis. The UPSA put a man on Mars in 1993 - only a decade after its first Moon landing - but, before that, it had already launched its first Ion Cannon Sattelite in 1988.

A space view of the first ion cannon test.

Constantinopolis never had a nuclear program, and it never sought one. Thus, it never constructed any nuclear weapons. Many of its enemies did have nuclear weapons, however, and top military officials in Constantinopolis had been trying to find an adequate response for over a decade. In the late 1980's, a solution was finally found: orbiting ion cannons. An ion cannon strike from low Earth orbit has almost the same destructive power as a nuclear detonation, with two distinct advantages: First, there are no side effects (like the radioactive fallout from a nuclear weapon). An ion cannon can pulverize an army with no damage to the nearby civilian population. Second, unlike missiles, ion cannon blasts cannot be intercepted or destroyed in mid-air.

As of 2005, Constantinopolis has put a classified number of Ion Cannon Sattelites in low Earth orbit. It is known, however, that their number is above 16.

The UPSA continued to advance by leaps and bounds in the 1990's, even establishing a human colony (Constantine Europa) on Jupiter's moon Europa. Also, military space ships were built and launched for the first time in the late 1990's and early 2000's, giving Constantinopolis a sizable space-faring war fleet.

Milestones of space exploration by the UPSA:

• 1972 - First artificial sattelite launched
• 1975 - First manned spaceflight
• 1980 - First space station completed in Earth orbit
• 1983 - First man on the Moon
• 1988 - First Ion Cannon Sattelite enters operation
• 1993 - First man on Mars
• 1997 - In collaboration with a number of other nations, including Freebodnik IV, the colony of Constantine Europa is established on Jupiter's moon Europa
• 1998 - First military space ship launched
• 2000 - First battleship commissioned
• 2001 - The UPSA joins the Coalition of Anti-Capitalist Economies Space Agency.
• 2003 - Unmanned probe successfully lands on Pluto

As of 2005, the main objective of the UPSA is to complete the exploration of the Solar System and establish more human colonies. The idea of sending a probe to Alpha Centauri has also been discussed, but so far no efforts have been made in that direction.

National Anthem

The national anthem of Constantinopolis, since 1925, is 'The Red Flag' (written by Jim Connell in 1889). Its lyrics are as follows:

The people's flag is deepest red,
It shrouded oft our martyred dead,
And ere their limbs grew stiff and cold,
Their hearts' blood dyed its every fold.

Then raise the scarlet standard high.

Within its shade we'll live and die,

Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer,

We'll keep the red flag flying here.

Look round, the Frenchman loves its blaze,
The sturdy German chants its praise,
In Moscow's vaults its hymns are sung
Chicago swells the surging throng.

It waved above our infant might,
When all ahead seemed dark as night;
It witnessed many a deed and vow,
We must not change its colour now.

It well recalls the triumphs past,
It gives the hope of peace at last;
The banner bright, the symbol plain,
Of human right and human gain.

It suits today the weak and base,
Whose minds are fixed on pelf and place
To cringe before the rich man's frown,
And haul the sacred emblem down.

With heads uncovered swear we all
To bear it onward till we fall;
Come dungeons dark or gallows grim,
This song shall be our parting hymn.

See also

• List of famous Constantians
• Basileus
• Byzantium
• Council of People's Commissars
• Communist Party of Constantinopolis
• Socialist Party of Constantinopolis
• Christian Socialist Party of Constantinopolis
• Social Democrat Party of Constantinopolis