Difference between revisions of "Varangian confederacy"

Latest revision as of 10:36, 22 September 2006

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 a political association of three culturally, historically, and linguistically homogenous nations. These three states: New Varangia, Lituva, and Greater Masuria, share a capital and social, economic, military, and political competencies enabling them to act as one entity. As a single entity, they form a geopolitically relevant and economically powerful block of nations in the northeastern quadrant of the Heartland region.

Geography

Hydrology of the Confederacy

The most important aspect of the geology of the Confederacy is the many lakes and the major river systems that cut across the generally open plain that predominates its terrain. There are no less than eleven major lakes in the Confederacy, and two major river systems: the Yuzhni and the Masur. The abundance of natural, fresh water is an asset to the region and has expedited rapid population growth in the Confederacy.

The Masur River System

The Masur river system is the most important river system in the Confederacy because it is the largest when measured in cubic liters of water that moves through it every day. It is also the longest river int the Confederacy. Its sources are Lakes Vasil and Gleb in the north central region of the Confederacy and it moves northwest to the northwestern coast. Many large cities rest along the banks of the Masur including Maistadt, Osmerstadt, and Mogilev.

The Yuzhni River System

The Yuzhni river system begins in the center of the Confederacy and flows southwest towards the western coast. At the mouth of the river, a delta system has emerged after thousands of years of sendiment being deposited by the river as it flows into the sea. Upon this fertile delta, the first Varangians settled. Today, it is home to the Confederacy's largest city, Sankt Riurik and its largest port city, Danjlgrad.

The Lakes

Eleven major lakes provide fresh water to the Confederacy and unique habitats for flora and fauna. With the abundance of fresh water sources, the Confederacy has the capacity to export water to thirstier nations south of it.

History

The Ogramnaya Mechtat'

Go to where the sky meets the verdant plain. Thereupon you shall reap fields of golden grain. Under a sky of blue you shall erect your stations. You will live richly and become the envy of nations.--The Ogramnaya Mechtat'.

In the days before memory can recall, the first kings of Varangia ruled with absolute authority. They served God and commanded unquestioned obedience from those they ruled. Only the court prophets, whose otherworldly knowledge imbued them with a sense of higher authority, could advise or question a king. The most famous of these prophets was Arpad the Grey, who served in the court of King Victor the Valiant. He wove great visions of future glories and far away lands so rich that they could provide a kingdom with food and wealth indefinitely. Arpad's most famous prophecy "the Great Vision" or "ogromnaya mechtat'" spoke of a land just outside the known borders of Wysteria. In this prophecy he said that Carniola, the name of these rich lands, were rightfully Victor's for the taking.

King Victor was a great explorer and a fervent believer in Arpad's visions. Taking Arpad's visions of Carniola as a validation of his policy of forceful annexation of territory, he set out to send a huge conquest and colonization fleet to Carniola. So thus, in the beginning of the fifteenth century a great fleet of colonizers and conquerers set out to obtain the lands of Carniola for the glory of the kingdom and to full the prophecy of Arpad the Gray. Six years after leaving Volodymyr Volynsky, Commodore Arkady Vikunovic and the fleets dropped anchor in the marshy area around what is now Sankt Riurik, and established a small colony there. This colony was named Victorgrad after their king and thrived.

Shortly after the establish of Victorgrad however, King Victor was killed suddenly and violently in another expedition just off the coast of the Kingdom in Wysteria. His death thrust the Kingdom of Varangia into a civil war between his two sons (by different mothers) Voljin and Galyn. All contact between the colony and motherland was severed as a result of privateers attacking ships that dared to venture very far fromt he coast. The ensuing decades of civil war consumed the kingdom and soon Victorgrad was abandoned for lack of support from the crown.

A New Age

After one hundred years of the "Princely Wars," as the series of fratricidal civil wars would come to be known as, there emerged an opportunity for re-birth. Painstakingly, the old order of absolutism in the Wysterian-based kingdom was swept aside in favor of democracy. Together, the enlightened nobility, the clergy, the merchanting class, and the commoners developed a legislative body called the Valorum. The Valorum became the promulgator of laws and framed a power sharing governmental structure. The executive would once again be a dynastic monarch, but one whose family would be appointed by the Valorum. Since the Princely Wars had arisen out of a question of succession, the Valorum refused to crown a king. Instead, the new state, the Commonwealth of Galicia-Volhynia would be ruled by a Retainer until the question of succession was solved. Chosen from a minor descendent line of the original Silnyrukji dynasty, the Halych family inherited the throne ruled Varangia as Retainers until 2004.

With political stability came progress. Varangia began to catch up to the rest of the region in terms of economic strength and political sophistication. In 2004, the last claimant to the old throne, Duke Pyotr Nastayashji relinquished his claim, thus clearing the way for the appointment of a monarch. Yet, a significant portion of the legislature, the liberal wing, opposed the appointment of a king. As a comprimise, the retainer at the time, Sebastien Halych chose another title for himself, the spiritual term for king in Varangian, "Tsar."

As Tsar, Sebastien oversaw the greatest territorial expansion of the realm. Quickly, the nation of Lodmeria was established. In a bid to secure his place in history, the Tsar decided to re-establish a Varangian presence in the Heartland. This second wave of Varangians to the Heartland succeeded in creating a modern state, New Varangia. A capital was established at the delta of the Yuzhni river as it meets the Great Ice Sea. This capital was named Sankt Riurik after the first king of Varangia. It remains the largest city in the Confederacy. Florenzia accepted vassal status shortly thereafter and then in quick succession Lituva, Fridwald, and the Steppe joined the newly created empire.

As for the Heartland-based nation, New Varangia, it 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 a significant devolution of competencies to a parallel government based in Vostock. Frederico Bossi, the Guarantor of the Valorum, and a strong proponent of devolution to principalities pushed the measure through the Valorum, thereby giving the three Varangian colonies what amounted to de facto independence from the empire. Independence was formalized in the Imperial Bull of 2005, when Regent Pyotr Orlov proclaimed that a Tsar chosen in the Heartland should be considered the equal to himself. 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 government of the Varangian Confederacy was founded as a constitutional monarchy. Personal rights and governmental competencies are codified in this document. Analysis and interpretation of the document provides the theoretical basis for the government and its relationship with the governed.

The Primera Carta

This 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 actually two parts, the fanciful "mechtat" (the prophetic tale which lead to the founding of the first Varangian Colony) and the more solemn political text of the charter proper. It is considered organic, that is, it is more than a static document written at the founding of the first Varangian colony, it 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 baronies. When the "Primera Carta" was first drafted, the palitanate was the strongest unit of organization and thus, scholars and Carta experts agree that the power sharing framework established in the Carta strongly favors the palatinate to the degree that the Confederacy is less an organization comprised of two principalities and an archduchy then a confederacy of twenty-four palatinates.

Geographic Organization (largest unit to smallest):

1. The Confederacy

2. Principality or Archduchy

3. Palatinate

4. Barony

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 Duma has just held an election and the results follow. As the largest party in the Duma, but without a true majority, the Social Democrats formed a coalition government with the Kosmanian People's Party. The resulting joint venture, named the "Justice Coalition", has yet to announce its Comissarial appointments.

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

Justice in the Confederacy 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.

To interpret law vis-a-vis the Primera Carta, a court of final appeal was established. It is called the Supreme Soviet. The Soviet is comprised of nine sovietniks whose terms run for up to forty-five years. The Soviet is arranged like a ladder with each sovietnik taking a step up every time the top sovietnik must rotate off the ladder. Currently, the ladder looks is as follows (C-Conservative; M-Moderate; L-Liberal):

1. Yegor Chernomirdin, retired CEO of Karetny Energetics (C)

2. Sviatopolk Rasmussen, partner at Rasmussen, Vogel, and Kazmarov, LLC (M)

3. Liliana Wunderwahl, district attorney of the city of Burzen (L)

4. Riurik Haiden, retired governmental official (M)

5. Alexander Krivinos, retired governmental official (M)

6. Maria Molotovna, professor of law at Elizabeth Regina University (L)

7. Annalisa Gehlert, founder and CEO Varangian Refugee Union (L)

8. Marius Sikunduchkis, partner at Haider and Sikunduchkis, LLC (M)

9. Artur Teplo, orthodox church metropolitan of Rossel (C)

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 (much less 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.

Maps

Lakes, Rivers, and Major Cities of the Confederacy.