Varangian confederacy

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

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 a king, or question his authority. Most famous among these prophets, was Arpad the Grey, who advised King Victor the Valiant. He wove great visions of future glories to come and far away lands that would one day become part of Victor's kingdom. His most famous prophecy was known as "the Great Vision" or "ogromnaya mechtat'". In this prophecy, Arpad spoke of a far away land that was so fertile as to provide a kingdom with more food and resources than it could ever need or want. Arpad called this land Carniola.

King Victor was a great explorer and supported great excursions to new lands. Having heard of a far away land outside the known borders of Wysteria, he authorized a great journey, believe this new land to be Carniola. In the fifteenth century a great fleet or colonizers and conquerers set out to fulfill the prophecy extolled in the ogramnaya metchtat'. Six years after setting out, Commodore Arkady Vikunovic landed in what is now Sankt Riurik and established a small colony there. This colony was named Victorgrad after their king and thrived under his rule.

Unfortunately, the untimely death of King Victor in an expedition to explore the lands off the continent of Lyons in the region of Wysteria thrust the Kingdom of Varangia into civil war. All contact was lost between the colony and motherland. Decades of war consumed the kingdom and memory of the magical lands were lost.

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 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.