-Novistrana-

|- | align=center colspan=2 | |- | align=center colspan=2 style="background:#f9f9f9;" | |- |Official Languages || Russian |- |Capital || Novistrana |- |President || Pasha Vitrinov |- |Legislature || national Soviet (60 Seats) |- |- |Population
 - 39,000,000 | |- |Independence | 800 AD |- |Region |European Continent |- |Government Type | Nationalist Regime |- |Nation Type |"Democracy" |- |GDP (2005)
  - Total
  - GDP/capita |
§45,867 Billion
§26,162.99 |- |Currency || Ruble [R] |- |}

Official Name: The Incorporated States of Novistrana

Common Name: Novistrana

Name Meaning: New Land

Capital: Novistrana

Government Type: One Party Democracy. While three parties formally exist, only PAN holds any real power. The Centrist Party holds minor local offices, and the Novisocial Party holds no power whatsoever.

Head of State: Boris Kuslikov (elected 2004; elections every four years)

Government Style: Moderate Right-Wing. The President has almost all the power, but can only pass laws proposed by the National Soviet. However, he can pass these laws as he sees fit, with only needing a 25% approval in the Soviet. Tradition dictates, however, that the President wait for a full majority.

Legal Political Parties: Party for the Advancement of Novistrana [PAN], National Centrist Party [NCP], Novisocial Ideal Party [NIP]

Legislature: Novistrana National Soviet (60 seats, elections every two years.

Novistrana Has Official Relations With: Kasnyia, Bactria, NAN, Brazilian Confederacy, budalor, Velorya, Russia, Germany, Eleytheria-Duo, Menhad, Al Araam, Draxis, Free britain, Quaon

Head Ambassador: Mr. Vasily Zaitsev

Ambassador to JAUST: Mr. Stasis Constantine

Population: 30 million

GDP per Capita: $8,512.65

Income Tax Rate: 20%

Religions:

60.10% Novistranian Orthodox

26.50% Gnesis Catholic

9.10% Russian Orthodox

1.40% Colognian Catholic

1.40% Other Branches of Christianity

1.00% Non-religious

0.3% Jewish

0.99% Islamic

0.01% Other

Ethnicity

94.5% Russian

4.5% Scandinavian

1% Other

Economic Style: Regulated Capitalism

Currency: The Ruble

Per Capita GDP: $11,395.41

History Timeline:

800 AD - The city of Novistrana, New Land, is founded in the Russian wilderness.

960 AD - Novistrana grows to become a major trade center in central Russia, and its influence begins to grow within Russia.

1234 AD - King Alexey Romanov the VII converts to Orthodox Christianity, along with the rest of the city.

1235-1651 AD - The Novistranian state exerts influence on surrounding cities, growing in power, until its borders reach that of the modern state.

1331 AD - Duke Romanov founds the Novistranian Orthodox Church

1651 AD - King Julius the Terrible gains control. Under his reign, 45,000 Novistranians perish.

1653 AD - Northern City-States rebel against Julius the Terrible. The Great War begins. (More detail on the Great War to be added soon)

1674 AD - Novistranian Republic founded. (more detail below)

1681 AD - The Viktorovich Nobles sieze control, and turn Novistrana back into a kingdom. (details below)

1776 AD - Government progroms against Jews and Catholics occur. 95% of the Judeo-Catholic population is wiped out. Wide-spread unhappiness ensues.

1845 AD - The People's Rebellion Begins (More detail below).

1854 AD - The Socialist State of Novistrana is founded. (more detail below)

1897 AD - The Red Revolt: Socialist Novistrana deals with internal pressures, as peasants revolt against the state. (more detail)

1901 AD - The Red Revolt is quelled. Novistrana returns to isolationism.

1906-1976 AD - Reign of Benefactor Pershev (detail below)

1984 AD - Signs of Weakness

1988 AD - The Blue Revolution begins. (More detail below.)

2000 AD - The Socialist State of Novistrana falls. Smederov elected president of the Incorporated States of Novistrana.

2003 AD - Smederov dies.

2004 AD - Elections are held, with Boris Kuslikov made President.

Select Topics:

1653-1687: The Great War

Julius Romanov the II was crowned on April 2nd, 1651. He was 16. The youngest king Novistrana had ever had, Julius, or as he became known Julius the Terrible, was quite susceptible to the influence of his uncle, Nicholas Romanov. Nicholas, while he did not personally seek the crown, was still upset he was not chosen to be king, but decided to work his policies through the young Julius. He was a known racist, and managed to trick Julius into killing thousands of Catholics within Novistrana, enemies of the Novistranian Orthodox Church. The northern regions of Novistrana, strongly Catholic, were quite angry with Julius the Terrible, and, after two assassination attempts in 1652, and a failed coup in 1653, declared independence as the Union of Novogorod in the fall of 1653, under General Sergei Molotov. Molotov was one of Julius's best generals, but had been alienated by the massacre fo Catholics. Himself a devout Catholic, he quickly signed on to the coup, and after its failure, decided to join Novogorod in its attempt to replace Julius with their own king, whose name has passed into history.

In 1654, the first battle began as Julius the Terrible and Sergei Molotov met in battle. The battle of Svyet ended in a military disaster for Molotov, but in the confusion, Julius the Terrible was wounded by a Novgorod archer. He caught fever, and went into a coma. His uncle, Nicholas Romanov, was chosen to rule in Julius's stead. In 1658, Julius the Terrible died, and Nicholas Romanov was crowned king, and he has since passed into history as Nicholas the Bloody. 1655 was a terrible year for both sides. Although few battles were fought, an outbreak of plague, coinciding with a famine, killed off a third of the Novistranian population. Morale was low, and peasant revolts occured left and right in both Novgorod and Novistrana. Molotov himself fell ill, and he died in 1657.

War continued on and off for ten years, until finally, when in 1665, Nicholas captured Novgorod, and burned it to the ground. Thirteen thousand citizens perished in the fire. The war with Novgorod was over, but a new revolt, tied into the Great War, began a year later.

1666 was met with the death of Nicholas the Bloody. He had no heirs, and the Romanov line only had a single daughter to their name. She took control as Queen Victoria, and became known by the end of her reign, as Queen Useless. Soon after she was crowned, angry, starving, disease-ridden peasants, revolted against the kingdom. They had primitive ideas of socialism, and would greatly influence the centuries later People's Rebellion. They wanted an end to the kingdom, and sharign of all land. Needless to say, the movement was popular, and before 1670 even started, the movement had already taken control of several cities.

In 1674, Novistrana itself was captured, and Queen Victoria, who had done absolutely nothing to stop the rebellion, leaving the job to her nobles, was executed. The Novistranan Republic was set up.

1675-1681: The Republic

The Republic was a chaotic era, marked by severe anti-monarchist and anti-noble adittudes. Almost every noble family in Novistrana was executed by the People's Republic of Novistrana, and skirmishes between political factions were common. Anarchy was rampant, as the central government had little power, and political leaders became more and more extreme as time went on. Murder and thievery were commonplace, as the infant democracy struggled to get its feet up. But not all was bad. Serfdom and slavery was abolished, and land reform was successful. Poverty and hunger both decreased substantially, and, in comparison with the Romanov kings, life greatly improved for the average person.

Supporters of the revolution frequently wore red bands around their arms, or hands, or legs, to identify themselves as Republicans. Hundreds of political leaders defined the era, and in 6 years, the Republic had 34 elected heads of state. One family of nobles, who had come out early as supporters of the revolution, were spared destruction, and grew in power and influence, eventually placing Vladimir Viktorovich as Leader of the Revolution, gaining control of the Republican government in 1680. Although they didn't know it at the time, Vladimir Viktorovich would become King, and end the chaotic democracy before it had a chance to find itself.

1681: The Viktorovich Dynasty:

In 1681, Vladimir Viktorovich was named High Chancellour of the Republic, and assumed dictorial powers. He used his influence to bring several noble families out of hiding, and giving them positions of power in their cities. His support among monarchists assured, he then set about gaining popular support. He continued the process of land reform, ended compulsary military service, and his ideas on agriculture helped Novistrana porduce its first surplus crop in decades. An end to starvation, and growth of trade and riches allowed Vladimir to quietly name himself king, and he was crowned King Vladimir Viktorovich the Great in 1684, among cheers of Republicans, nobles, and peasants. In a few short years, Viktorovich destroyed the Republic, and he was loved for it.

1845-1854: The People's Rebellion

After two centuries, the Viktorovich family had become corrupt, and the reign of King Vasily Viktorovich was marked with political dissent, and frequent, small revolts. So, when, in 1845, a small group of peasants, holding copies of the Communist Manifesto, declared themselves members of the People's Rebellion, Viktorovich sighed and sent a few hundred soldiers to destroy them. Of course, in the small battle that followed, the monarchist troops were slaughtered, and the People's Rebellion secured a small portion of norhtern Novistrana, and their influence, more than any other group, would shape the course of Novistranian history for the enxt decade, and the century and a half that followed.

With the People's Rebellion gaining power, Vasily tried the methods of Vladimir the Great, to no avail. The peasants were tired of kings, and would not settle for half-assed attempts at reform, and tax breaks. By 1847, the rebellion had grown into a full scale civil war, pitting a few thousand nobles and their soldiers against over a million angry peasants. However, Vasily's men were trained, and the peasants were not. The resulting war would last longer than it had a right too.

1849 was a year marked by a freezing winter, killing thousands throughout the country. Peasants fought hard against monarchist troops, eventually gaining control of the country in December of 1849. On January 1st, 1850, The Socialist State of Novistrana was founded, but the rebellion was far from over. Vasily Viktorovich escaped to Africa, were he died of typhoid.

But this new revolution was a peaceful one. 1853 marked the year of the true begginning of the Industrial Revolution in Novistrana. Under Chairman Yeltsin, the ideas of Engel and Marx were spread throughout the country, and industrialization began. But the reign of Yeltsin would not be ended well.

1897-1901: The Red Revolt

Chairman Yeltsin started out to cheers, hope, and support. By 1897, his clear corruption had disillusioned the population, and the Socialist Party began looking for a new leader. The Red Revolt was not a full-scale revolt, but a brief period in which Yeltsin ended his reign, amist party and populace anger. He died, peacefully, in 1901, having led his state through an industrial revolution, and havign ripped off over a billion rubles worth of government money. With his death, the money was returned, and the country enjoyed a slight economic bump while Alexey Pershev, a name which even today cannot be said without great controversy, assumed control of Novistrana at the young age of 24. He would rule for nearly eighty years.

1901-1976: Benefactor Pershev

The name Alexey Pershev means oppression to some, and greatness to others. His policies led to great economic growth, and great political oppression. Under Pershev, the purist ideals of Yeltsin Socialism were discarded, and the regime became more nationalist in nature. Nearly 4,000 would die in his eighty year reign, but he would lead the country to great economic growth, and improved livign conditions for the average worker. He introduced the rights of women in 1922, the rights of religion and ethnicity in 1943, and the rights of sexuality in 1966. Despite these great civil endevours, his political ideas led to a severe decrease in political freedom, ending the limited democracy in the Socialist Party, and appointing people to positions of power as he saw fit. People who spoke for more political and economic freedom were simply killed, and thousands of "enemies" were worked to death in labor camps. Despite these gross measures of oppression, he finished the mass industrialization fo the nation, built modern Novistrana, and led the way for modern Novistrana.

To this day, Alexey Pershev remains a touchy subject, and tourists are warned to not even mention the name, lest they unwittingly spark angry debates among the populace. His restrictions on political and economic freedoms, along with his clear love of self-liberty leaves him a vauge subject. He died at 104 years old, leaving behind a strong Novistrana, and Pershev should be seen as the representation of Socialist Novistrana.

1984: Signs of Weakness

Pershev's death was a tragedy, and his successor, 'Rusky' Smederov, was not nearly as influential as Pershev had been. His reign saw the transition of Novistrana from the industrial to the digital age. The introduction of the world wide web, along with a decrease in military spending, led to the socialist state become more open, and with this openess, this glasnot, as Smederov called it, Novistrana began to show signs of change from within, signs that led to the Blue Revolution.

1988-2004: The Blue Revolution

The Blue Revolution was a peaceful transition from socialism to democracy. While some minor conflicts occurred, as is to be expected, Smederov saw ahead and managed to contain most of the possible violence following the collapse of a hundred fifty year old socialist state. It began in the late 80s, as the upper classes within Novistrana began using the internet and computers, and began to see democracy as a better option over socialism. Their ideas spread, and by 1992, capitalism and democracy was all anyone wanted. The Socialist Party saw their state collapsing, but Smederov, instead of attempting to hang on to power, created the Party for the Advancement of Novistrana in 1993, and set to it the task of overseeing the transition of Novistrana from socialism to democracy. Nationwide elections were held between PAN and the Socialist Party, with Smederov elected in 1996. 'Rusky' Smederov began, with an air of legitimacy, to dissolve the Socialist Party and improve freedoms of speech, press, and politics, as well as slowly regulate the transition from socialism to capitalism so as to avoid a widespread economic collapse. His efforts culimated in 2000, when, the populace voted for Smederov, and he changed the flag of the nation, the name of the nation, and the Socialist Party was completely dissolved.

Smederov served as the last Chairman of the Socialist State of Novistrana, and the first President of the Incorporated States of Novistrana. His death in late 2003 signalled a true end to the Socialist State, and Boris Kuslikov took over the remaining three months before the next elections. He was elected with a wide margin over the other PAN candidate (76% of the vote), and continues to be President today.

Novistranian Orthodox Church

Headed by Patriarch Constantine IV

The Novistranian Orthodox Church was founded in 1131, when Duke Romanov, in anger against the traditional orthodox churches, decided to head his own branch. While slow to grow, today it has become the dominant religion in Novistrana. The break was ill recieved by the Orthodox Church, but it the Novistranian Church has evolved to the point where it is distinguishable from its other Orthodox brethren only by their Patriarch, who frequently takes a second place to the true Patriarch. Due to strong secularity laws, the Church recieves no special attention from the government, despite its large following.

Novistranian Culture & Habits

While ethnically Russian, calling a Novistranian a Russian will only get you a polite correction, with a smile, though pressing the issue is ill-advised. Many feel Novistrana, while a Russian state, is not Russian, due to its individual history, culture, and religion.

A century of communism has left Novistrana without any real vestiges of Imperial culture left, but what you see in Novistrana resembles what you see in any economic developed Western state, and it shares in the Western civilization's culture. It is customary to greet anyone you know, regardless of any disputes you may have. Sex is soemthing kept behind doors, along with any problems you have with an individual. The community need not hear about it.

Food and alcohol are important aspects of Novistranian life, along with love, music, romance, and generally anything one could think of.

A few famous jokes in Novistrana go as follows:

What do you call one Novistranan? A drunk. What do you call two Novistranans? A fight. What do you call three Novistranans? The junior advisoury sub-committee of the 3rd Party Secretariat of the 8th District

A person on a bus tells a joke: "Do you know why policemen always go in pairs?" "No, why?" "It's specialization: one knows how to read, the other - how to write." A hand promptly grabs him by the shoulder — a policeman is standing right behind him! "Your papers!" he barks. The hapless person surrenders his papers. The policeman opens them, reads, and nods to his partner: "Write him up a citation, Vasya."

What do you call one Novogorodian? A partisan. What do you call two Novgorodians? A partisan cell. What do you call three Novgorodians? A partisan cell with a traitor in their midst.