Abt
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The Abt Republic is a young sovereign state occupying the north-eastern corner of the continent of Ambara. It was founded by a group of former Taraskovyan mercenaries called the Free Axemen. The Grand Duchy of Tarasovka recognized the independence of the state when it was formally declared. The peaceful separation from the mother country sparked a wave of immigration from Tarasovka by many hopeful republicans that saw in Abt the perfect realization of their ideals.
Contents
History
The Republic was founded by a Taraskovyan Free Mercenary Corps called the Free Axemen, numbering approximately five thousand personnel with their families. The first group of two thousand men first debarked in Abt Bay, from which the present country takes its name, and founded the city of Belgorod.
The initial settlers received a rather mixed welcome from the local powers. The Resurgent Dream was quick to establish relations but Pantocratorian Ambara and Pantocratoria viewed the newly founded Republic with much suspicion. This was in part due to the ambiguous legal status of the colony vis-à-vis Taraskovya itself, since the settlers did not declare independence right away. It was also due to the ambiguous legal status of lands not yet claimed by a specific power but possessing clear strategic relevance for a number of powers.
On 21 April 1149, the people of Abt officially proclaimed an Oath of Abjuration, severing their ties with the Grand Duchy and renouncing their Taraskovyan citizenship. Grand Duke Mikhail II chose to recognize the new state for a variety of reasons and has influenced the Grand Ducal Parliament into accepting the Oath of Abjuration. Thus, Abt became independent.
Shortly after, an official conference of Ambaran powers has decided to recognize the Abtian claim over Northern Sahor, while passing the rest under Danaan stewardship.
Politics
Abt is a unitary democratic republic with a unicameral legislature, the Duma. Members of Parliament are elected directly by the population on a proportional basis.
The Head of State is the President, who is elected by direct popular vote and forms the Cabinet of Ministers. The current President is Aorin Kelberath, Commander of the former Free Axemen FMC before they officially disbanded to retire into civilian life or integrated the ARDF.
Taraskovyan Influence
It is widely speculated that the Grand Duchy of Tarasovka continues to manipulate the politics of Abt from the shadows. The Grand Ducal interest can be explained by the fact that Abt serves as a magnet for various Taraskovyan romantic republicans and, as such, is both a useful tool and a potentially dangerous enemy.
Demographics
The quasi-entirety of the population is of Taraskovyan Russian origins, with some minor traces of Taraskath kin. Small minorities also exist. The population continues to grow, thanks to an influx of migrants from Taraskovya and, in a smaller part, from other countries.
The overwhelming majority of the republic’s population dwells on the shores of the Abt Bay, with a thin population stretched over the rest of the territory.
The language spoken by the majority population is Russian, which is also the de facto official language.
Since the near-entire population consists of devout Taraskovyan Orthodox, the Vigvar Patriarchate received the status of State Church. The situation is curious, since the Patriarchate does not enjoy a State Church status back in Taraskovya proper. The Eparchy of Belgorod watches over the Abtian faithful.
Military
The Abt Republic Defence Force is charged with defence of the Republic against outside threats, even if, paradoxically, the main threats come from inside of the republic’s borders in the shape of the Sons of the Reformation that have a number of outposts in the jungles of Abt. Service with the ARDF is entirely voluntary
The ARDF is organised into four branches: Abt Republic Army, Abt Republic Navy, Abt Republic Air Force and the People’s Militia.
An additional combined force of approximately ten thousand personnel comprised of Silver Lances, Jokers and Black Widow FMCs is stationed in Abt, their presence paid for and funded by rich Taraskovyan businessmen both sympathetic to the cause and wishing to secure their long-term investments into the Abtian market. The FMC units are placed under ARDF command.
Branches
Abt Republic Army
Abt Republic Army
The Abt Republic Army (Армия Республики Абт) is the ground force component of the ARDF and is currently the largest with approximately 15’000 servicemen. Their equipment is, as of now, rather light. This reflects the current status of the Army as a force which enforces Republican rule on Republic's soil and not one that is seriously geared for an offensive against another nation.
The Army operates the ARDF's low altitute transport and assault aircraft, which allows it to deploy combat units rapidly all over the territory of the Republic.
The Abt Republic Navy (Флот Республики Абт) is the maritime component of the ARDF. Currently, it is a small force that acts more as a Coast Guard than a conventional navy.
Abt Republic Air Force
The Abt Republic Air Force (Воздушные Силы Республики Абт) is also a rather small branch that is charged with protecting the Republican airspace from foreign intrusion, operating ground based anti-air complexes and a number of aircraft.
People’s Militia
The People’s Militia (Народное Ополчение) is the most numerous and also the less organised of all four branches. In fact, it is more an amalgamation of a series of local militias, formed by settlers in far-away corners of Abt, to protect their towns and villages. An ARDF officer is delegated to each unit and a joint Command is present in Belgorod, but otherwise each Militia operates independently from the others.
Each village and town also has an Army garrison, as well as possibly some Mercenary troops, alongside the Militia. However, the Militia never operates far from their point of dislocation, leaving patrols up to the Army and FMC soldiers.
Conflict with the Sons of the Reformation
While asserting its control over its territory, the Republic came to conflict with units belonging to the terrorist group Sons of the Reformation, who used the lawless western jungles and mountains of Abt as bases of operations for their activities in Danaan Ambara and other Ambaran countries.
ARDF elements began to systematically track down and eliminate any SoR bases in the region, aided in the effort by men from the Black Widow FMC.
