Esthonia

The Commonwealth of Esthonia is a nation located in the region of Scandinavia. The population is about 217 million, the capital is Reval.

Government

It is currently governed by an authoritarian government with the highest executive powers vested in the Committee of Public Safety. The anonymous 12-member Committee was established as a result of an internal power struggle that took place after the death of the first Prime Minister of the country, Edgar Swiscar. The members of the Committee are appointed by the People's Convention, a legislative body elected directly by the people. The Convention Election takes place once in every 6 years, all other elections and referendums are outlawed. There are no political parties, political activities are strictly controlled by the state and channelled through trade unions and other trade organisations.

Esthonia is a member of the United Nations. In public the Commonwealth is represented by the Chairman of the Convention and by the Executive Secretary of the Committee of Public Safety, the only official in that ruling body known to the public by his name and face.

A new programme has been implemented since 1 October 2006 to downgrade the bureaucracy-choked government and to establish a more effective system of public administration with the same amount of central power, but with less officials.

Economy

The Commonwealth struggles with an economy due to its centralised and autarchic approach. Almost all enterprises are owned by the government, but they operate on the same principles as private companies. All profit needs to be reinvested though. The share of private ownership is limited to 40% in all companies and is considerably lower in strategically important sectors (transportation, health, energy, etc). Foreign citizens and companies cannot do business in Esthonia.

There are some private enterprises in Esthonia, mostly insurance companies. The share of private ownership is relatively high also in car parts manufacturing and information technology sectors. Little privatisation has been allowed also in arms manufacturing, especially in companies producing for export.

There is an extensive safety-testing programme for all products manufactured in Esthonia. The same programme serves also as a protection against import products.

Electricity is produced mainly in the two huge nuclear power stations getting their fuel from the national uranium mines. More nuclear plants will be built in next 10 years to start energy export to neighbouring countries.

Esthonia has a proportional income tax, with an average tax rate of 60%. Esthonia's currency is the Esthonian Florin (ETF). It is freely convertable.

Environment

Considered for years an environmentally stunning country, rich of forests and natural pure water reserves, Esthonia's environment was seriously damaged when uranium was found there and a uranium mining company established. Recently numerous nature protection and environment restoration programmes have been started to alleviate the situation, but it has resulted in considerable raise of the income tax and other taxes. City development has been seriously restricted to provide the citizens with green holiday areas and uncontaminated natural reservates as near as possible to their urban settlements. The first results are already visible.

Infrastructure

A new programme for building roads and highways was started in September 2006 to improve the transportation network of Esthonia.

In city centres traffic jams have remained a problem, but a new tax was applied to all cars entering major city centres in October 2006. Only public transport, emergency and government vehicles are allowed to pass and park in the centres without having to pay a fee.

Public transport is well funded. Preference is given to sea transport and trains where possible.

Healthcare

All citizens of the Commonwealth have an access to free healthcare. Medical products are heavily subsidised by the government and therefore affordable to all people. Euthanasia is legal and encouraged by the government for severely impaired people with incurable illnesses.

National embryo-screening programme was recently introduced to remove embryos with severe genetic disorders. Population growth is controlled by the government.

Media and Publishing

Most media channels, including television, radio, newspapers and journals are owned by the government. Esthonian News Agency (ENA) is the official news resource for Esthonian publications. Some private journals and newspapers exist, but they are monitored by government-appointed boards and provide mostly reading material for entertainment.

There are both private and state-owned publishing companies, but their production is monitored by censorship boards appointed by the Committee of Public Safety. Non-approved books can be sold in theory, but in practice they will not be included in library collections or sold by any major book stores.

Education

Education is free for everyone from kindergarten till post-graduate studies. In October 2006 new secondary education laws were implemented. Size of classes has been downgraded and more funds are being poored in training teachers and renovating schoolhouses.

An extensive language study programme has been implemented, requiring all citizens to obtain at least basic knowledge in five foreign languages by the graduation of secondary school.

Culture

The State in general does not fund cultural activities. People are expected to deal with cultural activities in their spare time or to produce only works that are profitable. This is part of the new policy to cut subsidies to all special interest groups. Creators can apply for so-called cultural loans from the State or to try to get their works published/staged under the National Prosperity Programme which mainly subsidises cultural works on topics determined by Government. This policy is the result of trying to keep balance between tax rates and free public services.

Science

The government has legalised cloning which has become the main focus of Esthonia's scientific research and experiments. Special attention is being paid to reviving extinct species including the feather-bellied vulture, a species related to the national bird of Esthonia, the vulture.

Religion

Most people in Esthonia belong to various Protestant churches. However, recently the Committee of Public Safety has started to favour Catholic functionaries as advisors to the Government. Both the Committee and the Convention have been rumoured to have divided in the question of religion: it has been proposed to create the Church of Esthonia operated and governed by state-appointed officials and curb down the activities of all other churches. So far the proponents of religious diversity and freedom have prevailed.

Churches are not supported by the State, but they are also not subject to taxation.

Law and Order

The police and security are the top priorities of the government, receiving the most funding. Thanks to the all-pervasive police force crime is almost unknown. The omnipresent officials of the Committee of General Security (CGS) keep an eye on all suspicious activities and monitor the internet usage of Esthonian citizens. A number of web sites are blocked on security reasons.

A new law approved on 10 October 2006 called The Watchman Edict has brought along further improvement of security in the country and has increased the influence of the police. It states that all public areas in cities are to be surveilled by audio-video devices 24 hours a day and a central network of those surveillance systems is to be established in the next two years.

The People's Convention has legalised death sentence for all crimes that cause the loss of other person's life, including drunk driving.

The judges to the People's Court are appointed for lifetime by the Committee of Public Safety. In September 2006 people were surprised by nomination of a well-known liberal and civil rights activist to the People's Court.

Armed Forces

The Armed Forces of Esthonia are based on conscription, with men serving 12 months. It is well funded, but not as powerful as police and security units. Navy is the preferred branch of armed forces receiving the most funding and exercising the greatest power. The attempts of Air Forces and Army to change the situation have been futile.

There are rumours of an extensive nuclear and biological weapon programme being in progress.