Difference between revisions of "Novikov"

Revision as of 12:11, 5 October 2005

Overview:

The Royal Crown Colony of Novikov is a massive nation of some 1.2 billion inhabitants, currently integrated into the United Kingdom of Azazia as a Crown Colony. Novikov is a largely Slovak nation, with a strong Eastern-European and Russian influence. It is renown for its unique mixture of Pseudo-Capitalist and Yellow Socialist economics, and for a strongly developing industrial sector. The major industry, however, remains largely agricultural, providing over 50% of Novikov’s total GNP.

Government:

Since the cessation of hostilities between Novikov and the United Kingdom of Azazia on Nov. 7, 1605 on the Novikovian calendar (Nov. 9, 2005 by western count) Novikov has undergone massive changes. The government changed hands no less than five times in the four months during and preceding the Novikov-Azazia conflict.

Currently, the Novikovian State is under the control of a Parliamentary Democracy heavily based on the old pre-war system, but with a written constitution. Parliament consists of 77 members, equally representing 11 providences. Parliament remains under the control of Novikov’s majority party, the Liberal Democrats, and following the reestablishment of Parliament after the war, the minority has shifted historically back to the left, away from the Nationalist and Conservative parties largely blamed for starting the war. The current Prime Minister is Milos Borovic, who is answerable to the Royal Governor, Thomas Cahill. Important cabinet members include Boris Stanislav (Minister of Defense), Alexi Gerchinkov (Minister of the Interior), and William Heartman (Minister of Foreign Affairs and Envoy to the Royal Government).

Sadly, this new Novikovian Government holds little power over happenings in Novikov, and even less influence abroad. A major political movement is underway, however, which would grant Novikv a greater level of self-rule, and is generally supported by all political parties.

Economy:

Novikov controls an impressive GDP of 14.839 trillion USD, which is divided heavily among Healthcare, Education, Defense, and Law/Order, with a small percent to the total government budget going towards other concerns such as Transportation, Commerce, and the Enviornment.

The Economy is based principally around the dual concerns of agriculture (53%) and manufacturing (32%), while service jobs comprise most of the remainder. Export-Import businesses are one of the keys which allow Novikov to prosper, but they are controlled entirely by the government.

Manufacturing is entirely regulated by the Government and all industry dubbed ‘vital to the sate’ is placed under Government control. This includes the production of all raw materials, and the manufacture of military technology, automobiles, aircraft, and electronics. Private manufacturing focuses largely on simple tools and mechanical components, which are then exported privately abroad.

Agriculture has also been dubbed ‘vital to the state’ in all areas save fruit farming, fishing, poultry, and luxury goods – though coffee, grown in tiny amounts on Novikov overseas possessions, strangely is not listed as a luxury item. This governmental control has allowed for the construction and use of all-year heated greenhouses and controlled growing environments, which allows Novikovians to produce goods which would otherwise have to be imported abroad. This also allows the Government to focus growth based on current economic trends, and to regularly rotate crops in an orderly fashion around the country. This leads to a substantially higher crop yield, with far less overproduction and competition than could otherwise be obtained.

Compared to agriculture, Novikov’s development and use of other natural resources found on her soil remains rather poor. Though major efforts have to be undertaken to import needed amounts of oil, iron, tin, aluminum, zinc, magnesium, and timber, a largely unexploited supply of natural gas in the Zvolen region and significant deposits of silver and copper have compensated and helped to swell the nation’s coffers. Other finds are still being made, such as the 1604 Loviz Claim – a massive vein or iron ore located in the mountainous region south of the port city of Duma – and these will also help alleviate Novikov’s dependence on foreign resources as they are gradually exploited by the State.

The only entirely private sector of the economy is service jobs, mostly restaurants, hotels, and basic services. These private companies have for the most part not thrived in the highly directed Novikovian economy, but continue to eek out a living, despite heavy Government taxing of their business.

In this grand scheme, unemployment remains a problem at nearly 17%, but this is in large part a temporary situation caused by the continued disarmament programs enacted by the Royal Government. Several welfare programs are underway with the aim of helping fix this problem, and it is hoped that as the economy recovers from the devastation wrought by this latest fighting between Novikov and the United Kingdom so will job oppertuinites in Novikov grow.

Society:

Novikovian society is very firmly based on the beliefs in free speech and the welfare state. However, devotion to Novikov patriotic Rawlsian-Socialist ideas has led to infringements on the former in the past, and threatens to do so again.

The Novikovian citizen, on average, enjoys an income of roughly 9,000 USD. Coupled with extensive social programs, this places Novikov’s people in the upper half of the world, as far as overall benefits go. The society is also remarkably equal, with even the richest citizens making only 24,000 USD, and the poorest being held at a 5,200 USD safety-net.

The people are highly devoted to the political process and, though voting is voluntary, 87% of Novikov’s eligible voters (age 16 an above) continue to do so in every election – local and national. They align themselves mostly with Yellow or passively-Red Socialist parties, with other Liberal parties as well. The mainstay for he conservative minority seem to be the issue of Patriotism and defense, and they almost always concede economic an foreign policy to the left, simply to appease the masses.

Novikov has a 92.3% literacy rate, with over half the population being literate in multiple language and/or alphabets. Education runs from age 6 to 17; grades 1-11, and is governmentally sponsored and controlled, as is higher education for the large part. This means that, while education is free, many programs are largely lacking. In particular, the Novikovian Education System lacks a developed program to support the visual arts and music on even a basic level, and also suffers from an overdeveloped language program, which has to be compensated for by decreasing funding going to other basic areas of the curriculum, primarily mathematics. The national languages of Novikov are Czech, Slovak, and a Novikovian dialect of Russian.

Military:

Novikov currently is undergoing a massive disarmament policy, reducing the military size by 83%, from 91 total divisions to just 14. This is being mandated and heavily controlled by the Royal Government and not the actual Novikovian administration which seems to plan on reducing Novikovian ground forces to a police-level strength.

Formerly a moderate maritime power, Novikov’s navy now consists of 369 total surface ships, most of them being small patrol vessels. She services only 18 submarines – compared to a pre-war number of 297 – and major diplomatic concessions have to be made before the Azazian Government will allow Novikov any vessel larger than a destroyer. Like the Navy’s situation, the Novikovian WMD program – formerly quite large and developed - is being reduced to almost nothing. Though currently undecided on the issue, it is unlikely that Novikov will possess any ICBMs in the future, and will certainly be barred from any WMDs not necessary for a minimal nuclear deterrent.

The Novikovian Air Force (now the Novikovian Colonial Air Defense Force) however, actually undergoing a technological advancement, with several new indigenous designs entering service and a general modernization campaign going on to upgrade the aging Mirage 2000 in service now.

In all these changes are shifting Novikov militarily away from the international stage and back to the status of a regional power. While this is not highly problematic, it does place an undue burden on Novikov’s old allies to help in her defense should the need arise. For this reason, Novikov’s current administration has insisted on fighting tooth-and-nail to retain its status as a full IADF member, regardless of its change from an independent state to a colonial dependency of the Azazian State.