Taraskovyan Empire

The term Taraskovyan Empire is used on a daily basis by the public and media to name the entirety of the Taraskovyan territorial possessions spread throughout the stars. It is done mainly to avoid confusion between the Grand Duchy and its dependencies, dominions, protectorates and colonies. While de facto the Taraskovyan Empire is well existent, functioning and prospering, de jure it does not exist. Indeed, there has never been any document creating the Empire, no proclamation to bypass the need for a legal document, and most importantly – the Taraskovyan leader does not bear the title of Emperor.

Structure and Composition

The Taraskovyan Empire does not have any defined structure and is in fact a clear example of an efficient ad hoc adaptation to new realities. However, a form of political and administrative structure does exist in the form of a metropoly and its subject dependencies. Each dependency is tied to the metropoly through a particular relationship, which defines its ties to the other dependencies.

Overall, the central and pivotal role of the metropoly in the Empire is played by the Grand Duchy of Tarasovka. This can be seen in the following facts:

• the Grand Duke of all Taraskovya is also the Head of State of each and every of the dependencies. And not a merely symbolic figure, but somebody who has the power and the authority to act. Whilst not expressing it explicitly, art. 147 par 3 of the Constitution of the Grand Duchy of Tarasovka extends the Grand Duke’s right to veto any decision made by any authority to the dependencies.

• the Grand Ducal law takes precedence over local laws, even if in some cases a certain disparity is tolerated, such as when local customs and mentality diverge greatly from the Taraskovyan ones (namely in ARIA and Tavaroth). But even then, the representatives of the Grand Ducal authorities work towards bringing the local legislation to conformity with the Grand Ducal one;

• although the Grand Ducal Parliament is deciding many issues directly concerning the fate of the dependencies, these latter are not represented in the Parliament and, as such, have no word in the legislative debates. Moreover, the population of some dependent territories does not take part in Grand Ducal referenda. Such is the case of ARIA which decided to have its own citizenship;

• the dependencies have no foreign policy per se and have to abide by that of the Grand Duchy;

• even if some of the dependencies (and even some of the Fiefdoms) maintain their own armed forces, all these are considered as auxiliary reserves for the National Defence Forces, subject to the command of the Grand Duchy and of the Grand Duke.

With all this, one has to remember that the metropoly in no way oppresses its dependencies. In fact, in some cases, such as ARIA, the local population chose itself to “not engage into any active integration with the Grand Duchy”. In some others, the people enjoy greater tax freedoms than in the Grand Duchy due to the absence of Fiefdom taxes.

Composition

Grand Duchy of Tarasovka

The Metropoly where all decisions are taken and where cultures from all over the Empire meet and interact.

Dependencies

Kingdom of Dreamreach

The Grand Duke’s second major title stems from this solar system, with its inhabitable planet Lagoon being the host to some of the most expansive developments in Taraskovyan history.

Duchy of Zoria

Fief of Archduchess Vethara on Venus.

Autonomous Republic of the Island of Atlantic

The Autonomous Republic of the Island of Atlantic (ARIA) was formed following the purchase by the Grand Duchy of Tarasovka of the Allanean State of Atlantic Island. Today, it is a Taraskovyan dependency with extensive autonomy from the Grand Duchy, with the Grand Ducal Parliament having the right to intervene into the affairs of the Autonomous Republic through the Grand Ducal Overseer.

Omeldor-1 Territories

The Grand Duchy extends its sovereignty over a certain amount of domes on the Omeldor-1 Craftworld, which are placed under direct authority of the Grand Duchy.

Sovereign Base Areas

The Sovereign Base Areas are run and maintained by the Ministry of Defence and the National Defence Forces. They serve as platforms for the defence of Taraskovyan interests in various parts of the world.

United Provinces of Tavaroth

The four main provinces of Tavaroth united under a single symbolic banner. In fact, this is not a single dependency, but four of them, each with its own local government, culture, traditions and Grand Ducal authority representatives.

Joint Protectorates

The so called “joint protectorates” are nations over which the Grand Duchy has the role of Protector, yet shares it with one or more other nations. Such territories include Os Sanglants (fellow Protectors: Der Angst and ZMI) and North-Western Antarctica (fellow Protector: Der Angst).

Corporate Possessions

Some Taraskovyan corporate giants, namely the VerTech Conglomerate and the Independent Mining Conglomerate maintain a presence on various planetoids, asteroids and planets for their activity. It is generally considered that planets and stellar bodies claimed by Taraskovyan corporations are part of the Taraskovyan Empire.