Vetalia

General

The SSR of Vetalia is a massive nation of over 3.7 billion people and the dominant superpower of its planet. Following the successes of the Communist Revolution in 279, the nation has begun an aggressive program of economic development stemming from its use of central planning to coordinate industrial and commercial growth. The nation is active in promoting its ideology worldwide, and the new military buildup has caused concern among other nations, particularly bordering states. Vetalia's Communist Party is keen on avoiding the mistakes of the past and wants to achieve "developed socialism", although its commitment to these ideas is uncertain.

Government

Vetalia is a

Culture

The Revolution of 279 greatly disrupted Vetalian cultural expression, but aggressive development since the start of the Fifth Seven-Year Plan (310-317) has led to a revival of most styles of expression. Numerous venues have been renovated, and new ones constructed across the nation, particularly in economically underdeveloped areas. Nevertheless, Vetalian culture remains under the jurisdiction of the Communist Party and expression is limited; the loosening of these rules since the end of the Aedica era have revitalized

Economy

Vetalia is an immense nation whose economy is almost entirely state controlled. However, unlike other centrally planned states Vetalia allows private ownership of property. These rules are limited to a house no larger than 1,500 square feet, a plot of land 10 acres or smaller, or a business employing no more than 15 workers. Anything larger than this is state owned. In the case of housing, the government has established "urban zones" that prohibit private construction within 30 miles of cities with populations of 100,000 or more; although this is not particularly troublesome given Vetalia's extensive investments in road and rail lines since the Second SYP, the concentration of large industrial and commercial center

A unique feature of Vetalian Communism is its emphasis on a balance between sectors of the economy. The Economic Defense Law prohibits military expenditures from exceeding 10% of GDP, while investment is mandated at a minimum of 10% of GDP and has averaged between 12-17% over the past two plans. The Planning Ministry wants this share to rise to 20% by 324, but this is dependent on whether or not the country can establish trade and investment deals with the non-Communist states of the Planetary Free-Trade Commission. The close ties between the Vetalia-sponsored Comecon and the PFTC, as well as the limited opportunities for private investment at a small scale, have both encouraged decent relations between the two states.

Due to its already-developed agricultural system, Vetalia has avoided collectivization, preferring instead to use alternative methods of agricultural management. The use of advanced computing technology to coordinate prices within the country has alleviated some of the complexity of resource allocation, and as a result Vetalian farm production has seen growth of about 1-2% per year, slightly above demand growth and enough to prevent shortages of most foodstuffs. Logistics problems primarily arise with more seasonal products and imports, although these shortages are generally alleviated within days.

Vetalian GDP growth 279-317

279-282: +1.3% 282-289: +5.2% 289-296: +11.6% 296-303: +7.8% 303-310: +6.5% 310-317: +5.9% 317-324: (+5.0%)