Yelda

From NSwiki, the NationStates encyclopedia.
Jump to: navigation, search
Peoples Democratic Republic Of Yelda
Yeldansæ Iäith Wösåþewr
yelda.jpg
Flag of the People's Democratic Republic of Yelda
m45-1.jpg
Map of The Pleiades region
Region The Pleiades
Official Language Yeldan
Capital Yelda (Ikat Yeldashæ)
Chairman Chairman Diřgę
Foreign Minister Quynn Olver
Population
 - Total (Dec. 2005)
2.784 billion
Establishment 22 Januarary 1714, from The Yeldan Empire
Government Type Unicameral Legislature, One Party State
Nation Type People's Democratic Republic
National Animal Spotthecat
GDP (2005)
  - Total
  - GDP/capita
$67,156,479,391,562.02
$24,122.30
Currency 1 New Yeldan Pound = $1.4456
Nation codes
 - sports
 - government
YDA
YIW
National anthem Anthem of the People's Democratic Republic
Internet TLD .yda

The People's Democratic Republic of Yelda is a space-faring nation located in the M45 star cluster (The Pleiades), Pleione system, planet Trid. From their beginnings as a small city-state centered around the ancient city of Yelda , the Yeldans continuously expanded their power and influence, eventually uniting the whole of Trid under their banner during the Imperial era.

The Culture of Yelda is inherently hard to define. However, there are some general characteristics often associated with Yeldan society and every day culture. Yeldans are generally a reserved people, similar in character to the peoples of Norway or Sweden on Earth. Traditionally, Yeldans enjoy peace and nature, though the modern, urban lifestyle is becoming increasingly common as demographics shift away from rural life.

A sense of melancholy and depression is sometimes associated with the Yeldans. People in Yelda are reserved when meeting strangers and sometimes take a long time to become familiar with others but, as a result, relationships are deep and lasting. Alcohol is considered to be an effective method of lowering these inhibitions. Still, Yeldans tend to be less gregarious and inclined to small talk than most of their Tridyan peers.

Yeldans are proud that their nation has managed to rise from its troubled past (and near extinction) during the 10th century to a modern, technologically advanced interstellar state. Equality is an important part of Yeldan culture, so much so that success or what may be seen as a deliberate attempt to distinguish oneself from others may be viewed with hostility. It is commonly frowned upon in Yeldan culture to believe yourself to be better than others, whether by birth or achievement.

The Yeldan national character is called Ustê, for which an exact English equivalent does not exist. Composed of stamina, tenacity and sheer will, it is a kind of tough, persevering strength in the face of adversity.

History

The Kingdom of Yelda

This section covers the ancient history of present Yelda and its early medieval period, which is historically referred to as The Kingdom.

The state we now know as Yelda had it's beginnings in the fertile plain of the Slekyva River after the collapse of the Potomian Empire. The lands of present Yelda were home to numerous city-states and small kingdoms who were variously overwhelmed by invading Bigiöks, Potomians, and Memperisians between the first and third centuries AD. They in turn were displaced by the Misteil, whose Kings established a capital at the city of Yelda and gradually merged with the Yeldan ruling classes. The Yeldans constituted the bulk of the population from the 5th century onwards and slowly assimilated both the Misteil as well as native Bigiök and Potomian peoples.

The Misteil dynasty lasted several centuries, during which they conquered the Bigioks and briefly moved the capital to Bigiök in 764 A.D. In this era the term "Yeldan" first came to be applied not only to the Bigiöks but also to the other peoples of the region who spoke Yeldan-like languages, or were under Yeldan influence. In the 8th century to 9th century this state became the largest on the continent and was quite prosperous, due to diversified sea trade.

In the 10th century the area suffered from internal disputes and was overrun by the Memperisians. Also known as the Cozams, they ruled the southern and central expanses of present-day Yelda.

The northern part of Yelda together with the area surrounding Bigiök retained some degree of autonomy during the time of the Cozam occupation and was largely spared the atrocities that affected the rest of the country. The Yeldan kings continued to reign during this time, but were essentially vassals of the Cozams.

Long-lasting Memperisian rule retarded the country's economic and social development. Cozam influences degraded many of the country's institutions and affected its culture and economy in a very negative way.

In spite of this, Yelda was able to revive, and organized its own war of reconquest, finally subjugating its enemies and annexing their territories.

The Yeldan Empire

This section covers the history of the Yeldan conquest of Trid, which is historically referred to as The Empire. It is worth noting at this time that Trid, unlike Earth, is mostly a “water world”. The surface of the planet is 80% water and the land-mass consists of one large continent (Eorðand) with an archipelago of islands surrounding it.

While still nominally under the domain of the Cozams, the Yeldan kings began to assert their influence, and eventually tossed off the control of the invaders late in the 12th century.

In the beginning of the 13th century the Yeldan state set the national goal to regain all Yeldan territories lost as a result of the Cozam invasion and to protect the borderland against attacks of various nomadic tribes. It was at this time that the Yeldan lands were first divided into provinces, with provincial governors given responsibility for defense of their respective territories. This era also saw the first codification of Yeldan laws, and the beginning of massive public works in Yelda and other major cities of the realm.

In 1257 A.D., following the final conquest of the Republic of Potomia, King Aǻlwoch II took the title of Ymeråwþwr, or emperor. Beginning around this time, the Yeldan policy towards conquered peoples was one of benevolent assimilation. Conquered peoples were granted Yeldan citizenship, and enjoyed the same civil liberties as native Yeldans. The study of the Yeldan language was encouraged, but not mandatory and newly annexed areas were allowed to maintain their native customs and religions. The construction of libraries, schools, roads, bridges and other infrastructure was given a high priority in these areas.

Through a series of wars, alliances, economic maneuvering and treachery Yelda completed the conquest of Eorðand in 1350 A.D.. Over the next two centuries, Yeldan rule was extended to all the islands surrounding the continent. It was at this time that the Yeldan army ceased to exist as a separate entity. The old Yeldan army regiments were incorporated into the navy and thereafter referred to as "naval infantry". By 1415 the entire surface of Trid was brought under the rule of the Yeldan state, mostly due to the invention of gunpowder. This also coincided with the beginnings of industrialization.

The later years of the Empire saw the development of steam power, the telegraph and the establishment of a modern industrial economy, but also the increasing corruption of the Imperial Government. The last Misteil emperor died without heirs in 1595 and was succeeded on the throne by General Sentyiu Gæþ. Emperor Gæþ was followed by his son, grandson and great-nephew and are known collectively as “The Four Devils”. Social and economic conditions deteriorated rapidly with the introduction of the “Domain Laws” which granted 51% ownership of all the means of production to the Imperial household.

Unrest of the workers and suppression of the growing liberal intelligentsia were continuing problems however, and the position of Emperor Gæþ IV and his dynasty became precarious. Opposition to the Domain Laws and increasing oppression at the hands of the Imperial Government led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Yeldan Empire and to the overthrow in 1704 of the Gæþs by an alliance of the military, students and workers.

At the close of the revolution, a Marxist political faction called the Yeldan Worker's Party seized power in Yelda and Bigiök. A bloody civil war ensued, pitting the Yeldan Worker's Party's “Red Army” and much of the former Imperial Navy against a loose confederation of democrats, anti-socialist and monarchist forces, including some “pretenders” claiming to represent the former Misteil dynasty. The Red Army triumphed, and the People's Democratic Republic of Yelda was formed in 1714.

The People's Democratic Republic

This section covers the history of Yelda from the establishment of The People's Democratic Republic until the present day.

The first act of the new revolutionary government was to execute all remaining members of the Gæþ family, as well as all competing revolutionaries. All vestiges of the Gæþ dynasty were erased and a campaign to purge “the time of the devils” from memory was instituted. The old black and gold Imperial banner was replaced with “the people's flag”, a red and gold facsimile of the old flag. Paintings, images, statues and any other reminders of the Gæþs were outlawed and destroyed. Statues and images of the old Misteil kings and emperors were, however, unmolested. Ironically, the Imperial Government was never “officially” disbanded. The Constitution was amended radically to reflect the new reality, but to this day Yelda is technically an Empire with an empty throne. The Peoples Democratic Republic serves as a sort of “regent”, or caretaker government. It is unlikely, however, that any attempt by Misteil descendants to ascend to the throne would be greeted warmly by the Party.

Mention should be made at this time of the peculiar nature of “Yeldan Socialism”. It is not “revolutionary” socialism in the normal sense. At the time of Yelda's revolution, the Yeldan Empire controlled the entire surface of Trid, thus a policy of “exporting the revolution” never developed since there was at that time nowhere to export the revolution to. The Yeldan government is always willing to share its economic and political teachings with those who are interested, but has never had a particular interest in forcing socialism upon other nations.

In the nearly 300 years since the establishment of The People's Democratic Republic, Yelda has been transformed into a huge, space-faring, post-industrial state. All modern innovations from radio, television and flight to nano-technology, spaceflight and eventually, interstellar flight have come to pass under the guiding hand of the Yeldan Worker's Party.

The Directorate

This section covers the development of interstellar space flight and Yelda's subsequent dealings with other space-faring nations.

Perhaps the most important event in Yeldan history occurred in 1820 when an ancient spacecraft was discovered on Trid's lesser moon, Ællos. Yelda had developed spaceflight some years earlier, in 1805, and was taking it's first cautious steps in exploring the two moons of Trid. Upon discovering this well-preserved relic, it was immediately decided to construct a base near the craft with the goal of possibly activating it. The next 50 years were spent studying and back-engineering the vessel and its systems. In 1865, having worked out a translation of the builder's language, the ship's computer was activated, revealing a veritable treasure trove of engineering data. The next five years were spent in an effort to re-activate the ship. This effort was abandoned in 1870 when it was decided that the data contained in the ships computer would be better used to construct new vessels of Yeldan design. The Gwyddæf Design Bureau of Yelda Ship Works was given the task of constructing an orbital building yard to fabricate the new vessels. This involved the development, using technology from the ancient ship, of an entire new infrastructure dedicated to building the yard, and later the vessels themselves.

In 1915 the first ship, a Yælm class cruiser, was launched. This led to first contact with the space-faring nations of Kungpaomao and Nerdocrombesia and all of the other nations of The Pleiades.

In 1934, a regional government for The Pleiades known as “The Directorate” was established. Made up of Yelda, Kungpaomao and Nerdocrombesia, the directorate rules as a triumvirate over the international affairs of The Pleiades, while internal matters are left to the discretion of the various national governments.

In 2004, having made contact with several other space-faring nations, Yelda learned of the existence of The United Nations. After much debate, it was decided that Yelda and Kungpaomao would join the organization, with Yelda serving as delegate.

Politics

Yelda in the UN

Yelda served as UN Delegate until the passage of the UN Biological Weapons Ban. At that point, due to uneasiness with Article 5 of UNBWB it was decided that Yelda would withdraw from the UN, being replaced by a UN puppet, Yeldan UN Mission. The UN Mission was headquartered on the Tridya þiudaga space station and was originally established to serve as a "Yeldan Office of UN Affairs". Yeldan UN Mission represented Yeldan interests in the UN until 2006, when it was replaced by the "nation" of Iron Felix, which consisted of Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky and staff. In 2007, Yelda re-entered the UN and assumed once more the position of Delegate of The Pleiades.

Yeldan Legislative activities:

Out of respect for nations which do not wish their citizens to know of the existence of extra-terrestrials, Yeldan UN diplomats maintain a policy of silence in public regarding the state of Yeldan technology. Items which would be considered "future-tech" are kept out of sight while on UN premises and interstellar space travel is not mentioned. (this policy was breached during the UN Fair Wage Convention debate)

Yelda maintains membership in the United Nations Old Guard and The United Nations Organizations and is also an observer at the National Sovereignty Organization.

Yeldan Government

<div" class="plainlinksneverexpand">d5d8a8cc.png
Chairman Diřgę
</div>

In the technical terminology of political science, Yelda was a communist state from the time of the establishment of the People's Democratic Republic until recently, and is still considered a communist state by many, though not all political scientists. Attempts to characterize the nature of Yelda's political structure into a single, simple category are typically seen as lacking sufficient depth to be satisfactory. A major reason for this is Yelda's political history: for over 1500 years, prior to 1704, the state had been ruled by some form of centralized imperial monarchy, which has left significant traces on subsequent political and social structures. This was followed by a chaotic civil war and the establishment of the People's Democratic Republic.

The Yeldan State has variously been described as authoritarian, communist, socialist and various combinations of those terms. This may be called state capitalist by more left-leaning communists. It appears Yelda is slowly becoming more capitalist in its economic system. Yelda recently released an official statement on its political structure, upholding the notion that the state should be ruled by democratic means.

The government of Yelda is controlled by the Yeldan Worker's Party. There are other, minor parties in Yelda, though they are often closely associated or subparties within the YWP. The effect of the other parties on the government remains minimal. While there have been some moves toward political liberalization, in that contested elections are now held at the local level and legislatures have shown some assertiveness from time to time, the party retains effective control over governmental appointments. While the state uses authoritarian methods to deal with challenges to its rule, it simultaneously attempts to reduce dissent by improving the economy, allowing rather extensive civil rights, allowing expression of personal grievances, and giving lenient treatment to persons expressing dissent whom the State does not believe are organizers

The support that the Yeldan Worker's Party has among the Yeldan population is unclear, as there are no true national elections, and private conversations and anecdotal information often reveals conflicting views. Most in Yelda appear appreciative of the role that the government plays in upholding civil rights and in maintaining social stability, which has allowed the economy to grow without interruption.

Elections are held by secret ballot and everyone age 18 or older can vote. The vast majority of candidates are members of the YWP despite the fact that only 30 percent of the Yeldan electorate are members. Party members, as well as non-party members are allowed to stand and do get elected.

The people nominate and elect candidates for the municipal assemblies. Candidates for the National Assembly are nominated by municipal assemblies and put to a yes/no vote; citizens are to vote for several candidates at both levels of government and may vote for none, some, or all of them. If the candidates do not receive more than 51% of the votes, new elections are scheduled.

Legislative power is nominally in the hands of the National Assembly. However, save for two sessions a year, legislative power is exercised by the 31 member Council of State which is elected by the National Assembly from itself.

Executive authority is formally vested in the Council of Ministers, a large cabinet comprised of 8 members of the Council of State, the heads of the national ministries, and other persons. A smaller Executive Committee consisting of the more important members of the Council of Ministers oversees normal business.

Chairman Diřgę has been the head of government since 1999 as President of the Council of State, which also serves as head of state. He is also Chairman of the Yeldan Worker's Party, and since 1981 a member of the National Assembly from the municipality of Ünyōntyn. (The Consitution requires that the President of the Council of State be a member of the National Assembly).

The Yeldan Worker's Party

<div" class="plainlinksneverexpand">mao-glowing.jpg
Chairman Diřgę propaganda poster
</div>

The Yeldan Worker's Party is one of the three centers of power within the People's Democratic Republic of Yelda, the other two being the state apparatus and the Military.

The relationship between party and state is somewhat different than that of most other Communist systems, in which the party controls the state. In the current Yeldan structure, power derives from the state position, but key state positions are invariably held by members of the party and the party through its organization department makes crucial decisions on who occupies what position. However, in contrast to other systems where the party has extra-legal authority, since the early-1990's, it is has been established that the party is subject to the rule of law and is therefore subject to the authority of the State and the Constitution of the People's Democratic Republic of Yelda. It is often unclear to outsiders whether the Party controls the State, or the State controls the Party.

Theoretically, the party's highest body is the National Congress of the Yeldan Worker's Party, which meets at least once every 5 years. The primary organs of power in the YWP which are listed in the party constitution include:

  • The Politburo Standing Committee, which currently consists of nine members;
  • The Politburo, consisting of 22 full members (including the members of the Politburo Standing Committee);
  • The Secretariat, the principal administrative mechanism of the YWP, headed by the Chairman of the Yeldan Worker's Party.

Every five years, the YWP holds a National Congress. Formally, the Congress serves two functions: to approve changes to the Party constitution and to elect a Central Committee, about 300 strong. The Central Committee in turn elects the Politburo. In practice, positions within the Central Committee and Politburo are determined before a Party Congress, and the main purpose of the Congress is to announce the party policies and vision for the direction of Yelda in the following few years.

The Committee For State Security

The Committee For State Security does not exist and is not spoken of.

Economy

General Information

  • Exchange Rate: 1 New Yeldan Pound = $1.4456
  • Gross Domestic Product: $66,913,199,534,027.23
  • GDP Per Capita: $24,121.56
  • Unemployment Rate: 3.23%
  • Consumption: $0.00
  • Government Budget: $80,518,795,308,000.03
  • Government Expenditures: $64,415,036,246,400.03
  • Goverment Waste: $16,103,759,061,600.00
  • Exports: $9,953,607,297,627.20
  • Imports: $7,455,444,010,000.00
  • Trade Surplus: $2,498,163,287,627.19

as of 28 December 2005

Culture

For a discussion of Yeldan foods and eating habits, see Yeldan cuisine.

Yeldan Language

The Yeldan language has been described as sounding like a Welshman speaking Old Norse with a fake Punjabi accent. Yeldan is the official language of Yelda and is now part of the required curriculum of all schools. All government and Party business is conducted in Yeldan. Since 1415, the use of languages other than Yeldan (as well as regional dialects of Yeldan) has been in steady decline.

Like most languages, there are identifiable periods within the history of Yeldan, although the boundaries between these are often indistinct.

Yeldan is a branch of the Potomian family of languages which includes Ancient Potomian, Bigiökan, Yeldan and Misteil, The earliest extant sources of a language identifiable as Yeldan go back to about the 1st century, and the language of this period is known as Early Yeldan. Very little of this language remains. The next main period, somewhat better attested, is Old Yeldan (5th to 9th centuries); this was the language of the early kingdom. As Cozam colonisation of Yelda proceeded, the Yeldan-speakers in the south were split off from those in northern Yelda. This resulted in two distinct dialects.

Middle Yeldan is the label attached to the Yeldan of the 10th to 12th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of nearly all surviving early manuscripts. Middle Yeldan is reasonably intelligible, albeit with some work, to a modern-day Yeldan speaker.

Modern Yeldan can be divided into two periods. The first, Early Modern Yeldan ran from the 13th century to roughly the end of the 16th century. Late Modern Yeldan began with the publication of the first nationally available Yeldan newspaper Iäith in 1588. This proved to have a strong stabilising effect on the language, and indeed the language today still bears the same Late Modern label. Of course, many minor changes have occurred since then.

Yeldan is, of course, written in the Yeldan/Bigiökan alphabet. But for ease of communication when presented to an international audience is expressed in the Latin alphabet with some additions: the letter yogh, adopted from Irish; the letter eth, from Icelandic, the runic letters thorn and wynn, as well as letters borrowed from other Scandinavian/Germanic and even some Slavic alphabets. Also used is a symbol for the conjunction 'and', a character similar to the number seven ('7'), and a symbol for the relative pronoun 'þæt', a thorn with a crossbar through the ascender. Also used occasionally are macrons over vowels, abbreviations for following 'm's or 'n's.

Yeldan syntax has a great deal of common ground with Dutch and German. Yeldan is not dependent upon S (subject), V (verb), O (object) or "SVO" word order in the way that English is. The syntax of a Yeldan sentence can be in any of these shapes: SVO order, VSO order, and OVS order. The only constant rule, as in German and Dutch, is that the verb must come as the second concept. That is, in the sentence 'in the town, we ate some food', it could appear as 'in the town, ate we some food', or 'in the town, ate some food we'. This variable word order is especially common in poetry. Prose, while still displaying variable word order, is much more likely to use SVO ordering. Similarly, word order became less flexible as time went on: the older a text is, the less likely it is to have a fixed word order.

Here is a riddle. The following text is one of the paragraphs of this wiki article, written in Yeldan, using the modified Latin alphabet. See if you can guess which one:

Fìlltir þrys llirif heörgyl hlaf. I'r behrle äldhun öcta sentyiu trön dênt milthras mørd. I'r dääglic. Siivret ønêwyd dyn huut begaldin. Fere carhelm. Llìs hartnad rætus alduini förlåt Tridya. Sìorrui yeuerþe res misgefþ Ywsågæþ nef. Fräddag lêða æve na sweistu. Söo vådan uuiriht gwnefoe camwyth øan. Misgefþ hæilaga heið maidd. Dagt förvald vår tillra riorrui. Nelêr öllu res. Urþe þiudaga. Gwneleg hæilaga duw Slekyva thiúl. Ubileit fers! Obarlêd, þift æve swamlic himins eið. Hrääk Aüþäwythågæþ.

Arts

To say that the Yeldans revere their time spent soaking up arts and culture is an understatement. Particularly in the city of Yelda — where an abundance of venues is concentrated within a few square miles — it is common to find Yeldans devoting their weekends to exploring the wealth of museums and cultural havens; many of the provincial areas are likewise blessed with impressive monuments to art and architecture.

Not surprisingly, one can attribute both the people's pride in their heritage, as well as the sheer extent of Yelda's artistic wealth, to a long, colorful and often tumultuous history. Much of the Yeldan thirst for cultural enrichment and education dates back to the early days of the Empire, when books, artistic influences, mathematics, and philosophical thought were carried back to the Yeldan people from distant civilizations. Though relatively few artifacts remain from earlier eras, art in ancient Yelda may be traced back through the early kingdom , to the days of the city states, before the founding of the Misteil dynasty, to prehistoric times.

During the past millenium, many of the icons and most prolific minds in philosophy, literature, poetry, theatre, painting, sculpture, architecture, and science can be credited to the Yeldans — or, in some cases, expatriates living in Yelda. Encouragement and support for artistic endeavor has been a hallmark of Yelda's kings, emperors, and chairmen to this day. In order to preserve such a rich cultural heritage, and to make it more widely available outside of Yelda, a Ministry of Culture was established by the Yeldan government in 1801.

For further discussion, see Yeldan art, Yeldan music and Yeldan architecture.

Religion

...is the opium of the masses.


Just kidding.


The Yeldan religion, Badürism, is a monotheistic faith based on the teachings of Tarth Badür. Badürians generally place great emphasis on a liturgical approach to worship services; however, many Badürian churches today also hold contemporary worship services for the purpose of evangelical outreach. Music forms a large part of a traditional Badürian service. Badürian hymns are sometimes known as chorales, and Badür himself composed hymns and hymn tunes. Many Badürian churches have active music ministries, including choirs, hand-bell choirs, children's choirs and sometimes carillon societies (to ring bells in a bell tower).

The Yeldan government is officially atheist, although freedom of religion is guaranteed by the constitution. All of the ancient churches, shrines and other religious structures in Yelda are protected and maintained under the Archetectual Antiquities Trust, but the Badürian religion is basically ignored.

According to governmental statistics 50% of the population consider themselves to be Badürian and 8% 'other denominations'. 42% consider themselves not to belong to any religious denomination. Church attendance however is much lower than these figures may suggest: some 70% of the population 'rarely or never' visit a house of worship.

Demographics

Statistics

Population: (2005 est.)

  • Yelda - 2,779,000,000
  • Yeldan UN Mission - 905,000,000

Age structure: (2005 est.)

  • 0–14 years: 23.6%
  • 15–64 years: 64.0%
  • 65 years and over: 12.4%

Population growth rate: 2.92% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 16.18 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 4.25 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.31 migrants/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratios: (2005 est.)

  • at birth: 1.05 males/female
  • under 15 years: 1.05 males/female
  • 15–64 years: 1 male/female
  • 65 years and over: 0.72 male/female
  • total population: 0.97 male/female

Infant mortality rate: (2005 est.)

  • total population: .5 deaths/1,000 live births
  • male: .57 deaths/1,000 live births
  • female: .43 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy (2005 est.):

  • total population: 97.6 years
  • male: 94.8 years
  • female: 100.1 years

Total fertility rate: 2.08 children born/woman (2005 est.)

Literacy: (age 15 and over can read and write, 2005 est.)

  • total population: 99.9%
  • male: 99.9%
  • female: 99.9%

Unemployment rate: 3.01% nationwide (2005 est.)

Retrieved from "http://archive.nswiki.org/index.php?title=Yelda&oldid=303695"