Polasciana
United Federal Republic of Polasciana зямлізмены (Sarmatian) | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
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Anthem: "The Nation In Union Again" | |
 | |
| Capital | Karasicena |
| Largest city | Arvi |
| Official languages | Polesian |
| Other languages | Sarmatian, Gallic, Liran |
| Ethnic groups | 68.4% Polesian Sar 21.9% Meridian Noric 5.2% Magillan Calanian 1.4% Bathi Il'm 3.1% Other |
| Religion | None |
| Demonym(s) |
|
| Government | Semi-presidential Federal Ministry |
| Ivan Tattar | |
| Krill Serbin | |
| Legislature | Federal Executive |
| Federal Council | |
| Federal Assembly | |
| Formation | |
| 8 April 1996 | |
| 31 December 1996 | |
| 12 May 2003 | |
| 31 May 2003 | |
• Gallian League accession | 1 January 2020 |
| Area | |
• Total | 437,595 km2 (168,956 sq mi) (25th) |
• Water (%) | 3.07 |
| Population | |
• 2011 estimate | 51,754,370  (24th) |
• Density | 123/km2 (318.6/sq mi) (19th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2018 estimate |
• Total | €1.083 trillion (31st) |
• Per capita | €20,925 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2019 estimate |
• Total | €681 billion (32nd) |
• Per capita | €13,158 |
| Gini (2015) |  29.8low · 33rd |
| HDI (2017) | 0.765 high · 28th |
| Currency | Polesian Kryak (PKR) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CMT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CMST) |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +66 |
| Patron saint | Saint Severence |
| ISO 3166 code | POL |
| Internet TLD | .ufed |
Website ufed.world | |
Polasciana (Sarmatian: зямлізмены), officially the United Federal Republic of Polasciana 
, is a country in Meridian Gallia which constitutes the former disputed territories of the Polamar. Bordered by Eiffelland 
to the west, Wieserreich 
, the Centrální Republika 
and Uainia 
to the north and Shcerbatskaya 
to the east, Polasciana has a population estimated at over 56 million people. The country is a federation of nine provincial states, three city states and four island territories. Its capital, Karasicena, is a semi-autonomous city-state set within the Provincial State of Kamchetka, whilst its largest city, Arvi, lays in the Provincial State of Amar. The country is governed by a directly elected President and an elected Federal Government and Prime Minister. The nation was founded in its own right after a formal unification agreement was signed between the former Eastern People's Republic of The Polamar 
and the Democratic Republic of Saracia 
. Polasciana is heavily influenced by the history and culture of its Sar majority and Noric, Calanian and Il'm minorities.
The Union Agreement, a negotiated peace settlement, brought stability to the territory in 1996 after decades of turbulence, war and terrorism. Following formal unification in 2003, Polasciana embraced rapid economic reform leading to the population becoming more secular and socially progressive under the leadership of Koruin Gruaman of the Centrist Party, who served as the country's first President. The current term of the Central Federal Government began in 2018, whilst the current session is the ninth Federal Ministry which is led by Prime Minister Krill Serbin, leader of the Coalition, who commands a majority in the lower-house of the Federal Executive.
The current President of Polasciana is former Federal Council Leader Ivan Tattar, a Unionist, who holds a majority in the upper-house. Tattar replaced Gennadiy Artamova in 2020, who was the country's longest serving politician and the first Head of State to be reelected following an historic victory during the 2015 Presidential Election, defeating former Prime Minister Marina Yanaka.
Under democratic leadership, the country has taken steps towards offering its citizens universal healthcare and expanded its developing comprehensive school system. Between 2007-2008 the Central Government also invested heavily in national infrastructure and an observed increase in public spending resulted in a dramatic rise in state borrowing - which was significant factor in the country's economic destabilisation triggered by the 2007 Gallian Slowdown - an economic and political crisis caused by the onset of violence in Aarland 
and the 2008 Economic Crash, prompted by the collapse of the Unified Capital States 
in Paripana. Preceding the economic crisis, Polasciana had seen stable growth led by manufacturing, agriculture and a rise in trade - particularly an emerging industry in the export of oil and gas from its Long Sea fields. It was not until January 2015 that the economy returned to growth above 0.5%, and the country is still not expected to reach its pre-crash levels of between 3 to 5% annual growth until at least 2026. Despite increasing economic deregulation since 2003, most large-enterprises in industry and utilities remain under public control and are managed by local state administrations and other government controlled organisations and bodies. Since unification, Polasciana has also experienced a significant rise in the standard of living and its economy has continually expanded.
History
Etymology
Prior to its formal adoption during unification, precedent for the use of the name 'Polasciana', in referring to the lands occupied by the former Eastern People's Republic of Polamar and the Democratic Republic of Saracia , can be seen throughout historical documents. However, certain records also suggest it may have been used interchangeably with the term 'The Polamar', which itself was used more routinely to refer to the region, and peoples, where Meridian Gallia meets Greconia and the wider territory in which modern-day Polasciana , Shcerbatskaya and the Centrální Republika occupy. Regardless of its use, the name itself is thought to originate from the merging of the names of the two rivers which run primarily through the country - the rivers Polasana and Sariana. The etymological foundations for each of these rivers respectively derive from the Sarmatian 'kірунак' or 'polas' meaning mountain, from which the uses of the term 'Polamar' or 'peoples of the mountain' also derive, 'акіян' or 'ci', meaning ocean or sea and 'ать' or 'ana' meaning river. It has therefore been suggested by many scholars that the term 'Polasciana' collectively means 'from the mountains' (Polas) to the ocean (ci) by the rivers (ana)'. The decision to name the unified land 'Polasciana' in 1996 came from this interpretation of the original meaning - and was selected above other proposed names including 'Polamar', 'Polesia', 'Galeconia' (a merging of the Gallian and Greconian continents) and those with a historical background such as 'Magilla' and 'Niveria'.
Early History
Early Beginnings
Noric communities from Central Gallia are thought to have originated settlement in the region during eastward exploration for further sources of water and for better access to the sea for fishing during the Tin Age. Fossils of animals, as well as potential tools used by these early settlers have been found in southern areas, particularly near modern-day Kiasé. The first recorded history of non-Gallian immigration in The Polamar 
begins as early as the Gold Age in the 5th Century, with the knowledge of the migration of Gal people who had initially inhabited lands close to modern-day Gunnlandia 
. Whilst items dating to this time have been uncovered in the north of the modern-day state on the river banks in Amar, these travelling tribes ultimately settled further south from other Gal migrating communities and built early village collectives on the shores of the Long Sea. Their arrival prompted a displacement of the historic Noric communities who inhabited the land, and as a result Norics retreated further westwards - forming a dividing ethnic and cultural barrier between the east and west where modern-day Polasciana lays. Valuable natural resources and arable land formed the basis of the settlements and therefore the region became attractive to other Gal communities from early forms of both the Sarmatia 
and Nuweland 
states - prompting significant further migration. Within a century of this early settlement, Gal settlers from Greconia, largely consisting of communities from the People of the Il'm, what is now Khalistan 
, also joined Gal towns and villages in the Polamar.
Early writings indicate an uneasy relationship between neighbouring Gal and Noric ethnic communities on the southern Gallian peninsula - with an impeding struggle for daily life. This tension resulted in cultural separation. Throughout the 7th and 8th Centuries rivalry often turned to fighting where the more advanced Gal population dominated against a widely feudal Noric minority. More so, during the time between the 10th and 12th Centuries, the Gal population trebled in size. Southern Gals, becoming Polascianan by definition, focused on culture, architecture and economic prowess to dominate the lands, which expanded along the Long Sea both eastwards from The Il'm and westwards towards current day Eiffelland .
The Niverian Kingdom
Formation of an official state began in the 13th Century when King Polyansky, the de-facto leader of the Gal population on the Meridian Gallian Peninsular, launched an assault against Noric settlements in the west and north of the region. The King took control of vast regions that extended far north towards the border of current-day Wiese . Fierce fighting between Noric and Gal communities centred on the city of Niveri in the north-west and would become an important milepost in the history of the nation when many Noric settlements were burned by the Gal war leaders. In an act of dominance following victory in Niveri King Polyansky, considered a brutal oppressor, named the newly created Gal state the Niverian Kingdom 
after the historic loss of Noric life. Ever since this time Niveri has remained an important and historic settlement - and is still the seat of the Polascianan Head of State to this day. Polyansky also expelled much of the Il'm population that had settled in the region over the previous centuries - an act that has been most recently defined as ethnic cleansing.
The border between the Niverian Kingdom and the Holy Centrican Empire 
, that itself by this time extended across most of the Gallian continent, created an important historical, geographic and cultural barrier between Gallia and Greconia which remains to this day. The Niverian Kingdom under King Polyansky also continued its expansion further to the south west, but faced opposition from King Hahn who led the small Noric monarchy of Krönach 
at the southern tip of the peninsular, from which the current day Polascianan state of Kresnovic derives. Conquering these Noric coastal regions would continue to prove an obstacle for the Polesian kingdom, where Polyansky faced fierce battles with both the Krönach people of the south-west and the shore-line communities of the Berlangan Kingdom 
, from which the Republika Béspura takes its name, led by Queen Lezebia. Supported by the Caspian Kingdom of the Coronado Empire 
, Lezebia defeated Polyansky in the year 1280. Attempting the eradication of majority-Gal communities, the new ruler pronounced the end of the Niverian Kingdom and formed the Greater Kingdom of Magilla 
in its place where she installed Queen Gesler, of a mixed Noric and Caspian family, to the throne in Niveri which by this time had also become a highly fortified capital.
The Lezebia/Gesler Dynasty
From the end of the 13th, and until the late 17th Century, peace and stability in the region was created by a power balance constructed between the 'holy trinity' of the Berlang , Krönach and Greater Magilla kingdoms. Records from the time suggest that peoples of the Noric and Caspian minorities were once again assimilated back into a multi-cultural society in the Magillan kingdom where the historical cultural rivalries were disbanded as Gal citizens were encouraged to participate in civic life. Many disagree with this interpretation and suggest that the kingdoms often oppressed and forced Gals to comply with strict cultural and civic rules, or face expulsion or death. However, it is widely accepted that the Gesler reign prompted the significant growth and development of the Gal community in Magilla - with the state developing at a faster and more advanced rate than the other kingdoms. By the early 14th Century, the Berlangan and Krönach kingdoms had been vastly outpaced by the growth and strength of the Magillan society and would eventually become part of a unified Greater Kingdom of Magilla , where the Lezebia and Gesler families merged and continued to rule until 1696.
The Gal Renaissance
In 1696, King Gesler II (Herman Gesler) was overthrown by the Munsliv Revolution which would give rise to Patriarch Alexander Munzliv's ruleship of the nation following a bloody battle between supporters of the Gesler rulers of Magilla and a resurgence of Niveri loyalists. Following the revolution, Noric and Caspian communities once again became marginalised from society as Patriarch Munzliv ordered any mixed cultured families to be sent to execution – including the children of the Lezebia/Gesler family who were still considered at the time as the rightful rulers of the Magilla by the surviving monarchist forces that had surrendered. Munzliv formed the Niverian Patriarchy which would fight wars with both the Holy Centrican Empire and the Coronado Empire . Defeat in many major battles during these conflicts would result in the Polesian people retreating from both the west and north, with their resulting settlement forming many of the current borders of the modern-day Polesian state. During this time the Munzliv would also stave off invasion from advancing Il'm forces from the east.
Restoration of The Throne
In 1886, following the death of Patriarch Munzliv IV, fierce fighting broke out across the lands between Gal, Caspian and Noric communities once more. Resulting in the deaths of many majority Gals, a prolonged war would result in the overthrow of the Munzliv family and The Scheigan family, descendants of Noric royals from Eiffelland and the Krönach Kingdom , restored the throne. By 1891 a reformed Niverian Kingdom had been pronounced and would mark the end of majority Gal dominance in the lands for nearly thirty years. Ushering in a new age of uncertainty, the Scheigan rule was defined by continued unrest between ethical and cultural groups.
The December Revolution
King Scheigan I was assassinated at his Royal Palace in the capital of the Niverian Kingdom , Niveri, on December 19th 1919 as underground loyalist military leaders launched a second revolution. These leaders attracted significant support and assistance from the Workers' Republic of Carentania 
, which had been formed only a month before by its own communitarian revolution. Aimed at promoting a growing Gal republican cause, the military attempted to imitate the communitarian revolution in Carentania. This was the first time that Polesian culture had also been heavily influenced by communitarian ideology. Following the King's assassination, two prominent Polesian military leaders instigated a purge against loyal supporters of the monarchy across the country and pronounced the formation of the State of Polamar 
. The 'The December Revolution' as it would be known would install communitarian leadership to the region but the formation of two rival factions within the coup - one in the east, and one in the West - ended hopes of an end to violence. Revolution would turn to civil war, with fighting continuing and resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths – the majority of which belonged to the Caspian and Noric minorities, and ultimately with instability remaining until the birth of the modern Polesian state in 1996. Military leaders in the west, based from Niveri, formed a claim to the state based on a ruling council and rotating civillian presidency from each of the Gal, Noric and Caspian communities, whilst the eastern-led claim, initially centred in Zahmloy, sought a Gal majority controlled state.
International negotiation
By mid-1923 against international pressure from Noric nations, including the neighbouring Eiffelland and Frankish 
kingdoms, a shared-statehood solution was drawn up to administer The Polamar region and bring the conflict to an end. The plan stated that an Eastern Polamar Republic, of mainly people of Gal descent, should formed in the east and a Saracian Republic, a second Polesian nation that would host many of the remaining minority Caspian and Noric communities, to the west.
Military leaders in Niveri, where the western-led claim to the state was based, initially rejected the move - with fighting continuing until 1926 when a putsch against the military communitarian leaders of the tri-state dictatorship brought negotiation between the different actors for the first time. Caspian, Noric and Gal leaders in the west met in the autumn of 1926 and formally pronounced the abolishment of their claim to a unified Polesian state and formed the Union of the Kamchetkan Republic and the State of Saracia 
, a precursor to the Democratic Saracian Republic which would later be formed in 1938.
Rulers in eastern Polamar came under significant political pressure by 1931 to enact a similar arrangement as their western neighbours and set defined constitutional boundaries for their state claim. Whilst this was originally resisted, the ageing military leadership was forced to begin to enact some elements of the international shared-statehood plan, fearing a revolution as internal civil dispute grew. The Communitarian Republic of the Polamar 
was created in 1933, eventually transitioning to the Eastern People's Republic by 1937.
By 1940, both republics had adopted much of the arrangements detailed in the international plan, however neither declared a formal peace with the other. Despite attempts to negotiate a formal settlement, the two republics would continue in a state of war, each with a claim on the others territory and with state-sponsored terrorism forming the basis of the fighting for nearly fifty years.
The Wars of Retribution
The period between 1940 and 1980 saw the Saracian state in the west develop at a quicker and more technological developed rate than its eastern counterpart. A propaganda war between the two states mirrored underground violent action which continued to kill many citizens of both states in high-profile terrorist attacks. Each attack brought a retaliatory action by the other, and the fighting would became known as 'The Wars of Retribution'. Designated by many international observers as a civil war, the Global Covenant continued to categorise the war as a conflict of independent states but failed at repeated attempts to bring both sides to negotiation.
By 1950, two states - which would later become Shcerbatskaya and the Centrální Republika - were earmarked as independent territories in the neighbouring Cibolenland region following an agreement of independence from The Il'm . Both states would eventually proclaim civilian leadership and create proposals to move away from the communitarian-influenced ideology that they had been governed by for almost 40 years as part of The Il'm territories. Many believed the more moderate leadership in these new countries would promote changes within The Polamar - however this did not come to be the case at this time. Tensions between the Polesian republics and their new democratic neighbours also resulted in the use of heavy military border patrols with many citizens of the republics being killed trying to cross borders in the east. Retaliation strikes for deaths, particularly by the Eastern Republic which continued to claim territory held by its newly independent neighbouring states as part of the wider Polamar region, saw the tensions and violence escalate at home as well as across international borders.
In 1955 Minich Kinvah became the Commanding General of Communitarian Polamar and by this time Uyri Inauyna had also acceded to the leadership in Saracia. Both commanding officers had became known for strategic decisions as junior members of their military divisions had been described as 'brutal' and which had resulted in a significant increase in the use of terrorist attacks and targeted assassinations in the conflict - including the murder of police officers, officials, peacekeepers and international journalists. Both men became the face of their respective military campaigns and enhanced a propaganda war between the republics. In 1958, Inauyna faced an uprising against his leadership after a series of deadly attacks by the east - leading to a one year civil war in Saracia between communitarian loyalists and democratic unionists. The protesters were crushed and failed to bring an end to the communitarian leadership which had become increasingly reliant on international sources of funding and support.
A major escalation in the violence would continue whilst renewed pressure for an international agreement took apace by 1960. Failed plans by both Eiffelland and The Freestates Union 
were presented in 1962 and 1969 respectively, as well as a third plan by The Il'm and its former states. The populations of both Polesian republics fell rapidly during the period of 1969 to 1971 where many citizens fled the war-zone. An international refugee programme was launched for Caspian and Noric communities by Aleconia 
and an alliance of ten other states. Some 900,000 people were supported to leave The Polamar region, as the number of deaths continued to rise in both isolated and coordinated attacks on both the mainland and in its island and neighbouring states.
Instability, Terrorism and Corruption
Throughout the 1970s Kinvah remained the de facto leader of the Eastern People's Republic, but due to his increasing age and rapidly decreasing health no longer made strategic or military decisions - deputising to relatively unknown and unaccountable advisers and generals. Quality of life, as well as life expectancy, fell rapidly throughout the decade. By the time of Kinvah's death in 1980, the Commanding General had lost significant influence and his own deputies were documented as conspiring against his pre-defined principles for the communitarian agenda in the nation. Vladimir Marinin was appointed to a new position as President of the Eastern Republic and was propped up, funded and supported by other communitarian states, such as Kadikistan 
. The use of foreign fighters as part of the conflict also escalated, particularly those from Bathi countries such as Jurzan 
and Jazirat 
and a number of Il'm communities also resettled in the region during this time. The number of domestically planned attacks as part of the conflict began to fall for the first time in over four decades and was followed by the arrival of a new moderate movement in Saracia, led by Akim Beletsky, which finally won power in many local jurisdictions in 1985 and became part of the Government Settlement of the western republic. Many of the Bathi and Il'm fighters from this period also remained in the Polamar and gradually assimilated into Polascianan society - adding to the mixed ethnic landscape in the region today.
Steps towards peace
In early 1989 Devyan Mull would be elected President in the Eastern Republic, succeeding Marinin when he died unexpectedly of heart failure. Generals at the conference where Mull acceded the leadership were reportedly confused as to Marinin's succession plans - which were written by hand. Relatively inexperienced and with no military background, Mull and his leading generals became increasingly frustrated by each other, and the actions of the state became increasingly less strategic and more erratic as an internal power battle played out amongst its leadership. Several botched domestic attacks on minorities resulted in the deaths of many Gal majority citizens and the regime became increasingly unpopular. Fearing an uprising, Mull worked with communitarian loyalists to funnel additional money into the country to prop-up the failing economy and to launch a domestic propaganda campaign. By the early 1990s as a result of this international campaign, ethnic attacks on Noric communities had also fallen behind attacks on Bathi and Urzu communities in Polasciana and in August 1991 some 60 Bathi immigrants were killed in a suicide attack in Cheiaka. The death toll was one of the largest of the period and is thought to be the first example of a suicide bombing on the Gallian peninsular.
Democratisation in Saracia
Whilst Mull continued to use violence against the West, in 1990 Andreo Sukao became the first popularly elected Head of Government in Saracia. Launching an attempted peace deal and allowing Eastern citizens into the Saracian Republic for the first time, Sukao formed the cross-state 'United Confederation Party' - aiming to create a new political consensus in each respective republic and establish civilian leadership. His far-reaching appeal prompted a failed assassination attempt by the Eastern Republic and supporters of the party in the East were driven underground by state police. Prior to the attempt on Sukao's life, violence had largely become sporadic but retaliation saw a rise in terrorist attacks and an end of steps to negotiate a peace deal. Neighbouring states continued to call for peace and a programme for transition was buoyed when Sukao changed Saracia's governing settlement, in effect its constitution, in 1992 to include the words; "to achieve a peace without the use of violence or corruption."
Failed peace plan and Scarlet Sunday
International support for a Saracian-led peace deal was widespread and became endorsed by the Global Covenant when a heavy payload device in its late stages of development exploded in the Amarian city of Nyit - in 1994 causing the single biggest loss of life during the wars, with the death of some 993 Eastern Republic citizens. Known as 'Scarlet Sunday', the incident prompted global outrage at the Mull regime, which was developing extraordinarily powerful and dangerous weapons with the support of other Communitarian states. Whilst no uprising took hold in the heavily policed state, support for the war in the Eastern Republic hit an all time low amongst citizens who began to favour a peace deal with Saracia. Within the regime many officials became disenchanted and, as a catalyst for a series of events that would lead to peace through the failings of the Eastern state, historians since regard Mull's accession as the single greatest contributing factor to the ending of the war between the states within the decade. Many inside accounts from the time have also since claimed Mull was not the rightful successor of Vladimir Marinin, with some suggesting future Commander General of the Polascianan armed forced Yuri Schechan was indeed Marinin's favoured heir.
Succession and disclosure
By the end of 1994, Mull was removed as President and was replaced by Nado Milutinovic who closed the country's domestic weapons programme and expelled foreign fighters. Whilst violent attacks occurred, they were much smaller in scale and often resulted in minimal deaths and injuries. Sukao would also be removed from power in the west when he was sentenced to serve a 12 year sentence from 1995 on the charge of war crimes and political corruption. Documents from the Saracian government were leaked to the international press showing Sukao's role in planning for the use of gas against Polesian citizens in coordinated attacks designed to attribute blame on the Eastern Republic to force their acceptance of his peace plan - which would have seen the Eastern state subsumed by the Saracian west. The Sukao leadership was heavily undermined by the international outrage, but Milutinovic's regime did not initially respond with retaliation or violence. The act of sentencing Sukao, the first to be done so on either side throughout the conflict, provided political will within the Eastern government to engage publicly with the Saracian leadership for the first time since 1940. By late 1995, for the first time the Eastern Republic proposed negotiations to Saracia's newly elected first-female leader Darina Kovac. Whilst Kovac did not initially accept the terms of negotiations set by her counterpart, a new consensus to find peace emerged following the long state of war between the nations.
Union Agreement
The spring of 1996 brought the accession of a new generation of more moderate, pro-unification officials and leaders who sought to unify the nation into a single unitary republic. In 2008 it emerged that both Milutinovic and Kovac had met secretly throughout the winter of 1995 to draft agreements that were to be proposed at a second peace conference between the nations that was held in Leipoa in April 1996. At the historic Unity Conference both states agreed in principle to work towards uniting the nations as a new democratic federation. Both leaders took the historic step to agree to endorse a shadow 'unity administration' - The Transition Council - from December 31st 1996 until a deadline of 31st May 2003. The agreement was hailed as a major breakthrough, with both Milutinovic and Kovac receiving international acclaim for the commitments made by their respective administrations.
Modern History
Unification
The process of unification began with the appointment of a 'Transition Council' through the nomination of key individuals by both states who would collectively, gradually, take responsibility for combined economic, social and, lastly, military affairs from 1996 through to 1999. Whilst the peace plan was supported officially by both states, many officials resigned from their respective governments - and some left the country, moving to other communitarian nations. The Transition Council, supported by both Milutinovic and Kovac, who became joint-executors and chairs of the council, ordered that these resignations be kept private, thus not to undermine the process within the public.
Plans for democratic elections, to be held before the expiration of the dea