[Factbook] The Commonwealth of Varia

[Rivers]

| General Overview | History | Geography | Government | Economy | Demographics | Culture |

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General Overview

COMMONWEALTH OF VARIA Sodruzhestvo Variya (Oltvan)
Motto : Dlya Luchshego Zavtra (For a Better Tomorrow)
Anthem : Prekrasnoe Daleko (Wonderful Future)
The Polar Banner
Map of Varia
Capital City	Oltva
Largest City	Verengard
Official Language	Oltvan
Acknowledged Languages	Severo-Polosnian, Livanian
Nationality	(32%) Oltvans (27%) Polosnians (19%) New Varians (15%) Severnians (12%) Livanians (5%) Indigenous People
Religion	(73%) Borealists (19%) Atheism (8%) Others
Demonym(s)	Varian(s)
Government	Federal Semi-Presidential Republic (under One-Party rule)
President	Wojciech Kaminski
Prime Minister	Alfred Kalējs
Assembly Speaker	Orhan Akhmetov
Legislature
Upper House	States Assembly
Lower House	Commonwealth Assembly
Area	504,410 km2 (194,754 sq mi)
Population	13,476,965
Density	26.7/km2 (69.2/sq mi)
GDP PPP	$433,70 billion (154,397.2 trillion VL)
GDP Per capita	$32,181 (11.46 million VL)
Currency	Varian Livre (VL)
Time Zone	IAT+0
Date Format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving Side	Left
Calling Code	+177
Internet TLD	.vr

Varia (vɑ:’ɾiɑ, va-RI-ya), officially the Commonwealth of Varia (Oltvan: Sodruzhestvo Variya) is a federation of eight nations, located in the northern hemisphere of Esferos, in the northern coast of the Doll-Guldur Continent. Varia borders the nation of Novasemita to the west, Novia Xeneia to the south, and the Thulian Ocean to the north. Varia covers a total area of 504,410 km2 (194,754 sq mi), and has a population of 13.5 million. Oltva is the capital city where the Commonwealth Government is based, while Verengard is the largest city by population and the financial centre of the nation. Varia is a multicultural nation, with no single ethnicity gaining a majority over the total amount of population. Despite this, Oltvan is considered to be its official language and serves as the lingua franca, being spoken by 32 percent of the population as their mother tongue. Varia’s climate is predominantly cold, with only a small area of warmer  continental climate in the southern regions.

Prehistoric human activity on Varian soil dates to around 10,000 BF, and the region has been continuously populated ever since. The territory of Varia has been multicultural, hosting different migratory people from time to time. The first of modern-day Varian ethnicities that inhabited the region is the Livans people, who settled on the very southern edge of the region in around 4,000 BF. The Severnians and Polosnians eventually invaded the region and pushed the Livans northward toward the Dalekie Mountains in around 2,100 BF and settled in the south. The Oltvan Great Voyage of the 3rd century saw several waves of Oltvan invaders defeating the former inhabitants and claiming much of modern-day Varian territory, bringing with them the Borealist faith. The Aurora Wars dominated the 4th century history of Varia, and The Kingdom of Oltva eventually emerged by the 5th century after King Vyacheslav united all factions of the Oltvan invaders. Between the 5th to the 9th century, Oltva expanded slowly over the other petty kingdoms of the Polosnians and the Severnians. However, a succession crisis and a state of anarchy ended the Golden Age of Oltva in 821 AF when the city of Oltva was sacked. 

The Eight Nations period lasted until the 12th century, filled with continuous wars while the region entered the age of enlightenment. Eventually, the Polosnian Queen Wyszesława completed a series of Polosnian expansions and united the eight Kingdoms under the Union of Varia in 1192. Varia remained a largely agrarian nation until the Varian Student’s Coup of 1291 forced the monarchy to agree on the Eight Nations Treaty of 1291, giving the minorities of Varia more rights, ending serfdom and bringing industrialisation to Varia. The new regime was soon dominated by wealthy aristocrats and industrialists, and the massive wealth gap triggered the 1321 General Strike and the end of the Monarchy. The newly proclaimed Commonwealth of Varia was unstable, however, and political disagreements led to the First Varian Civil War in 1324-1332 which ended with the dictatorship of Sviatopolk Ziminsky (1332-1351) and Yevgeniya Tavon (1351-1376). A state of anarchy enveloped Varia between 1376 until 1404 with the victory of the Varian Restoration Authority under Wojciech Kaminski. In 1408, constitutional reforms were implemented, but the Restoration Authority remained dominant over Varia to this day. 

Varia is a semi-presidential republic with its bicameral legislature comprising the Commonwealth Assembly and the States Assembly. Varia is considered a middling power and has a developing market with an upper-middle income economy. Varia has the fifth largest economy by total GDP and GDP per capita in Doll-Guldur, and its citizens enjoy average standard of living, and safety. Varia has a mixed-approach economic system, with both the government and private corporation contributing significantly to the economy as a whole. The state of Varia provides free education up to secondary education and universal health care coverage, though these services still lacking in terms of quantity and quality. Varia boasted hundreds of protected national parks and endangered habitats, and thousands of historic landmarks, supporting its developing tourism industry.

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Etymology

The name Varia is an old Oltvan word that literally means "Various". The name was a shortening of the Union of Varian Crowns (Oltvan: Soyuz Varianskikh Koron), the name of the polity established by Queen Wyszesława in 1192. The name remained as the official name of the Commonwealth of Varia following the General Strike of 1321, in order to represent the various ethnicities and the multiculturalist values of the Commonwealth. There were attempts at renaming the Commonwealth, predominantly due to the name being very much descriptive in Oltvan. One such attempt was done by President Sviatopolk Ziminsky in 1333, into the Commonwealth of Polosnia, reminiscent of his own homeland. This attempt triggered a widespread protests across the country, which stopped the movement from ever going forward. Another attempt to rename it was in 1407, when several members of the Commonwealth Assembly argued to adopt the name of Commonwealth of the North (Oltvan : Severnoye Sodruzhestvo) or even the Polar Commonwealth (Oltvan : Polyarnoye Sodruzhestvo) but both did not receive widepsread support, the former due to its ambiguity, and the latter due to the fact that Varia was not located in the Continent of Polaris. 

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Geographical Conditions

Varia is located in the northern coasts of the continent Doll-Guldur. Geographically, it is located between 1°30'30" East - 8°10'10"East and 50°40'10"North - 59°10'10" North and is very near with the Meridian of Marcarius. Varia is bordered by two other states; the nation of Novasamita to the west and southwest and the nation of Novia Xeneia to the south. To the north, Varia is bounded by the Thulian Ocean, specifically the Proxima Thulia Sea. Varian territory is relatively flat but rugged, similar to the make-up of the majority of Doll-Guldur's landscape. The region is marked by lowlands on its extreme north and south, separated by highlands and the Dalekie Mountains in the middle. The highest point in Varia is Mount Północna, literally means "Mount North" due to the view of the Northern Stars from it's peak. Varia is located near the divergent boundaries of Doll-Guldur's two tectonic plates to the south of Varia. The divergent motion of the tectonic plates caused the formation of rift valleys in the south and a tectonically active region that oftentimes creates earthquakes.

Due to the extremity of its northward location, Varia experienced high temperature variation between seasons. Temperature can fall to below -30° C in the northernmost point during winter, while in the south, in can reach 28 to 30° C in summer. The variation of temperature is caused due to climatic difference between the north and the south of Varia. South of the Dalekie Mountains, rain shadow effect caused the region to receive higher rainfall and is generally warmer, while north of the Mountains, the region is more colder and arid. Due to this, huge amount of Varia's territory is covered with Taiga Forests, with only a small and much more humid continental climate to the very southern point of the nation. Due to this phenomenon, the vast majority (78%) of Varia's population reside to the south of the Dalekie Mountains, while the north is mostly desolate with minor settlements near bodies of water and navigable rivers. 

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Socio-Political Conditions

Varia is a multiethnic state, composed of the Eight Nations of the Commonwealth, and multitudes of smaller indigenous people. These Eight Nations are, in order of population, Oltvina, Polosna, Sodnia, Severnia, Belina, Ineria, Livania, and Yashelia. Each of these nations has their own language, and unique traditions and values. Throughout Varia's history, these nations has been at war with each other, united and reunited multiple times, ultimately leading to the formation of the Union of Varian Crowns in 1192. Ever since, the Eight Nations has been living under a single state, and cultural mix was unavoidable. From new foods, to clothing, and even new dialects were established by inter-cultural mixing that happened under the Union, and later the Commonwealth. Varia today is a federalised semi-presidential republic, and put heavy importance on the sovereign authority of its member states. None of Varia's member states are elevated above the other, with the exception of the imposition of the Oltvan Language for the sake of convenience. Cultural and traditional values were protected from harm, and each states will negotiate as if they are different nations in settling disputes. With years of intermingling and government emphasis on multiculturalism, a new cosmopolitan group emerged from Varia's diversity, the so-called New Varians, who does not indetify from any of the Eight Nations, instead wholeheartedly embrace the plurality of Varia as a multiethnic state. These people dominates the urban landscape of Varia, and has only grown in number with passing time. The more conservative member of society viewed the New Varians with mild suspicion, fearing a dilution of their cultural heritage. Nevertheless, the Varian Restoration Authority under President Wojciech Kaminski remained committed to the unity and cohesion of the Commonwealth.

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Geography

Varia is located in the northern coasts of the northern continent of Doll-Guldur, and is part of the polar area of Esferos. Geographically, it is located between the longitude of 1° 30' 30" East - 8° 10' 10"East and the latitude of 50° 40' 10"North - 59° 10' 10" North. Varia’s easternmost point is very near the Meridian of Marcarius, and thus is part of IAT+0 time zone, domestically called Varian Time. Varia is bordered by two other states in Doll-Guldur; the nation of Novasamita to the west and southwest and the nation of Novia Xeneia to the south. To the north, Varia is bounded by the polar Thulian Ocean, specifically the Proxima Thulia Sea, which freezes over during winter. 

Landscape
Varian territory is relatively flat, with its highest point only reaching below 1.3 kilometres from the surface of the sea. However, Varia’s landscape is quite rugged, similar to the make-up of the majority of Doll-Guldur's landscape. Hills and valleys straddled the nation, stretching from the southwest point to its northeast. The region is marked by lowlands on its extreme north and south, separated by highlands and the Dalekie Mountains in the middle. The highest point in Varia is Mount Północna (1272 m from sea surface), while its lowest point is the Czamisto Depression which reached the depth of -10m from sea surface The highly diverse and rugged landscape of Varia is due to its proximity near the divergent boundaries of Doll-Guldur's two tectonic plates, wich separate a smaller northern landmass with the larger southern landmass. The divergent motion of the tectonic plates caused the formation of rift valleys which formed the stretched hills and canyons of Varia, as well as creating a tectonically active region that experienced earthquakes often. There are some minor surface volcanic activities, due to the nearby plate boundary, however most of Varia’s volcanic landscapes have been formed millions of years ago and are not currently active.

Taiga coverage in Northeast Varia, in Polyar Rayon.

Climate
The vast majority of Varia lies under the Subarctic climate category due to the extremity of its northward location. On average, Varia experienced harsh and cold winters with temperatures averaging -20° C, and cold arid summers with average temperatures of around 18° C. The landscape of Varia also created a higher climatic difference between the extreme north and south of the nation. Temperature can fall to below -30° C in the northernmost point during winter, while in the south, it can reach between 20 to 25° C in summer. This difference is caused by the Dalekie Mountains, which despite its low altitude, forces southwesterly winds that carry moistures up to dry, causing a rain shadow effect that gives higher rainfall and humidity to the southern regions, while making the northern regions much colder and arid. However, the temperature variation does not affect the biome make-up of Varia, which is mostly composed of taiga forests, with a small coniferous and savannah coverage in the southernmost point.

 

 

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Regional Division

Varia is divided into eight Commonwealth States, four Commonwealth Districts, and five Commonwealth Metros. The eight States governed their own territory, with their own elected governments and their own laws and constitutions. The States use their own local language in administration, have their own separate State Budget, and govern autonomously for the most part, with exception on defense, security, and financial matters which belong to the central government. Commonwealth Districts are regions that do not have their own autonomy, and are subject to the Commonwealth Government. The districts are headed by elected Governors, and have their own local legislatures, but lack most of the privileges afforded to States, including the right to raise their own taxes. Commonwealth Metros are similar to Districts, but they are led by elected Mayors. Both States and Rayons are further divided into Municipalities which are categorised into Urban (Cities) and Rural. Municipalities are governed by elected Mayors and deputies of the Municipal Councils, and are responsible for building and maintaining local infrastructures. For administrative and bureaucratic services, Municipalities are separated into Sectors, before being further divided into Communes. Communes comprise between 75 to 200 families, and are the smallest subdivision of the Commonwealth. Each Communes have their own unique customs and their own local financial arrangements, but are generally led by an elected Chairman.

Spoiler

List of Divisions: 

Commonwealth States

• Oltvina (Severnyy Oltva)
• Polosna (Kralowitz)
• Severnia (Mosice)
• Sodnia (Czamisto)
• Belina (Cesis)
• Ineria (Aniampole)
• Livania (Marva)
• Yashelia (Vilinsk)

Commonwealth Districts

• Central District (Myagazsin)
• Miltin District (Miltinsk)
• Ogni District (Czarstvo)
• Czerwony District (Rodnaya-Zemlya)
• Polyar District (Tarnuull)

Commonwealth Metros

• Verengrad
• Ludzspils
• Czamisto
• Vilinsk
• Oltva 

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History

Humans have lived in what is now modern Varian borders for almost 11,000 years, with modern Varians tracing their ancestry to the land as far back as 5,000 years ago. Following the beginning of history, the recorded progress of Varia's civilization covered around 12 centuries, and is generally divided into four periods; the Ancient Era, the Medieval Era, the Early Modern Era, and the Modern Era. 

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Prehistoric Varia

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Ancient Varia

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Medieval Varia

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Early Modern Varia

Spoiler

Razing of Oltva (821)

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The Eight Nations Era (821-1187)

Polosnan Succession War (1171-1187)

Ambush of the Oltvan Cavalry, painted by Alexander Bilkin in 1188.

In 1171, King Zygmunt II of Polosna died of pneumonia, and his uncles, Grand Duke Henryk of Mitlin and Count Stanislaw of Verengard claimed the throne, triggering the Polosnan succession crisis of 1172. The two sides met in the Battle of the Verens on 11-03-1172, where Henryk received huge reinforcement from his ally, Tsar Mikhail II of Oltvina. Henryk was victorious, and captured Verengard in just under a week, but the Oltvan troops turned against Henryk, killing the Grand Duke before his coronation, and occupied the capital themselves. Oltvan armies began crossing the borders to Polosna, defeating any resistances they met along the way. Stanislaw declared himself King Stanislaw IV and retreated from the Oltvan forces, beginning a long and gruelling guerilla campaign to hold off Oltvan forces from completely overrunning Polosna. Oltvan forces occupied almost all Polosnan major cities and strongholds, but the countryside was in full rebellion against the invading forces. 

King Stanislaus married the Belinan Princess Milda in 13-09-1172 to gain support from the Kingdom of Belina. However, Oltvina invaded the Kingdom the next year, preventing military support from ever reaching the Polosnians. In 29-06-1173, Princess Milda gave birth to a daughter before dying of birth complications. King Stanislaus named her daughter Wyszesława, and declared her to be his rightful successor. Wyszesława grew up in constant movement with his father's army, from one province of Polosna to another, and was trained in melee and strategy. She followed her father throughout his Mounta Campaigns between 1173 to 1178. In 01-02-1179, Stanislaus invaded the Duchy of Sodnia with his army, and captured the city of Czamisto, turning it into his base of operation. Oltvan attempts at retaking Sodnia were bogged down with continuous rebellions in Polosna, and the scorched earth tactics that the Polosnians employed. The young Princess was present during the Battle of Talkice in 27-09-1185, where his father defeated a larger Oltvan army and killed the Oltvan military governor, Vladimir Teschin. The Oltvan armies were taken out one by one, and eventually, Tsar Mikhail himself took over the leadership and fortified his position in Verengard and Miltinsk. 

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Wyszesławan Restoration (1187-1192)

Wyszesława Ascendant, painted by Grigory Parshkin in 1206.

King Stanislaus died during the pivotal Siege of Verengard in 08-04-1187, ambushed by an Oltvan cavalry sortie out of the city. The news of his death severely demoralised the Polosnians army, and Tsar Mikhail III ordered the Oltvan defenders to charge at the besiegers. According to the writings of Jakob Krazcinski, amidst the battle, Archpriest Yuriy Parpat ordered several Squires to dress Princess Wyszesława with plate armour, and told her to ride one of the Knight's horses. Archpriest Yuriy brought the Polosnan Banner on top of a hill, and took the crown of Stanislaus, and shouted his declaration that Wyszesława is now the new rightful Queen of Polosna and Sodnia. The Archpriest ordered the men and knights to kneel and shout their vows to protect and defend the new Queen. Krazcinski wrote that the Queen bowed to the troops, unsheathed her sabre, and shouted “... then prove your words, by riding with me to Verengard!”. Krazcinski wrote that the 14-years old Queen rode down to the frontlines, encouraging the troops to hold the line, and by the next day, she personally led the Polosnians to storm the city, liberating it from its Oltvan occupiers. Queen Wyszesława was formally crowned in 11-04-1187, with her 18-year old relative Prince Szymon declared as her regent. The two were wed on 14-04-1187, and the next day, the newly crowned Queen and her King-Consort marched out of Verengard towards Oltva.

Tsar Mikhail III had recently defeated the Belinan and Severnian defences with the capture of Prince Mindaugas of Belina in 10-08-1185 and the assassination of King Ladislaus IX of Severnia in 12-07-1186. After his defeat in Verengard, he quickly retreated to Ludzpils, where he pulled his armies from Bellina and Severnia to reinforce his shattered troops. The Polosnians received reinforcement from Severnia on 18-05-1187, and finally caught with the fortifying Oltvan troops in Ludzspils on 29-05-1187. At this point, the forces of the two armies were at match, and the battle lasted almost three days. In 31-05-1187, Tsar Mikhail III was killed during a cavalry charge by the Polosnian Hussars, and the Crown Prince of Oltvina, Prince Alexander, was captured, ending the battle with Polosnian victory. In 29-06-1187, Queen Wyszesława entered the gates of Oltva unopposed.

Union of Varian Crowns

Queen Wyszesława occupied Oltvan territories between 1187 to 1192, including territories that Oltvina had annexed previously, such as the Kingdom of Severnia and the Principality of Ineria. With the death of Prince Mindaugas of Belina, Wyszesława inherited the Principality of Belina through her mother’s line. The Queen now effectively ruled over all of modern-day Varian territory, with exception of the northernmost areas. During her occupation of Oltvina, the Queen resided in the Red Palace of Oltva, and oversaw several reforms of the Oltvan society. She enacted land reforms and redistributed lands to small tenants and freed serfs. Her occupation saw serfdom dropped from two-third of Oltvan residents to only a quarter, which now worked under corporations instead of private landowners. Wyszesława re-established the Senate of Nations in Oltva, and was proclaimed the Queen of the 'Various Crowns' in 1192, which beheld the beginning of the Second Kingdom of Varia.

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Second Kingdom of Varia (1192)
 

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Modern Varia

Spoiler

13th Century

Varian Industrial Revolution (1230)

Varian Renaissance and the Gilded Age (1240s-1290s)

The Zheltaya Palace after completion in 1291, photographed by the Royal Archives.

Eight Nations Treaty (1291)

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14th Century

The General Strike (1321)

Proclamation of Commonwealth (1322)

First Varian Civil War (1324-1332)

Ziminsky Era (1332-1351)

Tavon Era (1351-1376)

Evgeniya Tavon in 1353, photographed by CP.

Evgeniya Tavon quickly outmanoeuvred her opponents to the position of Presidency. Following her inauguration in 07-02-1351, she declared a purge of the Postępowa Party and the army using the anti-corruption decree that her predecessor had passed. The purge sparked several mutinies, including the Belikan Mutiny in 12-03-1351, but these acts were quickly subdued. The purge itself implicated more than two thousands Postępowa Party members, and about six hundred of Varia's Defence Force Officers. Amongst those implicated were Tavon's own lieutenant and Party Chairman Lūcijs Ezernieks, the former Minister of Defense General Alexander Piturin, and Ziminsky's daughter, Kundiga Ziminskiva. By the end of 1351, Tavon's grip over both the party and the Army was unquestionable and she decided to go on the offensive against the Forest Brothers, pushing them out of Sodnia, whence afterward they waged a brutal twenty-years guerilla resistance against Tavon's regime in the Western Highlands. 

By the start of 1352, the purges ended and Tavon's authority became essentially unquestionable. The opposition party, the Liberal Democrats, were reduced to just 12 members out of the 50-members of the Assembly following the 1351 election, and the Postępowa majority quickly tampered with the Assembly's rules of conduct, preventing the Liberal Democrats from having any large influence over the process. News censorship continued to Tavon's regime, however the Regime stamped down against racially-biased media and on separatist sentiments, leaving behind the racially-prejudiced legacy of the Ziminzky era in pursuit of what Tavon herself called ‘Polar Unity’. This new doctrine was pushed into state media and school curriculum, and as a crucial part of the military indoctrination process within Varia's compulsory service system. 

Rising from the political turbulence of the 1340s, Evgeniya Tavon's cabinet, christened as the ‘Development Cabinet’ quickly moved on their plans of redeveloping Varia from Ziminsky’s autarky approach towards an open-market Liberal economy. In 1352, the Ministry of Economy announced the privatisation of 16 government-owned companies, 10 of whom are resource-based companies, extracting primarily wood and iron ore. The other 6 include two state-owned banks and three state-owned insurance companies, and the largest state-owned company established under the Ziminsky era, the Commonwealth Construction Trust, or the ZBW. The privatisation spurred the then newly-opened Verengard Exchange Centre, and gave rise to a new high class within the next few decades, most of whom became ardent supporters of Evgeniya Tavon's regime. 

Newly Renovated Mokotów District of Verengard in 1360, photographed by CP.

With newly acquired capitals and a steady influx of investment, the government pursued several ambitious programs, including the construction of twelve new hydroelectric dams between 1353 to 1363, and four nuclear power plants between 1363 to 1368. Roads were paved, and the Commonwealth Toll Network was expanded to accept larger volumes. A new Toll section was built to connect all the way to the northern port, spurring growth in Northern Oltvina and connecting Yashelia with the rest of the Commonwealth. Varia experienced rapid economic development throughout the majority of the remainder of the Tavon Regime. Qualit of life rose drastically, and literacy rate soared due to government education initiatives, including the building of four new universities and more than 200 new schools, and also through increasingly competitive private school networks. In 1365, the government relinquished their monopoly over healthcare, surrendering it to the private sector, spurring the growth of more than 20 new major hospitals and more than 40 clinic chains across Varia.

Despite these positive trends, inflation steadily rises throughout the 1360s and 1370s, and the government began accumulating significant amount of debts to keep up with expansion demands of the economic sector. Rapid urbanisation caused increasing trend of homelessness, and rising rent and property prices. Pollution became a major issue, especially in the southern parts of the Commonwealth, where its industrial centers lies. 

 

Second Varian Civil War / Polar Wars (1376-1406) 
 

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15th Century

Varian Restoration Authority (1406-1408)

Varian Reformation (1408)
 

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