Gregahou

Commonwealth of Greğahou Sodruz Greğahouğanskiy
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Ot tsakasa prikhodit şvoboda (Gregahouvian) "From order comes freedom"
Anthem: Natsionalniy "The National"
Location of Gregahou (red) in the Western Hemisphere
Capital and largest city	Stolitsemlağa
Official languages	Gregahouvian English
Recognised regional languages	French (in Porte Nouvelle)
Ethnic groups (2016)	57.7% Tatar 22.9% Chechen 4.3% Turkmen 3.8% Bashkir 11.3% others
Demonym(s)	Gregahouvian
Government	Unitary presidential republic
• President	Imat Ilva (SD)
• Prime Minister	Yohan Varayev (NL)
Legislature	Zdaniye Parlamentiy
• Upper house	Vyşa Dom
• Lower house	Nizhiy Dom
Independence  from the Soviet Union
• Declaration	May 3, 1981
• Establishment as sovereign	May 12, 1981
• Establishment as Gregahou	July 2, 1981
Area
• Total	7,798 km2 (3,011 sq mi)
Population
• 2018 estimate	3,539,805 (129th)
• Density	453.9/km2 (1,175.6/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	estimate
• Total	13,323 (in US$ millions)
• Per capita	$15,989
Gini (2016)	31.3 medium (31st)
HDI (2018)	0.858 very high (35th)
Currency	Kadz (₭) (KDZ)
Time zone	UTC-4 (AST)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+522
ISO 3166 code	GO
Internet TLD	.go

Gregahou (pronounced /greɪjɑhu/), officially the Commonwealth of Gregahou (Gregahouvian: Sodruz Greğahouğanskiy) is an island nation located in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 1,100 km due east of Buxton, North Carolina; 1,250 km due south of Nova Scotia; and 1,780 km north-east of Cuba. Though typically referred to in the singular, the nation's landmass of 7,798 square kilometers (3,010 square miles) is separated between 6 islands, including its one sovereign protectorate, Porte Nouvelle. With an estimated population of 3,539,805, Gregahou is the 129th most populous country. The capital city is Stolitsemlağa, and, as the nation's largest city, it functions as the cultural center of Gregahou.

Gregahou is a developed country, and in terms of GDP, the nation ranks only below Jamaica in the Caribbean Community. The Gregahouvian economy is regarded as a social market economy, and focuses mainly on the export of oil as well as having a stake in offshore international financial services. Despite being classified by some as a tax haven, the government does a statistically remarkable job at separating the desires of foreign investors from the nation's own notably poorer population, and as thus, Gregahou enjoys a rating of 68 on the Corruption Perceptions Index.

Russian oil giant Tatneft ordered the construction of an oil rig off the coast of the country's largest island, then uninhabited, in 1954, and colonization began in 1955. Numerous disputes between workers sent to the colony and Tatneft in addition to a lack of strong government presence in the archipelago led to a war for independence lasting between 1972 and May of 1981, when electricity was shut off to the final operational oil rig. By 1981, the colony was fully modernized, but lack of funding proved difficult for progress in early independent Gregahou, and the country emerged from its war for independence in poverty.

History

Main article: Gregahouvian War for Independence

Until 1954, the archipelago remained uninhabited as a jointly-monitored nature sanctuary by the United States, the Soviet Union and France. However, throughout the immediate postwar period in the late 1940s to early 50s, the archipelago became less important to the United States and control was split between the latter two administrators. France elected to focus their resources on the easternmost island of Porte Nouvelle while rule over the five main islands was left to the Soviet Union. Throughout the end of the 1940s and the early 1950s, the archipelago was frequently visited by researchers studying the endemic flora and fauna of the Western Atlantic ecoregion, the other landmass of Bermuda being previously colonized and introduced to foreign species on a large scale. Due to the archipelago's generally agreeable climate, invasion rate of introduced foreign species is extremely high, and measures were put in place to restrict visitors to the island. Still, in 2019, despite the introduction of many invasive species, Gregahou continues to hold one of the world's strictest criteria for entry, with random searches at airports and ferry terminals sometimes reaching to 50% of foreign passport holders and 100% of returning nationals.

Research on the storm petrel, Gregahou's national animal, led to the archipelago's colonization in 1954

Early history

In December of 1953, Soviet researchers studying the endemic storm petrel found a petroleum seep on what is now Ostrov Stolitsa (English: Capital Island). As the archipelago was under complete Soviet control at the time, the government ordered oil conglomerate Tatneft to begin the construction of an oil rig called the Novyy Mira off the coast of present-day Stolitsemlağa and begin drilling. In January of 1954, 250 men, mostly from the Tatarstan region of Russia, arrived on boats to begin the construction of a shipyard and airfield in what is now the central business district of the nation's capital. The shipyard has since been renovated but original pier and dock locations and some original materials still remain. With increased ease of transport to the island, in March of 1954, construction started on both the oil rig as well as housing for the increasing number of staff on the island, which, by March, had risen to approximately 400.

The first oil rig began service in October of 1954, and with the increased number of people living full-time on the island, more resources were pushed towards funding a proper settlement for the inhabitants. Construction on a block of apartments began in January 1955, and by summer of the same year, 10 fully functional apartment blocks were constructed, housing 400+ new residents and named Rezidentsiya-1. Out of the original 10 buildings of 12 stories each, 5 still stand on the coast of Stolitsemlağa's Tsentralniy Rayon. The new neighborhood retained its Romanized name of Rezidentsiya-1 after independence, not the correct Gregahouvian Rezidentsiğa-1, non-conforming to language standards.

The Novyy Mira oil rig pictured off the coast of Stolitsemlağa in 2005, two years before its demolition

Expansion and industrialization

The Novyy Mira oil rig proved to be less successful than originally thought, and within two years of operation, Tatneft began searching around other islands in the archipelago for potential drill sites. In December of 1956, a second deposit was found approximately 15 miles west of the largest island, now Ostrov Novağa-Zemliğa. Construction on this second rig, to be named Almetyevska began in February of 1957, and a second shipyard, airfield and settlement also began construction near what is now the nation's second largest city, Almata. By August 1957, both oil rigs were fully operational.

The Almetyevska rig found Tatneft more success than their first foray, but an expansion project was ordered on the smaller island to form an incorporated settlement, named Gorod-1, or City 1 where the present-day capital stands today. Most scholars speculate this might have been ordered to compete with the rapidly-modernizing Porte Nouvelle, wherein the French had constructed a military base in the summer of 1956.

By 1960, population of the archipelago had risen to almost 5,000, and year-round stay was common for Tatneft employees and their families by the turn of the new decade. Most of the settlement's residents still resided in Gorod-1 and usually commuted to the second oil rig daily or weekly for shifts, and, in 1961, the first consumer vehicles and trolley buses were present in the settlement. Starting in 1963, public ferry service commenced between the two settlements, and, in June of the same year, the Almetyevsk rig's production numbers gave way to a second incorporated settlement, Gorod-2.

Growing tensions

In 1964, population growth on the islands shifted from new oil rig workers to building petrochemical plants and the production of petrochemical products. Situated east of the second settlement in the foothills, most of the plants focused on refining as well as the production of polyvinyl chloride. With the opening of three new plants, population on the islands rose to surpass 10,000. As the population grew, the struggling company found keeping up with the demands of the workers increasingly harder. And, as the infrastructure started to wear under the use of more than 10,000 people, the quality of life in the settlements decreased drastically.

First word of protests likely began in 1965 or 1966, but conflicting reports still leave some information unknown. In December of 1966, oil rig operator Griegor Antonyev submitted the first official proposal for change in operation and quality of life, but the memorandum was quickly shot down by Tatneft. Protests began in the two largest cities shortly afterwards, and increased police presence was sent to the island, which before consisted of just one police outpost. In 1969, a protest group led by Antonyev approached the governing body in search of solution. By then, the settlements functioned as legitimate cities but without stable government, and, due to the archipelago's isolation, cost of living and wages were extremely mismatched. As time passed and families grew on the islands, it became harder for the Tatneft jobs to make a living for the residents. Antonyev, after receiving another silent response to the group's requests, decided to conduct the first strike on Tatneft in July of 1969.

With a large success rate due to the closely-knit community between residence, the management was forced to succumb to the group's request, and eventually raised wages and imposed price controls on their company-run supermarkets and other businesses. However, by September of 1969, prices had again risen to just under what they had been pre-strike, and Antonyev's group organized another strike. The reaction from Tatneft was much stricter, and anyone involved with the strike immediately lost work at the company. The group, however, remained active within the organization, and word on the company's action was easily leaked to the original group of protesters, who became more militant in their method. Known now as Naşa Ludiy (English: Our People)

Geography

The archipelago is a series of low forming volcanoes in the Atlantic Ocean, on the western edge of the Sargasso Sea. Ostrov Novağa-Zemliğa is the largest island of the archipelago, and notably the most rugged in terrain, containing the nation's highest peak at Velağa-Gora (English: White Mountain). Other than on the largest island, the terrain is relatively low-lying and flat, with the second highest peak at just 191m (626ft). The most populous island is Ostrov Stolitsa, which, with over 1 million inhabitants, represents over one-third of the country's total population. Together with Bermuda, the limestone islands make up the Western Atlantic ecoregion, with the Gregahouvian archipelago being the most populated part of the region.

Climate

Gregahou has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa), and is warmed by the Gulf Stream and relatively low latitude. The archipelago usually experiences cooler temperatures in the winter months, and temperatures in January generally average 17°C (63°F). However, there has never been a snowfall or freeze on record in Gregahou, even at its highest peak. In the summer months, temperatures rise considerably, but daily highs usually do not exceed 29°C (85°F). In August, at the peak of summer, ocean water temperatures at the beaches in the country's capital average 28°C (82°F), and are usually slightly cooler in the country's northernmost coast.

Hurricane Fabian in 2003 was the last major hurricane to hit the archipelago directly

The archipelago is in the hurricane belt, and is often in the direct path of hurricanes as they begin to reach the westerlies, but direct landfall is rare due to the common nature of hurricanes to curve northward and weaken before direct landfall on North America. Additionally, the archipelago's small size means that direct hits are very uncommon.

As the archipelago has no freshwater rivers or lakes, the only source of fresh water is rainfall, which is collected for consumption using roof gutters and catches and is stored in tanks usually either in the house's foundation or on the roof. Every residence is required by national law to have at least one tank piping rainwater down from the roof of the building. Rainfall is generally highest in fall, with monthly averages peaking in October.

A common sight on rooftops in Gregahou are rain barrels

Flora and fauna

Until the 1950s, the archipelago was uninhabited and mostly overrun with forests. Because of its isolation in the Atlantic Ocean, Gregahou is home to an interesting array of native flora, including the Bermuda cedar, which is endemic to the ecoregion, as well as fourteen other species of plants. Due to its semi-tropical climate, new flora were easily introduced by the islands' first settlers, and currently, much of the country's fruit supply is grown nationally. Palm trees, while not originally native to the islands, also now grow very commonly and are often used decoratively.