United Soltenish Republics

United Soltenish Republics Repubbliche Solteniche Unite
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Per Dio e la Patria For God and Country
Anthem: Marzo Nazionale (National March)
Capital	Carez (executive) Erix (legislative)
Largest	Erix
Official languages	High Soltenish
Demonym(s)	Soltenish
Government	Federal Dominant Party Presidential Republic
• President	Aurelio Di Biviu
• Secretary of the Senate	Cristoforo Giacomo
• Chair of the High Court	Azelio Capo
Legislature	Senate
Formation
• Colonization by Canterians	Mid 16th Century
• Unification under Solerian Kingdom	19 June 1732
• Soltenish Confederation Established	4 July 1756
• New Year's Constitution	1 January 1894
• Election of Ottavio Volpe	23 June 1912
• Declaration of Victory	11 March 1972
• First Free Elections	29 June 1977
Population
• 2022 estimate	150,228,017
• 2015 census	143,123,096
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	₳2.24 trillion
• Per capita	₳14,912
HDI	0.760 high
Currency	Bronzella (฿) (SBR)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy and yyyy-mm-dd AD
Driving side	right
Calling code	+71
Internet TLD	.st

Soltenia, officially the United Soltenish Republics (Soltenish: Repubbliche Soltenitiche Unite), is a sovereign nation located off the eastern coast of Merredone. The majority of the state’s territory is naturally defined by coastline, with the Republic bordering Stivichia to the east and Latvia and Saaremaa to the north east. Soltenia's mainland population is estimated around 150.2 million citizens; amongst the most populous nations in Eastern hemisphere. The executive capital and second largest city is the coastal metropolis of Carez, with its own population estimated at approximately just over nine million permanent residents. The largest city and legislative capital is Erix, which sits on the west coast of Soleria and has a population of just over twelve and a half million. Other major cities include Adelson, Felere, Potletsa, Queenstown, and Biviu.

Just under half of the Soltenish population is culturally and ethnically Canterian- belonging to the eponymous linguistically distinct Canterian ethnogroup. The nation's mercantile history means that significant minorities of Riamese immigrants, many of whom still live in Common speaking neighborhoods. Liberal immigration policies from 1750 to 1914 have also resulted in a large influx of Nyals. The geographic location of Soltenia has also left the state with a large Culmian indigenous minority. The total non-Soltenish population makes up just over fifty percent of the population, or about seventy five million people.

Most Soltenish, especially those who are a member of a Soltenish ethnic group, speaking one of the various Soltenish dialects. At least nineteen distinct languages have been identified in Soltenia, descended from languages brought from Prybourne, and several other possible languages have been identified. Of these, thirteen are still spoken, though only eight are spoken by over 1% of the Soltenish population. These languages exist along a dialect continuum. Soltenish languages have varying degrees of mutually intelligiblity with one another. The languages with the least amount of mutually intelligiblity is the Paletan language, which have diverged to a greater extent than most of the other languages. The languages with the greatest mutually intelligibility with other Soltenish languages are historically languages found in Soleria and Colpi, especially the Erixan dialect of Solerian which was the precursor to High Soltenish, though Solerian has gone effectively extinct, having been widely supplanted by High Soltenish.

In general, the common language most used is High Soltenish, a literary language based off of upper class Erixan dialects from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. High Soltenish is used in the armed forces, formal education, and government procedures. Most Soltenish people have at least some proficiency in the language, with a working knowledge required to graduate from university or to serve in the armed forces. In addition, High Soltenish has supplanted many regional languages, especially along the coast. This has resulted in parts of Soltenia being a diglossic society, with the formal High Soltenish language used alongside the regional variety. However, it is often difficult to identify when a full regional language is a dialect of High Soltenish and vice versa. As such, many linguists disagree with official demographic information from the Soltenish government.

Various Culmian tribes inhabitated the area which is now Soltenia as early as 100 AD. A region named "Soltona" was documented in Canterian ship maps as early as 1557 AD. During the mid 16th century, migrants from what is now Prybourne began to establish several colonies in the region. During the late 17th century, no less than four colonies had been established on the coastal areas of the island of Normerra; Vierna, Colpi, Almarance, and Soleria. Colonists from what is now the Fresian Confederacy also established colonies, which would eventually develop into Fernerland. Other colonies, such as Irassia in Olivacia and the various settlements in the Suregno Islands, would take root by 1700. At some point, the largest colony, Almarance, would found what eventually would become the autonomous Soltenish Rite Church. Following the Soltenish Unification Wars and the dissolution of the Double Union in 1722, the Solerian Kingdom was formed in 1732.

In 1756, King Alfonso II stepped down and instituted a republic, the Soltenish Confederacy. The Confederacy would become a merchant republic under and oligarchic government. The Confederacy dominated trade in the region and formed valuable and profitable links to countries like Riamo. The Confederacy would also absorb Irassia and the Suregno Islands. The Soltenish interior, which was mostly unexplored in the 1700s, would be colonized and fully explored by the late 1880s. These explorers were mostly Solts but also included large populations from Kakland and Sukong. Lingual discrimination, against both the immigrant populations and the dialects spoken by the local Solts, led the states established in the interior to be junior partners in the Confederacy. This system was so unpopular that the Confederacy would be overthrown by a communist revolution in 1912.

The Parso seizure of power in 1912 led to the replacement of the relatively free Federation with a totalitarian communist dictatorship and decades of repression. After the end of the Soltenish Civil War, the Socialist government was dissolved and replaced by a provisional government that would later form the United Soltenish Republics in 1972. After decades of misrule and corruption, the Soltenish Miracle led Soltenia from an impoverished and authoritarian state to being a relatively free democracy with high rates of growth for both GDP and income, moving from a low income economy to an upper-middle income economy by 2000.

The nation is renowned for the rugged natural beauty of its interior and its coastal towns and cities in particular are amongst the most visited tourist destinations in Merredone. Destinations such as the Riamese district of Queenstown, located in Erix, or the Grand Waterfalls attract thousands of tourists every year. The nation's mixed model economy is dominated by the extraction of its vast reserves of natural gas, precious metals, and expanding industrial and service sectors; both of which contain considerable government shares. The government is a democratic federation, consisting of 17 republics with considerable autonomy and self-governance. Though the nation has been praised since its transition to democracy, Soltenia has recently begun to lag on the Human Development index, with experts rating the United Republics at about 0.760. Other issues that have impeded progress have been identified as governmental and industrial corruption, overpopulation, strained public and health care services, national debt and a considerable wealth divide. Additionally, terrorism a part of local nationalist movements has resulted in political changes and public safety measures that have been criticized as leading to democratic backsliding. President Aurelio Di Biviu has been criticized for several laws relating to domestic security policy.

The nation is currently lobbying for Association status within the Saltstil Pact. It is also a member of the Anterian World Assembly.

Geography

At AREA, Soltenia is the RANK largest country in the world by area, and is the largest country on Normerra. The volcano Mt. Tomás is the highest mountain in the country. The country lies nearly entirely in Meredonne on the island of Normerra, with a chain of islands in the Aestas Sea and a strip of land on the Oliviacian mainland being the only territory not to lie on Normerra.

Soltenia primarily lies between latitudes 19°N and 31°N and longitudes 112°E and 126°E.

Bordering the Paisi Ocean to the north, the Aestas Sea to the south, with the countries of Lativa and Sarremaa, Stivichia, and the Trident Union lying to the east and southeast. Also to the east is the Culmia Region. It shares maritime borders with Flourystria on the west coast and Senalan in the south Aestas Sea as well.

Climate

Most of Soltenia is dominated by the oceanic climate (Cfb) and warm-summer continental (Dfa), with the transition occurring the father south one goes. The west coast is typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters (for Soltenia's latitude), with a relatively narrow annual temperature range and few extremes of temperature. As one nears the western tip of the country, the climate gradually becomes cooler, with much of central Soltenia typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers, and cold and snowy winters.

As one moves further south, the weather becomes more subtropical, usually a Cfa climate, with summers that are typically long, hot and humid and chilly, butn ot cold, winters. The Suregni Islands, near the equator, qualify as tropical. as the winter season and all months have a mean temperature above 18.0 °C (the defined coldest monthly mean temperature of tropical climates). Irassia, located on the Oliviacia mainland, is much warmer than mainland Soltenia but not nearly as warm as the tropical Suregni Islands.

Seasonally, summers are generally hot and humid throughout the entire country. Air currents pump hot and moist air mass from the tropical Aestas Sea and warm currents in the Paisi Ocean towards Normerra as whole, creating the typical sultry tropical summers. Daytime highs are often in the upper 20s to the mid 30s celsius. Rainfall is summer concentrated along the southern coast. Sunshine is abundant across the country in summer, as the rainfall often comes in quick, but intense downpours. The north and northwestern portions of the country are more arid, especially in the interior due to the rain shadow effect from the coastal mountains. The summer months are by far the wettest portion of the year for the majority of the country. The Aestas Islands on the other hand are much wetter, qualifying as a tropical rainforest climate, receiving more than 60mm of rain every month.

Winters are colder in the western tip, with average highs in the 7 °C range in January. Farther east, winters become milder, with average January highs in the 12 °C range. As one nears the Aestas Sea, coastal plain, and coastal areas of the south, winters become warm, with daytime highs near or over 16 °C. Winters tend to be very dry and sunny. In the Aestas Islands, sunny and wet weather is constant year round.

Topography and Geology

Gently rolling terrain is common throughout most of the Soltenish mainland.

The country is relatively flat as a whole, with most elevation changes being rolling hills, shallow valleys, and shallow canyons cut by rivers. Springs form the majority of river sources in the country, and many flow north-south or west-east.

A notable exception to the otherwise flat interior of the mainland would be the coastal mountains along the northern coast. The mountains, formed by the collision of the Elstemv plate with the Normerran plate, represent a sudden rise in elevation just near the coast. Additionally, Irassia is much more hilly and mountainous than the mainland. The Aestas Islands further south are flatter and mostly featureless, with very few large rivers or topographic features to signifigantly effect the geography of the island chain.

The country lies mostly on the Normerran tectonic plate.

Natural Disasters

Due to the Elstemv-Normerran fault line, earthquakes and tsunamis caused by earthquakes are common in the northern and western coastal regions of the country. A similar situation with the Oliviacia-Normerra plate collision causes a moderate risk of earthquakes and tsunamis in the Greater Aestas Islands.

Tropical storms, caused by warm waters in the eastern Aestas Sea, are common but mostly impact Irassia and the Greater Aestas Islands. Tropical storms rarely impact the mainland.

Government and Politics

Soltenia is a federal, presidential republic. The Soltenish political system operates under a constitutional document called the Soltenish Articles of Unity. Amendments generally require a two-thirds majority of the Senate; the fundamental principles of the constitution (as expressed in the articles guaranteeing human dignity, the separation of powers, the state structure, and the rule of law) are valid in perpetuity. The Senate follows what is called the Orenza Rule where each republic receives a certain amount of votes in proportion to its population ratio to the smallest republic, which was Orenza when the rule was created (though Giova now has a lower population). At the current time, the Senate has 462 members.

The President of Soltenia serves as the head of state and head of government and is elected indirectly by the various republics of Soltenia. Each republic is given a certain amount of votes, with each republic either casting its votes for whoever wins the popular vote within the republic or distributing its votes proportionally. The votes are determined by the Orens Rule, meaning each republic has the same number of votes as it does senators. There are currently 456 votes that can be won, with 232 votes needed to be elected president. The president is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law (subject to senatorial override), and appoints the members of the Council of Government (subject to Senate approval) and other officials, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies through their respective agencies.

The classic tripartite branches of government (executive, legislative and judicial under a checks and balances system) are formally established by the Constitution. The executive and legislative are organized independently in all three spheres of government, while the judiciary is organized only at the federal and republic level.

Following almost six years of rule under Aurelio Di Gorlana, Soltenia has been criticized for what external sources have called "democratic backsliding". Several reports by multiple sources, both government and NGOs, have called for worry for Soltenia's government, which has consistently begun to backslide into what has been called authoritarian by some sources. While opposition parties exist and criticize the government, state-controlled media bias and corruption are extremely common in Soltenish politics. In 2022, Soltenia was downgraded from "full democracy" to a "flawed democracy".

Parties and Elections

Since the fall of communism, Soltenia has historically had a multi-party system. The last Soltenish senatorial election took place on 13 July, 2022. This senatorial election was the 14th since the first multi-party election in 1977. The result was a victory for the Federal Union Party, which maintained the majority it gained in the 2019 elections. The voters elected 462 senators. The most recent presidential election was held in 2019. The current political landscape in Soltenia is dominated by the conservative Confederal Union Party (PUC), formed out of a merger of the Conservative Union and Confederal Democratic parties. Two other parties, the left-wing Republican Party (NPR) and democratic socialist Social Democratic Party (PSD), currently play the role of primary opposition to the Confederal Union Party.

After the fall of communism and the end of the Parsos dictatorship in 1971, a provisional government was established. A democratic constitution was written and put into place in 1977. Today's parliament is called the Senate, just like in royal times of the Solerian Kingdom and in contrast to the General Assembly of the Federation era. The Royal Senate of Soleria (later Soltenia) was a mostly advisory legislative institution in the late kingdom of Soleria-Soltenia during the first half of the eighteenth century. As a result of the attempted coup of King Umberto II, it was dissolved in 1755. The term Natio Soleriano ("Solerian nation") was used to designate the political elite which had participation in the senate, mostly consisting of the Solerian nobility, the Catholic clergy, and a few enfranchised non-Solerians, regardless of language. After 1750, this term became Natio Soltenico ("Soltenish nation") and applied to Soltenish nobility.

According to the country's constitution, any citizen who will be 18 on or before the date of the next election and is of "sound mental health" has the right to vote. Elections are administered by the jurisdiction the election affects (i.e. republics administer republic elections, the Federal government administer federal elections, etc.). In the event an election affects multiple jurisdictions, the election is administered by the higher jurisdiction. By constitutional requirement, elections are always held on the second Wednesday of July.

Political Divisions

Soltenia is a federation composed of sixteen republics and an autonomous domestic nation, which on the federal scale operates de facto the same as a republic. Republics (and the autonomous nation) have autonomous administrations, collect their own taxes and receive a share of taxes collected by the federal government. They are free to create and control their own governments, provided they are free. They also have independent courts of law for common justice. Despite this, republics have been considered to be losing their autonomy to create their own laws and govern independently. For example, criminal and civil law, law enforcement, and infrastructure have become either increasingly nationalized.

The republics are be grouped into regions: North Coast, West Coast, Gulf Coast, Central Interior, Eastern Interior, and Overseas. These regions are merely geographical, not political or administrative divisions, and they do not have any specific form of government. Although defined by law, Soltenish regions are used mainly for statistical purposes, and also to define the distribution of federal funds in development projects. There are also traditional regions based off historical political and economic connection: Coastal, Interior, Frontier, Irassia, and the Aestas.

Municipalities, as the republics, have autonomous administrations, collect their own taxes and receive a share of taxes collected by the republic government. The structure and relative autonomy of the municipalities varies wildly from republic to republic.

Corruption and Human Rights

Corruptuion in Soltenia is present at all levels of government. The practice of invoice-padding is an extremely common form of corruption in contracts and purchases for public projects and instititutions. Generally, corruption occurs through resources from the public budgets of the federal government, republics, and municipalities destined to health, education, social security and social and infrastructure programs, which are siphoned off to fund election campaigns, corrupt public officials, or even into personal bank accounts abroad.

In general, human rights are respected in Soltenia. Legal discrimination against women or ethnic minorities is prohibited by law. While same-sex marriage is not legal, those relationships are not criminalized. Freedom of speech and the press are generally well respected, though international observers have called out trends in the Di Gorlana administration's treatment of opposition-dominated media.

However, the following human rights problems have been reported: violtion of the rights of detainees and inmates by police and prison security forces; inability to protect witnesses involved in criminal cases; harsh conditions in prisons; prolonged pretrial detention and inordinate delays of trials; reluctance to prosecute as well as inefficiency in prosecuting government officials for corruption; violence and discrimination against women; violence against children; human trafficking; police brutality; discrimination against some ethnic groups, especially indigenous people; and failure to enforce labour laws and protections. Same-sex marriage is not recognized in Soltenia.

Demographics

The population of Soltenia, as recorded by the 2015 census, was approximately 139.1 million, with a ratio of men to women of 0.97:1 and roughly 77% of the population defined as urban. The population is heavily concentrated in the southern coast (55.9 million inhabitants) and northern coast (37.3 million inhabitants) regions, while the two most extensive regions, the Central Interior and Eastern Interior, which together make up amount of Soltenish territory, have a total of roughly only amount inhabitants.

The first census in Soltenia was carried out in 1895 and recorded a population of just over 17 million. From 1880 to 1930, Soltenia's population increased significantly because of a decline in the mortality rate, even though the birth rate underwent a slight decline. In the 1940s the annual population growth rate was 2.4%, rising to 3.0% in the 1950s and remaining at 2.9% in the 1960s, as life expectancy rose from 44 to 54 years and to 76.6 years in 2017. It has been steadily falling since the 1960s, from 3.04% per year between 1950 and 1960 to 1.05% in 2005 and is expected to fall to a negative value of –0.29% by 2050 thus completing the demographic transition.