Ellese

The Fersmore of Ellese Фēрсмоар Елриз
Motto: "Унслéрт лан" "Unity Under The Fatherland"
Anthem: "Song of the Elleseans"
Capital and largest city	Torsvilo
Official languages	Ellesean
Ethnic groups (2021)	86.1% Ellesean 11.5% Russian 2.4% Other
Religion (2021)	83.7% Ellesean Orthodox Christianity 9.3% Russian Orthodox Christianity 2.1% Traditional Religion 5.7% Other Religion or Belief System
Demonym(s)	Ellesean, Arish
Government	Federal Semi-Constitutional Monarchical Fersmoar
• Fer	Misrl Salle
Legislature	Feztsonser
• Upper house	Tamanakar
• Lower house	Tamankar
Independence from Russian Empire
• Declared	September 19, 1922
Population
• 2021 census	7,127,407
GDP (PPP)	2021 estimate
• Per capita	$56,511 (23rd)
GDP (nominal)	2021 estimate
• Per capita	$28,213 (38th)
Gini	32.1 medium (41st)
HDI (2022)	0.901 very high (21rd)
Currency	Ellesean Kar (ɟʎ̝) (ELK)
Time zone	UTC+3 (MSK)
Date format	mm-dd-yyyy (AD)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+75
Internet TLD	.el

Ellese, officially The Fersmore of Ellese (Ellesean: Фēрсмоар Елриз, Romanised Fērsmoar Elrize), is a non-landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the North and East, Ukraine to the West by a maritime border, and Georgia to the South. It is also called by the native name of Arishestan. It has a population of approximately 7.1 million as of 2021, with nearly a quarter of those living in the capital and largest city of Torsvilo.

Ellese has its roots in the loose unification of a number of Iranic Sarmatian tribes in around 204 AD. Over the years, this confederacy managed to survive due to its great military strength and ability. It fought off the Huns in 456-461 AD, the Khazars in the 650s and various other mostly Turkic groups before finally being conquered by the Mongols in 1239. After the breaking apart of the Mongol Empire later that same century, the country became part of the Golden Horde. Over time, Elleseans gained much power in this empire, and by 1391 an independent Ellesean Fersmoar managed to form, in all of the area Ellese possesses today, plus much more. This prompted the Golden Age of Ellese and the Ellesean. Following a string of bad foreign policy decisions, the country was invaded by Russia in 1823, but won the war. 30 years later it became a protectorate of Russia. In 1856 it became fully incorporated into the Russian Empire.

In 1917 it gained independence from the Russian Empire. However, just nine years later, it became part of the Soviet Union. In 1941, it was invaded by the Axis Powers. They did not succeed. After there had been a number of insurgencies in the late 1920s with the aim of freeing the country from Soviet Rule, a new movement was sparked in the late 1960s for freedom from the Soviet Union. They did not succeed at first but the movement (new insurgencies) continued until 1973 when the country got military backing from capitalist countries, and half of it (South Ellese) gained independence from the USSR. It immediately came under the rule of a semi-autocratic monarch, Szen Salle. He founded the Second Fersmore of Ellese, a dynasty which so far has included him, the next Fer Alchar Salle and the current Fer Misrl Salle.

The country has generally been officially neutral in all matters of international affairs since the War of Independence from the 1940s-1950s. During the Salle dynasty's rule, the country has seen great economic improvement and development but also much suppression of dissent and other undemocratic actions and policies. In 2022, the country fully supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as Russia has promised to give them half of "North Ellese Republic", admisinstered by Russia, if they won the war.

The country has a democracy index score of 4.14. It has a HDI of 0.901, classed as "very high". It is known for its excellent education system and general health, with the average lifespan for citizens being 84.2 years. It is ranked as a middle power in international affairs, and has historically been an important country geopolitically due to being at the crossroads of East and West. It was the initiator of EAGA, an organization dedicated to efforts aimed at decreasing corruption and preserving peace in the Caucuses region, and is also a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and the OSCE, among others.

Etymology

The name of the country in Ellesean, Arishestan, comes from the name the ancient Sarmatians gave themselves, "Ari". The Persian suffix was added in the 15th century, with the Fersmore being called "Arishei" before that. The self-descriptor "Ari" probably came from the Indo-European root language originally, and in modern (and presumably ancient) Ellesean it means "Noble." The name generally used in English, Ellese, is said to have come from French, meaning He Wronged (Anglicized, with the words added together and the accents removed.) This is due to the voyages of Jacques Roix, who came across the country in 1676, and was used to describe the indignation the Ellesean leaders, constantly fighting at the time, often felt towards each other.

History

Before Federation:

Modern humans have inhabited the region of the country for approximately 40,000 thousand years, having come from either the North Caucasus or Siberia, through the continental-climate areas above the steppe. Before that, Neanderthals, Denisovans and members of the Homo Erectus species lived in the area. The Neanderthals only died out from the area approximately 45,000 years ago. Multiple waves of paleolithic and neolithic humans came to the area after the original migration 40,000 years ago. During the late Copper-early Bronze age period, area was home to a number of tribes part of or affiliated with the Yamnaya culture, where it is hypothesised the Indo-European peoples first came from, before their migrations. These tribes lived in chiefdoms as nomadic pastoralists.

From around 800 BC to 200 BC, most of the land was controlled by Scythians (Cimmerians), who are classified as Iranic, due to their language and culture, and therefore at least some of them came from Iran. However, they were also connected to a Volga culture.

The related Sarmatians established a hegemony in the region in around 200 BC. There were three main tribes of these in the area Ellese controls today: Siraces, tbe Alans and Roxolani. They were all about as powerful as each other. Usually, they were constantly fighting. However, in 204 AD, they were unified by the Great Fer, First Fer, Szaman. He established a system of devolution and autonomy for all groups, while still being unified under the authority of the Fer. Sometimes, the Fer would have his decisions overruled by the Council (or Tamankanar), made up of the three leaders (Ferens) of each tribe.

Federation to the Mongol Conquest:

The first they had to deal with was the invading Huns, in around 456 AD. By this time they had established much infrastructure in the country and many of the population had become settled farmers instead of nomadic pastoralists. However, fighting was still highly valued in the society, with great attention being given to advancing the tactics and equipment of the military. The Hunnic wars lasted until the Battle of Mandar Sestrem in September 461, when the Huns were repelled to more Westernly Europe instead. Up until around the early seventh century, the country enjoyed dominance in the central Pontic Steppe region. However, in 623 the Khazars invaded, after about a decade of war, a peace agreement was made, with the area being split between the two groups, roughly along the Lik River. During this period, the country acted, along with the Khazars, as a mediator between East and West, for matters of trade and diplomacy chiefly. During this time, Ellese faced the difficult decision of what religion to convert to-Christianity, as practiced by the West, or Islam, by the South? It was decided, eventually, that the Fersmore would tentatively endorse Eastern Orthodox Christianity, while not promoting the religion in any other ways-Islam and Paganism would still be allowed to be practiced by the Peasant and Warrior classes. Eventually, the plan was for the country to choose an official religion which everybody in the nation would practice, but there were seen to be too many still-pagan states surrounding Ellese to do that yet.

In 965, the Khazar Khaganate fell. This meant that the Fersmore could conquer all of what had previously been its land in between the Black Sea, Caspian Sea, Lik River and Caucuses Mountains. So they did. During this period, the Fer decided to officially convert to Orthodox Christianity, and aimed to convert the majority of the country to that as well, although, in an unusually progressive move, pagans would still be allowed. This was a a good time for Ellese, with relative prosperity for all, and many architectural and musical achievements being made. In fact, in some people's eyes, it was even a Golden Age.

However, all this would come to an end in 1239, when it was conquered by the Mongol Empire of Ogedei. This conquest killed an estimated half of the population, bringing it down from approximately 5 million to 2.5 million, and also destroyed many historical buildings. After the breakup of the Mongol Empire, it became part of the Golden Horde. However, rebellion was common and the Horde had difficulty restraining the Elleseans, eventually carrying out a mass execution of all of the leaders of the rebellions and the Ellesean people more widely, as well as many random Elleseans to show them a lesson. About five years after that, they were quiet and seemingly subdued, although really many of them had simply changed their tactics. They would wait instead. When the Golden Horde collapsed, the country, led by nobleman Zephron Hestron, managed to establish a Fersmore stretching across the Western Black Sea-Caspian Sea corridor and more. The population had been further reduced when the Black Plague hit the island in 1347, killing about a quarter of the population.

The Golden Age and the Russian Annexation:

This time was a Golden Age for Ellese. Christianity was promoted, and the country became prosperous and powerful. However, in particularly what made it so great was the great contributions to music, literature, theology, philosophy and, in some places, even visual art it made during this period-while the Renaissance was going on in Europe, Ellese was having its own mini-Renaissance. Many trips to both the East (Persia, China) and the West (France, Italy) were made also. This period would be the base of much Ellesean culture to come later. The Fersmore was at its zenith in the period of the rule of Fer Danghzen the Third, who ruled from 1465-1489. The previous Fer had won more land for the country, doubling its size.

The golden age declined in the 16th century, with the Fersmore looking close to a religious civil war (which the Fer was involved in) at one point, but, the threat of invasion Russia posed united the country. During the Second Stage of the Golden Age, in the late 17th century, the country was known for its philosophy and literature which fused Western Enlightenment and traditional influences.

However, from around 1800-1820, three successive Fers made bad foreign policy decisions, which the Ferens disagreed with. This caused much conflict and disunity in the court. Eventually, it was this combined with the bad foreign policy that led to the nation finally being attempted to be annexed by Russia in 1823, causing the War of Fallen Clouds in Winter that year. The Elleseans fought bravely (and the death toll was high) and they had a good military so they won. The next Fer was better, competent and popular among the Ferens. He died in 1844. The next Fer was not so good. In fact, he was so bad that some of the Ferens petitioned to have the country become a protectorate-but nothing more-of the Russian Empire. Other Ferens thought it was too dangerous-they also did not think it was inevitable that the country would be annexed by Russia. This caused great division among them. Eventually the country did become a protectorate of Russia, in 1853. Three years later, the Ferens voted to be fully annexed into the empire.

Modern Times:

It gained independence in 1917. It was organized according to a system where there were two parliamentary houses: one, of unelected Ferens, one of directly elected representatives of the people. While the Fer would be kept as the head of state, the head of government would be elected by agreement in both houses. Only four years after gaining independence, it was invaded by the Soviet Union. The Soviets eventually won, in 1926. So the country became an SSSR in it, however, there were a number of periodic insurgencies against the Soviet Union still, which were not successful. These mostly disappeared in 1932.

The next significant event was the invasion by Germany of the country in 1942. By this point not so many Elleseans fought as, frankly, they were just exhausted. However, some did build the world-famous tunnels of Bershkar, a 67 km network of tunnels underground rural Ellese which protected them from the invaders. A minority also joined the Germans side, causing many to be deported to Kazakhstan in the years following the invasion. In 1945 they were liberated from the Germans. Of course they were still part of the Soviet Union, which they deeply resented.

So, in around 1968, a wave of peaceful protests swept the country which demanded freedom. Essentially, the entire country went on strike, led by leader Szen Salle. In 1973, an agreement was made: half of the country would become independent and capitalist, while the rest would stay in the Soviet Union (be incorporated into Russia). Immediately, Szen Salle took power. He established a new Fersmoar, modeling the political system of the new country on that established in 1918, shortly after it gained independence from Russia. He died just a year later, having been assassinated by a Communist Ellesean, at the age of 62. His son, Alchar Salle, took power. Soon, he deported the vast majority of ethnic Russians from the country. They went from being about 40% of the population to being about 0.5%.

During his time, he reformed education, adopting a system he built himself-the Salle System, which was designed to "teach children the pleasures of learning" and have children learn deeply. It involved small classes, good teachers and much subject choice for students. He also dramatically increased the average lifespan, from 70.2 years to 80.9 years, and the crime rates during his tenure were close to zero.

In practice, he was somewhat authoritarian, limiting democratic freedoms by altering the constitution plans, which had not yet been officiated, when he first began his rule, and frequently suppressing criticism of him.

In 1991, the country was given the Crimea. This increased the population of Russians within the country. As of now, most people in Ellese are Elleseans (sometimes called Arish) while about 10% are Russians and the rest are a mix of Ukrainians, Greeks and Circassians mostly.

In 2016 he died, at the age of 76, after having been diagnosed with cancer a year earlier. His son, Misrl Salle, became Fer. While the previous Fer had been cautious in his foreign policy dealings, Misrl was keen to ally the nation closely with Russia, saying he hoped Ellese would become "its loyalest supporter" and that he trusted that that was what was best for his country. He recognised the Donestk and Lushank People's Republic's in 2017, and the country became an observer state of CSTO two years later. He kept most of the policies in other areas of his predecessor, however, he stated his intention to increase devolution within the country to its states, and implemented a number of bills to that effect from 2015-2022. This led to the desecularization of education in Arnasria, with some fearing it would lead to a slippery slope of an officially religious government there.

In 2022, the country officially declared its support for Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, sending weapons, aid and eventually (some) soldiers there. They also allowed Russia access of Ukraine via Ellese's borders. While Alchar Salle had kept the Latin Alphabet as official as well as the Cyrillic with the Latin Alphabet being used primarily, he made it so that only the Cyrillic Alphabet would be official and used officially. This is because, by allying itself with Russia, it is hoped that it will be able to get the North Ellese republic from the. This plan was outlined in 2009, and has been called "convuluted" and "cunning", although "all for a good cause of course".

Geography

Most of Ellese is made up of steppe, however there is also a mountainous quarter (of Ellesean-controlled Ellese) bordering Georgia. This includes the highest mountain in Europe, Mount Elbrus.

Culture

Ellesean culture has a Iranic Sarmatian base, but has been heavily influenced over the year by the culture of the Caucasus, Khazars, Mongols, Tatars and Russians. The most significant division is that between the Islamic areas of the country and the Christian areas-which roughly corresponds to (respectively) the states of Arnasria and Roznolz vs Siracea.

Honour is very important in Ellesean culture. Ritual (feast), special and Sanghrengh holidays, as well as family, are the other most important aspects of Ellesean culture. In terms of the arts, music is the most popular, and there is much Ellesean literature based of the mythology of the country. Visual art, except religious in nature, is not common. However, the country is known for its sashes decorated with elaborate patterns.

There is one ritual, or Farztrem holiday on the seventh of each month. These involve eating a feast, with the whole village, neighbourhood or extended family, of elaborate dishes, some of which are unique to that holiday. For example, the Kazar soup, which is eaten on the 7th of February holiday and is warming, made out of barley, beef and a variety of berries and spices. These feasts are usually held at lunchtime, but some are, in some areas, held at dinnertime instead. They may be given a specific purpose, to celebrate a virtue or family member, although not everybody does that at all, and those who do usually do it only on some of the ritual holidays. What special holidays there are varies regionally, but generally there are 5-7 scattered throughout the year. These are traditional holidays to celebrate specific mythological, historical or natural events or figures. For example, the uniter of Ellese, Szaman, is celebrated with a special holiday, on his birthday on the 15th of June. Sanghrengh holidays are religious holidays, with foreign origins: the "canon" four are Christmas, Easter, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. More devout Elleseans and some in certain regional areas will also celebrate other Sanghrengh holidays. These are celebrated with a number of traditions and activities unique to each day, similar to in the West.

All twelve ritual holidays, five of the special holidays and four Sanghrengh holidays are official public holidays nationwide.

There are multiple codes of honour in the country, each one belonging to a specific area or sometimes demographic of the country, and a number of variations on each one. These are collected in a number of books. Generally speaking however, "honour" means being honest, trustworthy, brave, Salmpas, and adhering to a complex, variable code of conduct called Bel Nenshorgh, or similar. Salmpas, an important aspect of honour, is difficult to describe, but means a kind of unyieldingness in defending the values of honour, and the country or/and state. "Son" in Ellesean is "Feir" (pronounced "fear".)

Family is seen as important in Ellese, and Elleseans will be loyal and dutiful to their family either more than anything else or as much as they are loyal and dutiful to their country. Generally, Sanghrengh holidays, and many ritual holidays (particularly in rural areas) are celebrated with the extended family. People will often fall back on their family when in need and will be close to them.

Elleseans are also noted for their sense of humour. This is demonstrated when talking to friends or family, in news and politics, and used for a variety of other purposes as well.

Cuisine:

Ellesean cuisine is diverse, and an important part of the culture of the country. It is quite popular overseas, with their being many restaurants in countries like the United States which sell Ellesean (non-ritual) food. While on an everyday basis most Elleseans simply eat soups and stews, with barley or wheat and beef or chicken as the key ingredients, the meals eaten on the Farztrem and other holidays tend to involve more interesting dishes (although, it is improper for the meals unique to a specific Farzterm holiday to be eaten on any other day). For example, a common meal throughout these is Tanston Beeef, a form of beef cake put in a large vat of a special, spicy sauce and then taken out to eat. Berries and spices feature commonly in these. A great variety of sauces, dips, dressings and spreads are common in these meals. Ellese is known as "the master of the Sandwich", and Ellesean sandwiches are popular worldwide. They are typically eaten with a knife and fork, and tend to be larger than sandwiches in other countries. They can be open or closed. Most Farzterm feasts will involve at least one sandwich.

There is some regional variation, with more Northernly or Easternly families eating more bland food and those living by the sea having more seafood dishes. Those living in the mountainous regions tend to eat goat and berries more than other people.

Literature:

Literature is one of the things Ellese is most famous for. Most of the internationally renowned literature from Ellese is fantastic or surrealistic, although everyday Elleseans tend to prefer more realistic romances or adventure stories. One Ellesean has won a Nobel Prize in literature: novelist Ramzan Conehoky, in 2004 (although he was in exile in the United States.) This was for his "stripping naked of cruelty, exposing with biting passion and wit the true face of inhumanity in all its forms, which makes for a moral crusade without match in its power and strength, and for his spirit in explaining how a human can overcome that."

Visual Art:

Visual art has been found in the area since paleolithic times. During ancient times, while few painting examples have been found, the Sarmatians were known for their metalwork which would include depictions of animals and people. Many depictions of biblical scenes and figures have been found in the country from many different periods. The most famous Ellesean painter, Shar Kaman, lived at about the time of the renassiance. His works were quite realistic but also subtle and witty. In modern times, Ellese has had more visual art. The most famous Ellesean painter of the twentieth century was hyper-surrealist Mirscor Samamfeir, whose works are exhibited at galleries all over Russia, Europe and the United States.