Chokashia

Chokash Solidarist Republic Чокаська Солiдаристська Республіка
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Oi u luzi chervona kalyna
Capital and largest city	Vorsha
Official languages	Chokash
Recognised regional languages	Lyshak
Ethnic groups (2013)	93% Chokashs 6% Lyshatsi 4% Allemanic
Demonym(s)	Chokashian, Chokash, Chok
Government	Unitary one party national solidarist republic
• Vozhd	Andriy Svyatoslavchuk
• First Minister	Inokentiy Bolbotun
Legislature	Sobir
• Upper house	Council of the State
• Lower house	Council of Trade Unions
Formation
Population
• 2012 estimate	20.821.971
Currency	Zolotiy (CZT)
	(DST)
Date format	dd.mm.yyyy
Driving side	right
ISO 3166 code	CH
Internet TLD	.ch

Chokashia (Chokash: Чокащина/Czokaszczina [t͡ʃɔkɑʃt͡ʃɪnɑ]), officially the Chokash Solidarist Republic (Chokash: Чокаська Солiдаристська Республіка) is a sovereign state in eastern Asura, located within Aeia. Chokashia is a one-party state, with 4 governorates and 14 oblasts. The capital of Chokashia is located in Vorsha, the largest city located in central Chokashia. Chokash is the official language using the cyrillc alphabet. The dominant religion in the country is Alydianism.

Etymology

The origin of the name "Chokashia" is unclear. Various authors mentioned the name of Choks (Chotsi/Чоцi) in different variants. These authors used these names to refer to Choks in areas where their historical (or current) presence was/is not disputed. The meaning or the root of the name itself is unclear. There are theories that the name itself was the old name of the tribe that Old Choks belonged to. According to legend, when Chokashians settled in their present territory their leader was Bohdan Chokesha, who led them to their present homeland hence they named the country in his honour.

History

Prehistory

A clay figure of the Hrishivka culture c. 4500BCE

The oldest known archeological traces of human civilisations found in what is now known as Chokashia are as old as 6000 BCE. Archeological evidence of Paleolithic era settlements on the territory of present-day Chokashia are very rare. A fragment of a human skull found near Lemberg believed to be up to 40.000 years old. Approximately around 6,500 years BCE, during the Neolithic, the Hrishivka and Alar lake cultures existed in or near modern-day Hrishivka and Mykolino. Most people in Hrishivka and Alar lake settlements would have been occupied with the provision of food. They practised a mixed subsistence economy where agriculture, animal husbandry and hunting and foraging all contributed to the diet of the growing Hrishivka and Alar lake populations.

Alar lake culture ceramics c. 5000 BCE

By the end of the Ice Age, during the Holocene, major changes in climate, as well as flora and fauna, led to the creation of human communities that would create one of the most complex prehistoric cultures, the culture of Hrishivka. It is characterized by settlements built according to the established pattern, with burials inside them and characteristic trapezoidal houses, perfected the production of tools and weapons, and it is considered that there existed a social hierarchy and private property, as well as a developed religion (with cult places and sacral objects) and art (the first sculptures of fishermen, fish and deer occur). The warmer climate led to the creation of a new culture in the Vorsha river basin, which is called the Osogorsko culture by the vilage Osogorsko near Banatske, and it spread from Central to Southern Chokashia during the 5th millennium BCE The houses found in the locality have wood as reinforcement and mud and weeds as timber, while their base is square-trapezoidal.

During the Middle Neolithic, the Osogorsko culture was replaced by the Alar lake culture, not far from Vityazovo on the Alar lake shore and represents one of the most technologically advanced prehistoric cultures in the world. Its sites from the late Neolithic, on the basis of found copper finds, represent the oldest Asuran centers of metallurgy, which traces the beginnings of the metal age to the distant past. The houses of Alar culture are built of the same materials and are of the same shape as those of Osogorsko culture, but in contrast, they are more massive with two rooms and hearths, while in the later period they were lined up with rows of streets between them, so their settlements could be considered urban. In addition to farming and animal husbandry as basic occupations, people in this period also engaged in hunting, fishing and harvesting, then making pottery, stone tools, as well as knitting, and even processing wool. Pottery is characterized by its roundness, while anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines (Alar lady, Bohovdanka, Olena vase, Mother Goddess on her Throne), as well as prosopomorphic lids and altars represent exceptional artistic achievements of this culture. A special feature of the Alar culture is the engraved signs, known as the Alar alphabet, whose function has many assumptions (marks of ownership, bail, pictograms or pictorial alphabet, phonetic alphabet…).

Antiquity

Before the Leonic migrations, the Svislach river valley was part of the Neman Realms, located within part of later Chokashia's territory. Around 1000 BCE, Nemans created the settlement of Vormumaa. A civil city grew gradually and in AD 900BCE Vormumaa became the focal point of the commercial life of this area and the capital city of the Neman Realms. This area now corresponds to the capital city of Chokashia, Vorsha, with the Neman ruins now forming part of the modern Vormumaa museum.

Leonic migrations

Many Leonic tribes came to southern Allemania in the second century, led by their ruler Bohdan Chokesha. They established the Chokash Sich by the third century on the frontier of the Neman Realms. Throughout the third century there were numerous conflicts and exchanges of varying types between Leonics and their neighbors. In 243, Leonics invaded across the Svislach river into southern Nemania. In order to stop the frequent raids of their lands by Leonics, Nemanic rulers offered land to Leonics in exchange for their loyalty and military conscription. This alliance didn't last for long as Chokashians revolted after subsidies were stopped. As an answer to this, in 274 the Leonic tribes organized a large scale invasion along with Alemannics quickly overrunning the southern parts of Nemania, sacking the capital of the Realms. Between 276 and 280 the Leonics raided the coastal cities of Nemania on the Alemannia sacking the harbour cities and cutting off vital trade routes which ultimately led to the demise of Nemania. After the collapse of the Neman Realms the Leonics have spread their state all the way to the Gulf of Alemannia.

Middle Ages and Early Modern Period

Chokashians were living in small states known as the Sich prior to the beginning of the Middle Ages. The exact number of these small monarchies is not known. Chokashia endured a number of civil wars which were characterized by infighting, the Chokashians were mostly living in disunity. Gradually from 8th to the 11th century most of the small states became a part of the larger four siches Drizdovo, Polom, Sakhnovschina and Lysovo which have defined the four historical regions of Chokashia. At the beggining of the 12th century the Sich of Sakhnovschina and the Sich of Lysovo formed a mutual confederation in order to establish the dominance over the remaining two Siches. The Sich of Lysovo was formed by many smaller fiefs which included Gaeter lands and the Lyshak princedoms.

In 1298 the Bohdanovskiy dynasty, which claimed their roots to the legendary Chokashian leader Bohdan Chokesha, took the throne of the Sakhnovschina - Lysovo Confederation and quickly centralized their power making a kingdom. Under the rule of Svyatoslav II, the Sakhnovschina - Lysovo Confederation was renamed into Chokashian Hetmanate as Svyatoslav II claimed his supremacy over all Chokashian lands. This caused hostilities with between the Drizdovo Sich and the Polom Kingdom which both refused to recognise Svyatoslav II as the supreme ruler of all Chokashian lands. The Chokashian 10 war followed as the Chokashian Hetmanate tried to establish its dominance over Polom and Drizdovo. The 10 year war ended in 1311 when the unified Polom-Drizdovo army lost the Battle of Yellow Fields after which both lords of Polom and Drizdovo, Ostap I and Ivan V swore and allegiance to the new Chokashian Hetman.

Revolutionary Chokashia

The second half of the 17th century was marked by stagnation of Chokashia and the loss of central power of the royal court of the Hetmanate. The Chokashian Hetman of the time Ilya IV tried to counter this and centralise the government but it was all in vain. All the lords of Chokashia were summoned on June 19th 1689 to Vorsha by the Hetman on the annual Assembly of the Lords. The hetman asked for raised taxes in order to fund the war he planned for the expansion of the country southwards but this was rejected by all the lords, instead the hetman ordered an immediate arrest of all the lords which defied him. This resulted in a rebellion against the royal House of Tereshchenko and the hetmanate which ultimately led to the proclamation of the Chokashian Republic and the Chokashian Civil War. The republican forces triumphed over the hetmanists in 1692. the year the civil war was over.

The General Directorium of the Republic which was formed in 1695. was the first democratically elected government of Chokashia. The reforms which were conducted included a centralisation of the army and the creation of the Chokashian Republican Army which saw its first battle in 1697 when it marched north to quell the rebellion in Lysovo. Subsequently after that the Republic went to war in 1710 with Hytekia in order to expand westwards into territories inhabited by Chokashians. One of the main tasks of the new republican government was to unite all the Leonic lands in Northern Asura. In 1721 the Republican government issued the Proclamation of Protection, a document which stated that Chokashia is the protector of all Leonic lands in Alemmania and that as such all are to be integrated and incorporated into the Chokashian Republic. This caused new conquests of the Chokashian Republican Army which expanded Chokashia southwards and eastwards.

The Chokashian Republic endured throughout most of the first half of the 18th century. The political system was gradually changing and the General Directorium lost its leading role, instead the the Head Director, the elected head of the General Directorium, gained more power. In 1741, Afanasiy Ostapovich, became the new Head Director.

Afanasiy I Ilyanovich

Afanasiy Ostapovich was an influential Chokashian general who rose quickly through the millitary and political ranks. He was of noble origin and belonged to the House of Ilyanovich which is a cadet branch of the overthrown House of Tereshchenko. He took over power in a Coup d'etat in 1746 when he arrested and deposed all other members of the General Directorium and established his own cabinet of Directors made up by his closest associates. The republic went through the Dictatorship of the reactionaries, a period of Afanasiy's authoritarian rule which lasted until 1749 when he proclaimed himself Hetman of Chokashia and thus declared the end of the republic.

Enlightened absolutism (18th - 20th century)

Afanasiy I began new reforms of the state which marked the period of Enlightened absolutism from which Chokashia emerged as a regional power in Alemmania. The new hetman saw the necessity of a strong navy and naval trade and began building new ships based upon the western and Mascyllan navies.

Recession and Civil War

After the First Great war Chokashian politicians persuaded a policy of neutrality. Afther the formation the ASU, liberal and conservative politicians of Chokashia didn't believe that western countries would help Chokashia in an event of a war with the ASU. The fear of an invasion was soon amplified when in 1915 mass strikes broke out in Chokashia resulting in a small rebellion which was quelled by the Chokashian army.

The political situation in Chokashia was divided between three camps, all of which had different visions of Chokashian future and the foreign policy of the country. The biggest question up until 1921 was the Chokashian recognition of the ASU government. The conservative-liberal government advocated a steady and a careful approach to the newly founded state to the east. Both of the parties in power, Chokashian National Party and the Radical Assembly of Chokashia refused to recognize the legitimacy of the socialist government that took power in Vynozhia in 1910. The National-Solidarist Union (NSU) was the second strongest political force in Chokashia at the time and advocated a radical approach to the question of the ASU. The party even proposed an invasion of the ASU in order to support the counter-revolutionary forces in the country. The third camp in Chokashian politics was represented by the Union of Chokashian Worker Syndicalist Fronts (UCWSF), a syndicalist party which advocated an immediate recognition of the socialist government of Vynozhia.

Due to deteriorating political conditions in Chokashia and with a recession hitting the country, the Syndicalists started a massive strike on the 2nd of April 1924. The UCWSF sent a list of 12 demands to the government. One of the demands were the formation of workers councils all around the country which would have almost the same powers as the Chokashian Parliament, and immediate elections in the country. The demands of the strikers were deemed too radical even for the government which wanted to find a compromise for all sides. On April 26th one of the government representatives, Ivan Konstantinov, made a statement that the Workers demand a council where they would take part in decision making, and the government deems this as a legitimate question which will be accepted. This sparked rage among revolutionary and anti-communist nationalists which organized a massive rally in the Chokashian capital of Vorsha, demanding the imprisonment of the communist spy and traitor as one of the paroles said. On April 28th Ivan Konstantinov was killed by a bomb which was thrown at his car. The perpetrators, which were arrested, were found to be members of the NSU. The NSU organized a rally one day later demanding the release of the heroes of Chokashian fatherland. This murder sparked a wave of violence in Chokashian cities between radical leftists and radical nationalists. The NSU members attacked the local hedquarters of the UCWSF in Mykolino on the eve of May 7th, when they have thrown petrol bombs at the building igniting a fire which claimed 10 lives. This incident sparked an another wave of violence in cities. During this violence the government of Chokashia fell apart with many members resigning in just a few days which caused the Hetman of Chokashia to disband the parliament and introduce martial law on May 10th. The Royal Chokashian Army was sent to the streets to quell the violence and bring order back to the streets of Chokashia. The NSU supported this decision and withdrew its members from the streets while Syndicalists now directed their violence on the army which opened fire on protesters on May 15th which was remembered as Bloody Monday. Subsequently, on May 17th the Supreme Workers Council of Chokashia declared the formation of The Chokashian Workers Syndicalist Republic which sparked the start of the Chokashian Civil War.

The Red Guards, a militia formed by the newly formed republic, quickly started taking major settlements in Chokashia. An anti-syndicalist bloc quickly formed and organized paramilitaries to fight with the army against the syndicalist rebels. One of the paramilitary units became notorious for it ferocity when dealing with the rebels. The militia of the NSU, the Blue Division as they called themselves, was known to take no prisoners and execute all rebels which surrendered to them. The ASU protested the war crimes committed by the nationalist forces and demanded the violence to stop while sending supplies to the rebel republic. At the end of May a stabilized front was formed and a stalemate began which lasted up until the August offensive of the Chokashian nationalist forces. The nationalist forces took major parts of the territory previously held by the rebel forces and pushed them further east.

Due to an ideological split, the ASU stopped supplying the Red Guards along with placing an embargo on the republic in early September and effectively sealed the fate of the rebels. The Supreme Workers Council of Chokashia tried to hide the severed ties with the ASU but failed as the Chokashian nationalist forces went on yet another offensive on September 27th. The September offensive split the territory of the rebels in half creating a pocket better know as the Slavomirivtsi cauldron. The nationalist forces advanced further eastwards while simultaneously tightened the Slavomirivtsi cauldron and narrowed it to just 30 kilometers in diameter while trapping a force of 10.000 Red Guards. The government issued an amnesty order, even after the protests from the NSU which advocated a more radical approach, and caused a massive surrender of Red Guards from the Slavomirivtsi cauldron. This had a great effect on the morale of the rest of the Red Guards which slowly started giving up smaller settlements. On October 21st the nationalist forces started the Operation Sunset which aimed to end the War. In just a few days the Army successfully took major portions of the remaining territories of the Republic and encircled the city of Pidhora on the 4th of November, the capital of the Republic and the last stronghold of the Red Guards. In his last speech on the 5th of November, the General Secretary of the Republic Mykhailo Bondarchuk called for a fight to the death against the nationalist forces. The nationalist forces decimated the city with a 48 hour long bombardment after which they started an all out assault on the city. The street to street fighting lasted for three days after which the last remaining rebel forces surrendered and that marked the end of the rebellion. Mykhailo Bondarchuk along with most members of his cabinet was arrested a week later by Chokashian nationalist troops.

Second Great War

After the conflict that happened in Chokashia a new government was chosen by Taras V, the Hetman of Chokashia, who continued his authoritarian rule over the country. In the aftermath of the Chokashian Civil War, many of the syndicalist rebels were put on trial. The most anticipated one was of the leaders of the rebellion. Mykhailo Bondarchuk, Mykola Oleksandrovskiy, Georg Steiner and other important figures of the Chokashian Workers Syndicalist Republic were accused of high treason and put on trial. The ASU protested, even after the ideological split, asking for an immediate release of the rebel leaders. After a month long trial all of the leaders were sentenced to death including Oleksandr Bondarchuk, Ivan Sviatovski, Artur Mykolaichuk and Evhen Kolomoiskiy who have been tried and sentenced in absentia. The imprisoned rebel leaders were executed by hanging in secret on the eve of February 24th 1925. Upon hearing the news of this, the ASU Secretary of Foreign affairs protested this act. The situation quickly escalated into a crisis. On March 27th 1925 the ASU ambassador to Chokashia handed over an ultimatum to the Chokashian government. The response deadline was on 29th of March, two days later. The ASU demanded free elections sanctioned by ASU observers , the immediate release and amnesty for all the rebels and their leaders and pointed out in the ultimatum that the rights of workers are endangered and the ASU will do everything to protect them. This has raised concern among Chokashian officials with many fears that the ASU will try to interfere in legitimate elections. The government and the Hetman knew that the utlimatum has been written to humiliate and subdue Chokashia, but they acknowledged that Chokashia was not prepared for a war with the ASU. Hetman even said on one occasion during the meeting i fear that this ultimatum has purposely been written for us to decline. At 17.30, 29th of March, Chokashian Prime Minister Viktor Vsevolodov delivered the ultimatum to the ambassador of the ASU. The answer of Chokashia was positive to all the points of the ultimatum except one - the ASU sanctioned elections in Chokashia. When the ASU ceased its diplomatic relations with Chokashia on the same day, the Chokashian government issued a mobilization order, and put most of its standing army forces on the border. Villages on the ASU-Chokashian border were ordered to be evacuated. Around midday, on April the 1st, an unusual declaration of war was recieved - a simple telegram. There are historians who claim that the ASU bureaucracy contributed to the war being announced only on April 1st, as the telegraph service did not work the previous two days.

Demographics

According to the Chokashian Census of 2015, Chokashia has a population of 20.821.971. Chokashians make up 80% of the population while other significant ethnic groups include Lyshaks (6%) and Gaeti (4%).

Chokashia has been enduring a demographic crisis in the 1980s and continuing into the 1990s, with a death rate that has continuously exceeded its birth rate. At the moment, due to the new program implemented by the Chokashian government, Chokashia has steady population growth with birth rates with an estimate of 3.1 children born to a woman. Chokashia has an average age of 38.1 years and overall life expectancy in Chokashia at birth was 79.20 years in 2015.