Polarus

The Republic of Polarus
Flag
Capital	Jandara
Largest city	Zulheina
Official languages	Polaran, Arabic
Recognised regional languages	Latin, English
Religion	Islam
Demonym(s)	Polarussian
Government	Republic
• President	Nassim Zakiyah
Independence
•	1996
Population
• 2015 census	81,415,311
Currency	Polarussian dinar
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy AD
Driving side	right
Internet TLD	.pol.he

Polarus is a nation along the western edge of Hesperidesia. Despite being a former province of the Empire of Exponent, Polarus remains the only majority Islamic state on the continent.

History

Nomadic tribes have occupied the area of modern day Polarus since antiquity. Shortly after the spread of Islam into Astyria in the 9th century AD, Islamic merchants from Riysa also began to establish settlements along the Polarussian coastline, using the area as an important stopover point before moving on to al-Raha.

Polarussian Crusade

In the 13th Century, the Empire of Exponent launched the Polarussian Crusade, which resulted in the area comprising modern-day Polarus becoming annexed to Exponent for the next seven hundred years.

19th Century Uprisings

Throughout the latter half of the 19th century - in particular following the Albandaean Crisis of 1896 - a new wave of ethno-religious nationalism swept across Polarus, culminating in a series of violent uprisings.

Independence

Largely inspired by the failed uprising in 1896, thousands of Polarussians took to the streets in 1996 to demand independence. Unlike the prior uprising, however, the activists in 1996 were facing sn increasingly weak and unstable Empire of Exponent. After several months of both civil disobedience and violent military action, the Empire of Exponent collapsed in November, 1996, with Polarus finally becoming a free state.

Geography

Polarus occupies a largely desert climate, seperated from the jungles of the rest of Hesperidesia by the Hesperidesian Highlands, which also serves as the border between Polarus and the Blackhelm Confederacy.

Politics

Politics of Polarus are placed in the framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Polarus is head of state while the Prime Minister of Polarus is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the People's National Assembly and the Council of the Nation. The country is currently a constitutional republic with a democratically elected government, though the military, in practice, remain major powerbrokers along with "a select group" of unelected civilians.

Elected politicians are considered to have relatively little sway over Polarus. Instead, a group of unelected civilian and military personnel actually rule the country, even deciding who should be president. The most powerful man may be Mohamed Bessaoud, head of the military intelligence. In recent years, many of the original generals have died or retired, and a younger generation is gradually replacing them.

Foreign Relations

Polarus maintains close relations with the Blackhelm Confederacy, and is a member of the East Astyrian Treaty Alliance. Polarus also has significant relations with Nikolia and Riysa.

Military

The military if Polarus consists of the Polarussian People's National Army, the Polarussian Navy, and the Polarussian Air Force, plus the Polarussian Territorial Defense Forces. The Minister of Defense is Sheikh Yabuti Ondadansflo.

Economy

Much of the Polarussian economy is dependant upon the export of petroleum. Throughout the late 1990's and early 2000's, the Polarussian government made extensive efforts to nationalize the nation's oil industry, however during the 2010's Griffincrest Oil Incorporated came to own a sizable portion of the nation's oilfields and production capacity - which they retain to this day.

Polarus also has a very strong mining sector, and is responsible for a sizeable amount of Astyria's gypsum production. There is also a robust phosphate mining industry within Polarus, as well gold and industrial minerals.

The agricultural sector in Polarus accounts for about 8% of the countries GDP. The primary crops are wheat, barley, and potatoes. Farmers also have had success growing dates for export. Herdsmen also maintain livestock, specifically cow and sheep in the Hesperidesian Highlands region.

Polarus' fishing industry does not take full advantage of the coast along the Scottopian Straits, in part because fishing is generally done from small family-owned boats instead of large commercial fishing trawlers. However, the government is attempting to boost the relatively small catch by modernizing fishing ports, permitting foreigners to fish in Polarussian waters, and subsidizing fishing-related projects.

Demographics

Approximately 80% of the Polarussian population lives along the Western coastline, with nearly 10% of the total Polarussian population living within the city of Zulheina. The inhabitants of the interior of the country are primarily concentrated around oases or live along the foothills of the Hesperidesian Highlands, and  have remained in Polarus ever since.

Roughly 200,000 Islamic refugees from the Blackhelm Confederacy also live within Polarus, primarily concentrated in a series of refugee camps in far eastern Polarus. These people fled the ethnic violence that emerged during the 2011 Blackhelm Confederate Revolution.

Ethnic Groups

Polarans

Polarans are the majority ethnic group in Polarus, making up around 82% of the population. They are primarily descended from the ancient Bolal people and have a rich cultural heritage, with a strong emphasis on hospitality, storytelling, and music.

Although many Polarans have adopted an urban lifestyle, a significant minority continue to live a nomadic way of life, herding animals and moving from place to place with the changing seasons.

Arabs

Arab communities have existed in Polarus for centuries, with some historical records indicating Riysian Arab migrations to the region as early as the 7th century, but the largest numbers began arriving during the Islamization of Polarus in the 9th century. Today, Arab-Polarussians make up about 10% of the population and are mostly concentrated in the coastal regions of the country.

Arab-Polarussians are primarily Sunni Muslims, and their cultural practices and traditions are heavily influenced by Islamic teachings. However, due to centuries of interaction with the Polaran ethnic group, Arab-Polarussians have also adopted many Polaran cultural practices, such as the use of the Polaran language in daily life.

Exponentials

The Exponential ethnic group is composed of descendents of individuals from the Empire of Exponent. Exponentials began arriving in Polarus during the crusader period and continued to arrive throughout the following centuries. Today, Exponential-Polarussians make up approximately 6% of the population, with the vast bulk of Exponential Polarussians having left as a result of unrest beginning with the 1896 Polarussian Uprising, and culminating with the collapse of the Empire of Exponent and the subsequent infependence of Polarus.

Exponential-Polarussians are predominantly Catholic, and their cultural practices and traditions are heavily influenced by Catholicism. Many Exponential-Polarussians speak both Latin and the Polaran language, as a result of centuries of interaction with the Polaran ethnic group.

Religion

Islam is the predominant religion in Polarus, accounting for approximately 91% of the Polarussian population. 8% of the population, primarily clustered in Jandara and Zulheina, are Christian - primarily Roman Catholic - and 0.9% of the population practices traditional Bolali religions. There is also a very small Jewish population that exists within Polarus as well.

Culture

Modern Polarussian culture is a blend of Exponential, Polaran, and Riysian influences, and has been strongly impacted by recent events and the de-colonization of the 1990's. Modern Polarussian literature tends to focus heavily on the theme of decolonozation, as does much of the nation's cinema. In recent years, however, Polarussian cinema has begun branching into a wider array of genres, and has taken a more in-depth focus on capturing the lives of everyday Polarussian.