Milostia

Milostia Република Милостиа Republika Milostia
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Motto:  Кроз вјере смо уједињени Kroz Vjere smo Ujedinjeni Through Faith we are United
Anthem:  Наша благословљена домовина Naša Blagoslovljena Domovina Our Blessed Motherland
Location of Milostia in green, Belisaria in grey. Location of Milostia in green, Belisaria in grey.
Capital and largest city	Andelgrad
Official languages	Varnan
Demonym(s)	Milostian
Government	Totalitarian socialist theocracy
• Supreme Prophet	Marcus the Purifier
• Chancellor	Adrienne Karpov
Legislature	National Assembly
Establishment
• Independence from Vannois	1 October 1818
Area
•	258,080 km2 (99,650 sq mi)
• Water (%)	2.2%
Population
• 2017 estimate	24,602,580
• 2014 census	24,588,406
• Density	95.32/km2 (246.9/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	estimate
• Total	$285 billion
• Per capita	$11,586
GDP (nominal)	2014 estimate
• Total	$218.4 billion
• Per capita	$9,100
Gini	26.4 low
HDI	0.785 high
Currency	Milostian Livre
Date format	dd.mm.yy
Driving side	right

The Republic of Milostia ('Republika Milostia' - 'Republic of Grace') is a totalitarian socialist theocracy in southern Belisaria. It is governed by the Supreme Prophet as an autocratic ruler, in accordance with the tenets of the Andelist Religion.

History

The origin of modern day Varnans, belonging to the Slavic family of nations, is not well known, except that they are not native to the area where Milostia is now situation. Their ancestors were, in the deep past, a semi-nomadic people, and scholarly consensus seems to indicate an origin area in the borderlands between modern Siveria and Nekulturnya. At various points in their history, they fought with, traded with, or were subjugated by and made vassals of, various peoples. They learnt from their more nomadic neighbours the techniques of horse-rearing, and the composite bow, and from the Germanic tribes in the area the technology of pattern-welded steel swords and spears.

The Varnans began to move west and south in the 8th century. The reason is almost unknown, although climate change, warfare and pressure from population growth are the most popular theories. During the crisis of the 11th century in the Latin Empire, various bands of Varnan horsemen served as potent and well-organised mercenary formations, combining their native talents with the organisational strengths of former cavalry officers of the Latin Army. Some were settled in the borderlands as chiefs of Foederati or vassal states. Most of these proto-realms were ephemeral and did not survive for long. However, at the location where Milostia is now located,a warlord, Stepan I, became secure enough for him to proclaim Principality of Varna in 1057. He was realistic enough to submit to the feudal overlordship of the Audonian Emperor, thereby securing for himself the theoretical protection of the empire. Varna subsequently served in the role of a largely de facto independent (though subject to the nominal suzerainty of the Vannoisian Emperor), culturally distinct, and unusually powerful frontier marcher state. The Principality furnished the imperial forces with a powerful bulwark against incursion from the east. Its light cavalrymen, the ‘Guzars’, later morphing into the word ‘Hussars’, became a model for semi-regular light horse around Belisaria.

Religiously, the Eastern-Rite Catholic Church, which was in full communion with Fabria, worked in tandem with the crown to ensure the stability of the Princely regime. One of its main differences with the more popular variant of the catholic faith was the non-requirement of priestly celibacy, a factor which would prove highly important later in Varnan history.

During the early-modern era, Varna became an increasingly backwards polity, both in terms of political and economic development. The feudal system, as well as serfdom, remained entrenched. The peasantry had few rights and were ruthlessly exploited by their landlords. All that was required was a major spark, as well as an ideology, which would break the Varnans’ traditional adherence to Prince and Church.

During the Lyncanestria Crisis of 1816, when civil war and massed famine swept Varna, a charismatic priest named Peter began to preach to the masses of a new religion. This quasi-gnostic sect has a sophisticated theology, which would have been beyond the understanding of most of his peasant followers. The simplified version which they could have comprehended, however, was that the nobility’s materialism and opulence were signs of insanity and delusion, the manifestations of the the demiurgic dark lord who rules the world. The present order was thus corrupt beyond redemption, and should be replaced by a community of the faithful which would look to the true God and his Angels for salvation.

The Sect quickly spread like wildfire throughout the Principality, and with the army defecting to the rebels en masse, the Prince and his family fled to Vannois. Peter and his followers set up what amounted to a proto-socialist, theocratic peasant’s republic. When Xavier, by now Regent of the Vannoisian Empire, invaded with an army to restore the PRince to his throne, he was met with a perpetual guerilla war with widespread popular support. In particular, his army, drilled in fighting large-scaled pitch battles in the open, struggled to combat the elusive rebels in the dense forests of Varna, armed with flintlock rifles accurate to more than 300 yards. In the end, believing the cause to be not worth the effort, Xavier reached an accord with Peter, wherein the Varna received independence.

Peter renamed his new state ‘Republika Milostia’ - the Republic of Grace. When he died in 1826, he left behind his then-pregnant wife, a charismatic figure in her own right who commanded significant political support. Maria the Preserver was popularly held by the army to be the successor of the Prophet. After he gave birth to Peter’s son, Maria claimed to have experienced a vision, wherein the Archangel Michael visited her and proclaimed that the descendants of Peter, Michael’s incarnation, would be imbued with the Archangel’s Spirit, and thus worthy of succeeding Peter’s mantle. When prominent members of the army’s officer corps showed signs of objection, she launched what amounted to a self-coup, rallying loyalist regiments in arresting and executing those involved. Following this purge, the Prophet’s line of succession was formalised, and Peter’s descendants rule Milostia to this day.

Politics and government

Modern Milostia is run by the Prophet and his or her Council as a totalitarian cult state. The secular government is ostensibly run along parliamentary lines. The nation is divided into electoral districts, which elect members of the Milostian National Assembly, the nation's legislature. From amongst its members, the Prophet chooses his cabinet, which conducts the day-to-day governance of the nation.

In reality, the pervasive presence of the Ecclesia, as the institution of the Andelist Church is known in Milostia, underlies the nation's political system, even though technically the Ecclesia is not an arm of the government or legislature. Political parties are prohibited. Those who put themselves forward as National Assembly Delegates must be resident in the electoral district. The Ecclesia, whose function as a secret police enables it to keep tabs on prominent local individuals, would filter through the candidates and shortlist those it considers most ideologically suitable, and it is these candidates which are allowed to proceed to the election. Where only one candidate is deemed suitable, voters are only allowed to vote 'yes' or 'no'. Where none is deemed capable, the seat is left vacant for the next five years.

The National Assembly has limited powers. Its members are capable of initiating bills, but all proposed legislation must be first vetted by the Ecclesia Council, a committee of Milostia's highest-ranking clerics. The Prophet is also capable of issuing decrees, which carry the same force of law as Acts of the Assembly.

The Ecclesia has another important political function, which is to root out deviancy from Andelist principles as a secret police. In Milostia, heresy is defined, not as religious transgression, but as an economic crime. Unbelievers who nevertheless follow socialist ideals, such as Liothidians, are deemed to be spiritually misguided, but fundamentally good and acting in accordance with the Angels' plans for the world. Those who accumulate capital for private gain, however, are deemed to be agents of Choronzon, and persecuted ruthlessly.

In terms of foreign policy, owing to the vehemently anti-materialist stance of the cult, Milostia is traditionally close to its fellow socialist nations, such as Liothidia and Communist Rhynovia. It also aggressively evangelises the Andelist faith in other parts of the world. In many poor countries, Andelist missionaries were the only providers of social and medical services where none would otherwise exist. These same mechanisms are used to export Andelist militancy in these countries.

The most significant political event in Milostian history occurred in 2015, known as the ‘Great Purge’ amongst political commentators, or ‘the Blessed Cleansing’ by Milostian propaganda. The then-Prophet, Slodoban the Corrupt, had attempted to boost the Milostian economy via a program of economic pragmatism, which became necessary in order to counteract the disruption caused by the collapse of the Rhynovian communist regime, one of Milostia’s two main patrons. This resulted in significant economic growth, but also the concentration of wealth amongst the ecclesiastical, security and commercia elites, who profited from the liberlisation. Fundamentalists regarded this as a breach of the core tenents of the Andelist faith. Led by Slodoban’s son, Marcus, the army staged a coup, arresting and executing members of Slodoban’s administration, including Slodoban himself. Inheriting the mantle of the Prophet, Marcus proceeded to initiate a wholesale purge of the beneficiaries of his father’s policy, as well as his political enemies. Marcus the Purifier, as he is now known, remains one of the most powerful and charismatic leaders in Milostia’s history.

Military

Milostia's armed power is constituted by three institutions. The first is the Milostian National Army, the integrated regular military forces of the state. The second, completely independent of the first, is the Ecclesia Guard, a paramilitary force directly subordinated to the Ecclesia. Finally, the Martyrs' Militia constitutes a reserve force which encompasses a significant portion of the Milostian population, and can be mobilised for national defence in an emergency.

Economy

It is a small nation, historically largely agrarian although some industrial and urban developments have sprung up in the past few decades with Liothidian (and, formerly, Rhynovian) assistance and investment. Agriculture, coal mining and crude heavy industries still dominate its economy. Successive five-year plans in the mid-20th century had skewed the economy from a purely agrarian and raw-material based system towards a more industrialised mix. In the mountainous northeast, very large quantities of high quality Anthracite coal deposits allow for the nation to be largely self-dependent in energy, and provides a valuable export. Other exports include gold, copper and bauxite from the mining areas, agricultural goods, as well as the output of the nation’s well-developed chemicals and pesticides industry. In recent years, it has integrated further into the greater Belisarian economy to some extent. Its lack of environmental laws and, ironically in a socialist state, union rights creates an environment which is conducive to labour-intensive, low-medium skilled, low-wage manufacturing, including garments, cheap consumer electronics, as well as the waste disposal industry.