Great Veche

Great Veche Великое Вече Velikoe Veche
Type
Type	Unicameral
Leadership
Prince of the Great Veche	Eleonora Platonova, Liberal-Republican Party since 2015
Structure
Seats	400
File:Greatveche2015.png
Political groups	Government   LRP (145) Pro-government   Independents (23)   CRP (7) Opposition   SP (113)   UP (41)   WVAP (20)   CPV (16)   NP (8)   Independents (26)   AU (1)
Elections
Voting system	Additional Member System
Last election	22nd March, 2015

The Great Veche of the Republic of Venadia (Venadian: Великое Вече Республики Венадия, transcript: Velikoe Veche Respubliki Venadia) is the supreme legislative and constitutional body of the Republic of Venadia. The Great Veche was founded in 1235, but only gained power of the republic in 1432 almost two hundred years later. The Great Veche wields almost unchecked power within Venadia itself, having the authority to amend the constitution, oust the government with a vote of no confidence, appoints the cabinet and Prime Minister (but not the President) and declare war and peace.

History

The Great Veche was founded in 1235 as the primary meeting of the Venadian Boyars and inhabitants of the city of Venagorod itself. It held little actual power, apart from serving as a forum and discussion area for the Boyars. Power in the Venadian republic would remain in the hands of the Church and the Grand Prince until the early 15th century, but generally the Church and Prince heeded advice decided on by the Great Veche.

The Great Veche gained its power after the Venadian Civil War of 1434-1442, a conflict largely between the aristocratic boyars and the Church of Venadia and the Grand Prince. The former won, establishing the superiority of the Great Veche over the (greatly weakened) position of Grand Prince and largely setting aside the church. The general inhabitants of the city of Venagorod were now barred from voting in the Great Veche, although could still attend meetings and speak. Until 1667, only aristocratic males had suffrage for the Great Veche, but in 1667 suffrage was extended to the non-aristocratic clergy, military officers and landed freemen. Suffrage was further extended in 1844 to include members of the state bureaucracy and the increasingly wealthy urban bourgeoisie. Following the turmoil of the 1910s, the Great Veche implemented universal suffrage in 1915 for both men and women.

The Great Veche's electoral system has also changed and developed. Until 1667, the seats in the Great Veche were largely held by representatives of the greater boyar families, with the remaining determined by popular vote among the lesser aristocratic families in a system of country-wide proportional representation. Constituencies were established after the expansion of suffrage in 1667 however, and were determined by a system of first-past-the-post. In 1856, the Great Veche saw another reform that split the seats of the Great Veche in two, one half determined by nationwide popular vote, and the other through the constituencies.

Political parties started dominating the Great Veche in the early 19th century, as formerly the majority of seats had been held by non-partisans (largely retired military officers, aristocrats and clergy). The first political party of Venadia was the Union of Constitutionalists, formed in 1822 by the professional and mercantile urban classes. The UoC wanted to expand suffrage, establish a new and modern written constitution, abolish the privileges of the aristocracy and abolish the position of Grand Prince. The UoC quickly gained the support of non-enfranchised urban groupings, as well as more liberally inclined members of the clergy and landed freemen and became the largest single bloc inside the Great Veche (albeit still a minority). The Constitutionalists were banned in 1843 under the reign of Grand Prince Konstantin, but the Constitutionalists were prepared, and with aid from neighbouring Vesan initiated a large-scale civil uprising. The brief Venadian Revolution was ended with the surrender of Konstantin's forces in 1844, and the formal amendment of the existing Great Veche to expand suffrage. The Constitutionalists had an overwhelming victory, with more than 62% of the counted votes, and in 1847 the Venadian Constitution was signed with 194-9 majority in the Great Veche. The constitution established the position of President, abolished the position of Grand Prince, firmly determined the authority of the Great Veche and included a large section containing the rights of the people, including Freedom of Speech, the Press, Religion and Assembly.

The Constitutionalists split into the more radical Republican Party and the Constitutional-Democratic Party in 1858, due to disagreements about where to take the party further. Meanwhile, conservative forces in the Republic had formed the Union of Principlists who worked to contain and limit the new liberal order. Much of the politics of Venadian were in the latter 19th century marked by the conflict between these three parties, although the Constitutional-Democratic Party held the most sway throughout the period, cooperating sometimes with the Principlists and sometimes with the Republicans.

Despite a much more liberal and democratic constitution, the majority of the population remained locked out of the political process. With the industrial revolution spreading to Venadian in the latter 19th century, the growing urban working class overtook the artisans and bourgeois as the majority of the urban population. Socialist and anarchist ideas spread to Venadian first and foremost to the intellectual classes, but soon took hold both among the growing urban working class and the unlanded rural labourers. The first Venadian Trade Union, the Confederation of Labourers and Craftsmen, was formed in 1881 and by 1890 had more than fifty thousand members. The CLC was banned by the Great Veche in 1892, which sparked a rise in radicalism among the socialists and anarchists.

The Socialist-Revolutionary Party was formed in 1902 by disparate groups of socialists and anarchists, and even gained representation in the Great Veche (albeit, they only held 6 out of 240 seats in 1915). The SRP lobbied extensively for the legalization of trade unions and the implementation of Universal Suffrage, finding allies in the Republican Party and the left-wing of the Constitutional-Democratic Party. The General Strike of 1913-1915, accompanied by strikes, anarchist bombings and even the formation of militias on both sides of the conflict. In 1915, the Great Veche determined that to avoid civil war, the demands of the Republicans and Socialists were met and universal suffrage was implemented. The resulting election of 1915 saw the Socialist-Revolutionaries and the Republicans as the largest political blocks, with the Republicans leading a minority government with the support of the Constitutionalists and the Principlists who feared a socialist take-over.

Ever since the 1927 election, the pendulum of power has swung between some incarnation of the Republican Party and the Socialist-Revolutionary Party. The former changed their name to the Liberal-Republican Party in 1952, while the Socialist-Revolutionary Party became just the Socialist Party in 1934. In the modern era, the Liberal-Republican Party has become a broadly centre-right liberal party, while the Socialist Party has become a centre-left social-democratic party although both parties contain more radical wings.

Procedure

The Venadian legislature procedure goes through five stages. First, a bill is proposed by either the the President, the the Premier or by any deputy within the Great Veche. The bill then passes to the most relevant of the nineteen committees, where it will be considered and then amended or struck from the process. If the bill passes the committee, the bill is read, debated and voted on in the Great Veche for the first time. If it passes, it is read and debated once more a week after. A bill that fails to pass the second reading is debated once more a week after, potentially with amendments proposed during the second reading. A bill that fails to pass the third reading is dismissed.

A bill that passes the second or third reading is then reviewed by the President, Prime Minister of Venadia and the Prince for assent. Once at least two signatories have signed, the bill is made into law. If any of the offices refuse to sign the bill, it is taken to another reading in the Great Veche a week after the most recent reading. If the bill passes the Great Veche once more, the bill only requires one out of three signatures to be made into law. If all three offices still refuse to sign the bill, the bill is put on moratorium for three months. A bill takes effect as law as stated in the bill itself, typically no shorter than a month after it has been signed.

Organization

Presidium

The Presidium of the Great Veche is chaired by the Prince, and consists of five Princely Advisors.

Position	Representative	Party
Prince	Eleonora Platonova	Liberal-Republican Party
First Princely Adviser	Panteley Anosov	Liberal-Republican Party
Second Princely Adviser	Arkadiy Artamonov	Socialist Party
Third Princely Adviser	Pelageya Estse	Liberal-Republican Party
Fourth Princely Adviser	Igor Buryakov}	Socialist Party
Fifth Princely Adviser	Miloslav Lyasin	Unity Party

Committees

The Great Veche has nineteen committees, each consisting of eleven deputies. It is the duty of any recently elected Great Veche to appoint committee members, usually headed by the caucus leaders of the big parties.

Committee	Chair	Chair's party
Business and Industry	Klavdiy Zavyalov	Liberal-Republican
Public and Religious Organizations	Ioakim Kovalenko	Liberal-Republican
Education and Research	Aleksandr Shepkin	Socialist
Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs	Innokentiy Ishutin	Liberal-Republican
Energy and Oil	Aleksandra Sabitova	Unity
Fishing and Shipping	Aleksandr Myatlev	Communist
Labour and Social Affairs	Kusma Novoseltsev	Socialist
Defence	Luiza Slepynina	Liberal-Republican
Foreign Affairs	Dobromir Ledovskoy	Socialist
Healthcare	Kazimirs Bumbieris	Liberal-Republican
Local Government and Administration	Kapitolina Kirilova	Socialist
Infrastructure and Communication	Lada Ilyushina	Socialist
Justice and Security	Edik Loskutov	Liberal-Republican
Culture	Anna Pronicheva	Liberal-Republican
Finance and Economic Affairs	Anna Tamakhina	Liberal-Republican
Regional and Ethnic Affairs	Luka Kondyurin	Socialist
Agriculture and Rural Affairs	Philip von Augsberg	Unity
Constitutional	Oleg Lukyanov	Socialist
Internal Scrutiny and Corruption	Miroslav Artyomov	Liberal-Republican

Caucuses

Caucuses are the political groups within the Great Veche. To be recognized as an individual caucus, a caucus needs at least 11 deputies. Most caucuses consist of one or more political parties, as well as various numbers of independents. 16 deputies are in the Great Veche but outside of any caucuses, eight of which are independents and eight from the Patriotic Party and Greater Venadia Party.

Caucus	Parties	Deputies
Liberal Caucus	LRP, Independents	164
Socialist Caucus	SP, Independents	127
Conservative Caucus	UP, Independents	43
Caucus of Regions	WVAP, Independents	23
Communist Caucus	CPV	16
Progressive Caucus	CRP, AU, Independents	11

Building

The Great Veche is situated in the Princely Palace of Venagorod, which it has done almost uninterrupted since 1684. The former building of the Great Veche, the Venagorod Kremlin, is now the location of the city Veche of Venagorod. Both the Princely Palace and the Venagorod Kremlin are in the historic city centre of Venagorod, along the historic town market and close by the Venagorod Cathedral, the Boyar Archive and Republican Library.

The Princely Palace was built in 1328, although little of the original building remains in the modern day, as it has been destroyed twice. The modern Princely Palace was finished in 1924 afert its destruction during the Great War. The design of the new Princely Palace was given to the Venadian architect Jaroslav Shushalev in 1919, and reconstruction of the Palace was initiated in 1920. In the interim period, the Great Veche again met in the Venagorod Kremlin.

Code of Conduct and Traditions

The behaviour of deputies in the Great Veche is partially moderated by statutes and partially by tradition, of which there are many. The Prince of the Great Veche, per tradition dating back to the 17th century and the ousting of the last Grand Prince of Venadia, is chased by deputies of the Great Veche before the first session after New Years with long sticks. The Prince is also obligated to possess a beard, per tradition, which the current (female) Prince resolves through the usage of a false beard whenever parliament is in session.

Ever since 1732, every parliamentary session ends with the deputies cheering to the health of the Republic. The drink of choice for this is whiskey, but in recent years have largely been substituted with beer.

Deputies of the Great Veche are relatively unlimited, but only 'Deputies of Prominence' (that is, members of the presidium, leaders of the caucuses and chairs of the committees) may take the word at any moment. Other deputies must first wait for their turn, as set by the Prince, during debates. Deputies of Prominence may take the word at any moment. Deputies may freely word themselves however they choose, however by tradition deputies are barred from ever using the word 'sausage' or 'sauna'. The reason for this tradition is unclear, but any deputy which states either word in a debate are per tradition stripped off their clothes (barring underwear) and chased out of the Great Veche. The tradition stems at least from the 13th century.

Deputies are obligated to wear clothing covering their legs and genitalia. No requirements are made for clothing covering the upper body or the feet.

By tradition, the only food allowed to be eaten in the Great Veche's meeting chamber itself are potatoes.

It is forbidden for deputies to bite, kick or strike another deputy with a clenched fist, as is using weapons. Grappling, striking with an open palm and headbutts are not prohibited, and frequently seen during more hectic legislative sessions.

The Veche is guarded by its own division of the Venadian Armed Forces, the People's Guard, which consists of a total of three hundred soldiers. The members of the People's Guard are handpicked from the regular armed forces, and normally dress in traditional Venadian uniforms. The People's Guard was founded in 1447, and were originally paid for by the deputies in the Great Veche personally. The People's Guard is the only part of the Venadian Armed Forces where axes remain a part of standard equipment.