Corridor Security Zone
Slirnian Autonomous Region
Hegoaldekoa eskualde autonomoa (Lemovician) Slirński region autonomiczny (Miersan) Szlirnián autonóm régió (Savader) Slirnijski autonomni region (Slirnian) | |
|---|---|
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| Country |  Lemovicia (de-facto) West Miersa (de-jure) |
| Established | 3 December, 1983 |
| Capital | Heŕibeŕija |
| Government | |
| • Secretary | Vukosav Raonić |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,881.6 km2 (726.5 sq mi) |
| Population (2017) | |
| • Total | 69,753 |
| • Rank | 4th in Lemovicia |
| • Density | 37.07/km2 (96.0/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-1 (Central Euclean Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | not observed |
The Slirnian Autonomous Region (Lemovician: Hegoaldekoa eskualde autonomoa, Miersan: Slirński region autonomiczny, Savader: Szlirnián autonóm régió, Slirnian: Slirnijski autonomni region) is a region, which according to Lemovicia, is an autonomous region, and is, according to West Miersa, part of the powiat of Środkowa in the voivodeship of Nadmorzem. It is bordered to the southwest by the Lemovician Zelaja Province, to the northwest by the rest of the powiat of Środkowa, to the northeast by East Miersa, and to the southeast by Slirnia.
Established in 1983 upon the capture of the area by Lemovician forces from West Miersa in the Lemovician War, the area was quickly designated an autonomous region for the Slirnian population, despite the fact that there were, and continues to be, a higher proportion of Savaders inhabiting the region, as the Lemovicians feared that explicitly giving the Savaders autonomy there may lead to a Savader state being proclaimed there.
Since the end of the Lemovician War in 1992, it continues to remain under Lemovician control, although nowadays, it is an officially quadrilingual region, recognising Lemovician, Miersan, Savader, and Slirnian as co-official languages.
History
Capture and annexation
After the end of the Miersan War in 1982 with the Treaty of San Alessandro, East Miersa was no longer able to support the fledgling Lemovician state, as the only way to go from East Miersa into Lemovicia was through the West Miersan powiat of Środkowa. Thus, East Miersa pressured the Lemovicians to take over parts of the powiat, in order for East Miersa to be able to supply the Lemovician forces in their fight against the West Miersans.
Thus, in 1983, under orders from the east, Ociote Sasiambarena's forces abandoned the defence of much of northwestern Lemovicia, and instead went on the offensive, with the aim of securing control of the Środkowa corridor, and thus enabling East Miersa to supply weapons and other supplies to the Lemovician forces. By July of 1983, the Lemovicians were able to secure control of the corridor.
From the start, there was discussion as to its future status: Nikolas Lezana sought to annex it as a direct part of the Lemovician state, either by making it part of the Zelaja Province, or making its own province, while Ociote Sasiambarena sought to give the region autonomy. After heated discussions, it was decided to take Sasiambarena's approach, as Lemovicians have historically were not as present in the Środkowa corridor as they were in the rest of Lemovicia.
While at this point in time, the largest ethnic group were the Miersans, the Lemovician Section of the Workers' International felt that the Miersans already had a socialist state, and thus did not need an autonomous region of their own within Lemovicia. The second-largest ethnicity were the Savaders, and although Sasiambarena suggested that the corridor be declared as a homeland for the Savaders, due to fears that the corridor may become a separate Savader state, in addition to the racism in Lemovician and Miersan societies against the Savaders at the time, this approach was rejected in favor of Lezana's plan, which was to establish an autonomous region for the Slirnian minority in Lemovicia.
While the Slirnians were the third largest ethnicity in the powiat, in the 1977 census, they numbered only around 2,000 in the Środkowa powiat, with most of them fleeing northwards to West Miersa, or south into Slirnia. However, as they weren't seen as being likely to undermine Lemovician control over the corridor, due to their small population, and the existence of a Slirnian state, it was decided that it would be safer for the Slirnians to serve as the titular nationality of the region.
Thus, on 3 December, 1983, the Slirnian Autonomous Region was officially established, with its capital being based in Heŕibeŕija. While from the start, it was under Lemovician military occupation, a civilian administration was set up, with Tripun Ljubiša being named the Secretary of the Slirnian Autonomous Region. For the rest of war, although efforts were made by the West Miersan forces to retake the area, Lemovicians were able to repel the West Miersans, allowing them to maintain control over the corridor. However, as most of the Miersans in the area fled to West Miersa, it led to a smaller population, while the town of Heŕibeŕija was effectively destroyed by the end of the war.
Contemporary era
Following the end of the Lemovician War in 1992, the Slirnian Autonomous Region became one of the key areas where Lemovicians displaced from West Miersan-controlled territory were to be resettled, which necessitated the reconstruction of the capital, Heŕibeŕija, as it was severely damaged by the war. Although the numbers of resettlement were not as high as in Zelaja, partially due to the terrain of the autonomous region, by 1997, ethnic Lemovicians formed around two-thirds of the population, making them the largest ethnicity in the Slirnian Autonomous Region. By the late 1990s, the reconstruction program was complete, and as a result of the opening of Checkpoint Gamma to civilian traffic, the Slirnian Autonomous Region became vital for the Lemovician economy, as most imports go through there.
In 2000, Tripun Ljubiša, the Secretary of the Autonomous Region officially retired, and was succeeded by Gorana Nikčević. Under Nikčević's tenure as Secretary of the Slirnian Autonomous Region, she made the region officially quadrilingual, recognising Miersan and Savader alongside Lemovician and Slirnian, as official languages in the area. In addition, Nikčević invested in the area's education, with a technical college opening in 2003, and sought to promote the use of the Slirnian language in the day-to-day governance of the autonomous region. Despite these efforts, Slirnian usage in the region had, and continues to, decline in favor of Lemovician and Savader.
In 2007, Nikčević was dismissed from office, as many people in the autonomous region felt that she had not represented their interests, despite her record. Instead, the regional councils selected Kićun Đikanović to serve as the Secretary of the Autonomous Region. Under Đikanović's term as Secretary, he emphasized efforts to improve infrastructure and standards of living, as he felt that as the main gateway many visitors go through when visiting Lemovicia, the "impression of the autonomous region will reflect how they see the rest [of Lemovicia]." Although economic growth did not increase significantly, by 2011, Đikanović was able to have the Slirnian Autonomous Region have the second highest standard of living, just behind the capital city of Topagunea, although most of this was largely confined to the city of Heŕibeŕija.
The following year, Đikanović died in office, and was succeeded by Janica Drinčić as Secretary of the Slirnian Autonomous Region. Janica continued her predecessor's policies, but sought to improve the standards of living outside of Heŕibeŕija, particularly in the Slirnian majority village of Crkva, which in 2012 was the only Slirnian-majority settlement in all of Lemovicia. Her improvements to rural standards of living enabled her to remain in office until 2020, when she was defeated by her challenger, Vukosav Raonić, to be secretary.
Government
Like other provinces in Lemovicia, the Slirnian Autonomous Region is organised along council lines: to this end, the only direct elections are held for district councils, who in turn elect municipal councils, who elect regional councils, who ultimately elect the Slirnian Autonomous Regional Council (Lemovician: Hegoaldeko autonomia erkidegoko konceilua, Miersan: Slirńska autonomiczna rada regionalna, Savader: Szlirnián autonóm regionális tanács, Slirnian: Slirnijski autonomni regalno savet).
The Slirnian Autonomous Regional Council, like other provincial councils, uses the delegate model of representation, with delegates being able to be recalled by their electors (the regional councils) at any time. It comprises of 70 seats, of which as of 2020, is comprised of 42 independent politicians and 28 members of the Lemovician Section of the Workers' International. It is based in Heŕibeŕija (Miersan: Białewłosy, Savader: Újváros, Slirnian: Belakosa).
Unlike other provinces in Lemovicia, due to its autonomous status, the Slirnian Autonomous Region is allowed to exercise more control over education, cultural development, and language, although its educational curriculum is similar to the rest of Lemovicia.
Demographics
As of the 2017 census, there were 69,753 persons residing in the Slirnian Autonomous Region.
Ethnically, 53,896 people, or around 77.3% of the population, are ethnic Lemovicians. 10,148 people, or around 14.5% of the population are Savaders, while 4,508 people, or around 6.5% of the population, are Miersan. Only 337 people, or around 0.5% of the population, are Slirnians. Finally, 864 people, or 1.2% of the population, are comprised of other ethnicities.
Linguistically, the Slirnian Autonomous Region is quadrilingual, recognising Lemovician, Miersan, Savader, and Slirnian as official languages. As of the 2017 census, 42,011 people, or around 60% of the population, spoke Lemovician as a first language. 17,965 people speak Miersan as their first language, making up 25.8% of the population. This is followed by Savader, spoken by 8,727 people as a first language, or 12.5% of the population, while only 337 people, or 0.5% of them population, spoke Slirnian as their first language. Finally, 713 people speak other languages, or around 1% of the population.
Religiously, around 60% of the population are adherents to Sotirianity, or 41,852 people, with the two main sects being the Lemovician Episemialist Church, practiced by 39,610 people, or 56.8% of the region's population, and Catholicism, practiced by 846 people, or approximately 1.2% of the region's population. Other sects are practiced by 2% of the population, or 1,396 people, including Witterism. Of the remaining 40%, 27,305 people, or around 39.1% of the population, are irreligious, with 596 people adhere to other religions, or around 0.9% of the population.