Proylopol Volost

Proylopol Volost Проылополская Волость
Flag of Proylopol Flag
Capital	Proylopol
Official languages	Venadian, White Venadian, Litvinian
Demonym(s)	Proylopolii Proy
Government	Volost of the Republic of Venadia
• Governor	Bogdan Karev
Legislature	Regional Veche
Population
• Estimate	4.2 million

The Proylopol Volost (Venadian: Проылополская Волость, transcript: Proiylopostskaya Volost') is a district of Venadia. It is the 17th largest district of Venadia, and the 9th largest Volost. It is known within Venadia for its unique dialect, active and sizeable anarchist movement and artistic movements.

Proylopol is a forested area south of White Venadia, bordering the Vesan Union to the west, and was briefly a part of the Vesan Union during the 16th century. The Volost retains a minor Vesan minority, who make up 3.6% of the population (the largest Vesan minority in Venadia outside of White Venadia). The largest city is the city of Proylopol located on the Merzhava River, and historically the Volost had been heavily dependant on the forestry and farming sectors.

History

Proylopol is the southernmost territory where ethnic Venadians settled before the rise of the Venadian Republic, with slavic tribes having lived in the area since at least the 3rd century AD. Proylopol was one of the last territories to convert during the Venadian Wars of Religion, structured around the mighty Proy (Проы) tribe, with Duke Oleg of Proy being the last slavic ruler to convert to Christianity. In many ways the christianization of Proylopol is considered both the final stages of Venadian conversion, and the start of the Vesan Crusades, as shortly after the conversion of the last slavs the Venadian realms looked westwards.

The city of Proylopol was founded in 1184, relatively late by Venadian standards, and was named after the slavic tribe that had controlled the area. The Duchy of Proy was nominally independent following christianization, but paid tribute to the Grand Duchy of Kandovy, and was integrated into the Republic of Venagorod in 1216 along with the Grand Duchy. The Duchy of Proy played a significant role during the Vesan Crusades, as Proy woodsmen could compete with the Vesans in their native soil. A significant number of Proy Boyars joined the Petran Order in its early years.

Ivan Apalkov dispensing justice by Mstislav Bagadin, 1855

The dense forests of Proylopol became a haven for bandits, outlaws and rebels during the Venadian middle ages, and numerous small rebellions were organized or originated in Proylopol. Songs and folk stories tell of numerous 'men of the woods' operating against the Grand Prince and Venagorod, such as Misha the Red and Brother Ivan. The most famous being the Apalkov Rebellion between 1745-1769, where rebels from Proylopol established their own 'Popular Republic' with universal suffrage, a significant amount of direct democracy and several vital freedoms. The Apalkov Rebellion ultimately failed, but is considered one of the inspirations of the Breheimian Rebellion, and the Venadian Uprisings of 1847.

Anarchist thought flourished in Proylopol during the late 19th century, and Proylopol was one of the first areas to see significant trade union activity. The Apalkovist Union was founded in 1916 as a militant anarchist wing, named after Ivan Apalkov of the Apalkov Rebellion. Unlike former anarchist groups, who had largely been urban affairs, the Apalkovist Union was formed among the Proylopolian peasantry and rural population, as well as in the smaller towns. The AU started as the Apalkovist Army, and was largely a military organization which saw initially success in the Proylopolian countryside, but by 1924 was reformed as the militant Apalkovist Union. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the AU established itself also in the cities, and succeeded in several political assassinations and organizing wildcat strikes. The anarchists were legalized in 1962, and since then have participated in the democratic process, quickly becoming the second-largest political group in Proylopol (and the largest in the majority of rural Proylopol).

Proylopol was also a centre of the countercultural movement of the 1970s and 1980s, greatly assisted by having a large anarchist movement. The so-called Red Ward of Proylopol became a centre of experimentation and liberty, rivalling any such bohemian cultures in Venagorod and Khandagrad, and the Proylopolian anarchist movement became known as a force that could rally more than farmers and lumberjacks.

Politics

Proylopol is known as a very libertarian district of Venadia, with the Apalkovist Union and other anarchists having held prominent positions since the 1970s. Historically, the Proylopol area saw relatively frequent uprisings and revolts against the central Venadian state (most prominently the Apalkov Rebellion), and this remains the case. In addition to the anarchists, the Liberal-Republicans consider Proylopol a stronghold and have held the majority of Proylopol's governments since the 1930s, and was one of the few Republican-majority areas during the late 19th and early 20th century.

Like all Venadian districts, the Proylopol Volost is ruled by a directly elected Regional Veche as well as a governor appointed by the Prime Minister of Venadia. The current governor is the independent Bogdan Karev, while the Prince of the Great Veche is the Liberal-Republican Yevdokim Ryndin. Proylopol is in many ways divided politically, between the liberal city and the anarchist countryside, although this is a truth with modifications as the so-called Red Ward of Proylopol Gorod is a haven for anarchist thoughts (and a more intellectual anarchism than exists in the countryside) while sizeable rural areas of Proylopol are more conservative than anarchist.

2013 Election

Party	Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/-
Liberal-Republican	733,976	39.5%	81	2
Apalkovist Union	527,896	28.4%	58	6
Socialist Party	323,533	17.4%	36	6
Civil Rights Party	165,295	8.9%	18	13
Unity Party	44,612	2.4%	5	1
Communist Party	24,364	1.3%	0	4
Party of Vesans	20,495	1.1%	0
Others	18,604	1.0%	0
Total valid	1,858,775	95.2%
Invalid/blank votes	94,583	4.8%
Total (Turnout: 62.1%)	1,953,358		198
Source: Venadian Electoral Commission

Economy

The primary sector remains important to Proylopol's economy, particularly the forestry industry, which alone accounted for 7.4% of Proylopol's GDP in 2014. Proylopol has seen steady growth in the past years, but overall is an underperforming district and is below the national average GDP and in terms of average income, but only slightly. In addition to forestry, agriculture, manufacturing, retail furniture, the arts, healthcare and education are sizeable sectors.

Proylopol has more cooperatives than any other Venadian district, both in absolute terms and in per-capita terms. The majority of Proylopol's cooperatives are in the rural areas, and consist largely of agricultural and timber cooperatives, but the Red Ward of the capital has a sizeable number of manufacturing, retail and artistic cooperatives. Proylopol has a low unemployment rate at 3.6% of the workforce.

Culture

Proylopol is renowned both as a center of modern avantgarde artistic movements, as well as a strong rural folk culture that carries into the modern day. Many Venadian authors and painters hail from Proylopol, as well as numerous poets and musicians. It is claimed that the Venadian Balalaika hails from Proylopol, although this is disputed and of dubious accuracy. Culturally, Proylopolians are relatively similar in many respects to northern Venadians, but like White Venadians they have also drawn considerable influence from Vesans over the centuries.

Liberty is highly valued among Proylopolians, moreso than among the general Venadian population. In 2007 opinion polls, 54.2% of Proylopolians stated they believed liberty to be the most important value, in contrast to 21.5% of the general population and 24.9% of ethnic Venadians in general. The individual is more highly respected in general in Proylopol, although still retains a lot of Venadian collective attitudes. Proylopolians are among the least religious in Venadia, with the irreligious population making up 45.2% of the population (in contrast to 20.4% nationwide). Proylopol is also the region with the largest relative number of Rodnovery, at 3.5% of the total population (147,592 Proylopolians identifying as Rodnovery, which accounts for 9.7% of the total neopagan population in Venadia). In general, new religious movements holds particular strength in Proylopol, particularly in Proylopol Gorod.

Rural Proylopol is particularly noted for its very active folk-culture, with feasts and holidays celebrated by the whole village in both traditional and modern fashions. Rural Proylopolian folk music is renowned throughout Venadia, as is the Proy Dance which has spread to the rest of the country.

The Red Ward

The Red Ward of Proylopol Gorod is the most renowned bohemian district in Venadia, and among the most renowned in Ardania. With a total population of roughly 21,000, the Red Ward is situated close to the city centre and consist of a mixture of tenements, apartment blocks, some private housing, cafés and clubs, a park, an open market square and two churches (one converted into a concert venue). While originally built as cheap, working-class, housing the Red Ward is among the most expensive places to live in Proylopol, comparable to most of Venagorod. It has become a district of artists, intellectuals, students, dissidents and activists.

The Red Ward has in many ways been allowed to operate as an autonomous collective since the 1980s, although the Proylopolian City Government have several times tried to assert order. The Red Ward is informally run by a series of communities with some agreed-upon rules, such as prohibition of aggression. Large corporations have also been prevented by the locals from establishing themselves in the Red Ward, despite some attempts by various companies to establish themselves there. Particularly in the late 1980s, Red Ward activists and the police were in conflict over vandalism and sabotage of one of Petrov Hotels in the Red Ward, which ended in the hotel being sold by the company to the city government. The Hotel is now used as a communal sleeping block for the poorer residents, and is funded by donations from Red Ward artists.

Much of avantgarde Venadian art is created in the Red Ward, and the ward is adorned with graffiti. It has become a haven of freethinkers, idealists and radicals, and many of Venadia's modern artists and intellectuals have spent some years among the streets of the Red Ward. Prominent examples include Dobromil Lobov, Sofia Yasneyeva, Matvey Sannikov, Danila Fedosov, Sergey Budayev, Ludomir Baryshnikov and Emiliya Bychkova. Many of the residents of the Red Ward are not Proylopolians, but come from other parts of Venadia and the world (the city government estimates only a quarter to a third of the Red Ward's population to be from Proylopol).

Many of Venadia's 21st century new political movements have originated in the cafés and bars of the Red Ward. In elections, the Red Ward has very low results for the mainstream parties, with groups and parties such as the Apalkovist Union, the Civil Rights Party, the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, the Federalist Party and more all having strong showings, as well as independent candidates.