Bastarneia

Kingdom of Bastarneia Kuniggareiki Bastjanaland
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Hilpa Fraujins jah lubo þiudos sind meina mahts. "The Lord's help and the love of the people are my strength"
Location of Bastarneia (green) within Europe
Location	Eastern Europe
Capital and largest city	Kisjanaus
Official languages	Modern Gothic
Recognised regional languages	Pecheneg, Russian, Ukrainian
Ethnic groups (2014)	75.1% Bastarneian 7.0% Romanian 6.6% Ukrainian 4.6% Pechenegs 4.1% Russian 1.9% Bulgarian 0.36% Romani 0.07% Poles 0.89% others
Demonym(s)	Bastarneian
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Hereswith
• Prime Minister	Raginars Alaþius
Legislature	Alaþing
Formation
• Monarchy established	c. 830 AD
• Christianisation	869
• Principality	1346
• Russian Governorate	1812
• Interwar Kingdom	15 December 1917
• Bastarneian ASSR	12 October 1924
• Bastarneian SSR	2 August 1940
• Independence from the Soviet Union	27 August 1991
• Constitution adopted	29 July 1994
Area
• Total	33,846 km2 (13,068 sq mi) (135th)
• Water (%)	1.4
Population
• 2019 estimate	3,473,242 (138th)
• Density	90.5/km2 (234.4/sq mi) (93rd)
GDP (PPP)	2019 estimate
• Total	$27.271 billion
• Per capita	$7,700
GDP (nominal)	2019 estimate
• Total	$12.037 billion
• Per capita	$3,399
Gini (2014)	26.8 low
HDI (2017)	0.700 high · 112th
Currency	Shilling (Sk) (KBS)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+373
Internet TLD	.kb

Bastarneia (Modern Gothic: Bastjanaland, [bastˈjanaɫand]), officially the Kingdom of Bastarneia (MG: Kuniggareiki Bastjanaland, [kʊnʲɪŋgaˈrʲi:kʲɪ bastˈjanaɫand]), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The capital city is Kisjanaus. Modern Gothic, an East Germanic language, is the sole official language at the national level, but Russian is widely used for inter-ethnic communication.

Most of the Bastarneian territory was part of the Principality of Bastarneia from the 14th century until 1812, when it was ceded to the Russian Empire by the Ottoman Empire (to which it was a vassal state). Southern Bastarneia was transferred to the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1856, but Russian rule was restored in 1878. During the 1917 Russian Revolution, Bastarneia became an autonomous state within the Russian Republic before becoming fully independent. This decision was disputed by Soviet Russia, which in 1924 established, within the Ukrainian SSR, a Bastarneian autonomous republic (BASSR) on partially Bastarneian-inhabited territories to the east of the Dniester river. In 1940, as a consequence of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Bastarneia was occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union, leading to the creation of the Bastarneian Soviet Socialist Republic (Bastarneian SSR), which included the greater part of Bastarneia and the westernmost strip of the former BASSR (east of the Dniester river).

On 27 August 1991, as the dissolution of the Soviet Union was underway, the Bastarneian SSR declared independence from the Soviet Union. The Constitution of Bastarneia was adopted three years later in 1994, which reestablished the Monarchy of Bastarneia. The strip of Bastarneian territory to the east of the Dniester has since 1990 been under the de facto control of the breakaway government of Pridnestrovia.

Due to a decrease in industrial and agricultural output following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the service sector has grown to dominate Bastarneia's economy and is over 60% of the nation's GDP. Its economy is the poorest in Europe in per capita terms and has the lowest Human Development Index in the continent. Bastarneia is also the least visited country in Europe by tourists with only 11,000 annually recorded visitors from abroad.

Bastarneia is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, with Hereswith, Queen of Bastarneia as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. It is a member state of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).

Etymology

The English name Bastarneia hearkens back to the Latin term Bastarnae and its Greek equivalent Βαστάρναι, both names which referred to the ancient Germanic peoples that settled near the Dniester river in Eastern Europe near the end of classical antiquity. The origin of this tribal name is uncertain; it is even unknown whether this was an exonym (a name ascribed to them by outsiders) or an endonym (a name by which the Bastarnae described themselves). A related question is whether the groups denoted Bastarnae by the Romans considered themselves a distinct ethnic group at all (endonym) or whether it was a generic exonym used by the Greco-Romans to denote a disparate group of tribes of the Carpathian region that could not be classified as Dacians or Sarmatians.

One possible derivation is from the proto-Germanic word *bastjan (from Proto-Indo-European root *bʰas-) means "binding" or "tie". In this case, Bastarnae may have had the original meaning of a coalition or bund of tribes.

It is possible that the Roman term basterna, denoting a type of wagon or litter, is derived from the name of this people (or, if it is an exonym, the name of the people is derived from it) which was known, like many Germanic tribes, to travel with a wagon-train for their families.

It has also been suggested that the name is linked with the Germanic word bastard, meaning illegitimate or mongrel. If the name is an endonym, then this derivation is unlikely, as most endonyms have flattering meanings (e.g. "brave", "strong", "noble").

History

Prehistory

In 2010, Oldowan flint tools were discovered at Dubasarja on the lower Dniester that are 800,000—1.2 million years old, demonstrating that early humans were present in Bastarneia during the lower paleolithic. During prehistoric times there was a succession of cultures that flourished in the land of present-day Bastarneia from the end of the ice age up through the Neolithic, the Chalcolithic, the Bronze Age, and the beginning of the Iron Age, when historical records begin to be made about the people who lived in these lands. These cultures included the Linear Pottery culture (ca. 5500–4500 BC), the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture (ca. 5500–2750 BC), and the Yamna culture (ca. 3600–2300 BC). During this period of time many innovations and advancements were made, including the practice of agriculture, animal husbandry, kiln-fired pottery, weaving, and the formation of large settlements and towns. Indeed, during the Cucuteni-Trypillian Culture, some of the settlements in this area were larger than anywhere on Earth at the time, and they predate even the earliest towns of Sumer in the Mesopotamia. The area, stretching from the Dnieper River in the east to the Iron Gate of the Danube in the west (which included the land now in Bastarneia), had a civilization as highly advanced as anywhere else on Earth during the Neolithic period.

The question as to why this area did not remain at the forefront of technological and social development lies in the subsequent history of its geographical location. At the end of the mostly peaceful Neolithic period, this area became a highway for invaders from the east moving into Europe. By the time the historical written record begins to cover this area, it has already seen a number of invasions sweep over it, leaving social and political upheaval in their wake. This trend was to continue on a fairly regular basis up until the 20th century. With so much destruction, it was difficult for the residents of this area to recover from each successive invasion before encountering the next. However, the few societies in this area that managed to survive for a while through these turbulent centuries left behind a culture and history that are rich and dramatic.

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  Cucuteni-Trypillian culture boundaries

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  The Roman provinces of Dacia (purple) and Moesia Inferior (green)

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  The lands of the Lower Danube in Roman times

Antiquity and the early Middle Ages

In recorded antiquity, Bastarneia's territory was inhabited by several tribes, mainly by Akatziroi, and at different periods by the Celts, Scythians and Sarmatians. Between the 1st and 7th centuries AD, the south was intermittently under the Roman, then Byzantine Empires. Due to its strategic location on a route between Asia and Europe, Moldova was repeatedly invaded by, among others, the Goths, Huns, Avars, Magyars, Kievan Rus', Pechenegs, Cumans, and the Mongols. The First Bulgarian Empire ruled the area or parts of it from the late 7th century/early 8th century until the late 10th century, the Principality of Halych in the 12th century and the Second Bulgarian Empire from the early 13th century with interruptions until the early 14th century. The colonists of the Genoa Republic also left a trace in this region. The Hypatian Chronicle mentiones the name of the Bastarnii living in an area stretching from the Rauts to the Dnieper.

Migrations of the Bastarnae

Areas of Bastarneian settlement prior to the 9th century AD

The Bastarnae (Gothic: Bastjaniggos) were a people associated in classical antiquity with both Germanic and Celtic peoples, often considered to be a confederation of Germanic and Celtic tribes. Large numbers of the Bastarnae were resettled within the Roman empire during the 3rd century AD; those who were not continued to inhabit Podolia and Bastarneia until the middle ages.

According to the Hypatian Chronicle, the Prince of Galicia and Volhynia was in conflict with the Bastarnae between 1231 and 1257. The Bastarnae sided with the Mongols against the Russian Princes, but were defeated by Daniel of Galicia in 1257, and were forced to migrate southwestward into modern day Bastarneia.

Founding of the Principality of Bastarneia

Main article: Principality of Bastarneia

Government

Main article: Politics of Bastarneia

Internal affairs

On 19 December 2016, Bastarneian MPs approved raising the retirement age to 63 years from the current level of 57 for women and 62 for men, a reform that is part of a 3-year-old assistance program agreed with the International Monetary Fund. The retirement age will be lifted gradually by a few months every year until coming fully into effect in 2028.

Life expectancy in the ex-Soviet country (which is among Europe's poorest) is 67.5 years for men and 75.5 years for women. In a country with a population of 3.5 million, of which 1 million are abroad, there are more than 700,000 pensioners.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Bastarneia

Scenery in Bastarneia, with Dniester River

Beach on the shore of Dniester River, 23 km east of Kisjanaus

Bastarneia lies between latitudes 45° and 49° N, and mostly between meridians 26° and 30° E (a small area lies east of 30°). The total land area is 33,851 km².

The largest part of the nation lies between two rivers, the Dniester and the Prut. The western border of Bastarneia is formed by the Prut river, which joins the Danube before flowing into the Black Sea. Bastarneia has access to the Danube for only about 480 m (1,575 ft), and Giurgiulaisti is the only Bastarneian port on the Danube. In the east, the Dniester is the main river, flowing through the country from north to south, receiving the waters of the Rauts, Biuk, Ichel, and Botna. The Ijalpug flows into one of the Danube limans, while the Kugilnik into the Black Sea chain of limans.

Cave churches at Old Urheius

Northern moors

The country is landlocked, though it is close to the Black Sea. While most of the country is hilly, elevations never exceed 430 m (1,411 ft) – the highest point being the Balanaisti Hill. Bastarneia's hills are part of the Moldavian Plateau, which geologically originate from the Carpathian Mountains. Its subdivisions in Bastarneia include the Dniester Hills (Northern Bastarneian Hills and Dniester Ridge), the Bastarneian plain, and the Central Bastarneian Plateau. In the south, the country has a small flatland, the Budjak Plain. The territory of Bastarneia east of the river Dniester is split between parts of the Podolian Plateau, and parts of the Eurasian Steppe.

The country's main cities are the capital Kisjanaus, in the centre of the country, Tiraspol (in the eastern region of Pridnestrovia), Baltja (in the north) and Bender (in the south-east). Komrat is the administrative centre of Pechenegia.

Climate

Bastarneia has a climate which is moderately continental; its proximity to the Black Sea leads to the climate being mildly cold in the autumn and winter and relatively cool in the spring and summer.

The summers are warm and long, with temperatures averaging about 20 °C (68 °F) and the winters are relatively mild and dry, with January temperatures averaging −4 °C (25 °F). Annual rainfall, which ranges from around 600 mm (24 in) in the north to 400 mm (16 in) in the south, can vary greatly; long dry spells are not unusual. The heaviest rainfall occurs in early summer and again in October; heavy showers and thunderstorms are common. Because of the irregular terrain, heavy summer rains often cause erosion and river silting.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Bastarneia was 41.5 °C (106.7 °F) on 21 July 2007 in Kamenka. The lowest temperature ever recorded was −35.5 °C (−31.9 °F) on 20 January 1963 in Brautisainja.

Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for the three largest cities in Bastarneia

Location	July (°C)	July (°F)	January (°C)	January (°F)
Kisjanaus	27/17	81/63	1/−4	33/24
Tiraspolis	27/15	81/60	1/−6	33/21
Belts	26/14	79/58	−0/−7	31/18