Vinalia

United Republic of Vinalia Об'єднана Республіка Віналія Ob'yednana Respublika Vinaliya
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto:  "Нарешті мир" (tr.) "Nareshti myr" "Peace at last"
Anthem:  "Об'єдналися під одним загальним прапором" (tr.) "Ob'yednani pid odnym zahalʹnym praporom" "United under one common flag"
File:MapofVinwithborders.png
Capital	Vinalinsk
Largest city	Orlavo
Recognised national languages	Soravian, Zapoyan, Apjai, Quejua
Ethnic groups	Metyso 48% White 25% Vinakians 18% Bahio-Vinalians 3% Others 7%
Demonym(s)	Vinalian
Government	Federal Parliamentary Republic
• President	Valeria Kunavin
• Minister-President	Omelyan Pavlov
Legislature	Vinalian Parliament
• Upper house	Senate of the Union
• Lower house	House of the People
Establishment
• Colony of Vinalia	April 19, 1568
• Independence, and union with Chistovodia	September 1, 1863
• Independence from Chistovodia	May 5, 1885
• North and South Vinalia	February 9, 1935
• Reunification	July 25, 1993
Area
• Total	510,917 km2 (197,266 sq mi)
Population
• 2020 estimate	25,878,816
• 2014 census	24,632,731
• Density	50.65/km2 (131.2/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2020 estimate
• Total	$593.25 billion
• Per capita	$22,924
GDP (nominal)	2020 estimate
• Total	$269.66 billion
• Per capita	$10,420
HDI (2020)	0.76714 high
Currency	Vinalian Zolota (VZ)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	right
Internet TLD	.vn

Vinalia (Soravian:Віналія; Vinaliya) officially the United Republic of Vinalia (Soravian:Об'єднана Республіка Віналія; Ob'yednana Respublika Vinaliya ) is a sovereign state in Asteria Superior. It borders Chistovodia to the north, the East Arucian Sea to the east, Ardesia to the south, Marchenia to the west. With a total area of 510,917km2, and population of 25,778,816 million people. Vinalia is the smallest country in mainland Asteria Superior. Vinalia's capital is the planned city of Vinalinsk, which became the capital in 2020 after 27 years of a split government between Orlavo (legislative) and Velkarichka (executive, and judiciary).

Inhabited since antiquity, it became a place of settlement for the Zapoyans, and the Úuchmáans both groups from modern Ardesia. Both groups inhabited numerous city-states that fought for control and influence between each other. Major Zapoyan cities such as Och-Kan, Itzel, and Miyaochitl existed in contention with major Úuchmáan cities such as Velykhrob, Velykzir, and Colel throughout the Early and Classical Vinakian periods. The Tzapotlan Empire increasingly wielded its power from Ardesia and controlled large swathes of territory and exerted great influence. Following the 13th century however, the Tzapotlan empire struggled in the face of the rival Zapoyan Calkhun Empire which became a dominant force in the region, and would remain so until colonization.

With the arrival of Afanasij Orlev and Soravian colonization in 1568. The collapse of the Tzapotlan, and Calkhun empires do to disease and warfare decimated the native population, which increasingly became subjugated under the Euclean colonizers. Initially Soravian settlers operated small farms in the coast until the growth of Cash crops in the colony, most prominently Sugar. Vinalia became a primarily agricultural colony, exporting large quantities of sugar, Tobacco, Wheat, Cotton, and Kokhineal. Soravian victory in the Ten Year's War in 1711, resulted in Vinalia expanding into its modern borders with Ardesia. Vinalian sugar depended greatly on Bahian slaves, and Vinakian Indentured servants, and had by 1812 outlawed all Bahian slaves. By 1835 Cotton replaced Sugar as Vinalias largest export, this along with the introduction of Coffee into the country became Vinalias chief exports for close to a century. Increasing desire for independence, and growing instability in Soravia, resulted in Vinalia and Chistovodia declaring their independence in 1863 from Soravia. Although close economic ties, and favorable relations between Vinalia and Chistovodia, Vinalia became increasingly opposed to Chistovodian rule do to a reduction in economic benefits and autonomy during the 1880's, and in 1885 declared its independence from Chistovodia. As the Republic of Vinalia

Vinalia experienced a period of high prosperity and sectarionalism, as the North of the country increasingly Industrialized, while the South remained increasingly agricultural. Following the Great Collapse, tensions in the country increasingly grew throughout the 1910's and 1920's, due to an increasingly wealthy upper class of Agricultural and Industrial magnates and the impoverished lower classes. In 1925, increasing tensions between Vinalia and Ardesia resulted in the Ardesian-Vinalian War, where Vinalia suffered extensive loss of land and people, resulting in a 1932 Armistice with Ardesia where Vinalia regained its lost territory. The war had taken a severe toll on Vinalia, and with the crippling result of the war, the country descended into general conflict as soon as the Armistice had been signed, with Vinalian generals sympathetic to the Vinalian Section of the Workers International attempted to launch a coup on the President. The Vinalian Revolution between 1932 and 1935, saw the country descend into a period of conflict, with the Vinalian Workers International taking control of all Vinalian territory north of the Bin river establishing the People's Republic of Vinalia, and the Second Republic of Vinalia now a conjunction of Anti-Councilist elements controlled Vinalia south of the Bin River.

Both nations would prosper but conflict would erupt between both republics in a period known as the Vinalian Struggle between 1935-1987 , where both countries would wage 5 wars against one another. Following their defeat in 1975, a period of peace and prosperity came in the North as the state began to break away from it's Socialist allies and liberalized it's economy. In 1987 the final war would see the Southern decisively defeated and democracy returned to South Vinalia after 20 years. Both nations would begin the process of reunification in 1990 and would become a single country in 1993, following 60 years of separation. The nation would devolve itself into a campaign of rebuilding the nation.

Today Vinalia is a federal parliamentary republic, led by a Minister-President. With 10 Provinces, and 3 Federal Districts, the country is divided between two legal entities the Republic of North Vinalia, and the Republic of South Vinalia, each with it's own devolved parliament. The nation has prospered and is a rapidly growing economy with a GDP of 268 Million and increasing. The economy has a large manufacturing, services, mining, and agricultural sectors. Although low in regards to other Asterian nations in economic, and human development, the nation has been praised for it's stability and development following it's tumultuous history. The nation today is a member of the Organization of Asterian Nations, and the Community of Nations.

Etymology

The name Vinalia comes from the Vinakian word Vinaki which means people. It's believed that upon contact with Soravian explorer Afanasij Orlev who misunderstood what the indigenous population was trying to say. Historians believe that those that greeted the explorer and his settler introduced themselves as Vinaki Axakaqa (People of Axakaqa), but they understood it backwards with Vinaki meaning the name of the region. Orlev decided to unite both words into Vinalia.

History

Main article: History of Vinalia

Pre-History

A Kisharsk culture vase, dated to 1,000 BCE

The earliest signs of human habitation in Vinalia, can be traced to around 10,000 BCE from stone tools found in archaeological excavations on the Shryoniy river. As with other early humans, these were mostly nomad Hunter-gatherer societies that transversed the lowlands in the search of suitable hunting grounds and game. Around 4,000 BCE the discovery of agriculture had led to the creation of settled societies in the country. It is unknown which specific culture introduced agriculture in the region, if it were the Zapoyan, or the Úuchmáan from neighboring modern Ardesia in the south, as a result of a rudimentary trading network. Early agricultural societies mostly grew beans, maize, and squash, along with several other agricultural products such as tomatoes, and cocoa in lesser quantities.

It is believed that these early settled societies were vastly different culturally than their Zapoyan, and Úuchmáan neighbors in the south from which they had discovered agriculture from, although they shared similar historical traits, these people were commonly divided into 3 major cultures, Proto-Shryoniy located in the south of the country, Proto-Vulna located in the center and north of the country, and Kisharsk culture in the island. These cultures developed mainly along fertile river valleys and coast, and dedicated themselves to agriculture, although warfare was common in this period of history between villages, for control of farmland, and territory. Zapoyan society had slowly expanded through cultural assimilation and conquest, by 1000 BCE most of the Proto-Shryoniy settlements had either been abandoned or been settled by Zapoyans, and primarily in the Juyu Ruwach Mountains Úuchmáans. A similar fate befell the Proto-Vulna, which are believed to have adopted Zapoyan costumes in a much more peaceful manner. The Kisharsk culture remained highly isolated but it is believed that by the year 100 BCE, it had become indistinguishable from its Zapoyan neighbors.

Pre-Classical Vinakian 800 BCE-10 CE

Ruins of Och-Kan

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Location of cities and Archeological sites dated to Antiquity and the Pre-Classical period

The Pre-Classical period of Vinakian history, is dated to the believed establishment of the city Miyaoachitl in southern Vinalia, a Zapoyan city close to the border between modern day Vinalia and Ardesia. Cities began to appear in the country side, as vast structural complexes were constructed, featuring large centrally located ceremonial platforms from which emanated causeways leading outside the city, with residential dwellings on the sides of causeways. Cities tended to be larger and more populous in the south of the country, Zapoyan cities such as Och-Kan, Patli, Akbit and Chorna Skelya are believed to have been established on a period between 800 BCE and 600 BCE, other cities of importance were the Úuchmáan city of Velykhrob, and Ichtaca on the Juyu Ruwach mountains. This cities operated as City-states, that maintained vast inland trading networks with each other and cities in modern Ardesia, they also participated in political struggles and alliances against one another, in a varied and fluid political landscape. Although the city of Och-Kan was seen as the dominant power in the region, as they maintained a vast system of alliances reaching as far north as Ahau-Kin, and Tetuolmecs city states.

The city of Velykhrob is believed to have led the first of numerous attempts at independence and autonomy from the Meyaletun Empire after it had fallen under the influence of the great Úuchmáan empire to the south. It is believed Zapoyan cities such as Och-Kan, and Miyaoachitl were in favor of such conflicts and sided with Velykhrob, to reduce the power and influence of the Meyatelun Empire, around the year 330 BCE. Although it is unclear if Velykhrob upon gaining independence led a war against its former allies around the year 300 BCE, or Och-Kan sought to annex Velykrob themselves. But the city of Yatzil an ally of Miyaoachitl was abandoned by the Zapoyan population before being occupied by Úuchmáan settlers presumably after a peace treaty had been reached around the year 320 BCE. Och-Kan and Velykhrob developed a deep rivalry as a result of this conflict, with both sides mobilizing large sections of the city states, usually divided among Úuchmáan and Zapoyan lines. These conflict defined the politics of the time, although Och-Kan held a considerable advantage in population, economy, and allies over Velykhrob. Around the year 190 BCE, its believed that Och-Kan decisively defeated Velykhrob and destroyed the city. This move cemented Och-Kans hegemony over the south of Vinalia, and received tribute from Yax Mutal in Kisharsk, to Coatlan on the Medved River. The two great cities of Och-Kan and Miyaochitl engaged in warfare, as the latter sought to reduce the power and influence of Och-Kan, although Miyaochitl had been unable to defeat Och-Kan over several wars starting in 150 BCE and ending in 30 BCE, it had reduced the power and influence Och-Kan could wield. Such developments allowed the Úuchmáan cities to seek independence and growth, as numerous cities were constructed on the Juyu Ruwach, further north which benefited from the nutrient rich soil. During this time, the most powerful Úuchmáan city was that of Velykzir, and its believed it worked against Och-Kan but lacked the relevant power to rival the great southern city.

In the north of the country, the city of Itzel was founded along the banks of the Dotsenko river in the north of the country. Itzel grew in power and influence but remained mostly to itself throughout the centuries. It grew to political prominence in the year 15 BCE when it involved itself in wars with Och-Kan over the key political alignment of the cities of Tlacamina, and Mecahua, which served key purposes in the trade routes between north and south. With Itzel winning said conflicts and establishing itself as a dominant city as they received tribute from all cities north of the Bin River, although a period of civil war is thought to have affected Itzel between 5 CE and 50 CE, which weakened it allowing Och-Kan to recoup the losses of influence it had suffered during its conflict with Itzel.

Dovhyy Stil

It is believed that the Lyublytas began settling into the modern Nazar Plateau region from neighboring Chistovodia around the year 900 BCE, based on evidence from the ancient settlement of Dovhyy Stil "Long Table" which is dated to that era, Dovhyy Stil was built like other Lyublyta settlements atop a Tablytsya. It is believed that Dovhyy Stil served a trading hub with other Pre-Historic cultures in the Nazar Plateau region and latter as a hub connecting Zapoyan and Úuchmáan cities and states with other Lyublyta settlements and other groups and tribes inside modern Chistovodia. Zapoyan items dated to the 5th century BCE have been found in Dovhyy Stil, indicating the role that Dovhyy Stil played in the trading networks of the region. Lyublyta items have also been discovered as far south as Och-Kan dating to the 1st century CE. The Úuchmáan city of Coyotl located near to Dovhyy Stil, served as a trading outpost similar to Dovhyy Stil, but similarities between both settlements might show that the Lyublytas had a greater extent in the Nazar Plateau than thought earlier.

Classical period

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Political map of Vinalia at the height of the Tzapotlan empire in the 13th century

Ruins of Itzel

The Classical period is marked by the rise of the Tzapotlan Empire in Central Ardesia, and its rise in influence over that country and Vinalia. The Tzapotlan empire was the first organized Zapoyan state to reach such heights, and their power grew increasingly prevalent and decisive in Vinalia. The Tzapotlan Empire found itself involved in the political scheming of the city-states in Vinalia, initially favoring Och-Kan and aiding it on its conflict with Velykzir, where Och-Kan defeated Velykzir and establishing itself at the forefront of politics, this move by the Tzapotlan Empire had sought to weaken and isolate its Úuchmáan rivals from allies abroad.

Post-Classical period

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Political map of Vinalia in 1522

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Political map of Vinalia at the time of the arrival of Orlevs expedition in 1568

Oaexicun Empire and the Confederacy

OUTDATED The Oaxicun Empire from the south in modern day Marirana, would in the 13th Century assist the remaining Zapoyan cities against the Úuchmáans, and had by the 13th century fully submitted the region to their control, the Úuchmáans were forced to convert in almost all aspects to the Zapoyans only keeping their language, the Zapoyan minority easily retook control of the region under the Oaexicun. During this time the coastal city of Itzel near modern day Vinalinsk became the largest capital of the region growing to rival the Oaexicun capital of Moctezuma. Growing tension between Itzel and Moctezuma led to conflict inside the empire in the 1300's, as Itzel had grown rich from trade and created fears of another rival to the power of the city. This led to conflict between both cities, it is unclear but by the year 1350 a revitalized Och-Kan joined into the conflict.

By the 1400s both cities had been decisively defeated and order was restored to the region but not before Úuchmáan revolts in the north had established a Confederacy of city states which banded together to combat the Oaexicun Empire. As the Oaexicun Empire struggled with internal issues from their greater centralization following fears of rebellion from outlying regions, the Confederacy was able to expand it's influence and power, reaching it's peak expansion pre-Euclean arrival sometime in the late 1400's, but the renewed oppressions of the Zapoyans had triggered uprisings and rebellions, and by the turn of the century the Confederacy had lost most of it's gains.

The sudden arrival of the Eucleans to the Oaexicun Empire in 1523, and it's quick collapse following their arrival gave an opportunity for the confederacy to quickly reconquer lost territory and establish itself in the region, the Confederacy which had been able to isolate itself from the collapsing Oaexicun Empire and the Euclean diseases well into the 1540's, the arrival of Poveglian explorers although initially repulsed brought the diseases which had been ravaging the Oaexicuns into the Confederacy decimating it. The Confederacy had by the arrival of the Soravians been reduced to just 15 cities, from which the name the Confederacy of 15 Cities arose.

Establishment of the Calkhun empire sometime somewhere

Soravian colonization 1568-1700

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Exploration of Vinalia by Soravian explorers

Soravian explorers had made their way across the Lumine in 1565 when Grigori Kosh made his way to Chistovodia to the north of Vinalia. Although Soravia had established a colonial presence in the Asterias it lagged behind in development and economical value from other colonial nations, Chistovodia proved too cold for the extensive agriculture employed by other colonial empires. Expeditions south had been planned, Soravian explorers were keen on finding a passage way to the western colonies of other Euclean powers. The first to launch an expedition south was Afanasij Orlev who set sail from Fort Ruda in Chistovodia with 3 ships, the Kazymyr (Casimir), Peremozhnyy (Victorious), and Vira (Faith). Orlev mapped large sections of the Chistovodian, and Vinalian coast but with few results and a dwindling stockpile, Orlev made downfall at the mouth of the Medvid River where he established Fort Orlev, in modern day Orlavo on April 19th. Orlev was the first Soravian to describe the indigenous Vinakians, which historians believe were of Zapoyan origin. He noted the differences between the indigenous people of Vinalia and Chistovodia, and suggested the establishment of a second colony for this exact reason. Orlev would die in Fort Orlev the following year, after famine struck Fort Orlev, nearly killing all of its inhabitants. Famed Soravian explorer Grigori Kosh sought to continue the voyage started by Orlev as he explored further south, with a grand fleet of 10 vessels in 1567. The expedition established 5 forts on the coasts of the country the most prominent of which was Catherinsk, and Fort Ivan (later Ivanovo). Kosh would make his voyage north to rule over Chistovodia as its governor the following year, leaving Evhen Mazeia to govern the geographically isolated forts on the coast. The areas south of the Bin River proved to be of hotter climate, and could be used for the plantation and growing of cash crops most prominently sugar. Although Kosh had established Catherinsk on the northern shore of the Chyhyryn river, and colonists began to look favorably to the region, do to its climate. Povelian colonists had already established settlements on the region south of the Chyhyryn river. Conflict soon arose over where the boundaries were to be set of the colony of Novo Poveja, and Vinalia. Although the region between Chyhyryn and the Meka rivers was lightly populated by Povelian colonists. Soravia lacked the resources to wage a war against Povelia and its allies, nor was Povelia interested in conflict with Soravia. In 1573 the boundaries between both colonies were established at the Chyhyryn river.

By the 1560's the Calkhun Empire had large sections of the empire depopulated as a result of the various epidemics that had struck the empire, with its power heavily dwindled, and facing constant challenge from its subjects. Itzel had been able to escape the fate of the Calkhun Empire, and initially traded with the Soravians through Fort Orlev, mostly in the form of furs. The Calkhun Empire weary of the Soravians initially sought to trade with the colonizers, sending a royal delegation in 1571 to Fort Kosh on the Shyroniy river, which at the time lay entirely in Calkhun hands. The delegation upon witnessing the state of the colony and its inhabitants quickly marched north to Hun-Cane. King Teyaticue seeing an opportunity, dispatched an army to the fort, quickly destroying and overwhelming the few dozens of settlers. The destruction of Fort Kosh, and the strong weather experienced, hampered efforts to resupply the remaining 5 forts, with famine like conditions in Catherinsk. Following a letter to Emperor Ivan VI asking for aid, a great fleet under the command of Josep Mykola was dispatched to Vinalia, including a large contingent of soldiers, which arrived to Catherinsk in 1572. At the time Fort Ivan on the island of Kisharsk had proven to be the most resilient settlement in the colony, and thus was chosen to be the first settlement to start growing sugar, which had been brought for exploitation in Vinalia as a Cash crop. Cocoa also began to be grown in the colony, and enjoyed export into Soravia.

Soravian conquest of the Calkhun Empire

Josep Mykola had sought to explore the Shyroniy river, as rumors reported the Calkhun capital of Hun-Cane on its banks with a large reserve of gold. Mykola launched an expedition through the river on December 1573, encountering deserted towns and villages. Upon reaching Hun-Cane, Teyaticue sought to reach a peace deal with the Soravians by inviting them into the city, but Mykola captured and held as hostage Teyaticue, forcing the Calkhunians to surrender all their gold or fear the death of their. After Teyaticue died in Soravian custody mere days after his capture, Calkhunian forces inside the city attempted to expulse the Soravians from the city. During the fighting Mykola and his men escaped the city, and set it ablaze hunting down any Calkhunians which escaped the city. The fall of Hun-Cane caused a ripple effect throughout the empire, as forces loyal to Teyaticues nephew, Teq'un sought to maintain control of the empire as all its subjects launched into revolt. Mykola would finish his journey across the Shyroniy in August 1574, after having fought and destroyed numerous Calkhun armies and cities, utilizing the help of native allies. The fall of the Calkhun Empire started a period of instability, and inner fighting in the region which only benefitted the Soravian colonizers. Itzel itself would be abandoned in 1580, after a Swine flu outbreak wiped out the population of the city.

By 1580, the colony was experiencing a great period of prosperity as sugar plantations expanded throughout the colony. Sugar was the primary crop grown in the country, although Cocoa, Maize, Rice, and Beans were grown in significant quantities throughout the country as well. The colonies struggled with acquiring sufficient laborers, following the death of the enslaved indigenous populations. A system of Indentured servants maintained free passage for any and all who wished to migrate to Vinalia, although this system initially resolved the issue, Vinalian sugar was uncompetitive when compared to Povelian, or Gaullican colonial sugar, which relied on cheap and easily accessible Bahian slaves. To remain competitive, Soravia began to buy slaves from other colonial powers to ensure sufficient labor in the colony.On May 16th 1584 a ship carrying 33 Bahian slaves arrived in Fort Ivan, starting the Soravian involvement in the Transvehemens slave trade. By 1650 close to 50,000 Bahian slaves had been brought to Vinalia to work mostly in the Sugar plantations of Kisharsk, Soravian slave traders transported slaves directly from Bahia to Vinalia. The introduction of Tobacco to Vinalia in 1609, brought a wave of migration to the north of the colony, which had mostly remained devoid of settlement do to the sugar plantations of the south. Tobacco proved to be a major success, and Vinalia enjoyed vast attention from Soravia do to its profitable plantations.

Fort Orlev in 1599

The success of the Yellow Tree War in Chistovodia, was met with great enthusiasm as Vinalian authorities sought to replicate the same process. Large scale fighting against the Zapoyan population resumed in 1622, as colonial authorities sought to "clean up" the Shyroniy river basin, the campaign proved highly demanding in manpower and resources as the Zapoyan cities were more cohesive than the Batiskas of Chistovodia. Such a long drawn out campaign had disappointed colonial authorities and expansion into the interior dragged out in the same manner as expansion in Chistovodia. By 1643 the governor of Vinalia, Yakiv Afanasijovych announced that the country had been "cleaned up", with most natives forced into Provbudyn "holding houses", or into Cocoa, and Kokhineal plantations known as майноs, located deep in the mountains where conditions were harsh under indentured servitude. Vinalia exploration and expansion beyond the Juyu Ruwach mountains was slow do to the hostility of the terrain in the Tziran Desert, and today few people live west of the Juyu Ruwach mountains. Following the exploration of Zalyk explorers west of the Juyu Ruwach, colonial authorities sought to settled "unwanted" populations on the discovered lands, Zalykians and natives were settled sometimes forcefully by Soravian authorities in this region. The discovery of Silver brought a wave of settlers into the region in the 1670s.

Soravian colonization 1700-1863

Joint Soravian-Gaullican-Paretian squadron during the decisive Battle of the Arucian in 1719

Although the borders of both the Povelian colony of Ardesia, and Vinalia had been defined by the Chyhyryn river in 1568. Vinalian settlers remained unsatisfied with the arrangement, Povelian sugar operations south of the Chyhyryn were highly profitable, and some Soravian settlers had made their way south of the river, and began growing sugar, some converting to Catholicism in the process. This caused concern on both sides of the river, although Soravian settlers near the coast where most sugar was grown, was relatively small. Large numbers of Soravian settlers had settled further inland, causing tensions between settlers of both colonies. Border raids were common between both sides, usually utilizing Zapoyan allied forces to launch raids and plunder. Colonial settlers desired the sugar rich coasts of Novo Poveja for expansion and more favorable trading routes, along with ensuring the protection of Catherinsk. Following a major raid by Vinalian settlers into Novo Poveja, Frederick I sent soldiers to the river to both ensure no further raids were launched by Vinalian settlers while also looking to expand Soravian military presence in the Asterias. The Soravian Arucian squadron stationed in Kisharsk, was the primary naval asset in the region, and it was greatly expanded by Frederick, who sought to keep Povelian and Gaullican naval forces in the Arucian in check. The construction of numerous forts in the Chyhyryn river strengthened Vinalia's position.

In 1711 conflict erupted in Euclea with the Ten Year's War erupting in the continent. Povelia and Estmere found themselves against Soravia, all 3 countries had vast colonial interests in the region. The news were welcomed by Vinalian settlers who began to plan a major campaign south of the river, the Soravian Arucian squadron aided in this operations pursuing and blockading Povelian ports throughout the Arucian, going as far east as Nassea in modern Gapolania. Although Soravian authorities remained hesitant of committing large forces to the Asterian front, Vinalian militias began attacking and launching large scale operations into Novo Poveja. Vinalian militias seized control of forts across the Chyhyryn, while the Soravian Arucian squadron received further aid from Soravia. However on April 1712, the Soravian fleet was defeated in the battle of the Cubulco Gulf, this defeat eliminated Soravian threats to Povelian colonies. This defeat was followed by a major Estmerish-Povelian fleet which decisively defeated Soravian naval forces in 1714 in the Battle of the Strait of Secanton, allowing both nations to launch an invasion of Kisharsk in 1714 and occupying the island. Soravian defeats were followed by a major Povelian invasion of mainland Vinalia on Fenruary 1714, with most of Vinalia south of the Shyroniy river occupied by Povelia in 1717. Gaullican entry into the conflict in 1717, and strong results in Euclea, led to renewed Soravian support for Vinalia, a joint Gaullican-Soravian-Paretian naval squadron successfully engaged Estmerish and Povelian forces during the 1719 decisive Battle of the Arucian, allowing Soravian forces to retake Kisharsk and launch a major campaign against Povelia in the mainland with 5,000 soldiers. Retaking all lost territory and invading Novo Poveja with the aid of Paretia from their colony in Marchenia.

The end of the 10 Years War, resulted in Vinalia expanding to the Meka River, its modern border with Ardesia. Vinalia by 1750 was among the wealthiest colonial holdings of Euclean nations in the Asterias, by 1760 sugar exports from the island of Kisharsk valued more than the total export of the Chistovodia. Increasingly large plantation estates worked by slaves and indigenous indentured servants became a common sight all throughout southern Vinalia, by 1765 its estimated close to 75,000 slaves lived in Vinalia, almost all exclusively owned by large southern sugar plantation owners, most landowners however operated small scale plantations mostly of Cotton, or Kokhineal with few to no slaves, and a large population of indentured Vinakians, and serfs as labor force. In contrast the North of Vinalia increasingly moved away from large scale Tobacco plantations and cash crops in general, territories north of the Bin river increasingly relied on growing Corn, Beans, Kokhineal, and Wheat which were not crops that required extensive labor, thus reducing the size of large scale estates in the north with small scale farms being most prominent, this along with a larger landowning class in contrast with the south resulted in a wider distribution of wealth and power. The introduction of Indigo to Vinalia in 1763 allowed small scale farmers in both regions to enter into the profitable market which required less labor. As Euclean states increasingly sought to limit slavery, southern Vinalian planters remained hostile and opposed to the idea and were successful in delaying Soravian exit from the international slave trade until 1800, and eventual outlawing of slavery for Bahian slaves in 1812. However the economic and social conditions in Soravia had lowered, and following the 1793 famine, large numbers of serfs made their way into Vinalia, fearing competition with slaves for labor, small scale farmers and white serfs opposed slavery. By 1812, most sugar plantations relied on Vinakian indentured servants and thus Vinalia remained a strong agricultural producer.

With the onset of Revolution throughout the Asterias during the late 18th and early 19th century, Soravian fears of Asterian revolt increased. Soravian garrisons in Vinalia and Chistovodia increased in size during this period. This made colonists suspicious of Soravian. Following the revolutions and the ban on Slavery throughout the continent, Vinalia was able to compete with the rest of the continent to export its goods. As Vinalian goods made their way into Eastern Euclea, the number of migrants from Soravia increased. Between 1812 and 1824 close to 500,000 made their way to Vinalia, the surplus of labor allowed merchants to sell cheap products to Euclea for a large profit. Between 1820 and 1840, the rise of Industrialization *insert switch to Cotton*

Independence and Union with Chistovodia (1863-1885)

After achieving independence in 1865 from Soravia following the First Soravian Civil War, Vinalia gained independence from Soravia, but immediately applied to join Chistovodia as a Federal Autonomous state, granting it autonomy regarding some economic, and social policy. This was done to dissuade possible Mariranan interests in the south of the nation, many opposed this move as it was not truly earning the Vinalians independence. The united country quickly came under the control of a military junta led by Vadym Babych in 18xx, perceived as a progressive, and industrialist leader, Babych began the process of industrializing the North of Vinalia along with aiding Soravian landowners in South Vinalia, Babych enjoyed a high popularity in Vinalia do to the vast wealth invested into the region.

A Coffee майно in Catherinsk

With the near immediate emancipation of the serfs upon independence, and the slow reconstruction of Soravia, greatly impacted the Vinalian workforce, specially the agricultural sector. With the start of industrialization many former serfs moved to the north to work on it's expanding industry causing a labor shortage in the south of the country. Many landowners struggled to compete with Northern industries for laborers, and the agricultural sector required subsidizing to continue, the farms which had grown mainly sugar, kokhineal, and rice focused more extensively on Kokhineal which required less manpower than other crops. But the development of artificial textiles threw many new kokhnieal farms into disarray, the prospect of growing Coffee a crop that had a growing market in Euclea and abroad attracted attention from the farmers which sought to grow the crop, however coffee required large amounts of land and laborers and required investment into the Juyu Ruwach mountains where the coffee could be grown perfectly. Colonial authorities established the майно system which granted sizable plots of land to landowners in exchange that they construct the necessary utilities to maintain their plantation, laborers were also provided by the government through a process of day laborers called the Trudivnks. The Trudivnks worked in the plantation and were granted basic items along with housing, which the laborer was required to pay for, with their labor, many Trudivnks were former serfs and indentured slaves which could not obtain another occupation, predatory anti-Vinakian laws in some northern factories forced most Vinakians into predatory Trudivnk contracts which sometimes resulted in debt passed down to children. Former serfs and international workers such as the Gowsas, were granted highly competitive Trudivnk contracts in the hopes of attracting thousands into Vinalia.

Kokhineal майно near New Samistopol in 1895

By the turn of the century Vinalia was becoming reasonably wealthy, with a thriving industrial sector in the North, but desires to improve the economic situation of laborers in the North saw the establishment of unions, which oversaw strikes organized against the unfair working conditions. The Great Collapse of 1913, saw the agricultural sector of Vinalia the largest at the time crippled by the collapse in foreign trade, immediately concerns arose over the safety of loans given to now bankrupted майно landowners which could now no longer pay. Requests for more support and aid to the landowners was fulfilled in February 1914, with the passing of the Stability Law which saw large sums of money granted to landowners to maintain their crops, which only dwindled the states budget. Many poorer laborers saw their conditions worsen and began organizing strikes throughout the nation demanding better conditions, in October 1914 an agricultural strike and rally in the city of Vevetsia was brutally suppressed by Chistovodian soldiers leaving 15 dead. During this time the Vinalian Committee was established, the committee sought to establish an independent Vinalia. The Vinalian Autonomous Government would in December 1914, with news of worsening conditions in Soravia, defaulted on it's debt, forcing central Chistovodian authorities to intervene. Brutal crackdowns on strikes, primarily in the Black Friday of Orlavo, further angered workers which flocked to the Committee, which maintained strong support in the North but found little headway in the south, as money maintained майно support.

With the 1920 decision to outlaw Union and worker gatherings resulted in the armed uprising of some now banned Unions, this uprisings created tension between the Committee and central authorities do to the Committee's ties to Unions. Following the 1922 Battle of Vunet which saw members of the banned Morechia Hills Union massacred by Chistovodian soldiers, saw the immediate establishment of the Vinalian Council a more radical underground group which sought the forceful removal of Chistovodian control over the country.

Vinalia as a single country (1885-1935)

Strikers in Orlavo 1915

Vinalian Artillery in 1929

The dual leaders of Vinalia (Left) Mykhaylo Baibuza President of the Second Republic of Vinalia. (Right) Mykyta Kryvonis Minister-President of the People's Republic of Vinalia.

Vinalia struggle (1935-1993)

Northern troops in Jangorod 1961

Following independence in a period known as the Vinalian Struggle, saw both Vinalia's engage in a state of animosity and open conflict to overcome the other. The North Vinalia first attempted to take control of the South of the nation in 1933, the First Vinalian Civil War saw both nations accomplish little between 1933 and 1935, when peace was reached after stalemate between the two. Both nations sought support from foreign powers, in an attempt to overtake the other. The native Vinakian population was highly sympathetic of North Vinalia and conducted a guerrilla war against the South under the Vinakian Liberation Front, called the Dirty War. In 1941, the Second Vinalian Civil War between 1941 and 1942 began, and saw the North nearly defeated by a stronger Southern army, which quickly gained large amounts of land, it was only stopped after the involvement of foreign powers in aid of the North. Further Northern attacks, including the Siege of Mollas saw thousands dead, but after some offensives had reconquered lost land in 1942 the war ended inconclusively with Southern forces still occupying large sections of land from the North. A Community of Nations mission maintained a Demilitarized zone between the two following what was stipulated in the Cuanstad Agreements which served as the basis for all subsequent agreements, following peace oppression and war between the South and the VLF intensified. Both nations again with foreign support rebuilt their forces and prepared for an eventual war. Such war would result in the 1955 31 Day War, which saw North Vinalian forces occupying the strategic heights of the Voly Na, and regaining some of the lost territory of the previous war.

Both Vinalia's would crash again in 1961 in the Third Vinalian Civil War, which saw the North launch a pre-emptive strike against the South, as had been done against them in 1941. The war was characterized by a rapid Northern push regaining all the lost land since 1941, the Siege of Jangorod, and the civilian bombings carried out by both sides resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths. The Siege of Jangorod was among the deadliest battles of the entire conflict, with the city under siege and intensive shelling since the start of the war in November, the surrender of the city the 18th of March broke Southern more and the North was able to launch multiple attacks however by 1962 with a worsening situation in Asteria Superior between Marchenia, and Chistovodia supporting opposing sides of the conflict, peace would be reached between both Vinalia's as foreign support stopped do to the conflict between the both regional powers, the North providing aid to it's Chistovodian allies. The September Coup saw the end of the South Vinalian democratic government with the installation of a military junta led by General Stefan Tretyak, in 1966 the New Nation Movement of Danylo Palij reached leadership of the North following Kirenian ideals of the same time, denouncing religion and other Southern ideals. The Dirty War switched to it's most brutal state as systematic killing of Vinakian populations by the Southern government resulted in the deaths of over 3,000 Vinakians and what is called a Genocide. In the North the radical Episemialist League conducted terror attacks in the North during this period, most prominently those aimed against the Orlavo Metro. The Kotenko brothers would in 1968 organize a coup on Tretyak overthrowing him, with Dmytro Kotenko "the Elder" becoming president of the nation.

Southern vehicles in 1987

In 1975 the 31 Day War began after Northern forces invaded the South, initially a Northern rapid advance was experienced but with support from Marirana, the South was able to counter attack inflicting heavy casualties and obtaining large swathes of land, soon the North had been decisively defeated, ending the New Nation movement. The South would undergo a period of political isolation as coverage on the Dirty War brought the reduction of support from Southern allies, the North of Orest Ishkan began a process of economic recovery and reconstruction which was highly contrasted by the economically depressed, and isolated South which was beginning to crumble do to internal strife between the juntas, following the death of Dmytro in 1980 and Artem "the younger" being perceived as weak. Artem would face coups in 1982, 1983, and July and December 1986. In 1987 the South would launch the 12 Day War, which would see a Southern attempt to knock out the North, which it perceived as weaker following reduction expansion of it's army and a perceived worldwide Socialist retreat. Northern forces however were able to resist such attack, and soon launched a counter attack quickly pushing the South inflicting heavy casualties and opening the road to Velkarichka. Facing imminent collapse from inner issues do to large scale democratic protests, and Northern armored columns approaching, the South signed an armistice the 12th of July 1987, with the North. The July Revolution would see the return of Democracy to the South under the leadership of Vladyslava Danylivna, the daughter of a murdered Southern politician in the September Coup of 1962. The Treaty of Vina reached a peace accord between both nations.

Reunification

With the end of the war, and the Treaty of Vina establishing peace, both nations seeked common ground to ensure no further conflict in the region, in 1988 a Partnership was established to further relationships between the two nations. The concept of Vinalian Reunification which had been revived in the North following the downfall of the New Nation, and had regained prevalence, and in the south with both nations now full democracies with little to wager war with grew, the establishment of a Vinalian Unionist Party in both states in 1987 under the leadership of Narlow. In the 1988 elections the Unionist Party would gain large victories in the North and South. The 1989 Reunification referendum would earn in favor of reunification 78% support in the North and 70% in the South.

Reunification between both governments would take until 1993 when the Treaty of Vinalian Reunification or TVR, with the decision to create a new nation, split into two constituent states North and South, along the lines of the Vina Treaty. It was agreed that the branches of government would be split between Orlavo (Legislative), and Velkarichka (Judicial, and Executive) in the south, a new capital was to be found to house all 3 branches in the middle of both states which ultimately became the planned city of Vinalinsk. To ensure proper representation the President and the Minister-President would be split between North and South, along with a constituent parliament following the rules of the federal parliament for the states. The TVR would be signed on the XXXXX of XXXX, to come into effect the following day ending 60 years of separation for both nations. Northern Minister-President Oleksandr Artemovych would become Minister-President with Southern President Vladyslava Danylivna becoming president, until elections next year, where Vladyslava would lead the Unionist party to its first victory and become Minister-President appointing Oleksandr as President.

North Vinalian soldiers cut the border fence between North and South

Vinalia had following reunification large scale poverty and economic inequality in the south, it also found most of the South's infrastructure in a bad state following years of neglect and the civil war. Vinalia at first attempted to bridge the economic gap between both sides through large scale investment programs in the south, but downturn in the North forced Vinalia to seek other routes. Hallandic interests in the country primarily it's mining industry established the first of a series of economic partnerships between both nations in 1998. By the year 2002 Economic downturn had been replaced by a resurgent South which through years of investment had recovered and established itself as a prosperous market for investment by governments in the North. Vinalia has maintained a steady growth and reduced poverty from 30% in 1995, to just 10% in 2005, and reduced income inequality, establishing itself as a low cost prosperous nation, under the guidance of the Unionist Party.

Vinalian foreign policy sought to establish Vinalia as a neutral power, and to distance itself from its north neighbor. Chistovodian influences in sectors such as energy where the Chistvodian owned Chisvin Nuclear Power plant provided Vinalia with close to 40% of its energy needs, along with the economic sector as Chistovodia was the destination of 80% of North Vinalian exports, and with the previous collapse of the southern economy, nearly 70% of all Vinalian exports in 1995. In an effort to diversify its economy and with the prospect of large oil deposits on the East Arucian Sea, Vinalia struck a major deal in 1996 with Soravia. The Soravian-Vinalian Friendship deal established vast cooperation schemes between both countries. The Vinalian Mining Sector fell increasingly under foreign control with Soravian firms being allowed access to previous Government owned mining corporations, Soravian companies began operating factories and employing Vinalian workers. Most prominently the Soravian state-owned oil company Dernafkom began exploration and cooperation with the Vinalian state-owned Voliya Oil Company, helping in the establishment of the Vinalian Petrochemical sector. The privatization and the selling of shares in Vinalian companies including state-owned companies caused great controversy in the Vinalian electorate, considerable opposition existed to the selling of national companies to foreign entities. This controversy is believed to have been one of the main driving forces that led to the victory of the Workers Party in the 1998 elections, and Svyatoslav Lyashenko's Minister-Presidency. Lyashenko stopped this drive to privatize and sell off assets of the government, but budget constraints along with internal politics continued to limit his ability to reduce government spending. Although several reforms in health, and education allowed the country to establish a list of internal goals and metrics to reach in both areas, and is highly credited in improving the quality of life in Vinalia.

The landslide victory of the Conservative Party in 2008, led to a renewed desire to privatize government-owned enterprises and reduce subsidies. Hryhorivna opened Voliya Oil to foreign investment and acquisitions, the first of which materialized in 2009 with Eldmarkian Petrochemical conglomerate Westermarck AB, acquiring shares in Voliya and expanding Voliya's operations in Eldmark under their own brand. Further sells to Eldmarkian companies occurred mainly in the mining sector with Vinalian mining giant Yellow Light holdings which had remained completely under government control selling various shares and assets to primarily Eldmarkian, and Rizealander mining companies.

Modern Day

Parliament of Vinalia in Vinalinsk

In 2008 for the first time since reunification the Unionist Party would not be the largest party in Parliament instead with the mainly southern Conservative party of Ulyana Hryhorivna surging ahead, maintaining the tradition of the Grand Coalition of the Unionist-Workers-Conservative party intact establishing 7 years of uncontested conservative control. Vinalia under the leadership of Ulyana had begun the process of re-arming of the Army following tensions and the latter Civil War in Marirana, which overwhelmed the immigration system of the nation as large amounts of Zapoyan refugees moved to Vinalia in 2015. The Conservative party opposed such large acceptance of immigrants, while the Workers Party supported the acceptance of refugees to bolster the declining birthrate. Tensions over the issue were the first large scale problem for the Grand Coalition as many announced their intention to leave the Coalition depending on where the quota of immigration was set. Following a Worker's Party friendly quota, parlimentaries of the Conservative Party established the Freedom Party, effectively ending Conservative Party control, and the ascension of the Southern born Turden Najic of the Unionist Party the next year. Turden's leadership would maintain the prosperous conditions of the Ulyana Government, and would in 2018 lead to the largest Unionist victory in history. Turden would step down from leading the party, and Omelyan Pavlov would be elected as Minister-President.

Vinalinsk the planned capital city of Vinalia, established in the Treaty of Reunification had remained a contentious issue, as many believed a split division ensured stability. Under the leadership of Ulyana the building of the city had increased, but funding and delays had moved the movement of government institutions to 2022. Turden in 2015 began the process of replanning the city to reduce costs, and move the opening date to 2020. With the establishment of a new capital the last unfulfilled commitment of the Treaty was completed.

Geography

Main article: List of extreme points of Vinalia

File:VINGEOMAP.png

Geographic map of Vinalia

Vinalia is located between latitudes 19° and 28°N, and longitudes 95° and 107°E in the southeastern portion of Asteria Superior. It borders Chistovodia to its north, the Kosene sea to the northeast, the East Arucian Sea to the east and southeast, Ardesia to the south and southwest, and Marchenia to the west of the country. Vinalia's total area is 510,917 km2 (197,266 sq mi), making it among the smallest countries in the world. Vinalia's coastline with the Kosene Sea and the East Arucian is long and numerous islands exist the largest of which is Kisharsk off Vinalia across the Kisharsk strait and the furthest is the volcanic island of Apostola 175 kilometres (108 miles) in the East Arucian.

Vinalia's borders with its neighbors were mostly defined during the colonial era, its border with Chistovodia stems from an 1800's royal decree which defined the Colonial borders of the Soravian empire. Its border with Ardesia is defined by the X river, while its border with Marchenia was defined in the 1940's following numerous disputes regarding the location of the border.

Vinalia is split in the middle by the Juyu Ruwach mountains which divide the country into two, the lush and fertile lowlands east of the Juyu Ruwach and the more desertlike in the south west of the country and arid in the north as the rain shadow effect is less decisive as the Juyu Ruwach are less elevated the further north you go. The Tziran desert in the southwest of the country is among the driest in the world and it extends into neighboring Marchenia, although few rivers exist west of the Juyu Ruwach some streams exist that empty into salt lakes as the area west of the Juyu Ruwach are an endorheic basin, to the north of the Tziran the Juyu Ruwach reduce in height and lead to arid plains from which the Nazar Plateau rises, the plateau is referred to as a Tablytsya "table" in Soravian, do its flat surface at its highest point it rises to 1,500 m (5,000 ft) above sea level. The southern areas of the country are highly lush and fertile farmlands with dense and thick jungle in a large plain and lowlands. Its tropical weather makes the region highly fertile and is where large quantities of crops are grown and cultivated since the establishment of Vinalia, it features large and navigable rivers such as the Shryoniy (vinalia's longest), and Chyhyryn rivers which provide ample water for agriculture, this region experiences months of humid weather. To its north the hilly areas of the Bin river which historically separated both Vinalia's give way to a more temperate weather with mixed forests appearing in the inner regions of the country with the coastal regions maintaining a humid subtropical climate.

Vinalia's highest point is Mount Vulna at 3760 m (12,336 ft). Mount Vulna is one of some 30 volcanoes in Vinalia, of which only 3 remain active: Hromleten 3,329 m (10,922 ft) which erupts on a constant basis, Vsyki 3,011 m (9,879ft) which last erupted in 2015, and Cathara 2,168 m (7,113 ft) which last erupted in 2021. Vinalia's lowest point is Mertre point -34 m (−112 ft) below sea level which is located inside the Cherisok depression inside the Tziran desert.

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  Mount Vulna the tallest volcano and mountain in Vinalia.

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  Panorama of the Juyu Ruwach mountains.

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  Chudzekal salt flats

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  Zalani lake with Mount Vulna volcano in the background.

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  Chyhyryn River on the Juyu Ruwach.

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  View in the Island of Kisharsk

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  Nazar Plateau a large plateau on the northwestern side of the country.

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  Nizhna Arch in Nicholas Arches National Park

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  Beach on the island of Apostola

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  Laila Waterfall on South Bin province

Biodiversity

A biodiverse country, Vinalia is home to a variety of animal species.

Vinalia can be subdivided between several ecoregions because of its climate and geomorphology. The country is consequently one of the richest in the world in terms of biodiversity. It has numerous ecoregions, ranging from Jungles in the south with Ardesia, and along the Juyu Ruwach Mountains, to Arid deserts as in the Tziran desert. The country has 16 national parks, 19 reservations, and 33 natural monuments. The largest of this protected areas is the Royal Vinalian Biology reserve at 556.6 km2, it was established by royal decree in 1799. The 5 Triangles Reserve of the island of Kisharsk is the largest sea based nature reserve at 507.7 km2.

Vinalia is a country of distinct Fauna. It has some 13,600 animal species, including at least 753 Bird species, 610 Mammal species, 600 Amphibian species, and 507 Reptile species, of which 2,000 are endemic to Vinalia. Some native birds include the Arucian flamingo, Arucian woodstar, Blue-winged teal, Common goldeneye, Fulvous whistling-duck, Masked duck, Quetzal, Ring-necked duck, Vinalian swan. Native mammals include Arucian manatee, Blue whale, agouti, opossum, Desert red bat, Grey Tailed Coyote, Jaguar, Mantled howler, Red brocket, and White-headed capuchin. Reptile species native to Vinalia include the Brown anole, Brown basilisk, Common snapping turtle, Frederick's Gecko, helmeted basilisk, Tziran Giant horned lizard, Vinalian crocodile, and the Vinalian Spiny Tailed Iguana. Amphibians include the Axolotl, along with a variety of Salamanders, and Frogs such as the Tree frog,and Oleksiaks Salamander, all 3 are endemic to Vinalia. Some species of Insects include ants such as Atta Vinalia, and Camponotus Nikolai, beetles, and butterflies. Thousands Freshwater, and Saltwater Fish live in the countries numerous rivers, lakes, and seas. Sharks such as the Hammerhead, and Tiger sharks can be found in Vinalian seas.

Legislation protects 1,673 species in Vinalia, with calls to protect more species. Vinalian species face the greatest threat from Habitat loss, and hunting. The Ministry of the Environment has made strides to prevent the illegal hunting of endangered species, which ran rampant in the 60's to 80's and nearly drove the Quetzal to extinction, including increasing penalties for hunting endangered species, and illegal logging. The country has seen some improvement in this areas, but illegal logging primarily in the Juyu Ruwachs is still rampant. Vinalia has struggled with Invasive species, in the country, numerous attempts at controlling or exterminating these species has been deemed a limited success, with the Kuthinan python posing a great threat to endemic species after 20 years of attempted extermination and control.

The national animal of Vinalia is the Quetzal, who are important in Úuchmáan and Zapoyan mythology. In 2005, the government recognized the Arucian manatee, Axolotl, and the Vinalian Spiny Tailed Iguana as National Aquatic Animal, Amphibian, and Reptile respectively. All except the Arucian Manatee are endemic to Vinalia. This decision was made to honor 3 animals with important roles in indigenous mythology, along with aiding in the recognition and conservation of these species. Vinalia recognizes the Vinalian palm, and Yellow flute as its national Tree, and Flower respectively, both plants have enjoyed these status since colonial times. All 4 animals, and 2 plant swill be present in the back of the new Z200 dollar bill to be printed in 2023 celebrating the 30th anniversary of reunification.

Government

Main articles: Politics of Vinalia and List of political parties in Vinalia

Valeria Kunavin
President

Omelyan Pavlov
Minister-President

Vinalia is a federal, parlimentary, and representative republic. Vinalia is made up of three constituent states, the Republic of North Vinalia, the Republic of South Vinalia, and the Vinalinsk capital district. Federal legislative power is vested on the Bicameral Vinalian Parliament made up of the Senate of the Union (Сенат Союзу; Senat Soyuzu) which is the upper house, and the House of the People (Будинок народу; Budynok Narodu) which is the lower house of parliament. The Senate of the Union is a 39 seat chamber with each province and Federal district assigned 3 members each, which are elected by closed list proportional representation. The House of the People is a 185 member assembly elected by the same method, each province and federal district is allocated a seat based on population, seats are added based on the province or district with the smallest population. The state Parliaments of both North and South work in a similar manner to the House of the People, with seats allocated by population at the discretion of the state, the North Vinalian Parliament is made up of 262 members, and the Southern Parliament is made up of 148 seats. The Capital district of Vinalinsk does not yet have its own Parliament, as it will be elected in the 2021 General election, but it is to consist of 7 members. The Vinalia political system operates under a framework laid out in the 1993 constitution known as the загальне право (Common Law). Amendments generally require a two-thirds majority of both houses of Parliament along with the state legislatures of its constituent states; the fundamental principles of the constitution, as expressed in the articles guaranteeing peace, unity, human dignity, the separation of powers, the federal structure, and the rule of law, are valid in perpetuity.

The President, currently Valeria Kunavin, is the head of state and invested primarily with representative responsibilities and powers. He is elected by the Senate of the Union, by a simple majority. The second-highest official and the head of government is the Minister-President, who is appointed by the House of the People after being elected by the party or coalition with the most seats in the Vinalian Parliament. The Minister-President, currently Omelyan Pavlov, is the head of government and exercises executive power through their Cabinet. By constitutional law, the President and Minister-President may not be from the same constituent state to ensure fairness, this requirement has been met with the election of a new president whenever the issue has appeared.

Since reunification the Unionist Party has dominated politics in the country, it has been involved in all governments in Vinalia to some capacity, the other two major parties are those of the Workers Party, and the Conservative Party, which enjoy great support in North and South Vinalia respectively. All 3 parties have since 2015 worked in a Grand Coalition together, under the leadership of Unionist Minister-Presidents.

Political Divisions

Constituent Country states of Vinalia: In orange the Republic of North Vinalia, in blue the Vinalinsk Capital District, and in red the Republic of South Vinalia.

Vinalia has historically been split between various kingdoms and city states, its linguistical and cultural diversity made it hard for strong central authorities to emerge in a system that did not rely upon a federation structure. Colonial Vinalia maintained a strong central authority located on the city of New Samistopol until 1725 when the city of Velkarichka was established following Soravian victory in the Ten Years War, which had expanded Vinalia further south. The economic and population centers were found in the south of Vinalia, while the North of the country lagged behind. Upon joining Chistovodia, the Vinalian Assembly was created to represent the Vinalian provinces in an attempt to maintain the previous colonial administration this time from the city of Orlavo, which had grown important do to an increase in economic power on the north of the country, however tension remained between southerners and northerners in this arangement. The Vinalian Provinces numbered up to 20 by 1880, in an attempt by the Chistovodian federal government to reduce the cohesion and unity of the assembly which had increasingly found itself against the federal government in Misto Myru, and the increasing calls from Vinalians for independence. Upon the official separation of Vinalia, the country struggled with the division of power, with Velkarichka becoming the countries power under the assumption of wide autonomy for the North. Following the breakup of Vinalia into two countries, Velkarichka remained the capital in South Vinalia, while in the North Orlavo became the capital. The reunification of both Vinalia's in 1993 and the creation of the new republic resulted in Vinalia establishing an equal division of power between North and South.

Vinalia is made up of two constituent states, the Republic of North Vinalia (the former People's Republic of Vinalia), the Republic of South Vinalia (the former Republic of Vinalia), meanwhile the Vinalinsk capital district remains a federal territory not belonging to either of the two states. Each of the 2 constituent states elect their own state parliaments, and state courts, this state parliaments and courts reserve various rights in regards to federal legislature and processes, they elect a speaker which acts as head of state of the individual republic and is a member of the Minister-{residents cabinet. Each of the states aside, have 5 provinces, and 1 federal district, which are the capitals of both states (Orlavo and Velkarichka respectively), each province elects a governor by plurality to serve 4 year terms, as are members to the state parliament. Following this provinces are further divided into municipalities, counties in the case of Vinalinsk, and Wards in the case Velkarichka, this subdivisions elect their own major in the south and Vinalinsk, while in the north a municipal council is elected which elects a major from its ranks every year for its 4 year terms. Vinalia is split into 393 municipal-level subdivisions. As Vinalinsk is not a constituent state, it does not have a state parliament nor state courts, instead relying on Federal infrastructure for this issues. Although the Mayor of Vinalinsk is not legally a speaker in the same manner the speakers of North and South Vinalia are, the Mayor is allowed to request a meeting with the Minister-Presidents cabinet at any moment.

Administrative divisions of Vinalia
Province	Population	Administrative centre	Governor
Republic of North Vinalia
North Bin Province	2,617,053	Casimirsk	Alisa Kuzkevich
North Juyu Ruwach Province	302,743	Rubizhne	Barat Kulikov
Orlavo Federal District	2,122,521	Morechia	Sonia Patrekiev
Rigalia Province	3,527,112	Orlavo	Smarcek Rataev
Zamara Province	3,959,215	Chervona	Kobel Igalin
Zdavro Province	664,631	Artemove	Mikita Rikailo
Republic of South Vinalia
Chyhyryn Province	1,061,730	Catherinsk	Kobanovets Kuroedka
Kisharsk Province	596,732	Ivanovo	Tonalli Macheshich
Shyroniy Province	4,711,060	New Samistopol	Mykyta Kuroedka
South Bin Province	2,633,057	Tajinsk	Belovod Holub
South Juyu Ruwach Province	134,600	Irshava	Rikailo Opekai
Velkarichka Federal District	1,951,125	Velkarichka	Rodislav Shemiatov
Vinalinsk Capital District
Vinalinsk Capital District	351,152	Vinalinsk	Hennadiy Merkushko

Military

Vinalian soldiers training

The People’s Defence Force is tasked with the defence of Vinalian Sovereignty and interests, it’s divided into the People's Army, People’s Navy, People’s Air Force, and the People’s Guard. The People’s Guard is a provincial level unit under the command of Provincial Governors. Although the Army has been fully professional since 1993, the People’s Guard relies on Conscripts to fulfill its role, this is to ensure that there will always be a 50/50 split between Northerners and Southerners, but Military Service is not required of those conscripted with civil duty jobs available. Vinalia has undergone rapid demilitarization from the Civil War going from around 750,000 between both Vinalia’s to some 40,000 plus 35,000 People’s Guard, for a total of 75,000, plus 50,000 reservists. By law expenditure may not exceed 1.8% of GDP in peacetime, unless approved by both houses of Parliament and the Constituent state Houses.

The Vinalian Army the largest of the 4 branches with some 30,000 personnel, the Vinalian Army is well equipped do to large stocks of weaponry from the Civil War, and foreign acquired equipment. The Vinalian Airforce is well equipped with Vinalian made, and foreign bought planes, specially Soravian bought. Vinalia acquired the G-7 aircraft from Soravia in 2021. The Vinalian Navy has seen considerable growth as the government aims to establish a competent navy for the nation, with some 25 vessels. The People's guard serve as a reserve component of the army, but are not classified in the General Reserve of some 50,000 men.

Vinalian helicopters

Vinalia has contributed to Community of Nations peacekeeping missions, as a repayment to the multiple missions held in Vinalia. Vinalia has stated it's intention to maintain at the minimum 200 peacekeepers deployed worldwide at any given time, as a commitment to peace and the organization. Vinalian peacekeepers have been active in X, since X.

Vinalia during the civil war developed a strong local military industry, locally producing licensed products from other nations. The TYI-80 is locally produced being in production since 1980 in Northern Vinalia, based on Chistovodian and Kirenian models. Following the civil war Vinalian exportation of military equipment accounted for an average of 10% of all Vinalian exports between 1993-1995, as large scales of mechanized equipment, aircraft, and small arms were sold, today the nation maintains strict control of military exportation, with only limited exports of the TYI-80 allowed.

Foreign Relations

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Diplomatic relations of Vinalia

Visa requirements for entry to Vinalia

Vinalia maintains close economic, military, and cultural ties with Chistovodia do to their shared heritage along with being it's main trading partner. Vinalia maintains close cultural, and economic ties with Soravia do to their shared colonial past. Ties with other socialist nations such as Kirenia, Dezevau, and Maracao are maintained with various previous programs regarding scholarships between AIS nation established in the North still continued, with some 500 scholarships offered to Vinalian students primarily from Kirenia. Vinalia maintains economic and trading agreements with the AFDC, along with ASTRA, with which the nation has sought closer ties since the 2000's. Vinalia maintains ties with both East Miersa, and West Miersa, citing the common struggles with reunifying two separate nations, as Vinalia experienced before it's reunification. Vinalia is also a member of the OAN, calling for the neutrality of the organization. Vinalia by law may not enter into Military Alliances nor maintain military agreements. Vinalia is currently a member of the Community of Nations Security Committee on the 2021-2023 Asterian North seat.

Vinalia maintains its position against Nuclear weaponry and has supported and proposed numerous Community of Nation attempts at nuclear disarmament, having announced its denunciation on the development, usage, and keeping of the weaponry, Vinalia is also a major proponent on varying laws regarding the rules of war, primarily the weaponry used. Vinalia has also renounced to the utilization and development of varying types of weaponry such as landmines, chemical weapons and other chemical products such as tear gas and pepper spray. Vinalia has contributed to CN peacekeeping missions and goodwill missions in numerous Bahian nations.

Law enforcement

Patrol policewomen in Jangorod

Public security is constitutionally enacted at the municipal, provincial and federal levels of government, each of which has different prerogatives and responsibilities. Municipal level police departments are primarily in charge of law enforcement, and bar certain duties conduct most policing. Provincial level law enforcement is centered primarily in the People's Guard which provide primarily riot control duties, along with policing in areas where municipal level law enforcement are unable to police, and some level of search and rescue in some instances. Federal law enforcement relies on the Federal Police which performs specialized duties primarily policing of federal buildings, other duties befall on the special tactical unit of the STSP which performs several other missions such as counter-terrorism, and hostage rescue. Its prosecution wing investigates and prosecutes those accused of crimes at the federal level primarily drug, and arms trafficking, espionage, bank robberies, among others. All law enforcement reports to the Ministry of the Interior.

After an increase in crime and general low confidence in law enforcement during the 1990's and 2000's, Minister-President Ulyana Hryhorivna introduced in 2009 various reforms that streamlined the job of the police and defined the roles of the 3 levels of police, to reduce delays and logistical issues. Such reforms were met with great success and the effectiveness of law enforcement and its operations have increased, although crime remains an issue in some areas.

Economy

File:ZONAPRADERA.JPG

Orlavo Financial District

Generally considered a developing economy, Vinalia has a nominal GDP of $269.66 billion as of 2020, and a PPP GDP of $593.25 billion, with a nominal per capita at $10,420, and $22,924 PPP per capita. It has an average Human Development Index score of .767, among the lowest in the Asterias, and the lowest in Asteria Superior. The country has showcased strong economic growth, and recovery from the 2005 Crisis, posting good economic growth around 4% and peaking at 8% in 2014 since 2005, the countries economy grew by 5% in 2020. However the Global Institute for Fiscal Affairs estimates that, as of 2020, roughly 22.6% of Vinalias population lives on less than $5.50 a day, a considerable reduction from 40% in 1993. The country's unemployment rate was estimated at 3.8% in 2019, its lowest in a decade.

Vinalia has a mixed market economy, following reunification when most of the Northern government entities were privatized or open to investment during the government of Vladyslava Danylivna, or transformed into State-owned enterprises. State-owned enterprises accounted for 40% of the Vinalian economy and 35% of its workersin 1993, but by 2013 accounted for just 19% of the economy and 16% of its workers. The largest of this enterprises are Voliya Oil (70% state owned), Vinalian Electricity Company (90% state owned), with Minerals of Vinalia, Vinalian Airlines, National Railroad Commission of Vinalia, and Vinalian Construction being fully state owned, all 6 companies represent 17% of the Vinalian economy, and 13% of its workers. The government has adopted a more interventionist method in the economy in recent years, along with increasing nationalization. Vinalia nationalized its entire energy sector in 2018, its largest nationalization in history.

The country has been historically dependent upon exports, mostly of agricultural goods, such as Sugarcane, and Coffee, the Agricultural sector accounts for 16.5% of the countries GDP. While manufacturing and industry contributes 33.5% and services (notably financial services and tourism) contribute 50%. Vinalian exports primarily agricultural products, oil, textiles, automobiles, and raw minerals. Vinalias primary export partners are Chistovodia, Soravia, Ardesia, and Senria.

Agriculture

sugarcane harvester near Catherinsk

Agriculture has historically been a central part of Indigenous and Vinalian societies, Vinalias colonial history is heavily ingrained in agriculture, specially in the growing of cash crops. Agriculture remained the primary sector of the Vinalian economy until the 1920s, when greater industrialization moved people to the cities. Today Agriculture accounts for 11.5% of GDP, and 47.7% of the countries exports, and employing close to 20% of the countries population, primarily made up indigenous workers, and landowners.

Agricultural output has historically been aimed at exportation, with Colonial Vinalia operating as a major cash crop plantation for Soravia. Vinalia primarily exported Sugarcane, Tobacco, Kokhineal, andCacao to Soravia and other Euclean powers. Greater industrialization and improvement in technology led to Vinalia becoming a major exporter of Indigo, and Cotton in the 1830s. Competition from Coian, and other Asterian producers resulted in Vinalia focusing on the export of Sugar, and Coffee following the 1900s. Today Vinalia grows cash crops, and Staple Crops alike, mainly growing Sugar, Coffee, Bananas, Avocados, Pinneapples, Tomato, Mango, Maize, Lemon, Wheat, Orange, Papaya, and Watermelons. In 2020, 50% of Vinalian crops were grown for export, with exports of Sugar, Coffee, and Avocados accounting for 75% of Vinalian agricultural exports, making them essential for the Vinalian economy, although they only account for 35% of total agricultural output compared to 70% in 1980. Vinalian diversification has resulted in a reduction in food prices, and improvement in nutrition throughout the country.

Most farmers in the country are smallholders, and they're responsible for most of the agricultural output in the country, with the exception of Sugar and Avocados which remain primarily grown in large scale agricultural companies. Although for most of its history, large Plantations made up most of the Vinalian agricultural sector, following the civil war policies regarding land distribution were implemented across the country, primarily in the north, and were of great aid to the population in allowing for better economic opportunities. Such policies did not take great effect in the south until the 1960's where the Renewal Party of Stefan Danylivna sought to distribute land to the white South Vinalian lower class. Today smallholders represent a majority mainly as a result of government initiatives from the government of Minister-President Svyatoslav Lyashenko, which distributed land from large estates and aided in the splitting of plots to aid farm workers in establishing their own farms. Although most farms and farmers grow crops for their eventual sale, numerous subsistence farmers exist in the country primarily in the Juyu Ruwach mountains, some believe that close to 15% of Vinalian farmers, and 40% of those living under the poverty line are subsistence farmers.Monoculture, has affected adversely the Vinalian economy, and attempts have been made at adapting Polycultural techniques to mitigate the effects and use of Pesticides, and Soil degradation, but most Vinalian farmers operate under Monocultural systems, with minimal Crop rotation.

Livestock keeping is another important agricultural activity. Vinalian farmers keep Cows, Pigs, Chickens, and Goats, in the fertile flatlands in the south of the country, and the Nazar Plateay. Vinalian ranchers hold a long and rich history of keeping livestock in the country, and numerous long running ranchs exist in the countries. Vinalian ranchers grow a variety of Animal products, such as Cheese, Hides, Meat, Milk, among other products. Vinalian Beef is renown for its taste, and is considered among the best in the world, special Vinalian cuts such as Dovhyp (довгий стовп; dovhyy stovp) are a staple of Vinalian cuisine and enjoy exportation across the world. With the exportation of Dovhyp accounting for 10% of Vinalian agricultural exports.

Mining

Copper mine on the Juyu Ruwach mountains in 1916

Aside from agriculture, mining in Vinalia has always been a key factor in its economy. Vinalia mines a wide array of minerals most prominently, coal, uranium, iron, Petroleum, copper, silver, zinc, among others. Soravian authorities heavily invested in the mining sector and provided the necessary resources including forced labour from both indentured servants and Bahian slaves to provide for the mining sector following the discovery of silver in the country in the 17th century. Coal is the most abundant mineral in the country with most of its reserves in the north of the country, being a major supplier of both Soravia and Chistovodia. This vast reserves of coal allowed the rapid industrialization of the north of the country. Following independence from Chistovodia large mineral companies controlled in the rights of Vinalian minerals, such conglomerates remain to this day among the most powerful entities in the Vinalian economy, with the mining giant Yellow Light holdings (Жовте Cвітло Холдинг; Kholdynhy Zhovtoho svitla) holding a monopoly in the mining of iron, copper, and the growing industry of potash mining. The privatization of former North Vinalian state owned enterprises has only increased the power of mineral conglomerates, with the Soravian majority owned United Vinalian Uranium Company (Об'єднана віналійська уранова компанія; Ob'yednana vinaliysʹka uranova kompaniya) controlling 78% of Vinalian Uranium production, and 83% of its known reserves. Only 15% of all the mining sector in Vinalia is government owned, and just 35% is owned by Vinalian companies. The state-owned Minerals of Vinalia (Мінерали Віналія; Mineraly Vinaliya). Mining represent roughly 15.5% of the countries exports, and 5% of its GDP.

The impact of mining has been felt greatly in the environment and the indigenous population which are accustomed to being employed in the mineral industry, government attempts and regulation have reduced the problem but its believed that violations are still carried out periodically in the mining industry. Including unsafe working conditions, pollution of local water supplies, and delayed wages. Such issues have been raised by international organization but implementation of reform has been slow. Large scale protests in 2014 were started over the plans to open an open pit zinc mine in the Juyu Ruwach mountains which would had seen the destruction of several acres of rainforest near an Úuchmáan archeological site. Following several resignations the project was successfully scaled down. Vinalia's growing interest in expanding its mineral sector has come headfirst against indigenous and environmental opposition, which demand change to the industry.

Manufacturing

Red Coast Auto assembly line

The Vinalian auto industry is heavily protected by tariffs, and favorable laws. The Red Coast Auto Company makes up about 73% of all car manufacturing in the nation, where foreign brands struggle to enter as just 15% of cars sold between 2015-2019 were foreign made. Red Coast is the largest company in the country and employs over 650,000 people over a variety of activities from airplane manufactory, to steel making, to retail. Red Coast has been described as having a quasi-monopoly in some markets in Vinalia, and has seen little growth outside of the nation do to tough restrictions and inspections.

Transportation

Dunas International Airport

Transportation and infrastructure have been a focal point of the Vinalian government since it's inception. In Vinalia there currently exist 4 international airports. The Dunas International Airport in Orlavo is the largest airport in Vinalia after opening in 2019 replacing the Serpukhov Memorial International Airport as the major international airport for the city of Orlavo as Serpukhov will serve only domestic flights. Other important international airports include Kila International Airport in Velkarichka, and Chervona Union International Airport in Chervona. serving as the number 2 and 3 largest airports in Vinalia. Unity International Airport on the outskirts of Vinalisk is expected to become the hub of travel in Vinalia once it opens in early 2020, with it's expectation of handling major international as well as domestic connections. Vinalia's national carrier and largest airline by passengers is the state-owned Vinalian Airlines, although other airlines such as Armadillo Air, and Svitlopero Air exist in the country, and fly to numerous destinations in both Vinalia and across the Asterias. Vinalia operates mainly with Soravian airlines for trans-oceanic flights into Euclea, although the government has sought for Vinalian airlines to fly such long-haul routes, although progress has been limited.

The National Railroad Commission of Vinalia or NRCV, is a direct successor to the Northern National Train Committee, which had established in North Vinalia a vast system of public owned passenger train services, with over 75% of the population utilizing passenger train in the North to commute by 1980, freight was equally handled through railroads with 65% of all freight being moved by cargo trains. The Southern train system was more lacking with only minor passenger services between the major cities, and with large amounts of freight being moved through a system of roads. Since unification the NRCV has expanded the rail system by over 1000 km's of track mainly in the south of the nation.

Trains in Chervona

Vinalia operates a vast motorway netwok which in contrast as rail transportation, most construction has focused in building road networks in the north, motorways are divided into 3 categories the M Category is the highest and 4 roads hold such distinction primarily in the South, the T category is found in 8 roads, while the Y category is found in 15 roads. The M1 connecting Orlavo-Velkarichka through Vinalinsk is the most transited motorway in the country, with it's 6 lanes. Vinalia holds a varieties of ports with the ports of Orlavo, Chervona, New Samistopol, Catherinsk, and Casimirsk being the major ports of the nation, with Orlavo, and New Samistopol sharing similar amounts of freight transported.

Following reunification large scale infrastructure projects were launched with the goal of improving and rebuilding the now combined transport system. Around 20 billion have been invested by the government since 1993 into projects aimed at improving it's infrastructure and are the reason for such large expansion experienced in the country. The Національний план інфраструктури (National Infrastructure Plan) NIP, which ended in 2015, after having taken 22 years to fulfill. Another NIP is expected to expand further on the national infrastructure, with plans for the expansion of the countries rail system, and the introduction of possible High-Speed Rail into the country. With the proposed Orlavo-Vinalinsk-Velkarichka link expected to serve as the central piece to the new plan, using Senrian high speed train technology. The NRCV seeks to establish in the future 3 Coast-Interior links one going from New Samistopol to Velkarichka, another from Casimirsk-Vinalinsk-Jangorod, and a Chervona-Orlavo-Morechia link.

Energy

Electricity production in Vinalia (2019)

  Nuclear (47%)

  Natural Gas (38%)

  Wind (9%)

  Solar (3%)

  Hydro (2%)

  Geothermal (1%)

Vinalia consumes 49,000 GW*h per year, which is covered about half with Nuclear power at 47%, with 38% being fossil fuel power plants exclusively Natural gas. Renewable sources provide for the remaining 15% with 60% being Wind, 20% Solar, 15% Hydro, and 5% Geothermal. All Vinalian energy is managed and owned by the state-owned Vinalian Electricity Company (Віналія Електрика компанія; Vinaliya Elektryka Kompaniya).

Vinalia owns and operates the Cirnan Nuclear Power plant with 2 reactors near New Samistopol, and partially owns the Chisvin Nuclear Power Plant in Chistovodia with 4 reactors, where Vinalia is entitled to 25% of the produced energy per its agreement with the Chistovodian government, which stands from the North Vinalian government since the plant was first built in 1981. Vinalia began construction of the 2 reactor Cirnan Nuclear Power Plant in 2005, with help from Chistovodia, it entered service in 2012. Vinalia has expressed interest in further increasing it's reliance on nuclear power, with the intention to build a further 2 reactors in Cirnan in 2015, to become 100% nuclear and be able to sell electricity to other Asterian nations, but the motion was defeated. Currently Vinalia is looking to build a 3rd reactor in Cirnan mainly to replace Vinalias 25% share in Chisvin. Vinalia utilizes Heavy-water reactors, acquiring most of it's heavy water from Chistovodia, while its nuclear waste is stored on site for up to 10 years, it also operates a joint long term storage facility alongside Chistovodia which was built in the 1990's. Vinalia is among the worlds highest consumers of nuclear power as their nations power supplier. It has become a controversial subject in Vinalian politics such close interaction with Chistovodia, and some have sought to reduce Vinalias dependence on Chistovodia for its nuclear energy program which acquires raw materials and technical knowledge from its northern neighbor, fears exist that Vinalian energy needs could be hurt by Chistovodia reducing or eliminating its close cooperation with the country.

Vinalia maintains a production of some 534,000 barrels of oil per day in 2019. Making the country the 14th largest oil producer in the world. Exploitation, refining, and distribution of Vinalian oil resources is managed by the 70% state-owned Voliya Oil company, the largest company in Vinalia. Vinalia obtains most of its oil from offshore platforms in the East Arucian Sea. Vinalia has enjoyed a general explosion in oil revenue since the late 1990's and Oil revenues have provided the government with large sections of its revenue stream. Vinalia's low reliance on Oil for the production of electricity, has allowed the country to be self-sufficient on its oil needs and export the rest. Vinalia exports mainly to Coian markets. Vinalia also mines large quantities of natural gas, primarily in the East Arucian as well. Voliya Oil has sought to further expand its growth in the Natural gas business.

Vinalia completed the retirement of large potions of mainly coal power plants in 2012, and has in it's goal the reduction of natural gas powered plants from 35% to 5% in 2050, with debate over whether the needed makeup will be through nuclear or renewable resources. Vinalia has invested in renewable resources, mainly wind power as it operates offshore wind farms in the East Arucian Sea, solar has been a sector of great interest as it's share in the powergrid grew from 5% in 2010, to 20% by 2020, this due in large part to private sector investment, in January 2020, the Ministry of Energy announced it's intentions to install solar panels in over 50,000 houses by 2030.

(Left) Chisvin Nuclear Power plant in Chistovodia. (Center) Chorna Skelya Natural Gas Powerplant. (Right) Wind farm in Zdavro.

Tourism

Semuc Champey waterfalls

Vinalia has seen since reunification a major explosion in the tourism sector, and has become an important source of revenue and employment for the population. In 2017, Vinalia was visited by up to 8.7 million tourists, mostly from Soravia, and Chistovodia followed by other Euclean states and Asterian countries. Vinalia has seen a steady increase in tourism arrivals and revenue since 2008, between 2017 and 2019 it was estimated that an additional 50,000 tourists arrived to Vinalia from the previous year. Vinalia each year ranks higher in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, which measures the attractiveness of the country to foreign tourists. Tourism allows the Vinalian government and financial institutions greater access to foreign exchange. Employment in the tourism industry has been a great aid for rural communities, tourism is seen greatly positively by rural populations which benefit from its revenue, while urban populations find delays and overcrowding as a result of tourism an unwanted side effect to greater tourism numbers.

Vinalia offers many attractions, its beaches are highly popular with Euclean visitors, with numerous beach resorts both locally and foreign owned established in its coastlines, numerous resorts can be found north of Catherinsk, and Casimirsk. During the summer travel season, large concerts and parties can be found in resorts, this is aided by large cruise ships which dock at this ports. The cruise industry has greatly expaned in the country thanks to government support, and tax incentivies. Vinalia has sought to expand into the Ecotourism business, with large scale investments and environmental protection measures put in place, large ecotourist centers can be found near ruins most notably Vaj Taj Archeological Park, and natural landmarks such as the Royal Vinalian Reserve, Semuc Champey, Mt. Vulna, the Juyu Ruwach mountains, Chudzekal salt flats, Cenotes, among other sites of natural importance.

The colonial architecture of cities such as Catherinsk, Vulaninsk, and New Samistopol have also been a great driving factor in attracting foreign tourists. Tourists greatly increase during religious holidays such as Nativity, Maslenitsa, and St. Nikolai's Day, where crowds gather in the historical city centers for festivities and other related activities. Although relatively small, Episemialist pilgrimage occurs to numerous sites in the country most prominently the Church of St. Hippodalia in Orlavo.

Demographics

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1870	4,000,000	—
1890	4,920,000	+23.0%
1900	5,962,000	+21.2%
1910	7,000,000	+17.4%
1920	9,000,000	+28.6%
1946 (North)	13,400,000	+48.9%
1954 (South)	14,560,000	+8.7%
1967 (North)	15,926,267	+9.4%
1975 (South)	17,377,000	+9.1%
1981 (North)	17,636,000	+1.5%
1994	19,950,637	+13.1%
2004	22,330,527	+11.9%
2014	24,632,731	+10.3%
Source: Ministry of the Interior

Vinalia is a multi-ethnic country, with people from many cultures and languages calling it home.

The historical population of Vinalia, has always been a common issue. Although censuses had existed during the Soravian colonization, various discrepancies existed in the counting, which made them unreliable. The first census which is usually considered of best quality, was during the 1870 Census of Chistovodia, where the population was marked at 4 million. Chistovodia conducted another census in 1890, and conducted one every 10 years until 1930, when no census took place. The split of both Vinalias created a problem, as both states conducted census arbitrarily, and without conjunction of each other. Although South Vinalia had conducted a census in 1938, North Vinalia didn't conduct one until 1946, when South Vinalia conducted its own census again after having deemed the 1938 census inconclusive following war time gains. War time divisions and issues of consistency plagued censuses conducted by both states, the following table is the official count by the Ministry of the Interior, which combines official data from both sides. The country that conducted the census on that year is marked, although data is unreliable do to the methods employed by those counting in both countries, and the manner in which modern estimates were applied to the figures of the time, using modern population trends.

Such lack of consistent and reliable information, led to the 1994 Vinalian census, which for the first time, counted all countries inhabitants, at 19.95 million people. A census has been conducted every 10 years after that, in 2004 22.33 million peoples lived in the country, while in 2014 that number had jumped to 24.63 million. Today its estimated some 25.878 million people live in the country. Another census is to be conducted on 2024. Vinalias population makes it the smallest country in mainland Asteria Superior. Vinalia holds a population density of 50.65/km2 (131.2/sq mi), with a life expectancy of 72.6 years. Most of the population lives in Urban areas with some 51% living in urban areas, the largest of which is Orlavo in the north with a metropolitan population of 2.12 million people, and Velkarichka in the south with 1.95 million people.

Vinalian population since 1994 has grown by about 1.11% each year, and is a number that has slowly declined, and some predict could reach 1% before the next census in 2024. Vinalia is a relatively young nation with a median age of 26.6 years, which mostly coincides with the time frame since reunification, where Vinalia experienced a boom in births. The increasing standard of living, migration to urban environments, greater access to Contraceptives, and education are the primary reasons for Vinalias dwindling growth rate. Although Vinalia does not expect to suffer from low birthrates as a result of external immigration.

Ethnicity and Race

Demographic Groups of Vinalia (2014)

  Metyso (48%)

  White (25%)

  Vinakians (18%)

  Bahio-Vinalians (3%)

  Other (7%)

Vinalia is a multi-etnic country, with numerous people of differing ethnic, racial, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds. According to the 2014 census established Metyso as the largest ethnic group in Vinalia at 48% (11.8 million), White at 25% (6.15 million), Vinakians or Indigenous descent at 18% (4.43 million), Bahio-Vinalians at 3% (739 thousand), with other ethnic groups standing at 6% (1.47 million).

Metyso or mixed, has been a common term to be used since colonial times, when the term came to mean descent from Soravian and Indigenous backgrounds. The term has grown in its definition and vastness, as the term came to be used both in Vinalia and Soravia to signify a person born in the Asterias from Euclean parents. With the independence of the Soravian colonies, came a new definition of the term, which came to identify more the mix between Asterian and Euclean cultures, but not necessarily with the Indigenous people. The term today is officially defined as a person of mixed Asterian (including Indigenous), and Euclean descent.

The term White takes its origins from colonial times, where it was used to signify an Euclean born living in Vinalia. The term has taken a more self-identifiable connotation as it has come to signify the heritage of serfs and settlers from Soravia who lived in Vinalia and from which an individual claims descent. The term began to be used in Chistovodia, and latter South Vinalia while it lost and was increasingly replaced by Metyso in the North. South Vinalia enforced certain guidelines on people who claimed to be white, as identifying as white was thought to bring social, and economic benefits, the South Vinalian government introduced guidelines in the 1970's during the Junta time, which established that only a person could claim to be white if they were the correct skin color, and had two parents who were white. Such guidelines and the increasing repression and categorisations of indigenous populations led to a growing international call to stop the rampant racism in South Vinalian society. With reunification, the term was maintained although guidelines to identify as part of this ethnic group were eliminated. Its official definition, is someone who claims descent from Euclea. The term remains controversial do to its historic background during the Junta times in South Vinalia. Close to 69,000 people from Soravia currently live in Vinalia. A small community of Ardesians, Etrurians, Gaullicans, and Paretians exist in the country numbering some 100,000 people, mostly in the south of the country.

The term Vinakian has increasingly faced criticism for its broad, and vague definition. The term from colonial times identified all indigenous populations as being the same, when in reality they enjoyed vast, ethnic, linguistical, and cultural diversity. The term is seen increasingly by some as the continuation of colonial era laws which sought to establish indigenous populations as the descendants of a single group, and rid them of their ancient heritage. Indigenous political groups have campaigned for the term to change from Vinakian to simply of Indigenous ethnic origin, or to allow citizens to identify as either of the 3 major Indigenous linguistic groups Zapoyan, Úuchmáan, and Lyublytas, with additional options to identify by their preferred indigenous linguistic background. The term has the official definition of someone who claims descent from one of Vinalia's indigenous groups.

Bahio-Vinalians claim descent from the close to 350,000 Bahian slaves transported to Vinalia, and number up to 739 thousand people. Although no official definition existed for Vinalians of Bahian descent, as they were categorized as Metyso until 1891, when the term Bahio-Vinalian became used in the country. Its official definition is of someone who claims descent from Bahia. Some 300 Mauchians, and 200 Mabifians live in the country.

Vinalia is also home to other ethnic groups that do not fit these 4 categories. Mostly descendants or immigrants from Coius, other Euclea, and Asterian countries. Some important communities are those descendants of the Coian Gowsa workers who migrated to Vinalia during the 18th and 19th centuries, they compose mostly of the Dezevauni-Vinalian and Lavanan-Vinalian community in the country, although the country has enjoyed migrants in modern times from these two nations. The Zalyk people in Vinalia trace their origins to serfs and settlers that moved to Vinalia during the 17th and 18th centuries primarily to the area of the Nazar Plateau as positive migration policies sought to inhabit the vast flatlands of the northeast, although it is unclear how many people of Zalyk descent exist as many consider themselves as Metyso. Other important communities are made up of Senrians, Xiaodongese, Chistovodians, Satucines, among others.

Although an individual can freely identify themselves for what demographic group they desire, the government maintains certain definitions and meanings for its compilation of the composition of Racial makeup of the country. Although citizens are asked what race they identify with, the government also maintains definitions and standards that in some instances overrule the option of the individual, for example individuals that speak an indigenous language as a native tongue are classified as Vinakian, while individuals born in Euclea are classified as White, and those born in other Asterian countries are Metyso regardless of what the individual actually identifies as. Data from 2014 established some 46% of Vinalians as Metyso, 36% as White, 14% as Vinakian, and 4% as other This Race data has increasingly fallen out of favor do to its inconsistency, negative background, vague definitions, and lack of interest by the population as since it was made an optional part of the census in 2004 it only has a 40% response rate meaning most data is made from a persons response in the rest of the form. the Ministry of the Interior which conducts the census stated that they would no longer compile Race data in the 2024 census.

Health

Orlavo National Heart Hospital

Vinalia has a Universal health care system, which can trace it's history to North Vinalia's policies which established a universal system in 1938, the North's system was adopted upon reunification to serve as the basis for it's implementation in South Vinalia, where health coverage was provided mostly by private entities with government owned hospitals lagging behind and located mostly in the rural regions of the country. Vinalia maintains basic universal insurance for all people, other plans exist which expand the range by which the insurance can be maintained, this insurance is applicable for private and public institutions in the country. Vinalia has been praised for it's advanced health system, which stands as highly developed for a nation of it's size and economic power. Spending on the health system accounts for about 7% of the gdp of the nation, life expectancy in Vinalia stands at about 72.6 years which stands under the global average but has seen a steady increase over the years.

Upon reunification Des nutrition and undernourishment were the main health concern areas for the Ministry of health and were only resolved in 1997, after the government improved the state of rural food distribution, and established multiple clinics in the country side. It has also moved to reduce the amount of cultural and natural medicine in the country, with the establishment of some 3,000 small and mid sized clinics in areas where coverage is considered lacking or insufficient. Vaccination campaigns throughout the country, have raised vaccination rates, tropical diseases have suffered a steady decline, some diseases such as Typhoid Fever have been all but eradicated. Vinalian programs attract foreign internationals to study health related subjects in the country, to improve it's doctor-citizen ratio recommended by international health organizations which reached the average recommended by the organization in 2008. Vinalia has also earmarked technological growth as one of the necessary pillars of the system with Vinalian hospitals in urban cities being considered highly developed, the country has in the area of Cardiovascular disease (CVD), been a leading figure in development of technologies to combat the disease, with the Orlavo National Heart Hospital being marked as one of the leading hospitals in regards to CVD around the world.

Vinalian Mental Health coverage is considered as among the best in the world, mainly do to efforts of Northern politicians to reduce the levels of "Combat Fatigue" in soldiers and civilians caught in war zones. Studies conducted after the wars established higher than normal levels of Mood Disorders primarily in Vinakian populations directly affected by the genocide, and populations subjected to long sieges or bombings. Such discoveries pushed authorities to expand mental health access to all Vinalian citizens, and has been marked as among the leading methods of managing the subject. Tough restrictions on tobacco products along with extensive treatment options, have reduced the amount of smokers from 33% in 1999, to around 20% in 2015, to positive effect in the Vinalian healthcare sector as a slight decrease in pulmonary disease and other respiratory ailments can be attributed to the reduction in smokers, Vinalian citizens were among the lowest in the world to develop lung cancer.

Education

University of New Samistopol library

Vinalia inherited a strong emphasis on education from North Vinalia, which had enacted free public education for all. The North Vinalian system was praised for its efficiency and strong results, a method Vinalia adopted for its new system of education. Vinalia also inherited its mainframe from Soravian colonial education. The constitution establishes free access to primary, secondary, and tertiary education with mandatory secondary education attendance for both public and private institutions.

Vinalian children begin their schooling since 3 year olds, entering the non compulsory primary education commonly called Kindergarten or Initial Education (Початкова Oсвіта; Pochatkova Osvita). They remain in primary education until they turn 6 years old and enter the compulsory secondary education. Secondary education or Basic Education (Базова Oсвіта; Bazova Osvita), takes place over 7 years until the student is 12 or 13 years, students must pass the standardized National Education Test to graduate from secondary education. Although the federal government does not maintain compulsory attendance for tertiary education, the state of North Vinalia and some southern provinces do maintain compulsory attendance through tertiary education. Tertiary education, or Advanced Education (Вища Oсвіта; Vyshcha Osvita) lasts for 5 years, with the student taking the final 2 years of their Tertiary education in selected degrees with the intention of preparing a student for further education or to enter the workforce, these final two years are also called Diversified Education (Диверсифікована освіта; Dyversyfikovana Osvita). At the end of the 5th year students test again on the National Education Test and graduate.

In Vinalia 10 public universities exist: the University of Vulaninsk, University of Catherinsk, University of Chervona, University of Morechia, University of Jangorod, University of Casimirsk, University of North Orlavo, University of Orlavo, University of Velkarichka, and the University of New Samistopol. Along with 5 private universities: The University of Bin, the Episemialist University of Chervona, University of the Interior, and the University of the Sciences. The University of New Samistopol was established in 1640 and is among the oldest in the Asterias, closely followed by the University of Orlavo in 1711. The University of Jangorod was established in 2001, and has grown to be among the most prestigious institutions in Vinalia. The private University of the Interior was the first university to be established in Vinalinsk, when it opened its doors in 2019. Vinalian institutions run numerous programs in other developing states with the goal of attracting foreign students to Vinalia, with the intention of making them remain in the country, Medicine, STEM, and Technology related areas have been specially targeted by institutions with some 58% of foreign students staying in Vinalia after completing their studies.

Vinalian education places heavy emphasis on its secondary education as students primarily in poorer areas, tend to drop out of school following the end of their compulsory secondary education, as working becomes necessary. Such a decision to split the education has resulted in higher attendance rates across the country as students can afford to take their secondary education while they mature into working age. State and provincial law require that Tertiary education be mandatory, although students are more likely to continue studying than dropping out, in rural areas it is standard for one to drop out of tertiary education to focus upon working. A problem Vinalian authorities have been unable to solve. Vinalian education has however improved the literacy rate of the country which stood at 78% in 1993, and has reached 98% in 2014, such drastic improvement has been praised by international authorities. Vinalia has consistently improved its test scores and rate of students entering Tertiary education (willfully), and University in the last 30 years, but it lags behind its neighbors.

Religion

Religion in Vinalia (2014)

  Episemialist Church (57%)

  Irreligious (32%)

  Solarian Catholic Church (4%)

  Other (7%)

The 2014 census registered that ranking first at 57% (14.04 million) were registered members of the Episemialist Church, ranking second at 32% (7.88 million) are declared as having no religion, ranking third at 4% (985,309) as being members of the Solarian Catholic Church, with 7% (1.72 million) people being members of other religions such as Badi, Irfan, numerous Amendist denominations, Atudism, including indigenous beliefs.

Apjai religious ceremony

Religion in the country can trace its root to indigenous beliefs, dating back to the earliest establishments of civilization. Zapoyan city states developed intricate belief systems with a varied system of interconnected beliefs and temples throughout the land. Zapoyan temples were usually the best built structures in a given city, and most Zapoyan buildings still standing are temples, some dating back to the 3rd century CE. Although most of the belief system has been lost, certain practices and beliefs are maintained by the indigenous population, who mostly incorporate elements of the Episemialist teachings with local culture and beliefs.

With Soravian colonization came the conversion, some times forcefully of the indigenous population. Episemialist missionaries made their way to Vinalia and the Soravian colonies to convert indigenous workers inside plantations and farms in Vinalia, following the Yellow Tree war and continued colonial expansion brought colonial churches into the inland territories to further spread Episemialist beliefs in the country. Religion was incredibly important for settlers, large numbers of indentured servants found common relationships and friendships in church, which became central to the life of a colonist. Colonial authorities both in Velkarichka, Orlavo, and Samistopol sought to strengthen ties between the colonial population and the home country through religion. Churches in Vinalia were usually modeled or inspired on churches back in Soravia. The original Church of St. Hippodalia in Orlavo can be dated back to 1650, which was built in inspiration of the Meredosia Cathedral in Uzyn, the oldest continuous church in Vinalia is that of St. Catherina which dates back to 1670 in Catherinsk and was inspired on the Udatsyi Cathedral, Patovatra.

The independence of Chistovodia, a certain distancing from the Episemialist church in Soravia began to occur, as the central government establishing itself as a secular state, but it struggled to truly separate church and state. The rise of the Workers International in both Chistovodia and North Vinalia, was marked by a clear rhetoric that emphasized secular structures, and separation of church and state. While Chistovodia and North Vinalia saw an establishment in strong secular structures, South Vinalia sought to establish itself in a way which could not cause the Episemialist church to move against it. The church and the South Vinalian Republic struggled for control, but church influence had reduced by the 50's, before a stronger emphasis in the north for the establishment of state atheism, with the New Nation Movement. The New Nation Movement made it basically illegal to practice any religion in North Vinalia, causing a rebirth in South Vinalian religious movements which sought to establish itself as different from the atheist North.

Following reunification, large numbers of North Vinalians moved away from state mandated atheism, which although had relaxed since the 70's, still didnt enjoy the freedoms of earlier. Today Vinalia holds a relevant Irreligious minority, which is mostly localized in the former People's Republic with 92% (7.25 million) of irreligious citizens, with only 8% (630,597) in the South. Today Vinalia is a strong secular state, although religion does play a large role in people's life, although its been declining in urban areas, while it enjoys great attendance and importance in more Vinakian and rural areas.

A small Catholic Solarian minority exists in the country, mainly as a result of Ardesian missionaries which have moved into the country following the 90's. Their great success comes mainly from rejection of Episemialist traditional beliefs for new beliefs, it has slowly been increasing in registered members since the 90s. Small minorities of Badists exist in the country, mainly as a result of Gowsas which made their way into Vinalia, although its a small minority, they're strong close knitted communities. Which have had success in attracting followers from outside the descendants of Gowsas. Other small minorities such as Irfanics, numerous Amendists, and Atudites exist in the country, mostly from migrant groups that settled on the country.

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  St. Nikolai's Episemialist Church, Orlavo

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  Episemialist Church of Velkarichka, Velkarichka

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  Episemialist Cathedral of Voshno, Voshno in Shyroniy Province

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  Interior of the Episemialist Cathedral of New Samistopol,

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  Episemialist Cathedral of Rubizhne, Nizhnebersutsk

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  St. Catherina Catholic Church, Catherinsk

Language

Map of Vinalia by Majority Language

By law, Vinalia may not maintain an official language, although Soravian is the de facto national language as its spoken by up to 98% of population, with 20.4 million First language speakers. Although Vinalian Soravian is relatively similar to Chistovodian Soravian, and Soravian from Euclea, some differences do exist. Primarily stronger pronunciation of the Ж (Zhe), and O letters when speaking, mixing of the I, and Ë in some words. Vinalian Soravian differs mostly in its borrowed words primarily from Etrurian, this is more common in the south of the country, and has given rise to a Southern Vinalian Soravian dialect, words borrowed from Zapoyan are also quite common. Vinalian Soravian remains more close to the original pronunciation of Chocolate (Шоколад, Shokolad) emphasizing the Д at the end, while other Soravians tend to say it softer.

Vinalia holds a relatively large population that does not speak Soravian as a first language, up to 17% or 4.18 million people speak up to 25 recognized languages, recognized under the Law of Languages of 2010. Vinalian law recognizes 4 major linguistic groups in the country, in parentheses are total number of speakers: Those of Euclean origin numbering 4 among them Soravian (24.14 million), Zalyk (276,000), and Luzelese (251,000). Those of Vinalian-Zapoyan origin numbering 8 including Zapoyan (3.26 million), Cora (267,000), and Huichol (201,000). Those of Úuchmáan origin numbering 12 among them Apjai (1.61 million), Quejua (900,000), and Mam (750,000). The final group is that of Lyublytas origin, with the only language recognized being Damayan (56,000). The average Vinalian is bilingual, but its not uncommon for one to be trilingual. Indigenous Vinalian languages have had dwindling first language speakers, and a general decline in total speakers as Soravian or other Euclean languages have been favored instead, the government has attempted since 2000 to preserve this languages and their heritage with mixed results. The government has sought to work alongside the Institute for Social Linguistics in a variety of programs ranging from radio stations to printed newspapers for the preservation and protection of indigenous linguistical heritage.

Gaullican is spoken by 15% of the population as a second tongue and has been considered applicable to be recognized as a Vinalian language under the current law, but the addition of yet another Euclean language has been met with resistance. Gaullican importance and geographical closeness to Gaullican speaking countries have resulted in great interest in the language, various Gaullican schools have been established on the country, the most prominent of which is the Catherinsk Academy of Gaullican Arts which teaches exclusively in Gaullican. Other languages of importance in the country include Estmerish, Xiaodongese, Ziba, and Senrian mostly from immigrant communities that have settled in the country.

Diaspora

A large number of Vinalians live outside their country, although in a 2018 study regarding the Vinalian diaspora discovered it at its lowest amount since the 1950's. At its height in 1988 close to 1.8 million Vinalians lived outside Vinalia, mainly in Chistovodia, and Soravia. Following reunification the Vinalian diaspora began to reduce, primarily from migration back to Vinalia with close to 600,000 returning to Vinalia between 1993 and 2007, the government has maintained specific programs to incentivize Vinalians to return to the country, mainly because these returning migrants are better educated and are more wealthier on average than regular Vinalians. Migration back to Vinalia has reduced, and since 2007 more Vinalians move abroad than return. By 2012 it was estimated that the Vinalian diaspora stood below 1 million people. Studies revealed considerable reduction in the diaspora primarily as a result of deaths in the Vinalian population abroad do to natural conditions as a result of old age, rather than increased migration back to Vinalia. Vinalia's friendly relations with Chistovodia, leaves little reason for Vinalians living in Chistovodia to move back to their home country permanently, when travel between both countries is frequent and easy.

Historical Vinalian communities exist in all major Chistovodian cities although a large section of Vinalians live near the border with Vinalia. Vinalian communities in Soravia exist as well in most major cities, developing their own distinct culture. Communities in Ardesia are mostly located near the border with Vinalia although large communities exist in Porto Sotiri, and Rémont.

Country	Number
Chistovodia	421,705
Soravia	104,696
Ardesia	67,562
Marchenia	46,421
Eldmark	42,272
Rizealand	33,628
Caldia	6,516
Gaullica	5,252
Werania	3,627
Cassier	4,948
Total	736,627

Immigration

Coffee plantation estate owned by a Galenian family

During the colonial period Vinalia experienced large immigration into the country from Soravia, and other Soravian colonies with immigrants settling in Vinalia from neighboring Chistovodia, and other Euclean Soravian territories. Following the end of serfdom and independence of Chistovodia, thousands of immigrant Gowsas from Dezevau, and Lavana settled on the country. Other groups to move into Vinalia included Ardesians which had migrated to work in the growing industrial sector, along with Shanghean laborers. Following the independence of both Vinalias, migration from Chistovodia, and other Socialist aligned nations to the North increased while in the south the migration of Soravians, and people from Coius was widespread. Another wave of Ardesian migration was experienced in the 50's and 60's into the South of the country, with Etrurian, and Paretian immigrants arriving to Vinalia.

Following reunification, Vinalia enjoyed great migration by Chistovodians, and Soravians, along with the descendants of the Vinalian Diaspora, including Vinalians living abroad which had abandoned the country do to the Vinalian struggle. Following an immigration deal between both Vinalia and Lavana, Vinalia experienced a wave of Lavanan immigration into the country. Vinalia in 2003, launched a comprehensive reform to its immigration laws which saw a rise of immigration into the country, primarily from Chistovodia and Soravia, although other nationalities like Kirenians and Shangheans enjoyed this new immigration laws and benefits. Gapolanese immigration to Vinalia rose after the 2010's growing to its highest in 2014 with 14,620 Gapolanese living in Vinalia, making it the 4th largest group in the country.

Country	Number
Chistovodia	108,940
Ardesia	97,161
Soravia	68,842
Gapolania	14,620
Tsabara	5,296
Lavana	3,478
Kirenia	1,572
Gaullica	1,074
Xiaodong	868
Etruria	618
Total	302,469

Cities

Largest urban centers by population
Orlavo Velkarichka	#	Settlement	Population	Chervona Catherinsk
	1	Orlavo	2,122,521
	2	Velkarichka	1,951,125
	3	Chervona	869,377
	4	Catherinsk	663,356
	5	New Samistopol	662,753
	6	Casimirsk	533,152
	7	Morechia	500,152
	6	Jangorod	473,152
	9	Vinalinsk	351,152
	10	Vulaninsk	213,631

Culture

Painting

Top: A Dario Salino painting (left), Rostyslav Pasternak painting (right). Bottom: Ivashko Kromin painting (left), Yosyp Tychinka painting (right).

Painting is one of the oldest arts in Vinalia. It can trace its history to Cave paintings found in the Chyhyryn river basin caves, with the oldest dated to 7500 years ago. Painting was an important art in latter civilizations and societies, and is clear that it remained a relevant art form during the centuries. Paintings have been found for both of Vinalias major civilizations mainly in the form of intricate mural designs in Úuchmáan cities such as Colel, Ixazalvoh, Velykhrob, and Velykzir. Zapoyan codices such as the Codex Morechia were a popular form of painting in Zapoyan times, and the discovery of such codices has proven to be invaluable to showcasing the history, mythology, and culture of the Zapoyan people.

The colonial era of Vinalia was exemplified by a continuation of movements and trends in Soravia, which were brought through time into Vinalia. Painting focused mainly on depicting the life of wealthy landowners in the country, and religious imagery. Vinalian art remained closely tied to Soravian art throughout the 16th and mid 17th centuries, truly proper Vinalian art did not emerge until 1663 when Vinalian artists owing to the inspiration brought on by the Vespasian Baroque in neighboring Ardesia began. Vinalian artists experimented on styles and techniques, and gave rise to a unique Vinalian style during the late 17th century and early 18th century. The Etrurian Revolution, and Asterian revolutionary fever and conflict in the continent made Soravian authorities fear the spread of revolutionary ideas, which prompted a stop to Vinalian art. Vinalian painters focused on a revitalized interest in Soravia, and a return to Soravian artistic movements and ideas. The expansion of Realism, in Soravia found great success in Vinalia, where the style focused a shift in the attitudes of Vinalians which remained under Euclean control while their neighbors had sought independence. Catherine Beaumonoirs travels to Asterias in 1839, became a watershed moment for Vinalia as it cemented realism at the forefront of Vinalian art. Dario Salino, became Vinalias most renown painter in 1640, a close associate of Catherine Beaumonoir, he helped establish the New Samistopol School of arts in 1846 which became Vinalias most important artistic school. Important artists of this period and the New Samistopol school include Rostyslav Pasternak, Marina Oziabloi, and Ivashko Kromin.

Vinalian art flourished following independence, with Vinalian artists enjoying the freedom to explore the greater artistic movements of the era, such as Romanticism, and other movements of the era. Following the Vinalian revolution, North Vinalia favored the wider Socialist artistic movement, while South Vinalia enjoyed a revival of the arts and joined the Soravian establishment in the development of Dadaism, Fauvism, and Futurism. Vinalian artists joined a wider Asterian Artistic movement which was critical of the socio-economic structures, and politics of Great war and Post-war Asterias, Vinalian artists grew critical of both North and South Vinalia during the 40's and 50's such stances were increasingly met negatively by the authorities in the increasing Democratic backsliding republic of South Vinalia, fear of Censorship, and punishment for being critical of the government resulted in numerous Vinalian artists and painters seeking refugee in exile, or moving underground. Vinalian artists found themselves better connected with artistic movements and ideas abroad, Surrealism, and Expressionism became popular in the Vinalian artistic diaspora, who with the safety of exile were able to explore much more critical concepts in refutation of what they saw as growing authoritarianism back home. Key artists during this time were Yosyp Tychinka, Leonid Marshalkov, Daria Briukho, Antonina Malupin, Ostap Ochiuriushka, and Badiul Borysov. All of whom experienced some sort of censorship or exile as a result of the Vinalian governments during their life.

Vinalian Reunification and the end of censorship and punishment at the end of the 1980's allowed the return of Vinalian painters from exile and obscurity. Their new found freedom and the return of Vinalian exiles from primarily Euclea, allowed Vinalia to enter the contemporary movements of the time most prominently Modernism, and latter Postmodernism. Vinalian painting focused on the horrors experienced during the near 60 years of the Vinalian Struggle as did most of the Vinalian Post-Civil war artistic movement, the 21st century has seen the exploration of other subjects and concepts by new artists, along with a revival of interest in Indigenous arts and concepts.

The most prominent art gallery in Vinalia is that of the Orlavo Artistic Community, holding the largest collection of Vinalian art in the world. The Velkarichka Museum of the Artist, is another important artistic gallery in the country. The Vinalian government has historically been proactive in the acquisition and display of Vinalian art, a practice that continues today in the Vinalian Hall of the republic, and other publicly funded art galleries.

Cuisine

File:Pepian.jpg

A Frikace dish

Vinalian cuisine is a mixture of Vinakian, and Soravian cuisine. Few dishes define the country as it's cuisine is highly regional with many types of dishes being exclusive to specific regions, but the main difference exists between the coastal and inner regions of the country. In the coastal regions dishes involving fish and other marine creatures are popular, most notably Rybhu and it's variations which incorporate a fish soup with a specially made sauce, this sauce differs from region to region on its composition and ingredients, but usually is a distinctive bitter taste. In the central regions specially the highlands consumption of Frikace a dish usually made with chicken, pork, or beef, vegetables, and fricassee in a soup is common. It's common as a side dish to consume Lystivo a dough with filling, thats wrapped and cooked in banana leaves, along with beans. For holidays it is common for large feasts to be held, with the serving of primarily grilled food primarily beef, and poultry and grilled vegetables.

Indigenous communities hold distinct culinary traditions, which remain mostly isolated from one another, the consumption of beans, Frikace, Lystivo, and Rybhu are most likely originally from Vinakian tradition. Vinakian communities consume much the same as their ancestors, consuming beans and Korzhyks along with vegetables. Vinakian diet has been seen as lacking in variety which has led to issues with Malnutrition, most prominently in children where a varied consumption of nutrients is more critical. The government has introduced numerous initiatives to aid in this issue, primarily in providing families with more varied options of food to plant, as most are subsistence farmers, such efforts have been praised for the reduction of malnutrition and other diseases.

Vinalians prefer to drink liquor, although consumption of wine and beer has increased in the country. The consumption of spirits primarily Vodka was a tradition brought by Soravian settlers, although initially all vodka was imported causing great strain on the economy of the colony, vodka was usually traded with indigenous populations for furs and other items, to counter this issue, the creation of other spirits out of wheat lead to the creation of Horilka. Horilka became widely sought after in the colony, but health concerns lead to several attempts by colonial authorities to reduce the consumption of Horilka, today Horilka is consumed in social events but has lost its importance to vodka both locally made and imported. The growing of wine in Vinalia is a practice traced back to the 1800s when Vinakian farmers began growing grapes for the production of wine on advice of priests, although its production is small. Vinalian wines are highly sought after specially in Soravia where Vinalian wine is seen as a commodity. Most wine is grown and processed on the Bin river region, the growing economic prosperity in the country has seen many change from drinking vodka to wine, other imported wines enjoy circulation in the country, primarily from countries like Etruria and Paretia. Beer has also grown in popularity, primarily as a result of Chistovodian culinary changes which moved towards beer, today several breweries exist in the country but most of its beer is imported from its northern neighbor.

Clothing

File:Orthodox wedding ceremony 314.jpg

Episemialist traditional wedding

Music

Playing the Marimba

Music in Vinalia is a mix of Vinakian and Euclean sounds, the national instrument is the Marimba a Vinakian instrument which has become synonymous with Vinalia. Bands involving the marimba alongside other instruments are quite common in Vinalia, being an usual sight upon social events such as weddings, parties, funerals, etc. Flutes are also extensively used and employed in the country, the flute has been incorporated into Episemialist proceedings. Euclean pop music is highly famous in Vinalia, specially among the youth, with numerous Euclean artists primarily those from Soravian holding large followings in the nation.

Literature

Ikal Peruski

Arturivna sisters Nina (Left), and Oksana (Right)

Vinalian literature has its antecedents in the literature culture of the indigenous communities in the country, although debate among scholars exist over whether writing, drawing, and making pictures were seen as closely related if not identical concepts, thus making it difficult to differentiate between literature and painting. Forms of literature involve recording of Historical and Astronomical events. Poetry is quite prominent in literary tradition, being divided into two broad categories—secular and religious. Poetry was sung, chanted, or spoken, often to the accompaniment of a drum or a harp. An important piece is the Úuchmáan Ritual of the Bacabs, containing shamanistic incantations.

Literature during the colonial period revolved mostly in regards of tales of exploration and conquest written mostly by writers born in Soravia. The first Vinalian to write prominently during this time was poet Illya Fedorov born 1590, Fedorov started a truly proper Vinalian literary tradition. Some colonial writers of importance are: Afanasij Ramenskoi, Belonozhka Pasternak, and Rodislav Kulesh. Upon independence from Soravia, a more modern Vinalian literary tradition arose, led by writers such as Pylyp Stryovich, and Vsevolod Fedorovak who came to prominence for their writings opposing Soravian colonization, and latter Chistovodian control. Slavir Oliynyk became the first Vinalian writer of international renown after composing the poem Testament in 1889, which became widely distributed across the world. Other writers of importance between 1885 and 1935 are Ananiy Terpilovich, Bankon Diaiakshigildeev, Lade Olekseevich, and Vikky Ochiuriushka.

Vinalian literature divided itself following the Vinalian revolution in 1935. A more Socialist trend developed in the North, while a more free and critical trend developed in the South. Southern writers enjoyed a period of great work, called the Golden age of Vinalian literature. Between 1945 and 1969, writers such as Ikal Peruski, the twin Arturivna sisters Nina, and Oksana, Olina Myroslavivna, Nazar Leont, and Chac Sulai became renown writers worldwide. Works such as the Arturivna sisters novels Winter in Bir, A tale of 10 Wife's, and 100 Leagues from you, and Olina Myroslavivnas Moonlight over Nazar became international hits, meanwhile Ikal Peruskis Dumb Dumb became a cornerstone of international literature, earning numerous awards. Due to increasing censure and risk, Peruski and Myroslavivna lived in exile following the end of South Vinalian democracy in 1969, bringing forth a period of reduced literature in the country.

Vinalian literature experienced a rebirth following reunification. A movement referred to as "Revitalism" sweep Vinalia, works analyzing the previous 50 years became center piece to Revitalism, Vinalian writers also explored differing genres, with Yaroslav Chumachenko's 1999 novel Broken Arrow which became an international hit exploring genres such as Science fiction, and Cyberpunk, alongside Tina Blairesks The Red Owl which explored Vinalian Zapoyan Fantasy. Although the civil war has remained impactful in Vinalian literature, remaining at its center. Other authors of note following 1990 include Anastasija Merkushko, Andrej Kudriavtsov, Diana "Dove" Kravchik, Nataliya Krechko, Rikailo Ochiuriushka, Sidere Sokolov, and Valentyn Shwetz.

Cinema

Vinalia maintains a small homegrown film industry, inherited from Northern and Southern propaganda films. On average it produces between 3-6 feature films per year. Vinalia's most well known productions are One Hundred Leagues from you (Сто ліг від вас; Sto lih vid vas), and Dumb Dumb (німий німий; Tupyy Tupyy), which came to prominence after winning the Montecara Film Festival in 1969, and 1991 respectively. They're both adaptations of the written books from the Arturivna sisters and Ikal Peruski, of the same names. Other films of importance include the 2000's Red Rose (Червона роза; Chervona roza),2019 Ladies in the River (Дами в річці; Damy v richtsi), and the 2021 Broken Arrow (Зламана стріла; Zlamana strila). Themes explored in movies regularly feature the Vinalian Civil War as is the case for One Hundred Leagues from you, Dumb Dumb, and Red Rose, along with other Social issues such as racism in Ladies in the River. Although movies such as Broken Arrow have delved into other genres such as science fiction, and Cyberpunk, successfully. Short film has grown in importance and remark in the country, numerous short films are created throughout the year, most prominently the first Vinalian animated short film Your Hair (Ваше волосся; Vashe volossya) which released in 2018, and received numerous awards abroad.

Vinalias most prestigious film festival is the Catherinsk Film Festival, first established in 1954, it was revolutionary as it allowed the showing of both Northern and Southern films, allowing it to take a truly Vinalian identity. All Vinalian movies that have enjoyed international release have been presented in the film festival. Other festivals include the Velkarichka school of Animation festival, and the Ministry of Culture Annual showing of Vinalian film.

Media

Natsionalʹna teleradiokompaniya (HKT) is Vinalias public broadcasting service.

As of March 2021, there are there are twenty nationwide free-to-air television channels, Armadillo Group operates 7, Red Coast Media operates 5, the Vinalian Ministry of Culture and Sports operates 4, with the last 4 channels distributed among 4 other companies. The Ministry of culture operates simultaneous broadcasts of the National Broadcasting Company (Національна телерадіокомпанія; Natsionalʹna teleradiokompaniya) on 3 of its 4 channels, but each channel uses a different language Soravian, Apjai, and Quejua are the 3 languages used on broadcasting. These are the only nationwide non-Soravian channels. Numerous other regional and local television channels exist, but are owned primarily by Armadillo Group, Red Coast Media, and the Ministry of Culture and Sports which primarily broadcasts local channels in local languages. A government initiative in 2011 sought to privatize this non-Soravian broadcasts similar to the radio but found no success, in 2017 it was deemed by law that such channels existed to incorporate the Vinakian population into the country. Numerous media providers provide access to Soravian, and Euclean media mainly through satellite, although internet access has allowed greater consumption of foreign media. There are up to 500 radio stations in Vinalia, also majority owned by Armadillo Group, and Red Coast Media. The Ministry of Culture maintains successful subsidies and support of non-Soravian broadcasts, at the local level and numerous non-Soravian broadcasts can be found in up to 15 languages across the country, including 10 Vinakian languages.

There are over 100 newspapers, and close to 500 magazines published in the country. The most prestigious and sold daily newspaper in the country is Free Press (Вільна преса;Vilʹna presa), which is widely read across the country, and has been the recipient of numerous international awards. Other newspapers of note include Our Newspaper (Наша газета; Nasha hazeta), Independent (Незалежний; Nezalezhnyy), and 21st Century Citizen (Громадянин 21 століття; Hromadyanyn 21 stolittya). The 5th largest daily newspaper in the country is the entirely Online newspaper Informed Citizen (Інформований громадянин; Informovanyy hromadyanyn), online newspapers have had incredible success in the country since 2010 as a result of greater access to the internet, all major Vinalian newspapers enjoy considerable online presence.

Sports

Vinalian Superliga game between Orlavo Red Stars (White), and Velkarichka F.C. (Yellow)

Sports in Vinalia are a common past time for the people, the government subsidizes public sports in Sporting Clubs for children and adults alike, in the North Workers Clubs persist from their Socialist origins in the 1940's. A national sporting week is held the week after reunification day after the first iteration in Jangorod 1996, also known as the Vinallian Invictus Games. As many sporting events are held, including the Novikov Cup Finals, the National Basketball Championship League finals, the Vinalian Marathon, the Vinalian Athletics combine, and the National Swimming Competition, are held in back to back days in the hosting city of that years Vinalian Sporting Competition. Vinalinsk is to host the week in 2020, and Catherinsk in 2021, following Jangorod's 5th host in 2019.

Football is the most popular sport in Vinalia with some 350,000 people being part of the Football Sporting Clubs as of 2019. The top football league is the Vinalian Superliga which was established in 1999 following the merger of the top Northern and Southern Leagues the First League, and the Sporting League respectively. The Superliga consists of 14 teams, with the biggest clubs being that of the Orlavo Red Stars, Velkarichka F.C., and Chervona Coyotes who combined have won 14 out of 20 cups, strong rivalries exist between Orlavo Red Stars and Velkarichka F.C.. The second tier league is that of the Super Combine with 20 teams, and the third tier is the United League with 40 teams. The top 8 teams in the Superliga, top 7 in the Super Combine, and the top 5 teams of the United League classify to the Novikov Cup. The national team plays in the National Stadium in Velkarichka.

Orlavo Falcons

The Orlavo Falcons of the Asterian Hockey League were established in 1992 and are the only professional Ice Hockey team in Vinalia, the Vinalian Hockey League is considered an amateur league and has 8 teams throughout Vinalia, with the Chervona Foragers being the most dominant team in the league with 6 titles. The Vinalian National Hockey team plays in the Orlavo Dome, and is currently a member of the 1B Division. Basketball is another important sport, as 100,000 people play the sport in Sporting Clubs, the only Basketball League is that of the National Basketball Championship League with 20 teams established in 1995, following incorporation of the Southern Basketball Super League with the disbanding Northern Vinalian Basketball League. The Velkarichka Flying Lemurs have won 9 out of 24 championships with their rivals the Chervona Bulls having won 7 championships. Other sports played in the country include Baseball, Volleyball, Tennis, Swimming, Wrestling, among others.

Vinalia has participated in all Summer Invictus Games since 1938, when both Vinalias participated on the competition. Vinalia first participated as a united nation in 1990. Vinalia has won 52 medals, including 11 gold medals since unification, although all 3 Vinalian entities to participate in the games have won 14 gold medals combined. The 11 unified gold medals have come from strong Vinalian disciplines, such as Wrestling (4), Shooting (3), and Canoeing (2). Canoeing and Athletics have rendered Vinalia 9 medals each, although Vinalia has historically excelled in Wrestling. Vinalia's most successful athlete is Canoeist Konai Fedorov, and Wrestler Siveko Rataev each with 2 gold medals, and 4 and 3 total medals. In total all 3 teams have won 80 medals in total. Vinalian participation in the Winter games, has been limited historically, the unified team and Northern team have participated a total of 8 times, using primarily dual citizens with other nations such as Soravia and Chistovodia, Soravian-Vinalian Luger Maksym Chernyak represented Vinalia 3 times.

Holidays

Date	Name	Native Name	Public Holiday	Notes
January 1	New Year's Day	Новий рік;Novyy rik		Celebration of the new year.
January 2–5	Nativity Holiday	Свято Різдва; Svyato Rizdva
January 6	Nativity's Eve	Святвечір; Svyatvechir		Day before the Nativity.
January 7	Nativity	Різдво; Rizdvo		Celebration of the birth of Jesus Sotiras
January 8	Boxing Day	День боксу; Den' boksu		Day after the Nativity.
January 19	Epiphany	Водохреща; Vodokhreshcha		Celebration of the Baptism of the Lord.
February 14	Valentine's Day	день святого Валентина;denʹ svyatoho Valentyna
March 11	Maslenitsa	Маслениця; Maslenytsya
moveable Friday	Good Friday	Хороша п'ятниця; Khorosha p'yatnytsya
moveable Sunday	Easter Sunday	Пасхальна неділя; Paskhal'na nedilya
moveable Monday	Easter Monday	Пасхальна понеділок; Paskhal'na ponedilok
May 1	International Workers' Day	Міжнародний день працівників;Mizhnarodnyy denʹ trudyashchykh		Celebrate the workers of Vinalia.
May 5	Separation day	День розлуки;Denʹ rozluky		Commemorate the separation of Vinalia from Chistovodia.
July 12	Peace Day	день миру;Denʹ myru		Celebrate peace in Vinalia, following the Treaty of Vina which ended the 10 Day War in 1987.
July 25	Reunification Day	День возз’єднання;Denʹ vozzʺyednannya		Celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Vinalian Reunification, reunifying North and South Vinalia
August 3	Celebration of Sport in Vinalia day	Святкування спорту у день Віналії;Svyatkuvannya sportu u denʹ Vinaliyi		Celebrate sport, and it's history in Vinalia
August 25	Brasva	Брасва; brasva		Originally Soravian holiday commemorating Marolevic culture across the world.
September 1	Independence Day	день Незалежності;Denʹ Nezalezhnosti		Celebrate the independence of Vinalia as part of Chistovodia from Soravia.
October 5	People's Day	день людей;Narodnyy denʹ		Celebration of the people of Vinalia primarily the native Vinakians.
October 19	St. Nikolai's Day	День святого Миколая; Den' svyatoho Mykolaya		Celebration commemorating the ascension of Nikolai of Lipa to the throne of Pavatria.
November 27	Armed Forces Day	День збройних сил;Denʹ zbroynykh syl		Celebration of the Armed Forces of Vinalia
December 31	New Year's Eve	Переддень Нового року;Pereddenʹ Novoho roku		Day before the new year.