Wazheganon

Free Federated Nations of Wazheganon 10 official names Wazhewen: ᐤᕐᔾᒪᐗᒋᒪᐤᐳᓐᑌ ᐗᐤᔕᑭᑲᐊᓐ Wrymawaċimaubond Wauzhagigän Gexabarag: Basagenoa Mankomunitateag Federatuag Hązírat'e: ᒃ’ᐃᒐᓂᑭᒋᐱᕃᑭ ᑌ-ᐦᐃᒉᒉᒐ K’ijánįgijį́bìregi Te-hijejeja Jajigaq'mawi: ᒣᔅᑭ'ᑫᑯᔅᐯᒻᓪ ᒪᐎᐅ'ᒥ Mesgi'gqospem Mawio'mi Gm'tginal Masenomaweq: ᑲᒉᒪᒡᐦᑲᒡᓈᐦ ᐌᔥᒌᑫᓯᑕᐁᒻ Kachemachkacnāh Wēshcīkesitaem Nawymawin: ᒪᒪᐗᐳᐎᓐ ᓱᓀᓴᑲᐦᐃᑲᓂᐦᒃ Mâmawapowin Sonesâkahikanihk Odoleqeneha: ᓪuᑦᑲᓂᓴᔅ ᑲᓐᔭᑕᓚᑫ:ᐊᒃᑕ Lutkanisas Kanyatalake:akta Onigamymowin: ᒪᒪᐎ'ᐊᑭ ᐗᔕᑲ'ᐃᑲᓐ Mamawi'aki Wazhaga'igan Umbiaans: Vry Federatieve Naties wan Vasegenen Wasooqwit: ᓄᑕᐸᓴᑕᓪ ᐒᓗᓚᑲᑕᒃ Nodabasadal Wololagadak
Flag of Wazheganon Flag Coat of Arms of Wazheganon Coat of Arms
Motto: «ᐊᓇᒻᔅᑦᕋᑦᕝᓓᕐ, ᐗᐸᒣ᙮» "Anamstratfler, wapame." "Beneath the pavement, the beach."
Anthem: ᐊᐌᐤ ᑎᔅ ᓚᓐᑌ ᒍᐦ ᓚᓐᑌ Aweu Dis Land Jou Land "This Land Is Your Land"
Location of Wazheganon on Earth. Claimed territory in light green, other members of the North Osawanon Trade Agreement’s customs union in blue.
Political Map of Wazheganon
Capital	Moynrout
Largest city	Jabwegan
Official languages	none at the federal level
Recognised national languages	Wazhewen Gexabarag Hązírat'e Jajigaq'mawi Masenomaweq Nawymawin Odoleqeneha Onigamymowin Umbiaans Wasooqwit
Recognised regional languages	Commune level b Chainaq English Enyaman Enucitet Gariman Gharbaic Latin Meshwaq Mutli Nidawon Onodowe Ostro-Ludzic Tamashek Wabayan Wobenaq
Ethnic groups (2020)	List of ethnicities 49.8% Mezhte 23.4% Indigenous 13.7% Umbier 3% Majin 7.2% Other
Religion	List of religions 29% Irreligious 37% Sarpeticism 23% Nebeseuwewin 11% Other
Demonym(s)	Wazhenaby Wazhenabyg (plural) Wazhe(g) (colloquial)
Government	Libertarian socialist federated semi-direct democracy
• Chancellor	Dyodosha Wolf
• Speaker	Minegan Kovaric
Legislature	Federal Congress
• Upper house	General Committee
• Lower house	Federal Congress
Independence  from Tyrrslynd
• Declaration	July 8th, 1731
• Wazhenaby Federal Socialist Republic	July 8th, 1921
• Decentralization	September 21st, 1957
• Current constitution	November 1st, 1976
Area
• Total area	1,854,816 km2 (716,148 sq mi)
• Water (%)	14
Population
• 2020 census	47,703,216
• Density	25.71/km2 (66.6/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	2020 estimate
• Total	$1,327,580,501,280
• Per capita	$27,830
Gini (2015)	12.7 low
HDI (2015)	0.866 very high
Currency	Wazhenaby kroun (ᑲᕑ) local mizinaug (₥)
Time zone	UTC -4 to -5
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+64
Internet TLD	.wz

Wazheganon (/wɑːˈʒɛɡənɔːn/ wah-ZHAY-guh-nun, -⁠ZHEH-,-NAWN), officially the Free Federated Nations of Wazheganon, sometimes colloquially referred to as the Wazhenaby Federation or Wazhenaby Union, is a country in northeastern Norumbia. Its 15 commonwealths cover a peninsula of approximately 1,854,816 square kilometers (716,148 square miles), situated between the Sea of Dakmoor, across from Ghant, in the north and northeast, the Salacian Ocean in the southeast, and Winivere Bay in the west, sharing land and maritime borders with Awasin in the southwest and Moxaney in the southeast. Most of Wazheganon's population of 47,703,216 people live in the watershed surrounding the Kaċecameg lake system and the river Mazhesepeu. The capital of Wazheganon is Moynrout, while its largest city is Jabwegan. Other major cities include Victorya, Menawa, and Zorai. Wazheganon is a highly multicultural country, with the majority of the population identifying as Mezhte, a creole group drawing from indigenous, Belisarian, and Ochranese heritages.

Various indigenous peoples have inhabited what is now Wazheganon since the last ice age. The earliest written records from Wazheganon are found on birchbark scrolls dating back to the 12th century. Historically, the dominant political model was that of the mawaċimau, in which kinship groups formed loose confederations based on cultural ties. While contact with Belisarians was made as early as the 12th century, incursions into modern Wazheganon were largely repelled until the Great Lake War in the late 16th century, when Ottonian Tyrrslyndic colonizers advanced on weakened and disorganized coastal confederacies, forcibly displacing local populations and repopulating newly conquered land with Kamryker settlers from Onneria. Several of these Tyrrslyndic colonies gained independence in 1733 as Valzia, and expanded into the continental interior in a series of protracted and deadly wars with indigenous polities, culminating in the Asherionic Wars in which a pan-indigenist revolution led to the brief conquest of much of eastern Norumbia.

The Waltzing Coups period dominated Wazhenaby politics for much of the 19th century, causing significant political turmoil and popular unrest. Beginning in the 1880s, the country saw a series of socialist reforms and uprisings which eventually culminated in the Wazhenaby Civil War from 1919 to 1921. Afterwards, the new Wazhenaby Federal Socialist Republic experienced several smaller ideological upsets before finally galvanizing into the contemporary political structure in 1957. Significant reforms in pursuit of decolonization took place in the 1970s and 1980s.

Wazheganon is a libertarian socialist federation in the communalist tradition, consisting of 1,732 autonomous communes and 15 nominally independent commonwealths, with a unicameral legislature which elects a steering committee to carry out executive functions in a system of council democracy. It maintains a decentralized hybrid-socialist economy in which basic needs have been decommodified and all businesses are either worker-owned or state-operated. Major industries and products include foodstuffs, forest products, commercial vehicles, industrial machinery, telecommunications, and tourism. Wazheganon ranks highly in international measurements of political freedoms, government transparency, education, and quality of life. It is a member of several international organizations and alliances, including the Forum of Nations, Joint Space Agency, Kiso Pact, Global Observatory of Labor, Common Congress of Oxidentale and Norumbia, and Osawanon Community.

Etymology

The origins of the name Wazheganon are obscure and debated in academia. It first appears in written records in the late 17th century, as Mashagagon, used by Umbier traders as an apparent indigenous name for the region between the River Mazhesepeu and Lake Ataluca.

Older belocentric folk etymologies held that the name was related to the name of explorer Dietrich Valza, for whom the earlier Federal Republic of Valzia is named, but this has been rejected by scholars since the late 19th century.

The most likely origin with widespread scholarly support today is that the word derives from a clipped compound of the words Mazhe (a form of Mezhte) and jiigi-zaaga'igan, an Onigamymowin word meaning "by the lake shore". Thus, the name would roughly translate to "the Mixed by the lake". This would make sense, as in the 1600s the area around northern Lake Ataluca was an entrepot of trade which would have featured significant populations of early mixed Belisarian-Indigenous people; it is possible that this name was used by Onigamyg to refer to the locals, and misinterpreted by Umbier colonists as the name for the region.

It is unclear precisely when or where the switch from "mash" to "wazh" occurred, but, by the 1730s, the spelling Wauzhegigan was common, anglicized as Wazheganon, and the word was used to refer to the general borderlands region in what is now east-central Wazheganon. It was adopted as the name for the country with the establishment of the Wazhenaby Federal Socialist Republic in 1921.

Demonyms and colloquialisms

Numerous demonyms and nicknames are used officially and colloquially to refer to people from Wazheganon and various groups therein. The official noun and adjective for an individual from Wazheganon is Wazhenaby (plural: -g). '"Wazhe/y (plural: -g) is acceptable shorthand for Wazhenaby in both casual and professional settings.

Indigenous Wazhenabyg as a whole can be referred to as First Nations (Ashinatig), Indigenous Wazhenabyg (Inhëmwazhenabyg), or Nebeseuweg (derived from an old term meaning "lake people"). In modern times, ‘’Nebeseuweg’’ (sg: ‘’Nebeseuwe’’) is generally the preferred and dominant term.

Wazhenaby descended from Belisarians ("Belo-Wazhe"), primarily Umbiers (of primarily Ottonian but also general Belisarian descent) but also Gexabans (of Ghantish descent), are often called mooks (from Onigamymowin: gichi-mookomaan, literally "long knife") by indigenous peoples, while indigenous peoples are frequently nicknamed bylies (from Umbiaans: byl, literally "ax") by Belo-Wazhe. These terms occasionally carry negative connotations, but are also frequently used affectionately or neutrally in recent decades and so depend mostly on context.

Official title

Officially, the country is known to as the Free Federated Nations of Wazheganon (Wazhewen: Wrymawaċimaubond Wauzhagigan, ᐤᕐᔾᒪᐗᒋᒪᐤᐳᓐᑌ ᐗᐤᔕᑭᑲᐊᓐ). Colloquially however, as well as in some official settings, the country is referred to be many other titles, including, the Federation, the Union, and the United Nations. Another moniker is that of "the Republic", or "the Fourth Republic", which are usually considered poor taste, as they associate the current Wazhenaby state with that of previous failed governments with wildly differing ideologies.

Geography

Wazheganon comprises the northeastern corner of Norumbia, occupying approximately 1,854,816 square kilometers (716,148 square miles) lying roughly between the latitudes 48° and 72°N and longitudes 76° and 103°W. Despite its position and cool climate, no part of mainland Wazheganon lies above the Boreic Circle; the only part of Wazheganon to extend so far north are the islands of Wanleussenland and Nijau Kisinatin in Misiqwan. Wazheganon is situated on the northern end of Norumbia's northeastern peninsula, surrounded by Winivere Bay to the west, the Sea of Dakmoor across from Ghant to the north, and the Salacian Ocean in the east. It shares land and maritime borders with Awasin in the southwest and Moxaney in the southeast.

The geography of Wazheganon is dominated by a series of freshwater lakes and rivers called the Kaċecameg (ᑲᒉᒐᒣᑫ), literally meaning the Great/Big Lakes, which connect to the Sea of Dakmoor via the River Mazhesepeu. They consist of, in order of largest to smallest: Kaċecam (ᑲᒉᒐᒻ) , Ginögama (ᑭᓄᐅᑲᒪ), and Ataluca (ᐊᑕᓗᐅᒐ); the southern bay of Kaċecam is called Hoshicyra (ᐦᐅᔑᒐᔾᕋ) and often treated as a separate lake, despite not being an independent body of water. Ontaraqy ᐅᓐᑕᕋᑫᐁ), part of the Mazhesepeu, is also usually included among the Kaċecameg. Kaċecam is the second largest lake in Norumbia, with a surface area of approximately 64,352 square kilometers (24,846 square miles), and one of the deepest lakes in the world with a maximum depth of 706 meters (2,316 feet). The collective watershed of the Kaċecameg encompasses the majority of mainland Wazheganon, with thousands of rivers flowing into the lakes. The longest of these is the Mineshösh River, which flows over 1,133 kilometers (704 miles) from norther Misiqwan to Hoshicyra. The Kaċecameg flow out into Chigïgö Bay, the largest estuary in the world, from the Mazhesepeu and Ontaraqy. Not including Ontaraqy, the Mazhespeu is one of the widest rivers in the world, standing 40 kilometers (25 miles) at its widest point. Not including the estuary, the Mazhesepeu is approximately 252 kilometers (157 miles) long.

Regions of Wazheganon that are not part of the Kaċecameg basin are typically separated from it by hills and mountains. The eastern coast is primarily flat and rocky, characterized by many inlets and islands, most notably Hesepuq Bay. The Oscandowa Mountains run along the east coast from Sangweny in the north to Oscandowa in the south. They transition into the larger and more rugged Osawanon Mountains along the Oscandowa-Jenasy border. The Osawanons begin in northern Matagamon and go both south into Moxaney and west along the southern border. The Gerögera Mountains run along the west coast from northern Misiqwan into Awasin, forming the easternmost segement of the Winivere Cordillera. The highest mountain in the Gerögeras, Dolidaq, is also the highest peak in Wazheganon at 5959 meters.

Climate

Köppen climate types of Wazheganon.

Wazheganon is dominated by a humid continental climate, of the hot-summer variety on the east coast and the warm-summer variety in the interior. Cold air from the Boreic and warm air from the Kayamuca stream produce dynamic, frequently extreme weather patterns. The Kaċecameg produce a strong moderating effect for much of the region, but heavy and frequent lake-effect snow is common in the winters, where snow can remain on the ground for as long as six months. Summers are typically warm and mild, although heatwaves are not uncommon. The region around the Kaċecameg hosts fertile farmland and extensive forests, ranging from the Lotharian forests on the east coast, to the Kaċecameg Northwoods in the interior, to extensive boreal forest in the north.

Wazheganon's northern regions have a subboreal climate which transitions to a tundra zone along the northern coast and Boreic islands. Along with boreal forests, cold wetlands, extensive lakes, and rolling hills dot the landscape. Some of Wazheganon's most iconic fauna, such as the pygmy forest mastodon and greater hodag, are found in the north.

The west coast of the country is part of the Winivere Cordillera, a sweeping, interconnected series of mountain ranges that spans almost the entirety of the coastline of Winivere Bay throughout Norumbia. In Wazheganon, this region features a subpolar oceanic climate along the coast, with subboreal conditions found in the Gerögera Mountains.

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  The highest mountain in the Gerögeras, Dolidaq, is also the highest peak in Wazheganon at 5959 meters.

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  The lakeshore of the Kaċecameg is a popular domestic and international tourist destination and an important economic hub.

• Pygmy forest mastodon.png

  The pygmy forest mastodon, once critically endangered, has recovered in the past century and is an iconic mascot of northern Wazheganon.

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  Cranes taking flight in a marsh in southern Meshgoseq.

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  Urban forests and greenways are common in Wazhenaby cities.

History

Main article: History of Wazheganon

Evidence of human habitation in what is now Wazheganon dates back to at least 11,000 BCE. Archaeological records suggest that trade networks spanning the Kaċecameg basin and coast of Winivere Bay were common as early as 1000 BCE, with evidence of trade as far away as modern day Enyama and Serkonos. The peoples of what is now Wazheganon, the First Nations or Nebeseuweg (lit. "lake people"), lived in agricultural settlements that frequently existed alongside non-agricultural semi-nomadic groups, with populations commonly moving between these lifestyles.

The first organized polities rose to prominence in the region around the early 8th century, believed to have been the earliest codified incarnations of the common mawaċimau model, in which extended families organize themselves into clans which democratically govern a band together based on consensus, which in turn confederate under popularly-selected councils, usually formed along linguistic lines. This early period saw the emergence of numerous polities, including the historiographically-termed Big Countries: confederations that were significantly larger than their more localized neighbors in population and area, made up of what are still today the largest indigenous ethnic groups in Wazheganon. These are the Masenatauq, Odoleqega, Hazirawi, and Onigamyg; the Wasöqwo, Nawymaiq, and Jajigaq are also often included among the Big Countries, although their remoteness from the Kaċecameg causes some scholars to exclude them from broader discussions of Wazhenaby history as a whole.

Indigenous civilizations

The first example of a regional power in modern Wazheganon is widely considered to be the Hazira city-state of Mošógra, whose golden age lasted from the 11th to 14th centuries. Situated near the site of the modern city of Warasheq, Mošógra was well-positioned at the crossroads of trade between Winivere Bay, the Kaċecameg, and the northern forests. Part of the broad Mound builder tradition historically spanning Norumbia's east coast, the Mošógrans maintained dense urban centers with complex manufacturing economies, public works projects, and a ruling class of priests. Towards the middle of this period, Kaċecameg societies made the transition from copper metallurgy directly into iron and steel smithing. Through its trade networks and a system of ritualistic patronage, Mošógra maintained a system of tributaries as far west as Ataluca and as far north as Misiqwan. It was through the Mošógran trade network that Onigamy syllabics, the predecessors to the modern Wazhewen syllabery, began to be adopted throughout the Kaċecameg basin. By the late 15th century, most of the Mošógrans' urban centers had been abandoned due to famine and plague, forcing urban inhabitants out into the countryside where they integrated with other tribes.

Artistic depiction of the city of Mošógra.

The height of Mošógra coincided with the first regular arrivals of Belisarian explorers in northeast Norumbia, whose early attempts at settlement, proselytization, and trade were stymied by indigenous warbands. Declaring Belisarians to be evil spirits who came from the sea, the ruling clergy used their network of patrons to organize warbands to systematically destroy Belisarian incursions. This fostered a culture of deep mistrust towards any groups that were not recognizably indigenous Norumbians, and made regular contact and trade with those outside the Kaċecameg basin a rare and strenuous affair for centuries after the fall of the Mošógrans. The Ghantish Haratago settlements in modern Santa Elixabeta and Ternua are the only colonization projects to have survived this period, due to their relative remoteness and the inhospitality of their territory.

The decline of the Mošógran trade network and patronage system ushered in a power vacuum and dark age for many of the tribes throughout the Kaċecameg basin, with many reverting back to the semi-nomadic, semi-agricultural hunter-gatherer lifestyle which had remained on the periphery of society since urbanization began, with the population fluctuating much more dramatically between seasons as entire cities dispersed in the winter months to supplement stored foodstuffs with game and forage. During this time, the Masenatauq became a major power in the Kaċecameg basin by serving as an entrepot between east-west trade routes. They also maintained a larger population than many surrounding tribes by leveraging the traditional harvesting of wild rice into an agricultural endeavor; similarly, the Odoleqega maintained a largely agricultural, urban lifestyle.

By the mid-1500s, gunpowder weapons began to be introduced to the region. This exacerbated and escalated the ritual warfare between tribes. Eventually, this culminated in the Great Lake War, a vicious conflict lasting from 1565-1593, which saw unprecedented mobilization and bloodshed among the Kaċecameg tribes. The war was further exacerbated by a plague, believed to have originated from Tsurushimese or Ottonian traders, as well as a drought-caused famine. Altogether, this period is believed to have led to the death of upwards of 20-30% of the population of the region. In the end, the Great Lake War had no clear winner. Many smaller tribes were completely wiped out as a result of disease and mourning wars, increasing the size and influence of the Big Countries who were better able to absorb losses.

Ottonian colonization

The ratification of the Federal Constitution (1739) by Adelaert Spiers.

The devastation of the Great Lake War left many tribes unable to resist as Ottonian Tyrrslyndic colonizers, previously contained to minor coastal enclaves, began encroaching on their territory. Displacing large coastal populations, the Tyrrslynders seized large swaths of land from the Odoleqega and Masenatauq in the Oscandowa Wars from 1609-1624, ensuring a permanent, powerful position in the region. This area was systematically resettled using refugees from Kamryk in Onneria, the forefathers of the modern Umbiers. This war and accompanying forced migrations further destabilized the Big Countries, and resulted in widespread cultural and political revolution amongst their bands. Hereditary chiefs and the clan-based division of labor were disposed of, and power was placed in the hands of elected chiefs and councils of clan mothers, with clans becoming matrilineal in most places. The eventual result of this upheaval was the Great Peace of Menawa, a treaty signed on September 23rd, 1633, in which newly elected leaders from the Big Countries and 19 other tribes came together to absolve each other of past grievances in the interests of uniting against the Belisarian invaders. This newly formed alliance, known as the Menawa League, would go on to successfully contain the Tyrrslyndic armies behind the Oscandowa Mountains and ensure peace between the Big Countries for over a century. The end of endemic warfare in the region allowed for the emergence of the Mezhte creole group, the result of mixing between Umbiers and indigenous tribes, which would also spawn the creole language of Wazhewen, the modern majority language of Wazheganon.

By 1629, there were 10 Tyrrslyndic colonies in Norumbia, fenced in by the Oscandowa Mountains. The Umbier colonies did not share a language or religion with the Tyrrslyndic Crown and largely considered themselves as separate, autonomous entities from the metropole, maintaining strong traditions of local elections and self-governance, with most taxes going directly towards the infrastructure and defense of the colonies themselves.

The colonies were major participants in the 1670s Battle of the Salacian, in which Tyrrslynd was militarily and economically devastated. While its Norumbian colonies were not seized by Ghant, Tyrrslynd's ability to govern them was severely reduced. Defense and taxation became a continental affair, further reinforcing the colonies' spirit of sovereignty. By the early 1700s, when Tyrrslynd began reasserting its control over the region in an attempt to counteract Ghantish influence, the colonies bristled under royal control. When the Jormundean Revolt erupted in Tyrrslynd in 1731, the colonies took the opportunity to declare independence. The Continental War, or First Valzian Revolution, was short and decisive, and by 1733 the Treaty of Ardryk forced the Tyrrslynders to recognize the independence of all of their Norumbian possessions.

Federal Republic of Valzia

Of the ten newly independent colonies, the northern states of Nyonerya, Oscandowa, Mägdeland, and Sangweny, as well as the Gexabar republics of Santa Elixabeta and Ternua, united under the Federal Republic of Valzia while the remainder went on to form the Republic of Moxaney. Independence resulted in increased investment in and immigration to the region as various powers took an interest in harnessing the potential of the new situation to counteract their rivals. This reignited and fueled more endemic warfare between Valzia and indigenous polities as Valzian settlers once again pushed into the Oscandowas and Osawanons. Competing foreign interests led to the dissolution of the Menawa League in 1753 and the revival of conflicts between the Big Countries.

Great Norumbia at its greatest extent in 1821.

Expansion of Valzia and Moxaney into historically indigenous lands caused upheaval throughout the Kaċecameg basin, reminiscent of the first wave of expansion in the 1600s. Large numbers of settlers swept across the south of the country, supported by Belo-Mezhte business owners who facilitated the economic domination of a now fractured indigenous and Mezhte population. By the late 1700s, this marginalization led to the popularization of the political-religious movement called Thunder Dance, a pan-indigenist milleniarianist belief system which called for all tribes to unite again and banish the Umbiers from the region. A Bewenak-born Hazira chief and scholar, Asherion (Hazirat'e: Atejirehiga, "He-Who-Sets-the-Prairie-Grass-on-Fire-Suddenly-Like-Lightning"), was an ardent follower of the Thunder Dance who rallied tribes to its cause and led them to victory against the Valzians, going on to conquer much of eastern Norumbia in a series of conflicts known as the Asherionic Wars, with the goal of creating pan-indigenous Norumbian federation known as Great Norumbia. While he was ultimately defeated in 1823 and exiled to Zacapican, Asherion is widely considered one of the greatest military commanders in world history and a renowned statesman; his pan-Norumbian, socialist ideology continues to influence Norumbian politics to this day.

Following the collapse of Great Norumbia, its client states were liberated and reorganized according to the Congress of Thessalona. Valzia was given sovereignty over substantial territory to the west of the Oscandowas that it had only nominally controlled previously, developing a southern border along largely physical boundaries that encompassed the historical lands of the Odoleqega, Masenatauq, and Hazirawi, entrapping indigenous peoples into a racially discriminatory system, the institutions of which would secure minority rule for white Umbiers, legally for nearly a century, and de facto until 1976.

This led to a land grab in which the community-owned enterprises of indigenous populations were suppressed and commonly-owned land was systematically divided and sold on a scale which dwarfed the previous era of 18th century expansion. This led to the concentration of Valzian political power into the hands of business interests, nominally divided between the duopoly of the National Party and Centralist Party, who in practice only superficially differed on policy and carefully managed their competition with each other. By the 1836, rising liberal sentiments promised voting reform and indigenous rights. This resulted in the coup of elected chancellor Mathias Gault in July of 1836 by former Asherionic Wars general Augustyn Delaglys, sanctioned by both parties. This marked the beginning of the Waltzing Coups period, which was characterized by a series of populist strongman dictators who came to power primarily through coup d'états, either forcefully via the military or through soft coups arranged by military and business interests, usually organized at extravagant galas whence the period gets its name, and then confirmed by plebiscite or electoral fraud shortly after. Public attention was redirected from the dismantling of democracy towards jingoistic military campaigns against indigenous tribes. Despite severe repression and the imposition of the Valzian political-economic system, indigenous and Mezhte identity remained strong in most places and the Mezhte population ballooned throughout the 19th century as economic and personal realities overcame cultural prejudices and systemic racism. Democratic elections were reintroduced to Valzia in 1895 by Minerva Nients, the first female chancellor, who implemented anti-corruption reforms and willingly stepped down in 1895 after presiding over new elections.

However, Nients failed to address the underlying economic and political issues which led to the Waltzing Coups in the first place. This resulted in the rise of numerous socialist organizations, no longer repressed by the state, in popular politics, who served as the de facto authorities in many parts of the country, competing with the federal government. These unresolved tensions came to a head in February 1919 with the assassination of Chancellor Arnold Brent by the anarchist Pascal Okwalihaqa, which triggered a crackdown on Leftist political elements, in turn causing first a general strike, and then many Leftist organizations to openly rebel against the Valzian government, beginning the Valzian Civil War, or Second Valzian Revolution.

Wazhenaby Federal Socialist Republic

The civil war nominally between the conservative Loyalists and socialist Revolutionaries, with each side being composed of numerous organizations with many different ideologies and goals. It consisted of two phases: in the first, the Revolutionaries defeated the Loyalists in a relatively short series of campaigns that largely ended before the winter of 1919; the second phase was fought between two Revolutionary factions, the Revolutionary Committee for the New Valzia (RKNW) and the indigenous-secessionist Seventh Fire Front (ZWF). The secessionists were largely crushed, and on July 8th, 1921, just ten years shy of the country's bicentennial, the RKNW declared the creation of the Wazhenaby Federal Socialist Republic (WFSR), deriving a new name for the country from a historical Mezhte term for the eastern part of the country. The federal capital was moved from Victorya to its modern location in Moynrout, symbolically moving political power out of the Umbier heartland and towards Mezhte and indigenous groups. Concurrent with the civil war was the First Osawanon War, in which socialist uprisings in Bewenak, Moxaney were aided by an RKNW invasion, with the region subsequently being annexed into the new WSFR.

Proclamation of the Union-Republic of Victorya, on March 27th, 1919, in front of the city hall.

The new republic was a quagmire of competing ideologies. While it represented massive leaps forward for human rights in terms of homosexuality, women’s rights, and universal suffrage, a conservative current dominated the economic sphere. The economy was largely centrally planned, to the chagrin of anarchist and syndicalist elements, and was considered deaf to the needs of the underdeveloped indigenous regions of the country.

In 1927, a series of conflicts began between Wazheganon and Ghant over fishing rights in the Sea of Dakmoor, called the Cod War. These disputes remained relatively minor until 1936, when Wazheganon entered the Great Ottonian War on the side of the North, bringing it into a formal state of war against Ghant. As Ghant dissolved into civil war (the Mad Emperor's War), Wazheganon launched an amibitious amphibious invasion of Dakmoor in support of a rising Leftist movement in the country. While the Leftists ultimately failed to abolish the monarchy or implement economic democracy, Wazheganon's assistance to the victorious party of the civil war led to an amicable resolution of the original fishing disputes in 1943. Most of this period was presided over by the administration of Ijan Otaqua (1931-41), the first indigenous chancellor in the country's history, whose progressive cultural policies are considered historically insignificant compared to the largely unpopular intervention in Ghant.

Dissatisfaction and agitation among indigenous and Mezhte populations, as well as libertarian political elements, plagued the WFSR throughout its existence. The Seventh Fire Front was reconstituted as a clandestine terrorist organization which demanded the return of lands to indigenous groups and a terminal decentralization of Wazhenaby politics, and found common cause with various anarchist groups. The planned economy’s operations were often frustrated by large swaths of the economy striking or redistributing resources independent of government policy. This reached a tipping point in 1955, when the administration of Jan Morgan attempted to outlaw wildcat strikes and bring the All-Wazheganon Industrial Union (AWIW), the country’s largest union, into line with federal objectives.

Anouwälist renewal to present

This triggered the first general strike in Wazheganon since the end of the civil war, with an estimated 12,000,000 Wazhenabyg participating. The AWIW demanded a constitutional convention which would allow for debate and restructuring of the fundamental aspects of the republic's government and economy. Fearing the possibility of a civil war, the Morgan administration readily agreed. Lasting well into 1957, the convention saw the rising popularity of the ideas of Awyn Anouwäl, an electrician serving as a representative from Latulita. Anouwäl and his supporters proposed a system similar to the council republics popular during the civil war, in which neighborhood councils confederated together to form autonomous, large-scale governments. Eventually codified as Anouwälism, or libertarian municipalism, this model would serve as the basis for the new Wazhenabyg federal structure which largely persists to this day. These reforms were overseen primarily by the interim administration of Chancellor Rïntsye Ragaby, a friend and student of Anouwäl.

Protesters in Jabwegan wave a red flag beside a burning Laberenzite tank.

Decentralization was rapid and popular. However, inequality between indigenous and Umbier regions remained a blot on Wazhenaby socialism’s reputation. Economic justice programs and land reform were continually frustrated by Umbier conservatives, in particular the National Radical Party, who claimed that reparations to indigenous peoples were in fact racist and oppressive towards Umbiers; baseless conspiracy theories, such as a threatened genocide of all Umbiers, abounded. Despite this, by the 1970s progress had been made towards such reforms. On Christmas Eve, 1975, during an extended session of Congress meant to finally resolve a reparations bill, a false flag attack was carried out by the National Radical Party, killing almost every member of Congress, including Chancellor Andre Borell. The NRP used the attack to convince surviving congressmembers to elect defense minister Octavya Laberenz as Acting Chancellor and give her emergency powers, which she then used to begin a crackdown on political enemies of the NRP and begin the opening stages of an ethnic cleansing campaign against indigenous groups. This attempted coup would become known as the Emergency.

The military’s loyalty was divided; this, combined with mass uprisings and protests by civilians and militias, ensured that by May 1976 the putsch, which had evolved into a quasi-civil war, was defeated. Laberenz committed suicide after writing a manifesto incriminating many members of the military and intelligence community.

The Emergency resulted in yet another massive transformation in Wazhenaby society. It cemented the necessity of anti-authoritarian, anti-racist, and restorative measures throughout Wazhenaby institutions, culminating in the Decolonization Acts of 1977, presided over by Chancellor Nauċau Holwerda, which radically reformed the way land use and confederation were implemented in the country over the next several years, with massive swaths of land being repatriated to regional stewardship committees, usufructuary becoming the default form of land ownership, and all of the country's commonwealths becoming legally independent sovereign entities. The concepts of militant democracy, permanent agitiation, and ethnic autonomy became enshrined in Wazhenaby politics.

The Second Osawanon War was fought from 1993-1997 and resulted in the loss of the Commonwealth of Bewenak to Moxaney, almost 15% of Wazheganon’s territory. This war severely fractured diplomatic relations in northeast Norumbia, and it continues in the form of a guerrilla war in Bewenak to this day.

In December 2019, the Wazhenaby military was deployed to intervene on the behalf of the Democratic Coalition in the Enyaman Civil War, a highly divisive action.

Government and politics

Dyodosha Wolf
Chancellor

Minegan Kovarich
Speaker

Wazheganon is a federal, libertarian socialist council republic in the communalist tradition. Despite a turbulent history, democratic norms are strong in Wazhenaby politics, with human dignity, social consciousness, and individual autonomy enshrined in the constitution. Although the federal constitution makes certain provisions and mandates various rights, each constituency at every level is considered theoretically and nominally independent and sovereign; this means that, so long as the core concepts of the Wazhenaby system (namely consensus, free association, and militant democracy) are not violated, there is a wide variety of political and economic organization possible within Wazheganon, ranging from traditional indigenous hereditary councils to syndicalist workplace-conglomerates.

Federal executive and legislative powers are combined together and vested in the Federal Congress, a unicameral body under a delegate model of representation. Congress vests executive power in a General Committee, empowered to act on Congress's behalf in coordinating government departments (called Federal Public Services (FEDeg), as well as making decisions when Congress is not in session or during emergencies where time is of the essence. Members of Congress (LwK(eg)) are elected by county directories every two years, although the specific electoral systems which build to the county level vary considerably. Presently, Congress consists of 500 members (each representing approximately 100,000 constituents each). Congress is presided over by the Speaker, who oversees debates and votes and is elected by the other members. The speaker also serves on the General Committee as a liaison and watchdog for the rest of Congress. Due to its bottom-up formation, Wazheganon is prone to what has been termed the "house of cards effect", in which a particularly controversial decision by Congress can lead to the instantaneous recalling of dozens or hundreds of representatives at all levels, effectively collapsing the government and spontaneously forcing a new round of elections at any time. The current speaker is Minegan Kovaric.

  Mass Party for Werner-Tsenpoism: 47 seats

  United Socialist Coalition: 80 seats

  Revolutionary Asherionic Committee: 29 seats

  Koleno Society: 13 seats

  Movement for Central Pricing: 4 seats

  All-Wazheganon Industrial Union: 81 seats

  Federation of Left-Socialists: 106 seats

  Councils for Local Autonomy: 24 seats

  Seventh Fire Front: 40 seats

  Christian Socialist Convention: 11 seats

  Coalition for Market Liberation: 22 seats

  Movement for a Mutual Society: 43 seats

The secretary-general of the General Committee, appointed by Congress, is considered the de facto Chancellor of Wazheganon and the highest-ranking Wazhenaby official. They preside over Committee meetings and serve as the head of state in conducting official visits abroad, as well as usually serving as a public figurehead for the platform of the governing coalition. They also have the possibility of assuming emergency powers to make decisions for the Committee as a whole in instances where the Committee is dispersed or quick reactions are vital. Apart from these roles, the chancellor is a first among equals, having no power above and beyond the other members, and also serves as a regular commissioner of a Federal Public Service. The General Committee typically consists of 16 members, those being the 15 commissioners of the Federal Public Services and the Speaker of the Congress, with the possibility of other members being appointed by Congress as needed. The Committee is appointed by Congress every two years following elections, and the Chancellor is appointed at the beginning of every year, with a term limit of five years. Committee members in general are limited to ten years. All Members of Congress have a term limit of 20 non-consecutive years, meaning that only half of a representative’s time in Congress could conceivably be spent on the Committee, and, of that time on the Committee, only half of it could be spent as chancellor. The current chancellor is Dyodosha Wolf, who has held the position since 2019.

Political parties in Wazheganon function as caucuses (breukeg, literally "fractions") in which numerous regional parties form overarching conventions at a federal level. For example, the Federation of Left-Socialists is comprised of nine smaller groups, each of which is in turn an alliance of various regional and local political organizations. Congressional parties are therefore mostly a convenient estimate of the current political climate, rather than concrete institutions. Due to their imperative mandate, Members of Congress are not obligated to vote along party lines, and can be instantly recalled by their county directories if they attempt to vote out of line with their constituents' wishes. Thus, while voting along party lines is common simply due to the similar agendas that formed them, it is also possible for portions of caucuses to individually work with groups from other caucuses. An example of this is the current "War Kettle" coalition, formed from an alliance of individual members from most of the major parties, united by a common desire for military intervention in the Enyaman Civil War and more aggressive foreign policy measures. Since uniform coalitions are not strictly needed to form administrations, this can lead to curious political formations that would be unusual in other parliamentary governments, such as the melkommity ("milk committee"), where an unorganized majority elects a General Committee of uncontroversial delegates who will not pursue any meaningful political action.

Since the 1970s, modern Wazhenaby coalitions have typically been divided between libertarian and ordosocialist blocs, led by the Federation of Left-Socialists and United Socialist Coalition, respectively. Market elements such as the mutualist Movement for a Mutual Society and market anarchist Coalition for Market Liberation have historically sided with the libertarian bloc in opposition to centralized federal economic planning and mass nationalizations of industries. The syndicalist All-Wazheganon Industrial Union, which is also Wahzeganon's largest labor organization, has historically acted as a kingmaker, with large wings of both ordosocialists and libertarians.

Wazheganon's federal system has historically drifted between varying levels of centralization and control. Federal control reached its height in the middles of both the 19th and 20th centuries, while it experienced its lowest points in the 1730s, 1910s, and 1970s. Some consider Wazheganon a de facto confederation due to its bottom-up formation and the legal autonomy of its various subdivisions, while others consider the overarching federal government, which enforces certain standards and obligations for all members, to soundly disqualify it from this category. The country has self-styled as a federal entity since its inception, and the federal-confederal debate is one of the most prominent, regular political issues throughout all of Wazhenaby political history.

• 

  Western Moynrout is dominated by the Commonwealth Commons, a district of government buildings, cultural centers, and public spaces.

• 

  The Donehogawa Building in Moynrout is the official office and part-time residence of the General Committee.

• 

  The Commonwealth Building is the meeting place of the Federal Congress.

• 

  The Woss Center, colloquially called "the Trapezoid" (Trapezyem) is the headquarters of the Federal Public Defense Service.

Law

Wazheganon has a common law system originating from 18th century Tyyrslyndic law, with elements of socialist law being introduced since the early 20th century. At a local level, citizens of a commune elect members to a Communal Court (colloquially called a neighbors' court), which serves to mediate minor disputes and make decisions on minor criminal cases. At the county level, citizens (who need not be trained jurists) are elected to six-member People's Courts, mediated and presided over by a trained jurist appointed by the county legislature. Commonwealths are presided over by Commonwealth Courts, comprised of a triumvirate of trained jurists appointed by the commonwealth legislature. The specifics of term lengths, term limits, compensation, and titles varies considerably depending on the jurisdiction. At the federal level, the Federal Apex Court (Federalespitsedibäkon, FSD) serves the country as a whole and is the court of last resort. The FSD is presided over by seven trained judges appointed by Congress to serve 15-year terms, with no possibility of a second term and mandatory resignation required at age 70. The Federal Constitutional Court (Federaleconstitutioneledibäkon, FCD) is a similar but separate federal judiciary which is responsible for constitutional matters and holds the power of judicial review.

Uniformed street oxters in Miskaton.

Wazheganon lacks the conventional police departments found in other countries. Instead, law enforcement is handled primarily by local oxteries (singular: oxtery), whose personnel are called oxters (oksteleg), usually headed by a reeve's office, with commonwealth oxters providing broader services. Oxtery (derived from an Allamunnic word meaning "to hug with the arms, or support by taking the arm of") is a term for an umbrella organization containing multiple specialized and interconnected agencies for public safety, staffed by both professional specialists and volunteers. These can include first responder teams trained for medical and mental health emergencies, fire departments, criminal investigation specialists, dedicated traffic enforcers, sexual assault response teams, rangers who monitor and maintain parklands, domestic violence response specialists, substance abuse or homelessness assistance offices, armed rapid response units, and so on. Traditional beat cops are replaced by "patrollers" (patrulyreg), also called "street oxters" (strätoksteleg): uniformed but unarmed (although in some jurisdictions they may carry batons or pepper spray) civilians, trained in conflict de-escalation, whose primary responsibility is to identify problems and emergencies on the ground and coordinate a swift, suitable response from other agencies. Street oxters often employ intimate community policing strategies and neighborhood police boxes are common, augmented by ubiquitous neighborhood watch organizations who are sometimes given training in mediation by oxteries. The Federal Criminal Oxtery (Federalekriminaleoksely, FKO) is the principle federal law enforcement entity and premier criminal investigative organization in Wazheganon, operating across commonwealth lines and cooperating with local and commonwealth oxteries.

The Wazhenaby justice system has been oriented towards restorative justice since the 1950s. Capital punishment was federally banned in 1955, and homelessness, possession and recreational use of drugs, and sex work are all decriminalized. Courts are oriented around mediating crimes and examining and taking steps to address their causes on both an individual and systemic level through extensive social services, community outreach, and educational programs. In cases where punishment is deemed helpful, proportional fines, probation, and community service are typically employed. Incarceration is only considered in cases considered unrelated to mental illness and more severe than a misdemeanor. There were 48 incarcerated individuals per 100,000 people in 2020, and the recidivism rate in 2016 was 16%, very low in an international context. Penitentiaries where individuals are incarcerated are managed at both the commonwealth and federal levels. These facilities generally resemble university campuses or boarding schools, with prisoners allowed considerable freedom of movement and activity within a given campus where they live in dormitories, and are able to make use a various facilities or even make daily excursions into the surrounding community. Many penitentiaries may also be democratically-managed by staff and prisoners, and make use of extensive, paid prison labor to clean and maintain their facilities. Depending on their specific sentence, prisoners may be required to attend or participate in certain therapeutic, psychiatric, or educational programs; typically, various elective programs and courses are also available, which may go towards acquiring technical, vocational, or other post-secondary degrees or certifications. The most extreme punishment in the Wazhenaby justice system, for those who are eventually deemed "exhaustively unrehabilitatable", so-called "bugwujyg", is a prolonged or even life sentence in penitentiaries called reflection camps (bezinikampeg). Reflection camps are rural estates where prisoners are confined and directed to live communal, self-sufficient lives chopping firewood, farming and cooking, and studying in on-site libraries, with therapeutic and educational resources available on request and regular reviews to determine whether they can return to a conventional penitentiary or qualify for parole or compassionate release. Reflection camps have been criticized by reformers and international observers as unusually cruel for their isolating nature and the sometimes unpleasant, dangerous nature of wilderness lifestyles.

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Wazheganon

"Wazheganon and Zacapican soar together towards a new socialist dawn!", a poster celebrating the opening of Icniuhyotl Expeditionary Base in 2003.

Since the Emergency of 1975 and resulting political reorientation, Wazhenaby foreign policy has been primarily characterized by proletarian internationalism and permanent agitation, in which it simultaneously seeks close military-economic cooperation with other socialist states while actively agitating for continuous democratic and socialist reform even in allied states, with the goal of encouraging a continuous dialectic which encourages reform and revolution in non-socialist states and prevents extant socialist states from metastasizing into deformed or degenerated workers' states. This is done not only through conventional subversive means such as propaganda, funding, assassinations, or arming sympathetic militants, but also through constructive measures among the foreign working class, such as the building of infrastructure, training of teachers and doctors, and assistance in developing robust mutual aid networks. The foreign policy of the Wazhenaby establishment has been variously described as functionalist, constructivist, and neo-Gramscian in nature.

Wazheganon is a founding member of the Kiso Pact and a major advocate for both the expansion of the organization and deepening of military-economic ties between its members. It is also a member of the Forum of Nations, Joint Space Agency, Kiso Pact, Global Observatory of Labor (through the Western Economics Institute), and Common Congress of Oxidentale and Norumbia. It was a founding member of the Osawanon Community, but has boycotted it without renouncing its membership since the 1993-1997 Second Osawanon War. It has supported Leftist, anti-monarchist, and indigenist political parties, social movements, and insurgents in Moxaney, Gristol-Serkonos, Awasin, Mutul, Hvalheim, and Kayahallpa. In December 2019, Wazheganon formally entered the Enyaman Civil War in support of the Democratic Coalition, with the aim of deploying as many as 12,000 soldiers to northern Enyama by the end of 2020.

The core of Wazheganon's foreign policy is found in deep military, economic, and diplomatic ties across the Salacian Ocean, participating since the 1960s in the Northern Common Development Agreement with North Ottonia, Ostrozava, the Messidor Union, and Tyreseia, all fellow Kiso Pact members in modern times. Also vital is the relationship with Zacapican, with whom Wazheganon has had close ties since the Valzian Civil War and been part of the Antipodal Military Design Bureau and Antipodal Revolutionary Pact since the 1920s. Zacapican is the leasee of the only foreign military base on Wazhenaby soil, Icniuhyotl Expeditionary Base in southern Oscandowa, opened in 2003, which hosts one of Zacapican's three carrier groups. Historical and military ties to Tsurushima also shape Wazhenaby concerns. Wazheganon was one of the founding members of the Global Observatory of Labor, in partnership with Pulau Keramat. Also notable is Wazheganon's pursuit of cooperation with ordosocialist states such as Elatia and Jhengtsang despite ideological disagreements. Elements within Wazhenaby diplomatic circles informally claim the country played a decisive role in the gradual democratization of Elatia leading to the landmark 2021 constitution and elections there.

Non-socialist states are not entirely shunned, as the spreading of socialist norms and ideas through international interactions is well-established in Wazhenaby international theory. There is a long, friendly history with Sante Reze, with whom Wazheganon shares traditions of environmentalism and free association. Yisrael has been situational regarded as an unusually genial monarchist state, as has Ghant. Mutul, through Elatia and anti-Belisarian politics, could also be considered a distant strategic ally. Before the Second Osawanon War, the country shared cool but amiable relationships with Gristol-Serkonos and Moxaney. Wazheganon is close allies with Awasin, a nominally monarchist state, for historical, cultural, and economic reasons. Both are party to the North Osawanon Trade Agreement, creating a customs union, primitive common market, and open border between the two countries, who also share a mutual defense pact.

Military

Left to right: An S98 Makteqwab artillery system and two M5 Bizheu main battle tanks at a training exercise in 2017.

The Federal People's Defense Forces (Federalewolkswyrmageg, FWWM), colloquially the Fedemageg are the armed forces of Wazheganon. It is a professional, volunteer force of approximately 200,000 active personnel and 400,000 reserve personnel. It is comprised of four branches: the Federal Army, Federal Navy (which also performs the functions of marines and coast guards of other nations), Federal Air Force, and Federal Reserves (which has three sub-organizations accommodating reserve forces for each of the other branches). The FWWM is descended from the Federated Revolutionary Defense Councils (FRWR), a provisional force of military units and civilian paramilitaries formed in response to the Emergency and the vocal support of the coup within the traditional military. After the end of the Emergency, the FRWR was adopted as the new defense apparatus of the federal government. Wazheganon's military expenditure was $49 billion in 2020, approximately 3.5% of national GDP and 7% of the federal budget. Conscription has been illegal since 1955. Commanders are elected at all levels, with semi-regular assemblies of military units and their delegates guiding internal policy and organization. The chain of command descends from the General Committee, to the Federal Public Defense Service, to the Federal Security Council, to myriad regional commanders, advised throughout by the Federal General Command (Federalesalgemenbewel, FAB), consisting of high-level elected commanders and technical specialists, trained officers, diplomatic staff, and other experts appointed by Congress. The Revolutionary Defense Councils (RWR), colloquially the Revolutionary Guard (Rewolutiewag, RW or Rewag), are also directly descended from the FRWR, being a federal program in which locally organized militias are subsidized, trained, and overseen by the Fedemageg, ultimately answering to the Federal Congress so that they may be called up for territorial defense, disaster relief, and other functions. However, the RWR are a distinct organization from the FWWM.

The FMS Wicitau Wy Syr Nämen off the coast of Ternua.

Wazhenaby equipment is typically purchased or licensed from allies, such as the PAL-WZ, a variant of the Ottonian-Ostrozavan PAL rifle, which was the standard issue rifle of the FWWM from 1961-1993, and the M5 Bizheu which is an improved variant of the Ostrozavan OPU-S65/G2 in use since 1982. However, some indigenous development has taken place, most notably the AG-93, which became the standard service rifle in 1993, and the Verron B10 Cojgé, a multirole fighter-bomber that entered service in 1997. Wazheganon is party to several international arms development and sharing treaties, most notably the Northern Common Development Agreement and Antipodal Military Design Bureau. While it is not considered a major arms exporter, Wazheganon has contributed several designs for missiles, aircraft, and precision rifles to its military allies. In 2003, Icniuhyotl Expeditionary Base was established in southern Oscandowa, establishing a permanent Zacapine military presence in Wazheganon and the northern Salacian Ocean.

The Wazhenaby intelligence community is generally recognized to play a major role in strategic military and foreign policy decisions, historically being decisive tools for political agitation, proxy warfare, and military and economic intelligence. The Federal Intelligence Group (Federalesintelligensegroup; FIG, stylized as INTEGR) is the primary intelligence gathering apparatus, encompassing numerous disciplines such as signals intelligence, measurement and signature intelligence, and geospatial intellignece. The Center for Permanent Revolution (Sentrum jou Perminentrewoluty; SjPR, stylized as ZEPHYR) is the primary espionage and human intelligence organization. The Institute for Counter-Hegemony (Institut jou Contrahegemony; ICH, stylized as CONTRA) is a sister agency to ZEPHYR which specializes in distributing economic aid and propaganda, as well as, allegedly, the arming and training of insurgents and destabilization of governments in other countries. The main counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism body is the Center for Internal Review (Sentrum jou Interneresensy; SjIR, stylized as SEER), and the Security Intelligence Office (Sekuritytintelligensekantor, SIK, stylized as PSYK) is the primary military intelligence agency.

Constituencies

The most fundamental political subdivision in Wazheganon is the ward, a conglomeration of households, apartment complexes, workplaces, dormitories, and in some cases even military barracks, typically numbering around 100 people, or covering 1-4 city blocks. These wards handle the most basic responsibilities of governance, such as ensuring individuals' needs are being met. As the foundation of a council republic, wards then form neighborhoods, typically containing 200-2000 people, which then confederate into quarters (or parishes, in rural communities), which then form boroughs, a catch-all term referring to various rural and urban population centers which consider themselves one corporate unit; depending on the population density of the region, these might encompass cities or entire rural regions. Neighborhood councils elect delegates to serve on a borough council, which in turn facilitates the confederation of buroughs into communes. Communes, of which there are 1,732, are widely considered the most ubiquitous and relevant level of government, far-reaching enough to allow multiple boroughs to pool significant resources and interact with higher levels, but localized enough to allow for swift communication between citizens and delegates as well as direct involvement by citizens in legislation and implementation of policy. Communes then confederate into counties, which are expected to encompass a population of roughly 100,000 people (and thus tend to shift borders after the census every decade), with some special exceptions made for extremely rural regions, and are the only level whose councils elect delegates to two other levels: both the Federal Congress and the commonwealth level. Commonwealths, of which there are 15, represent the highest level subdivisions, which interface with the federal government and each other on behalf of their constituencies. The term "commonwealth", as well as all other titles used in this section, is a legal and constitutional term; while some constituencies choose to use these "default" titles, many others also choose to self-style with unique titles.

Commonwealth	Capital	Population	Area (km2)	Density (per km2)	GDP
File:Flag of Walzenia modern.png Wazheganon - Free Federated Nations of Wazheganon	Moynrout	47,703,216	1,854,816	25.72	$1,327,580,501,280
Hyċeqoy - Hyċeqoy Republic	Zorai	6,201,418	163,488	37.93	$172,585,465,166
Jenasha - United Communes of Jenasha	Aubishon	3,816,257	43,168	88.40	$106,206,440,102
Mägdeland - Federated Commonwealth of Mägdeland	Victorya	6,678,450	21,344	312.90	$185,861,270,179
Matagamon - Union of Matagamon	Katemieu	2,098,942	92,736	22.63	$58,413,542,056
Meshgoseq - Union of Meshgoseq	Menawa	7,012,373	58,336	120.21	$195,154,333,688
Misiqwan - Associated Councils in Misiqwan	Kijicamy	2,480,567	750,400	3.31	$69,034,186,067
Mousinë - Autonomous Councils of Mousinë	Endäjon	2,146,645	123,360	17.40	$59,741,122,558
Moynrout - Moynrout, Federal District	Moynrout	1,669,613	64	26087.70	$46,465,317,545
Nyonerya - Commonwealth of Nyonerya	Nykambryqsted	2,432,864	19,488	124.84	$67,706,605,565
Oscandowa - Republic of Oscandowa	Antonya	7,632,515	51,552	148.05	$212,412,880,205
Sangweny - Sangweny Council Republic	Hawen	715,548	41,408	17.28	$19,913,707,519
Santa Elixabete - Commune of Santa Elixabete	Granbaya	95,406	16,256	5.87	$2,655,161,003
Taigon - Taigon Confederacy	Kanouwäly	1,287,987	67,648	19.04	$35,844,673,535
Ternua - Ternua Republic	Balkamurra	333,923	21,024	15.88	$9,293,063,509
Waushyra - Union of Waushyra	Göscugara	1,335,690	108,288	12.33	$37,172,254,036
Zagäqwä - Autonomous Nations in Zagäqwä	Nontonugon	1,765,019	276,256	6.39	$49,120,478,547

Economy

A paper mill in eastern Meshgoseq.

Wazheganon is an industrialized country with a high standard of living, a low GINI coefficient, and a GDP per capita of $27,830. The service sector contributes approximately 60% of the total GDP, manufacturing 35%, and agriculture 5%. The unemployment rate was 4.8% as of January 2020. Major Wazhenaby exports include capital goods, commercial/utility vehicles, wood and paper products, industrial machinery and components, and processed foodstuffs (especially dairy and corn products). Aeronautic, civic, and architectural engineering are some niche fields Wazhenaby firms are internationally known for. Wazheganon possesses a wide range of natural resources, including lumber, iron, copper, nickel, palladium, iridium, and gold. It is also a minor exporter of hydrocarbons and uranium in the western hemisphere. Wazheganon is party to the North Osawanon Trade Agreement with Awasin, which facilitates a customs union, basic common market, and open border between the two countries.

The Wazhenaby economy is a socialist system consisting of a series of interdependent economic models and all land is held in usufruct. While most jurisdictions function under a socialist mode of production in which all firms are democratically owned and controlled through workers' councils, socialism is technically not enforced by the constitution; this has allowed some locales to drift into unorthodox systems, most prominently the geolibertarian and market anarchist communes of southeastern Wazheganon. Due to this structure, the Wazhenaby economy largely lacks stock exchanges or real estate markets, and its financial industry is oriented almost entirely around cooperative banks.

Main building (center) of the Federal Commonwealth Bank of Wazheganon in Moynrout.

At the local level, most citizens' basic needs are addressed by an informal gift economy drawn from local farms and businesses, with many specialized services also provided in a system of mutual aid. Basic needs such as food and housing have been thoroughly decommodified and are provided for by various entities. Municipalities and communes frequently collaborate together in the spirit of mutual aid, sharing resources and expertise to accomplish both shared and individual goals. Communes, counties, and commonwealths also participate in a decentralized planned economy in which organizations at various levels negotiate and arrange for the sharing of resources, manpower, and expertise in pursuit of meeting needs and planning goals. If the local economy is unable to provide an important good, for example, food in an urban area, economic-political entities are tasked with setting up supply lines for it. The federal government helps facilitate this planning through the Federal Economic Coordination Council (Federaleseconomysecördinatyräd, ECORAD), which aggregates and analyzes economic data and stimulates communication between smaller economic entities. ECORAD is under the purview of the Federal Public Economics Service (FED-Economy), which directly participates in dirigisme to direct and foster economic activity, and uses government agencies and state-owned enterprises, known as commonwealth corporations, to manage and deliver goods and services to areas that other layers of the economy have difficulty providing for.

If all of these systems have been passed through and there has still been a failure of supply, markets typically fill in the gaps, with priority given to surplus goods sold by firms elsewhere in the country. Most conventional firms (that is, ones which aim to turn a profit and expand, or do business internationally), are typically cooperative federations (KoF) or worker-consumer hybrid cooperatives (WWK). Wazheganon's currency is the kroun, abbreviated by the symbol ᑲ, ₭, or Kr, which is issued by the Federal Commonwealth Bank of Wazheganon; 1 kroun is divided into 100 zil, or z. Given the country's economic structure, currency is less preferable in most transactions than institutional planned bartering or reciprocity; as such, currency is typically only used for the purchase of certain luxury or artisanal goods for personal use, such as alcohol, electronics, or artwork, or else to make up for supply chain disruptions or systemic inefficiencies by buying goods usually acquired in other ways from businesses and commonwealth corporations. There are 18 other local/complementary currencies, issued regionally by commonwealths and major cities, collectively called mizinaug ("credits"; sg: mizinau), abbreviated by the symbol ₥. These currencies are only valid within their issuing jurisdictions and usually expire after a set amount of time, typically a year. Mizinaug can generally be exchanged for krouns discounted rate which varies from region to region, often 90-95z for 1 mizinaug. Mizinaug emerged in the 1960s as a means of boosting local businesses and encouraging regional economic integration, and were codified and sponsored by the federal government beginning in 1965.

Wazheganon is notorious for its strict international trade regulations, which mandate that, typically, foreign firms must meet stringent guidelines for ethical trade and sustainable economics in their supply chains, as well as meeting a certain standard of unionization or employee-ownership. As a result, most foreign firms operating in Wazheganon tend to be cooperatives or state-owned enterprises, especially those originating from other socialist countries. However, this does not usually prevent most Wazhenaby firms from operating in foreign countries, where they are generally well-regarded for high-quality products and treatment of workers. A few internationally well-known Wazhenaby businesses include the fast food chain Janner's, construction-equipment manufacturer Onwala, and furniture retailer Kezöngy. Some countries refuse to allow Wazhenaby firms to do business in their territory on the grounds of preventing a trade deficit, or avoiding Leftist subversion from active examples of economic democracy in action. The vast majority of Wazhenaby businesses have fewer than 250 employees.

Agriculture

Harvesting of a manoomin paddy in Mousinë.

Agriculture and animal husbandry make up as much as 5-12% of the Wazhenaby economy, unusually high for an economy otherwise firmly based in the manufacturing and service sectors. This is because Wazhenaby attitudes towards environmental stewardship and decentralized economics cause broad, labor-intensive, and sustainable agricultural projects to be nearly omnipresent around most populated areas, sometimes seasonally or situationally involving large swaths of the community which would not usually be employed in the agricultural sector. Agriculture is treated as a complex process requiring extensive, specialized expertise in science, economics, and indigenous knowledge. Agroforestry, silvopasture, polyculture, permaculture, aquaculture, and mixed farming are all employed in ways that are often idiosyncratic to a specific region, continuously tweaked according to changing conditions, with operations typically remaining relatively small and only rare resembling the immense monocrop farms of some countries. Approximately 12% of land is used for agricultural or livestock purposes.

Madimos cow and calf resting in a forest.

Wazheganon is the world's largest producer of manoomin, which is grown in paddies and lakes throughout the country, often as part of a polyculture incorporating bluegills, muskellunges, and even ducks. Fluvial and oceanic fisheries are common, with lobsters, carp, and cod being the principle catches; fishing is quite regulated, in order to maintain stable, healthy populations. Wazheganon is also one of the world's largest producer's of maple syrup and derived confections. Maize is the most cultivated crop in the country, with green beans, potatoes, squash, and cabbage also being prominent. Corn whiskey, such as Matagamon razmus, is the most popular and famous Wazhenaby alcohol. The moderating effects and good soils along the Kaċecameg allow fruits such as apples, cherries, plumbs, pears, peaches, and even grapes to be readily grown along the lakeshore. Orchards are often augmented with strip cropping and silvopasture to manage pests and shelter livestock. Blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, and walnuts are also common.

Dairy and beef are by far the most important livestock products, and the country is one of the largest dairy exporters in the world. Milk, cheese, butter, and derived products, are all major components of national cuisine and some of the most internationally recognized foods from Wazheganon. Cattle ranching and dairy farming are found throughout the country, but are particularly common in the west. Factory farming is generally illegal. There were approximately 11,000,000 cattle in Wazheganon in 2017.

Madimoseg (sg: madimos; from Nawymawin, mathi-moscosis, "ugly calf") are a cattle-muskox hybrid first produced in the 1860s, which today are the ubiquitous Wazhenaby livestock. Their hardy build, long coats, and foraging skills make them well-suited for silvopasture in the cold, snowy, windy winters of Wazheganon. Their beef is considered unusually tender and low in cholesterol, while their milk has a high butterfat content. Their downy undercoat provides wool, called wepïwy, which is praised for its softness and insulation and used for textiles. Conventional cattle are more common in the river valleys of Meshgoseq, Jenasha, and Oscandowa, while madimoseg are more frequently found in the rocky, hemiboreal west and north.

Energy

Taċypesta Dam is Wazheganon's largest power plant, producing 27TWh per year.

Nearly all electricity in Wazheganon is provided by nationally-owned Federal Electric (which is publicly branded as Wäsigan). Other minor energy providers exist in some commonwealths, such as Boures Energy Cooperative with provides 20% of Nyonerya's energy, but Federal Electric maintains a monopoly on the Wazhenaby energy sector. In 2018, the entire country consumed approximately 468,064 GWh, or 9,812 KWh per person. Roughly 60% of energy is generated by hydroelectric power, 20% by wind power, and 10% by nuclear power, with the remaining 10% coming from assorted sources, including natural gas, solar power, marine power, and biomass. This is supplied by 4 nuclear plants, 63 hydroelectric plants, over 10,000 wind turbines, and numerous other stations. The majority of energy produced by fossil fuels comes from generators powered by liquefied petroleum gas and diesel, used in extremely rural areas. Following the narrowly avoided meltdown of Kumazawa Nuclear Power Plant in 2020 as a result of damage caused by the Enyaman Civil War, Federal Electric began considering phasing out its nuclear plants in favor of wind and marine energy.

Wazheganon possesses relatively sizable reserves of natural gas, particularly in the northwest and offshore on the northeast coast. Awasi, Zacapine, and Ghantish firms have variously been contracted to augment domestic drilling infrastructure. However, domestic drilling is heavily regulated due to environmental concerns, meaning that the vast majority of hydrocarbons are imported, with Awasin and Elatia being major suppliers. Uranium is also mined in western Zagäqwä and Misiqwan; this uranium has become more commercially viable since the beginning of the Enyaman Civil War, which has disrupted one of the largest uranium industries in the world. Federal Electric has been involved in various foreign projects to develop energy infrastructure and extraction industries in other countries.

Tourism

Tourism is a major pillar of the Wazhenaby economy, with the country welcoming approximately 11 million international tourists annually and an estimated 1.6 million Wazhenabyg being employed in the industry. The Federal Public Tourism Service helps to advertise and develop the industry under the commercial name "Haho, Wazheganon!".

Wiglatemaq National Park is the most popular park in Wazheganon.

Nature recreation is one of the most prominent tourist activities, which Wazheganon's many forests, rivers, lakes, and mountains providing ample space to hike, boat, fish, hunt, ski, and camp. Wiglatemaq National Park, on the Oscandowa-Matagamon border, is the most popular national park by number of visitors, with 8.7 million in 2020, and Dolidaq National Park and Preserve in Misiqwan is the largest, at 36,128 km². Mistasin International Park and Preserve in southern Hyċeqoy is unique in that it spans the borders of Wazheganon, Awasin, and Moxaney, measuring a total 60,992 km², 21,248 km² of which are in Wazheganon.

Oscandowa and Meshgoseq are roughly tied as the most popular commonwealths for international travelers. Both represent distinct ecological and cultural regions. There are many well-preserved, historic Old Towns, even in relatively small cities, cataloging the diverse history and development of various regions. Indigenous handicrafts such as beadwork, wood carvings, and pottery are popular, novel souvenirs for foreigners. Some of the most famous and popular tourist attractions in Wazheganon include: the Mošógračąk archaeological site near Göscugara, featuring preserved and reconstructed earthworks, monuments, and buildings from around 1200CE; Janqarayonwau, large waterfalls where Lake Ataluca flows into the Mazhesepeu; the Jabwegan Museum of the Twenty-Three Nations, a historical and art museum celebrating the cultures of Wazheganon's many ethnic groups; and the Commonwealth Commons in Moynrout, a collection of government buildings, museums, parks, and cultural centers in the federal capital.

Hyċeqoy is the most popular commonwealth for domestic tourism, particularly its southerly coastline. Its subpolar oceanic climate, although cooler than other such climates around the world and prone to overcast weather, is relatively mild year-round compared to the temperature extremes and snowy winters of the rest of the country. This area also has a unique regional culture distinct from other parts of Wazheganon, being a fusion of Wasöq, Tsurushimese, Anágan, and other cultures from throughout Winivere Bay, creating a mosaic of cuisine, art, and history that is novel to many Wazhenabyg from outside the commonwealth.

Transporation

Wazheganon has over a million kilometers of paved roads, 16,384 kilometers of expressways, and 24,867 kilometers of railway, all of which is nationalized. Transportation infrastructure is overseen by the Federal Public Transportation Service. Affordable and convenient public transportation has been regarded a cornerstone of public policy since the early 1900s, with the federal and commonwealth governments investing in extensive transit and rail networks. Most Wazhenaby cities are built with walkability and bike-riding in mind, but public transit is common in most larger cities, particularly in the form of light rail, although buses have also experienced a boom since the advent of electric buses in the 1990s. Public transport is usually zero-fare.

Elevated rail in West Jabwegan.

High-speed rail runs between most major cities. The Gerögera Mountains present a challenge for the national high-speed rail network. Kijicamy, one of the most remote major cities, is connected to the rest of high-speed rail network only by a line connecting south to Zorai, which then connects to east via the Sepola Valley north of Lake Masisiq. Regardless, if one were to drive through the mountains from Kijicamy to Ousamouq, roughly 600 kilometers to the northeast, it would take roughly the same amount of time as this inefficient high-speed rail route, about 8 hours total, despite the latter being over four times longer in distance. A continuous, coast-to-coast high-speed rail ride from Zorai to Victorya takes approximately 6 hours; driving roughly the same route would take about 4 days, assuming one drives for 8 hours per day, while a nonstop domestic flight from Zorai to Victorya takes 2 hours. Slower, lighter rail lines link many smaller cities into the national network.

The Owendrout Bridge spans the Mazhesepeu north of Jabwegan.

The largest, busiest airport in the country is Victorya International Airport, with 16.8 million passengers in 2014. There are 241 airports, aerodromes, and heliports throughout Wazheganon. Nordeluft is the flag carrier and largest airline, although several other airlines provide international service. Air travel is very common in the far north, where roads may be unreliable or even nonexistent. The city of Jïgewe, on the northern coast of Zagäqwä, is the largest city in Wazheganon that is inaccessible by road or rail, with 9,833 people; all travel in and out of the town is conducted via bush flying. Much of the country's north remains inaccessible by road or rail. The northernmost rail line is the Great Winivere Line going from Kijicamy to Vörhoude, accompanied by a highway, but this is an outlier. The other northernmost controlled-access highway is the S29 running from Endajon to Ousamouq.

Shipping on the Kaċecameg is extremely important to the Wazhenaby economy. Specialized seasonal freighters known as lakers carry cargo throughout the lakes, and from the western part of the country up the Mazhesepeu, where it is transferred to larger, ocean-going vessels at ports like Moynrout, Latulita, and Hannes. The port of Manidowag, which straddles the Bäwitigong River alongside the Northern Locks, connecting the lakes Ginögama and Kaċecam, is the 9th busiest port in the country by sheer tonnage, and 4th by foreign exports. The busiest port in the country is Victorya on the east coast. Travel and shipping by riverboat is also somewhat common during summer in many parts of the country, as extensive river and canal systems provide a viable alternative for passengers and cargo. The Owendrout Bridge is the largest in Wazheganon, stretching 10 kilometers (in six individual spans) across the Mazhesepeu where it flows from Kaċecam, northeast of Jabwegan; the Owendrout Bridge is one of the largest suspension bridges in the world, with its longest span being 1,989 meters.

Science and technology

Indigenous Wazhenaby societies have had a tradition of learning and innovation since the late 11th century, independently inventing the water wheel and constructing advanced urban infrastructure including sewage systems, irrigation networks, and canals, as well as developing their own writing system by the 1300s. Indigenous knowledge has long served as the basis of complex agriculture, medical advancements, and environmental engineering. The Managadwam of Menawa, founded in 1641 in Menawa, is the oldest still-functioning university in Wazheganon and is also its foremost research university. Scholars from Menawa developed the educational philosophy known as the Meshgoseq Idea in the late 1800s, which calls for public research and education to serve towards advising public policy and solving technical problems so as to provide the greatest good to the greatest amount of people. Wazhenaby inventions and innovations include typewriters, gas-powered tractors, anticoagulants, bone marrow transplants, the flying shuttle, phosphate fertilizers, and pasteurization.

In 2020, research and development spending made up approximately 3% of the Wazhenaby economy, or $37 billion. The Federal Public Science and Technology Commission (FED-WeT) maintains numerous research agencies, business incubators, and state-owned enterprises dedicated to scientific and technological research and development. The Wazhenaby Federal Research Center (WFNS) is the largest such organization. Chipeq, a state-owned information technology firm, is responsible for maintaining the Wazhenaby section of the fediverse and developing free and open-source software for public use. Wazheganon also has a robust aerospace industry, with state-owned enterprise Werron being the country's largest airline manufacturer and an international developer of communications systems, missiles, helicopters, and related systems. Wazheganon is widely considered to be a nuclear threshold state, although the government has officially taken a stance against nuclear proliferation since 1983. It also possesses 4 civilian nuclear power plants.

Demographics

With a population of 47,703,216, Wazheganon is the second most populous country in the Osawanon Community, behind Gristol-Serkonos.

Its population density of 25.71 per km² is deceiving, with over half of the population living in just the commonwealths Oscandowa, Meshgoseq, Mägdeland, and Hyċeqoy, just 15% of the country's total land area. Misiqwan is the least densely populated commonwealth, with just 3.31 inhabitants per km², owing to the inclusion of the virtually uninhabited Wazhenaby Boreic islands in its territory, while the federal district of Moynrout is the most densely populated, with 26087.70 inhabitants per km², as the entire district is located on an island in the River Mazhesepeu. The largest city is Jabwegan, with a metropolitan population of 2,137,310. 83% of the population lives in urban areas. Wazhenaby settlement patterns are characterized by large primate cities, which are the economic and cultural centers of a commonwealth and several times more populous than any other city in the same commonwealth. Even relatively small towns tend to be quite dense, with vast swaths of land left to managed wilderness and polyculture. The majority of Wazhenabyg, 63%, in 2020 reported living in family households, of which 77% were described as either multigenerational or extended families. A further 21% reported living with unrelated persons, and 16% reported living alone.

Wazheganon has a high immigration rate, driven mostly by economic policy and refugee resettlement. It is historically an immigrant country, with large portions of the population descended from immigrants from throughout Belisaria, Ochran, and Oxidentale. The immigrant population (defined as being born abroad or born in Wazheganon with foreign born parents) is estimated to have grown by half a million people between 2015 and 2020, a large portion of which is believed to be refugees fleeing the Enyaman Civil War.

Wazheganon's fertility rate is unusually high for developed economies, at 2.2 children per woman in 2020, but its average age is nonetheless also high at 42.5 years. The average life expectancy is 81 years.

Ethnic groups

Self-identified ethnicity in Wazheganon

  Kamryker (12.3%)

  Majin (2.6%)

  Gexabar (1.4%)

  Other Non-Indigenous (7.2%)

  Mezhte or other Mixed (49.8%)

  Onigamy (4.6%)

  Masenatau (4.3%)

  Hazira (3.4%)

  Wasöq (3.3%)

  Odoleqe (3.2%)

  Nawyma (2.7%)

  Jajigaq (1.9%)

  Other Indigenous (3.3%)

Wazheganon is a multi-ethnic country, the result of a long history of colonialism, immigration, and intermarriage. It is sometimes referred to as the "Rainbow Nation" or the "United Nations", in reference to its many ethnic groups; a common poetic name for the country is "the Twenty-Three United Nations", attributed to those tribes which were party to the 17th century Great Peace of Menawa. Although there are no official statistics on ethnicity, self-reported statistics are available from private or academic institutions.

Wazhenaby ethnic groups can be divided into four broad categories:

• Umbiers: descendants of Belisarian colonists and immigrants. This includes not only the Kamrykers (descendants of the original settlers from Onneria), but also the Gexabar (descendants of Haratago whalers who settled several northeastern islands) and several other Belisarian immigrant groups, many of which have since been largely assimilated into other groups. Kamrykers formed the second largest single ethnic group in 2020, making up 12.3% of the population.

• Majin: descendants of settlers and immigrants from Ochran, especially Tsurushima. They are found primarily on the west coast and made up just 2.6% of the population in 2020.

• Mezhteg: a creole group descending from the intermarrying of Umbiers/Majin and Nebeseuweg. Mezhteg (sg./adj.: Mezhte) is an imperfect descriptor, as individuals may identify with one portion of their heritage more than an another. As a result, Mezhteg themselves can be divided into numerous groups based on their specific ancestry and personal feelings; additionally, it is believed that as many as 60-70% of Wazhenabyg could technically qualify as Mezhteg, but do not identify as such or are simply not aware of their mixed ancestry. Before 2020, Mezhteg were formed the majority of people in Wazheganon, but have since fallen just under 50% due to a recent influx of immigration.

• Nebeseuweg, also called First Nations or Ashinatig: the indigenous inhabitants of Wazheganon, consisting of dozens of diverse individual groups. The largest individual tribe is the Onigamyg, at 4.6% of the total population. Nebeseuweg as a whole made up 23.4% of the population in 2020.

Additionally, there are countless immigrant communities which do not fit into any of these groups, totaling 7.2% of the population in 2020.

Languages

While Wazheganon has no official language at a federal level, Wazhewen is spoken by the vast majority of the population and used in most official proceedings. It is a creole language that developed alongside the Mezhteg in the 17th-19th centuries and draws influences from a variety of Belisarian and Norumbian languages, most notably Umbiaans, Nordic, Masenomaweq, and Onigamymowin. It is not mutually intelligible with any of these languages. There is no legal authority which regulates or controls the Wazhewen language.

Many Wazhenabyg are multilingual, often speaking both Wazhewen and a local or regional language, and often learning a third language in school, such as Nahuatl, Allamunic, or Tsurushimese. While are 10 official languages which are spoken at a commonwealth-level, including Wazhewen, there are hundreds of other minority languages spoken at home and in immigrant communities. The second most spoken language after Wazhewen is Umbiaans, followed by Onigamymowin.

Religion

Self-identified religion in Wazheganon

  Irreligious (29%)

  Sarpeticism (37%)

  Nebeseuwewin (23%)

  Other (11%)

Wazheganon is religiously diverse and freedom of religion is a constitutionally protected right. Although the degree to which religion is considered acceptable in public life varies from region to region, the strict separation of church and state is constitutionally mandated. However, it is generally not taboo or uncommon for religious philosophies to inform policy and worldviews in many parts of the country.

According to self-reported surveys from 2020, a plurality of Wazhenabyg, 37%, identify with a Sarpetic faith; of these, 41% were Protestant Christians, 35% were Änämeweg, 17% were Fabrian Christians, and 7% were some other denomination. 29% of respondents identified as irreligious, agnostic, or atheist. 23% followed an indigenous belief system (collectively called Nebeseuwewineg): 47% followed Pakaċekiwin, 24% Midewiwin, and 19% other indigenous religions. A further 11% responded with other faiths, such as Furozin, Tlecoyanism, or Judaism.

Historically, eastern Wazheganon was colonized by Protestant Kamrykers sponsored and ruled by Fabrian Tyrrslynders. As cultures mixed on the frontier, some Nebeseuweg syncretized Protestant and Fabrian beliefs with their own, giving rise to the decentralized and wildly diverse Änämewewin. Other indigenous faiths are similarly diverse, with the main division being between Midewiwin and Pakaċekiwin. While both are descended from animist folk religions organized into independent, localized lodges, Midewiwin lodges are relatively insular and feature stratified degrees of practitioners, while Pakaċekiwin lodges lacks any ordained clergy and may practice proselytism. Since the Valzian Civil War in the early 1900s, Anabaptists and Jews have been disproportionately visible and influential on the national stage for their contributions to religious anarchism and liberation theology.

Education

While loose curricula and policies are set at a federal level, and funding is a joint effort between municipalities, commonwealths, and the federal government, education in Wazheganon is managed at the communal or county level, depending on the jurisdiction. Private schools and homeschooling are legal, but exceedingly scarce. Schooling typically begins at 7 years of age and consists of three phases: a comprehensive education from ages 7-16 (keċitepeu, "full school"); optional gymnasium or trade school from ages 16-19 (wakstudy, "professional study"); and a potential tertiary education. Preschool programs are rare, but ubiquitous community daycare programs may sometimes be considered as such.

Individual schools may vary greatly across municipalities, but Wazhenaby schooling in general is structured around a democratic model, in which students are heavily involved in decisions about management and curriculum. Classes sometimes have mixed ages, and there are no gifted classes which segregate children based on skill. Schools attempt to address special education needs inclusively inside the classroom before moving those with special needs to an alternative setting. There is no high-risk standardized testing and homework is kept to a minimum in favor of encouraging sports and other extracurriculars. An emphasis is put on electives, especially arts and practical skills, such as music, painting, sewing, and metalworking. Additionally, students are expected to study at least one foreign language, in addition to Wazhewen and their local language. Many municipalities try to spread schools out so that as many students as possible have a school within walking distance of their home, or can take public or school transportation there easily, as well as try to integrate schools into other non-academic community functions. Public schooling is often augmented by community free schools and other local mentorship programs.

At the end of the comprehensive keċitepeu phase, students may either enter the workforce directly or continue on to the wakstudy, which can be directly compared to a combination of the second half of high school and the completion of a two-year degree. Students who go on to wakstudy generally have a specific career path in mind, and both the vocational and academic path can lead to either a university, polytechnic institute, or, in some cases, both. Tertiary education requires both certification from a wakstudy school and a separate university examination process which varies by institution and is provided for in full by the commonwealth and federal governments, including student housing in many cases. Lifelong learning is promoted through folk high schools and self-managed social centers. The percentage of Wazhenabyg that had completed tertiary education in 2020 was 40%.

Health

Healthcare in Wazheganon is mainly publicly-funded, universal for all citizens, and decentralized, although the system is overseen by numerous regional organizations answering to the Federal Public Health Service. Private health care also exists, although it is rare. The healthcare system is financed primarily by taxes gathered by communes and counties. Care for the elderly, disabled, and mentally ill is organized and funded by local authorities with the help of national agencies. There were 4.2 physicians per 1000 people in 2017. Wazhenaby doctors and scientists are historically known for numerous medical innovations, such as the bone marrow transplant and anticoagulants. Foreign doctors and other medical professionals are often trained for free in Wazheganon, or Wazhenaby doctors are sent on missions abroad, as a form of diplomacy and foreign aid.

While Wazheganon has a low infant mortality rate and high lifespan, the country has historically struggled with chronic issues arising from alcohol abuse and tobacco use. Additionally, obesity has been steadily rising the 1980s, with an estimated 23% of the population being obese or overweight in 2015.

Culture

Hummingbird by Ib Oskinygish.

Wazhenaby culture is a fusion of indigenous, immigrant, and settler-colonist influences that have developed into a unique Norumbian nation over several centuries. It is built upon the country’s relatively ascetic environmental realities, traditional livelihoods, a heritage of egalitarianism, and the traditionally widespread ideal of self-sufficiency and communalism.

The pan-indigenous Thunder Dance movement of the early 1800s unified and standardized many traditions and ideas between dozens of Nebeseuweg tribes, creating a more coherent indigenous identity. This extended to Mezhteg as well, and as the Mezhte population grew to become the majority, this Nebeseuweg meta-culture was disseminated into Umbier art and practices as well, despite the marginalization non-Umbier groups faced throughout Wazheganon's history. The Woodlands style, arising in the 1950s, encompasses several modernist Nebeseuweg styles of artwork, cinema, architecture, literature, music, and more, and remains the predominant cultural and artistic current in Wazheganon today.

The preeminence of socialist ideologies since the mid-19th century has also shaped the country's culture. Women's suffrage was formally legalized in 1895, and previously women had already wielded equal (and sometimes even superior) political power to men in many indigenous tribes. Most social groups and organizations strive for a non-hierarchical structure, and consensus decision-making and de-escalation of conflicts is considered socially paramount. At the same time, the right to protest and rebel against authority is held sacrosanct, and even enshrined in Wazhenaby political philosophy and foreign policy. Family structure centers on the extended family, or even on large groups of friends unrelated by blood, rather than the nuclear family. The local community is extremely important to an individual's everyday life, where it provides for their basic needs and serves as the basis for economic and political organization.

Many indigenous and Mezhteg groups have also long accepted and promoted the rights of gay, transgender, and other gender-and-sexuality-non-conforming individuals, although homosexuality was only formally legalized in 1921 after the Valzian Civil War, with same-sex marriage following in 1924. Gender self-identification not being legally implemented until 1967, although many indigenous groups had already utilized concepts of gender noncomformity for centuries by this point.

The madodison, a form of sweat lodge or sauna, is a prominent aspect of Wazhenaby culture. While it was originally used strictly for ceremonial and spiritual reasons by indigenous groups, in the 19th century it began to be adopted for recreational purposes as well and can now be found in most homes and public buildings. Some indigenous faiths forbid the use of such saunas outside of special ceremonies.

Architecture

Wazheganon has a rich architectural history. Traditional Nebeseuweg architecture was characterized by the wigwam, tipi, or snow house in nomadic cultures, and the longhouse or plank house in cultures with permanent settlements. Historically, major cities housed upwards of 50,0000-100,000 people with complex, specialized economies. Large earthworks and mounds were constructed by some groups, and large-scale irrigation and sanitation systems were common. Some cultures featured elaborate stone statues and fortifications. After the beginning of Ottonian colonization, some Nebeseuweg enthusiastically adopted log, timber frame, and post-and-plank construction techniques.

Belo-Valzian architecture followed similar patterns for much of the 16th-18th centuries. Stone structures did not become common in Belisarian-descended communities until the early 19th century, aside from certain fortifications found in the Oscandowa Mountains. The 19th century began with the vernacular Federal Style, which was soon overtaken by the zealous growth of the Gothic Revival and Renaissance Revival styles, which, alongside Beaux Arts influences, dominated the Valzian architectural landscape until closing decade of the century. From the 1890s on, Art Nouveau was the most prominent style until the end of the Valzian Civil War in 1921, when it was replaced by state-sponsored modernist styles, especially Art Deco, WPA Moderne, and stripped classicism. Since the second half of the 20th century, Wazhenaby architecture has been characterized primarily by the International style and Expressionism. In particular, wooden, brick, and concrete styles of expressionism led to the emergence of the Nebeseuweg-inspired Woodlands style in the 1980s, characterized by round corners, integration of greenery and public art, and high density usage.

Wazhenaby cities are unusually dense for many parts of Norumbia, somewhat comparable to that of Sante Reze or western Belisaria. Walkable neighborhoods and public transit infrastructure are considered essential to everyday life, with high density mixed zoning being the norm even in relatively small cities. Biking is widely encouraged, even in winter. Cultivation of communal life and public activity is central to modern Wazhenaby architecture and civic planning. Many cities also feature extensive underground cities, ranging from concourses connecting buildings to expansive underground complexes hosting businesses and public spaces. This allows public life to safely continue through the cold, snowy winter months, even on bitterly cold days.

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  Traditional thatched roof houses in eastern Wazheganon.

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  Timber-frame, log, and post-and-plank construction were extremely common throughout the 17th-18th centuries.

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  Gothic and Renaissance facades became extremely popular in the 19th century.

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  The distinctive roof of the Werrier Building is iconic of mid-20th century Wazhenaby Art Deco.

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  The WPA Modern style was characterized by symmetry, smoothness, and monumentality.

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  Woodlands style architecture incorporates rounded features and ecological design.

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  The Underground City in Moynrout is one of the largest underground complexes in the world.

Cinema

Wazhenaby directors are particularly well-known internationally for three genres of film. Oċikajag, or northerns, depict stylized, dramatized stories on the 18th and 19th century Valzian frontier, and often explore the conflicts and relationships of colonialism. Second are horror films, usually depicting stylized monsters from indigenous mythology, either as personally-terrifying threats to individuals or as large-scale monsters which threaten civilization itself and must be defeated or coexisted with. Third are period dramas called menamoweg, which focus on specific moments in indigenous history, with dialogue often entirely in a specific indigenous language and featuring long, complicated debates between tribal leaders or large-scale battle scenes.

Most Wazhenaby films are filmed and produced in Zorai, given the more consistent climate throughout the year, or Hannes, which provides incentives such as tax cuts or filming locations in an attempt to position itself as a cultural center. This has created a division between so-called "Zorai films" and "Hannes films", the latter of which are generally regarded as of poorer quality or less artistic value than the former.

Clothing

A woman wearing an asun, jadau, and Belisarian-style top.

Fashion and attire in Wazheganon developed from the adaptation of indigenous and colonial styles. While conventional Belisarian-style attire is common, such garments are frequently embellished with beadwork, dyeing, and embroidery evoking indigenous styles. These range from floral and geometric patterns, to colorful striping, to elaborate designs portraying figures or scenes. Wazhenaby clothing is frequently made locally or regionally, out of wool, wepïwy, and synthetic fibers, either by hand or mass produced.

The most distinctive parts of Wazhenaby fashion are the traditional wraps, shawls, ponchos, and jackets derived from historical Mezhteg and Nebeseuweg garments, such as the matchcoat. These usually take the form of large wool or wepïwy blankets which are folded, sewn, wrapped, and worn in a variety of ways. Such blankets typically have complex, colorful dyework and designs, and are worn by both all genders as shawls (asun) and skirts/dresses (jadau). They can be worn both casually and formally, with finer materials and more elaborate or symbolic designs being indicative of a formal blanket, which are also sometimes displayed as decorations in homes or businesses. It is common to wear Belisarian-style clothing underneath, especially in winter, but not strictly required. Lighter, more breathable linen or hemp blankets may be used in summer or indoors. A similar piece of clothing is the sash, which bears many similar patterns and serves similar purposes.

Cuisine

Wazhenaby cuisine is the result of centuries of cultural exchange. Food emphasizes a savory profile and is characterized by the liberal use of cornmeal, beef, and dairy, accentuated by nuts, fruits, berries, and herbs. Culinary patterns share many similarities to those of Awasin and Moxaney, leading many to refer to a unified "Osawanon cuisine", although each country's individual cuisine does exhibit unique features.

Cornbread baked with fruit.

Herbs such as fennel, yarrow, sage, and nettle are essential to Wazhenaby dishes, being smoked to flavor meats and baked goods, and incorporated into butters. Beef is the most common meat in modern times, although a history of wild game such as venison persists in many regions; beef, duck, and venison bacons are also common. Potatoes, beans, and squash are the staple vegetables, contributing to heavy, savory soups and stews. Grains such as corn and manoomin are also ubiquitous and versatile, used in everything from stews, to desserts, to stuffing. ‘’Agunömin’’, a fried rice served with squash and nettle butter, is a common celebration dish.

There is a strong tradition of baked goods and desserts, in which cheeses, herbs, fruits, and maple syrup are combined into pastries and confections. Examples include natalanuq, a cheese and onion bread stuffed with sage butter, and mesemepwan, a cornbread with dried apple and cherry baked in. Berries and winter fruits such as apples, cranberries, and cherries are pervasive, as is maple syrup, creating a diverse mix of jams, preserves, and syrups to be served with cornbread and other simple dishes. The niniwa, a sandwich featuring maple-infused bacon, butterhead lettuce, and tomato on cornbread slices, is an iconic staple from urban areas. Wazhenaby cheese is renowned for its diversity of flavors and types, and cheese platters often accompany sturgeon caviar and wild mushroom tarts at particularly formal or important meals. Seafood is also important in certain regions. ‘’Owomewo’’, a fish dish baked in maple syrup and served with jam, is a popular fine dining option. Lobster and clam are common options on the northeastern coast, particularly in Gexaba where seafood is the principle meal. This contrasts with the interior Oswananon Mountains, where maize and beef are the dominant ingredients and seafood is rare.

Holidays

In addition to traditional Fabrian and Protestant holidays, Wazheganon observes numerous holidays with roots in Ottonian paganism, as well as many indigenous holidays that are not observed outside of northeastern Norumbia. Among the most important of these are the seizonaneg ("season feasts"), four celebrations which were historically linked to seasonal harvests of maple syrup, blueberries, manoomin, and wild game, but have since been set to specific days: the second Fridays of March, July, September, and November, respectively. The July festival, Menkon, is treated as a summer break in which many of the country's schools and workplaces break for vacation for 2-4 weeks. Zamän, on the last day of October is a syncretic analogue to Ottonian Samhain on October 31st, in which bad spirits are scared away with fires and frightening costumes or decorations. While the conventional Gregorian New Year is celebrated on January 1st, an indigenous Lunar New Year is celebrated as well in most places, beginning with the first waxing crescent occurring in February and lasting for an entire week.

Wazheganon Day, celebrating the First and Second Valzian Revolutions, occurs on July 8th. The first week of May is Solidarity Week, beginning with International Workers' Day on May 1st and ending with Federation Day, the commemoration of the end of the 1976 Emergency, on May 8th.

Literature

Early pictographs written on birch bark.

For much of Wazhenaby history, the Nebeseuweg lacked writing and passed down their stories orally. Early pictographs, recorded on birch bark scrolls, copper plates, and stone slabs, represented an early form of quasi-writing. However, it was only in the High Middle Ages that Onigamy mideweg standardized what would become Nebeseuwe Syllabics, which spread with the Mošógran trade network and allowed tribes to record their cultural stories. The oldest known document written in Wazheganon is the Manidowag Scroll, which details the creation story of the Onigamyg in Old Western Onigamymowin.

Education and literacy began widely improving starting in the 16th and 17th centuries, which also saw the introduction of Belisarian settlers who brought with them their own literary traditions. Laláhsos's Northern Reader, first published in 1684, was the first known indigenous document to be widely disseminated in colonial circles, containing original poetry alongside traditional stories from the Odoleqega. In the Pines by Umbier author Abbo Fastisen in 1709, critiques Tyrrslyndic colonial society and Belisarian religious conflicts through the narrative of a fictional "western prince" intended to be a Masenatau chief. The 19th century saw the rise of frontier memoirs and fiction depicting both sides of Wazheganon's colonial experience.

In recent decades, a number of Wazhenaby authors have gained international recognition. Lady of the Isle by Mänshïnsikwy Wäwäkesh depicts a dystopian alternate history, in which the 1976 coup staged by Octavya Laberenz (the eponymous "lady") succeeds, turning Wazheganon into an authoritarian ordosocialist regime based on racial segregation and ultranationalism, and is considered the seminal Wazhenaby novel of late 20th century. Science fiction authors such as Sajory Araċkwįga and Julien Faber have found large foreign audiences. The rise of weird fiction has thus far defined the 21st century.

Sports

Organized sporting activities are ubiquitous in Wazheganon and considered central to fostering a sense of community. Mitigö, the local Wazhenaby variant of stickball, is by far the most popular sport, followed by hockey and football. Other prominent activities include foot orienteering and canoeing. Winter sports such as cross-country skiing, snowboarding, and bobsledding are common throughout the country's snowy winters. Racing. especially rally and off-road racing, have experienced a surge in popularity since the 1980s.