Belka
The Federation of Belka | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
Motto: "Für immer loyal gegenüber dem Marktführer , steigt Sieg an die Küst" | |
 | |
| Capital | Dinsmark |
| Largest city | Sudentor, South Belka |
| Official languages | English Belkan |
| Recognised national languages | None enforced at federal level |
| Recognised regional languages | None |
| Ethnic groups | Belkan Osean Germannian |
| Demonym(s) | Belkan |
| Government | Federative Sovereign State |
• President | Waldermarr Rald |
• Vice president | Harold Falken |
| House of the Nobles | |
| House of the Representatives | |
| Independent | |
| Population | |
• Estimate | 263,487,193 |
| GDP (nominal) | estimate |
• Total | $28.79 Trillion BR |
• Per capita | $32,593.11 BR |
| HDI | 0.833 very high |
| Currency | Belkan Ribriches (SD$) |
| Date format | dd-mm-yyyy |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +49 |
| Internet TLD | .blk |
Belka, officially called the Federation of Belka, is a country from central Osea. It is one of the centerpiece nations in Gemini-Terrarium. Bordered by several nations including Osea. Belka has a long history of development, especially in aircraft and industrial technology.
History
Medival Era
The modern Belkan state was preceded by feudal governments ruled by knights and aristocratic families. Some examples include the House of Ludwig and the Albrecht Imperial Knights. Other notable descendants of these "Belkan knights" are Dimitri Heinreich and Wolfgang Buchner.
These groups laid the foundation for the patriotic attitude of future generations, along with the political structure of the country. Some modern Belkans continue to hold their bloodlines as status symbols.
Modern Era
After the end of the medieval ages, Belka continued to exist as a nation, eventually becoming a major industrialized nation by the start of the 20th century. Their nationalism led to a number of wars with neighboring Osea; the Osean War from 1905 to 1910, and a border war in the 1940s. The former conflict was marked by Belka's achivement of becoming the first country to use aircraft in military operations outside reconnaissance roles, leading to the formation of the Belkan Air Force.
The seventies saw a reorganization of the country's armed forces, along with the rise of an internal campaign of self-determination that led to a series of territorial conflicts with countries from eastern Osea. One such state, Recta, was eventually invaded and forcibly assimilated into Belka. The country held amiable relations with Estovakia, and became their main supplier of weapons in 1970, after the Union of Yuktobanian Republics.
Cold War
After the invasion of Recta, an emboldened Belka transformed into a federation, and its military underwent similar changes. In the onset of the eighties, the leaders of the Belkan Army, motivated by their country's progress, began the development of a series of weapons of mass destruction and experimental systems for the purposes of defending Belka from foreign invasions, projects that coincided with the ongoing Cold War between Yuktobania and Osea. The first of such weapons was the Excalibur anti-missile laser, followed by the Morgan experimental aircraft in 1984, Project Pendragon in 1985 and the XB-0 Hresvelgr giant aircraft.
In 1987, the increased military spending led to the transfer of political power to eastern Belka. However, such projects eventually caused the national economy to fall into a deep recession the following year. The situation became so dire that the government was forced to review the country's federal law in December 12, allowing certain portions of east Belka to break off as independent nations, birthing the states of Ustio, Gebet, Ratio and a reborn Recta.
The economical crisis persisted into the 1990s, leading a desperate Belka to a portion of land in Nord Belka to Fato and the Five Great Lakes region to Osea in 1991. Osea, believing in the existence of natural resources in the area of the newborn countries, secretly backed the Ustio separatist movement and intentionally mismanaged a joint business group with Belka, the ill-fated Five Great Lakes Development Corporation, leading to its eventual dissolution.
Amdist an increased anti-Osean sentiments and riots against the ruling National Assembly, the government announced an extraordinary referendum scheduled for December 12. In 1992, the elections declared the winner to be the Democratic Liberal Party, a progressive far-right party led by Waldemarr Rald. The newly elected party began internal reforms of the military and economic, launching a series of measures intended to bolster nationalist sentiments among the common population.
The Belkan War
In March of 1995, the Liberal Party discovered a source of underground resources in a mountainous region in the Belka-Ustio border, a sector called "Area B7R", leading them to declare war on the Osean Federation and their former territories in an attempt to reclaim their lost lands and rescue their economy. The Belkan siege, beginning with an aerial skirmish near the border with Fato, saw the conquest of most of Ustio, northern Sapin and cities of east Osea, but their initial advantage fell to a rapid counterattack by Osea and Ustio, the Allied Forces, with Ustio being liberated on May 13 of that year.
Both countries launched an invasion campaign shortly thereafter, besieging the "Hydrian Line" and the region of Glatisant after the discovery of the V2 project. The lines of defense of south Belka rapidly fell to the Allied advance; the southern cities, disillusioned by the Belkan Army's use of them as defense lines for the "Fatherland", surrendered peacefully and declared themselves demilitarized zones. After Osea's abrogation of a non-aggression treaty against Belka and a massive aerial attack on B7R, the fall of the region was followed by intense attacks on its industry, including the saturation bombing of Hoffnung.
The army's leaders, believing in the might of Belka, ordered the nuclear bombing of their own country after the fall of Excalibur in May 23. The first such order was issued to Wolfgang "The Raven" Buchner, who decided to escape Belka and defect to the Allies, being shot down during the battle of B7R. On June 6, seven V1 nuclear weapons were detonated in towns across the Waldreich Mountains, leading to a cessation of hostilities and the start of peace talks between Waldemarr Rald's government and the Allies.
The formal surrender of Belka took place in June 19, 1995 in the border city of Lumen. Despite an ongoing movement by Belkan Army holdouts, the signing of the Treaty of Lumen was carried out without problems.
Postwar period
The Treaty of Lumen caused Belka to lose the entirety of South Belka to Osea, causing Nord Belka to become the "Principality of Belka", retaining all lands north of the Waldreich Mountains. A reformation process began shortly after the war, which involved the dissolution of the Belkan Army and a transformation of its government. The South Belka Munitions Factory, the former federation's main weapons manufacturer, became Osean property as Gründer Industries.
In December 1995, the postwar government was overthrown in a coup d'état by the A World With No Boundaries rebel army led by Anton Kupchenko, the former director of Project Pendragon. The organization was defeated by the Allies on New Year's Eve during the siege of Avalon Dam, from which they intended to launch a V2 missile. Former mercenary Larry Foulke, a member of the uprising, was shot down in the ADFX-02 Morgan prototype by the hired pilot Cipher while trying to launch the weapon, putting an end to the insurgency.
An Osean investigation of the uprising uncovered a connection between Waldemarr Rald and Kupchenko's movement, leading to his ousting from power in 1996.
Modern times
Belka recovered from the two wars on its soil, and began a long path to reconstruction. Lingering pro-Belkan sentiments remained in the population, including the mysterious Grey Men of the former Belkan army, who formed a private army from ultranationalists and sympathizers and used their power to pit Osea and Yuktobania into a second Cold War in the 21st century, efforts that eventually led to a intercontinental war in 2010.
Following the Belkan War, a number of Belkans were exiled from the nation and emigrated to Estovakia around the time of the Estovakian Civil War in the late 2000s. During the civil war, they aided the Eastern Faction construct the P-1112 Aigaion, by providing them data regarding the XB-0 Hresvelgr. The Aigaion ultimately helped the Eastern Faction secure victory in the civil war and later assisted them greatly against Emmeria in the initial stages of the Emmeria-Estovakia War.
Following the revelation of the Grey Men conspiracy in 2010, a stereotype of Belkans as devious schemers was developed. During the Erusean civil war in the middle of the Lighthouse War, the conservative faction indiscriminately killed Belkan nationals involved with the Tyler Island Mass Driver, as they believed the Belkans had brought ruin to their country.
Geography and culture
Once one of the largest countries in the Osean continent, Belka was famous for its nationalism and knightly traditions dating back to the medieval area, which became the basis for the modern culture of the state. In the 20th century, military parades and public speeches were a common occurrence. A national flower was also known to have existed, although the exact type is uncertain. As with other nations, English was the main spoken language of Belka, yet the existence of an indigenous Belkan language is also known.
Following the events of the Osean War, Belka became an industrial power, relying on its factories and products to achieve power. It also had an indigenous aviation industry, reputed for producing aircraft with excellent acceleration and speed, whose rise was closely linked to the birth of modern aerial warfare in said war. Various types of planes were produced through history, including the Bm-335 Lindwurm bomber.
As a federation, the Belkan territory was divided into two core regions: Nord Belka, the "Fatherland" and home to the capital city of Dinsmark, and South Belka, which housed the country's weapons industry, both of which were separated by the Waldreich Mountains as a natural border. Its territory included a variety of independent nations, including the subjugated Recta, which had their own armed forces stationed in Belka proper