Drevstran
Second Republic of Drevstran (Lsh) Mazodik Drevstran Mervoshia (Ldz) Druha Drevska Starostovanie | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
Motto: All for the peoples | |
 | |
| Capital and | Angrast |
| Official language | Losh Ostro-Ludzic |
| Ethnic groups (2014) |
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| Religion | Aletheic Nazarism Docetic Nazarism Emendatic Nazarism Protestantism Fabrian Christianism |
| Demonym(s) | Drevstranese |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary republic |
| Mïgrai Bharamut | |
• President of the Parliament | Fatal Lutya |
| Formation | |
| Area | |
• | 301,839.099 km2 (116,540.728 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2018 estimate | 45,000,000 |
• 2016 census | 44,132,445 |
• Density | 150/km2 (388.5/sq mi) |
| GDP (nominal) | estimate |
• Total | 810 billion $ |
• Per capita | 18,000 $ |
| Date format | dd/mm/yyyy (AD) |
| Driving side | left |
| Calling code | +49 |
Drevstran, officialy the Republic of Drevstran, is a unitary republic in Eastern Belisaria. It shares land-borders with Ludvosiya to the north, Gresnaya to the east, Brumen to the south-east, Garima to the south-west, and with Ostrozava to the west through the island of Deryzlde.
Crossroad between the West and the East, Drevstran evolved under the influence and pressure of many flux of populations, ideas, and neighboring empires. The territory of modern Drevstran was for centuries inhabited by a succession of peoples, including Balts, Germanic tribes, West Slavs, and Nogaric People. For most of its history, what will become the modern Drevstran state was divided into three or more polities, which were only united in 1696 with the creation of the Triple-Crown. Even then, about two thirds of Drevstran was part of the Velikoslavian Empire but the Lushyodorstag remained independent, even when it was in personal union with velikoslavian duchies.
In the 21th century, the republic of Drevstran is a Monocameral parliamentary republic that keeps up a social security and universal health care system. It has a national “Code for the Workers and their Working Conditions” and a number of state-sponsored unions. The current system is called the Second Mervoshia and emerged after the Black Street Days and the end of the de-facto one-party dictatorship that took power after the end of the Civil War. The current Mayor of the palace is Mïgrai Bharamut.
Etymology
In ancient times the river was known as Drewos in Ancient Goth, a name that was carried over to Latin and Greek under the form Drevus. By 600, the name is attested under the form of Dreva which finally changed sometime during the 9th century as Drev and carried over from the Ludz to the Lushyods.
It is generally accepted that the name is not of Gothic origin but came from the other indo-european that lived along its shores before the region was colonized by Tervingia. The original name probably came from the proto-Kardo-Belisarian root *dreu̯- 'flow'.
The suffix -stran is used in the Ludzic dialect of Osto-Ludzic in a manner analogous to -land. Once again, it is expected to come from the pre-Gothic Kardo-Belisarian who inhabited the region before Tervingia and transmitted part of their vocabulary to their Gothic and ultimately Ludic and Lushyod successors. It is identified as deriving from the proto-Kardo-Belisarian morpheme *sthāna-, meaning "place, location; abode, dwelling".
History
Pre-Tervingian Era
Latins first came in contact with Tervingia during the 4rth century BCE. The chronicler Quartus Valens was the first to produce a detailed record of the Kingdom of Saragetra and of the tribes surrounding Lake Kulpanitsa. Among these tribes, there are mentions of the "Gaeti" living on the hills of the lake's eastern shore. These Gaets were in war with the Saragetrans, stopping their south-eastern expansion and periodically raiding their lands. Despite this, they are mentioned among the participants in the first þiudaþing organized by the Saragetran queen Lorelei, in 339 BCE. However, while there is no explicit mention of any of the Thing's particiants refusing the offer of Lorelei, the fact that warfare between her kingdom and the Gaets continued long after the assembly shows that they did not agree to become tributaries of Saragetra.
While there is no mention of a "Gaet" delegation being present at the second þiudaþing of 323 BCE, there is a mention of a "Saevandi Gaeti" embassy. It is unclear what exactly did this name, generally understood to mean "Sea Wandering Gaets", alluded to but the most commonly accepted theory is that they were a Gaetic confederation that lived on the eastern shore of Lake Kulpanitsa, as opposed to their hill-dwelling cousins, and who kept more cordial relations with the Saragetrans, possibly due to trade agreements and joint anti-piracy efforts. Nevertheless, after this lone appearance, the Saevandi are never mentioned again in historical texts. At least under this name.
Gaetic wars
In 319 BC the city of Wosdef near modern Dravask called the "Tervingian Crown", as the monarchs of Saragetra were now known, to help. The Gaet King "Markos" was besieging their city after he had defeated their army in battle. It is possible that Wosdef was the most important polity among the "Saevandi Gets", but chronicles never explicitly say so or draw a link between the two. The Tervingians rushed to the help of Wosdef and pushed the Gaets back. From there, the Tervingians became the protectors of the various germanic tribes around the Mren river and could now threaten the Gaets from both the north and the south. This does not seem to have deterred Markos, who multiplied the raids and assaults against the Tervingians and their allies. Chroniclers mention a new confederation of Gaets, the "Horrgets", led by Markos' brother and who sent a large army to his help. Because of their name, potentially meaning "G(a)ets of the Plateaux", they might have come from the modern Sevromark, the hills and plateaux forming the northern border of modern Drevstran. Nonetheless, the two brothers and their troops apparently almost chased the Tervingians from the Azdrheg lowlands, before being defeated at the Battle of Tabroke. Abandoned by his brother, Markos was forced to definitively abandon his ambitions on the Azdrheg lowlands and the Mren valley.
By 309 BC it seems that Markos had died and his son took over. That year, this Markosen launched a war against his uncle after the latter refused to relinquish his control on the eastern side of the Azdren Corridor, the large valley separating the Azdrheg highlands from the Sevromark, to his nephew. The king of the Horrgets died in battle, and Markosan seized the opportunity to press his claim on the eastern confederation while the Horrgets had no yet elected a new ruler. To do this, Markosan sought the help of the Tervingians, which was granted. In 306 BC, he was recognized as the "Allegaeti reike", or "King of All the Gaets" and he officialy became a vassal of the Tervingian Crown.
Tervingian Era
Little is known of the situation to the east of Lake Kulpanitsa during the Tervingian era. Markosan personally led troops to help the crown against the Cynerethans. By the 100 BCE, Allegaeti stopped being used as a name, replaced by Gaetungi instead.
Lushyods Settlement
The Lushyods arrived in the region of the Drev during the early 9th century. After pillaging and raiding the Drev river valley, they installed themselves upstream, in the Furodomark. Their chieftain, Gerza, had two son who survived to adulthood. One inherited the Furodommark, while the other, Worsak migrated eastward with his people and conquered the banks of the Drev River, converted to Aletheic Nazarism and crowned himself King of the Drev in 816.
In the West, the Lushyod Chiefdom became the refuge of many heretic Nazarists theologians who founded many schools, sects, and other religious movements. A generation later, Garza III converted to Nazarism, without specifying to which denomination exactly, and greatly reformed the Lushyods customs, securing the Furodommark as entirely his, and core of the Lushyod Kingdom (Lushyodorstag). He also baptized and crowned posthumously his father and grand-father, as a way to further secure his holdings.
The Ikonkivoyra
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The 10th century AD saw the emergence of a new religious movement in the Kingdom of the Drev : the Iconoclasts who professed the importance of destroying icons and other images of the christ or of the saints. Their rise in power culminated with the rule of King Worsac IV, who was an Iconoclast sympathizer, removing all images of the saints in the royal chapels, nominating iconoclasts bishops and abbots, and generally favoring iconoclasts through royal decrees and decisions. In 1014, Worsac IV was murdered and his young son, Worsac V, was put under the regency of his father's cousin : Duke Havar of Vizstran, who was nominated as the new Mayor of the Royal Palace. Havar completely overturned the previous king's decisions, favoring Iconodules and violently repressing Iconoclasts riots instead. In 1020, Havar was murder too, starting a period of struggle for power inside the Iconodule faction. This allowed Karro, Margrave of Sevromark, to raise an important army and march on the capital, capturing it and the king in one campaign. Karro then forced the young monarch to nominate him as his Mayor and Regent, and recreated a Court once again friendly to Iconoclasm. In 1022, Worsac V died at the age of fifteen without an heir. Karro refused to take the mantle of King of the Drev, instead erecting his March into the Kingdom of the Sevr.
The creation of this new kingdom forced the Iconodules faction, left in shamble and forced to flee south of the Drev by Karro's military actions, to re-unite. After a few struggles and intrigues, it's the Duke of Yugstran, Yarvos, who became their new leader through the support of the Church and the prestige he acquired during his successful defense of the Drev against Karro's armies. But rather than reclaim the title of King of the Drev, Yarvos preferred to erect his holdings into the Grand Duchy of Yugstran or Grand Duchy of the Yug in 1023.
There is debate among historians about when the Ikonkivoyra ended. Currently there are two schools : the "Little Ikonkivoyra" which consider that the word is only good to cover the two decades between the start of the Iconoclasts mobs and riots and the fragmentation of the Drev Kingdom. The "Grand Ikonkivoyra" however, consider that the War on the Icons did not trully stop until 1260 and the abdication of the last King of the Sevr, thus covering a close-to 250 years long period. The Grand War on the Icons saw Sevromark becoming the main force of the region, pushing back the Lushs of the Lushyodorstag back to the Furodommark and even conquering most of Yugstran, almost re-uniting the old Kingdom of the Drev. Yugstran nonetheless managed to expand through its union with the Orthodox city-states of the Periclean Coast, first taking them as protectorates against the Iconoclast Sevromark, then integrating them fully to the Grand Duchy. But it was saved by its alliance and pact with TBD, with the Grand Duke accepting to swear an oath of allegiance in exchange for their support against the Sevromark.
After its defeat by the hand of this new alliance, the Sevromark was re-organized as the Duchy of Drevstran, a title itself given to the Grand-Duke of the Yug. A number of smaller Marches, counties, and other titles, were given to the knights who participated in the re-conquest of the Drev Valley, or to their sons, reinforcing the new orthodox aristocracy.
Rise of the Lushyodorstag
The Lushyodorstag had, during the Small Ikonkivoyra, taken control of most of the Upper Drev and of its affluent, the Mren River. But the control of the Mren and of its valley, the Mredenzag, was contested by another state that had rose in the mountaineous region of the Arädzo : the Alban and gothic kingdom of Azdraï. Azdraï took the opportunity presented by the recent defeat of the Lushyodorstag at the hands of the Sevromark Kingdom to take control over the Mren River Valley, pushing back the Lushs to their pre-Ikonkivoyra borders. By the beginning of the 12th century, the dukes of Azdraï had also successfully integrated the Alban Pentapolis to their sphere of influence. What followed was an almost two-centuries long tug-of-war between the kingdom and the duchy, with the border moving back-and-forth around the Mren River, devastating the region.
After the end of the Long Ikonkivoyra, Azdraï found itself at war with multiple Velik Knyazes. In 1293, a successful invasion by the Lushs took the entirety of the Mren Valley from them. Fearing a possible Velikian invasion, many communities and local lords betrayed the Duchy in exchange for the protection of the Lushyodorstag. A second campaign in 1294 culminated with the conquest of the Azdraïte capital, and three others between 1295 and 1298 finished all resistance in the Highlands with the death of the last Duke of Azdraï, Euric at the Battle of Kyrvorat in 1297.
The 14th century saw the re-colonization of the Mren River Valley by the Lushs after the devastations of the Losh-Azdraï wars. It allowed for the Furodommark and the traditional centers of the kingdoms to empty themselves of its population who couldn't touch inheritance or whose farms were barely large enough to support their families. This redistribution of lands around the Mren and consolidation in the Furodommark was at the heart of the economic and demographic boom the kingdom enjoyed during the same century without any technological innovation. The House of Garza owning most of the economically growing lands, the prestige of the royal family was reinforced and so was its administration, even with the lack of permanent taxation since the Garzaïds were forced to abandon it with the end of the Losh-Azdraï wars and had now to rely entirely on indirect taxes such as the duties and tolls at the border, and from the profits of their own possessions.
The 15th century however, opened with the Alban Insurrection and the Emendatic Wars against Ostrozava.
Eastern Renaissance
Following its successful conquest of Azdraï, the Lushyodorstag became known as the "Kingdom of the Heretics" or "Land of All the Heresies". The Lushs were already in their majority Docetics Nazarians, but now had large communities of Alban Nazarians under their control as well as Aletheic Iconoclasts who had fled the Sevromark after its fall. While the ruling family, the Gerzaïds, were Docetics, they pledged multiple time to protect "All Nazarians" in their realm. During this period, all that was needed to open a school was a doctorate, creating a strong, if heterodox, theologic tradition. A grand variety of bibles were written, as each school had a different set of texts it recognized as canon, to the point it became common practice among the copists to write down each book independently, so to avoid confusion. In 1405, a Council in which the Alban Pentapolis' Monasteries and the Docetic Church participated, published the first Oecumenical Treasury, gathering all the texts common to every school and religion that had participated to the Council. This council was the first of many who debated the integration or retraction of various text from this Oecumenical Bible, notably on the question of the books of the Old Testament.
The Triple Crown
In 1690, the Grand Duke of Yugstran died childless and his direct inheritor was the Loshyudostag's King, Farza IV. In opposition, his cousin Yaropolik gathered the support of the Aletheic communities and contested the ducal seat. Once again the Duchy of Drevstran was caught in the middle of the opposing parties. The war ended with the death of Yaropolik at the Battle of Angrast in 1694, and the official conversion of Farza IV to Aletheism, which allowed the Tzar to honorably concede the ownership of Yugstran and Drevstran to Farza, with all that it implies in term of duties and rights in the Grand Principality. Farza moved his capital to Angrast, which was at equal distance between the Periclean Coast and the Furodomark plateau, and took both the Docetic and Aletheic figures in his privy council. His son, Farza V, inherited all the titles of his father, but stayed Docetian.
Thirty Years War
Territorial Union
Relations between the Lushyodorstag and Velikoslavia were heavily degraded by the Thirty Years War. During the conflict, the Lushyod King had notably declared that, while taxes on Drevstran and Yugstran were to be still sent to the Tsar, contested judicial decisions were to no longer be sent to the court in Kolavik, but to the Parliament of Nyugrataj in the Lushyodorstag.
As the Free Republics began their uprising, Farza VI refused to conscript the Duchies' population to help in the repression. Instead, in 1810, Farza VI abdicated as Duke and allowed the Parliaments of Drevstran and Yugstran to proclaim the independence of their Principalities. One of their first act as independent countries, as per Farza VI' plan, was to call on the Lushyodorstag for help and protection. Lushyod soldiers replaced the Imperial troops sent the year before in counter-insurgents operations and occupied the Principalities. In 1811, the Parliaments invited Farza VI to rule once more as a Constitutional Monarch over Drevstran and Yugstran. The King accepted, and thus the Triple Crown became an independent nation.
Intervention in Ludvosiya
Adomist troubles
Tigert Adoman was a Lushyod Docetic Teacher and hermit who lived in the Furodomark in the early 1810s century. Following the Union of Drevstran and the moving of the capital away from the Lushyodorstag to Angrast he denounced the Ludzisation of the Monarchy and its now century-old move away from Docetism and patronage of the Aletheic Church which reached its apex with the Intervention in Ludvosiya. Adoman promoted a return to the purity of the proto-Sarpetic Church, to harsh and methodic Iconoclasm, and to a frugal lifestyle fantasized to have been that of the Samaritans, whom he taught were the direct ancestors of the Lushyods, the modern-days descendants of the House of Joseph. He wrote a translation of the Bible, both the Ancient and New Treasuries, in Lushyod which he claimed was the "modern language of the Samaritans" and rejected the Oecumenical Treasuries in Ostro-Ludzic promoted by the Monarchy and used by both the Docetic Academy since the Alban-Docetic Oecumenic Council of 1405. He opposed the Blind Following of teacher and called for every Nazarists to study the Treasuries themselves.
Adoman became the figurehead of a larger movement within the Furodomark of impoverished Lushyods who felt cheated by the Monarchy seemingly preferring Angrast over its birthplace of the Furodomark, leaving behind a region that had always supported to Lushyodorkorrag in their projects but were simply not seeing the rewards of this loyalty nor the benefits of a burgeoning industrialisation, which thus became suspicious. A number of local notaries, either because they shared those beliefs or in a bid to use the popularity of the movement for their own gain, became patrons and protectors of Adoman and the parallel school he was forming after his translation of the Treasuries was rejected by the University of Pyrovegy. Soon, an "Adomist clique" appeared even in the Parliament of Nyugrataj, one of the three parliament of the Triple Crown.
Through the intermediary of Lord Damian Batokert, a proeminent aristocrat of the Furodomark and part of the royal court, Tigert Adoman tried to convince the king to join his movement, abandon the Aletheic faith, and re-embrace the Lushyod origins of the Monarchy. The king refused and Damian Batokert was disgraced in the operation. He then famously wrote an open letter denouncing the "clique of Aletheists, Ludz, and Jews" who had corrupted both the Monarchy and the Faith. Even through the letter was never published, He narrowly evaded capture and returned to his holdings in the Furodomark where he was able to present to Adoman and his followers his version of the events. Shocked, the Adonists began organising a series of protests all over the Lushyodorstag. Soon, these protests turned to violence: against tax collectors, policemen, mayors, non-Adonist Docetic Teachers, and all other visible forms of "corruption". Public forced conversions were organized, turning into beating or looting in case of refusals. The Vörönyak Jews, as "Cousins and Brother-in-arms" were often demanded to recognize the proeminence of Mounts Ebal and Gerizim over Mount Siyyon. In reaction, the Vörönyaks formed their own self-defense militias and often worked as auxilliaries of the local authorities against the Adomists.
The peak of the Adomist Troubles happened when columns of armed protesters marched on Pyrovegy, the cultural capital of the Furodomark and seat of the Docetic Academy in Drevstran. Incapable of actually entering the city, Tigert Adoman organised a siege that lasted for fourty days until the city defenders were relieved by royal military units sent by Angrast, policemen from the rest of the Lushyodorstag, and Vörönyak militiamen. Afterward, the movement was harshly repressed by the authorities. Damian Batokert was captured and executed for treason, Tigert Adoman continued to live in hiding for two years before he was denounced and arrested as well. His execution was public but his tomb hidden.
20th Century
By the early 20th century, the “Triple Crown”, often referred as Drevstran because the royal capital, after a bit of back and forth, was now definitively set in Angrast, was under lot of pressures. The economy was still mostly agricultural with only the east and the Lower-Drev that had begun to industrialize. Government’s finances were bad, and religious conflicts became more and more common. The popularity of socialists ideas were on the rise and the refusal by the king and his privy council to abandon Absolutism or to make the government’s finances less opaque, made any diplomatic or non-violent options impossible. In 1913, the country exploded in a serie of protests and riots that were violently repressed. These repressions led to General Hortankh Bolsar deposing the king Ansmar II in a coup. Generals and military commanders opposed or allied to Bolsar began to fight each other, and charismatic religious leaders emerged to occupy the vaccuum left by the dislocation of the State. Hortankh was assassinated in 1914, and so was his successor Abemus Kumar in 1916. The grand victor of the Civil War was General Vilvo Orbraggar.
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Once all warlords and various factions of the civil war were defeated, Orbraggar summoned representatives from all the provinces. These representatives were, and it was a first for the country, democratically electeed even if, given the political situation, the elections were under the strict control of Orbraggar's partisans and loyalists. As such, the Assembly was made only of Orbraggar’s men and most direct allies. This Assembly then wrote a new constitution for a monocameral liberal Parliament with an all powerful Mayor of the Palace ruling in the name of the people : the Republic of Drevstran.
Orbraggist Regime
With the years, the new Mayor of the Palace slowly but surely became more and more authoritarian. While he at first allowed for multiple independent parties to exist, he ultimately had a law voted making sure all parties had to be certified by the Assembly, which was entirely under his control. Similarily, he pushed for the "Restructuration" of the Economy, slowly working toward the industrialization of the country. Under the Orbraggist Regime, Drevstran became known for its cheap workforce and consumer goods, while the quasi-junta that was Orbraggar and his partisans became very close with the defense industry, and the resulting Military-industrial complex became central in Drevstran's political spheres.
Orbraggar served three mandates of seven years as "Mervoret" as his party, Yednosc!, had completely taken over the electoral process. But in 1941, he decided against presenting himself for a new mandate and decided to retire from politics at the age of 86, to the surprise of many. He would then spend the rest of his day in his family's mansion in the Furodommark. He would die in 1943 of an aneurysm.
Orbraggar's designed successor was Vernesto Skolad, a man nicknamed "The Whip of the Mervoret" for his role in keeping the Assembly under control. He continued his predecessor's policies, and would be re-elected for a second mandate in 1948, but the pressure kept on the people to make the country "competitive", the authoritarian rule of the Yednosc! and of the army, and the lack of any political freedom beyond surface level was slowly but surely building up rescent against the government. Combined with Vernesto Skolad's lack of popularity even inside his own party, it all came to ebullition during the events known as The Black Streets Days.
The Black Streets Days
Black Streets Days is the name given to the protests and riots that led to the end of the Orbraggist Regime. While during General Orbraggar's own rule, any attempt by workers to unionize or form syndicates was met with extreme violence and harshly repressed, there was little opposition to his regime as the Mervoret enjoyed a quasi-messianic image among the population and he was, and still is, genuinely considered a national hero. His successor, the Colonel Skolad, did not enjoy such prestige. Plus, he lacked Orbraggar's finesse and humility. And so, even if he never did anything his predecessor didn't, Skolad's rule was universally hated.
In 1953, a police crackdown on an illegal gathering of workers in the slums of Pristskvel ended in a spontaneous riot that forced the police to abandon the district. The crackdown had been against an Anarchist cell, part of a larger anarchist network animated by the charismatic Obrichko Dursila. Through his relentless efforts, fiery speeches, and constant evasion of the police, Dursila had become the most important leader of the underground opposition. His partisans had established themselves in every great and minor cities of the country, creating "Free Associations", Worker Funds, and Work-Study Programs to help educate the workers. Dursila denounced the Orbraggist authoritarism. He argued that a free self-managed, self-governed society could only be established through "Vanguard Democracy", which would only be the first step on the road toward this idealized society while waiting for the education of the people had created a "civilized environment" where every man and woman was civil to each other, ready to move forward.
What's more, Skolad, in a desesperate attempt to solidify his rule, spend his entire time tracking down his opponents, only becoming more and more authoritarian with each passing month. New laws were voted, evermore restrictive, and the tension became unbrearable for many. The "Pristksvel Crackdown" failure sparkled a wave of support for the rioters, and many other underground cells and unions, alligned with Dursila or not, sent calls for strikes and protests, which were largely followed. It took only a few days for most of the country, the capital included, to be paralized by the strikers, and the black flag of Dursila's anarchists became a common sight, giving its name to the events.
While at first not willing to participate in or support the quasi-spontaneous movement, Obrachko Dursila ultimately joined in. He notably gave a famous speech in front of the Vilna textile factory, turning strike breakers into rioters before they themselves protected him against the police, allowing him to flee. The "Vilna Strike Breakers" are still remembered as heroes by most Drevstraneses for their actions.
But the turning point was when General Andervi Bogerra approached Dursila. Bogerra represented members of the public administration and of Yednosc! opposed to Skolad, and was willing to help the anarchist enter the capital and occupy the Mervoret's Palace. After a night of negociation, an agreement was found and two days after, Dursila entered the Capital in something of military triumph, escorted by both soldiers of the 8th regiment of infantry and by Anarchists rioters. Skolad fled and without supporters, was ultimately caught and judged by an "Exceptional Tribunal", alongside some of his closest allies.
After the Orbraggists
With the end of Skolad's rule, a Provisory Executive Committee is formed. Dursia and Bogerra were members of this committee, alongside representants of the socialists, communists, syndicalists, and other movements.
The Commitee's role was to prepare three new elections : one for a Mervoret, one for a new Assembly, and one for a Constituent assembly charged with updating the Constitution of the country. While Bogerra and the remnants of Yedsoc! wanted to use the electoral system as already existing to organize these elections, the Committee decided it would be preferable to create a new one.
Administrative Regions were removed. Municipalities were now grouped into Departments. The Assembly was double, with a Diet now complementing the renamed Parliament. But contrary to Yedsoc!'s wishes, this new Diet was also to be elected. The biggest influence Dursia will have on this new electoral process is the fact that every year, the Representatives will have to return to their constituencies to be judged by a Committee of a representative number of randomly selected citizens, who will decide if the Assembly member did a good job representing them. If the Committee judge that he isn't suitable for his position, they can remove him and start a new local electoral process.
The first elections, for the Constituent Assembly, took place three months after the Black Streets Days, in August 1953. It took one year for this assembly, mainly made up of anarchists and socialists, with only minor groups of royalists and republicans plus the Yedsoc! remnants, to produce a final constitution that was signed and approved by the King. During this year, the Provisory Executive Committee went away nonetheless in establishing the new administrative divisions, and organized the communal elections for the mayors and city councils. It's only in September 1954 that the Drevstraneses finaly could vote for their representatives at the Parliament, the Diet, and then for their government. Dursia became the third Mervoret of Drevstran, with a majority of Anarchists in both assemblies.
The Second Mervoshia
The Mandate of Mervoret was reduced from seven to five years following Dursia's demands. Dursia main focus during his mandate as Mervoret was to apply his ideas to the Drevstranese society. Agricultural Cooperatives emerged in the countryside, while Unions and Syndicates now could openly operate in the cities. Laws regulating working conditions were passed, establishing a first true Labour Code. Private schools were either closed or reconverted into public universities, while the budget allowed for the education minister was boosted, following Dursia's belief that the true liberation of the people could only come through proper education.
Dursila's anarchists managed to separate the churches from the state and closed many places of worship that had fell into disuse. They installed cooperatives and associations, mutual credit banks, and even started the process of collectivisation in specific regions of the countryside but couldn't get rid of private property in favour of personal property. The government's involvement in local affairs was reduced to its bare minimum and was constantly balanced by the powers of local communities but efforts to get rid of mayors ultimately ended in a failure. By the end of his mandate, Dursila had lost most of his popularity, being too mild for the radicals, and too radical for the moderates. He was not re-elected in 1959, leaving the place of Mervoret to the liberal conservator Marveil Urshlo.
Urshlo' mandate would be as influential yet mixed as the Anarchists were before him. He re-opened many places of worship, restored supports to the various recognized religions of Drevstran, reduced tariffs on imported goods, but his attempts to change the Labour Code, to privatize the public factories, reduce the power of the unions, or abolish the Agricultural Collectives were all defeated by the Parliament. All thourough his mandate, fighting between mobs of Anarchists students and Blue Guards militias led some to believe the unstable balance of the Second Mervoshia was about to be upset, but no larger movement or social upheaval ever came from these violences confined to the edges of marches and rallies.
Geography
The country can be divided into three historic and geographic regions. From East to West there’s the well developed and urbanized Solked Coastline ; the Kolybel Valley which was heavily industrialized around the river itself but agriculture become more and more prominent as the distance from the river increase. And then, to the very west, there’s the “Furodommark” plateau, a country of small hills with a culture and heritage very distinct from the rest of the country, and where the Drev take its source.
Politics
Economy
Drevstran has an open, upper middle income range market economy where the private sector accounts for more than 70% of GDP. From a largely agricultural country with a predominantly rural population in 1920, by the 1980s Drevstran had transformed into an industrial economy with scientific and technological research at the top of its budgetary expenditure priorities. Major industries include food processing, pharmaceuticals, motor vehicles, information technology, chemicals, metallurgy, machinery, electrical goods, and tourism. Well known enterprises include the chemical company Oldokem, the shipping company Charia-Thelesis Transport, the Kulpanitsan travel leisure freighter Frönenz, and the oil and gas company Ferrett Group. Besides this Drevstran has a large portion of specialised small and medium enterprise, for example a significant number of automotive suppliers and technology start ups among others.
Angrast the financial hub of the country, but economic activities are mainly maintained around three economic poles: Angrast, Pristlav, and Barbellon. Together, they form what is commonly referred to as the Drev Corridor which ties together the Periclean Sea and Lake Kulpanitsa. Of the three, Pristlav is the fastest growing and the largest business center of the country.
The tax system is two-tier. Value added tax, excise duties, corporate and personal income tax are national, whereas real estate, inheritance, and vehicle taxes are levied by local authorities. Drevstran corporate tax rate is only 10%, which is relatively low in eastern Belisaria.
The top exports of Drevstran are refined petroleum destined to the Kulpanitsan markets, packaged medicaments fabricated mostly by Rezeses-owned companies operating in the country as a door to Eastern Belisaria, chemical products, wheat, and alcoholic beverages (more specifically, its famed fruit brandy which is especially popular in certain countries like Yisrael).
The top imports of Drevstran are crude oil from Scipian producers, refined metals, and cars. Ostrozava, as a fellow member of the Angrast Accord and one of its privilegied trade partners, is the country's top supplier of heavy machineries and motor vehicles.
In 2017, Drevstran exported $23.3B solidus worth of services. The top services exported in 2017 were Transportation, travel, miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services, and Royalties and license fees. The top services imported by Drevstran in the same year were Financial services, royalties and licensing, and information services.
Demographics
Religion
Drevstran is officialy a secular country, with no state religion. The freedom of worship is a constitutional right and the Constitutional Court take great care that it's untouched by governmental policies. However, the freedom of worship was already a "Guaranteed Right" under the Triple-Crown, as the royal family couldn't demand the convertion of their subjects to their religion, or declare a state religion.
Drevstran is historically a Nazarist country, first through the spread of Alban Nazarism through the Tervingian Empire, and then with Aletheism becoming the religion of the Ludz in the 6th century AD. When the Lushyods migrated into the country, they divided themselves into two kingdoms. The Kingdom of the Drev adopted the Aletheism of its Slavic subjects, while the Lushyodorstag kept its shamanistic traditions but did not disturb the Alban monasteries in its territories, on the contrary allowing them to continue to collect donations and own lands for their survival and development. They also honored Alban hermits as living saints and many important Alban scholars found the patronage of the Lushyod court.
The 11th century was a period of religious troubles in the Drev river Valley. In the Lushyodorstag, Alban monks and Docetic preachers entered a bitter religious scholastic conflict while in the Kingdom of the Drev, the situation became critical as tensions between Iconoclasm and Iconodulists merged with the ongoing political crisis which led to the Ikonkivoyra.
During this century of turmoil, the old shamanistic beliefs of the Lushyods evolved, integrating many new ideas and aspects from Nazarism, developing the monotheistic cult of the Sky, which itself became associated with the Abrahamic God, which also led to the adoption of the Bible as a religious text. It's these shamans-turned-wandering preachers that would form the core of the Docetic Church. Docetism would slowly become the dominant religion in the Lushyodorstag and the Upper Drev during the next four centuries.
Under the Triple Crown, the Monarchy signed the Edict of Nagvarros in 1704, which granted unprecedented religious freedom by making it the duty of the King to protect all officialy recognized religions in his territories, that members of the royal family could freely change religion, that the monarch could not be required to be of a specific faith to rule, and finally that no crown institution could demand or force the convertion of any of its subjects. The Edict had many consequences, the most important of it was turning what would become Drevstran into a destination for many religious minorities fleeing persecutions.