Skarmia
Federation of Skarmia Fidiratziënet Ieskarmiket Federatsiya Skarmii | |
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 Coat of arms
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Motto: Chétlé, takoket tlimkat nadud (Skarmic) Vpered, svetloye budushcheye zhdet (Beleroskovi) "Forward, a brighter future awaits" | |
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| Capital and largest city | Zalsoker |
| Official languages | Skarmic Beleroskovi |
| Ethnic groups (2011) | 45.7% Skarmic 34.6% Beleroskovis 11.3% Zhincans 6.5% Ossotians 1.9% others |
| Demonym(s) | Skarmian |
| Government | Decentralised unitary semi-presidential republic alongside a hierarchical tribal federation |
| Borislav Voronin | |
| Lakoch Repinin | |
• Hierarch | Kenah-Nonsa Kekatlimiket |
• Speaker | Ludmilla Fedorova |
| Niis Renipacin | |
| Tilatl-Nonsa Samátlimiket | |
| Legislature | Federal Assembly |
| Establishment | |
• Formation of the Southwestern Krai | c.1500 |
| 28 May 1905 | |
• Independence from the UCSS | 17 March 1999 |
| Area | |
• Total | 52,057 km2 (20,099 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2021 estimate | 4,980,000 |
• 2011 census | 4,852,866 |
• Density | 93.22/km2 (241.4/sq mi) |
| Currency | Skarmian ruble |
| Date format | mm-dd-yyyy |
| Calling code | +802 |
| Internet TLD | .sa |
Skarmia (/ˈskɑːrˌmiə/; Skarmic: Eskarmik, IPA: [esˈkäɾˌmik]; Beleroskovi: Skarmiya, IPA: [skɐrˈmijə]), officially the Federation of Skarmia (Skarmic: Fidiratziënet Ieskarmiket, IPA: [fiθiˈɾät͡siənˌet iesˈkäɾmikˌet]; Beleroskovi: Federatsiya Skarmii, IPA: [fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə skɐrˈmiɪ]), is a country located in southwestern Ausiana on the planet Iearth, bordered to the west by Zhinca and to the east by Ossotia and an exclave of Beleroskov, as well as possessing a coastline on the Beleroskov Sea. The country has a population of roughly 5 million. Skarmia is a decentralised unitary semi-presidential republic, though a hierarchical tribal federation exists alongside the republican government in a form of limited plurinationalism, and the majority of these tribes are operated as some form of monarchy. Zalsoker is the capital and largest city of the country, with the wider city region containing roughly a quarter of the country's population.
The Skarmic people have inhabited the region since before records began, and had maintained a fairly strict tribal hierarchy for centuries, with the number and exact position of tribes changing slightly throughout their history. As the Beleroskovi Empire expanded into modern-day Skarmia, most of the Skarmic tribes swore fealty to the Empire. The territory was under the jurisdiction of the Southwestern Krai for much of its history imperial history. After revolution came to the Empire, Skarmia gained limited autonomy, before eventually having its own bloodless revolution, finally joining the United Communist and Socialist States. It existed as the Skarmian Socialist Republic until 1999, when it voted to secede from the UCSS.
Skarmia is a developing country, with most of its GDP being generated by its natural resource industries, including oil and iron ore, and an established manufacturing industry, most prominently farming tools and automobiles. Observers categorise Skarmia as a hybrid regime, with a fairly authritarian government, some political corruption and infrequent though generally fair elections. Skarmia has also been described as a dominant-party state, with the ruling Social Party of Skarmia, which emerged from the socialist movement in the Socialist Republic, having won a majority or plurality in all of Skarmia's elections since its independence.
Etymology
The name "Skarmia" is a fairly recent invention, with the first recorded usage of its predecessor term being the in the Skarmic nationalist treatise Eskar fáñe Ën, released in 1856, which described a nation for ethnic Skarmic people as Eskarmik, from the Skarmic words eskar, meaning 'nine', and mik, meaning 'nation', thus roughly translating to "nation of nine". The term was adopted into Beleroskovi as Skarmik, which has since become the term used to refer to the native Skarmic people (as opposed to all residents of the nation). With the Red March of Peace and the transition to a nominally independent Socialist Republic, the ruling party suggested that the name of the republic ought to be inclusive of all, while acknowledging geography and history. Thus, the neutral term Skarmii (often translated into English as "Skarmian") was adopted to refer to all residents of the region. Through a process of backformation, upon the end of the Socialist Republic, the short-form name of the state in Beleroskovi became Skarmiya, with Eskarmik still being the Skarmic term for the state, and with the transliteration of "Skarmia" being the predominant English term.
In Imperial Beleroskov, the Skarmic people were known as Satöjir in their own language, and sometimes as Satoii in Beleroskovi, being from the Skarmic words satöm, meaning customs of a culture, and jir, meaning 'the same', thus meaning something akin to "those of the same customs". The native term for a Skarmic homeland was Satöjirmik, though this term had an unclear definition - to some, it could mean any one of the Skarmic tribes, while to others, it meant all of them together. The term Satöjirmik still has limited contemporaneous usage by Skarmic nationalists.
For much of its history under Imperial Beleroskov, the land now comprising Skarmia was known as the Southwestern Krai, or in Beleroskovi, Yugo-Zapadnyy Kray. The Ossotians and Zhincans both also had their own names for Skarmia, both during this time and beyond.
History
Early history and first nations
Beleroskovi Skarmia
Socialist Skarmia
Following the commencement of communist revolution in Beleroskov and the redirection of imperial resources towards fighting the rebels, the Southwestern Krai experienced a brief period of autonomy known as the Zalsoker Autonomy. The local Skarmic nobility took over the reigns of power in the region. However, similarly discontented workers planned their own revolution within Skarmia. The ruling nobility was conflicted - on the one hand, adopting a socialist system was a move they did not want to take, but on the other hand, should the imperial government in Beleroskov fall, socialist policies would allow for close relations with Beleroskov yet again, and a possible retention of most of their land and wealth. However, the planning of revolution and the shrinking counterrevolution were both undercut when a peaceful movement led by the Ronekche tribal leader Renalás-Ghá, aiming to bring about socialist policies in the region by peaceful means, staged a rally in Zalsoker, attracting almost 300,000 people. This showing of public support led to a peaceful transition of power from the autonomous government to a socialist system. The so-called Red Constitution also laid the groundwork for the sharing of power between the central government and the tribal hierarchy, and while various small-scale land and property siezures occurred, for the most part tribal land was left to the old tribal nobility. Renalás-Ghá was selected as the first leader, or Kekatl, of Socialist Skarmia, and in 1909, only a few years after the foundation of the United Communist and Socialist States, Skarmia's government voted unilaterally to join with the new union.
The rule of Renalás-Ghá was seen as somewhat of a light touch by many of the tribal leaders in Skarmia. As a tribal leader himself, Renalás-Ghá did not see the dismantling of the tribal hierarchy as an important step in achieving communism, as other communist states might. A motto often employed by Skarmic communists in this era was "there is equality, and there is honour - preserve both and achieve enlightenment". Renalás-Ghá's particular strain of communism may be termed 'tribal communalism' rather than a particularly heavy-handed communism, and while some disconnect existed between the government in Koyevka and that in Zalsoker, for the most part a spirit of mutual respect was maintained. Renalás-Ghá reserved the right, according to most politicians of the Socialist Republic, to select his successor, and so he selected Qakinik-Wa, a fellow tribesman of the Ronekçemik. Renalás and Qakinik's relationship was a common motif in 1910s-era Skarmian propaganda, as Qakinik-Wa more fully embodied the ideal of the tribal labourer that Renalás-Ghá, as the third son of a Nonsa, could not. Renalás-Ghá's health began to decline, Qakinik-Wa began to take on further responsibility, to the point where, by 1921, the younger man de facto controlled the government. Renalás-Ghá was privately declared incapable in early 1923, dying on the 29th August of the same year, at which point Qakinik-Wa took over the role of Kekatl. However, the government in Koyevka resented Qakinik-Wa even more than they did Renalás-Ghá. While Renalás-Ghá's approach was to reconcile tribal leadership and socialist progress, Qakinik-Wa's policies focused a lot more on securing the power of the tribes. Over the 1920s, a concerted effort by Beleroskovi politicians, both inside and outside of Skarmia, gradually chipped away at the power of the Kekatl, until in 1929, tensions between the government and the Kekatl came to a head in a swift coup, in which Qakinik-Wa was officially deposed and placed under house arrest, before being forced into retirement in 1942.
The role of Head of State was officially placed in the hands of the Premier for a few years, until a constitutional amendment passed by the legislature allowed for a Head of State selected by the party leadership over Skarmia. In 1933, the first Chairman of the Skarmian Presidium was selected - a party functionary and former office clerk by the name of Grigori Kovalev. Skarmia began its first major industrialisation program under Kovalev's rule, seeing much of the western lowlands of the country, which had prominent oil reserves, become industrial land, and the beginning phases of a manufacturing industry were undertaken, with an automobile plant built in Zalsoker.
Skarmia, alongside other members of the UCSS, participated in the World War from 1950 to 1954 on the allied side. The atmosphere in Skarmia was very much one of deference to Beleroskov's international aims rather than forging ahead and achieving Skarmian aims. Skarmian-built land vehicles, such as the RG-15/M utility vehicle and the PT-15 tank, were used by Beleroskovi and Skarmian armed forces in the course of the war.
Throughout the rest of the socialist period up until the Ossotia war in 1982, Skarmia's economy blossomed under the UCSS, as continued investment into public works projects (such as the public transport systems still in operation in many cities around Skarmia), industrial diversification, including the formation of the state-owned RG Automotive out of the Renalás-Ghá Automobile Plant in Zalsoker, and the continued utilisation of Skarmia's natural resources meant that economic growth was high. In the 1970s, the government gradually began to push for increased political control, and a pushback against foreign (non-UCSS) cultural influences commenced.
Ossotia War and the dissolution of the UCSS
Rising tensions between Beleroskov and the UCSS general governments and Ossotia led to the declaration of independence of the latter in 1982. Beleroskov was well-placed to send troops of its own into the breakaway state, but with Skarmia occupying the opposite border and all but surrounding the country on the other side, the Skarmian government aimed to do their bit to quell the rebellious tendencies and bring Ossotia back in-line. The war, which lasted more than a year, saw heavy fighting in Ossotia itself, and a small amount of spillover into Skarmia itself, limited to Pochi Oblasc, specifically the Töertepin salient. Atrocities committed by either side remain hot points of contention in relations between Skarmia and Ossotia.
The loss of Ossotia from the UCSS was a great financial hit to Skarmia, financially, culturally and politically. On the financial side, most of Skarmia's connections to Beleroskov and the remainder of the UCSS were road and rail connections, owing to Skarmia's reliance upon her automobile industry. Other than a meagre connection to a new Beleroskovi exclave on the Skarmian border, Skarmia was now completely cut off from the UCSS by road. Early attempts at strengthening the sea connections were met with minimal success, as Skarmia's main port in Zalsoker, which was iced-over for much of the winter, did not have the infrastructure to deal with increased traffic flow. Beyond that, attempts to begin an air corridor over the Beleroskovi Sea and upgrade necessary air infrastructure, while beneficial for Skarmia's aviation industry and laying the groundwork for the friendly aircraft registration regulations that Skarmia maintains to this day, could not meet the increased demand placed upon them by the loss of Ossotia's land connections. The period from 1985 to 1993 is known as the Siege of Skarmia, and saw widespread financial hardship, a loss of investment from the central UCSS government and increased reliance upon homegrown industry and agriculture, as opposed to waiting for Beleroskovi resources and investment that simply could not meet the demand. Skarmia's membership to the UCSS became all but severed, with Skarmia remaining a member-state in name only, leading to many politicians even in Beleroskov-friendly Skarmia wondering if there was any point remaining in the union at all.
Independence
1999 saw increased calls for independence across the entire UCSS, and Skarmia was no exception to this. On 2 March, the Skarmian Socialist Assembly voted to secede from the UCSS, though the vote was by no means unanimous, with a large faction of loyalists remaining strong in the conviction that remaining, even if only in name, was the moral choice to uphold. On 17 March, Skarmia, alongside all other former member-states, seceded from the union and Skarmia became a fully independent country for the first time in its history, opting to become a federation of her four Oblasci to bring her more in-line with other nearby federal states.
After independence, much of the state apparatus was stripped away to better streamline the country. One of the popular proposed changes made after the Siege of Skarmia was an increase in private business opportunities and the establishment of social democracy. In the coming months, the former Skarmian Socialist Assembly, now reformed into the Skarmian Federal Assembly, voted on almost every fundamental government pillar, including healthcare, state owned businesses and even road networks, and deciding on whether to maintain state control or delegate to private businesses. The result was a hybridised system with a bit of state control maintained, but a system which was nevertheless friendly to new businesses.
Investment into Skarmia's economy by businesses was almost instant, with opportunities for Skarmian people increasing quickly as a result. Corporate tax rates were lowered, foreign investment into Skarmia's now far more friendly aviation industry meant an uptick in trade, industrial subsidies encouraged international conglomerates to set up offices in Skarmia and investment into science and technology education by the newly founded Skarmian Scientific Foundation meant that universities and technology schools began to produce skilled workers in tertiary industries.
Over the 2000s, the ideal of federalism began to make way for the current Skarmian system of decentralised unitarism, with Skarmia yet maintaining federalism in name only, but in practice, the constitution of the nation superseded the constitutions of the oblasci. Oblasc-level government responsibilities included collecting census data, operating elections for the Federal Assembly and upkeeping oblasc parklands. The lowering of responsibilities for the oblasci paved the way for higher municipalism and the primacy of municipal, city, town, village and selsavit (regional) councils in Skarmia, thus also allowing for certain settlements to set their own preferences for business friendliness.
In 2012, the Skarmian Tiger and its period of unrecedented growth began to slow - not a complete recession, but initiated by a loss of competitiveness in real estate and finance, the growth rate declined to a plateau. Very few new businesses are beginning in Skarmia, and while older businesses remain strong, there has been lessened interest in furthering investment over the past 10 years.
Politics and government
Skarmia is a representative democratic semi-presidential republic, with the Federal President as head of state and the Prime Minister as the head of government. The executive branch is made up of the Skarmian cabinet, comprising the ministers of various government services, headed by the Prime Minister but including the President as an observer, and appointed by the Federal Assembly. Borislav Voronin is the current President of Skarmia, having served in that capacity since winning the 2019 Skarmian presidential election. Since being sworn in on 18 November 2018, after the 2018 Skarmian federal election, the Prime Minister of Skarmia has been Lakoch Repinin.
Legislative authority is vested in the Federal Assembly. It is unicameral, and has 300 members, with 75 members representing each of the Oblasci of Skarmia, elected proportionally from tabulated votes among the populace. While members of the Federal Assembly can vote to change the members of the cabinet, the members of the Federal Assembly have undefined term limits between two and five years in length, with the Prime Minister being able to order a federal election at any time between them with two months' notice, able to be vetoed by the assembly itself. The Assembly meets in the Federal Assembly Chamber in Zalsoker.
Alongside the regular government, there also exists the Skarmic tribal hierarchy, a hierarchical tribal federation that operates under a limited form of monarchy under the Hierarch. The tribal hierarchy holds mostly ceremonial power, though administers large parcels of land, typically in the highlands, jointly with the federal and Oblasci governments, is permitted to offer certain tax exemptions and levy its own taxes by the state, and holds its own assembly that is altogether separate from that of Skarmia.
Military
Skarmia's defence services are organised into four official branches, the army, navy, air force and the Highlander Guard that operates as a separate branch, and one "quad-service organisation", Skarmian Military Intelligence, that operates within the chain of command for the defence services but in the role of a foreign, security and military intelligence agency. The Skarmian military forces are descended directly from the People's Defence Army of Skarmia, the military of the Skarmian Socialist Republic throughout its history, when on 30 April 1999, the People's Defence Army symbolically laid down their arms, taking them up again as the Skarmian Defence Services. The Defence Services are armed and supplied mostly by four state-owned companies: SkarmAir, TCD, RG Automotive and the Government Weapons Initiative, which still produce a wide array of military equipment.
Law enforcement
In Skarmia, law enforcement is conducted and provided for by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Skarmia. There are four main divisions of police in Skarmia: the Federal Police, who organise national policing activities, the various Oblasci police divisions, which are all organised slightly differently to each other and have decentralised powers afforded to them, the Highland Police, who assist in policing the mountains and are generally comprised of Skarmic people, and the Secret Police, sometimes referred to informally as "Division 4", who organise internal investigations.
Foreign relations
Administrative divisions
Skarmia is divided into 4 Oblasci, which have existed ever since the nation comprised the Southwestern Krai of Beleroskov. These are further subdivided into ## municipalities and 12 self-governing cities, and beyond that, a number of localities also exist.
According to the 1999 Skarmian constitution, the Oblasci were to be given authority as federal units within a Skarmian federation. While Skarmia yet maintains federation in name, in reality the situation with Skarmia's Oblasci is more akin to that of decentralised unitary political units. The voting system of Oblasc-based proportional representation for membership in the Federal Assembly is maintained to this day, with 75 members selected from each Oblasc to government. Municipalities and localities also tend to have their own councils, with locality councils reporting directly to their municipal council. However, while infrastructure for Oblasc-wide legislative councils made up of the representatives from each municipality were set up, they no longer meet in a legislative capacity, thus rendering the Oblasc councils purely ceremonial.
Within the tribal hierarchy, there are nine tribes, subdivided into 852 'hosts'. This definition formerly applied to regiments of mercenaries that fought for Imperial Beleroskov, but now generally applies to small villages and communities that share historical ties to these former regiments, and generally take as local symbols the colours and arms of these units.
Geography
Climate
Environment
Economy
Energy
Industry
Infrastructure
Transport
Demographics
The Skarmic people do not fit into any of the main ethnolinguistic categories of Ausiana. The Skarmic language is a language isolate (or depending on how other Skarmic dialects are categorised, an isolate branch). The present-day Skarmic people show great influence from neighbouring ethnic groups, including Beleroskovis, who comprise the second-largest ethnic group of Skarmia, Zhincans and Ossotians, though maintains many features of culture and identity stemming from the aboriginal inhabitants of the region.
The population of Skarmia counted at 4,852,866 in the 2011 census, with estimates from more recently presenting an increase of up to 130,000 in the ten years since the census was taken, indicating a steady population increase. According to the census, ethnic Skarmic people comprise around 45.7% of the total population, forming a plurality in the nation, with the second largest group being Beleroskovis at 34.6%, and the third largest group being a local population of Zhincans at 11.3%. The only other large population group in Skarmia are the Ossotian population at 6.5%, with the remaining 1.9% comprising mostly individuals from other former UCSS states, including many groups of Central Ausianans, as well as very low numbers of immigrants from other, non-UCSS states.
The most widespread language when counting both first- and second-language speakers within Skarmia is Beleroskovi, all together spoken fluently by approximately 96.4% of the population, and serves as a form of lingua franca for communication within much of the former UCSS. The next-largest language by total speakers is Skarmic. Polls have recorded that 99.6% have "some knowledge" of Skarmic, yet it is estimated that it is regularly spoken by 90.8% of the population, and spoken at home by 50.3% of the population. Government linguistic education is officially bilingual, with national education resources provided in both major languages as part of the standard curriculum, and 94% of schools offering "some classes" in both languages, and schools which do not offer education in both being ineligible for government funding. Politicians, to be eligible to run for government, must possess a certain level of literacy in both Skarmic and Beleroskovi, with language tests prescribed by the state to ascertain this. Beyond that, Ossotian, at 3.4%, and Zhincan, at 3.2%, are the next most prominent primary languages, with more learning them for international relations. Some schools and all universities in Skarmia offer English language courses, which have since become prominent languages in journalism and international relations for many Skarmians.
Largest cities or towns in Skarmia
2011 census | |||||||||
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| Rank | Oblasc | Pop. | |||||||
 Zalsoker  Kotla |
1 | Zalsoker | Zalsoker-Gorda | 1 097 344 |  Kisakum  St. David | ||||
| 2 | Kotla | Blizemla Oblasc | 239 663 | ||||||
| 3 | Kisakum | Pochi Oblasc | 141 599 | ||||||
| 4 | St. David | Blizemla Oblasc | 136 484 | ||||||
| 5 | Shersk | Nokorik Oblasc | 109 475 | ||||||
| 6 | Sevemsk | Blizemla Oblasc | 49 657 | ||||||
| 7 | Beligorda | Nokorik Oblasc | 48 391 | ||||||
| 8 | Lasa | Blizemla Oblasc | 43 959 | ||||||
| 9 | Kapi | Pochi Oblasc | 43 136 | ||||||
| 10 | Zelseragrad | Nokorik Oblasc | 38 672 | ||||||
Religion
Today 69.8% of Skarmia identifies as Christian, with most adhering to the Skarmian Orthodox Church, recognised as separate to the Beleroskovi Orthodox Church in 1925. The Skarmic native religion has undergone a revival in recent decades. Many Zhincans still follow Luosaism, as a wide community of Luosaic teachings in Western Skarmia somewhat shifts the demographics. According to the constitution of Skarmia, all religions have equal rights before the law.
Education
Culture
Music and art
Cuisine
The traditional cuisine of Skarmia is quite similar to that of neighbouring Ossotia, containing very little in the way of haute cuisine and erring largely on the side of hearty, traditional dishes. Skarmians are known for making great use of herbs and spices, including fenugreek, cinnamon, nutmeg, chives, fennel and peppermint. Stews and curries are common in Skarmian cuisine, as well as porridges made from staple grains. Apples, pears, berries and various forms of nuts, including walnuts and chestnuts, are commonly found in Skarmian cuisine, while the main livestock animals are goats and yaks, producing most milk and dairy products. Many Skarmian dishes are designed to provide warmth during the country's cold winters, and in traditional Skarmian dinner arrangements, the cooking and eating of the food would occur in the same area, with a large pot containing the stew or soup at the centre of the room and seating around the centre for warmth.
Many Skarmian meals are served with ikçer, a polenta-like mash of grains that rarely makes up the main portion of the meal, usually being reserved for a side. Hot meals can be served with dumplings or meatballs, both usually spiced and containing various fruits and nuts. Pastry and fried bread dishes are traditional in many parts of the country, often being served with varieties of Skarmian cheeses, such as vigháç (a firm cheese similar to manchego), tlimqa (a squeaky cheese similar to halloumi) or darili (a brined cheese similar to feta). Turnips were once common in Skarmian cuisine, but since the introduction of the potato, their consumption has become predominant.
Skarmian tea consumption is very high. Predominant types of tea include Beleroskovi black tea, Zhincan and Yuaneze green teas, as well as the native Skarmian blend of white tea, usually transported to Skarmia in barrels of Skarmian pine and often served spiced. Alcoholic beverages in Skarmia include varieties of éntinok, a distilled spirit native to Skarmia produced from grains and usually spiced, some varieties of beers and wines, including natively produced varieties of ice wine. During the winter months, mulled wine is commonly drunk in communal gatherings.
