User:Brant/New Rasia

New Rasia (Serbian: Nova Raška, Нова Рашка, ⰐⰑⰂⰀ ⰓⰀⰞⰍⰀ), officially the Republic of New Rasia (Serbian: Republika Nova Raška, Република Нова Рашка, ⰓⰅⰒⰖⰁⰎⰋⰍⰀ ⰐⰑⰂⰀ ⰓⰀⰞⰍⰀ) is a sovereign nation located north of Tropicalis, south of Candvia, and west of Culldrome. The official languages are English and Serbian, with New Rasia being the only country other than the United Provinces where Serbian is an official language. New Rasia is divided into six provinces (Serbian: provincije, провинције, ⰒⰓⰑⰂⰋⰐⰜⰋⰊⰅ), with the capital, New Winsburg (Serbian: Nova Vinburg, Нова Винбург, ⰐⰑⰂⰀ ⰂⰋⰐⰁⰖⰓⰃ) being a special administrative district.

The country has a population of around 9.4 million and an area of about 5,300 square miles, with the largest city being the capital of New Winsburg (Serbian: Nova Vinburg, Нова Винбург, ⰐⰑⰂⰀ ⰂⰋⰐⰁⰖⰓⰃ), which has a population of about 1.5 million, while other major cities include Stephangrade (Serbian: Stefangrad, Стефанград, ⰔⰕⰅⰗⰀⰐⰃⰓⰀⰄ), Petrograde (Serbian: Petrograd, Петроград, ⰒⰅⰕⰓⰑⰃⰓⰀⰄ), and New Doriath (Serbian: Nova Dorijata, Нова Доријата). New Rasia has pursued a policy of neutrality since the end of the STINC War, and as not taken part in any Antarctic conflict since then.

New Rasia was founded by settlers from the High Penguin Confederacy in 1024, but was ceded to the Osloven Empire after the Eighty Years War, and became a colony of the Osloven Empire until the Khanzem War, when it was invaded by Khanzem. The country became an independent republic after the Khanzem War ended in 1918, and became a communist country in 1942 after it was invaded by the Snowviet Union. In 1990, the country overthrew its communist government in a peaceful revolution, and New Rasia has been a neutral democracy since then.

Initial settlement
The island of New Rasia was originally settled in 1024 by settlers from the High Penguin Confederacy, but archaeological evidence has shown that Candvian and Tropicalian fisherman and traders occasionally built temporary settlements along the coasts of the island from at least 200 years before the initial settlement of New Rasia. Throughout the period of High Penguin Confederacy rule, the population of the colony remained small, however, as few people wanted to settle on an island that was located far away from the mainland of the High Penguin Confederacy.

Osloven control
During the Eighty Years War between the Osloven Empire and the High Penguin Confederacy, a large Osloven fleet besieged the island in 1487, which was only defended by a small garrison, and quickly forced its capitulation. After the Osloven victory in 1510, the island was ceded by the High Penguin Confederacy to the Osloven Empire as part of the peace treaty. Many Osloven settlers began moving to the island after the war, eventually outnumbering the High Penguin population, and the settlers renamed it to New Rasia after a region in the Osloven Empire where many of them were from.

Throughout the next few hundred years, thousands of Oslovens moved to the island for various reasons, drastically changing the demographics of the island, as the original High Penguin settlers were now a very small minority. By the 1700s, the island's culture had become extremely Oslovenized, highly resembling the culture of the Osloven Empire, with little evidence remaining of the period of High Penguin rule over the island. The island also became more prosperous over the years, with a slightly higher quality of life in New Rasia than in the mainland Osloven Empire.

Khanzem War and aftermath
In 1913, during the Khanzem War, Khanzem invaded the Osloven Empire, and many Oslovens fled to New Rasia, which had not been conquered by Khanzem. However, the next year, in 1914, a Khanzem force from Tropicalis invaded New Rasia, and the island fell in weeks despite resistance from the locals and the Osloven soldiers who had fled the Osloven Empire after it fell. New Rasia was put under military occupation, and Khanzem forces massacred thousands of New Rasians during this time in retaliation for attacks by resistance forces on the island against Khanzem.

After the war, New Rasia was returned to the Osloven Empire, but after the Osloven Empire became a fascist dictatorship known as the Republic of Snowiny in 1947, the Snowviet Union backed a communist coup d'etat which overthrew the Osloven administration over the island and established the independent Socialist Republic of New Rasia (Serbian: Socijalistička Republika Nova Raška, Социјалистичка Република Нова Рашка, ⰔⰑⰜⰋⰊⰀⰎⰋⰔⰕⰋⰝⰍⰀ ⰓⰅⰒⰖⰁⰎⰋⰍⰀ ⰐⰑⰂⰀ ⰓⰀⰞⰍⰀ). Though the Socialist Republic of New Rasia was closely allied with the Snowviet Union at first, relations between both countries eventually deteriorated.

Socialist Republic of New Rasia
The Socialist Republic of New Rasia was originally a communist country that was closely allied with the Snowviet Union and was a member of the Comintern, but relations began to deteriorate between the two countries in the 1950s after disagreements over communism. Though New Rasia remained a communist country, it began to shift more towards the Unaffiliated Bloc during the False War. The country also began adopting capitalist market reforms in the 1960s, which reformed the economy and made the country more wealthy than many of the other communist countries at the time.

New Rasia pursued a policy of neutrality during the False War and eventually improved its relations with the Snowviet Union and the Comintern in the 1980s, with the President of New Rasia visiting the Snowviet Union. Despite being a communist country, New Rasia had good relations with many other countries around Antarctica that opposed the Comintern. However, the New Rasian government opposed and suppressed Snowinn nationalism, as it was associated with fascist Snowiny, and the New Rasian government attempted to create a New Rasian national identity instead, which failed.

New Rasian coup d'etat
The Communist Party of New Rasia intended to simply ignore the wave of democratization around Antarctica, believing they had complete power over the country and its populace. However, during the 1980s, a group of officers in the military had secretly formed a group to oust the communist leadership in New Rasia, and planned to make their move during the wave of democratization. Thus, the military launched a coup d'etat in 1993, overthrowing the communist government, the leaders of which fled to communist Zhou, and established a military junta to rule the country.

Many in the country wanted to unite with Snowiny, but the majority of the country didn't want to unite with a fascist country, and as such the country never commenced unification talks with Snowiny. However, many New Rasians did volunteer to fight for the democratic rebels during the Snowinn Civil War. Though the population believed that there would be democracy after the coup d'etat, the military continued to hold power in the country, continuing to suppress many rights, though the government was now anti-communist as opposed to communist.

After many protests broke out in the country, the military lifted martial law in 2014, over twenty years after the coup d'etat, and the first free elections were held in the country. Since the establishment of a new government, the country has pursued a policy of neutrality, but has participated in some peacekeeping missions around Antarctica. There have also been talks in the country to unite with the United Provinces due to the common culture and language, but the movements are less popular than before, and there have been no official plans to do such.

Government
New Rasia is a unitary parliamentary republic, with the President (Serbian: Presednik, Председник, ⰒⰓⰅⰔⰅⰄⰐⰋⰍ) as the head of state and the Prime Minister (Serbian: Primijer, Премијер, ⰒⰓⰋⰏⰋⰊⰅⰓ) as the head of government, and the bicameral Parliament (Serbian: Parlament, Парламент, ⰒⰀⰓⰎⰀⰏⰅⰐⰕ), consisting of the upper Senate (Serbian: Senat, Сенат) and the lower National Assembly (Serbian: Narodna Skupština, Народна Скупштина, ⰐⰀⰓⰑⰄⰐⰀ ⰔⰍⰖⰒⰞⰕⰋⰐⰀ). The Constitution of New Rasia, which lays out the structure of the government, was written in 2014 and ratified by a national referendum that same year.

The President, who is elected every four years in a national election, has the power to nominate candidates for Prime Minister and candidates for High Court justice, call a Parliamentary election, and pardon criminals. Additionally, the President is the Commander-in-chief of the military and represents the country abroad. The Prime Minister, who is appointed by the President and must be approved by Parliament, is the head of the cabinet, having the power to appoint ministers, although they must be approved by Parliament before taking their positions.

The Parliament of New Rasia is the legislature of the country, with the 80 seats in the upper Senate being up for election every six years while the 100 seats in the lower National Assembly are up for election every four years, with there being no term limits in either of the houses of Parliament. The country's Parliament has the power to approve candidates for Prime Minister and justices for the High Court, to write and pass laws, to declare war, to call for a national referendum, and to impeach the President through a 2/3 vote of no confidence.

Economy
New Rasia has a developed economy based on manufacturing and services, the two largest sectors of the economy, while agriculture is a smaller sector, and the New Rasian economy has one of the fastest growth rates in the region and in Antarctica. In recent years, foreign investment has significantly increased in the country, with many foreign companies choosing to do business in the country. The New Winsburg Stock Exchange, located in the capital of New Winsburg, is the country's only stock exchange and is one of the largest stock exchanges in the region.

The unemployment rate is at about 2.5%, and the poverty rate in the country is low as well, one of the lowest in the region, with the country's government also maintaining a welfare state to provide benefits for those who need it. Aside from welfare, there is also universal healthcare and maternity and paternity leave as well. The minimum wage in the country is at about 12 Fish, and income inequality has been decreasing while the quality of life continues to increase. New Rasia maintains a flat tax rate of 15%, though lower income citizens pay less taxes.

Culture
Having been a territory of Snowiny for a large portion of its history, the culture of New Rasia is primarily influenced by that of Snowiny's, with minor influences from the High Penguin Confederacy, which New Rasia was also a territory of for some time. There are also many landmarks and sites from the period of High Penguin Confederacy rule in the middle ages, such as castles, and there are also many other landmarks that were built during the period of Snowinian rule. The Ministry of Culture and Information is in charge of preserving the country's culture and identity.

In recent years, Snowinn nationalism has been on the rise in the country, having been suppressed during the period of communist rule. Movements to unite with Snowiny have been popular in both New Rasia and Snowiny, now the United Provinces, with the movements having gained a majority in New Rasia in the past. However, in recent years, support for unification with Snowiny has decreased in New Rasia, though it still remains somewhat popular in the country, with a poll finding that about 38% of the population supports unification with Snowiny.