Archive:Sentryzija

The Labourist Federation of Sentryzija (Obradinian: Poblayzekol Izevisk je Sentryzija), colloquially known as Sentryzija, is a country in Central Velizka. Sentryzija is bordered by the Troiyan sea to the north, Troiya, Sued and Marop to the east, Krazenja and Morfeyra to the south and Varla and Aspayn to the west. Sentryzija is a federal labourist state, this means that some legislative powers are devolved to the respective republics which make up the country. The capital of the country is Danijalgraz, but the largest city in the country is Obratograz. Other large cities include Vledav, Petragraz, Valeza and Kiskagan. Sentryzija is made up of 9 republics; Obradina, Siliksiya, Marizenja, Kostenia, Kirdum, Variska, the Troiyan Free cities, Obriskyz and Slova.

Sentryzija was founded in 1918 following the Obradinian Revolution and subsequent civil war. The civil war was one by a faction known as the Peasants and Workers Revolutionary Army, an alliance between the Kâtyrin movement and the Labourist Party of Obradina. This army was headed by Danijal Varisk, the man who'd go on to lead Sentryzija in the years following the civil war. The period following the PWRA's victory saw the ratification of Sentryzija's first constitution and a wave of political terror and sweeping land reform. Varisks reforms, although broadly successful, had many pitfalls. His naive and hasty land reforms in the region of Slova resulted in a devistating famine, leading to Varisks resignation as the countries leader. Following Danijals resignation the country entered into a contentious election. The election was won by the Levist candidate Tâjmal Degany Lytsinka with a paper thin majority. The election was marred with controversy and violence, and ultimately culminated in a military coup by supporters of Vyðrin Mykrâz Joko, the conservative Variskist candidate who Tâjmal had beat in the election. Following Vyðrin's seizure of power a new so-called Variskist constitution was implemented, one which did away with democracy in favour of paternalistic dictatorship and implemented Kvazism as the countries state religion. Under Vyðrin's leadership the country modernised and grew to the status of a Great Power. Following his death, Vyðrin was succeded by his son, Vyðrin Danijalgraz Olja, who was often referred to as junior, or condescendingly as the baby, to distinguish him from his father. The rule of Vyðrin junior was marked a significant decline in the countries prosperity and his rulke has generally been described as kleptocratic and incompetent.

Sentryzija is a land of contrasts. It is home to some of the fastest growing economic areas in Velizka and the most depressed areas in the country. It has the highest GDP in Velizka, just ahead of Troiya. Sentryzija has the largest standing army in Velizka but only the second largest navy behind Troiya.

= Etymology = The name "Sentryzija" is derived from the Common Arollian name "Senrusia" meaning middle land. The name historically referred to the lands originally settled by Sorillians under the Arollian Empire however by the 18th century it had been reduced to just the eastern areas of the former empire and had lost its connotations specifically with Sorillians. It was chosen by the Workers and Peasants Revolutionary Committee in order to better reflect the former Obradinian Empires multi-cultural character.

= History =

Early history
The first peoples recorded to have lived in what is now Sentryzija were the Slovans in the south and the Haikeh in the north. Little is known about the Haikeh but they are believed to have settled the northern Sentryzijan forests around the 9th century BC. The Haikeh were first recorded by scholars of the Mofreyran Empire and were believed to have been related to the eastern Sued people. By the 8th century BC all of southern Sentryzija came under the control of Morfeyra and the north of the country was controlled by hundreds of Slovan and Haikeh tribes and kingdoms. In the first century AD the Morfeyran Empire collapsed leading to many Morfeyran successsor kingdoms appearing along the coast southern Velizkan sea. In the 5th entury AD the Sorillians entered eastern Velizka, conqueirng many of the pre-existing kingdoms and assimilating the Haikeh. In 467 AD the Sorillians established the Arrolian Empire, a polity which initially began as a horde but would later develop into a Morfeyranised Kingdom.

In 515 AD Hanovak the Great, the second emperor of Arrolia passed away without an apparent heir, leading to the empire chaoticly dissolving as pretenders to the throne fought each other for control. The title of Emperor of Arrollia would remain in use sporadically until the 11th century, typically being used by the largest or most prestigious of the many Sorillian states.

Pre-revolution
From the feuding states of post-Arrolian arose the First Kingdom of Obradina in 953. The kingdom itself was centred on the river port city of Obratograz, unsusrpisingl located on the river Obra, its namesake. Although remaining a small vassal state of the Kingdom of Kostenia for much of the 11th century by 1073 the Obradinians had began to expand westward, absorbing smaller kingdoms and principalities. Under King Malij I the Kingdom broke free of Kostenian vassalisation and successfully took the area around the fortress of Vledav.

From the 12th century to the 16th century Obradina continued its expansion westward to the Morfeyran coast and continued fighting with Kostenia, eventually coming out on top as the largest Kingdom in the region. Howver in 1573 he Kingdom would fall to a peasants rebellion, resulting in the emergence of the Republic of Obradina. The late 1560s proved to be one of crisis for the Kingdom as poor harvests and the spread of Reformed Kvazism destabilised the established order. The Republic of Obradina embraced democracy and interfaith tolerance, a revolutionary idea for the time. However the Republcis liberal nature proved to be its undoing as it struggled to asser authority over its territory and royalist guerillas ravaged the countryside. By 1580 the repub;ic had fallena and the monarchy were reinstated. With the Second Kingdom of Obradina established order returned and Obradina once again returned to an expansionist foreign policy.

In 1634 the Declaration of Stokav was made, granting all inhabitants of the Obradinian realm a basic set of rights, even if only nominal. The document itself was inspired by Kvazist social teaching and would go on to be the core peice of literature within the movement for Kvazist democracy.

Contemporary era
= Politics and government =

Sentryzija is a federal parliamentary labourist democratic republic. National legislative power is vested in the Tyrvałik (parliament) consisting of the Peoples Council and the Technical Council, which together form the legislative body. The Peoples Council is elected through direct elections using the first past the post system. The members of the Ministers Council are appointed by the Peoples Council, however, there are some reserved seats for specific interest groups. There are 6 seats reserved for Slovan tribal elders, 8 seats for representatives of the 8 republics, 5 seats for the 5 main labour unions and 5 seats reserved for representatives from the military. The rest of the seats are intended for professionals such as economists and scientists. The Sentryzijan political system operates under the framework of the 1980 Sentryzijan constitution. Amendments generally require a two-thirds majority of both the Peoples Council and the Technical Council. However some aspects of the countries constitution, such as the states comitment to labourism, are permenantly enshrined. The constitution guarantees freedom of speech and assembly and is dedicated to the fundamental principles of the separation of powers, the federal structure of the state and the rule of law.

The Pobloskolyl is the head of state. They serves a six year term and may be re-elected twice. The responsibilities and powers of the Pobloskolyl are mostly ceremonial, however, they may move to block constitutional amendments deemed by the supreme court to be unconstitutional. Their main purpose is to act as the face of the state and to inspire national unity. The current Pobloskolyl is Lira Perángraz Gina and they have served since the 12th of June 1980.

The Chairman of the Peopels Council is the head of government. They are appointed by a majority vote by the Peoples Council and typically are the leader of the largest party or coalition. The Chairman exercieses executive power through their cabinet. Âlyik Mykraz Lâna has served as Chairman since the 8th of June 1980.

There are 931 seats in the Peoples Council and 50 seats in the Technical Council. It is constitutionally mandated that a general election most take place at least every 4 years and a Pobloskolyl election every 6. The current government is a coalition between Drazvir, RF-PFDR and the Communist Party.

In 1983 the Velizkan Forum for Democracy categorized Sentryzija as a hybrid regime on the Democracy index. They cited the policy of Labourist democracy and the Militaries influence on politics as dampening Sentryzijas democracy. Despite this, Sentryzijas elections are free and fair for the most part.

Parties
Sentryzija is a multi-party democracy, albeit adhearing to the principle of labourist democracy. 9 parties are represented in the Peoples Council and countless others are registered but lack national representation.

Constituent republics
Sentryzija is a federation made up of 9 constituent republics. The republics are tasked with drafting their own constitution and legislating on local issues such as language, education and transport.

Foreign affairs
Sentryzija is a founding member of the Organisation for Peace and Solidarity and one of its most influential members. It has good relations with most OFPS member states and works closely with many of them militarily and diplomatically. Sentryzija has special relationships with many countries. Since 1981 Torberia and Sentryzija have enjoyed unusually friendly relations, in part due to Âlyik's diplomatic disposition and the left-wing economic reforms of Kárnt vák Szártan-Sétélla. It has been noted that Âlyik and Szártan are personal friends. Sentryzija shares another unusual friendship with the nation of Smontanya, due in part to their mutual enemy in Vârla. Smontanya is one of the few non-labourist states to be a full member of the OFPS. The relationship between Yavatia and Sentryzija is also a positive one. The two countries follow left-wing political doctrines, however, Yavatiaks often scorn Sentryzija for its authoritarian political system. Despite this Âlyik has been praised by many for his reforms and for including the Communist Party of Sentryzija in his government. Yavatiaks also share a close cultural connects with many Sentryzijans due to the fact many of the original Yavatiaks were immigrants from the Obradinian Empire.

Sentryzija also has tense relations with many of its neighbours. It has active border disputes with Vârla and Troiya. Since the fourth Kostenian war in 1911 Sentryzija and Troiya have been in a cold war. Tensions heated up in 1979 when skirmishes began along their Kostenian border. However tensions were smoothed over by Âlyik, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time. The incident contributed to his rise to prominence and eventual promotion to Chairman of the Peoples Council by the Sentryzijan Military Council. The dispute with Vârla began in 1920 when Sentryzija accepted the partially recognised Democratic Republic of Variska into the federation. The territory was, and still is by most countries, recognised as a part of Vârla. The dispute is a frozen conflict and the last skirmish occurred on the 4th of march 1956. In 1983 Torberia recognised Variska as an integral part of Sentryzija.

Military
The Sentryzija's military is split into three branches, the ground forces, the navy and the air force. Sentryzija has the largest military in Velizka and one of the largest globally. As of 1981 Semtryzija has 1.5 million active personnel and 1.2 million in reserve. The country has the third largest nuclear stockpile in the world, posessing 12,000 nuclear weapons in its arsenal. In 1981 Sentryzija spent 102 billion rika on the military.

In recent years Sentryzija has been involved in a number of military conflicts, the most notable of which is the Slovan-Zarolian war. Sentryzija has also been involved in joint military operations with the Smontanyan military.



Law and order
The Sentryzijan legal system is governed by the constitution of Sentryzija. The court system consists of the supreme court, high court, provincial court and the municipal court. All deal with varying levels of offences at different levels of local government. Although the court system is independent of both the government and the military it has been criticised for bias towards a Variksist point of view due to the amount of judges srill present from the old order.

The Peoples Guard is the countries civillian police force. The Peopples Guard deal with civil policing. The force is headed by the Police and crime commissioner of Sentryzija, a position currently occupied by Savid Stokav Nari. Typically members of the Guard are dressed in navy blue uniforms and wear caps, or Kâtyerin in the winter. Guards typically are armed with a Jegvitz Z47 pistol and a baton, however taskforce units may be comissioned to carry heavier wepaonry such as the Hanovak Z2 semi-automatic rifle.

The National Defence Service (Obradinian: Cazen Łatakâ Bjeli), commonly refered to as the Red guard, Reds or CŁB, is the countries state security service and secret police. Histoircally the CŁB were highly feared by the population due to their brutal and often inhumane methods. Since the 1970s the powers of the CŁB have been rolled back and their methods have become less brutal. One of the campaign promises of the coutnries current leader, Âlyik Mykraz Lâna, was the abolition of the CŁB. The CŁB deal primarily with matters of state security and often engage in espionage in order to infiltrate and stop terrorist groups and other percieved enemies of the state. Typically CŁB agents operate undercover but when they are uniformed a red uniform is associated with them, hence the nickname Reds.

= Geography = Sentryzija is located in Eastern Velizka and is the 3rd largest country on the continent. Its total area is 1,622,946 square kilometers.



Topography
Much of Sentryzija conists of plains and forests, however there are highlands and mountains along the easternmost border and in the south along the border with Krazenja and in the north of the Labourist Federal Republic of Marizenja.

Sentryzija contains thousands of rivers. The longest and economically most important being the river Obra, the namesake of the nation of Obardina and the city of Obratograz.

Climate
In the more northern areas of the country such as Variska a subartic climate is present and the winters are harsher. Much of central Sentryzija possess a humid continental climate, with warm summers and cold winters. However further south in the steppelands of Slova it is semi-arid with hot summers and cold winters. And in the very south long the coast of the Southern Sea there is a mediterranean climate.

Biodiversity
Sentryzija is a large country spanning across multiple climates, as such it has a great amount of biodiversity.

In the north, where it is typically cooler, coniferous forests and temperate grasslands are widespread. In the centre of the country, between the Obra river and the Erdjen Mountains, Broadleaf and mixed forests are more common. Amongst the foothills of the various mountain ranges bounding Sentryzija, such as the Erdjen mountains and the Tzyn mountains, pine forests are widespread.

In terms of fauna Sentryzija is incredibly diverse, due in part to its large landmass. There are 234 mammal species and 685 bird species in Sentryzija. The forests and uplands are home to birds of pray such as the Sorillian eagle and the red kite. feral and domestic horses alike roam the plains of Slova and the northern taiga and Broadleaf and mixed forests are home to large mammals such as the Velizkan wolf, brown bear, east Velizkan deer, Velizkan lynx and the threatened Obradinian mountain bison.

Sentryzija is also very diverse in its coastal fauna. Sentryzija has two coasts, one along the Troiyan sea and the other on the Southern Sea]. It is not unusual to see basking sharks, seals, porpoises and on occasion even orca whales off of Sentryzijas coasts.

= Economy = Sentryzija has a market labourist economic system, a mix between state ownership and ownership by small family businesses and worker cooperatives. The countries workforce is highly skilled and the economy is focussed around manufacturing, agriculture and heavy industry. The coutnry has one of the largest GDP's in Velizka and the largest economy overall. The countries currency is the Rika and it is in a currency union with Karpatzijâ. The country is semi-autarkic but does engage in international trade, mostly exporting goods to other OfPS member states. The countries largets trading partner is Smontanya.

Historically Sentryzijas economy was almost entirely state owned and autarkic, however in the 1970s the country underwent a number of liberalising reforms took place. Following the 1977 Variskist coup d'etat these liberalisations were halted and under Âlyik Mykraz Lâna, many of them were reversed, howeverm, he solidified the country under its current market labourist system. Most major heavy industries are state owned but are given a large degree of workers' self-management. Meanwhile small businesses such as restauraunts are allowed to continue to operate independently, alebit with large state supervisions. Many small businesses are incentivised to implement aspects of workers' self-management by government offers of subsidies. The country is well known for its heavy industry and manufcaturing. Ironworks and other factories line the river Obra, the countries largest ande copnomically most important river. Kostenia is well knwon for its vital coalmines. A large rail network spajs the north of the country, transporting coal to the river port in Obratograz. In Slova and nothern Marizenja agriculture is very important. Wheat is the most widely grown crop and ranches farming horses and cattles are common in Slova. The coutnries largest port is Moeran, it is the main exporting area and is home to the biggest dockyard in central Velizka.

= Demography =

Religion
= Culture = Due to the multi-ethnic nature of Sentryzija its culture has been heavily influenced by a number of cultures. This being said, the Sorillian peoples have had the largest influence on the countries culture. The states culture has been variously described as a sugar coating of the old imperial Obradinian culture and as a melting pot of many brothetly nations. These views reflect broader academic views and disagreements over the nature of Sentryzija both culturally and politically.

In terms of global influence Sentryzijan culture has seen wide reach. In particular in Yavatia and Karpatzijâ where a large percentage of the population are descended from peoples from Sentryzija or the former Obradinian Empire. The Organisation for Peace and Solidarity also allots Sentryzija a large degree of both hard and soft power over countries around Rivesteka.

Literature
The lands that make up Sentryzija have a long and rich literary history. The oldest surviving piece of lierature in the region dates back from 1st century AD and is primarily in the Common Visamorian and Old Morfeyran languages. Following the arrival of the Sorillians into eastern Velizka a script for the Sorillian language was developed and poetry and epics began to emerge amonsgt the Sorillian upper class, the most famous of the period being the Rexniv.

The literary golden age of the Obradinian Empire in the 19th century saw the emeregence of many writers, philosophers and poets who remain relevant to this day in Sentryzija. In particular Lev Vledav Mâri began to write and publish works on his politicial philosophical views, laying the foundations for the Variskist and Constantists movements. Levs daughter Lâna Nikograt Yra has also made major contributions to the realm of philosophy. Building off of her fathers theories, she developed an entirely new strain of labourist thought known as Constantism, radically different in its world outlook and methodology for developing a Socilaist society. Lâna would later go on to leave Obradina to found the experimental colony in west Velizka which would go on to become Yavatia. Another improtant literary figure of the period was Tałkvaz Ivansij Vâr, more commonly known by the epithet Syzyl Tałkvaz. Tałkvaz was a poet of aristocratic heritage who despite his wealthy upbringing lived a mostly frugal life, writing poems about a variety of topics such as working class life, love and more abstract concepts such as the existence of Kvaz. Despite his renmouncements of his titles he was imprisoned during Vyðrin Mykrâz Jokos rise to power and ultimately died in prison. His image has since been rehabilitated and he has often been described as Sentryzijas national poet.

Since the Obradinian Revolution and the establishment of Sentryzija literary freedom has been mixed. During the period of Vyðrinism (1924-1969) in Sentryzija the press and literary works were at best censored and at worst suppressed and their authors imprisoned. State sponsored media, lierature and art were all pushed during the period, typically with a pro-governemnt tilt. During the same period Kart Erðanelz (underground art) began to emerge, Typically these were artists and writer who eitehr opposed the regime or simply wished to pursue their acreers without state intervention. Although typically not subversive in and of itself, Kart Erðanelz and those who consumed it were deemed dissidents simply due to the fact it was a prohibited act. Punishments for consuming Kart Erðanelz were high, typically resulting in a 5 year prison sentence. Producing Kart Erðanelz was even more even more risky, typically resulting in a death sentence if caught. After the deposition of Young Vyðrin in 1969 and the beginning of the liberal thaw under Poroz Sentrysk Mâri many of the figures of the Kart Erðanelz movement began to become mainstream. Many literary figures who originated out of the Kart Erðanelz movement are still relevant today. Former Kart Erðanelz members include Ifan Denigraz Myna, Kert Blousen, Jynic Petragraz Elan, Łyvâj Kandav Térlen, Levitz Perángraz Ájra and Íol Qeskagan. In particular Íol Qeskagan has become renowned as one of the great writers of modern Sentryzijas. His most famous book is the novel Red sun. He has written books in a number of genres ranging from science fiction to non-fiction. Most of his books have been translated into a number of different languages, with Red Sun being translated into 29 different languages.

Media
Media, especially the dispersal of news and information, has traditionally been heavily controlled and censored in Sentryzija. However from the 1970s onwards the country has begun to open up. Although private enterprise remains illegal in the country, workers co-operatives have rapoidly grown and compete directly with state sponsored media in a regulated market economy.

The state owned Sentryzijan Broadcasting Service is the most watched television service in the country, however the non-state National Broadcasting Syndicate of Sentryzija has cut into the SBS's viewership in recent years. Television is the most widely spread medium of consuming media, however at the time of the last census radio was slightly more widespread, especially in rural areas. Smaller television broadcaster include the Independent Television Co-Operatuve, Varisk Broadcasting Group and the various regional such as the Obradinian Broadcasting Group and Isch Television.

Newspapers are a very common form of mass media. The trade union funded and formerly state affiliated Citizens' Herald, has the largest circulation. However, the independent paper The Plan also has a significant cirulation. Other minor newspapers include The Labourist, Sentryzijan United Press and the Daily Post.

Tourism
= See also =