Free Port of Cristina

Cristina · March 8, 2020

The Free Port of Cristina (Cristinese pronunciation: Porto Franco di Cristina), officially the Kingdom of Cristina (Cristinese: Regno di Cristina), is a sovereign city-state, country and microstate located in [region]Europa[/region]. It is also commonly known as "The Yellow City. The Republic of Mantella now borders the country on three sides while the other side borders the Byzantine Sea. With a population of 7,453,682 living in an area of 1,221 km2 (486.5 sq mi), it is one of the most densely populated nations in Europa. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its total size by 15%. The highest point in the country is at the access to the Palazzo Korvini residential building on the Rocca di Santo Cristo in the Santo Cristo Ward from the Sea Lane at 164.4 metres (539 feet) above sea level. The lowest point in the country is the Byzantine Sea. The Kingdom’s most populous district is The Central.

Img: Central Ward by a night of the Independence Commemoration Day

Cristina is a free economic territory (free economic zone). Companies are taxed very lightly to encourage economic activity. The taxation rules are determined by the Cristinese Trade Organization (CTO) and any goods introduced are generally regarded, insofar as import duties and taxes are concerned, as being outside the customs territory.

The Free Port of Cristina is a modern city-state governed under a form of constitutional monarchy, with Queen Nova Maxima from House Korvini as head of state. Although Queen Nova Maxima is a constitutional monarch, she wields immense political power. The House of Korvini have ruled Cristina, with tree interruptions, for 818 years (223 years as Kings and Queens).

Cristina has pursued the development of the e-government, with 99 percent of the public services being available on the web 24 hours a day. In 2005 Cristina became one of the first country in the wurld to introduce nationwide binding Internet voting in local elections of 2005. In 2017 parliamentary elections 50% of the total votes were cast over the internet.

The two official language are Cristinese and Esperanto, but Mantellan, Emakeran and French are widely spoken and understood.

Img: Queen Nova Maxima Korvini

Cristina is still a disputed territory and only partially recognised state in Central Europa that only sixteen years ago declared independence from Mantella, wich anexed the city-state eight decades ago, after a bloody and destructive ten years armed conflict in wich Cristina finally emerged victorious. The declaration of independence sparked varied responses from the international community, some welcoming it, while others condemn the unilateral move. Mantella has, at first, recalled its ambassadors from states which have recognized Cristina, in protest. Periodic armed conflicts between the two countries still occours along their shared border and into Mantellan territory.

Cristina became a full wurld Congress voting member in 2017. The country also possess the observer member status in the A.T.A.R.A. and the E.O.S. as well as strong commercial and technological partnership with the I.S.T.C.

The Free Port of Cristina maintains high literacy, life expectancy and education levels and is one of the most frequently visited countries in the region, projected to have the third highest tourism growth rate in the wurld between 2015 and 2020. It is known for its natural environment and cultural heritage inherited from many historical civilisations, its cuisine, its advanced technology, its eclectic and unique music, architecture and its festivals, some of which are the largest and most prominent of their kind in Central Europa.

Kingdom of Cristina

Regno di Cristina (Cristinese)
Free Port of Cristina
Porto Franco di Cristina (Cristinese)

Flag and Coat of Arms

Motto: "Respekto Oni Ne Povas Aceti" (Esperanto)
"Respect Can Not Be Bought"

Anthem: "Salva, Salva Cristina” (Cristinese)
“Save, Save Cristina”

Location in Europa

Official languages: Cristinese, Esperanto.

Official scripts: Roman (Latin)

Ethnic groups
80.1% Cristinese
8.2% Mantellan
5.4% Lysian
3.2% Magnean
3.1% others

Religion
89.2% Cristinese Orthodox
5.8% Other Christian Faiths
3.5% Violetist
1.0% No faith
0.5% Others

Demonym: Cristinese

Government: Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Queen: Nova Maxima Korvini
• Minister of State: Keyla Mwanza Rossi
• Speaker of National Council: Toni Minardi
• Chief of Justice: Adriano Saubi

Special Administrative Zone under the Kingdom of Cristina in Mantella
• Leader: Queen Nova Maxima Korvini
• Governor: Valdo Curica
• Speaker of Administrative Council: Tuio Marivaldi

Legislature: National Council

Established:
• 1170: City of Saint Christ
• 1182: House of Korvini's rule as counts
• 1650: Skrovjan Rule
• 1714: Kingdom of Saint Christ, House of Korvini's rule as monarchs
• 1847: renamed to Kingdom of Cristina
• 1937: annexation by Mantella, creation of the Special District of Cristina
• 2001: independence from Mantella, Monarchical Restoration
• 2002: current Constitution
• 2005: Free Port of Cristina (official use of the name)

Area
• Total
1,221 km2 (486.5 sq mi)

Population
• 2017 estimate
7,453,682
• Density
6,104/km2 (13,266.1/sq mi)

GDP (PPP): 2017 estimate
• Total
$490,500 billion
• Per capita
$76,003

GDP (nominal): 2017 estimate
• Total
$305.300 billion
• Per capita
$47,306

Gini: (2017) ⛰ 28.7 (low)

HDI: (2015) ⛰ 0.960 (very high)

Currency: Digital Linda (DLD)

Date format : dd-mm-yyyy

Drives: on the right

Calling code: +21

ISO 3166 code: CR

Internet TLD: .cr

Brief History

According to an old legend, Alexandre the Deacon passed through the Cristina area and turned away the previous gods. As a result, a monastery were constructed there in 1153, the Monastery of Santo Cristo (Saint Christ). Soon a small village grew around the building and in few year it became a town late named Urbi Santo Cristo (City of Saint Christ) in 1170. Santo Cristo ended up in the hands of the Eternal Empire of Hémus in 1172, which gave it to the Mantellans.

An ousted branch of the Giannini family from Mantella, the Korvini, contested it for a decade before actually gaining control. Though the First Kingdom of Mantella would last for more than 450 years, they allowed the Korvini family to keep the city of Saint Christ, and, likewise, the other nations in the region left it alone for hundreds of years.

Img: A view of Santo Cristo and its fleet by Paolo Felicci (1597 copy, after a drawing of 1481); Museo Bellas Artes, Modena.

The Kingdom of Skrovja did not annex it until the Skrovjan Revolution in 1650, but after the death of the Skrovjan King Goran I in the aftermath of the bloody Revolution the Korvini retook the possession of Saint Christ, which they then ruled as a condominium with the Kingdom of Mantella. This is the origin of the today’s kingdom (1714).

In 1753 Mantella was annexed by @Emakera and the Kingdom of Saint Christ came under Skrovjan influence again but Skrovjan king Petrus allowed it to remain independent after a truce in the Battle of Sabatini (1780). In 1847, the Korvini family renamed the free city Kingdom of Cristina (Regno di Cristina) after the great Queen Cristina Maxima Korvini

Cristina was over-run by foreign powers during the War of Mantella (1935-1937) and for about sixth five years it was administered by Mantella, before finally self-declare it's independence nineteen years ago under the lead of the then Princess Nova Korvini.

Since then Cristina has been independent and has taken some steps towards integration with the rest of the wurld.

OOC: Please, inform me if something in this factbook is not in conformity with the Region lore. Thank you!

Edited February 11, 2022 by Cristina
Formatting (see edit history)

Cristina · March 9, 2020

Infrastrutture

Information and communications

The Ministry of Communications and Information oversees the development of Infocomms, Media and the Arts. Information and communications technologies are main pillars of Cristina's economic success. However, Cristina's mass communications networks, including television and phone networks, have been mostly operated by the private sector. When Cristina first came online, the population could use Teleview to communicate with each other, but no one outside of their sovereign city-state.

Today, the Free Port of Cristina is one of the most "Tech-Ready Nations" in terms of market, political and regulatory infrastructure for connectivity.

Information Technology Laboratory of the Royal University of Cristina.

Cristina also has one of the world's highest smartphone penetration rates (90%). Overall mobile phone penetration rate is at 150 mobile phone subscribers per 100 people.

Internet in Cristina is provided by state owned CrisTel and partially state owned StartUp and Max-One Limited plus some other business internet service providers (ISPs) that offer residential service plans of speeds up to 2 Gbit/s as of spring 2015.

Zenith (320 participants) and also it's smaller brother Cristina Internet Exchange - CIE (70 participants) are Internet exchange points where Internet service providers and Content delivery networks exchange Internet traffic between their networks (autonomous systems) in various locations in Cristina.

Transport

As Cristina is a small country with a high population density, the number of private cars on the road is restricted so as to curb pollution and congestion. Car buyers must pay for duties one-and-a-half times the vehicle's market value, and bid for a Cristinese Certificate of Entitlement (CCE), which allows the car to run on the road for a decade. Car prices are generally significantly higher in Cristina than in many other countries in the region Vehicles on the road and people walking on the streets keep to the right.

Cristinese residents also travel by bicycles, bus, taxis and train (MRT or LRT). Two companies run the train transport system—CBS Transit and CMRT Corporation. Four companies, Ahead, Rapido-Transit, CBS Transit and CMRT Corporation run the public buses under a 'Bus Contracting Model' where operators bid for routes. There are five taxi companies, who together put out over 26,000 taxis on the road. Taxis are a popular form of public transport as the fares are relatively cheap compared to many other developed countries.

Central Road System.

Cristina has a road system covering 3,120 kilometres , which includes 161 kilometres (100 mi) of expressways.The Cristinese Area Licensing Scheme, implemented in 2005, became one of the Europa's first congestion pricing scheme, and included other complementary measures such as stringent car ownership quotas and improvements in mass transit. Upgraded in 2010, the system introduced electronic toll collection, electronic detection, and video surveillance technology.

Cristina is growing to become a major international transport hub in Europa, serving some of the busiest sea and air trade routes. Cristina Airport is an aviation centre for the region and a stopover on many routes. There are two airports in the country, and Cristina Airport hosts a network of over 100 airlines connecting Cristina to some 150 cities in about 70 countries and territories worldwide. It has been rated one of the best international airports by international travel magazines. The national airline is Cristina Airlines.

Cristina Airport.

The Ports of Aline and St. Izabella, managed by port operators CrisPort and Port St. Izabella Co. St. Izabella was one of the Europa’s most busiest port in 2017 in terms of shipping tonnage handled, at 1.05 billion gross tons, and in terms of containerised traffic, at 20.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). Both ports are also on the busiest in Europa in terms of cargo tonnage with 405 million tons handled. In addition, St Izabella is one of the world's busiest for transshipment traffic and the Europa's biggest ship refuelling centre.

Port St. Izabella

Water supply and sanitation

With the big participation of the private sector, the access to water is universal, affordable, efficient and of high quality. Innovative integrated water management approaches such as the reuse of reclaimed water, the establishment of protected areas in urban rainwater catchments and the use of estuaries as freshwater reservoirs have been introduced along with seawater desalination to reduce the country's dependence on water imported from neighbouring natoons.

Cristina's approach does not rely only on physical infrastructure, but it also emphasises proper legislation, education (public and private) as well as research and development.

Welfare

Welfare programs are almost completely provided by the private sector. Cristineses tend to criticize the welfare state because welfare programs do not work to reduce poverty, improve education, or improve health or retirement. It is the general though that welfare programs also increase out-of-wedlock births and decrease the incentive to work. Moreover, they believe welfare programs reduce freedom by reducing the opportunity of individuals to manage their own lives.

Edited April 7, 2020 by Cristina (see edit history)

Cristina · March 11, 2020

Government, Law and Politics

Cristina has again been governed under a constitutional monarchy since it's independence, with the King or Queen of Cristina as head of state, with some powers devolved to several advisory and legislative bodies.The executive branch consists of a Minister of State as the head of government, who presides over a ten-member Council of Government. The Minister of State can be Cristinese or Mantellan. However, Queen Nova Maxima Korvini appointed, on 20 January of 2021, the Afropan-Ceistinese Keyla Rossi as Minister of State, after she had been elected by popular vote

Queen Nova Maxima Korvini.

Cristina has pursued the development of the e-governme which should enable anyone visiting a city website to communicate and interact with city employees via the Internet with graphical user interfaces (GUI), instant-messaging (IM), learn about government issues through audio/video presentations, and in any way more sophisticated than a simple email letter to the address provided at the site.

Under the currently constitution, the Queen shares her veto power with the unicameral National Council. The 36 members of the National Council are elected for four-year terms; 24 are chosen through a majority electoral system and 12 by proportional representation. All legislation requires the approval of the National Council, which is currently dominated by the classic liberal Union for Cristina which holds nineteen seats. The conservative Rally for Cristina holds twelve seats while the centre-left New People's Party holds five seats. The kingdom's city affairs are directed by the Communal Council, which consists of twenty one elected members and is presided over by a mayor, the Mayor of the City of Cristina. Like in the National Council, communal counselors are elected for four-year terms.

Executive branch

The Sovereign King (Cristinese: Re di Cristina) or Queen of Cristina (Cristinese: Regina di Cristina) is the reigning monarch and head of state of the Kingdom of Cristina. All reigning king and queen have officially taken the name of the House of Korvini, although some have belonged to other families in the male line, such as the Valentini, the Mandic, the Giordi and the Mantegni houses. The present reigning queen is Nova Maxima Korvini.

The King or Queen of Cristina exercises his or her authority in accordance with the Constitution and laws. He or she represents the Kingdom in foreign relations and any revision, either total or partial, of the Constitution must be jointly agreed to by the monarch and the National Council

Minister of State Keyla Mwanza Rossi.

The Minister of State is the head of government of Cristina, being elected by popular vote and submitted to appointment by and subordinate to the King or Queen of Cristina. During their term of office, the holder is responsible for directing the work of the Cristinese government and is in charge of foreign relations. As the monarch's representative, the Minister of State also directs the executive services, commands the Police and the Military, and presides (with voting powers) over the Council of Government.

The Council of Government is under the authority of the monarch. The title and position of King is hereditary, the Minister of State appointed by the monarch after being elected a candidate by popular vote in general elections. Until the 2002 Cristinese constitution, only Mantellan nationals were eligible for the post. The monarch is advised by the Crown Council of Cristina.

The Council of Government of Cristina consists of six members, the Minister of State, who chairs the council, and the nine members (counsellors or ministers); he or she also has voting rights, and has control of both the police and military.

• Minister of Internal affairs
• Minister of Economy and Finance
• Minister of Tourism and Urban Planning
• Minister of Social Affairs and Health
• Minister of Defense
• Minister of Foreign and Internal Trade and Telecommunications
• Minister of Justice
• Minister of Public Administration
• Minister of Science and Technology

The Council debates projects and bills proposed to the King by the other governmental councils, executive ordinances approved by the King, the Minister of State's ministerial orders, and other miscellaneous policy.

The Crown Council of Cristina is a seven-member administrative body which meets at least twice annually to advise the King of Cristina on various domestic and international affairs. It is one of three such councils designated by the Kingdom's Constitution, the other two being the National Council and the Communal Council.

The monarch appoints the council's President and three other members; the final three members are chosen amongst candidates put forward by the National Council.

Though the Crown Council is simply an advisory committee and has no legislative power, the monarch must consult it before signing international treaties, dissolving the National Council, naturalizing citizens, or making certain other executive decisions.

Legislative branch

The unicameral National Council (Consiglio nazionale) has 36 seats. The members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The Council can be disbanded by the King of Cristina provided that he hosts elections within 3 months. Cristinese legislators can be members of political parties or independents.

The Council meets at least once per month to vote on the country's budget and bills proposed by the king's government. Ordinances (executive orders) are debated in the Council of Government, and once approved, must be submitted to the king within eighty days for his signature, which makes them legally enforceable. If he does not express opposition within ten days of submission, they become valid.

Toni Minardi, Speaker of the National Council.

The role of the Speaker of the National Council in Cristina is similar to that in most Commonwealth legislatures. The Speaker presides over the sittings of National Council, and enforces the rules prescribed in its Standing Orders for the orderly conduct of parliamentary business. In carrying out their duties, the Speaker must remain impartial and fair to all national counselors.

The Speaker regulates and enforces the rules of debate. They decide who has the right to speak, and put the question for the Council to debate on and vote. The Speaker does not take part in the debates, but can abstain or vote for or against a motion if they have a vote as an elected national counselor.

As the guardian of parliamentary privileges, national counselors look to the Speaker for guidance on procedures, and for rulings on any points of order.

The Speaker is second in the order of succession for the office of Chief of State of Cristina. Should the King's Throne be vacant, and the chairman of the Crown Council is unable to take up the role, the Speaker will assume the duties of the monarch. In terms of state protocol, the Speaker sits at the same level as the Chief Justice of Cristina. The current Speaker of the national council is Toni Minardi.

Political Parties

There are six political parties officially recognised and registered by the Tribunale Elettorale Nazionale (TEN), the organism which oversees elections and electoral results at all levels of Cristinese government since September 2002. Those Parties, however, receive no subsidies from the Government to pursue their political activities. TEN may also recognize independent candidates to participate to the political life of the Kingdom.

• Raduno per Cristina (Rally for Cristina): Right-wing; Seats in the National Council: 12/36 / Seats in the Communal Council: 8/21; Ideology: conservatism, economic liberalism, fiscal conservatism, monarchism.

• Unione per Cristina (Union for Cristina): Centre-right; Seats in the National Council: 19/36 / Seats in the Communal Council: 7/21; Ideology: social liberalism, economic liberalism, classical liberalism, monarchism.

• Nuovo Partito Popolare (New People's Party): Centre-left;Seats in the National Council: 5/36 / Seats in the Communal Council: 2/21; Ideology: social democracy, democratic socialism, laborism, Cristinese nationalism.

• Visione Libertaria (Libertarian Viewpoint): Centre-up; Seats in the National Council: 0/36 / Seats in the Communal Council: 2/21; Ideology: libertarianism, cultural liberalism, economic liberalism, fiscal conservatism, laissez-faire, decentralisation, non-interventionism.

• Socialismo e Libertà (Socialism and Liberty): Left-wing; Seats in the National Council: 0/36 / Seats of the Communal Council: 2/21; Ideology: democratic socialism, eco-socialism, cultural liberalism, left-wing populism, socialism of the 21st century.

• Repubblicano (Republican): Centre; Seats in the National Council: 0/36 / Seats in the Communal Council: 1/20; Ideology: modern republicanism, centrism, Cristinese nationalism.

Judicial branch

The supreme courts are the Judicial Revision Court (Corte di Revisione Giudiziaria), which hears civil and criminal cases (as well as some administrative cases), and the Supreme Tribunal (Corte Suprema), which performs judicial review. Both courts are staffed by judges appointed among judges of lesser courts, such as the Tribunale Elettorale Nazionale, members of the Crown Council and university professors.

Adriano Saubi, Chief of Justice.

The Chief Justice of Cristina is the highest post in the judicial system of the city-state. The Chief Justice is appointed by the reigning monarch, chosen from candidates recommended by the Minister of State. The incumbent Chief Justice is Adriano Saubi.

Administrative Subdivisions

The Free Port of Cristina is the smallest country by area in Europa; It is also the smallest monarchy, and is one of the most densely populated country in the world. The state consists of only one municipality (commune). There is no geographical distinction between the State and the City of Cristina, although responsibilities of the government (state-level) and of the municipality (city-level) are different. According to the former constitution, the kingdom was subdivided into three municipalities:

• Santo Cristo (Saint Christ), the old city, where is located the Port of Aline and the ruins of the Castle of Aline;

• Centrale (Central), the principal residential and resort area with the Cristina Opera House in the east and northeast;

• Sabatini, the southeastern section including the Port St. Izabella.

The municipalities were merged into one after the independence, after accusations that the government of Mantella was acting according to the motto "divide and conquer," and they were accorded the status of Wards or Quartiers thereafter.

Additional wards were created and settled by new land reclamation and subdivisions of existing ones. Queen Nova Maxima announced in her New Year Speech of 2017 a new development called Ancoraggia that will become the eleventh ward.

The Communal Council (City Council) is the body responsible for the civil administration of the ten quartiers of the Kingdom of Cristina. Because Cristina is both a nation and a city, the council chooses the Mayor of the City of Cristina and his/her officers. It consists of twenty one members, elected by direct universal suffrage to four-year terms, and a mayor, selected by the members. It meets a last once per month. The main responsibilities of the City Council and the Mayor concern the social and cultural spheres. These responsibilities include support for daycares, home care for seniors, and the Academy of music, as well as organization of elections, granting of marriage licenses, and encouraging engagement in the life of the city. The current Mayor of the City of Cristina is the conservative Diego Martellucci.

Law and Order

The legal system of Cristina is a form of common law. Trial by jury was abolished by the Queen so that judicial decisions would rest entirely in the hands of appointed judges.There is Capital punishment in Cristina for murder, as well as for certain aggravated drug-trafficking and firearms offences.

Law enforcement is the responsibility of the Royal Civil Security Force (Forza Reale di Sicurezza Civile - FRESIC), which encompasses the civil police force of Cristina and is subordinate to the Department of Safety of the Ministry of Justice. FRESIC fields about 5.000 uniformed officers. National security and counterintelligence are the responsibility of the Royal Security and Information Agency (Agenzia Reale di Sicurezza e Intelligenzia - ARSI).

Queen Nova Maxima Korvini

Born Nova Tati Alexandre and now commonly known as Nova Maxima Korvini, she is the Queen of the Kingdom of Cristina. She is a stateswoman and former revolutionary, serving in various roles since 1998. During the War of Independence, she was a leader of the Monarchical Restoration, often regarded as the most effective resistance movement in occupied City of Cristina. While her reigning has been criticized as authoritarian for some, and concerns about the repression of political opponents have been raised in the first years of her rule along with her husband King Rober Mantegni Korvini II, most political and social analysts consider her a benevolent ruler. She is a popular public figure in Cristina and abroad. Viewed as a unifying symbol, her internal policies maintained the peaceful coexistence of the nations of the Mantellan borderlands. She gained further international attention as a chief leader of Non-Aligned movements, initially with King Rober II.

Nova was born in April 1979 to Garibaldi Alexandre, a Cristinese count and Joanne Rosbeau, a Lysian musician in the village of Doriana, [nation=noflag]Mantella[/nation]. Drafted into public service, she distinguished herself, becoming the youngest member of the Secretary of State of occupied Cristina. After being seriously wounded in an outrage and captured by the Emakerans during the Independence War, Nova was sent to a prison in the Mountains. After her escape in a mass flight she participated in the March Revolution of 1998, and in November 1998 joined a Revolutionary Guard (RG) unit in Modena, Mantella. Upon her return home in January 2000, Nova met her future husband, Cristinese Prince in Exile Rober Mantegni Korvini, himself leader of the RG that was fighting to re-establish the Korvini rule in Cristina against both Mantellans and republican movements. They soon felt in love for each other. In June 2000, they got married in Modena in a partially destroyed Othodox church and in that same day she was crowned Princess Nova Korvini of Cristina.

signature.

She was General Secretary of the League of the Revolutionaries for the Independence of Cristina (2000-2001), and went on to lead the independence armed movement, the RG (from October, 2000). After the war, she became Queen of Cristina following the coronation of Prince Rober as King Rober Mantegni Korvini II of Cristina. Her first act as Queen was to unilaterally declare the Kingdom of Cristina an independent city-state.

Since the death of King Rober II in a car crashing in 2005, Queen Nova is the country's Head of State and holds the rank of Marshal of Cristina, serving as the supreme commander of the Kingdom's military, the Royal Defense Force. With highly favourable reputation abroad, Queen Nova received various foreign decorations.

Along with her husband and after his death, she is regarded as the chief architect of the Free Port of Cristina. She began with her own social and economic programs, backing independent roads to implementation of industry subsidization, free market policies and a self-management system that differentiated the city-state of Cristina from other Europan countries. The turn towards a model of free economic zone brought a impressive economic expansion in the last eleven years.

Queen Nova has a 17 years old daughter with King Rober II, the Princess Carolina Alexandre Valentini Mandic Giordi Mantegni Korvini.

amanda_bynes_vintage_car_wallpaper_700x5

Princess Carolina Korvini

More about Queen Nova Maxima Korvini:

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1372971

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1268443
https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1268531

Minister of State Keyla Rossi

Signora Keyla Mwanza Rossi was born in Cristina. Her maternal grandparents are ethnic Afropan. Her maternal grandfather Fabrice Mwanza, an Afropan military officer, was born in the city of Hawamas, in @Afropa. Her maternal grandmother Moca was born in the Afropan city of Port-Noir. Her paternal grandparents, Marcello and Gabriella Rossi are from Cristina.

Rossi holds an BBA diploma of the Royal University of Cristina and MBA of the Korvini Technological University, and worked for over a decade with international organizations, foreign investors, local self-government units, and the public sector in Cristina.

She joined the Unione Libera party (currently Unione per Cristina) in 2000 and was the first Afropan-Cristinese woman elected for the National Council after Cristina's independence in 2001. Rossi became a very popular public figure and has been re-elected national counselor since then.

Prior to Rossi's first election to the National Council in 2001, she was a junior director of Veritas Venture Holdings, where she worked on the implementation of the investment of DL$200 million into a windpark in the ward of Verdemare. She is an immigrant's rights activist and is a member of the managing board of the non-profit foundation Forza Nera.

She has been engaged in different Cristinese consulting companies that implemented financed projects in Cristina and in the cities of the Special Administrative Zone (Cristinese Corridor) in Mantella. She was an expert on the Local self-government Reform Program in Cristina and a coordinator of the Program of Economic Development of the Municipality that led to the Port Act of 2005. During that engagement, she participated in the introduction of the concept of local economic development in Cristina and building of potentials of the country to improve the business environment at the local level with active promotion of investments.

In January 2021, she was appointed as the Minister of State by the queen Nova Korvini after expressive popular acclamation in the 2021 General Elections. Rossi is the first black and the youngest person to be appointed prime minister in the Cristinese History. In addition, she is the president of the Royal Council for Innovative Entrepreneurship (CRII) of the Kingdom of Cristina, as well as of the Royal Council for National Minorities (CRMN) since 2018.

Rossi described herself as a technocratic. She explained that the priorities for her government are modernization, education reform and digitization.

After she was appointed Minister of State, Rossi said that she did not want to be branded Cristina's black prime minister and that she did not plan "to push minorities legal reforms at this stage", rather leaving the minorities causes to her many works in the CRMN and the non-profit organizations in which she is an active member, because as Minister of State she wanted to prioritise other policy reforms. In September 2018, Rossi took part in the 20th LGBT Pride Parade in Cristina and became the first Cristinese prime minister to attend a pride parade.

Rossi has been awarded numerous plaudits for the development projects on which she worked, for the promotion of socially accountable business operation and tolerance. She has been awarded the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Cristina in 2018, thus becoming member of the Nobilità Cristina.

Edited February 5, 2021 by Cristina (see edit history)

Cristina · March 11, 2020

Geography and Climate

Also known as Free Port of Cristina or less commonly as the "Yellow City", the Kingdom of Cristina is a sovereign port city-state, with 10 Wards, located in Europa. It is bordered by the Mantella’s Sea Districts on western, northern, and eastern side with the south side bordering the Byzantine Sea. Its center is about 200 km southwest of Modena, Capital city of the Republica of Mantella. The Kingdom of Cristina has population of 7,453,682 living in an area of 1,221 km2 (486.5 sq mi), making it one of the smallest and most densely populated country in Eurth. The Kingdom of Cristina claims territorial waters to a distance of 6 nautical miles (11.2 km). Half of the kingdom’s land area is built-up, while the other half is forest and agricultural land.

The highest point in the country is at the access to the Korvini Palazzo residential building on the Rocca di Santo Cristo in the Santo Cristo Ward from the Sea Lane at 164.4 metres (539 feet) above sea level. The lowest point in the country is the Byzantine Sea. The Fiume della Principessa is the longest flowing body of water, around 28 km (24 miles) in length, and Lake Ave is the largest lake, approximately 5 ha (12.4 acres) in size. Cristina's most populated Ward is the Central Ward. After recent land reclamation the total area grew 15%; consequently, new plans have been approved to extend the Ward of Santo Cristo. There are two ports in Cristina: Aline and Port Saint Izabella. Cristina’s only natural resource is fishing; There is a neighboring Mantellan port called Godalia that is near Cristina.

Cristina has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa), which is influenced by the oceanic climate and the humid subtropical climate. As a result, it has warm, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. Cool and rainy interludes can interrupt the dry summer season, the average length of which is also shorter. Summer afternoons are infrequently hot (indeed, temperatures greater than 30 °C or 86 °F are rare) as the atmosphere is temperate because of constant sea breezes. On the other hand, the nights are very mild, due to the fairly high temperature of the sea in summer. Generally, temperatures do not drop below 20 °C (68 °F) in this season. In the winter, frosts and snowfalls are extremely rare and generally occur once or twice every ten years. The annual average precipitation is 758.9 mm.

Economy

Cristina has a highly developed market economy, based historically on extended entrepôt trade.

Cristinese economy is known as one of the freest, most innovative, most competitive, most dynamic and most business-friendly. wurldwide Index of Economic Freedom ranks the Free Port of Cristina in top five freest economy in the wurld and one of the easiest place to do business for the past decade.

Cristinese economy is diversified, with its top contributors – financial services, manufacturing, shipping. Its main exports are arms, integrated circuits and computers which constituted 30% of the country's GDP in 2017, and includes significant electronics, arms manufactoring, chemicals, mechanical engineering and biomedical sciences sectors. In 2016, Cristina produced about 10% of the wurld's foundry wafer (such as crystalline silicon) output.

Cristina has maintained sound economic and trade relations with more than 100 countries; The wurld Bank classifies Cristina as a high income economy and the GDP per capita of the region is US$$76,003. After the country independence, there has been a rapid rise in the number of mainland visitors due to the Queen Nova's programs on easing of travel restrictions. Together with the liberalization of Cristina's gaming industry two years ago, that induces significant investment inflows, the average growth rate of the economy in the last three years was approximately 3.7% annually.

The Kingdom of Cristina is an offshore financial centre, a tax haven, and a free port with no foreign exchange control regimes. The Monetary Authority of Cristina regulates offshore finance, while the Cristinese Trade and Investment Promotion Institute provides services for investment in Cristina. In the last year, Moody's Investors Service upgraded Cristina's foreign and local currency government issuer ratings to 'Aa3' from 'A1', citing its government's solid finances as a large net creditor. The rating agency also upgraded Cristina's foreign currency bank deposit ceiling to 'Aa3' from 'A1'.

As prescribed by the Cristinese Basic Law, the government follows the principle of keeping expenditure within the limits of revenues in drawing up its budget, and strives to achieve a fiscal balance, avoid deficits and keep the budget commensurate with the growth rate of its gross domestic product.

The official currency of Cristina is the digital Linda (ISO code: DL), and the central bank is Royal Bank of Cristina. The Cristina Stock Exchange (CEX) is the only stock exchange in the country, with market capitalization of roughly $550 billion (as of last year) and CEX10 as the main index representing the 10 most liquid stocks.

Cristina has one of the lowest unemployment rates among developed countries. Active labor force at the end of the last year stood at 4.55 million, of whom 59.6% are employed in services sector, 23.9% are employed in the industry and 16.5% are employed in agriculture. The average monthly net salary in june 2015 was DL925.10 (US$2,915.50).

Since it's independence, Cristina has attracted over $980 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI). Blue-chip corporations making investments in Cristina include many of greatest wurld corporations that have made large investments.

Cristina's largest companies are in the telecoms, arms, banking, transportation and manufacturing sectors, many of which started as state-run enterprises, and has since been listed on the Cristina Stock Exchange, including Cristina Telecommunications (CrisTel), Cristina Technologies Engineering, Korvini Corporation, Cristinese Inovative Solutions (CIS), Development Bank of Cristina (CBS). The Limonaian United Overseas Bank (UOB) also has its headquarter in Cristina.

The nation's best known global brands include Cristina Airlines, Siena Fleet System (SFS), Korvini Corporation, ,Cristina Arms Solutions (CAS) and Port of St. Izabella Co, all of them are amongst the most-awarded in their respective industry sectors.

The country has free trade agreements with many countries in the region, and a preferential trade regime with the @Fleur de Lys, @Limonaia, @Magnaeus, @Prymont, the @Sunset Sea Islandsand @Adaptus

Cristina has also one of the wurld's highest percentage of millionaires, with one out of every ten households having at least one million US dollars in disposable wealth. This excludes property, businesses, and luxury goods, which if included would increase the number of millionaires, especially as property in Cristina is among the wurld's most expensive. Cristina does not have a minimum wage, believing that it would lower its competitiveness. It also has one of the highest income inequalities among developed countries.

Social and Economic Council: This committee was established in 2005 under the Free Port Act to advise the Minister of Economy and Finance, the Minister of Urban Planning and Tourism and the Minister of Foreign and Internal Trade and Telecommunications on any matter concerning the country’s economic situation. This covers areas such as social, financial, touristic, commercial and industrial order.

Any law pertaining to the above sectors is also submitted to the Council by the Government for discussion.

The Council is made up of thirty-three members nominated by the King or Queen for a period of three years. Eleven members are recommended by the Government, eleven members are chosen by the Government from a list of twenty which is drawn up by the Unions, and the last eleven members are chosen by the Government from a list of twenty drawn up by the Cristinese Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

The president and two vice-presidents are chosen by the King or Queen from these 33 members.

Edited August 3, 2021 by Cristina
Including the Social and Economic Council (see edit history)

Cristina · March 12, 2020

Education and Culture

Education for primary, secondary, and tertiary levels is largely driven by the private sector. All institutions, private and public, must be registered with the Ministry of Public Administration. Cristinese is the language of instruction in all public schools, and all subjects are taught and examined in Cristinese.

Royal University of Cristina.

Education takes place in three stages: primary, secondary, and pre-university education. Only the primary level is compulsory. Students begin with six years of primary school, which is made up of a four-year foundation course and a two-year orientation stage. The curriculum is focused on the development of Cristinese, the mother tongue, mathematics, and science. Secondary school lasts from four to five years, and is divided between Special, Express, Normal (Academic), and Normal (Technical) streams in each school, depending on a student's ability level. The basic coursework breakdown is the same as in the primary level, although classes are much more specialised. Pre-university education takes place over two to three years at senior schools, mostly called Junior Colleges.

Post-secondary education institutions include four polytechnics, institutes of technical education (ITEs), three private universities and one public university of which the Royal University of Cristina and the Korvini Technological University are among the top 20 universities in Europa.

Cristina is an education hub, with more than 80,000 international students in 2017. 5,000 students from Mantella cross the borders daily to attend schools in the Free Port. In 2017, 20% of all students in Cristinese universities were international students – the maximum cap allowed.

Culture

Music: The country has a long and rich musical tradition, closely linked to that of Mantella and @Fleur de Lys, but which is also highly independent in itself. In the 17th century, composers including the Cristinese Roberto Valdoti wrote some of the finest pieces of the era.

Regina Opera Hall

The Free Port of Cristina has an opera house (the Regina Opera Hall), a symphony orchestra and a classical ballet company, the

Corporis Company.

Visual arts: The City has a national museum of contemporary visual art at the New National Museum of Cristina. The country also has numerous works of public art, statues, and memorials.

Museums: The Apotheosis Museum, the New National Museum of Cristina and the worldwide family Royal Oceanographic Museum are the most visited of the 30 museums in Cristina.

Museo dell'Apoteosi.

Events, festivals and shows: The Kingdom of Cristina hosts major international events such as the International Circus Festival of Aline, Cristinese International Auto Show and the Free Port Television Festival.

Architeture: Cristina exhibits a wide range of architecture, but the principality's signature style, particularly in Santo Cristo, is that of the Belle Epoque. It finds its most florid expression in the Regina Opera Hall created by Prince Albertino one century ago. Decorative elements including turrets, balconies, pinnacles, multi-coloured ceramics and caryatids and borrowed and blended to create a picturesque fantasy of pleasure and luxury, and an alluring expression of how Cristina sought, and still seeks, to portray itself. This capriccio of Mantellan, Lysian and Magnean elements was incorporated into hacienda villas and apartments. Following major development in the period under Mantellan dominance, High Chancellor Tito Vero of Mantella banned high rise development in the city. However, after the independence of Cristina, Queen Nova Maxima overturned this Sovereign Order. In recent years the accelerating demolition of Cristina's architectural heritage, including its single-family villas, has created dismay.The kingdom currently has no heritage protection legislation.

Facade of the Royal University of Cristina.

Science and Technology

Cristina is one of the leading nation in scientific research, particularly in fields related to the natural sciences and information technology in the world. The country ranks as one of the most innovative countries.

Scientific and technological development in Cristina at first did not occur largely because of more pressing matters such as the Mantellan occupation of the city and the subsequent War of Independence. It was not until the 2005, under the Queen Nova Maxima Korvini and the establishment of the Free Port Act that Cristina's economy rapidly grew from industrialisation. Ever since the industrialization of the Cristinese economy, the country has placed its focus on technology-based corporations, such as Siena, which has been supported by infrastructure developments by the government. Cristinese corporation CrisTel was ranked amongst the largest mobile phone companies in the world in the first quarter of 2017. An estimated 90% of Cristineses own a mobile phone. Aside from placing/receiving calls and text messaging, mobile phones in the country are widely used for watching Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) or viewing websites. Over one million DMB phones have been sold and the three major wireless communications providers CrisTel, Start-Up, and Max-One provide coverage in all major areas. Cristina has one of the fastest Internet download speeds in the world, with an average download speed of 25.3 Mbit/s.

Cristina is a world leader in graduates in science and engineering. Additionally, Cristina today is known as a Launchpad of a mature mobile market, where developers can reap benefits of a market where very few technology constraints exist. There is a growing trend of inventions of new types of media or apps, utilizing the 4G and 5G internet infrastructure in Cristina. The country has today the infrastructures to meet a density of population and culture that has the capability to create strong local particularity.

Cyber security: Following cyberattacks in the first half of 2013, whereby government, news-media, television station, and bank websites were compromised, the national government committed to the training of 500 new cybersecurity experts by 2017. The Cristinese government blamed Mantella for these attacks, as well as incidents that occurred in 2009, 2011 and 2012, but Modena denies the accusations.

In late September 2013, a computer-security competition jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Defense and the Royal Security and Information Agency (Agenzia Reale di Sicurezza e Intelligenzia - ARSI) was announced. The winners were announced on September 29, 2013 and shared a total prize pool of 80 million won (US$74,000).

Robotics: Robotics has been included in the list of main national Research and Development projects in Cristina since 2009. In 2011, the government announced plans to build robot-themed parks in Sabatini with a mix of public and private funding.

In 2010, Advanced Institute of Science and Technology of the Royal University of Cristina (AIST) developed it's first walking humanoid robot, Maxima.

Plans of creating Language-teaching robot assistants to compensate for the shortage of teachers were announced by the Korvini Technological University February 2018, with the robots being deployed to most preschools and kindergartens by 2021.

Biotechnology: Since the 2000's, the Cristinese government has invested in the development of a domestic biotechnology industry, and the sector is projected to grow to $4.5 billion by 2020. The medical sector accounts for a large part of the production, including production of hepatitis vaccines and antibiotics.

Recently, research and development in genetics and cloning has received increasing attention, with the first successful cloning of a dog, Fido (in 2016), and the cloning of two females of an endangered species of weasel, in 2018.

In 2013 the government created the Committee for Ethics in Science to avoid that the rapid growth of the industry does not result in significant voids in regulation of ethics

More on Cristinese Science and Technology: https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1314489

Religion

The Kingdom of Cristina is a predominantly Christian Orthodox state—over 89% of the population profess the Cristinese Orthodox faith, but it is not the established religion. Approximately half of those who profess to be Orthodox practice the faith.

Theere is a provision under the income tax rules that the taxpayers have the right to request for allocation of 0.3% of their income tax to the Cristinese Orthodox Church or to "other" charities.

There has been a Violetist presence in Cristina for at least 600 years. There are many documents throughout the centuries describing Violetist dealings and verifying the presence of a Violetist community in Cristina. Violetists were permitted official protection by the government.

The Cristinese Orthodox Church

The Cristinese Orthodox Church is an autocephalous, or ecclesiastically independent, member of the Europan Orthodox Christian communion. Cristinese Patriarch serves as first among equals in his church; the current patriarch Milus. The Church achieved autocephalous status in 1723 under the leadership of St. Titus, becoming independent Archbishopric of Santi Cristo. Its status was elevated to that of a patriarchate in 1846 (Patriarchate of Cristina).

Adherents::Based on the official census results there are about 6.6 million adherents of the church in the Free Port of Cristina making it the largest single religious faith in the Kingdom. Figures for eparchies abroad is unknown although some estimates can be reached based on the size of Cristinese diaspora, which numbers over 1 million people.

Structure: The head of the Cristinese Orthodox Church, the patriarch, also serves as the head (metropolitan) of the Metropolitanate of Cristina. Milus became patriarch on 22 August 2015. Cristinese Orthodox patriarchs use the style His Holiness the Archbishop of Cristina, Metropolitan of Cristina, Cristinese Patriarch.

The highest body of the Church is the Holy assembly of Bishops (Cristinese: Sacri Adunata Viscovio). It consists of the Patriarch, the Metropolitans, Bishops and Vicar Bishops. It meets twice a year - in spring and in autumn. The Holy assembly of Bishops makes important decisions for the church and elects the patriarch.

The executive body of the Cristinese Orthodox Church is the Holy Synod. It has five members: four bishops and the patriarch.The Holy Synod takes care of the everyday operation of the Church, holding meetings on regular basis.

Worship, Liturgy and Doctrine: Services cannot properly be conducted by a single person, but must have at least one other person present. Usually, all of the services are conducted on a daily basis only in monasteries and cathedrals, while parish churches might only do the services on the weekend and major feast days. The Divine Liturgy is the celebration of the Eucharist. The Divine Liturgy is not celebrated on weekdays during the preparatory season of Great Lent. Communion is consecrated on Sundays and distributed during the week at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. Services, especially the Divine Liturgy, can only be performed once a day on any particular altar.

Inside the Metropolitan Cathedral
of Santo Cristo.

The Church is characterized by monotheistic Trinitarianism, a belief in the Incarnation of the Logos (Son of God), a balancing of cataphatic theology with apophatic theology, a hermeneutic defined by Sacred Tradition, a concrete ecclesiology, a robust theology of the person, and a therapeutic soteriology.

A key part of the Cristinese Orthodox religion is the Elevazione, a celebration of the House Korvini Patron Saint, Paolini, placed into Cristinese Orthodox religious canon by the first archbishop Saint Titus.

Inter-Christian relations: The Cristinese Orthodox Church is in full communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Europa (which holds a special place of honour within Orthodoxy and serves as the seat for the Ecumenical Patriarch, who enjoys the status of first-among-equals) and all of the autocephalous Europan Orthodox church bodies. It is a member of the World Council of Churches since 1960 and of the Conference of Europan Churches.

Symbols: A black Suppedaneum (Orthodox) cross on a yellow or gold field is used as the official flag of the Cristinese Orthodox Church. A number of other unofficial variant flags, some with variations of the cross, coat of arms, or both, exist.

Edited July 5, 2020 by Cristina (see edit history)

Cristina · March 13, 2020

Cuisine

Cristinese cuisine is a mixture of the Central Europan cuisine (especially @Fleur de Lys and @Magnaeus) and the Mantellan cuisine. Historically, Cristinese cuisine was divided into town, farmhouse, castle and monastic cuisines

Ethnologically, the most characteristic Cristinese dishes were one-pot dishes, such as ricet, Cristinese stew, minestrone, and poltiglia buckwheat spoonbread. The nut roll (potica) has become a symbol of Cristina, especially among the cristinese population in Mantella and Emakera. Soups were added to the traditional one-pot meals and various kinds of porridge and stew only in relatively recent history.

Cristinese minestrone

Roasted potatoes, which have been traditionally served in most Cristinese families only on Sundays—preceded by a meat-based soup, such as beef or chicken soup—have been depicted on a special edition of post marks by the Post of Cristina on 16 October 2012. The best known sausage is Salsiccia di Carniola.

Sports

In Cristina football is the most popular sport. Basketball and volleyball are also popular. The three sports have their own federations, the Cristinese Football Federation (Federazione Cristina Calcistica - FCC), the Cristinese Basketball Association (Associazione Cristina Pallacanestro - ACPAC) and the Cristinese Volleyball League (Lega Cristina Pallavolo- LCPAV).

Despite being the most popular sport, the Cristinese national football team, nicknamed the "Squadra d'Oro", was having little success (being made up of part-timers drawn from some local sportive clubs) until 2018 when it has qualified for the UENA World Cup, in Orioni. In their first appearance in a major tournament they were knocked out in the Quarter-finals.

Amandine Navara, star of the Women's National Volleyball Team.

Cristina participated for the first time in the Bogd Gioro games of the 2019 Summer Olympics with excellent results, winning 19 gold, 13 silver and 12 bronze medals. The first Cristinese medals has been won in shooting by Brunitta Rossetti (gold) and Simona Innocenti (silver) in the category of Women's Skeet.

Edited August 22, 2020 by Cristina (see edit history)

Cristina · March 13, 2020

The Cristinese military is arguably one of the most technologically advanced in Europa. It comprises the Regio Esercito (Royal Army), Regia Marina (Royal Navy), and the Regia Aeronautica Militare (Royal Air Force). It is seen as the guarantor of the country's independence. This principle translates into the culture, involving all citizens in the country's defence. The country dedicates about 30% of the government spending to the military.

Military age: 16.5 years of age
Conscription: 18 years of age, 22- to 24-month period (compulsory)
Available for military service: 1,255,902, age 18–49 (2016 est.)
Fit for military service: 2,105,973, age 18–49 (2016 est.)
Reaching military age annually: 52,466 (2016 est.)
Active personnel: 72,000 (incl. average 46,800 conscripts annually)
Reserve personnel: 1,386,000+ (2016 est.)
Expenditures Budget: DL $15.085 billion (US$10.77bn)
Percent of GDP: 3.2%
Industry Domestic suppliers: Siena Fleet Systems (SFS), Cristina Arms Solutions (CAS), Supermarina

The Royal Defense Forces (RDF) is being developed to respond to a wide range of issues, in both conventional and unconventional warfare. The Defense Science and Technology Agency is responsible for procuring resources for the military. The geographic restrictions of the Free Port of Cristina mean that the RDF must plan to fully repulse an attack, as they can not fall back and re-group. The small size of the population has also affected the way the RDF has been designed, with a moderate active force but a large number of reserves. It has an active strength of around 70,800 personnel and is capable of mobilising over a million reservists.

Mariners of the Royal Navy.

Deterrence and diplomacy have been the fundamental tenets of Cristina's military defence policy. Through the years, the military has developed extensive links with armed forces from other countries. In recent years, there has also been an increased emphasis on international peace-keeping and relief operations, notably the peace-keeping operations.

Cristina has conscription for all able-bodied males at age 18, except those with a criminal record. Those who have yet to complete pre-university education or are awarded the Public Service Commission scholarship can opt to defer their draft. Though not required to perform military service, the number of women in the RDF has been increasing: since the kingdom's independence they have been allowed to fill military vocations formerly reserved for men. Before induction into a specific branch of the armed forces, recruits undergo at least 9 weeks of basic military training.

AV-81 Terra armoured amphibious combat vehicle.

Training involving activities such as live firing and amphibious warfare is often carried outside the urban area and are typically barred to civilian access. This also avoids risk to the city. However, large-scale drills are considered too dangerous to be performed in the area, and have been performed in the Cristinese Protectorate in Mantella. Training is also held in about a dozen other countries. In general, military exercises are held with foreign forces once or twice per week.

Due to airspace and land constraints, the Royal Air Force (RAM) maintains a number of overseas bases and in [nation]Mantella[/nation]. The RAM's 11 Squadron is based in RAM Base Brosinek, Western Mantella. The RAM also has a few overseas detachments in other Europan countries.

The RDF has sent forces to assist in operations outside the country. It has helped stabilise western Mantella and also helped in relief efforts and humanitarian aid missions in @Afropa.

D&D Mustang native armored amphibious carrier

The RDF utilises technology as "force multipliers", especially in the area of integration, which will enable its various units to fight in an integrated manner. The Army, Air Force and Navy are linked via advanced data-links and networks to enable coordinated attacks and support for various units and forces. Technology is an important element in the RDF's transformation into a 3rd Generation Fighting Force.

The RDF acknowledges that technology is crucial for overcoming the limitations of Cristina's small population. Having consistently had one of the largest defence budgets in the region, the Free Port of Cristina has focused on maintaining its spending on sophisticated and superior weaponry. Research and experimentation to develop a technological edge began fifteen years ago, even though the RDF then had only rudimentary capabilities. The effort started off with a three-man team. At present, the RDF is one of the largest employers of engineers and scientists in Cristina and continues to devote considerable resources to defence research and development (R&D) and experimentation – 5% and 1% of the defence budget, respectively. Cristina's education system has also produced national servicemen who can be trained to operate RDF's sophisticated platforms and systems.

Royal Army soldiers conducting military training mission.

The country also has an advanced and well established military manufacturing industry that is responsible for the design and development of hight-tech military hardware such as:

• C1 Aries MBT: Modern main battle tank.
• Sago IFV: 8x8 wheeled infantry fighting vehicle (an advanced upgrade of the Mantellan VCC)
• Matadore: Unguided short range Anti-rmour weapon
• Ursa: Light weight howitzer
• CAS AR-2: Multirole combat and assault Rifle
• Estelar-Class stealth frigates: Warships designed with stealthy characteristics, equipped with advanced combat systems and with longer endurance.
• F-13 Vulturi: A single-seat, single-jet engine, 4.5th generation multirole fighter designed for the Air Force and Navy. The aircraft is equipped with a wide range of weapons and is intended to perform air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship strike missions. It has a tail-less cropped delta-canard configuration, which provides for high maneuverability. The Vulturi has been developed as a joint Cristina-[nation=noflag]Fleur de lys[/nation].

Aérospatiale-Siena Mirage 2000D/A-2 "Korvo" attack aircraft.

The Royal Defense Forces consists of the:

• Army (three Combined Arms Divisions, two Army Operational Reserve Divisions and one island defence command);
• Air Force (twenty eight squadrons and ten air bases);
• Navy (eleven squadrons and two naval bases)

The RDF is headed by the Chief of Defence Force (CDF), a three-star General (i.e. Lieutenant General) by establishment and the sole and only (active) RDF General that can be promoted or hold three-star rank; he is assisted by the three chiefs of the respective services (Army, Airforce, Navy), who are two-star generals/admirals by establishment (or Major-General/ Rear-Admiral). The RDF has a Sergeant Major who currently holds the rank of CWO. The CDF is supported by various staff from branches such as the Joint Operations and Planning Directorate, the Joint Manpower Department, the Joint Logistic Department, the Military Intelligence Organisation and the Foreign Military Liaison Branch.

AATC 206 armoured all-terrain carrier of the Royal Army

Supporting the combat role of the RDF, are other governmental organisations of the Ministry of Defence, such as the Defence Policy Group, the Defence Management Group, the Defence Industry and System Office and the Defence Research and Technology Office. Within these groups are the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA), the Central Manpower Base (CMPB), and the Military Security Department (MSD). Domestic technology companies also play a role in building up Cristinese military capabilities, particularly the government-linked Siena Fleet Systems (SFS), Cristina Arms Solutions (CAS), and Draco and Domini Co. (D&D), both which designed and built some of the RDF's more advanced weaponry and equipment based on specific local requirements which may be expensive for foreign companies to adapt and produce.

The Special Operations Task Force, composed of the selected members of the Special Operations Force, CDF Commando Formation, Naval Diving Unit and other forces integrated under one command, is formed to combat common terrorist threats.

Frigates and Corvettes of the Royal Navy in the Byzantine Sea.

Edited March 13, 2020 by Cristina (see edit history)

Cristina · March 15, 2020

The House of Korvini

The House of Korvini is associated with the history of the Republic of Mantella and the Kingdom of Cristina.

The Korvinis descend from Korvino Valdo, a Mantellan statesman that became Vicar of Modena at the age of 30. His numerous descendants led maritime expeditions throughout all Europan seas. They quickly became one of the most powerful families of Mantella.

Korvino Valdo (circa 1030).

The Korvini feared that the head of the rival family, the House of Pomarola, could break the fragile balance of power in a political coup and become lords of most Mantellan cities. They entered into an alliance with the Valentini family and defended their interests with the sword. But the Valentinis were banned from the Kingdom, and the Korvinis took refuge in their castles in Skrovja. They signed a treaty with King Drogan II of Skrovja to take control of the Mantellan port city of Saint Christ, and generally to provide mutual assistance. Not all the Korvinis chose to return to Mantella, as they preferred to settle in their fiefdoms, where they could raise armies.

portrait_of_a_young_man_by_moretto_da_br

Count Andreas Korvini the "Silver Crow" (1665).

Decades later, the Korvinis and their allies launched a few galleys to attack the port of Saint Christ before taking refuge on the Bay of Mandi in Western Mantella. During the following years, the Korvinis entered into different alliances that would allow them to return to power in Saint Christ. This time, it was the turn of their rivals, the Pomarola family, to be exiled from Mantella. During this period, both the Valentini and the Korvini took and abandoned the castle of Monardi, which was ideally located to launch political and military operations against Saint Christ.

Queen Maxima Valentini Korvini (1716).

In the early 17th, the Skrovjans raided the shores of Mantella, challenging King Esteban I of Mantella and Lord Horacio Korvini of Saint Christ. In 1663, a combined fleet of eighty Mantellan galleys gathered to meet the fleet of sixty galleys under the command of Horacio's son, Lord Andreas Korvini, to fight the Skrovjans. Only nine of the assembled vessels survived the fierce battle. Fearing an invasion, the Korvini rushed to request the protection of the Emakera.

f_162206843_b7b1c83a631e975381fbec294e6f

Queen Cristina Maxima Korvini the Unbeaten (1780).

Several of the oldest feudal branches of the House of Korvini appeared during these conflicts, such as the branches of Tatiani and Cecilia. In 1714, Andreas' son, Teodoro Korvini, took advantage of the death of the Skrovjan King Goran in the aftermath of the bloody Skrovjan Revolution as well as of family feuds in Mantella. to consolidate Korvini's possession of Saint Christ, declaring it a independent city-state with the support of the Orthodox Church. This the origin of the today’s kingdom (1714). Teodoro was crowned king of Saint Christ in the same year.

Korvini flag until 1714.

In the following decades, when Mantella became a part of Emakera, the region came under Skrovjan influence again but Skrovjan king Petrus Mandic allowed the Kingdom of Saint Christ to remain independent in a truce with Queen Cristina Maxima Korvini after the Battle of Sabatini (1780). In 1847 the Korvini family and the National Council renamed the free city to City of Cristina and the kingdom to Kingdom of Cristina (Regno di Cristina), in Christ's honor and in reference to Queen Cristina, the greatest and most popular of the Korvini queens. In 1937, The Kingdom of Cristina was over-run by foreign powers during the War of Mantella and for a short time it was administered by Emakera and then Mantella, before finally self-declare it's independence in 2001 under the leadership of the then Prince Rober Mantegni Korvini and Princess Nova Korvini. Since then Cristina has been independent and has taken some steps towards integration with the rest of Europa.

King Leandro Korvini (1850).

As was customary in the old Kingdom of Mantella the Korvinis organised their family ties within a corporation called albergo. In the political reform led by King Danic II Iof Mantella, the Korvini became one of the 18 alberghi of the Kingdom of Mantella, which included the Valentini and Pomarola families, and to which other families were formally invited to join. The House of Korvini provided several doges, cardinals, cabinet ministers, and military officers of historical note.

King Fernandi Korvini (1928).

By convention, the Mantellan houses are reckoned in the male line. Therefore it has been determined genealogically that it was in fact the noble House of Giordi that ruled as Kings of Cristina until the conquest of the city in the Great War, circa 82 years ago. However, one of the terms of Fernando Valentini becoming Prince of Cristina jure uxoris was that he adopt the name and arms of Korvini so that the house would be preserved on the throne, and the right of succession was through his wife Diana Maxima Korvini, who abdicated in her husband's favour. Similarly, when princess Carla Louisagna was legitimised as queen and made successor to her mother Cristina Maxima Korvini, her husband, Count Pietri Giordi, adopted, as a condition of the marriage, the name and arms of Korvini. In this way the "Korvini" name and arms were continued.

King Rober Mantegni II and Queen Nova Maxima of the House of Korvini (June 2000).

Until Cristina Independence from eighteen years ago, a treaty between Cristina and Mantella stated that if the reigning King ever failed to leave dynastic offspring, then sovereignty over the Korvini realm would revert to Mantella. The 2010 Modena agreement modified this to expand the pool of potential heirs to dynastic collaterals of the reigning King (excluding adoptive heirs, hitherto allowed, e.g. Queen Nova Maxima and her descendants), guaranteeing Cristina's independence. Article I of Cristina's house law requires that the reigning King or Queen bear the surname of Korvini. Additionally the Queens of Cristina traditionally bear the title "Maxima" following their given names, after the Queen Maxima Korvini, the first Korvini queen.

Queen Nova Maxima Korvini (2017).

The current reigning monarch of Cristina is the Queen Nova Maxima Korvini who is the country's head of state after the death of her husband, King Rober II of Cristina, thirteen years ago. As a Princess, she led the country towards it’s independence war from the Mantella, in wich Cristina claimed victory after ten years of heavy armed conflict. Seventeen years ago she unilaterally proclaimed Kingdom of Cristina independent.

The coat of arms of the House of Korvini is described simply as a black crowned crow with opened wings.

Korvini Sigil

List of Korvini Monarchs

• 1714-1716: King Teodoro Korvini (Queen Maxima Korvini)
• 1716-1721: Queen Maxima Korvini

Union with House Valentini:

• 1721-1743: King Fernando Valentini Korvini (Queen Diana Maxima Korvini)
• 1743-1759: King Luigi Valentini Korvini (Queen Isabella Maxima Korvini)
• 1759-1778: King Carlo Valentini Korvini (Queen Carolina Maxima Korvini)
• 1778-1781: Queen Cristina Maxima Korvini

Union with Mandic Dynasty of Skrovja:

• 1781-1798: King Goran Mandic Korvini (Queen Cristina Maxima Korvini)
• 1798: Queen Carla Maxima Korvini (a.k.a. Duchess Carla of Louisagna)

Union with House Giordi:

• 1798-1815: Petri Giordi Korvini (Queen Carla Maxima Korvini)
• 1815-1848: King Francesco Giordi Korvini (Queen Carolina Maxima Korvini II)
• 1848-1874: King Leandro Giordi Korvini (Queen Alessandra Maxima Korvini)
• 1874-1928: King Petri Giordi Korvini II (Queen Francini Maxima Korvini)
• 1928-1937: King Fernando Giordi Korvini (Queen Carolina Maxima Korvini III)
• 1937: Princess Carina Korvini

Union with House Mantegni

In exile:
• 1937-1962: King Tito Mantegni Korvini (Queen Carina Maxima Korvini)
• 1962-2001: King Rober Mantegni Korvini I (Queen Catarina Maxima Korvini)

Free Port of Cristina:
• 2001-2005: King Rober Mantegni Korvini II (Queen Nova Maxima Korvini)
• 2005-today: Queen Nova Maxima Korvini

Select list of Non-monarch Korvinis:

• Korvino Valdo (969-1038): Seafarer merchant, vicar of Modena, founder of this House.

• Alberto Korvini (1028-1065): First to bear the Korvini patronymic name, seafarer.

• Luigi Korvini (1042-1098) Troubadour and podestà of Modena and Corolla.

• Rainaldi I (1117-1196): First lord of Saint Christ, admiral of Mantella.

Rainaldi I (1147).

• Rainaldi II (1138-1205): Lord of Saint Christ, Carini, and Matovia, seafarer.

• Antonio Korvini (1170-1238): Lord of Saint Christ, admiral of Modena.

• Lucas Korvini (1177-1250): Lord of Matovia, Corolla and Carini.

• Marco Korvini (1179-1253): Lord of Matovia, Corolla and Carini.

• Langberto Korvini (1181-1258): Seafarer merchant, admiral.

• Claudia of Modena (1182-1260): Duchess of Modena.

• Sabini (?-1267): Orthodox patriiarch.

• Nicola I (1200-1267): Prince of Skrovja.

• Nicola II (1200-1275): Lord of Saint Christ.

• Giliard Korvini (died 1300). Created a Cardinal in 1257. He married Francesca Catinari of Modena and had five children. After her death he entered holy orders. He was a Senator of Modena.

• Luca Korvini (1319-1375): Lord of Saint Christ, seafarer explorer.

Luca Korvini (1357).

• Luis de Modena (1354-1445): Lord of Saint Christ, doge of Modena.

• Domician (1355-1447): Archbishop of Saint Christ and uncle of Carlo Korvini-Cavalleri.

• Carlo Korvini-Cavalleri (1376–1463): Cardinal and Archbishop of Corolla.

• Danele Korvini (1385-1460): Lord of Saint Christ, seafarer.

• Eleuteri Korvini (1422-1504): Created a Cardinal in 1491.

• Carlo I (1423-1494): Lord of Saint Christ.

• Alexandre Korvini (1458-1516): doge of Modena.

• Carlo II (1458-1510): Lord of Saint Christ.

• Giovanni Battista Korvini (1490-1554): doge of Modena, seafarer merchant, admiral.

• Petri Francis Korvini (1527-1588): Doge of Corolla.

• Valerio the "Black" (1549-1588): Pirate.

• Horacio Korvini (1597-1662): Lord of Saint Christ.

• Andreas Korvini (1627-1689): Lord of Saint Christ, admiral of Mantella (from 1665 to 1667) and father of Teodoro Korvini, first Korvini King.

• Cristiana Korvini (1692-1753) Princess of Saint Christ.

Princess Adriana Korvini (1725).

• Nicola Korvini (1692–1757): Created cardinal deacon in the consistory of May 17, 1723.

• Adriana Korvini (1695-1754): Princess of Saint Christ.

• Francis the "Sea Crow" (1695-1755): Pirate.

• Altiva Korvini (1723-1795) Princess of Cristina, younger sister of King Luigi Valentini Korvini.

• Carla Campesini (1730-1808): Niece of King Luigi Valentini Korvini, landowner in Corolla, founder of Compagnia Campesini Mineraria.

• Eliani Korvini (1758-1819): Princess of Cristina, younger sister of King Carlo Korvini.

• Heleno Korvini (1778-1841): Prince of Cristina, nephew of King Carlo Korvini.

• Filipi I (1785-1856): Prince of Cristina, younger brother of Heleno Korvini.

Prince Filipi I (1840).

• Carlo III (1818-1889): Prince of Cristina.

• Albertino I (1848-1922): Prince of Cristina.

• Fernanda Korvini (1870-1949): Princess of Cristina, nurse.

• Piero Korvini (1881-1964): Prince of Cristina. Count of Modena, Admiral of the Royal Cristina Navy from 1935 to 1937.

• Rainieri Korvini (1923-2005): Count of Roca, actor. Younger brother of King Rober I.

• Ricardo Mantegni Korvini (1957-2005): Prince of Cristina, actor. Younger son of King Rober I.

• Roberto Alexandre Korvini p(born 1958): General of Royal Cristina Army, son of Ranieri Korvini.

• Caroline Louise Korvini (born 1961): entrepreneur.

Caroline Louise Korvini, President of the Korvini Corporation (2015).

• Anna Maria Elisabeti Korvini (born 1965), physician.

• Carolina Korvini, Princess of Cristina, Duchess of Aline, actress and singer (born 2002).

Korvini Anthem

Harmony of Forever

All we see floats with the wind
- All the miracles of the water
Are the miracles never seen

Somehow our lives now begin
- This music that's been played through time
Now starts to reach our feet

Feels like the flood of our needs
- From the harmony of forever
Sound the melodies of the sea

And you will know on the way
- We're coming back to our enemies
We're turning around
We'll be just coming back to our last days
We're coming back to the sea!

- Giovanni Battista Korvini (1490-1554), doge of Modena

Edited February 8, 2021 by Cristina (see edit history)

Cristina · August 3, 2021

Cristina's Emerging AgriTech Ecosystem

It is well known that Cristina is a city-state with a dense urban population; less than 2% of its land is dedicated to agriculture. But in recent years, the country has sought to revive its agricultural ambitions, aiming to become Europa’s urban agri-food tech hub. Despite capturing over a good parcel of Europan agri-commodity trade flows, Cristina faces the looming vulnerability of its food security and lack of self sufficiency in its food supply. Less than 10% of Cristina's current food supply is produced locally, which nudged an ambitious aim from the government of Cristina to increase this to 30% in ten years; announced early last year. The country is now driving intensive research and development (R&D) into AgriTech and high-productivity innovation. From a sunset industry, food production in Cristina is thus a rising sector with its sights set firmly on technology.

As innovation in food production gains attention in Cristina, the new Royal Centre for Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Development (CReTISS) created and developed the Sustainable Development Goals that aims to find ways for technology to boost sustainable agriculture through connecting the growing AgriTech ecosystem here with CReTISS's networks in developing countries.

Growing Investments in AgriTech

Understanding the flow of funds into AgriTech is of crucial importance to discovering the sector’s main actors. While the private sector has the financial capacity for such investments, the government has an equally vital role in providing the infrastructure, regulations and education needed to stimulate investments into this field.

Collaboration to accelerate the progress of AgriTech startups has seen a significant boom since Cristina’s 30 by 30 announcement. The Cristinese Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (ICPCI) and the Ministery of Foreign and Internal Trade and Telecommunications support Cristina’s food security strategy by encouraging global investment in the country’s food sector. One of ICPCI's key investment arms is Semi Capitale. Under Startup FarmERP, it works with seven other partners to co-invest more than LD 70m to catalyse Cristina-based agrifood technology startups. These venture capital firms provide startups with both capital and mentorship, and have organised accelerator programmes and hackathons to kickstart innovation.

The government has also invested LD 110m, through the Research Innovation Enterprise 2020 Plan, to ramp up R&D in the agri-food industry. And Societá Caravella, an investment company owned by Cristina’s government, invested LD 90m in a locally based modern farming company, Agritec, which uses robotics to cultivate crops indoors. Similarly, multinational corporations are taking advantage of Cristina’s strong position as a future regional hub for AgriTech R&D. Cristina is already one of the largest food commodities trading hub in the Continent. And now Cristina is home to several digital hubs of leading food and agriculture companies, which aim to drive technology and agrifood innovation, often with a focus on sustainability. The excellent education system, quality human capital, and good infrastructure are among other pull factors that attract innovators and R&D into the country.

Emerging AgriTech Innovations

A burgeoning market of entrepreneurs is entering the AgriTech field, creating urban farms with highly efficient technologies. While Cristina's traditional farmers are also incorporating technology into their farming systems, new players have introduced technologically-advanced infrastructure and smart systems, such as private company Cristinese Innovative Solutions (CIS) sensors and analytics, to optimise food production.

AgriTech in Cristina's farms

CIS data analytics allow farms to control environmental conditions such as light and irrigation to track temperature, humidity, and the growth of crops.

Automated systems such as auto-feeders, automated pump systems and shed-cleaning bots reduce the need for manual labour.

Hydroponics systems eliminate the need for pesticides and fertilisers, while optimising the nutritional value of harvested plants.

Increasingly, sustainable food production has come into focus for entrepreneurs. Witness the rise of circular economy solutions. Urban farmers in Cristina have invented methods for food waste to be processed and recycled as fertiliser. Reduced energy and water use is also in their sights; several companies have incorporated precision-irrigation technology or recirculatory water systems. Still, progress has been slower in integrating renewable energy sources into their infrastructure.

Interest in agri-food technology in Cristina is likely to grow thanks to increased support from the government and research institutes. Cristina’s government has launched two centres of innovation, in collaboration with local institutions Korvini Technological University (UTK) and International Academy of Sciences Cristina of the Royal University of Cristina (URC), to focus on finding solutions for agricultural challenges. Such collaborations are already bearing fruit.

For example, researchers from Cristina Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering of the UTK have found a way to use technology to identify and select fish with desirable traits, successfully breeding freshwater tilapia in sea water without genetic modification. They have also created climate-proof vegetables that require less light, and yet have enhanced nutritional value. One pioneer research product that has made it to the Cristina market is Agritec Soy. Unconventionally grown in Cristina, this soy has been formulated to withstand floods and droughts, as well as fungal and bacterial attacks, effectively producing climate-resistant rice.

Locally, given the eager interest of investors and innovators in AgriTech, there is optimism that technology may be the key to unlocking the sector’s potential, transforming the agrifood industry and providing solutions for sustainable agriculture. Gaps remain, however, notably in the scalability and feasibility of these solutions. Siloed technologies that do not complement one another to address the entire value chain, from production to consumption, will not work. Technological change will require an end-to-end approach that is open and receptive, and business models must adapt to different contexts. There is also a disparity between the availability and accessibility of most technologies that exist today. For example, precision agriculture offers a solution to decrease the use of inputs and increase agricultural productivity, which can help farmers capture greater yield per input and therefore income, but is not applied by majority of farmers, especially smallholders. Technologies need to be affordable and accessible to farmers in order to make real changes and impact.

The new CReTISS signals Cristina's embarkment on its mission to build on its existing assets to create new solutions, build collaboration platforms, and spark new partnerships and instruments for development. The agriculture sector is one that will require a revolution from business-as-usual to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The CReTISS aims to leverage and contribute to Cristina's growing agri-food tech ecosystem, connecting the region's efforts with CReTISS extensive networks to change the way we approach development.

One of the CReTISS's pioneer projects in this space is a global innovation initiative that brings together the innovation ecosystem of startups and R&D teams, the private sector, governments and development agencies. Working in dozen countries across the Europan Continent CReTISS is a unique initiative that aims to bring innovation and technology to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in the agriculture sector. With CReTISS's wide network and the Centre's location in Cristina, projects like Cultivate Cristina, a program to bring innovation and technology where it is most needed, is an exciting platform to connect with industry-leaders and development experts while making a real impact.

Cristina · August 7, 2021

Does the war against corruption lack integrity? Are we transparent about our intentions to be honest? It does not seem so.

"Every national body of note has been talking about anti-corruption issues for years. There are strict laws and penalties in the country. There are several national conventions against bribery. The Monetary Authority of Cristina, the Development Bank of Cristina, and the Social and Economic Councill, to name only a few, have taken a public stand against corruption and have supported transparency measures.

Despite this, the nation remains as corrupt as ever, if not more so. Royal Anti-corruption Commission's National Corruption Barometer 2021 does not indicate any increase in transparency. There have been some battles and skirmishes, but the real war on corruption is yet to begin. The reason for this is simple: It appears that honesty comes at a cost that no one wants to bear. Corporations shy away from transparency, believing it may hurt their interests. Everyone wants someone else to be honest first.

Government, politicians, and business leaders can’t stop talking about it, but few want to start doing something about it. Besides, according to the corruption barometer, government agencies and private corporations are perceived to be the most corrupt. So what can be done to convert talk into action? What can be done to prod organizations, leaders, and institutions to draw their swords on corruption?

Naming and shaming, for one. Government and industry bodies should start publicly identifying organizations and individuals who are caught in bribery cases. Often, industry links anti-corruption activity with investor sentiment. If governments act tough, industry says, investments will fall. Instead of bringing best practices to new markets, global companies are being accused of undermining laws. Leaders and officials in Cristina say privately that multinational corporations are deploying a worrying combination of muscle, charm, and bribery to get lucrative contracts.

Industry leaders have to give up this attitude. They must come together and ensure that companies do not focus on competitive corruption. Those who are out of line should be exposed. From crooked cartels, we need to build clean coalitions. But it’s not down to the private sector alone: governments should create policies that reduce the scope of corruption.

When Cristina auctioned 3G spectrum in an opaque manner in 2010, it resulted in a multibillion-dollar scandal that scalped a minister and senior officials. Many telecom companies lost their licenses to operate. Quick to learn from the fiasco, the 4G spectrum allocation, which earned billions for the government, was held through an open online auction. There was not a whisper of corruption.

A political movement was borne from an anti-corruption sentiment that rules Cristina. This Movimento Persona Comune (MPC), or common person movement, launched helplines for citizens to report corruption in government and private organizations.

Government and industries in the country have to move from promises to action. From a conspiracy of silence, the war on corruption needs the cacophony of exposure."

- Francesco Datena, Cristinese Delegate for ATARA.

Edited September 1, 2021 by Cristina
Inserting link (see edit history)

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