[Vision Statement] Republic of Fina

[Aurora]

The Republic of Fina (Finan: Republiken Fina) is a federal constitutional republic consisting of several provinces and 2 special administrative regions (Östranka and Sappland). The culture of Fina is largely Finan (Swedish) with minority cultures in the SARs being Rankari (Russian) and Lami (Sami) respectively. The capital is Kulleholm and the largest city is Karolinaburg, with other large or significant cities being Tallträdvik, Obbola, Tullinge, Volkovstad, and Hästhuvudfors, among others. It is bordered by its historical rival Rankar.

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The modern day lands of Fina were first inhabited by nomadic Celts who once traversed the continent. Not much is known about this Celtic period or when it even occurred. The only remnant of Celts in Fina are large stone monoliths that can be found dotted throughout forests, with the most famous one being Mossigsten (literally meaning mossy stone) in Karolinaburg's park of the same name. The first signs of the Lami people in Fina come from Nordlund around 1600 BCE. The Lamis are believed to have completely pushed out the nomadic Celts by 1500 or 1400 BCE. Unlike the Celts, the Lami are actually believed to have built somewhat organized settlements, or at the very least gathering places of different people and tribes. The Lami are also believed to have once had several distinct languages and traditions that are now all lost, with the exception of Northern Lami, with the last significant language other than Northern Lami going extinct in the 1970s.

The first arrival of Europan people came around the year 300 CE, with Viking explorers and later settlers from modern day Ateenia. The settlers easily pushed the Lami inland with superior weaponry and tactics. Those Lami who could not escape were enslaved or made into wives for the settlers. Fina is named for the Lami people, who the settlers referred to as the Fenns or Finns. This began the Viking age of Fina, where several kingdoms not only fought, raided, and pillaged far away lands for their treasures, but also did the same to each other. The Vikings were also great explorers and nation-builders, despite their pillaging reputation. The Finan Viking kingdoms had several colonies which were later abandoned, except for the land of Drakön (Dragon Island) which actually later became a part of Fina. In 800 CE, some explorers settle into the Eastern lands, home to old Slavic cultures. One such settler named Kurik was elected ruler of the city of Veles. He subjugated the nearby lands and forged an empire out of his city. His following ruling dynasty created the Velescian Rus', one of the building blocks of modern-day Rankar.

The ending of the Viking age coincided with the introduction to Christianity to Fina. From 1000 CE on, Fina was largely ruled by warring city-states and occasionally a small pagan state which was quick to be crusaded by the Christianized cities. Over time, much of the city-states were absorbed and consolidated until in 1300 CE where mostly all of the Finan core was controlled by the Kingdom of Karolina, Kingdom of Kullarnas, or Duchy of Nordlund, all vying for power in the region. The Rankaris, under the Grand Duchy of Markovy, saw an opportunity in all the infighting. The Markovics repeatedly attacked, raided, and pillaged the borderlands through the 1500 and 1600s, chipping away at Finan lands and importantly taking control of the valuable Velescian straits. While the lands were long contested, Markovy and later the Markovic Tsardom held a strong grip on the conquered lands despite repeated internal and external resistance. However, the Markovic occupation of the strait lands strengthened a Finan antagonization of Rankar and the unity among the lands. In 1724, after centuries of fighting amongst themselves and Rankar, the three royal houses and their corresponding nations united under the persuasion of King Oskar IV of Karolina. In 1731, King Oskar lead an invasion against Rankar which lasted until 1735 and ended in a Finan victory. Fina reclaimed some previous lost lands and forced it to accept peace. Still, the Rankaris controlled the straits and still held on to cultural lands, and many anticipated that this was far from the last of battles between the rivals. During this time peace, both were able to grow. Rankar formed an empire spanning many cultures and vast swathes of land. Fina incorporated its eastern frontier and settled the untamed lands. Both were getting stronger and setting the stage for an interesting battle to come.

By 1804, tensions between the two become dangerously hot. Finan travelers were falsely captured and imprisoned, and Finan civilians burned up a Rankari ship in retaliation. The breaking point was when Rankar began blocking Finan trade vessels from traveling through the Velescian straits, and attacked a ship which defied these orders. The Kingdom of Fina officially declared war upon the Rankari Empire, kicking off the Strait Wars. Rankar had taken several decisive victories early on, capturing valuable forts along the most navigable woodland paths. The final stand for Fina is at the town of Vidafalt. Beyond it is an easy journey to any one of Fina's western major cities. However, Fina was able to hold back the Rankari forces at Vidafalt, and after some reorganizing, the Finans were able to push the Rankaris beyond the Velescian straits and into their own territory. By the heroic stand at Vidafalt, Fina ended up victorious in the Strait Wars, gaining their lost lands along the straits along with the region of Upper Velescia, modern day Östranka.

By the late 1800s, Finans had grown tired of fighting and war with their neighbors. Fina had accumulated a massive debt due to the constant wars and destruction of the past century. However, the rich and powerful families of Karolinaburg had to fill their pockets somehow. Money was constantly funneled into the capital while the common folk endured physically and mentally taxing jobs just to make a living. Many were poor. Karolinaburg and the rest of Fina became growingly disconnected. Eventually the government caved into calls for some type liberal reform, by forming a Riksdag and limiting the King's powers through a semi-constitutional monarchy. This still did little to please the weary population however. The population wanted increasingly more radical reform. Mnay even called for the removal of the King entirely. While this was unfolding, an underground group known as the Fraktionen för Frihet (Faction for Freedom), or FFF was founded in Kulleholm, 1907. They secretly spread communist propaganda, imagery, and ideas throughout the nation, further radicalizing the public. The most notable of their contributions was the Ändringens Röster (Voices of Change) pamphlet which became popular with the growing radicalized Finans. A revolution was brewing in Fina.

The catalyst for said revolution came December 1914. Students had gathered at the College of Kullarnastad for a demonstration in the mourning of a famous socialist journalist who had tragically passed away at the age of 42 just a week earlier. However through the actions of some individuals the demonstration had turned into a protest which engulfed the college town. There was much confusion in the town square where the core of the protest had moved as people began yelling and causing chaos. Amidst the chaos, the officers who were stationed at the town square opened fire on the crowd mistaking the yelling for violence, when in reality, it was likely a few college kids doing drunk college kid things. The crowd turned into a mob and fighting broke out in the town. By the end of the night, 12 civilians were dead, 8 of which were students, and 3 officers were killed. Word of what is called "the Kullarnastad massacre" spread rapidly across the nation through the Ändringens Röster and riots broke out just as fast. All major cities were engulfed in violence, including the capital of Karolinaburg. News of deaths due to the violence only fueled these revolutionaries. In May 1915 the leftist coalition deserted the Riksdag and formed a new government in Kulleholm. The Civil War had started. While it was slow at first, by 1923, the royalist Blue Army was overrun by the revoltionary Red Army. The Kingdom of Fina ceased to exist in February of 1924, existing for almost exactly 200 years. Now what stood in its place was a wartorn Finan Commune (Finsk Socialistkommun). Although not on paper, all political parties aside from the Finan Communist Party were defacto banned, with whole parties sometimes not even showing up on ballots. Fina became a one-party authoritarian communist state.

Similar events actually unfolded in nearby Rankar. What resulted was the Union of Argic Socialist Republics (UASR), a union of several communist states divided along the cultural lines of the former empire. Fina was invited to join the UASR at the drafting of its constitution, however declined after some careful consideration. The two states did collaborate closely however, maybe the first time that has ever happened in the history of the two states, and the last tine it ever will. However over time, the alliance between the neighboring states deteriorated as both took on different forms of communism, disputed over each others' territory, and competing for influence over other communist states. One major issue was that the Commune and its people saw itself and only itself as the liberator of workers and as the greatest state on Eurth. This didn't quite sit well with the UASR which wanted to take a chief role in the wurld of communism. The split is usually said to have occurred in the 60s, although some may put it earlier. For the purposes of keeping the communist wurld unified, the UASR and the Commune maintained a fragile de jure alliance, although de facto the Commune acted largely on its own. 

In 1989, communism and leftism wurldwide wasn't feeling all too good. Unlike most states that had try to transition into a semi-modern state while keeping communism, Fina stayed hardline communist. The government saw how it backfired elsewhere and was too cocky about the strength of communism and the weird form of communist nationalism that existed in the Commune. However, the country was in a very, very fragile state. People were outraged. They wanted change, and they wanted democracy. Over the course of 2 weeks the situation only got worse. Finally, on July 1, 1989, the people stormed the capital. Soldiers. Teachers. Factory workers. They all participated. There was practically no resistance from guards and stationed military, most of whom just put down their guns. What little resistance there was was easily overrun. Commune flags with the large red star cut out were flying all around Kulleholm. President Van Almstedt and his wife were captured and hanged in the public square. The Folkråd was dissolved and those lucky enough to escape the chaos fled to the UASR, which would be engulfed in war just years later. These events are known as the Finan Revolution and they established today's modern Republic.

In 1996, the Rankari Federation invaded Fina over the disputed Östranka region, known as the Velescian War. The region, in 1992, was discovered to hold large amounts of natural gas in and around it, giving the holder of this land not only strategic advantage with the Velescian straits, but economic advantage as well, which is likely the underlying motive which prompted the war. The war caused great losses and humiliation on both sides and only resulted in a reaffirmation of the status quo. It did cause deepened resentment for the other in each country. It is widely believed that the two countries are gearing up for round two, and that rematch may be sooner rather than later.

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Fina is currently in a transition period that will decide what its future holds. If managed properly, the natural gas Fina holds could lead to prosperity for years to come. If mismanaged, it could become Eurth's Venezuela. There are several internal issues that must be addressed before Fina can reach new heights. Though Fina is successfully beautifying its capital Kulleholm and largest city Karolinaburg, there are still several underdeveloped nations throughout the nation. The complex political situation in Östranka and external issues from Rankar must occur before Fina can establish regional power. Overall, Fina has a lot of issues and bases to cover. But if everything goes right, it could be one of Eurth's next influential powers. If everything goes wrong? Well tough luck have fun getting split up by the Rankaris.

[Aurora]

Requested Stats

• Population: Medium (1) - 13M
• GDP per capita: Medium (1) - 15,000
• Land area: Medium (1) - 260,000

Edited September 3, 2021 by Fina
something that was either a typo or me being dumb (see edit history)