Velorenkya

Velorenkya, officially the Reborn Velorenkan Arekh of Communes and Sadhravs and also called the the Arekh, is a country located in Alutra. It shares a long southern land border with Haksarad, Esharat in the southwest, Kleolaion to the south, the Renesian exclave to the southeast, and maritime borders with XXX. It covers an area of XXX square kilometers and has a population of 181.6 million, making it the largest and most populous country on the Altutran continent. Velorenkya consists of 7 free communes and 11 sadhravs each of which enjoy a relative degree of political and administrative autonomy. Velorenkya has historically been and remains a very ethnically diverse nation, with the Pande and Meryakhs being prevalent minorities and Velorens acounting for only 61 percent of the population. Its major cities include the industrial hub and cultural center of Serrayove, the capital St. Yazdoikakh, Khonestazh, and Musayon.

Velorenkya has been populated since the neolithic era. Distinct civilizations developed during the Bronze Age which were Elyranized following the last Elyrian migratory invasions into northwestern Alutra during 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE. The Velorens as a recognizable group emerged following the invasions in the 2nd and 4th centuries CE. During this ethnogenesis Veloren pagan tribes would gradually adopt and syncretize their native beliefs with the H'Ejrad religion. The first Veloren state, the Varchonitai Arekh arose in the 6th century and was centered around present day Northwestern Velorenkya. Successive dynasties of the Varchonitai Arekh would see the conquest of the Southern Velorenkya and the subjugation of the Pande and other non-Veloren peoples. This first Arekh would be a golden era in Veloren history, with it's art, literature, and philosophy spreading throughout the H'Ejrad world. In the 11th century the Varchonitai Arekh disintegrated with a kingdom centered around Serrayove rising to the become the Holy Veloren Empire. By the turn of the 17th century Velorenas had expanded through conquest, annexation, and exploration to the zenith of it's size. The following century would see the gradual decline of the Empire as it failed to modernize and reform. By the 1900's the Holy Empire was struggling with a host of issues that the ruling aristocracy failed to recognize; nationalism, industrialization, republicanism, and an exploding population.

In 1915 Velorenkan Revolution began and monarchical rule was abolished after a violent revolution that saw the establishment of the secular and democratic Federative Veloren Republic and the flight of remaining Imperial Power to the Northern Islands. The Veloren Republic was lead by very shaky conservative government that failed to grapple with issues inherited from the Empire compounded by an economic crisis and ethnic unrest. The 1920 elections and the March on St. Yazdoikakh Saw the assumption of power by the Revivalist led National Redemption Front and the beginning of the Velorenkan Crucible. In 1923 the Reborn Velorenkan Arekh of Communes and Sadhravs was officially announced after constitutional ratification, making it the world's first Revivalist state.

Khosravi oversaw the Arekh through dramatic industrialization and modernization in the 1930's and the entrance of Velorenkya on the side of the Concert of Nations during the Second World War. In 1940 the Avāntinani saw the invasion and reunion of the Northern Islands with Velorenkya. Since the founding of the Reboren Velorenkan Arekh the League of Velorenkan Revivalists has maintained a monopoly on political power as the dominant big tent party, though since the 1960's other parties have presented substantial opposition or briefly held majority in the Grand National Assembly. The Arekh retains a thoroughly yet  state. Workers are organized in and represented by syndicate federations that have power in the government yet are recognized as distinct separate organs from the state. Major industries of the Arekh include heavy industry, agriculture, chemicals, armaments, shipbuilding, and low grade consumer goods. Velorenkans generally enjoy a good standard of living and the Arekh is ranked highly on the, though it remains a.

The Reborn Velorenkan Arekh is considered a great power and is a major regional influence in West Alutra. Due to it's ruling ideology the Arekh government typically shies away from major inter-continental treaties with capitalist buff countries though a certain degree of realpolitik forces cooperation and coexistence. The Arekh has historically had long standing disputes and tensions with several of it's neighbors including Haksarad and Esharat, with relations between the countries having only recently normalized. Velorenkya enjoys very strong relations with Noyonist Ordrey and Lathadu. The Arekh is notably absent from the World Forum. The Reborn Velorenkan Arekh is a member of the International Union for Labor and Liberty and notably operates the Lunar Rosana Base with both Ordrey and Lathadu.

Velorenkan Revolution
In 1905 the proxy war with Haksarad, death of Emperor XXX, and Zwaelchik Commune led to growing public distrust with the existing government. The newly coronated Emperor XXX failed to gain popular support and sought to consolidate power and ease the imperial government's budgetary crisis by seizing peasant land and auctioning it off to foreign investors and the aristocracy. Industry and infrastructure development in the Empire rose dramatically from 1906 to 1915 due to government policies that encouraged foreign investment and unpopular taxes on the workers and the Veloren middle class. Despite economic growth living conditions for the average Veloren failed to improve and the rapid growth of industry led to an increasingly politicized working class. Public discontent with the Emperor exploded following the St.Yazdoikakh Massacre which led to the assassination of the emperor. Having no heir apparent two rival imperial governments were formed while a provisional republic was declared in St. Yazdoikakh. Revolts in the countryside and the lack of imperial unity lead to the general disintegration of authority and the flight of the Imperial Remnant to the Northern Islands.

In 1916 the Constituent Velorenkan Assembly declared the Federative Velorenkan Republic which was a shaky coalition of competing political parties. The republican government inherited a dire financial situation and lacked political legitimacy. The bulk of the Veloren treasury was retained by the Remnant which still threatened the nascent republic with counterrevolution. Moreover the system of compromises implemented in the republican constitution between deep blue and buff factions led to both sides being embittered and an ineffectual government. These crises fueled a rift between blue and conservative republican parties leading to open political violence and the radicalization of both sides. The 1920 elections saw a coalition of revivalist, syndicalist, and noyonist parties in the Velorenkan National Salvation Front headed by Raes Khosravi obtain majority in congress, threatening the conservative government of president xxx. Rumors of president xxx seeking to dissolve congress or outright ban parties in the National Salvation Front coupled with the XXX Affair saw the national revivalists March on St. Yazdoikakh. The March on St. Yazdoikakh led to Khosravi assuming the presidency and decreeing governing power to be transferred to the, igniting the Velorenkan Civil War.

The civil war was fought among the revivalist led Blue Army, a coalition of anti-revivalist blues, conservative republicans, and imperial supporters collectively known as the Buff Army, and the Imperial Remnant. The war would result in the deaths of seven million people (mostly civilians), damage large tracts of infrastructure, and the flight of several million emigrees to either the imperial remnant or abroad. All three factions practiced campaigns of extreme violence, indiscriminate bombing, and mass killings known collectively as the Great Terror. The Civil War was formally concluded in 1923 with the signing of the constitution of the Reborn Velorenkan Arekh of Communes and Sadhravs-realizing the first national revivalist state.

Government and politics
The Reborn Velorenkan Arekh is officially a revivalist state which synthesizes elements of Pan-Velorenkanism, the philosophy of passionartism, and. Velorenkya is a federal.

The basis of Arekh political organization and power derives from the 1923 constitution which describes the state as "rejuvenated" and "subordinate to the laboring harmonics and preeminent passionaries" and establishes a among three branches of government.

Executive power within the Arekh is unique in that it is shared amongst a. The or Lazh is recognized as the  and has broad authority over the constitution and judiciary. Awarded so long as they exercise "uttermost passionate conduct", the Lazh is appointed via a special electoral college and commands the government along with a popularly elected Arekh Governor (Arekhlazaridy) who handles foreign affairs and a Liuetenant Commissar who the Lazh appoints to the. Together the executive triumvirate appoints a cabinet of commissars known as the Arekh Passionary Governing Council which functions as the government's administrative body for Velorenkya.

The legislature is a Grand National Assembly. Delegates to the lower chamber in the Assembly of Superethnos are directly elected by citizens of the Arekh while delegates to the Assembly of Syndicates are elected by workers to represent Arekh recognized syndicates. Seats are proportionally allocated to the Assembly of Syndicates on the basis of the strength and membership of syndicates and sorted by constituent states. The Senate of the Arekh acts as the upper chamber and its senators are elected by constituent state legislative bodies. Delegates to the Grand National Assembly are recallable at anytime. The Grand National Assembly makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the and has the power to appoint and impeach the Supreme Leader. All commissars belonging to the Passionary Governing Council must be chosen from the Grand National Assembly.

Despite being a the Constitution recognizes the "preeminent role of the League of All-Velorenkan Revivalists which acts as the passionate and harmonious political mobilization of the Velorenkan superethnos". The League exists as a for national revivalism and since the Great Rebirth has largely dominated politics within the Arekh either through outright majority in the Grand National Assembly or as coalition partner. The success of other syndicalist or blue-leaning countries and the Second Velorenkan Rebirth has lead to the constant evolution of the Velorenkan political landscape. Despite continuing to be the party in power, the 1970's saw the League loosen it's strict requirement for revivalist orthodoxy leading to a general liberalization of ideals within the party and Velorenkya. However the Reborn Velorenkan Arekh still receives international scrutiny and criticism for it's routine surveillance and state-sponsored harassment of buff-aligned opposition parties.

Political divisions
The Reborn Velorenkan Arekh is a federation of constituent free communes and sadhravs. The basic political unit of the Arekh is the commune which is governed by a dual structure with legislative power exercised by a communal citizens' assembly and an executive in the form of the communal passionary governing council. Delegates to the communal citizens' assembly are directly elected by the populace from local constituencies (cities, districts, or villages) and in turn elect commissars to the passionary governing council to perform the administrative functions of the commune. The chairman of the governing council is directly elected by citizens of the commune.

Most communes within the Reborn Velorenkan Arekh fall under shared governance between the Arekh government and a sadhrav. In accordance with revivialist thought the sadhravs are organized as federal states composed of communes that comprise a homogenous nationality or "ethnos" that contributes to the greater Velorenkan superethnos. The sadhravs share sovereignty with the Arekh government and have their own constitution, language, government, and militia. The sadhravs are governed by bicameral legislatures comprised of an assembly of ethnos directly elected by communal assemblies and an assembly of syndicates whose delegates are elected by workers and whose seats are proportioned on the basis of syndicate size. Sadhravi assemblies elect a passionary governing council which functions as the cabinet for the duel executive shared between a lieutenant governor and a chairman of the council. Like in the communes the chairman is directly elected by the people however the lieutenant governor is appointed by the Supreme Leader of the Arekh and is charged to oversee constitutional affairs in addition to functioning as the chief representative for federal government and law.

Those communes not federated under a sadhrav are constitutionally recognized as free communes and are nominally autonomous. Free communes represent minority groups or "subethnos" considered constitutionally distinct from other ethnic groups or are municipalities that achieved shared sovereignty with the Arekh out of the "Great Compromise" within the Blue Movement during the Velorenkan Revolutionary Period. Government within free communes is virtually identical to that of those under the sadhravs with the addition of rights afforded to the sadhravs. For instance free communes recieve direct representation within the Senate of the Arekh, their own constitution, and retain the right to organize a militia.

Military
The military of the Reborn Velorenkan Arekh comprises the Reborn Arekh Defense Forces and the Communal and Sadhravi Blue Guards Militia. The Lazh is recognized as the of the military and service personal swear allegiance to the Supreme Leader and  Grand National Assembly. The Governor exercises authority over the military at the pleasure of the Lazh in their capacity as chairman of the Passionary Military Committee which administers both the Arekh Defense Forces and Blue Guards. The Passionary Military Committee also includes Velorenkya's foreign intelligence agency the Main Office for Strategic Services and the customs, maritime security, and border enforcement agency the Frontier Guards.

The Arekh Defense Forces is made up of two branches the Grand Army of the Arekh and the Reborn Arekh Navy and three separate services the Air Defense Forces of the Motherland, Strategic Weapons Troops, and Stellar Forces Troops for a total of 750,000 soldiers and 400,000 reservists. Conscription into the military of Velorenkya is compulsory regardless of gender, however rarely practiced outside of war as due in part to the Arekh's martial culture, associated benefits afforded by service, and substantial population the military receives a suitable number of volunteers to meet it's commitment to national security.

The Communal and Sadhravi Blue Guards Militia acts as a reserve or paramilitary organization to supplement the Defense Forces, respond to emergencies, and organize armed resistance against invaders. The Blue Guards fall under the duel authority of the Passionary Military Committee and their respective sadhravs or free communes. Unlike other reserve forces or paramilitaries the Blue Guards are organized at the local level and battalions are typically centered around syndicates, cooperatives, schools, or neighborhoods. The Blue Guards Militia includes about 200,000 full time members and additional 800,000 reservists. Under the constitution all so called able bodied passionary and harmonic Velorenkans are required to defend the Arekh regardless of gender and comprise an inactive militia that can be called upon to service by the Supreme Leader.

Since the Velorenkan National Rebirth in 1923 the Arekh government has supported blue aligned governments or movements with military activity to further it's strategic aims and in accordance with the Revivialist theory of the Apex Tradition. Velorenkya maintains a robust military industrial complex to provide for it's national security requirements and provide foreign exports.

A further military export the Arekh provides is or foreign volunteer fighters. Since the conclusion of the Second World War a large number of former Velorenkan service personal or citizens unable to enlist with the Arekh Defense Forces have fought in proxy conflicts or for guerrilla movements, on occasion on opposing sides. Oftentimes these soldiers of fortune or volunteers are co-opted by the Arekh government to further political aims or achieve plausible deniability. Velorenkan citizens are required by the constitution to defend and serve the Arekh however there are few laws regarding armed service for or in support of other governments. The phenomena has received official governmental sanction with Supreme Leader Hæzam Sadee' declaring in 197X "All good Revivalists know virtue and vitality can be at its purest sought on the battlefield. Our Arekh's commitment to peace has spurred a few passionate to seek the free and sovereign [life] in conflict. I wish them all the best".

Culture
The culture of what can be defined as the Florentine people is as ever changing as the demographics that make up such a Union of diverse peoples.