Ochsardvia

Ochsardvia (Oxellian: Wuysradzwoszta, Вышраѕвоща; Ardvogal: Wuysraßusca, Вышражуща), officially The Republican Union of Ochsardvia (Oxellian: Wuymædiesta Tudiestał Wuysradzwostie, Вымэдѣща Тудѣщалъ Вышраѕвощѣ; Ardvogal: Wuymiadzïsca Tudzïscał Wuysraßuscï, Выміаѕѣща Туѕѣщалъ Вышражущѣ) is a   with an executive presidency in central eastern Alutra. Ochsardvia is doubly landlocked, and is bordered by X other landlocked countries: Galvia to its north, Vojandzeka, also doubly landlocked, to its east and north, and Izlegal to the east by its Seceßko.

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Etymology
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The peopling of Ochsardvia
The modern population of Ochsardvia is the result of a series of migrations over many millennia across the Alutran Steppe and along the river valleys of Central Alutra. The Ochsardvian people, in particular the Oxellians and Ardvogals, are predominantly descended from the merger of two distinct groups: the Letans and the Sedes, predominantly from a Tretuish people known as the Suꜩory (Sottores or Sonthores to the ancient Ventrose). In decreasing order, the Serps, Ventrose, and Blethes were also contributors to the modern ethnic makeup of Ochsardvia. Today, the Jazdruzi or Asdruges are the result of this mixed group, and form the vast majority of Ochsardvians.

It is not known who were original inhabitants of Ochsardvia, all that is known is that almost no traces of their influence seems to have survived past the earliest Letan migrations. The Letans are believed to have originally migrated from the area surrounding Western Varas in modern Galvia, formed from a conglomeration of Letano-Galvic tribes that developed in isolation from the Galvic peoples in Eastern Varas around the 3rd to 2rd millennium BCE. A few nomadic Proto-Letanic bands and tribes started migrating south along the Sznuda River into the Bregashian Mountains amongst which Ochsardvia lies in the early 2rd millennium BCE. These Southern Proto-Letans would introduce agriculture, pastoralism, and bronze-working to Ochsardvia, and form a cluster of city states along the Sznuda River and in the Great Oxellian Plateau.

Wizkanian rule
By the 5th century BCE, most of Ochsardvia came under the domination of the neighboring Wizkanian Empire to its east, the descendants of a mixed population of Gožyar, Letan, and Galvic peoples. Letanic city states were inevitably either subjugated or forced to pay tribute to the empire by the Wizkanian army. Collectively, the area became known as Szarrenka to the Wizkanians, essentially meaning “land of the foreigners”. Under Wizkanian rule, many Letans worked as mercenaries in the Wizkanian army or as traders across the steppes, sometimes as intermediaries between rival groups including Sedes and Blethes.

Due to its location in the western Bregashian mountains, Szarrenka was a key part of the Pan-Alutran Trade Network, linking North and East Alutra to the Abayadi coast and serving as a stop for nomads between the western and eastern halves of the Alutran Steppe. This made Ochsardvia a key location in commerce between Sedes and Blethes on one end, and Ventrose on the other, with the local Letan and Vojanak city states flourishing as a result.

This interchange would be broken by the rise of the Empire of Juras in modern Galvia, the war with Urland, the fall of the Great Sedic Confederation, and finally the decline of the Wizkanian Empire by the 3rd century BCE. Szarrenka during this time faced a period of stagnation and would become sitting ducks upon the arrival of the Suꜩory, a tribe of the Tretu.

Tretuish migration
As part of the Great Sedic Confederation, the Tretu had claimed an area west of the rest of the Sedes, centered in modern day Aquizireiki, as their nomadic domain. Tensions with the local Gožyar grew as they expanded deeper into Aquizireiki and the rest of the Serpentines. As the confederation declined in the 1st century CE, southern Blethes took advantage of their weakness and pushed the Tretu out of Aquizireiki from the west. The bulk of the Tretu went north into Ecoralia, where they would largely remain until their dispersal across East Alutra in the 1400s.

However, some Tretu fled southwards through Izlegal and a few, the Suꜩory included, even eventually out of the Serpentines entirely, into the river valleys of southeastern Alutra. They would find themselves unwelcome among the locals downriver as well, and had developed a culture around roaming the highlands and Alutran steppes at this point, and so traveled upstream into the foothills of the Bregashian mountains, where they came into contact with the southern Letans.

For most of the early 1st millennium CE, the Suꜩory segregated themselves in the outskirts of Letanic settlements, forming a begrudged cooperation with them as both hunters/rangers as well as border guards against the Vojanaks, Blethes, and Galvians. A series of peasants’ revolutions against ineffectual patrician leaders of the Letanic city states led to Suꜩory warriors and horsemen being brought in as cheap mercenaries to keep order in each region. By the 5th century, these međaczi, as the Letans would call them, would beat out many Letanic clans as the dominant military order of Szarrenka, and even parts of modern Vojandzeka and Galvia.

These međaczi clans would climb the social ladder, becoming leaders in their own right. These međaczi leaders held considerable power in the northwest and south of Ochsardvia, due to being part of the flatter and therefore more vulnerable Central Alutran Steppes and Great Oxellian Plateau. As a result of their prestige and power, by the 8th century, some međaczi were successful enough to become landed gentry.

Over the next several centuries, many regional polities centered on different parts of Ochsardvia rose and fell, and their interconnected webs of influence would lead to even more mixing between the Letans, Suꜩory, and Vojanaks, forming the basis of what is now known as the Jazdruzi people. During this time, some major cities that exerted significant influence included Duborowa, Nůtowga, Sznudinszk, Briehała, Kramieszt, Opnoch, and Psłah. Over time, more prominent cities and the area they exerted control over came to be known as draßecieste, or principalities, as their lord mayors were thought to hold power equivalent to that of former drraks, or lords in the Wizkanian Empire.

Snudzinskian rule
One draßeciesta would come to rule over the bulk of Ochsardvia. Sznudinszk (or Snudzinsk in Recene) was named for the Sznuda River on which it lies, and it utilized its key northern location (in modern Ardvogallia) on the Sznuda to link trade between Western Varas in Galvia with the valleys to its south and the steppes to its west. As such, a form of old South Letanic became its lingua franca, and in turn Snudzinsk identified as Letanic.

Becoming the center of a trade league, it would eventually consolidate power and absorb other cities into its league. Eventually it would declare itself the most supreme of all draßecieste, and in 1108, after uniting all of Ochsardvia and Vojandzeka from the remains of the fallen Wizkanian Empire, formed the Grand Principality of Snudzinsk also known as the Snudzinskian Empire or Snudzinskian Union. At its greatest extent, the Snudzinskian Union would expand to not only cover modern Ochsardvia and Vojandzeka, but also parts of Izlegal, Galvia, and [neighboring countries to the west and south probably].

Control over Vojandzeka was not too tumultuous owing to the shared influences to their heritage, albeit in different proportions. Its control over western Galvia too was relatively stable, due to the shared Letanic roots (later becoming the Zemaki people of Galvia) and dependency on the trade routes from the Western Varas. In comparison, the Snudzinskian domination over west Izlegal was relatively weaker, having only become possible following the decline of Aquizireiki’s first kingdom. Its role as suzerain was essentially inherited from the declining Wizkanian Empire’s hold over the land, and it would be overthrown by the Duchy of Izlegal in 1233, reuniting it with eastern Izlegal.

To facilitate control over such a vast territory, the Snudzinskians would establish wuywodieste, or duchies, and hwanoste, counties, headed by loyal and popular military leaders from the region, most of which would become hereditary titles in the coming centuries. Ochsardvia at this time had no name other than the blanket term Szarrenka, whose meaning the Jazdruzi found objectionable. By this time, the Jazdruzi had begun speaking a continuum of Letanicized Tretuish dialects. As they now lived in the highlands, they began to call themselves the “high people” instead of the exonym Jazdruzi. However the term most commonly used for the word “high” began to differ between the north and the south by this point. Arðvŭ was more popular in the northern valleys of the Sznuda river and ūxselŭ more popular in the Oxellian plain. As a result, over time, the north became known as vlodĭ arðva ja gola (“the mighty and high land”), eventually becoming Wlodg ardzwygola and finally Radzuyhłasta, or Ardvogallia. Conversely, the south became known as vlodĭ ūxsela (“the high land”) to Wlodg wuysela, and today Wuysłasta, or Oxellia. These two names came to be used for the largest wuywodiesta in each region.

However, by the 14th century, as regional identities began to form around these wuywodieste and hwanoste, much as they did with the city states in the past, many wuywode (dukes) and hwani (counts) grew tired of Snudzinskian suzerainty. With the support of disgruntled međaczi, who felt overlooked in the court in Snudzinsk, and foreign agents in neighboring powers like Galvia and Ecoralia, they gradually broke away in series of civil wars called Wolduri Sału (“All-Rupture of Halls”), eventually leading to the fall of Snudzinsk and the death of Draßekmar Jydzszieł II in 1345.

New Trans-Bregashian identity
The constituent wuywodieste and hwanoste of former Snudzinsk would remain mostly undisturbed by greater powers for many centuries, although a few states would be absorbed into the larger wuywodieste of Oxellia and Ardvogallia, whether by inheritance or voluntarily swearing fealty. After the fall of Snudzinsk, much of its northern territory had been absorbed into the realm of Galvia during its Sacred Expansion in the 15th century. Galvia took the view that the Letanic people were impure, in part viewing their language and culture as a corruption of Galvic ones, them being distantly related, and began conquering Letanic land to cleanse them of their ways.

To avoid the same fate, Ochsardvians began to embrace the Jazdruzi identity and promoted speaking the Letanicized Tretuish dialects that would become Oxellian and Ardvogal, and claimed a largely Sedic Suꜩory (and partially Wizkania) origin rather than becoming targeted as Letans. This furthered the growing rift between the Vojanaks and the Jazdruzi, as many of the former identified solely with Wizkania and its legacy. Even Voiana itself was affected as the urban, southern half of the Khetsezh region had been settled by both Jazdruzi burghers as well as Blethic traders from Izlegal and Aquizireiki, leading to its secession from Voiana in 1629 as the Principality of Seceßko. To protect itself from being reabsorbed into Voiana as well as the Duchy of Oxellia, Seceßko joined up with other relatively more Vojanak principalities and counties towards the east of Oxellia and south of Voiana proper, informally known as the Vojan League.

After the final consolidation of power of all Galvic lands in Antonija in the unification of the Crown of Galvia in 1731, these various states as well as Voiana grew concerned they would be incorporated into the crown as well. Loose pacts began to form, followed by mutual agreements and alliances. During the late 17th century, a sort of cultural renaissance had already begun in the region, with literature, music, and art highlighting the pastoral beauty of the Bregashian Mountains and an idealized provincialism. In protest of the Galvian policy of assimilation, Pan-Letanic and Pan-Wizkanian ideals began to flourish during the late 18th and early 19th century, uniting Ochsardvia and Vojandzeka by shared struggles and thoughts. In contrast to the militaristic feudalism of the Snudzinskian Empire, these states agreed to instead form a coalition where each component state had a more equal say in matters, with an elected Wuywode Maredzah (august duke), and thus the Transbregashian Confederation was established in 1835.

Under the Transbregashian Confederation, the cultural renaissance continued, with many works of literature and music being developed in the Oxellian, Ardvogal, and Vojanak languages, and the Pan-Letanic and Pan-Wizkanian philosophies continued to develop. Under Pan-Wizkanian thought, the Transbregashian Confederation was seen to be the successor of Wizkania. In contrast, many Pan-Letanic ideologists could not find a model nation in history, viewing the Snudzinskian Empire as a failure, and so wanted to set out to turn Transbregashia into the model of Pan-Letanicism. This disconnect would lead to distrust between the two factions and eventually prove to be irreconcilable.

Dissolution of the Confederation
The Transbregashian Confederation remained a thorn in Galvia’s side into the modern period, and the First World War soon made it apparent that international ties could overcome regional dynamics, Fearing that the Transbregashian Confederation would seek aid among the rest of Alutra as well as the wider world, rather than remain in the shadows of Galvia, the Galvian government had secretly devised a contingency plan. By this time both Pan-Letanicism and Pan-Wizkanianism had reached their peaks, and Galvia decided to use this to their advantage.

While the Transbregashian Confederation stayed neutral during the First World War, it was unable to avoid choosing a side in the Second World War, as the conflict in Ecoraland brought many issues to the national stage. The issue of independence of the Tretu and Fends, who were kin to the Suꜩory; the Letanic Zemaki land still under Galvian control; the fear that Galvians might take advantage of the chaos to invade Transbregashia: all of these led the people to be greatly divided of opinion.

Of growing concern was a group in particular known as the One Transbregashia Society, who aimed to reestablish Transbregashia as a new nation devoid of regional divisions, which they perceived as a threat to its stability against foreign agitators. Harboring deep buffist tendencies, they sought to emulate Wizkanian and Snudzinskian strength by empowering the military and police and extolled the principles of Neo-Letanicism, based on the idea that as only Letanic language and culture permeated all of Transbregashia, with Wizkania only an ephemeral ideal at this point, it was the most worthy candidate for the basis of a national identity. As such they considered all citizens of Transbregashia to be rightful Letans and viewed all other identities as merely subcategories under the Letanic umbrella.

In the build-up to the Second World War, the nascent Concert powers in Eastern Alutra believed that the Transbregashian Confederation might become a significant counterbalance in Central Alutra and aimed to curry its favor. This led to a series of covert discussions between them and Transbregashia which Galvia was able to intercept. Although the government of Transbregashia had not planned to act upon these discussions at this point, Galvian leadership deemed the confederation to be an untrustworthy threat, conspiring with the One Transbregashia Society to overthrow the government, claiming to put an end to the tyranny of the nobility, and establish a new “republic” as an authoritarian state. With the support of both Galvian forces and rogue police forces and generals, the march on its capital Opnoch began on December 3, 1940, and six days later, the Transbregashian Confederation had been ousted and the Zabregashian Union of Oxellia, Voiana, and Ardvogallia (ZUOVA) had been established in Opnoch Palace.

ZUOVA rule
At the head of the new Union, Galvia placed one of the vanguards of the One Transbregashia Society called Właßiediß Rađow, who organized the movement into the new United Zabregashian Freedom Party, with the use of the Letanic form of Transbregashia as the name of the nation now becoming mandatory. Despite Rađow’s desires to eliminate all regional identities, he knew that the people of Zabregashia were “sentimental and weak” and could be prone to revolting if not placated and decided that instead the party could steer their regional pride into the greater Neo-Letanic whole. Redrawing the map into only three republics, all citizens were registered as belonging to one of the three, each an integral part of the greater nation.

Following President Właßiediß Rađow's death in office on June 30, 1974, the United Zabregashian Freedom Party lost its momentum, and a power struggle ensued, with internal factions within the UZFP emerging, each vying for control. This leadership vacuum was compounded by Vojanak author Vocta Pokratovek's book "Hole in the Wall" in December of 1974, which ignited a revival of ethno-nationalism, especially in the Republic of Voiana, spreading throughout ZUOVA. Letanic nationalist factions became concerned that the nation's cultural diversity was increasing too much, and could result in its fragmentation. As Voiana was within Galvia's sphere of influence, it also became increasingly concerned about the rise of Vojanak nationalism, which threatened its own interests. Amidst this turmoil, several leaders attempted to take control of ZUOVA, each with their own vision of how to deal with the country's pressing issues. Eventually, Koʒewesz Krieniñ, a Letanic nationalist hardliner and one of Rađow's favorites in the One Transbregashia Society, emerged as a compromise candidate for Rađow's successor, although not without some discontent among the militarist and globalist factions of the party.

In the aftermath of the establishment of the ZUOVA regime, Koʒewesz Krieniñ faced challenges to his legitimacy from party dissidents and ethnic tensions that threatened to undermine his rule. To address these issues, Krieniñ decided to hold the first multiparty elections after ZUOVA's establishment on December 16, 1975, hoping to gain popular support and strengthen his leadership of the UZFP. However, the long-dominant United Zabregashia Freedom party was losing steam following the death of its previous president, and the Vojanak populace was becoming increasingly disillusioned with the deep buff regime. The elections saw the United Zabregashia Freedom party lose its long-held grip on power on the constituent Voiana Republic, with the results showing Vojanak Syndicalist Party's leader, Szilevo Vruznivek, elected as the Minister of the Voiana Republic with a slim margin of less than 5%. This unexpected result surprised Krieniñ and many ZUOVA officials, who had expected a victory for their preferred candidate, deep buffist and pan-Letanicist Hăld Szalcivek. Believing that the election as held in Voiana was fraudulent, Krieniñ tried to overturn the result and install Szalcivek as acting Minister instead.

However, the Vojanak populace had grown restless and begun to act independently of Zabregashian overlords, hailing Vruzinivek as not just their Minister but their new President. Within six months of the election, a series of terrorist attacks perpetrated by Letanic supremacists targeted Vojanak parliamentary and capital buildings in retaliation, further inflaming the situation. Krieniñ's efforts to stifle Vojanak autonomy proved to be counterproductive, only fueling the flames of resistance rather than pacifying it. After Krieniñ's puppet leader, Szalcivek, was assassinated in August of 1979 in car-bombing in Bramoz, Voiana by Vojanak insurgents, violent conflict erupted across Voiana. Krieniñ responded by imposing martial law in Voiana in January of 1985, a move that was swiftly rejected by provincial gendarme and sheriffs, resulting in a fierce 12-hour battle known as the January War that further destabilized the region. The resistance of Voiana shocked Krieniñ, who had underestimated the strength and determination of the Vojanak people. Krieniñ was forced to withdraw Zabregashian troops from Voiana, leaving the region with de facto control over its own affairs.

In the late months of 1985, as tensions between ZUOVA and the insurrectionist Vojanak republic reached a boiling point, President Krieniñ sought a solution to the crisis, and led a group of ZUOVA officials in secretly engaging in negotiations with their Galvian counterparts led by Grand Secretariat Fricis Vītoliņš. The talks centered around preventing Vojanak independence, which the ZUOVA officials feared would lead to the disintegration of the union. The ZUOVA officials hoped that Galvia would assist them should the Vojanaks try to declare independence, and the Galvia agreed to lend support by deploying troops to the border between Galvia and Voiana, exerting pressure on Vojanak militants in hopes of discouraging them from pursuing any independence aspirations, in return for monetary compensation as well as transfer of some of its territorial claims in Voiana. According to former ZUOVA government secretary Trewaʒis Bahnicky, Meanwhile, despite being embroiled in a war itself, Izlegal pledged to take in Vojanak refugees should the crisis escalate into full-blown conflict.

On March 1, 1986, the Vojanak government Vojandzeka declared its independence from Zabregashia

''This would all come to a head in the morning of March 1, 1986, when Vojanak de-facto president Vruznivek declared independence on live television. Shortly after, Vruznivek would also give the famed March 1 speech to a crowd in front of the capitol in Mazulot. War against Vojandzeka was declared immediately by Krieniñ, and he stated in a speech later the same day that he had "no intentions of punishing or oppressing the Vojanak people", and that he admired the peoples' "ethnic determination"; however, he also stated that he sought to demilitarize the autonomous republic and harness it back under Zabregashian control. During the speech, Krieniñ also said that "all bloodshed, should it be necessary, is on Vojanak hands". Within minutes of Vruznivek's March 1 speech, explosions were reported in Mazulot, Sipěrlat, Nurăn, Bramoz, Jaçoko, and Sakzěluszmi, as well as numerous rural locations scattered all across the territory. Simultaneously, the Zabregashian Ministry of Defense demanded that all civilian air traffic over Vojandzeka be halted immediately.''

''On March 1 1986, Vojandzeka officially declares independence from Zabregashia in the early morning. As soon as word spread back to ZUOVA officials, Zabregashian tanks and armored vehicles begin their invasion of Vojandzeka and start the March towards Trpǐnjǎ. Vojanak resistance is, initially, futile. The same afternoon that Vojandzeka declares independence, Zabregashia reaches the capital of Trpǐnjǎ in a column of tanks, attempting to force capitulation, however they cannot locate Vruznivek or any of his co-ops. Tanks instead camp out throughout the city and quickly dispel any resistance.''

''As time went on though, civilian resistance increased, and roadblocks began to form on city streets. Meanwhile, the Vojanak Military began to pick off solitary ZUOVA tanks with anti-tank weaponry. Vojana began to rear its head. Resistance picked up from this point onwards as civilians and Vojanak Army alike started to attempt to encircle the ZUOVA troops from out of Trpǐnjǎ.''

''Ordrey is the first nation to recognize Vojanak independence, and soon convinces the World Forum to do the same. As the situation in Vojana became more desperate, the WF decided to send peacekeeping troops in an attempt to form a DMZ to stop any further deaths. This fails, and WF soldiers are killed by Zabregashian invaders. Signs of a cultural genocide were also documented within captured areas of Vojana.. Ordrey, as well as a few other countries, supported Vojana militarily and humanitarianly.''

''The war would continue on much longer than originally forecasted. Vojana remained strong and defended its lands all the way until 2003. In the early months of 2003, Zabregashian troops had a breakthrough, and saw the largest territorial gains in the entire war. ZUOVA soon encircled the capital of Trpinjǎ, and Vojanak, Ordrish, and W.F. soldiers made their final stand. The annexation of Trpinjǎ would never occur though, as a turn of events occurred back in ZUOVA's capital (Opnoch). A ZUOVA military commander who had grown disillusioned with the war decided to storm the presidential palace. Him and his men attempt to destroy the leadership through military arrest, but this fails and a stand-off ensues. Several hours into the stand-off, a rogue officer charges the president Koʒewesz Krieniñ and detonates himself, causing a collapse of the palace and the deaths of a majority of the high-ranking officials.''

''This would eventually turn into the collapse of ZUOVA, and military movements in Vojana came to a standstill. ZUOVA collapsed in on itself, and Vojana was finally free from Zabregashian rule. ZUOVA would splinter into present-day Ochsardvia and Vojana, and both were no longer under the rule of fascism.''

''On March 1, 1986, Vojandzeka declared independence from Zabregashia, which ZUOVA did not accept. As a result, ZUOVA invaded Vojandzeka, hoping to bring it back under its control. Initially, the Vojanak resistance was weak and futile against ZUOVA's invasion. However, as time went on, civilian resistance increased, and roadblocks formed on city streets. These acts of resistance demonstrated the resolve of the Vojanak people and made it increasingly difficult for ZUOVA to maintain control. The war between ZUOVA and Vojana continued for much longer than originally anticipated, with Vojana remaining strong and defending its lands until 2003. Despite the odds against them, the Vojanak people demonstrated incredible resilience and determination in the face of adversity.''

''The ZUOVA invasion of Vojana lasted for nearly two decades. Despite the initial success of ZUOVA's military campaign, the Vojanak resistance was strong and determined. As time went on, the civilian resistance increased, and roadblocks formed on city streets. The Vojanak military began to use anti-tank weaponry to pick off solitary ZUOVA tanks. These tactics slowed down the ZUOVA military, but the war continued to rage on for years. After many years of stalemate, Zabregashian troops finally saw a breakthrough in early 2003, reaching its largest extent of control of Voiana since the beginning of the war. As the ZUOVA military gained more ground, they were able to encircle the capital of Trpinjǎ. The Vojanak, Ordrish, and W.F. soldiers knew that they were facing their final stand. They were determined to defend their country until the very end. In a dramatic turn of events, a ZUOVA military commander who had grown disillusioned with the war stormed the presidential palace in Opnoch, attempting to destroy the leadership through military arrest. A rogue officer charged President Koʒewesz Krieniñ and detonated himself, causing the collapse of the palace and the deaths of a majority of the high-ranking officials. This event was the beginning of the end of ZUOVA.''

''The collapse of ZUOVA was sudden and catastrophic. After the attack on the presidential palace, the ZUOVA government was in disarray. Military movements in Vojana came to a standstill, and the Vojanak resistance was able to take advantage of the chaos and fight back against the ZUOVA military. During the war, signs of cultural genocide were documented in captured areas of Vojana. The ZUOVA military was accused of committing atrocities against the Vojanak people, including mass killings and torture. Several countries, including Ordrey,''

After the collapse of ZUOVA, the remains of former Zabregashia were left in disarray. With the cooperation of more moderate local bureaucrats and populist leaders, the World Forum entered the region to restore order, keep the peace with Vojandzeka, and establish a true democracy. Unlike the Vojanaks in the east however, the Oxellians and Ardvogals, nor the denizens of the region of Seceßko, which had retained its metropolitan mix of cultures, for the large part did not seek independence. In a series of referendums conducted by the World Forum, a wide majority in each region preferred to remain united, just no longer as a dictatorship but a free country. Thus on August 23, 2003, a new constitution was signed between independent delegates from all across former ZUOVA, and the Republican Union of Ochsardvia was born. Its democracy and freedom remains under oversight by a select committee within the World Forum as the new Ochsardvia aims to gain trust and build its image on the world stage, and even in recent years tensions are thawing between it and Vojandzeka, with whom they are beginning their chapters along democratic principles as well their long intertwined history.