Arsytia

Arsytia, officially the Arsytian Federative Socialist Workers' Republic (AFSWR), is a country in Serica, on the continent of Serratar. Established in 1891 as the Arsytian Commune after the January Revolution, which overthrew the Arsytian Empire, Arsytia is the 2nd largest country in the world in terms of land area, extending from its southern border with Phoenicia to well above the Arctic Circle. Arsytia has a population of 340,879,521, with several major ethnic groups, and is the second-most populous country on Serratar. It shares borders with Fengjiang, Kursica, and Svatodor. Arsytia's capital and largest city is Kylma.

Although explicitly defined in its Constitution as a socialist state, Arsytia guarantees the rights of opposition and non-socialist parties, with elections carried out according to its principles of. However, Arsytia is frequently characterized as having a, as the ruling Arsytian Workers' Party has never lost a majority in the Central Workers' Council since the establishment of the AFSWR. Arsytia is an, with its majority-minority People's Republics exercising greater local autonomy and self-governance than its considerably larger amount of Arsytian-majority communes.

With immense mineral and energy reserves, Arsytia's economy is organized on lines and is the world's third-largest. Industries defined as "strategic" are state-owned and centrally-planned. Both planning and management are assisted by Arsytia's AJÄRLASTI information network and decision support system. Smaller enterprises and non-strategic industries are independently owned and operated by workers' collectives. Although the state has historically prioritized heavy industry and resource extraction as its economic focuses, Arsytia has consistently invested in scientific research and has recently begun expansion of its technological industry.

A member of the Tavaric Treaty Organization, Arsytia has long been a major regional power on Serratar. Since the late 1980s, it has been considered a burgeoning superpower, behind Fengjiang and Barenia. A participant in the Great Serrataran War, where it accounted for the majority of allied losses, Phoenicia's invasion of Arsytia in 1944 resulted in the opening of the Serican theater of war. Since the Great Serrataran War, Arsytia has consistently pursued a policy of military preparedness, with universal military service and a continual buildup of primarily conventional, but also nuclear forces.

Etymology
The name Arsytia is derived from the Khalkhan term Arsit (Khalkhan: Арсит), derived from the Arsi people, who were the largest collection of Arsytian tribes upon their conquest by the Khalkhan, and whose name was applied to all Arsytians under Khalkhan rule.

Prehistory
The earliest inhabitation of what is now Arsytia is believed to have occurred some 110,000 years ago, with the earliest migration of modern humans northwards from what is now Ahurastan, and westwards from what is now Southern Hatar, to the foothills of the Kubuzor Mountains. The Ancient North Serratarans reached the edge of what is now the Komis Valley in approximately 40,000 BCE, forming the Komis culture and representing the furthest known northern settlement of humans prior to the last glacial maximum. The degree of this northern settlement ensured the relative separation of the Komis culture ancestors of the Arsytians and their relatives from the ancestors of the Kurhan culture in what is now Svatodor and Kursica that would spread Avardo-Hatarian languages to the rest of Hatar.

As the glaciers retreated, the ancestors of the Komis culture, the Northern Hunter-Gatherers, expanded northwards, towards the Pemrine mountains, as well as east and west into the Hatarian and Sibirican taiga, reaching Lake Bracken and the end of the Komis Valley during the Mesolithic and Neolithic. The development of the Proto-Pemrine language is believed to have occurred during the late period of this expansion, around Lake Bracken.

Southern Expansion
The closest ancestors of the Arsytians and their relatives in Piirimaa, the Bracken culture, are believed to have inhabited a large area stretching from the northern boundary of Lake Alam to the end of the Komis Valley, concentrated in the area around Lake Bracken. In roughly 2000 BCE, the Bracken culture began to split between two means of supplementing their traditional hunter-gatherer-fisher lifestyle: slash-and-burn agriculture and. However, hunting, gathering, and fishing remained the primary lifestyle of the Bracken culture for an additional 1000 years, with both the pastoralists and the farmers being semi-nomadic—the pastoralists required fresh pasture, while the farmers would exhaust their soil and moved on to burn more areas of forest.

In 1000 BCE, conflict began to erupt between the pastoralists and the farmers over land for their herds and crops, respectively, and the pastoralists, who would become the Proto-Arsits, the ancestors of modern Arsytians, began a steady and en-masse migration south in search of more and fresher pastures for their growing population. However, trade and cultural contact between the Proto-Arsits and their agricultural cousins, the Proto-Pirians, remained extensive, and it is estimated that until almost 2000 years ago, they continued to share a single overall language—even today, the Arsytians and the Piirimaani have highly similar languages and many shared customs.

Upon crossing the Bhutsay Mountains, the Proto-Arsits broke out onto the open and sparely-populated Xibol Plateau, in approximately 500-300 BCE, where they thrived, and encountered many other cultures living a similarly nomadic and pastoral lifestyle—these cultures were often displaced by the mass of the Proto-Arsits, interbred with them, or were exterminated in conflicts over grazing land.

At the same time, the tribal confederations of the Proto-Khalkhan had begun their own rapid pace of expansion from the Central Serican Plain, and by the 1st century CE they had begun large-scale, but often fleeting contact with the Proto-Arsits. The frequent appearance of fortified sites around good grazing land and other important locations during this time, as well as the recovery of many Proto-Arsit graves and Proto-Khalkhan burial mounds, attest to the conflict that the two nomadic cultures engaged in. However, trade soon began and the southernmost Proto-Arsits began to interbreed with the northernmost Proto-Khalkhan—modern Arsytians are products of this large-scale and long-term genetic admixture.

Workers' Councils and Arsytian Democracy
The most enduring structural evidence of Arsytia's revolutionary origins, the workers' councils (työläisneuvostot) are the basis of governance in Arsytia. The basic structure of Arsytia's system of councils is a pyramid, with lower councils sending delegates to higher councils—every higher council being a sort of "council of councils". In practice, this works as follows: factory and agricultural collective councils are elected directly from the working masses, which send representatives to town councils, which send representatives to district councils, which send representatives to regional councils, which send representatives to commune councils, which, finally, send delegates to the Central Workers' Council for five-year terms. Factory and agricultural collective councils may have 3 to 50 members, while town councils have a maximum of 1,000 members.

General elections for councils are held at the end of each year. At the end of the Central Workers' Council's five-year term, their elections are held at the same time. Elections are held via public forum, with those in attendance voting for a given candidate via show of hands—this is done to encourage public debate on the qualifications of a given candidate. Each council, along with electing representatives to a higher council, prepares a list of needs and requests to be passed upwards. Lists are analyzed, discussed, compiled, then passed upwards—the end result, at the level of the Central Workers' Council, are funding requests from the communes. Funds are allotted from the state budget, pass downwards through the network of councils, and are ultimately allocated to their relevant purpose by the lowest councils.

As instruments of executive power, councils form committees in parallel with various arms of the state, aided and advised by public employees—doctors serve on healthcare committees, teachers serve on education committees, and so on—cooperating with the state on a local level to ensure needs are met. Most council representatives are involved in a committee of some sort. At any given time, it is estimated that over a million Arsytians are involved in councils at all levels. Additionally, when elected from the ranks of a state-owned enterprise, factory councils are expected to oversee execution of the central plan and negotiate with factory management in the creation of plans of action towards that end.

If representatives are felt to have failed—by not properly representing the wishes of their constituents, or for a myriad of other reasons—they may be recalled by a majority vote of the council below them, or, in the face of factory/agricultural collective councils, by their direct constituents.

Arsytian Workers' Party
The Arsytian Workers' Party (Arsyten Työväenpuolue) is the founding and ruling party of the AFSWR. Founded as the Arsytian Workers' and Peasants' Party in 1872, it existed largely as an underground organization during the Arsytian Empire. During the late 1880s, the Party, buoyed by covert support from Melkia in the form of money and weaponry, began open agitation as the apparatus of the imperial state began to falter in the face of a mounting debt crisis and increasing unrest, especially among the peasantry, which the party quickly harnessed and drove towards its revolutionary goals. After the revolution and the establishment of the Arsytian Commune, the party dropped the "Peasants'" from its name, to reflect the idea that under the new socialist state, all workers would be equal.

Since the January Revolution in 1891, the Arsytian Workers' Party has never lost a major election. Much of its enduring success has to do with its status as the force behind the January Revolution in addition to its presiding over unprecedented growth in prosperity and power for Arsytia. However, the nature of Arsytia's system works to dilute the influence of its fractious opposition. The low level at which its workers' councils begin, along with the size of their membership and the sheer amount of councils, mean that it is relatively rare for opposition representatives to make it to the Central Workers' Council and influence national politics.

Most opposition to the Workers' Party comes from a collection of independent politicians in the Central Workers' Council. However, various disagreements among these politicians along ideological lines and rivalries with the few seats held by non-socialist, nationalist minority parties has prevented them from forming a bloc that can challenge the Workers' Party's dominance, even when the Party has been wracked by internal disagreements.

Central Workers' Council
The 1500-member Central Workers' Council (Työväen Pääneuvosto) is Arsytia's supreme organ of state power and its most powerful legislative body. Elected every five years by the commune councils, it is required to convene at least twice a year. The Central Workers' Council has the sole authority to amend the Arsytian Constitution, and it is responsible for electing the Chairman, the Standing Committee, all Commissars, and the Supreme Court. It is additionally tasked with discussing and passing legislation proposed from within its own ranks, by the Standing Committee, or by the Central Executive Committee.

The 101-member Standing Committee (Valiokunta) is a permanent committee elected from the ranks of the Central Workers' Council, and it is tasked with conducting policy discussions and makes decisions on major issues, as exercising other powers, behalf of the Council. The Standing Committee is also tasked with providing constant oversight to the actions of the Central Executive Committee.

Central Executive Committee
The Central Executive Committee (Toimeenpaneva Keskuskomitea) is the most senior executive body of the Arsytian state. Led by the Chairman of the Central Workers' Council, the Committee can be considered a collective head of state. Its membership consists of the Chairman and the Commissars of each of Arsytia's Offices, of which there are fourteen, for a total membership of fifteen.

The Committee's membership is nominated by the Chairman at the first plenary session of a newly-elected Central Workers' Council, then elected by vote of the Council. The Committee is tasked with: In all of its activities, the Committee is accountable to the Central Workers' Council through the Standing Committee, and is required to regularly report to the Standing Committee on its activities. Although the Central Executive Committee may not pass permanently-binding laws, as such power rests solely in the hands of the Central Workers' Council, it may, with the approval of the Standing Committee, issue decrees with the force of law when the Council is not in session. If the Standing Committee disapproves of any of the actions undertaken by the Central Executive Committee, it may call a special session of the Central Workers' Council. The Council may, with a simple majority vote, choose to revoke the action or decree. If it wishes to go further, it may, with a supermajority vote, remove any member of the Central Executive Committee, including the Chairman.
 * Management of the Arsytian economy
 * Formulation and submission of five-year plans and the state budget to the Central Workers' Council
 * Defending the Arsytian people, their state, and the revolution against foreign powers
 * Ensuring internal security
 * General policies regarding the Workers' Army
 * General policies regarding trade, foreign relations, and Arsytia's participation in international organizations
 * Creating and overseeing state committees for coordinating activities of multiple offices and organs of the state towards a relevant purpose

Administrative Divisions
Article 60 of the Arsytian Constitution States: "The Arsytian Federative Socialist Workers' Republic is a socialist, multi-national, federal state. It is formed in accordance with socialist principles of national self-determination and through the voluntary unification of the peoples of Arsytia in the spirit of equality and unity between proletarians of all nations." A product much compromise between various revolutionary factions in the wake of the deposition of the Provisional Revolutionary Council, Arsytia is an. In addition to its 86 Arsytian-majority communes, Arsytia also has 5 majority-minority people's republics: the Khalkhan, Taivali, Saarelainen, Andronovonian, and Maarulali People's Republics.

Communes
The most common top-level administrative unit of Arsytia, there are 86 communes.

Military
With the largest military in the TTO, and the second-largest in the world, Arsytia ranks among Barenia and Fengjiang as one of the world's preeminent military powers. There are two main bodies of supreme military authority in Arsytia. The first, and most well-known, is the Revolutionary War Council (Vallankumouksellinen Sotilasneuvosto), commonly abbreviated as Valsotneuvosto. The Chairman of the Valsotneuvosto is the equivalent to the in other countries, exercising direct authority over all Workers' Army forces. The remaining 13 members of the Valsotneuvosto are the Chief of the General Staff, who serves as Deputy Chairman, the Commanders-in-Chief of each branch, the Chief of the Rear Services, the Director of the Kosmivokeso, and their respective Chiefs of Staff.

The Chairman of the Valsotneuvosto also serves as the War Commissar, overseeing the War Office, and represents the Workers' Army at Arsytia's second supreme body of military authority, the Defense Committee (Puolustustoimikunta), which determines long-term, general policies and directives for the Workers' Army and War Office. It also oversees Arsytia's defense industries and is responsible for preparing Arsytia's national assets for mobilization.

There are four branches of the Workers' Army: the Land Forces, the Air Forces, the Fleet, and the Atomic Forces. There are two additional forces, which are not considered full branches: the Rear Services and the Kosmivokeso. The Rear Services combines a wide array of Workers' Army support services under a single command, directly subordinate to the Revolutionary War Council. Although primarily focused on logistics through "special troops" like the Railway or Pipeline Troops, it also includes other services, such as medical services and scientific research units. The Kosmivokeso unites the space assets of all branches, such as the Air Force's satellites, the Army's dazzling laser batteries, the Navy's space monitoring ships, and so on. The Kosmivokeso is responsible for all space operations.

Economy
Arsytia has a highly developed, and is the world's third-largest economy by nominal GDP. It is dominated by state-owned and cooperative enterprises—both sectors each account for approximately 40% of Arsytia' GDP, with the remaining 20% mostly held by IPOs. Starting in the mid 1980s, Arsytia began to transition away from its Latvala-era, almost entirely state-owned and centrally-planned economy to a mixed market, dirigist economy along the lines of the Vesnayan model. This meant emphasizing a loosening of state controls, technocratic instead of bureaucratic management, offering incentives for individual enterprise, supporting the growth of the cooperative sector, and supporting technological progress in the name of "strengthening the productive forces". However, the Arsytian state still guides the overall economy towards its goals through "golden shares", the financial system, market instruments (taxes and subisides), prudent industrial policy, and the aforementioned indicative planning.

Forms of Property
Arsytian law, in accordance with the principle of collective ownership of the means of production, draws a distinct line between individual and collective property.

Individual Property
By legal definition, there are two subcategories of individual property—private and personal property. Private property, defined as private ownership of capital (the means of production—land, labor, property used to produce goods, etc.) is illegal. All other items in a person's possession are considered personal property. These distinctions were drawn in order to distinguish socialist and capitalist definitions of property ownership, as well as to legally define what could and could not be expropriated by the state in the process of collectivization.

Organization
According to Arsytian law, there are no "companies", "businesses", "corporations", or other "capitalist entities" in Arsytia. In their place, there are enterprises (yrityksille).

Banking
In Arsytia, banking is entirely controlled by the state under the auspices of the State Bank (Arsytian: валтионпанкки, Valtionpankki) and the "Big Three" state-owned commercial banks, which are in turn overseen by the Financial Office (Arsytian: Талоустоимисто, Taloustoimisto). As Arsytia's central bank, the State Bank is responsible for implementing monetary policy in accordance with the state's macroeconomic goals: setting interest rates, and managing foreign exchange and gold reserves. The "Big Three" are the Savings Bank (Сээстёпанкки, Säästöpankki), the Investment Bank (Сиёитуспанкки, Sijoituspankki), and the Foreign Trade Bank (Улкомаанкауппапанкки, Ulkomaankauppapankki).

The Savings Bank, Arsytia's main commercial bank, is chiefly responsible for storing the savings of the Arsytian people and providing other personal banking services. It performs additional functions, such as accepting payment of fines or depositing worker salaries. Although operating purely as a savings bank for much of its early existence, after the market reforms of the late 1970s and early 1980s, it has extended consumer credit to individuals. This reform is credited with spurring much of Arsytia's economic growth during the 1980s. Additionally, the Savings Bank is the only issuer of debit and credit cards in Arsytia, through its Liitto (Лиитто, "Union") payment system.

The Investment Bank provides short-to-long-term credit to both cooperative and state-owned enterprises. It is particularly specialized in long-term credit for large-scale infrastructural projects, such as urban housing development. The extension of loanable funds through state credit to Arsytia's massively-expanding cooperative sector, particularly to small and medium-sized enterprises, during the 1980s provided the capital base necessary for cooperative enterprises to expand and thrive.

Demographics
With a population of some 340 million, Arsytia is the 3rd-most populous country in the world. Arsytia's population is slightly older than the global average age, at 33.5. After a sharp rise in birth rates during the late 1910s and continuing up to the Great Serrataran War, a considerable slump during and immediately after the war, and another sharp rise during the late 50s and early 60s, Arsytia has settled into a pattern of steady growth. With a fertility rate of 2.4, it is above replacement rate, but is predicted to fall below replacement rate within 50 years.

The Arsytian state has historically taken a strong pro-natalist policy, considering it the duty of the "socialist mother" to have a large and healthy family, denigrating couples who choose to not have children as "selfish" for "not bringing children into the socialist future". Childless men and women over the age of 25 are taxed 6% of their income.

However, the Arsytian state has primarily relied on less coercive methods to encourage having children. It has invested heavily in well-trained obstetricians and well-equipped maternity wards—with less than 5 infant deaths per 1,000 births, Arsytia's infant mortality rate is among the lowest in the world. The state guarantees the jobs of pregnant women and early mothers, and women have a right to 1 year of paid maternity leave without fear of dismissal. Heavily-subsidized, state-run daycares provide 6 days of childcare per week at trivial cost, so that mothers do not have to choose between children and their careers. Couples with more than 2 children are granted tax breaks, and, for particularly "productive" couples, are granted state stipends and public recognition.

The effect of these policies is that, on average, Arsytians marry and have more children than their Hatarian counterparts at younger ages, ensuring steady growth.

Ethnic Groups
A highly diverse country owing to its great territorial extent, Arsytia has six highly distinct, dominant ethnic groups, which together make up 99% of Arsytia's population: the eponymous Arsytians, the Khalkhan, the Taivali, the Pohjolans, the Andronovonians, and the Maarulali. They represent 47%, 28%, 10%, 7%, 4%, and 3% of the population, respectively. Each ethnic group is further divided into many more heimot (from Arsytian, lit. "tribes") based on differences in dialect, cultural practices, and other distinctive features.

Languages
The Arsytian language is the only official language of Arsytia. "All-Arsytian" laws, which are applied equally throughout the Communes and People's Republics, are written in Arsytian, as well as all state decrees and all documents produced, used, and distributed by the central government. Arsytian is the official language of instruction in schools, and is the command language of both the Workers' Army and the armed forces of the People's Republics.

Although Arsytian is promoted as the "language of inter-ethnic communication", the Arsytian state has long taken great measures to ensure the continuity of its many minority languages—Arsytian students are required to learn a minority language in addition to a foreign language as part of their curriculum, and the local governments of People's Republics are permitted to officially use their language in the course of their duties. Since the 1960s, many schools located in the People's Republics have pursued a "dual-language" program, offering an equal proportion of both Arsytian and the local language in classes to ensure proficiency in both. State-supported funds and cultural programs promote the use of minority languages in everyday life, as well as the production of cultural works, such as books, shows, and newspapers in minority languages.