Karshkovia

Republic of Karshkovia
Flag	Coat of arms
Anthem: Hymn of the Karshkovia Republic
Capital	Zostar
Largest City	Rostov
Official Languages	Russian, English
Government - President - Prime Minister	Presidential Republic Vladimir Radchenko Valentina Borofsky (Valentina Radchenko)
Independence - Declared - Finalized	From the Soviet Union 21 January, 1992 10 April, 1992
Area - Total - Water (%)	2,274,900 km² 1.7%
Population - January 2006 est. - Density	15,217,000 5.4/km²
GDP (PPP) - Total - Per capita	2006 estimate $74.9 billion $5,352
Unemployment	11.2%
Currency - exchange rate (Per USD)	Rubal (Ru) 3.89 RU
Time Zone	UTC +6
Internet TLD	.Ku
Calling Code	+7

Karshkovia, officially the Republic of Karshkovia, is a coastal country in the Sapientia region. It has a territory of over 2,727,300 km² and is bordered by three nations to the North, East and West. The country also borders on a significant part of the ocean.

Vast in size, the land in Karshkovia is very diverse in types of terrain with flatlands, steepes, taigas, rock-canyons, hills, mountains, and snowcapped mountains. Karshkovia's population density is less than 6 people per square kilometer (15 per sq. mi.). The total population has risen since independence with the greatest influx from immigrating ethnic Russians since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Karshkovia is now a member of the Sapientia Regional States and is an active member of the United Nations.

History

Karshka Zazakh

Karshkovia has been inhabited since the Stone Age: the region's climate and terrain are best suited for nomadic people practicing pastoralism. Historians believe that human's domesticated the goat in the region's vast steppes. While ancient cities such as Minski, Rostov, and Zostar had long served as important way-stations for goods imported and exported from other continents, real political consolidation only began with the Volsta invasion of the early fourteenth century AD. Under the Volsta Empire, administrative districts were established and these eventually came under the Karshka Zazakh.

Throughout this period traditional nomadic life ceased and the farming/livestock-based economy turned to trade, though as a paradox since the Karshkas at this time were isolationists. Nevertheless, the region was the focus of ever-increasing disputes between the native Karshkas and the neighboring nation-states over waterway and port rights. From these disputes Karshkas grew a reputation of fierce, bloodthirsty people. Historians believe they were one of the first cultures to allow women to fight alongside of men in battle.

During the 17th century Karshkas fought a federation of tribes from the mountain region in the western edge of present-day Karshkovia. After the tribals defeat, they were absorbed into Karshkas culture. They brought with them knowledge of mining and metal smithing the Karshkas did not have. It was also this time that the Karshka nation was formed and formal national boarders introduced. They returned to an isolationist nation with closed borders and no contact with outside nations until the late 19th century.

Soviet Union

In the 20th century, Karshka received an influx of Russian refuges fleeing the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and fiercely fought off numerous attempts by the tzars to overtake the nation. In 1938, Karshka's King Barkovitz II was assassinated by pro-Communist rebels and Russian troops seized control of the capital city of Zostar, and installed a communist government. Karshkovian cities were renamed except for the capital, Zostar, the country was renamed Karshkovia, and Russia enforced the Russian language in all schools and governmental organizations. Russian efforts to impose it's system aroused the extreme resentment of the ethnic Karshka people, and by early 1940 a national movement sought to preserve the native language and identity by resisting the attempts of the Russian Empire to assimilate and stifle them.

Russia began steps at that time to systematically assassinate any person they found was associated with this movement. They also banned all public and private worship, making it punishable by death if caught. Ever increasing amounts of Slavic settlers began colonizing the wide open territory of present-day Karshkovia under the supervision of the Russian Empire.

Native Karshkovians were driven from their land to make room for the Slavic settlers, creating animosity between the peoples. Massive hunger led to unrest and between 1940 and 1942 the Karshkovian population declined by 25% due to starvation, violence and mass emigration through the mountains to neighboring nations. Many renowned writers, thinkers, poets, politicians and historians were killed on Stalin's orders, both as part of the repression and as a methodical pattern of suppressing Karshka identity and culture.

Karshkovia was the location of some of the Soviet Union's largest labor camps and in 1943 experience population inflows of millions of exiled peoples from other parts of the Soviet Union. Many were deportation victims due to their ethnic background or beliefs.

Unrest

The Zostar Uprising occurred in 1944 when native Karshkovians attacked Russian and Cossack neighborhoods, killing Soviet sympathizers and officials. The Russian revenge was merciless as a military force drove over 400,000 Karshkovians from their homes in the middle of winter, giving them little warning or chance to prepare, to the mountains. Parts of Zostar were leveled as the people fled. Only 150,000 were able to make it into the neighboring nations to the west and north west, and when 40,000 returned late in the spring, nearly all were slaughtered by Soviet forces.

The Karshkovian Soviet Social Republic (SSR) contributed four national divisions to the Soviet Union's World War II effort, and the period of World War II marked a sharp increase in industrialization and increased mineral extraction in support of the war effort. At the time of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's death, Karshkovia was one of the Soviet Union's powerhouse industrial states, contributing a significant percentage of the total production output of the Soviet Union. In 1952, discovery of Uranium in the Karshka Mountain Range led Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev initiated an ambitious "Power Mountains" program to mine that Uranium, hoping to turn Karshkovia into a major source of Uranium for the Soviet Union. This lead to mixed results, as the roads leading up the mountain mines needed to be rebuilt from the base-up to handle the heavy equipment, the harsh Karshkovia winter left many passes unusable until spring and frequent avalanche prevented winter mining from occurring.

Along with later modernization under Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, the development of the Karshkovian caviar industry created an economical boon for the Soviet Union and Karshkovian Caviar was labeled "Black Gold" inside and outside the Soviet Union, and is still a very highly sought after, expensive commodity.

In 1967, the Doysha Cosmodrome was built and became a secondary site for the Soviet Union's space program, though it was later abandoned in the late 1970's.

Through the 1970's, growing tensions within Soviet society led to a demand for political and economical reforms, which came to a head in the early 1980s. A factor that had contributed this immensely was the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident. This had a catastrophic ecological and biological effects on Karshkovia and those effects were still felt generations later,escalating anger towards the Soviet system as a result. In December, 1987, mass demonstrations by young ethnic Karshkovians, later referred to as the Barnaul Riots, took place to protest the replacement of the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Karshkovian SSR, Ledvisk Konaye with Gradst Kolbinsky from the Russian SFSR. Government Troops suppressed the unrest. Several people were killed and most demonstrators were jailed, later sent to heavy labor camps. In the days of waning Soviet Rule, discontent continued to grow and found expression under Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's policy of glasnost.

Independence

In early 1990, an incident involving the Karshkovian gymnastics team and Soviet troops in Miniski set off nationwide protests which quickly spiraled into a full blown revolution. Karshkovians in the Soviet military had mixed reactions to the revolution from support to denouncing the rebels, however despite this many stationed inside Karshkovia helped the rebels capture military assets, including ICBM silos.

Zostar during Soviet air strike on rebel forces

To prevent further loss of equipment, the Soviet Union detained all Karshkovian military personnel which had not defected to the rebels.

After a year of bloody struggle, the Soviet Union withdrew troops following the August 1991 abortive coup attempt in Moscow and the subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Union. Karshkovia declared it's independence on January 21, 1992. It was the last of the Soviet Republics to declare independence.

The years following independence were been marked by significant reforms to the Soviet-style economy and political monopoly on power. Under Nutan Nabayev, who initially came to power in 1989 as the head of the Communist Party of Karshkovia and was eventually elected President in 1992, Karshkovia made significant progress toward developing a market economy. The country has enjoyed significant economic growth since 2000, partly due to its large oil, gas, and mineral reserves

In 2004, the unaffiliated dark-horse candidate, President Vladimir Radchenko won the popular vote in a surprising landslide victory. The start of his Presidency marked a new period in Karshkovia as for the first time in it's history Karshkovia opened her borders to foreigners and started to expand her influence beyond its national boarders. His marriage to an ex-soviet air force lieutenant, Valentina Borofsky, meet with mixed reactions. Radchenko addressed the nation on his feelings for his wife, pointing out the forced relocation of many Russian citizens during Soviet rule, the need to embrace all people equally as brothers who all loved the nation as their home country, and the rejection of Karshka, Cassock, or Russian ethnic background. He stated Karshkovia had always been a crucible of people and to that effect was dissolving ethnic background and renamed all people Karshkovians first and only. After this speech, an upswelling of support formed and the "Healing and Unity" movement began.

As of 2007, independent observers have reported that cross marriage between ethnic Karshkas, Cassocks, and Russians is common and all but a few have accepted the unity movement. Foreigners have reported even in outlying towns and villages, Karshkovians are very friendly and helpful which is a marked change from their isolationist past.

Politics

President Vladimir Radchenko

Main article: Politics of Karshkovia

POLITICAL SYSTEM

Karshkovia is a constitutional democratic republic. The President is the head of state and the commander in chief of the armed forces and may veto legislation that has been passed by the Parliament. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Ministers, serves as Karshkovia's head of government, and Head Ambassador. There are two deputy prime ministers and 14 ministers in the Cabinet. Valentina Borofsky has served as the Prime Minister since 10 January 2005.

Karshkovia has a bicameral Parliament, made up of the lower house (Govail) and upper house (the Senate). The people popularly elect 60 seats in the Govail, six per district. The Senate has 20 members all selected from a popular vote of the people from Karshkovia's 10 principal administrative divisions, two per district. The president appoints the remaining five senators.

ELECTIONS

Elections to the Govail in July 2007 yielded a lower house dominated by the pro-business Trade Union party. Later in August, the Senate also yielded a Trade Union Dominated Parliament. Two other parties also considered sympathetic to the president, including the pro-government Asar party, and the People's Democratic Party have the minority seats in the Govail and Senate, respectively.

Opposition parties, including the Socialist and Communist Parties, which were officially registered and competed in the elections, won a single seat in the Govail during elections.

Prime Minister Valentina Borofsky

In late 2007, Karshkovia applied for and was approved for United Nations Membership. President Radchenko has been a vocal and active part in the UN since. Also, Karshkovia joined the Sapientia regional union, opening diplomatic doors with the nations it borders for the first time in over 600 years.

On 20 December 2007, a popular movement of the Karshkovian people forced a bill before the parliament with a vote of 98%-for 2%-against, declaring that President Vladimir Radchenko be given lifetime powers and privileges, including becoming de facto "President for life", immunity from criminal prosecution, and influence over domestic and foreign policy. The bill passed the parliament with a nearly unanimous vote.

Late on 21 December, President Radchenko addressed the nation on all radio and television channels, thanking the people for their support and pledging to continue to offer them his continued 'best efforts' as President, however he denounced the bill and signed the veto to the bill while on the air, stating that the people's right to choose their leader every five years was non-waivable.

On December 22nd, the bill passed the lower house with a vote of 59-for 1-against, while it passed the upper house unanimously thus overriding the presidential veto. That day, President Radchenko noted he accepted this bill under extreme protest and submitted a request for the Karshkovia Supreme Court to review the bill and declare it unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has yet to decide if it would review the law.

Opposition parties questioned the competence of the current administration and made accusation of serious irregularities in the people's popular vote. They, however , have stated numerous times that Radchenko was not suspect given his continued maneuvering to quash the new law.

Military

Main Article: Military of Karshkovia

The Karshkovian military is slowly rebuilding after independence and relies on old Soviet technology. Much of the armed forces are poorly trained and inexperienced. The Presidential Guard are the exception. These are soldiers trained by ex-Russian military advisors and are well trained, but only 150 Presidential Guards serve.

Karshkovia recently acquired new aircraft and ground vehicles from the Northern Baltic military, along with technicians to repair the aging Soviet equipment.

Karshkovia is one of the few nations of the word that possess nuclear weapons, but has no nuclear refinement or weapons program.

District

Karshkovia is divided into 10 districts based around the main cities of Karshkovia; Zostar, Rostov, Minski, Odesay, Volograd, Kazansk, Astana, Barnaul, Pechora. The western mountain range is included in the Vyoska district.

Geography

Main Articles: Geography of Karshkovia and List of cites in Karshkovia

With an area of 2.7 million square Kilometers (1.05 million square miles), Karshkovia shares large boarders of 6,846 kilometers with it's northern neighbor nation, 2,203 kilometers with it's western neighbor nation, and 379 kilometers with it's northeastern neighbor.

The terrain extends west to east from the Karshka Mountains to the eastern seaboard, and north to south from the plains of northern Karshkovia to the southern seaboard.

Karshka Mountains

The Karshka Steppe, with an area of around 804,500 square kilometers, occupies one third of the country. The Steppe is characterized by

large areas of grassland suitable for fair agriculture, with very fertile soil. The steppe is nicknamed "The green desert". Important rivers include the Volga, the Krona, the Vyehegda and the Severnaya. The country's only lake is Lake Trysh, and it empties into the river Trysh. The eastern part of the country consists of the flat, Severnaya Valley, the bottom of a glacial Lake Malov. It's fertile soil, drained by the meandering Severnaya River flowing southward into the Bay of Barnaul, supports a very large agriculture industry. Trysh, the largest natural lake in the nation, is also found in the east.

The western half of the state consists of the Karshka Mountains and "Badlands" just at the foot of the Karshka Mountains. The nation's highest point is Mount Vyoska, rising an impressive 5541 meters above sea level. The "Badlands" are abundant in fossil fuels, including crude oil (sweet and light sweet), and lignite coal. The Karshka mountains are abundant in mineral deposits including Gold, Silver, Manganese, Chrome Ore, Iron, Nickel Cobalt, Copper, Molybdenum, Lead, Zinc, Bauxite, and Uranium. All are found in rich, available quantities.

Karshkovia endures temperature extremes characteristic of it's continental climate, with hot summers and cold winters. The record low and high temperatures are -51.1°C and 49°C respectively. Meteorological events include rain, snow, hail, blizzards, polar fronts, tornadoes, thunderstorms and high-velocity straight-line winds.

Springtime flooding is a relatively common event in the Severnaya Valley, due to the Vogla and the Vyehegda emptying into the Severnaya. The spring melt and the eventual runoff typically begin swelling the rivers, taxing the Severnaya.

Economy

Overview

The government of Karshkovia plans to double or triple it's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2009 and triple or quadruple it by 2015, as compared to 2000. GDP growth has been stable in the last five years, at a rate higher than 10%. Buoyed by high world crude oil, Molybdenum and Bauxite prices, GDP growth figures were in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005: 9.8%, 13.2%, 9.5%, 9.2%, 9.4%, and 9.2%, respectively. Other major exports of Karshkovia include six distinctive types of Caviar, automobiles, fish, grains, textile, and livestock. Experts forecasts that Karshkovia would become the world's leading exporter of Uranium by the year 2010 if they were to open international trade of the ore to other nations, which could double the GDP within a few months.

Karshkovia's monetary policy is generally considered by outside observers to be well-managed. Its principal challenge since 2002 has been to manage strong foreign currency inflows without sparking inflation. Since that time, inflation has finally come under control. In 2004, Karshkovia became the second former Soviet republic to repay all it's debts to the International Monetary Fund, 7 years ahead of schedule. In January 2008, Karshkovia was granted a $1 Trillion dollar gift by the Communist nation of Stoklomolvi to rebuild its military forces and civilian infrastructure.

As of late December 2003, Karshkovia's gross foreign debt was about $22.9 billion. Total governmental debt was $4.2 billion. This amounts to 14% of GDP. There has been a noticeable reduction in the ratio of debt to GDP observed in past years; the ratio of total governmental debt to GDP in 2000 was 21.7%, in 2001 it was 17.5%, and in 2002 it was 15.4%.

The upturn in economic growth, combined with the results of earlier tax and financial sector reforms, has dramatically improved government finances from the

Volograd is becoming a very large and popular tourist location

1999 budget deficit level of 3.5% of GDP to a deficit of 1.2% of GDP in 2003. Government revenues grew from 19.8% of GDP in 1999 to 22.6% of GDP in 2001, but decreased to 16.2% of GDP in 2003. In 2000, Karshkovia adopted a new tax code in an effort to consolidate these gains. On November 29, 2003 the Law on Changes to Tax Code was adopted, which increased rate for the wealthiest. The value added tax fell from 16% to 15%, the normal social tax from 21% to 20%, and the personal income tax from 30% to 20%. (On July 7, 2006 the personal income tax was reduced even further to a flat rate of 5% for personal income in the form of dividends and 10% for other personal income.) Karshkovia furthered its reforms by adopting a new land code on June 20, 2003, and a new customs code on April 5, 2003.

Caviar is currently the leading economic sector, but may change with the opening of international sales of Uranium. Production of crude oil and natural gas condensate in Karshkovia amounted to 61.2 million tons in 2003, which was 8.6% more than in 2002. Karshkovia raised oil and gas condensate exports to 54.3 million tons in 2003, 13% higher than in 2002. Gas production in Karshkovia in 2003 amounted to 23.9 billion cubic meters, up 22.7% compared to 2002, including natural gas production of 10.3 billion cubic meters ; Karshkovia holds about 30 billion tons of proven recoverable oil reserves and 20,000 cubic kilometers of gas. Industry analysts believe that planned expansion of oil production, coupled with the development of new fields, will enable the country to produce as much as 4 million barrels per day by 2015, lifting Karshkovia into the ranks of the world's top oil-producing nations. Karshkovia's 2003 oil exports were valued at more than $7 billion, representing 55% of overall exports and 24% of the GDP. Major oil and gas fields and their recoverable oil reserves are Tengiza with 14 billion barrels; Karachaga with 16 billion barrels and 1,350 km³ of natural gas; and Kashan with 14 to 15 billion barrels.

Karshkovia instituted an ambitious pension reform program in 1998. As of January 1, 2005, the pension assets were about $4.1 billion. There are 16 saving pension funds in the republic. The State Accumulating Pension Fund, the only state-owned fund, could be privatized as early as 2009. The country's unified financial regulatory agency oversees and regulates the pension funds. The pension funds' growing demand for quality investment outlets triggered rapid development of the debt securities market. Pension fund capital is being invested almost exclusively in corporate and government bonds, including Government of Karshkovian Sapientia bonds. The Karshkovian banking system is developing rapidly. The banking system's capitalization now exceeds $1 billion. The National Bank has introduced deposit insurance in its campaign to strengthen the banking sector. Several major foreign banks have branches in Karshkovia, including ABC AMORAL, Citibank, and HSBC. Raiffeisen Zentralbank and UniCredit have both recently entered the Karshkovia's financial services market through acquisitions and stakebuilding.

Agriculture
Main Article: Agriculture in Karshkovia

Agriculture accounted for 13.6% of Karshkovia's GDP in 2003. Grains and livestock are the most important agricultural commodities. Agricultural land occupies much land in Karshkovia. The available agricultural land consists of 235,000 square kilometres of arable land and 619,000 square kilometers of pasture and hay land. Chief livestock products are Caviar, dairy products, leather, meat, and wool. The country's major crops include wheat, barley, cotton, and rice. Wheat exports, a major source of hard currency, rank among the leading commodities in Karshkovia's export trade. In 2003 Karshkovia harvested 17.6 million tons of grain in gross, 2.8% higher compared to 2002. Karshka agriculture still has many environmental problems from mismanagement during its years in the Soviet Union. Some Karshka wine is produced in the mountains to the west of Rostov.

Natural Resources

Karshkovia has a rich, abundant supply of accessible mineral and fossil fuel resources. Development of petroleum, natural gas, and mineral extraction has attracted most of the over $40 billion in foreign investment in Karshkovia since 1993 and accounts for some 57% of the nation's industrial output (or approximately 13% of gross domestic product). According to some estimates, Karshkovia could have the second largest uranium, chromium, lead, and zinc reserves, the third largest manganese reserves, the fifth largest copper reserves, and ranks in the top ten for coal, iron, silver and gold. It is also a limited exporter of diamonds and potassium.

In total, there are 180 deposits with over 3.7 billion tons of petroleum. Oil explorations have shown that the deposits on the south shore are only a small part of a much larger deposit. It is said that 10.5 billion tons of oil and 2.5 trillion cubic meters of gas could be found in that area. Overall the estimate of Karshkovia's oil deposits is 20.1 billion tons. However, there are only 3 refineries within the country, situated in Odesay, Volograd, and Pechora. These are not capable of processing the total crude output so much of it is exported.

Foreign Relations
Main Article: Foreign relations of Karshkovia

Karshkovia has a has stable relationships with all of its neighbors. Karshkovia is also a member of the United Nations, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Sapientia.

Since independence in 1991, Karshkovia has pursued what is known as the multidimensional foreign policy, seeking equally good relations with all forms of Government. The policy has yielded limited results in the oil and gas sector, with some nations waiting until Karshkovia opens trade for it's Uranium supply.

Karshkovia possesses the second biggest Soviet Cosmodrome, where many of the rockets and the first Soviet unmanned vehicle land used for landing on the moon, were launched. Though the Cosmodrome had been closed by the Soviet Union in 1978, it was slowly rebuilt since 1999. On 29 December 2008, President Vladimir Radchenko announced that the Cosmodrome was nearly finished completion and with the grant from Stoklomolvi, Karshkovia was looking to take its first steps into space by 2010. It was also announced that Stoklomolvi would be allowed to utilize the Karshkovian Cosmodrome for peaceful and limited military needs without taxes.

Population

International Marriages are now common in Karshkovia

The ethnic Karshkas represent 59.2% of the population and ethnic Russians 25.6%, with a rich array of other groups represented. Some minorities such as Russian Germans, Ukrainians and Russian political opponents of the regime had been deported to Karshkovia in the 1930s and 1940s by Stalin. Some of the bigger Soviet labor camps existed in Karshkovia. Significant Russian immigration also connected with Virgin Lands Campaign and Soviet space program during Khrushchev era. There is also a small but active Jewish community, which has been very vocal opponents of President Radchenko. Before 1991 there were one million Volga Germans in Karshkovia; most of them emigrated to Germany following the breakup of the Soviet Union and the Karshkovian revolution. The main religious groups are Christian 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, and other 7%.

Karshkovia is a trilingual country: the Karshka language, spoken by 64.4% of the population, has the status of the "state" language, while Russian, which is spoken by almost all Karshkovians, is declared the "official" language, while English is used routinely in business even between natives.

The 1990s were marked by the emigration of many of the country's Russians and Volga Germans, a process that began in the 1970s; this was a major factor in giving the autochthonous Karshkas a majority along with higher Karshka birthrates.. In the early twenty first century, Karshkovia has become one of the leading nations in international marriages, as there are 4.3 women per man in the nation. This has recently sparked some criticism in the Parliament of Karshkovia, due to the concerns about safety and treatment of the women abroad and the questions regarding the low level of male population in Karshkovia.

In 2006, Karshkovia Parliament passed into law a bill which has international men (and women) go through a series of tests and interviews before their fiancee's' are given permission to marry and live outside of Karshkovia.

Karshkas and Karshkovians

The Russian term Karshkovia was coined to describe all citizens of Karshkovia, including non-Karshkas. The word "Karshka" is generally used to refer to people of actual Karshka descent (including those living in other countries).

The ethnonym Karshko is derived from an ancient Turkic word "independent, a free spirit". It is the result of Karshkas' nomadic horseback culture and is related to the term "Cossack".

Religion

No truly accurate data exists about religion in Karshkovia. In 1941, the Soviet Union banned all public and private worship, making it punishable by death if caught. After independence, Karshkovia lifted that ban however there were no religious leaders to organize churches. A poll conducted in 2007 showed that Christianity is the largest religion in Karshkovia, followed by Russian Orthodox Christianity. The country has historically hosted a wide variety of ethnic groups with varying religions.

Ancient Christian Church

Tolerance to other societies has become a part of the Karshkovia culture. The foundation of an independent republic, following the disintegration of the USSR, has launched a great deal of changes in every aspect of people’s lives. Religiosity of the population, as an essential part of any cultural identity, has undergone dynamic transformations as well.

After decades of suppressed culture, the people were feeling a great need for exhibiting their ethnic identity – in part through religion. Quantitative research shows that for the first years after the establishment of the new laws, waiving any restrictions on religious beliefs and proclaiming full freedom of confessions, the country experienced a huge spike in religious activity of its citizens. After opening themselves to carefully screened international outreach religious groups, hundreds of churches, mosques , synagogues and other religious structures were built in a the last two years.

All represented religions benefited from increased number of members and facilities. Many confessions that were absent before independence made their way into the country, appealing to hundreds of people. The government supported this activity, and has done its best to provide equality among all religious organizations and their followers.

Radical religious organizations, despite a popular belief, are of little danger to the national security. The few organizations that have been uncovered are being investigated thoroughly by the police. Cults, such as Scientology, are banned from the country because of their intolerance for other religions and their avocations of violence on nonbelievers or critics. Therefore, Karshkovia has a very diverse, stable, and safe religious background – a truly exceptional occurrence.

Education

Main Article: Education in Karshkovia

Education is universal and mandatory through to the secondary level and the adult literacy rate is 99.8%. Education consists of three main educational phases: primary education, basic general education and senior level education divided into continued general education and professional education. (Primary education is preceded by one year of preschool education.) These three levels of education can be followed in one institution or in different ones (e.g. primary school, then secondary school). Recently, several secondary schools, specialized schools, magnet schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, linguistic and technical gymnasiums, have been founded. Secondary professional education is offered in special professional or technical schools, lyceums or colleges and vocational schools.

At present, there are universities, academies, and institutes, conservatories, higher schools and higher colleges. There are three main levels: basic higher education that provides the fundamentals of the chosen field of study and leads to the award of the Bachelor's degree; specialized higher education after which students are awarded the Specialist's Diploma; and scientific-pedagogical higher education which leads to the Master's Degree. Postgraduate education leads to the Kandidat Nauk (Candidate of Sciences) and the Doctor of Sciences. With the adoption of the Laws on Education and on Higher Education, a private sector has been established and several private institutions have been licensed.

The Education Ministry of Karshkovia runs the highly successful "Bolashak Programme", which annually selects approximately three hundred exceptional school and university graduates and sponsors their undergraduate or postgraduate education in institutions abroad, including the prestigious Oxbridge and Ivy League universities. The terms of the programme include compulsory return to Karshkovia for at least five years of employment by the State or in international organizations. The objective of the programme is to provide an opportunity for the most talented students from Karshkovia to receive high-caliber education, enabling them to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to become the future leaders in certain key fields such as economics, technology, public policy, engineering, science and medicine.

Culture

Main Articles: Culture of Karshkovia and Music of Karshkovia

Before the Russian colonization, the Karshkas had a well-articulated culture based on their nomadic pastoral economy. Although Christianity and Islam was introduced to most of the Karshkas in the fifteenth century, the religions were not fully assimilated until much later. As a result, they coexisted with earlier elements of Tengrili; A traditional Karshka belief that held that separate spirits inhabited and animated the earth, sky, water, and fire, as well as domestic animals. To this day, particularly honored guests in rural settings are treated to a feast of freshly killed lamb. Such guests are sometimes asked to bless the lamb and to ask its spirit for permission to partake of its flesh. Besides lamb, many other traditional foods retain symbolic value in Karshka culture.

Traditional moral values of Karshkovians are respect of the elders and hospitality to strangers.

In the national cuisine, livestock meat can be cooked in a variety of ways and is usually served with a wide assortment of traditional bread products. Refreshments often include black tea and traditional milk-derived drinks. Vodka is also a very common refreshment mainly seen in major cities. A traditional Karshka dinner involves a multitude of appetizers on the table, followed by a soup and one or two main courses.

Because livestock was central to the Karshkovians' traditional lifestyle, most of their nomadic practices and customs relate in some way to livestock. Karshkas have historically been very affectionate about horse-riding. Traditional curses and blessings invoked disease or fecundity among animals, and good manners required that a person ask first about the health of a man's livestock when greeting him and only afterward inquire about the human aspects of his life. Even today many Karshkovians express interest in equestrianism and horse-racing.

Karshkovia is now home to a growing number of prominent contributors to literature, science and philosophy.

Karshkovia has developed itself as a growing sports-force on the world arena in the following fields: boxing, chess, skiing, gymnastics, cycling, horse-riding, triathlon, Greco-Roman wrestling, billiards.

Karshkovia features a lively music culture, evident in massive popularity of superstar, Aliya. Zostar is considered to be the musical capital of the developing world. After opening their borders, Karshkovians have enjoyed concerts by well-known artists such as Pearl Jam, Royal Crown Review, Aerosmith, Pantera, Coldplay, Arid, Hadley, Rammstein, Xzibit, and Prodigy among others. Raves and nightclubs are very popular for Karshkovians between 18 and 30, with international artist from the electronica genre in great demand.

The Parliament is considering the introduction of Latin alphabet for use in Karshkovian language to replace Cyrillic. The reasons that are popularly cited are cultural considerations and the nature of the Karshka language. However, the imposition of the Latin alphabet in Karshkovia would involve massive costs of translation and replacement of the vast Karshkovian literature.

The length of a woman's hair indicates her level in society and rules concerning this are strictly followed, even in major cities. Citizens from other nations though are not subject to this cultural observance.

Overview of Rostov

This page was last modified 21:37, 9 January 2008.
All information is fictitious. Any similarities in names or people represented here and real persons dead or alive is coincidental.
This text was designed for use in the game NationStates and does not represent real world data.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | About