Cheskgariyan-Litvanian Commonwealth

Cheskgariyan-Litvanian Commonwealth Rzeczpospolita Korony Królestw Czesarii i Litwanii (Polish) Česarijos ir Lietvanos karalystės Respublika (Lithuanian) Res publica regni Chesgariae ac Litvaniae (Latin)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Si Deus nobiscum, quis contra nos? (Latin) If God is with us, who is against us?
Anthem: Warszawianka (state anthem) Gaude, mater Polonia (royal anthem)
Cape Hatteras, United States Lully, Switzerland Along with other territories.
Capital and largest city	Loravia
Official languages	Official: English and Polish Regional: Lithuanian, Ukrainian Ceremonial: Latin
Demonym(s)	Cheskgariyan-Litvanian
Government	Federal Parliamentary elective monarchy
• King of Cheskgariya	Charles
• King of Litvania	Frederick Stanislaus Augsutus
• Chancellor of the Crown	Sander Koff
Legislature	Sejm
• Upper house	Crown Council
Establishment	November 22, 2020
Population
• (July 2022) census	25
Time zone	UTC+01:00
Website Web page
Preceded by Litvania

The Cheskgariyan-Litvanian Commonwealth, officially the Crown of the Kingdoms of Cheskgariya and Litvania is a federal parliamentary elective monarchy and a micronation with claims in Switzerland, Poland, and the United States. It was promulgated by micronationalists Frederick Stanislaus Augustus and Christian Newton on the 29 November 2020, after both agreed to merge the existing Republic of Litvania with Cheskgariya, a personal project of Newton. The Commonwealth has de jure two federal capitals, namely Usgarn; in Cheskgariya, and Loravia; in Litvania. The Commonwealth predominantly uses English as its official language, though Polish, Lithuanian, and Latin have regional or ceremonial status, depending on the region.

The Commonwealth is a result of a merger between the Kingdom of Litvania, which existed as a republic between 2016 and 2020, and the hitherto unannounced Kingdom of Cheskgariya. It is styled after the 15th to 18th century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, by way of certain stylistic similarities, as well as by the structure of it's political system. The Commonwealth's culture and identity are almost entirely drawn from the historical state. As such, the King of Cheskgariya and the King of Litvania are co-monarchs of the state, and share equal responsibility, as well as royal status.

The Commonwealth has established formal diplomatic relations with several micronations, and was elected to the GUM as an member state on the 23 July 2021.

Name

The official name of the country is the Crown of the Kingdoms of Cheskgariya and Litvania. This name is used in diplomatic and administrative documents and communications.

However, the country, drawing on a complex republican Polish tradition, as well as its unconventional structure, has many internal names that aren't used outside those within the government. The most common of these is "the Republic of the Joint Realms", signifying the inherent spirit of the country as a union of formally separate states, and stressing the republican aspects of its government system. As such, it is often colloquially or poetically referred to as "the Republic" and formally as the "common republic" (note the difference in capitalisation), drawing into its name the political concept of the "crown of the kingdom", or corona regni.

History

Origins (2015-2016)

Micronationalist Frederick Stanislaus Augustus had founded his first micronation in the year 2016, when he founded the Republic of Litvania, and managed to attract enough attention of certain prominent figures of the time to make himself a fairly honorable reputation as an enthusiastic micronationalist. However, the Republic fell into inactivity, and by the end of 2016 was effectively dissolved.

Revival (2020)

He was approached in early 2020 by experienced Christian Newton, who offered to take presidential powers and run the nation until Nowacki's potential return. Very little happened in the country during this period of time, however by early November 2020, Newton and Nowacki had begun discussing potential options for reviving or starting clean in micronationalism. After extended debate on the topic, and taking into account their ideological and cultural leanings, they decided on forming a nation based on the 15th-18th century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, at one point the largest and most prosperous state in Europe.

Commonwealth established (2020-present)

The Commonwealth was first conceived by the former president of the Litvania, who presented it to his former prime minister, Christian Newton. They decided to unite two personal projects of theirs, and after a few weeks of work writing legal documents such as the Basic Law and designing symbolism for it, the Commonwealth was promulgated on the 29 November 2020, on the MicroWiki forum.

Within a month of its promulgation, the Commonwealth attracted the attention of numerous micronationalists, including Charles Burgardt; who later became the King of Cheskgariya, Sertor Valentinus, and Varuna Sriraya, who became the Chancellor. The Commonwealth continues to attract members of the micronational community, mostly as visitors.

Early period (2020-2021)

Beginning in February 2021, the Grand Duke appointed himself the Foreign Secretary, in an effort to boost the Commonwealth's perception and diplomatic relations with the broader micronational community. He was aided in this task due to his earlier presence in 2016, and hence acquaintanceship with many prominent figures. By the beginning of March, the Commonwealth had signed two treaties of mutual recognition, with the Kingdom of Sayville and the Rednecks Republic.

On the 11th of March 2021, the King communicated privately to the Grand Duke his indisposition to rule for a time, instructing the Grand Duke to act as the Regent of the Commonwealth until his return. The Duke undertook work on a constitutional document, the Governance Act, during his Regency, which would make the Commonwealth a significantly more federal state. This document was ratified on the 17th April 2021, coinciding with the King's official return to office.

Sejm elections took place in early May 2021, with two citizens running and elected, forming the country's first legislative body. The government took active action to seek diplomatic recognition within its micronational sphere, and secured numerous treaties with prominent micronations. By mid-July, the King's activity was waning once more, and figures within the government, including the Grand Duke, sought to compel an abdication or a formal commitment to service. Negotiations were held between the King and the Grand Duke and Chancellor, along with other prominent government officials. Christian abdicated the throne on 17 July, and formal preparations began for the country's first royal elections.

First royal elections

Royal elections took place for the first time in the country's history between the 19 and 29 July. The elections were contested by three candidates, including the Jayden I of Novus Hiersoloymis and the Tucker I of Oskonia, but only the then-incumbent Chancellor, Charles Burgardt, kept in the race to the end, winning by default. He was elected on the 29th and crowned formally on the 31st of July. Christian was allowed to keep the title of King-Emeritus, and the style of Majesty. He has since been largely inactive in Commonwealth politics.

Post-election period (2021-present)

Charles' and Frederick's joint reign has since the election witnessed the growth of the citizenry, greater international relations, and political reform. On 3 May 2022, Lord Alytus was appointed the Chancellor, and worked to form the Commonwealth's first complete Crown Council. This was completed on the 1 June, and the Councillors were sworn-in by the Crown in the following weeks. After a government was formed on 10 June, the Chancellor passed a new Constitution, technically an amendment to the Governance Act, which in effect replaced it. The new constitution was modeled on the Polish Constitution of 3rd May, 1791.

After less than two months in office, the Chancellor privately communicated his intention to resign for personal reasons to the Crown. Lord Alytus resigned on 16 September 2022, to coincide with the formal proclamation of Litvania as a Kingdom by the Sejm. Since then, the Crown Council is led by the Lord Livonia, who acts as Chancellor. Elections to the Sejmiks were completed in November, with no major changes to the Sejm's composition. The Crown Council has since been almost unused, and its purpose increasingly questioned by members of the Sejm.

In December of 2021, in response to the scandal involving the authors of various micronational conventions, the Basic Civil Assurances Act was passed, granting citizens of the Commonwealth increased civil liberties and freedoms, while withdrawing from those conventions.

On September 16, the Grand Duke of Litvania was elevated to the rank of King by a proclamation. This had come following discussions regarding the implications of unequal rank between the two co-monarchs.

Since the passing of the Regular Sejms Act, the Sejm has met regularly every month.

On November 22 the Commonwealth celebrated its Biennial, with speeches given by the co-monarchs, dignitaries, and others. The celebrations attracted the attention of the micronational community, including Vishwamitra and Karnia-Ruthenia.

Geography and climate

The Commonwealth claims territory in many countries, and hence stretches over a variety of biomes and climates. The largest territory is occupied by the Kingdom of Litvania, which is located outside Geneva, Switzerland, in a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb). Winters are cool, usually with light frosts at night and thawing conditions during the day. Summers are relatively warm. Precipitation is adequate and is relatively well-distributed throughout the year, although autumn is slightly wetter than other seasons. Ice storms near Lake Geneva are normal in the winter: Litvania can be affected by the Bise, a north-easterly wind from the Alps. This can lead to severe icing in winter. The principal territories of the Kingdom lie on a hillside outside the city of Geneva, an is composed of a few villages interspersed with vineyards and farmland. The Kingdom also claims land in in and near Stettin, Poland. The territories there have an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb) with some humid continental (Dfb) characteristics. The winters are colder than on the immediate coast and the summers are warm, but still with some moderation, especially due to the Baltic Sea. The geography of these territories consist variously of forest, to hilly areas formed during the last Ice Age.

The Commonwealth's American territories lie on a small patch of Long Island, and consist of fields. Long Island lies in a transition zone between a humid subtropical climate (Cfa/Do) and a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa). The climate features hot, usually humid summers with occasional thunderstorms, mild spring and fall weather, and cold winters with a mix of snow and rain and stormier conditions. Spring can be cool due to the relatively cooler temperatures of the Atlantic Ocean and occasional blocking.

Government and politics

Main articles: Monarchy of Cheskgariya-Litvania, Crown Council, and Sejm (Cheskgariya-Litvania)

General structure

The Commonwealth is a federal parliamentary elective monarchy. Despite executive monarchical rule, the state's political system is very republican in character. The King of Cheskgariya is elected by the citizens and acceded by the members of the Sejm upon the death or abdication of any incumbent monarch. The King of Litvania on other hand is a hereditary monarch. The Sejm is responsible for proposing and passing laws, and has a strict accountability system for the monarchy. The Crown Council acts together with the monarchy as the executive branch, and forms the country's cabinet government. The Kings are co-monarchs, meaning they rule as two people, but act as one crown in an equal capacity.

The Commonwealth adheres to a strict set of political-cultural values derived from early modern Polish republicanism. These are described in the Memorandum on the Standards of the Republic in detail:

• The Corona Regni (crown of the kingdom): The Crown, indivisible and united, jointly represented by the co-monarchs, and representing the symbolic indignation of the person of the monarch with the powers of leadership, not royalty or dynastic notions.
• The States: Specifies the two states as the sole constituent bodies of the Commonwealth, their equality under the Crown, as well as specific notions relating to administration.
• Basic Standards of the Republic: Specifies the Commonwealth as being a common republic, rather than a single state, as well as the position of the Sejm as the centre of the governance of the republic.
• The memorandum includes some special provisions relating to details of governance and royal elections.

This system has faced criticism as being a "pseudo-republic", and as being outdated for modern governance. However, it has been shown to work effectively in creating broad civic participation and a sense of inherent right in the citizenry to govern, as it has been significantly modified from it's original inspiration. For example, the Commonwealth does not grant special privileges to nobility, as all citizens are entitled to vote and run for monarch. The Commonwealth, while a republican state, grants significantly more powers to the co-monarchs than its historical inspiration, allowing for a more effective executive branch and a lower overall reliance on a large citizen pool to participate in the legislature.

Executive

The Commonwealth has as its main executive branch the monarchy. The monarchy consists of the King of Cheskgariya and the King of Litvania, together assembled, known as the Crown. The two monarchs act separately as the heads of state of their respective realms, but together when acting in the name of the Commonwealth. The unique aspect of the Commonwealth's monarchy compared to other micronations is the electability of the King of Cheskgariya. In order to become a candidate for the office, one must meet a set of conditions relating to age and relation to previous monarchs, however the office remains open to all citizens of the Commonwealth. Elections are overseen by the King of Litvania, who heads a Commission in charge of organizing and conducting the elections.

The monarchy in the Commonwealth, together with the Crown Council headed by the Chancellor, is the primary branch of the government, and its most powerful executive branch. The monarchs have the power to appoint the Chancellor, issue royal decrees, grant royal assent to acts of the Sejm, and issue warrants of election or appointment. All public acts, tribunals, courts of law, and coin go in the name of the Crown. However, the monarchs are bound by the Constitution of Cheskgariya-Litvania to observe the laws and statutes of the Sejm, and act in accordance with the democratic will of the nation. The monarchs are not allowed to modify the composition of the Crown Council.

Crown Council

The Crown Council is the primary executive council of the Commonwealth. It is separate from the state level cabinets of the two realms, and is not simply a combination of the two together, like the Sejm. The Council is presided over by the Crown Chancellor, who is the head of government of the Commonwealth. The Council is essentially the cabinet of the nation, and is responsible for governing, drafting policy, and implementing it. The Council consists of seven officers, who each represent a particular ministry or department of the government. Currently, these are as follows:

Royal Secretariat	Role	Current Royal Secretary
Crown Chancellor (acting)	Head of government.	Lord Livonia
Council Secretary	Oversight of the Crown Chancellery and Council Office, liaison.	Lord Livonia
Royal Treasury	Accountancy of all Commonwealth incomes and expenditures, balancing the Commonwealth budget.	vacant
Foreign Office	Establishing and maintenance of diplomatic relations and external diplomacy with other micronations.	Lord Trakai
Home Office	Oversight of internal affairs, including post, citizenship, and police.	Lord Kijewo
Ministry of Defence	Oversight and development of the Commonwealth Forces.	Rory Leonard
Ministry of Culture and Education	Oversight and development of the cultural and educational aspects of the nation.	vacant
Ministry of Justice	Oversight of the judiciary.	Lord Dnipro

The Councillors are appointed by the Chancellor, upon their appointment by the Crown.

Legislature

The Commonwealth's legislature is the Sejm. The Sejm, in a federal sense, is the two state 'Sejmiks' (little Sejms) convened together as one body. As such, no individual elections are held for the federal Sejm. The elections that are held are held individually by each state on its own election calendar, and by its own rules. As such, the terms for individual members of the Sejm; known as Deputies, are not defined on a federal level. While it stands at all times, the Sejm is usually called into active session by a monarch, but is constitutionally allowed to assemble on its own volition. Since September 2022, the meeting of the Sejm is defined by the Regular Sejms Act which stipulated that Sejms must meet at least twice a month, usually on the 1st and 16th, and also stated rules for attendance of the Deputies. The federal Sejm is presided over by a Marshal, who is elected after the first convocation of a newly elected Sejm. The Marshal is also responsible for liaison between the Sejm and the executive branch of the government. The Sejm has two main functions:

• Deciding of civil, criminal, and constitutional matters, as well as popular initiatives from the citizenry. Matters handed to the Sejm by the Crown take precedence.
• Minor acts, such as ennoblements, ratification of treaties, war, peace, and trade.

Laws passed by the federal Sejm are law in both states, but laws passed in individual states do not apply to the entire Commonwealth.

Current Sejm

The current Sejm has been in session since its convocation in March 2022. It was convened after both states completed their separate legislative elections.

Diagram of the 2022 Commonwealth Sejm.

  Litvanian Deputies: 4

  Cheskgariyan Deputies: 4

Territorial administration

The Commonwealth is administered by its two constituent nations. Cheskgariya and Litvania each manage their own administrative subdivisions. Litvania is larger and more populous than Cheskgariya, and as such is subdivided into more pieces. The Kingdom of Litvania has no formal law on its administrative subdivision, but rather has accumulated many historical possessions with different levels of importance. The core Swiss Litvanian territories are referred to as Provinces, or occasionally Voivodeships, and constitute the Litvanian heartland. Territories outside this are usually given to the suzerainty of the Litvanian monarch as Duchies or Dominions. Almost all of Litvania's Polish territories are royal Duchies or Dominions. Cheskgariya on the other hand, due to its small size, has only administrative divisions, and refers to them as Cities or Voivodeships.

Kingdom of Litvania

Provinces

Flag	Coat of arms/Symbol	Name	Code	Created	Pop.	Area	Official language(s)	Sejm and Sejmik Deputy
		Free Royal City of Loravia	LV	29 November 2020	5	0.752 km2	English, Polish, Lithuanian		None.
		Trakai	TR	8 January 2022	1	1.4 km22	English, Polish, Lithuanian		Lord Dainava
		Livonia	LI	8 January 2022	1	1.83 km2	English, Polish, Lithuanian		Lord Inflanty
		Podolia	PO	8 January 2022	1	4.67 km2	English, Polish, Lithuanian		Col. Rory Leonard
		Volhenia	ZP	8 January 2022	0	1.77 km2	English, Polish, Lithuanian		None.
		New City in Varia	NH	8 January 2022	1	2.45 km2	English, Polish, Lithuanian		None.

Duchies

Flag	Coat of arms/Symbol	Name	Code	Created	Pop.	Area	Official language(s)	Duke
		Pomerania	PM	8 January 2022	5	0.0013 km2	English, Polish		Frederick Stanislaus Augustus
		Nadveria	ND	8 January 2022	1	0.4 km22	English, Polish		Frederick Stanislaus Augustus
		Kresy	KR	8 January 2022	0 (temporary residence)	0.003 km2	English, Polish		Frederick Stanislaus Augustus
		Kiyevia	KV	8 January 2022	1	3.27 km2	English, Polish, Lithuanian		Frederick Stanislaus Augustus

Dominions

Flag	Coat of arms/Symbol	Name	Code	Created	Pop.	Area	Official language(s)	Governor
		Royal Ingria	IK	8 January 2022	0 (temporary residence)	5.18 km2	English, Polish		None.

Kingdom of Cheskgariya

Cities and Voivodeships

Flag	Coat of arms/Symbol	Name	Code	Created	Pop.	Area	Official language(s)	Sejm and Sejmik Deputy
		City and Voivodeship of Usgarn	US	29 November 2020	0	0.133 km2	English, Polish		None.
		Voivodeship of Riverdale	RV	8 January 2022	0	0.046 km22	English, Polish		None.

Military

Main article: Commonwealth Forces

Emblem of the Royal and Commonwealth Army, used on uniforms.

The Commonwealth Forces are the unified armed forces of the Cheskgariyan-Litvanian Commonwealth. They consist of a single branch - the Army. The Army is tasked not only with the defense of the Commonwealth but also with various incidental duties such as border patrols and surveys. The Army is tasked with various ceremonial duties as well. It is commanded by the Crown nominally, but in practice by the Chief of the General Staff, who heads the collegiate body known as the General Staff. The General Staff is tasked with the constant study of micronational warfare, in order to improve the Commonwealth's ability to defend itself. The General Staff is organized into several departments dealing with different matters of military significance.

As the Commonwealth is strictly neutral, and denounces micronational warfare, the Army exists solely for the military defense of the nation, and utilitarian functions.

Foreign affairs

The Commonwealth has established and maintains diplomatic relations with many nations. All matters relating to diplomacy are handled through the Foreign Secretary and the Foreign Ministry, as well as through the Crown, in its capacity as chief diplomats of the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth attempts to maintain a strictly neutral foreign policy, avoiding conflict where possible, and condemning the use of warfare in micronationalism. It is a signatory to the Wrythe Convention and the Edgbaston Convention, which lay out its priorities in foreign matters.

The Commonwealth was elected to the GUM as an member state on the 23 July 2021. It maintains informal diplomatic relations with all members of the GUM, through the organization's common channels.

Culture

The Commonwealth draws on a variety of influences to form it's culture. As it is primarily based on Poland-Lithuania, it draws a large influence from Central and Eastern European traditions of governance and politics, as well as language and culture. The Commonwealth maintains Polish as an official language, with Litvania also including Lithuanian. Latin is frequently used in a ceremonial capacity in documents. Since December of 2022, the King of Litvania has been cooperating with the Karnio-Ruthenian Emperor to establish an association of like-styled and inspired micronations of common historical, cultural, and aesthetic background.

Languages

Due to the international nature of micronationalism, the Commonwealth mainly utilises English in its communication with other nations, and for communication between its citizens. Polish, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, and Latin are frequently used in a ceremonial or otherwise infrequent capacity.

Nobility

The Commonwealth grants titles of nobility to its citizens. However, individuals with noble titles do not possess any political or economic privileges. As such, the function of nobility exists merely a symbolic endowment of social status upon a person of merit. Nobility is usually awarded for services to the monarchs, or to the state, or to the Commonwealth and its existence in general. As of February 2023, 28% of the population holds some title of nobility. The system of nobility in the Commonwealth is a particular mixture of Western European and Eastern European influence. There are no formal ranks of nobility or orders of precedence, which results in a decentralised and loose nobility. There are currently 4 ranks in the system recognised by the Crown, in order of precedence:

1. Princes
2. Dukes
3. Counts
4. Barons

Baronies are commonly awarded, and entitles the holder to use the title of Lord, which is usually followed by some geographical location in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, or Ukraine. Counties are awarded to existing Barons, for supplementary service and merit. Dukedoms are the least awarded, as they have no formal equivalent in the Polish nobility. The title of Prince is uniquely awarded to non-royals in the Commonwealth, as the highest mark of nobility. This is similar to the practice of Russian boyars in the early modern period.

See also

• Orders, decorations, and medals of Cheskgariya-Litvania
• Commonwealth Forces
• Crown Council
• Sejm (Cheskgariya-Litvania)
• Monarchy of Cheskgariya-Litvania