People's Republic of West Latgale
People's Republic of West Latgale | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
| Motto: "Muote Māra" | |
| Anthem: Skaidro volūda | |
| Capital and largest city | Timothy |
| Official languages | Latgalian Latvian |
| Recognised national languages | Belarusian Polish |
| Demonym(s) | West Latgalian |
| Government | Classical distributist semi-democracy |
• President of the Saeima | Roberts Bruoliņš |
| Legislature | Unicameral |
| Independence from Personia | |
• Independence Declared | March 2021 |
| Area | |
• Total | 2.91 km2 (1.12 sq mi) |
• Water (%) | 1 |
| Population | |
• 202 (2021) estimate | 202 |
• Density | 2/km2 (5.2/sq mi) |
| GDP (nominal) | estimate |
• Total | €680 |
| Currency | Latgales lats |
| Time zone | UTC+2 |
| Date format | dd/mm/yy |
| Driving side | right |
The People's Republic of West Latgale (Latgalian: Vokoru Latgolas Ļaudu republika, Belarusian: Заходняя Латгальская Народная Рэспубліка, Polish: Republika Ludowa Zachodniej Łatgalii, Latvian: Rietumlatgales Tautas Republika) was a small micronation located in Northern Europe. It was a Classical distributist semi-democratic country, with 202 inhabitants. It was formed in 24 March , but the constitution signed on 25 March. It was only recognized by other, fellow, micronations, however not recognized by any other state.
Etymology
The title of West Latgale comes from the region of Latgale in Latvia. West Latgale was named so, because after the Second world war large amounts of Latgalians settled in what was now West Latgale, because of this, and because of the realization that the territories where West Latgale was located were in the lands of ancient Latgalians, the name was chosen as so.
History
Pre-micronational history
Before the creation of the micronation, in the 50's and 60's, after the world war, huge waves of immigration from Latgale began to happen. This has been nicknamed "The Great migration West" in West Latgale, and has been popularized by the government. Many took relics and items with them, many of which are in the musuem of West Latgale today.
Early history
Before March 2021, West Latgale, then being the province of Arkine, Buriņa and Sulite was a part of the Grand duchy of Personia. It was a massive part of the micronation, consisting of 60% of it's territory, and atleast 80% of Personia's economy, especially agriculturally, where it counted for atleast 85% of it's agricultural sector. West Latgale was nothing but a mix of Latgalian, Polish, and Belarusian cultures working and cooperating together. Between 2018 and 2021, West Latgale had done a lot for Personia, with the Grand duke's estate being in West Latgale directly. During these years a lot of development happened. Originally, Grand Duke Roberts would manage to get several people to join the nation, mainly with their land, this had mainly happened in 2018-2021, and still continues today in West Latgale. Mainly, his family members, friends and their families and relatives, and then the friends of those people would also join, this creating a large community,of people who had joined the nation in land and population.
Alberian era
By March 2021, West Latgale (then called Alberia) declared it's independence. The constitution had been written, and ratified, aswell as the declaration of independence. The next day, under the supreme ratification of the President, war was declared on Personia. It has been thought that this was mainly called for because of the denial to withdraw Personian troops from the area, recruitment and creation of the Alberian military force, aswell as a very anti-Personian stance in most matters, aswell as to do with many arguments over the border, the claim to most of West Latgale's land and else. The first Skirmish happened in Tuorija, which was the first direct victory against the Personian military force by West Latgale, this began the Liberation of Tuorija, and in a few days, the entire area of Tuorija, except the southern territories, had been cleared of the Personian military. After sinking a Personian ship, many battles began to happen navaly, with the West Latgalian navy, which managed to capture many boats from Personia after declaring independence, began to attack Personian fishing vessels, aswell as military ships. Next, southern Vuornmīsts, a core territory of West Latgale had been liberated, aswell as Uor-Kūknpiļe later. After capturing Uor-Kūknpiļe and Vuornmīsts, the Belarusian volunteer army was formed, which finally liberated the entire southern territories, where a large portion of the war was spent on. Although, by April 17, the Personian military began to march into Tuorija, and Vuornmīsts and Uor-Kūknpiļe, causing a large portion of the army to be focused on that side of the front, during this, the Personian military sieged and took Timothy, the capital on April 19, ending the war of independence, in a West Latgalian loss, although, the constitution, declaration of independence and much more was saved, with many documents being burned. After this, the people of West Latgale had seen a sense of liberty, freedom and democracy. Because of this, many would begin to protest, the veterans of the war on the Alberian side would begin to commit attacks on the Personian military, as Partisans. They would commit many attacks, including setting off non-fatal explosives, burnings, etc. This would later give a large power vacuum in the region, combined with the popularity of the Ex-President of Alberia, Robert's, and the actions of the Partisans, the Alberian syndicalist union had declared it's independnece on the 25th of July, in 2021. In the 6th of August, a war begin, which ended in 20 hours. This took away large portions of Personias vessels, land, and weapons, and finally allowed West Latgale to be free once more.
The Era of Abdication
On the 11 August 2021 the President, Robert, would abdicate the country because of stress, anger, sadness and anxiety. The nation after this became virtually inactive. While there was a president, he did not hold a large amount of power or influence over the nation, with many different groups of people having mostly more power than him. Mikhail Z was named the president of the nation, with Roberts picking him to be the president. He began to make the nation more and more socialist, and began to increase the armies size by a lot, aswell as plan to invade Personia once more, but many did not support him. The Nationalist guard of Roberts, or the Nationalistic guard of the Auseklis, had not allowed Mikhail to enter the Presidential palace, or even go nearby it. This was one of the main reasons why Mikhail had decided to do a purge, ordering 4 generals, and 2 officers to be fired. He also fired and inprisoned most the parliament, and created a new presidential palace.
The New era
On the 25 September, Robert had officially returned to West Latgale, politically and in mainly, in all fields, although, he was not the president of West Latgale. Because of his return, he had gained the support of many veterans, troops, and men who were fired, aswell as his "Nationalistic guard of the Auseklis" paramilitary organization. He began to take over the nation, by first ordering troops to not allow the parliament session to happen, aswell as blocking the doors of the new presidential palace, and many more buildings. Because of this, Mikhail decided to give Roberts the presidential role, while still being awarded several awards, such as "Hero of the nation" award. The era of Roberts began to drastically change the nation, with 2 buildings being built, several streets named, aswell as a war started with Personia in 2021.
Collapse of West Latgale
On 17 January 2022, West Latgale officialy colapsed, after several units of the army had declared several independent states. The successor for West Latgale had been deemed to be "The Holy order of Saint Gregory of Nazianzus", a micronation lead by Roberts.
Government and politics
Legislature
The legislature of the People's republic of West Latgale was the Parliament (Saeima), which was a 8 member unicameral house. The parliament was made up of 8 members, from the two main parties of the country, the West Latgalian distributist party and West Latgallian Belarusian and Polish party. The parliament was the only law-making institution of the country and was responsible for modifying budgets, laws and other business of the country itself. The tenure of the parliament was of 4 months and general elections are held every year. However, the parliament can be fired before the expiration of the tenure by the President. The current parliament, or the second Parliament was constituted in July 2021 following the 2021 Alberian elections in which the National allience (Now West Latgalian distributist party) gained 64.5% of the votes; with this, winning 5 seats of the 8 seat parliament, with the remaining taken by the West Latgalian Belarusian and Polish party.
Foreign relations
West Latgale has established and maintains diplomatic relations with many micronations from mostly Europe. Diplomatic matters are headed by the President himself and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
West Latgale itself was not neutral, and has been involved in a war in July 2021.
It's relations are mainly with GAET, and a few other micronations from Europe.
Embassies
West Latgale has 2 embassies, 1 in the city of Riga, Latvia, and another in Uzbekistan.
Law and order
The police force of West Latgale was the West Latgalian State Police, which usually arrests lawbreakers, and detains them in Turuoja prison.
Military
The military of West Latgale was very important and was treasured amongst the population. The headquarters of the military waslocated in the old fort "13-E", used by the Personian navy beforehand, which was taken by the Belarusianvolunteers during the independence war. The Military has a lot of political power in the nation, and was supported by both parties.
Economy
Most of the Latgalian economy was formed by Agriculture, with growing fields of Lumber production existing, and a very minor field of Charcoal production.
Agriculturally wise the country produces: Cherries, Grapes, Cucumbers, Onions, Tomatoes, Potatoes, Beans, Pumpkins, Strawberries, plums, spring onions, Apples, all sorts of berries, as well as wax and honey. This was usually sold in markets, and to private buyers, giving the countries government money, as West Latgale was a taxless country, it was the only way to make money, excluding illegal fields.
A growing industry is Lumber, with usually Birch, Oak, and Pine wood being cut down from the forests of West Latgale and sold to private buyers in Latvia, where it is usually exported to other nations of the EU.
Before the Alberian independence war a large field of the economy of Personia and West Latgale was charcoal, which was mainly produced on Charcoal mounds, where all that was needed was wood and fire, which would in return produce charcoal, for a while the mounds were being destroyed, and currently by 2021 October, only around 4 mounds exist, with the rest being either destroyed or very damaged. This mainly happened because of flooding, rain, aswell as the war, which would end up in either destruction of the mounds Purposely, or on accident.
Ministries
- Ministry of Defence - Mikhail Z
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Artūrs E.
- Ministry of Economics - Sasha S
- Ministry of Finance - Sasha S
- Ministry of the Interior - Pēteris U.
- Ministry of Science and Education - Aleksejs F.
- Ministry of Culture - Roberts A.
- Ministry of Welfare - Pēteris U.
- Ministry of Transport - Filips I.
- Ministry of Justice - Sasha S
- Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development - Sasha S
- Ministry of Health - Aleksej F.
- West Latgalian national bank - Roberts A.
Administrative divisions
| Flag | Name | Capital | Population | Incorporated | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In-Provinces | ||||||||||||
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Tuorija | Kūknpiļe | ? | 2021 | ||||||||
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Ceirvmīsts | Timothy | ? | 2021 | ||||||||
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Uor-Kūknpiļe | Tārķeņa | ? | 2021 | ||||||||
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Zamīne | Karņe | ? | 2021 | ||||||||
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Vuornmīsts | Vuornmīsts city | ? | 2021 | ||||||||
|
Akmiņkolnis | Akrene | ? | 2021 | ||||||||
Autonomous Regions
| Flag | Name | Capital | Population | Incorporated | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autonomous Regions | ||||||||||||
|
West Bank | Ariķe | ? | 2021 | ||||||||
Geography
West Latgale lies in Northern europe, on the shores of the Daugava river, a major river in the Baltics. West Latgale has a total area of 2.91 km2, where around 50% of land is made up by Forest, 10% by urban, and 40% by Agriculture.
The total length of West Latgale's boundary is 10 kilometers, and 10 meters. The total length of its land boundary is 7.3 km, of which 7 km is shared with Latvia to most directions, 300 meters with the Military junta of Personia. The total length of its maritime boundary is 3.2 km, which is Personia and Latvia.
Climate
West Latgale has a temperate climate that has been described as either humid continental (Köppen Dfb) or oceanic/maritime (Köppen Cfb).
West Latgale has four pronounced seasons of near-equal length. Winter starts in mid-December and lasts until mid-March. Winters have average temperatures of −15 °C and are characterized by stable snow cover, bright sunshine, and short days. Severe spells of winter weather with cold winds, extreme temperatures of around −35 °C and heavy snowfalls are common. Summer starts in June and lasts until August. Summers are usually warm and sunny, with cool evenings and nights. Summers have average temperatures of around 19 °C, with extremes of 35 °C. Spring and autumn bring fairly mild weather. 2021 was the warmest year in the history of weather observation in West Latgale with an average temperature 20 °C higher.
Environment
Most of the country is composed of fertile lowland plains and hills. In a typical Baltic landscape, a mosaic of vast forests alternates with fields, farmsteads, and pastures. Arable land is spotted with birch groves and wooded clusters, which afford a habitat for numerous plants and animals.
West Latgale has a high proportion of land covered by Forest, making up around 50% of the territory, or even more.
West Latgale has around 4 rivers in total, 2 major, 2 small and not quite large. The Largest being the Daugava river.
Biodiversity
Approximately 40 species of flora and fauna have been registered by the Ministry of Nature from 2018-2021 in West Latgale. Common species of wildlife inlude: Deer, Bear, Lynx, Fox, Wolves, Beaver, Otter, and wild boar.
Many types of bird is also registered in West Latgale, including Hawks and the lesser spotted eagle.
The territory of West Latgale belongs to the ecoregion of Sarmatic mixed forests. 50% of West Latgales territory is covered by forests, mostly Scots pine, birch, and Norway spruce, aswell as Oak.
Several species of flora and fauna are considered national symbols. Oak, and linden are West Latgale's national trees and the Flax, its national flower. The Eurasian Owl is West Latgale's national bird. It's national insect is the Ant, a very common insect in West Latgale. Amber, fossilized tree resin, is one of West Latgale's and Latvia's most important cultural symbols. In ancient times, amber found along the Baltic Sea coast was sought by Vikings as well as traders from Egypt, Greece and the Roman Empire. This led to the development of the Amber Road.
Several nature reserves protect unspoiled landscapes with a variety of large animals. At Bureiķu Nature Reserve, where Wild boar, wolf, fox, and many more animals roam freely.
Political Geography
West Latgale is split in 7 different states, with the remaining territory not having statehood, but still being apart of West Latgale. 1 territory has special autonomy, that being the West bank.
Demographics
Ethnic demographics
West Latgale is around 59% Latgalian, this being made clear after the 2022 census. The 2 largest ethnic groups are the Poles, and Belarusians which form around 33% of the entire population. The Poles and Belarusians are united under the Belarusian and Polish party.
Religious demographics
Around 98% of West Latgale is Christian, the remaining 2% is mainly made up of 2 small religions, Islam, and Isoism, both of which are mainly practiced in Iesusstan.
Culture
The culture of West Latgale is mainly Latgalian, as it is a micronation made for and made by Latgalians, although quite a lot of Polish, Belarusian and Lithuanian cultures coexist in the nation together with Latgalian, bringing in interesting mixes of food, in Akmiņkolnis a more nomadic culture exists, although this culture is not held by any foreign ethnicity, instead Latgalians or Poles living in the area, while in the capital of Timothy (mainly called Timuoja by Latgalians and Poles), the population is very Urban, and mostly work in the fields of Sewing, although agriculture has a lot of importance there too, while in Tuoreja most work in agriculture and religion fields, meanwhile Uor-Kūknpiļe and Vuornmīsts are completely headed by agriculture, and produce most of the nations food. Meanwhile, Zamīne is completely headed by Fishing, hunting, and the lumber industry as a whole.
Cuisine
Cuisine is mostly food ate in Latgale, with the local Lithuanian, Polish and Belarusian communities eating it too, while also being quite popular in the nation for their own unique food and cuisine, which is sometimes sold or given to others during festivals or holidays. The nations national drink is "Kanepīns", or Hemp milk, made from Hemp, it can be made sweet, or non-sweet. The nations national dish is Guļbešņīki, a national Latgalian dish made from potatoes.
National holidays
There are quite a lot of Holidays that are unique to West Latgale, being the following.
- 24 March - independence day.
- 4 April - Easter offensive day.
- 25 July - Latgalian independence restoration day
- 26-27 April - Latgallian congress day
- 12-15 October - Autines revolt 1212 rememberence day
- 13 April - January revolt rememberence day
- 6 September - Latin script ban in Latgallia rememberence day
- 22 June - Holocaust beggining in Latgallia, rememberence day of the Nazi invasion of Latgallia
- 3 January - Latgallian Liberation day
- 4 of January - Rememberance of Audriņi massacre day
- 12-20 July - Rememberence of Napoleons invasion of Latgale day
- 6 - Ūsiņi
- 26-29 September - Miķeļi
- 10-12 November - Mārtiņi
- 20 August - Rememberment day of the Livonian Icon destruction and Reformation beggining
Architecture
The architecture of West Latgale is mainly called "Modern-Latgalian houses", these houses are mainly modernized versions of the houses that Latgalians lived in before the migration towards what is nowadays West Latgale. The oldest home's of West Latgale are built in the 40's, and a minor architectural style in West Latgale are the slavic wooden houses.
Sport
West Latgale's National Sport is Bandy, with a league planned to be formed in Timothy by December. Currently, spectators will be not allowed to watch games live, because of the Coronavirus outbreak all around the world.
Music
The most popular type of music in West Latgale is folk music, while music from the 1930's interwar Latvia is enjoyed much aswell. From folk music, mainly Polish, Belarusian, and Baltic music is enjoyed the most, with no real bands existing in West Latgale as of October 2021.
Media
Media in West Latgale is mainly governmental newspapers, videos, and others, with the rest of the Media usually coming from Latvia, and the local town news.
Education
All education in West Latgale was provided by the "Fraņcs Kemps school', which had 10 grades. The school used up 2 buildings, with 1 building being simply too small, and this wasone of the only schools in the world which have full Latgalian language lessons, while other lessons included: Cooking, Math, Religion class, History class, Geography class, Latgalian history class, Latgalian language class, with additional choices of learning either Lithuanian, German, Polish, Russian or Estonian. On December 20, the school was closed down officialy, because it wasn't used much. It was converted into a govermental ceter, used as the governmental building for Tuorija.
Infrastructure
West Latgale has good infrastructure in the Tuorija, and surrounding States, aswell in Timothy, with completely closed buildings and paved roads however it’s rural roads are made of Dirt, which aren't the greatest. Cities, however, use cement roads, as they are much better. Some several story homes can be seen in Timothy, with the largest being 3 flooors. Medical and other services of Westr Latgale are very minimal, with the 'Fraņcs Kemps school' also providing medical needs. First Aid Outposts make up most of West Latgales healthcare system. There are mainly no healthcare outposts in rural areas.
Utility
Plumbing and Electricity is provided by LTGut, a West Latgale-based company. Although most of the electricity is provided by Latvenergo, which is Latvian based. Small water mills work in Tuorija and other states, producing lower amounts of electricity, fully by LTGut, and a tiny Hydroelectric powerplant in a tiny river, which produces some electricity too.
Transportation.
West Latgale has several freeways and roads that are managed by the Ministry of Transportation. The area with less roads is Zamīne, being 98% Forest, and being incapable of having any major roads. Several small paths for Bicycles have been made from gravel and concrete.