Polonian Commonwealth
Polonian Commonwealth Rzeczpospolita Polonia Жечпосполита Полония | |
|---|---|
.png) Flag | |
| Motto: Jedna kultura, wiele narodów (English: One culture, many nations) | |
| Capital | Radagoszcz |
| Official languages | Polish, English |
| Demonym(s) | Polak, Polonian |
| Government | Technocratic unitary parliamentary republic |
• Governor-General | Aidan Dawidziak |
• Prime Minister | Austin Karcz |
| Legislature | Parliament |
| Senate | |
| Sejm | |
| Independence | |
| HDI (2022) | 0.927 very high |
| Currency | Złoty, US dollar (PLN, USD) |
| Date format | dd/mm/yyyy |
| Driving side | right |
The Polonian Commonwealth (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polonia), often referred to colloquially as the Polak Republic, is a self-claimed Polish sovereignty movement and micronation headquartered in Wisconsin, United States. The Polonian Commonwealth was founded on 10 September 2024 by Aidan Dawidziak and Austin Karcz, two members of the Polish diaspora in the United States. It holds its capital city at Radagoszcz, a territory granted by the crown of the Grand Duchy of Valenowa, as the Polonian Commonwealth currently maintains no territorial claims of its own. The Polonian Commonwealth maintains a light defense force in the form of the loosely-organized Polonian Minutemen, which is intended to act as a short-term solution to the question of the defense of the Polonian Commonwealth, and is likely to be disbanded or replaced in the future.
The Polonian Commonwealth is governed as a technocratic unitary parliamentary republic, modeled after the Republic of Poland, headed primarily by the Governor-General (currently Aidan Dawidziak) and secondarily by the House of Ministers (currently headed by Austin Karcz). The legislature of the Polonian commonwealth, called Parliament, consists of an upper house called the Senate, and a lower house called the Sejm. The micronation is religiously secular and generally centrist, typically preferring to avoid American political influence.
History
Immigration and Polish diaspora
The first Polish immigrants to the United States arrived at the Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia in 1608 as skilled craftsmen. From then until roughly 1870, Polish immigration to the United States would remain relatively slow, with immigrants arriving in small waves throughout the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Those few Poles and Polish Jews that moved to the United States early on often assimilated quickly into other immigrant communities, and seldom formed their own cultural bastions, with the exception of the Polish settlement of Panna Maria, Texas. The rates of Poles immigrating to the United States would increase drastically from 1870 to 1914, with many fleeing the poor conditions in the old world, namely those regions controlled by the Russian Empire. It was at this time that separate Polish and Slavic communities began to form in earnest, with many of these new Poles taking up occupations specializing in manual labor, eager for the typically higher wages than what could be found in the old world.
The rates of Polish immigration would surge again from 1914 to around 2000. This would be due to a number of factors, including the start of World War I in 1914, the creation of the Second Polish Republic in 1918, the Polish-Soviet War from 1919 to 1921, the joint Soviet-German invasion of Poland in 1939, and the existence of the Polish nation as a satellite state of the Soviet Union from 1945 to the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991. Immigration would finally slow down again in the early 2000s, following the Republic of Poland's accession to NATO in 1999 and to the European Union in 2004.
Polonian Commonwealth
The concept of the Polonian Commonwealth was born roughly two years before its foundation, in a brief conversation between current Governor-General Aidan Dawidziak and Prime Minister Austin Karcz. The concept was brought to fruition on 10 September 2024, intended to act as a movement to found a new Polish diaspora community in the US state of Wisconsin. It was inspired in part by the Grand Duchy of Valenowa, which temporarily granted a small portion of its territory to act as a provisional capital for the Polonian Commonwealth, that territory being the settlement of Radagoszcz, Valenowa.
Etymology
The word "Polonia" is derived directly from the Proto-Slavic word pol'aninъ (literally translating to "field-dweller"), from which the native name for Poland (Polska) is also derived. This word was used alongside the latter to refer to the lands of the Polans, a West Slavic tribe inhabiting modern-day Poland. In modern use, the word "Polonia" is used to refer to the national identity of the Polish diaspora around the world, and is used to instill a sense of unity and cultural pride amongst Polish descendants. The word "Polonian" can, in turn, be used to describe an individual of Polish descent not currently living within the territories of the Republic of Poland.
Government and politics
Officially, the Polonian Commonwealth operates as a unitary parliamentary republic governed by a primary legislature (Parliament) with and upper house (Senate) and a lower house (Sejm). However, due to the micronation's currently low population, it operates under a provisional technocratic government headed primarily by the Governor-General (currently Aidan Dawidziak), and secondarily by the House of Ministers, that consists of the Prime Minister (currently Austin Karcz), the Minister of Culture, the Minister of Education, the Minister of Defense, and the Minister of Healthcare. Each Minister is appointed by the Governor-General based on professional experiences and qualifications for the position, and close family and friends of the Governor-General are not allowed to hold office as Ministers.
Military
The Polonian Commonwealth is primarily defended by the Polonian Minutemen, a loosely-organized militia consisting of the citizenry of the Commonwealth. The Polonian Minutemen are largely aided and equipped by the Valenian Armed Forces armory in Bołchidów, Valenowa.
Culture and religion
The Polonian Commonwealth is religiously secular, although a majority of its citizens identify as either atheist, catholic, or some form of pagan. The micronation is culturally Polish, with much of its culture and tradition revolving around Polish practices and rituals. The Polonian Commonwealth leans heavily into its wider Slavic roots, with its official language (Polish) having an official version translated into the Cyrillic script, used alongside its traditional Latin script. Additionally, a number of the Commonwealth's pagan citizens identify as Rodnovers (followers of the Slavic Native Faiths), including Governor-General Aidan Dawidziak. Dresiarz and Gopnik (Russian: Гопник) cultures are also popular due to a number of citizens' working-class origins, however this is typically combined with an intense Polish nationalism in order for the movement to distance itself from the more common Russian stereotypes.
Cuisine
Polonian cuisine is typically diverse, however much of it has strong Polish roots, with the rest being strictly local dishes made from locally sourced/foraged ingredients:
- Pierogi (traditionally made with sauerkraut, fried pork, and mushrooms)
- Goląbki
- Bigos (often made with wild carrot and homemade kiszona kapusta (Polish sauerkraut))
- Jeżynówka (Polish blackberry brandy)
- Wódka (Polish vodka)
- Mięsokiem (Literally "meat with juice," Mięsokiem is a form of beef sandwich served with a savory gravy inspired by French au jus dishes, in turn taken from local French-American culture)
- Fish (namely Bluegill, Perch, and Lake Sunfish sourced from local lakes)
- Mushrooms (namely Chicken of the Woods and Morels)
Music
Citizens of the Polonian Commonwealth listen to a vast variety of music, with genres such as alt rock, hardbass, and Russian deathcore being particularly popular. Polka music is traditional for cultural occasions such as Polish Fest in Milwaukee, and Polka Days in Pulaski, and Slovenian composer Jan Janko Močnik is popular amongst the small Rodnover population.
Foreign relations
The Polonian Commonwealth recognizes all 193 member states of the United Nations, with the exception of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), the Russian Federation, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and the People's Republic of China.