Republic of Veyshnoria

Republic of Veyshnoria Respublika Viejšnoryja
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Svaboda, Roŭnaść, Bulba "Freedom, Equality, Potato" Hie sto "Here I stand"
Anthem: Cicha hudzie bor Vajšnoryi lubaj
Capital	Harodnia (historical)
Official languages	Veyshnorian, Belarusian, Trasianka, Yiddish, Wendian, Ukrainian, Russian
Demonym(s)	Veyshnorian
Government	Parliamentary Republic
Legislature	Soim
Establishment	30 August 2017
Population
• Census	registered residents: 20228 (13.05.2023) citizens: 910
Currency	Taler (TLR, ŧ)
Website http://vie.today

Veyshnoria (Veyshnorian: Viejšnoryja, arch. Wajsznoryja, Belarusian: Вейшнорыя, Wendian: Vixnaris, Ukrainian: Вейшнорія, Russian: Вейшнория, Polish: Wejsznoria), officially the Republic of Veyshnoria, is a non-territorial internet-based micronation, organically grown out of the a fictional enemy state created for Zapad 2017 (a joint Russo–Belarusian military training exercis) through the stage of the political internet meme since 29–30 August 2017. Covers about 17.5 thousand registered residents in different parts of the world.

Etymology

The name "Veyshnoria" comes from the Baltic name of Veisnor (Lithuanian "Vaišnoras", Old Prussian "Waisnor") – "one who willingly treats" (hospitable). There are several places called Vaišnoriai (plural for "Vaišnoras") in Lithuania (Vaišnoriai (Šiauliai), Vaišnoriai (Joniškis)) and in Belarus (Vialikija Vajšnaryškiі, Malyja Vajšnaryški).

History

Background: Zapad 2017

Zapad (West) 2017 was a joint strategic military exercise of the Union State of Russia and Belarus held 14–20 September 2017, in Belarus as well as in Russia′s Kaliningrad Oblast (East Prussia) and other north-western areas.

According to the scenario a conflict between "The North" (the Union State) and "The West" (a coalition of three aggressor states: Veyshnoria, Vesbaria and Lubenia) developed. "The West" tries to split the union of Belarus and Russia, worsen the socio-economic situation in the Union State, and force a change of leadership, and Veyshnoria is trying to annex parts of Belarus. After that, "the West" sends its troops enter the rest of the territory of Belarus. The Union State resists these actions.

According to the map of military exercises, Veishnoria covers the territory of most of Grodno and the north-western parts of Minsk and Vitebsk Voblastes. The border of Veyshnoria with the rest of Belarus largely coincides with the border between Poland and the USSR in 1920-1939, i.e. before the division of Poland by the Third Reich and the Soviet Union in accordance with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Also In a post on Facebook, Sergey Chaly noticed a similarity between Veyshnoria and the region of Belarus where a large percentage of voters supported Zianon Pazniak in the first round of the 1994 presidential election. Journalist w:Leonid Bershidsky further pointed out that this territory has a high proportion of Catholic population and a high share of Belarusian-language speakers.

Birth of the Nation

One way, one destiny, brothers forever (Belarusian). Veyshnoria, Lubenia and Vesbaria on the Zapad-2017 map with flags of states created by users of social networks

The creation quickly found a humorous response in social media. On August 30, 2017, a satirical Twitter account of the Foreign Ministry of Veyshnoria appeared, which published political statements on behalf of the state. In two days, users of social networks created the coat of arms and flag of the new nation (as well as the flags of Lubenia and Vesbaria), scores related memes, and thousands of signatures for obtaining Veyshnorian citizenship were left on the newly created website of the Electronic Consulate of Veyshnoria (first under the Cyrillic URL http://вейшнорыя.бел ).

Within 20 hours of the Consulate's opening, 1766 people had applied for citizenship, mostly from Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, in protest against the Kremlin's official policies and Russian expansion. Over time around this site the previously disparate satirical "veyshnorian" groups in social networks began to integrate. Months later, it under the leadership of Oleg Larychev became a platform of the non-territorial internet-based micronation the Republic of Veyshnoria. All those who left their signatures on the Consulate website became residents of the nation, and to obtain its citizenship, one need to purchase physical ID cards, the holders of which are able to elect and be elected to the highest legislative body - Soim.

Formation of Government

The first elections to Soim took place on October 14, 2017, shortly after the end of the Zapad-2017 exercises, in which Veyshnoria attributed the numerous problems of the Union State to the brilliant victories of her invisible Army. However, due to problems with the Internet platform, parliamentarians began to work after a long break on March 5, 2018. The first bill was the draft Constitution of Veyshnoria, which after discussion and interaction with alternative projects was radically edited and voted on March 16. The active process of lawmaking, the formation of executive and judicial power began and was continued by the Soim of the second convocation (since 10.12.2018). In parallel, the citizens of Veyshnoria, using the functionality of the Platform, create political, economic, cultural etc. organizations that enter into comprehensive interaction.

Politics and government

According to its Constitution, the Republic of Veyshnoria is defined as a democratic non-unitary extraterritorial (not limited to a separate territory and without claims on the territory of other states) Internet republic on the principles of rule of law, interests of the people and pluralism of opinion. Human rights and freedoms and guarantees of their realization are the highest value and goal of society and the state, with mutual responsibility between man and the state.

The only source of power and bearer of the sovereignty of the Republic of Veyshnoria is its people, who exercise their power directly and through representative and other bodies in the forms and within the limits set by the Constitution. Democracy in the Republic of Veyshnoria is based on a variety of political institutions, ideologies and opinions. The ideology of political parties, religious or other public associations, social groups cannot be established mandatory for citizens.

Legislature

Work of Soim Veyshnoria (Russian)

The Soim is the highest legislative body of Veyshnoria, which determines the structure, composition, functions and procedure for the formation of other state bodies. Members of the Soim are elected in general elections by citizens of Veishnoria by rating voting after reviewing the programs posted on the Official Website (Platform). Elections to the Soim and its work take place on the same Official Website by its technical means.

Historically, and then it was enshrined constitutionally and legally, the elected members of the Soim are divided into two equal groups depending on the rating. The one who received the largest number of votes becomes Deputies with the right of legislative initiative, the other - the Opposition, or Councilors, with the right of advisory vote (and at the same time - the Deputy reserve). The Soim of the 1st convocation had 110 members (55 + 55); later the Election Law reduced their number to 60 (30 + 30).

The schedule, date and time of sessions, consideration of documents are formed before the beginning of work of the Soim and do not change till its end.

Bills, Constitutional amendments and operational resolutions are introduced by current Deputies or large public associations during the formation of the session. One Deputy may put forward only one draft document during the session. Deputies and Councilors determine the list of documents to be considered by the Soim during the session by rating voting. During the consideration of the document, deputies and large public associations have the right to submit alternative versions of this document. Deputies and Councilors participate in the discussion of the document and by rating voting determine the list of options for documents for the final vote, which is carried out exclusively by Deputies in the order of the created rating of documents, voting for the chosen version of the document or against all. A document that received a simple majority of votes becomes valid (in the case of an equal number of votes - the document that received more votes in the previous vote). If the majority votes "against all", the document is rejected.

Executive

The executive branch of the Republic of Veyshnoria consists of Ministers as official representatives of the state in the relevant field. The Law on Government declares the need for a prime minister or any permanent head of government, citing the temptation of authoritarianism. Ministers coordinate the work of the Government in turn through a monthly rotation.

After the establishment of a new ministry or the vacancy, the Soim elects acting ministers from among the citizens of Veyshnoria on a competitive basis. Candidates for the position of Minister present their Concept and answer questions from deputies and residents of Veyshnoria. If the majority of votes is cast by several candidates, a second round of voting takes place between them.

Within three months after the appointment of Acting Minister citizens have the opportunity to make a final choice from the same candidates. Voting of citizens is an act of direct action and comes into force after the end of the three-month period. In case of an equal number of votes or citizens ignoring the vote, the status of the Minister automatically acquires the current Acting Minister. Candidate for Minister and Acting Minister may be a deputy of the Soim, but in case of his approval as a Minister, the deputy must temporarily leave the Soim. In practice, the three-month term of work in the status of Acting Minister allows in most cases to end the deputy powers.

Within two weeks after the election, the Minister prepares the Program on the basis of his Concept, once a month for at least 1 hour to hold public chat conferences, and every 3 months submits to the Soim Reports, which are evaluated within a week of publication by the Soim and residents. With a negative difference in estimates from the residents of Veishnoria, the Minister is demoted to the status of acting and the date of the new competition is set.

The term of office of Ministers is 18 months from the date of their acquisition, i.e. does not include work in the status of acting If the term expires before the beginning of the work of the new Soim, the Minister shall act in the status of acting until the re-election or prolongation for the new term.

The Government may issue regulations to regulate certain technical issues within the framework of current legislation. In the absence of a law in any matter, the Government has the power to adopt a General Resolution, which automatically initiates the process of drafting a relevant bill, which should be considered by the Soim at the earliest opportunity with extraordinary priority. Until the adoption of the relevant law by the Soim, the General Resolution shall be temporarily in force by law.

Judiciary

The Court of Veishnoria, in cooperation with the Technical Administration of the Platform, monitors the compliance of the legislation with the Constitution and resolves conflicts of interest of the subjects. It consists of the Arbitration (Constitutional Court) and the Tribunal (Commercial Court).

Arbitration is the Supreme Judicial Body of Veyshnoria, which operates on a permanent basis and consists of an even number of arbitrators (from 4 to ⅓ Deputies of the Soim), who are elected and dismissed indefinitely by the Government and associations of citizens (organizations) in equal proportions. The Arbitration monitors the normative legal acts adopted by the state authorities for compliance with the Constitution and the current legislation of Veishnoria and in case of identified contradictions issues Arbitration Acts. It is also an appellate court against a decision of the Tribunal.

The Tribunal operates on a temporary basis and is established in cases of local conflicts of interest of the Subjects of Veishnoria as a board of jurors from among competent citizens chaired by the Marshal of the Tribunal from among the Arbitrators of Veishnoria. The number of jurors in each Tribunal is 4. Jurors are appointed from among the Corps of Tribunes 2 on each side of the dispute. The Corps of Tribunes is formed on the basis of the register of former candidates for the Soim who did not pass it. Participation in the Tribunal at least twice in a year exempts from paying the candidate's fee during the nomination of a candidate to the Soim in new elections. The Tribunal resolves disputes between the subjects of Veyshnoria and in cases of confirmation of violations of the Law makes court decisions.

Economy

Veyshnorian Taler: common obverse and reverse versions depicting the "three capitals of Historical Veyshnoria"

The source of funding for the Platform is the payment of physical ID-cards of citizens, the sale of souvenirs with Veyshnorian symbols, voluntarily set by percentages with transactions between Subjects, the candidate's fee for nomination to Soim, and other receipts. After Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko issued the decree which made cryptocurrencies a legal method of payment, the Taler (TLR) cryptocurrency was launched in Belarus in autumn 2017 and was made the official currency of Veyshnoria. In parallel, the website of the National Bank of Veyshnoria was created, which issued commemorative coins with a denomination of 1 taler, dedicated to the "three capitals" of Historical Veyshnoria (at the beginning of 2018, a fourth type coin with the image of Tadeusz Kościuszko was issued). Originally a decentralized Belarusian cryptotaler (Ŧ, TLR) and Veyshnorian taler, the rate of which (= numismatic value of coins) was regulated by the National Bank (ŧ, VST), was positioned as monetary units independent of each other, but on February 23, 2018 the taler's premine was transferred by its creators to Veyshnoria, and later the Central Bank Law established the de facto merger of these currencies. The profiles of citizens and organizations on the Official Website of the Republic of Veyshnoria have e-wallets from which transactions are carried out.

Culture

The cultural image and paradigm of Veyshnoria was organically determined already in the "memetic era" as a "dream country", liberal and nationally oriented alternative to Lukashenko's Belarus. It is based on a broad pluralism of thoughts and respect for everyone's opinion, which, however, does not mean tolerance for totalitarian ideologies and encroachments on its constitutional principles of freedom and equality. The mythologized history of Veyshnoria on the Official Website is based on popular stereotypes of Central and Eastern Europe, mostly "local" than from Western mass culture.

In the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, more Veishnorian people began to concentrate in the heart of Europe, returning to their roots after a long gathering of the wisdom of people throughout the Earth. Knowledge was successfully implemented among the local population, which veishnorians often assimilated and often by non-verbal methods, but this is a completely different story. This is how the concept of Inner Veisnoria, or Internal Veisnorians, who lived deep in the soul. This concept was not destined to be fully realized due to such dramatic events as the loss of independence of the GDL and its subsequent disappearance as a state, as well as a general decline in all spheres of life of the veishnorians. However, veishnorian ideas fell into fertile soil. They could not be eradicated by anyone, despite all attempts to cut out the free-thinking and rudiments of the national, which were carried out with varying degrees of intensity first by the Polish crown, and after that, with particular cruelty and the Russian empire.
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Russian and Veishnorian (according to some sources - Zhamoitian) was destroyed by greedy neighbors, but the spirit of that legendary great state did not perish, but was revived in free veishnorian people.

— The existence in the era of the birth of modern states and nations

Language

The titular language of the nation is Veyshnorian, which is defined in various sources as a language or as a national standard of the Belarusian language. On the Official Site, with the option to select the interface language, Veyshnorian and Belarusian are offered as different languages with the flags of the respective countries, along with English, Ukrainian and Russian. In fact, Veyshnorian is distinguished by Latin graphics (the classic Belarusian Łacinka) and pre-Stalin Belarusian Classical Orthography. But there are suggestions to more fully reflect and codify in the language the dialectal features of the region of Historical Veyshnoria and even add additional letters ê and ô to designate the specific phonemes of its dialects.

Diaspora

Being a direct successor of the main Veyshnorian media sources of the "memetic era" - Foreign Ministry of Veyshnoria and Electronic Consulate of Veyshnoria, - the Republic of Veyshnoria does not limit the concept of "Veyshnorian" to its official residents and citizens. Their circle expands with the help of the concept of the Veyshnorian diaspora, based on the above-mentioned concept of "Internal Veyshnorians", who begin to wake up from centuries of latency, awakened by the Seven Day War:

Most often this manifested itself in the form of glorious but mostly useless and bloody events like Mogilev rebellion in 1661, insurrections led by Kosciuszko and Kalinowski, Slutsk rebellion, Ploshcha 1999-2006-2010 etc. It is believed that the tendency of the Belarusians to guerrilla life is due precisely to the centuries-old hidden state of internal veishnorian.
War, called in the reactionary media military exercises "West - 2017" was the event that turned the heads of the Veishnorians into some kind of cogs and forced to get out of the depths of Inner Veishnoria, which was hidden inside the people's soul at the level of many generations.
Feeling the soil under the feet and the form of self-recalling self-name and feeling the taste of the first victorians in the bloodless war for many centuries

— Formation of the modern political system

The Law "On Diaspora" was adopted by the Soim of Veyshnoria of the II convocation on March 31, 2019. Based on the principle of extraterritoriality of the Republic of Veyshnoria, the law recognizes the status of a compatriot for anyone who considers himself a Veyshnorian. The group of compatriots not authorized on the Official Website constitutes the Veyshnor Diaspora as a mathematical set without additional conditions or restrictions. It is emphasized that the presence of Veyshnorian identity does not exclude other national, civic, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious, ideological, etc. identities and does not replace them (except at the discretion of the Veyshnorian in those aspects where such a replacement is possible). Based on the definition of "Inner Veyshnorian" as a potential compatriot and a potential member of the Veyshnorian Diaspora, the Inner Veyshnorian is recognized as one of the quantum states of each person, and the Veyshnorian Diaspora - one of the quantum states of mankind.

The law also explains the status of areas marked as Veyshnoria on the map of Zapad 2017. Remaining on the constitutional principles of non-territoriality, the Law at the same time recognizes them as a general Veyshnorian cultural heritage and a symbolic and geographical component of Veyshnorian identity (Historical Veyshnoria), and therefore declares their indigenous and permanent population Honorary Internal Veyshnorians.

Public holidays

The Soim of Veyshnoria established such public holidays:

Name	Date	Notes
Initiation Day	29 August	Awareness of the existence of Veyshnoria throughout the world
Independence Day	30 August	Public mobilization for the heroic defense of the country
Victory Day in the Seven Days War	21 September	Liberation of Veishnoria from invaders
Taler Day	6 October	Creating a national monetary system
Constitution Day	16 March	Adoption of the Constitution of Veishnoria
State Symbols Day	6 May	Approval by the Soim of the Coat of Arms, Anthem and Flag of Veishnoria

Also, there are holidays that are not celebrated at the state level, as:

• Traditional holidays:
  • Stork Day - arrival of storks, (as will arrive) approximately on 17 April
• International holidays:
  • St. Patrick's Day - 17 March
  • Halloween - 1 November