The Communal Republics of Lavenna
Born from the ashes of a ravaged continent, the myriad diverse communes of Lavenna have transcended millennia of division and subjugation to establish a democratic nation of equals, dedicated to the sustainable stewardship of nature and peaceful coexistence among one another. |
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Just a few years ago, the mere thought of the innumerable communes of Lavenna united in such a way would have been absolutely unimaginable.We've been hopelessly fragmented, contorted by petty squabbling, and blinded by mistrust for far too long. Our environment, the land that has so graciously cradled us for millenia, has been exploited, abused, and poisoned for greed and profit by those who took advantage of our disunity.
"Never before has this planet seen a nation composed of such a tapestry of vastly diverse cultures... all coexisting and cooperating in unison for the communal benefit of both humanity and nature.
It is our duty to right the wrongs of the past, and to build a brighter future for all"First Councillor Miranti Karsto, Parliamentary Address c. 475 AGL
The land of "violet fields", of the "thousand cultures", and "the crossroads". Lavenna sits at the confluence of a diverse array of cultures, identities and beliefs. Its shores have long beckoned as bastions of cultural exchange, learning, and interaction. Yet the same time, its people have also suffered greatly under the yoke of countless despots and repressive regimes. Its vast landscape has been an alluring target for numerous empires and foreign invaders, such as the Seriphanese, the Thysians, and many others.
Lavenna's immense plurality of cultures, ethnicities, languages and ideas has always been both its greatest strength, as well as the source of its greatest challenges. It is still a very young nation, having only been founded within the past few decades, and has just begun taking its first stumbling steps toward its idealistic foundation its people hope to achieve. It is clear that without the proper vision and guidance, this never-before-seen idealistic vision of a nation founded on the universal rights of humankind and nature, could be destined to the same fate as the countless other powers that have held sway in the region...
History
Government
Member Republics
The Jewels of the Volarra
The Heartlands
The ancient cradle of vast empires and the last refuge of native life
The Northern Frontiers
Structure
A parliamentary communal federation, Lavenna is composed of 21 coequal constituent republics, each given rights to maintain and operate their own armed forces (though the size of which has been capped due to Rodanyan militarism), and local governance. They are all subject to the Lavennic Constitution, and must abide in accordance with it.
Member republics are themselves composed of thousands of local Communes, which form the most emblematic and fundemental administrative unit of the LCR, and are required by the Lavennic Consitution to be run as full direct democracies. Communes are generally very small, only containing a maximum of around a thousand citizens, with an average population of several hundred. They have a great degree of flexibility, though they must abide by national laws and regulations. Their small size prevents political instability as it is generally members of a single community who decide upon their own affairs.
Culture
Lavenna was founded on three main principles (as listed within the Lavennic Constitution):
ENVOST:
The natural environment is to be protected at all costs, and should be integrated in the most sustainable way possible wherever possible. Crimes against the environment are to be treated in the same manner as crimes against a human being. To transgress this is equivalent to an act of treason of the highest degree. Sustainability is to be a core principle, meaning that social, economic, and especially environmental sustainability are to take absolute precedence over any other factors such as efficiency or utility. The use of renewable energy, sustainable communal food production, restorative agriculture, and other sustainable practices are to be considered essential.UNIVOST:
The universal rights of all of humankind should be defended and respected: One's ethnicity, religion, language, or social status should have no impact on their place in society, and cooperation among all citizens is of utmost importance. The rights and freedoms of all are to be upheld and respected. Wealth is to be distributed equally through peaceful means, and the excessive accumulation of wealth is to be prevented and stopped at all costs. A communal system which should gradually phase out the use of currency will ensure equal access to necessities such as food, housing, and healthcare, without hindering individual opportunities. Peaceful resolutions are to be pursued until there are no other alternatives.COMVOST:
A form of communal direct democracy is to guarantee every citizen of voting age a voice in local organization, and is to be implemented in a manner that ensures truly local communal participation. The commune is to be the foundational unit of the nation, and each member republic is to organize themselves in such a way. No more than 10,000 residents and no less than 100 shall be within a single local commune. Communes are to be tasked primarily with local resource allocation, food production, law enforcement, sustainable energy production, waste management, services, administration, and services. Cities and towns should generally be governed through an assembly of elected members from each commune in the city, or through direct democracy.
Demography and Population
Lavenna is home to an immensely diverse population of around 128 million people, according to the national census of 485 AGL. In fact, its population is so incredibly diverse that no single ethnic group makes up any more than 20% or so of the total population. For centuries, this immense diversity made the region a hotbed for brutal ethnic conflict and cultural violence. The Birthright Wars were also particularly violent in Lavenna since almost half of the entire new culture population settled in the landmass. Today, just over half of Lavenna's inhabitants are of skyborn heritage or descent, with the largest skyborn ethnicity being the Seriphanese, with a staggering 34 million people. They are followed by the Fleurois, with around 20 million. Next is the Matroshki, with just over 15 million, divided roughly evenly between Vastonyan and Meroskvar Matroshki. Meanwhile, the most populous founder ethnicity is that of the Vardish, with 22 million in total, followed by the Volarri, Aldanti, and Rodanyans.
As a result of its immense diversity, there is no official national language, although Laveranto and French generally serve that role informally. Ever since the Liberalist majority government after 488 AGL, there has been a major focus on language pluralisation over standardisation, with the government strongly pushing for multilingualism as a requirement. So far, this multilingual emphasis has been quite successful, with the average citizen speaking 3 languages fluently, although multilingualism has been common in Lavenna for centuries already.
Religion
Lavenna is an incredibly religiously diverse nation. No religion or set of beliefs has an absolute majority, even within most of the member republics. This has made secularism an important cornerstone of Lavenna, and religious tolerance and acceptance is heavily encouraged. The majority of religious sects of the nation are categorised as un-theistic, or in other words do not place any power in a higher being. Universalism is prevalent in sporadic pockets across Lavenna, and heavily practiced in the southern regions, mostly in major cities. Meanwhile, the highly ritualised Voulantism is almost exclusively centred around eastern Vastonya and surrounding areas, with pockets through the rest of Lavenna. Up in the towering Merkostas, Integralism is heavily entrenched. The Vards mostly follow their own faith known as Ka'valim, or "the followers of Kal". Finally, countless local traditional beliefs are interspersed throughout the nation in a vast diversity. Lavenna also has a considerable atheist population, making up just under half the population.
Agriculture & Industry
Owing to its forever coveted fertile land across the heart of the nation, Lavenna has long been considered the "breadbasket of the world". While the majority of the land across the planet is still smothered in vast barren wastes, laden with anaemic and rugged life, Lavenna is home to some of the few surviving indigenous regions on the planet. Vastonya in particular is renowned for its verdancy, and while desert still covers a good majority of Lavenna as a whole, its political, economic, and cultural core to the south of the vast Merkosta mountains is swaddled in a criss-crossing of rivers and lakes, and vast stretches of farmland. As such, Lavenna has long been mostly driven by agriculture and its predecessors were mostly agrarian societies, trading bountiful quantities of grain, bullroot, etc via countless canals and the three seas that surround the landmass. During the great understanding, while Lavenna was still divided between a myriad of squabbling states, many made significant attempts at industrialisation. The Parvanto dynasty in particular, who once controlled what is now the political heart of the nation, Boralto, rapidly transformed their nation into an industrial powerhouse. The Klypsid Clique of Katrushta also made a great push to industrialisation. Both cities, for quite some time, were well known as being smoke-choked and laden with thousands of chimneys.
Trade & Transport
Following decades of intensive reconstruction efforts, which especially began to accelerate under the premiership of Kelmar Harval, the widespread construction of high speed rail (see: The Lavennic High Speed Rail Network) connections between major cities has proven to be a major success. As a whole, rail based transportation both for passengers and for goods has become the dominant form of transport by a large margin, with new high speed and regional lines being constructed at an ever increasing pace, with a particularly concentrated effort by current First Councillor Zarala Myshkali nearly quadrupling its total length.
Historically, before the rediscovery of rail transportation, the major underpinning of Lavennic trade had been maritime vessels. The Continental War and its complete devastation of the mainland, which crippled existing road networks and rail lines, only further heightened this historical reliance on the sea for a time. Lavenna and its constituent republics, except for those landlocked, have always been adept and inventive seafarers and as such the development of low-drag skimmers has allowed for rapid sea based trade and transit to become a major form of regional and trans national transportation. This is facilitated by both the fact that Lavenna is surrounded on three sides by sea, but also by its extensive network of canals, which fared much better during the destruction of the continental war.
Vald Dest Nauvaro (Together for a Brighter Future)
Population
125.3 Million
125.3 Million
Founding Date
475 AGL
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Capital
Alternative Names
Lavenna, Lavennic Federation, Communal Republics of Lavenna, LCR
Predecessor Organization
Demonym
Lavennic
Leader
Leader Title
Government System
Democracy, Parliamentary
Power Structure
Federation
Currency
No Currency - Communal Economy
Legislative Body
Judicial Body
Subsidiary Organizations
Controlled Territories
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