[hider=Beleky Kurzan] [b]Nation's Name:[/b] Beleky Kurzan (More often just called Kurzania, or the Kurzan Empire) [b]Flag:[/b] [img]http://oi60.tinypic.com/2n0r9u1.jpg[/img] [b]Form of Government:[/b] Imperial Federation [b]Describe the System:[/b] Kurzania operates through an Imperial Federation, which essentially means that many of their culturally distinct holdings are under their control with some small autonomy. In addition to the Imperial Authority and the Parliament, a third governing body exists; one that dictates the laws and doings of every semi-autonomous state. Both the Parliament and the Colonial Authority report to the Emperor, or Belek, who has the final say in any decisions he wishes to. In short, everyone ends up reporting to the emperor, or reporting to someone who does. [b]Location on Map Desired:[/b] Anywhere large, cold, and untamed. Ideally, spans two continents, with the western edge near the other players and the central and eastern parts spanning far off. [b]Capital:[/b] Kurzan, 1500km from the western border, on a tributary leading to an Antarctic sea in the far south. Kurzan is central head of many of the top bureaus and administrative centers in the Empire, but Peranog operates as sort of a backup capitol--in fact, it was the capitol for some time before it was moved back to Kurzan! [b]Important Settlements:[/b] Countless, most on the northern and western ends of the country. Vast pine forests and rolling, hilly plains are practically unsettled, but claimed as territory of Kurzania and have some new cities. -Peranog - northwest of the capitol city. Larger and with its own centers of government, including an spare Imperial palace and the ever-growing Bureau of Chemical Science. -Dzhevsk - A relatively new city in the dense, wild, and untamed center of the nation, Dzhevsk is one of two main homes to truly vast manufacturing complexes that outshine most other nations due to imperial decrees mandating and supporting their creation. Dzhevsk is home to hundreds of blocks of above-ground worker housing, while much of the factories are set partway underground for better insulation against the cold. Typically, the factories look like one- or two-story buildings with massive belching smokestacks. -Ologovzhelsk - A second massive manufacturing center, much nearer to the capitol. This was the start of the transnational Kurzan railway, and the center of their arms manufacturing. What Dzhevsk is to civilian industry, Ologovzhelsk is to military industry and R&D. [b]Description[/b] Generally the culture is somewhat homogeneous, at least in the vast western heartland of the country. Militarized life is still fairly common in the east after the rapid expansion that occurred two to three centuries ago. Formerly a nation on the border of unexplored territory, sudden rapid advancement in technology mixed with half a century of frigid winters allowed them to be relatively safe from northern incursion, thus allowing them to spread their armies across the lands of more primitive peoples to the east. Shortly before this expansionistic period, Kurzania had expanded from a series of treaties and favorable conflicts between other nations, using both to its great advantage in encompassing its former rivals, shading them under the cloak of growing Kurzan might. Now with positively vast stretches of fertile grasslands, mineral-rich mountain chains, and some of the largest, thickest forests in the known world, Beleky Kurzan has incorporated many of the less advanced peoples into its political sphere and direct governance. It's been two hundred years since then, and though industrialization started slow, factories have begun springing up overnight in vast industrial parks all over the countryside, and a large transnational railroad system is nearing completion. Their army has become state of the art both technologically and administratively and may be the largest on the continent, though this is mostly at the cost of advancements in air and sea travel. They have cutting-edge technology including standard-issue breach-loading rifles, massive long- and short-ranged artillery pieces using indirect fire tactics, and emplacements using devices such as the newly-created autocannons. Although their navy is severely lacking, Kurzans are very adept at river travel, as their nation is criss-crossed by countless number of them, and the winters and subsequent extreme muddiness make land travel problematic for about half the year. Kurzania was slow to awaken, but is now a lumbering giant of a nation shaking off the frost of its bygone ages. The culture can be as cold as its southernmost fringes, with people who are generally suspicious of outsiders. Ancient folklore is still strong, as are the Old Ways and the Old Gods. Even inside the relatively cosmopolitan cities, people tend to be superstitious and somewhat primitive in terms of philosophy and religion. Vibrant colors are splashed on every building, as are murals despite the fact that many are hidden in the snow come the winters. Many buildings are somewhat spread out from one another, expressing in part a desire for space as well as the ability to have it in this largest of countries. Many buildings are set somewhat underground. Parks are constantly desired, and omnipresent, even in the cities where chemical runoff and belching smokestacks reduce much surrounding nature and darken the skies. People tend to have an attachment to the idea of traveling and moving, and the glory of the eastward expansion with all its riches and opportunities is still fresh the collective Kurzan mind due to stories and still-rising aristocratic stars. Also, beards are extremely common among men, and the people of this ethnic group tend to grow them quickly and thickly. Bonfires are a standard way of celebration, alongside communal song-singing. There's generally a great bond between the Kurgan and the ethnic brethren they encompassed over two centuries ago, but this means that people of other ethnicities are somewhat looked down upon even though they are allowed to retain some aspects of their culture. [b]Important Characters:[/b] -Emperor of the Kurzan Federated Empire, King of Kurzania, Prince of Tilsyt and Peranog, Grand Duke of Maloyaroslopetin and Nepomuk, Rurik Anatolyevich Kharitonov, Second of his Name -Prince Arany Kytzil, Joint Grand Field Marshal of His Imperial Majesty's Armed Forces, and Chief of the Main Staff of the Imperial Kurzan Army -Prince Pyetr Bizuhov, Field Marshal of His Imperial Majesty's Army -Count Aleksandr Dolokhov, head of the Bureau of Military Science -Count Ivan Kuragin, head of the Bureau of Chemical Science -Duke Anatol Drubatsk, Imperial Spymaster -Yermak, official Crown diplomat [b]Traits:[/b] Large Army -2 Professional Army -3 Conscription -1 Militias -1 Landlubbers +1 Scared of Water +3 Rotting Hulls +2 Scared of Air +3 Deflated Balloons +2 Strong Industry -2 Fertile Fields -2 Empire -4 Serfs +/-0 "I’m not a racist but…" +/-0 =0 spare points Army: (I will roll this, navy, GDP and stability.) Navy: Airships: GDP: Stability: Population Percentage of Population in: (This will be rolled by me as well.) - Industry: - Farming: - Mineral Production: [/hider]