Shvekshna

Shvekshna (: Швекшна), officially the Yarovan Republic of Shvekshna (: Республика Швекшна), or the Švėkšna Region, was a disputed territory in Eastern Artemia, in the southern part of the internationally recognised Aukalnian-administered Autonomous Community of Shvekshna. In 2020, it had a population of 132,200 who lived in an area of 1,952 km2, north of the Pivnichna Peremorovka Oblast of Yarova, with 85,000 having lived in Chernyakhovsk.

For much of its existence, Shvekshna enjoyed official recognition from only Tilenno and Tiperyn but following the election of Tanas Gruzdev as President of Yarova in April 2020, the territory commenced a diplomatic relationship with Yarova. On 12 June 2020, Shvekshna voted 97.3 percent in favour to reunify with the United Federated Districts in a referendum.

Background
Throughout history, Shvekshna was known as Švėkšna and was part of the Grand Duchy of Aukalnia and its successor, the Vojiskiy Crown Protectorate of Aukalnia and Sartland, until 1853, when the region was directly ceded to the Yarovan Empire, following heavy plantation by beginning at the start of the nineteenth century. Although the region was largely undeveloped prior to the commencement of  settlement, the significant presence of indigenous  is undisputed by historians, and ethnic tensions are recorded to have existed from as early as 1805. The native way of life, including the culture and language, suffered considerably following laws in 1862 which forbade the usage of the.

Shvekshna remained part of the union with Yarova after the collapse of Vojiskiy rule in 1926, and was declared one of the 23 federated districts. The newly-independent People's Socialist Boreal Republics of Aukalnia and Sartland did not engage in diplomatic, trade or commercial relations with the United Federated Districts of Yarova, owing to President Rusya Tarasovich’s commitment to protect Shvekshna’s place in the union. The Shvekshna territorial dispute was central to the fractured Yaro-Aukalnian relationship through the course of the 20th century, and Aukalnia and Sartland laid claim to Shvekshna (Švėkšna) in its. Tensions along the Shvekshna frontier came to a head after it was alleged three Aukalnian soldiers were shot dead by the Yarovan Land Forces in March 1950. Aukalnian dictator Liudvikas Vainikonis responded with the Bartninkai Ultimatum which warned that if Yarova did not “withdraw forthwith from all occupied territory of Aukalnia” there would be a “military retribution”. Although such a reality did not materialise, Yarova increased its military presence in the region, and was forced to quell civil unrest in Chernyakhovsk which claimed the lives of 80 Aukalnians and Sarts. While Yaro-Aukalnian relations were normalised from 1958 onwards, Shvekshna remained a contentious issue, and following the Yaro-Aukalnian War (1992-1993), the constitutional status of the region was again negotiated. The United Republics of Aukalnia and Sartland was founded at the end of the war in January 1993 and continued its territorial claim over Shvekshna.

However, in 1995, Yarovan President Vladimir Rodchenko was successful in the passing of his Aukalnia and Sartland Decolonisation and Reconciliation Act, which granted the handover of Shvekshna Oblast to Aukalnia and Sartland. The day after the Act’s passing, on 21 September 1995, the oblast’s assembly in Chernyakhovsk unanimously voted to declare Shvekshna’s independence. Through the course of 1996, the Yarovan authorities gradually withdrew from the oblast, and thousands of Shvekshnars fled to the nearby Pivnichna Peremorovka Oblast. Those that remained, relentlessly resisted attempted Aukalnian advances into the region, which escalated into the First Shvekshna War of 1997. Initially, Rodchenko offered military support to the handover but by 1998, Shchyokhov abandoned this policy. In the Second Shvekshna War, from 1999-2000, the Aukalnians persisted in efforts to gain control of the region but only succeeded in acquiring 20% of the territory. The remaining 80% maintained its independence, regardless of what may be argued by Ažytėnai, Shchyokhov or even Holmgard.

Given the DSP has been behind the steering wheel of Yarovan governance since 1995, the policy on Shvekshna had remained relatively unchanged until 2020. With that said, in 2014, President Nikita Chekudayev showed signs of subtle sympathy, by permitting the opening of a Yarovan pseudo-consulate in Chernyakhovsk. Nevertheless, the federal government maintains to this day that the activity is merely cultural in nature. The People of Yarova’s official party policy affirms the principle of consent, although in 2019, the context undoubtedly evolved and with Gruzdev's election the following year, extensive efforts were made to facilitate the sovereignty referendum.