Virswa

Virswa, officially known as La République de Virswa, is a country in the central portion of the continent of Artemia in Anterra. The purpose of the government is to keep Virswa running as well as dealing with matters of state such as foreign affairs and internal affairs. As of 2019, the estimated population of Virswa is 60,432,100 people across an area covering 600,000km2.

As the first homo-sapiens became more sedentary, they settled in areas with the most potential to provide. One of these area was the land that was to become Virswa. They settled down in the land due to the high abundance of natural resources such as; fish, wood, ore, and wild game. After many years they began to form primitive societies. In the 1760s a man named Émile Jooseppi united them under a single flag. In the following years there were many conflicts, and a high amount of casualties due to these. Each one of the conflicts left a great mark on the country of Virswa.

Virswa is a   in which the monarch holds no power and acts only as a figure-head. The government has been dominated by the Green Party for much of recent history. Most men have served in the Armed forces. This is due to the weaning threat of the VFA. There is a high rate of gun-ownership in the country. Due to its geographical position near AES countries, Virswa has developed a policy of with its neighbors.

Gastronomy is a cultural cornerstone of Virswa. Parades are often held to honor some of the many delicacies that can be found within the nation.The economy of Virswa is highly developed and free-market-orientated. The Economy mainly revolves around the production of chemicals, pharmaceutical goods, bio-engineered crops, Weapons manufacturing, forestry and mining.

Etymology
The origins of the name Virswa are highly disputed. The more recognized origin is from the word Vertueux signifying conforming to moral and ethical principles; morally excellent; upright. The other suspected origin is and the more likely one was uttered by a very drunk Émile Jooseppi. Most likely asking for the regional wine Vigne-de-la-loire. Another suspected origin is from one of Émile Jooseppi's expeditions were legend has it a man with him went crazy due to an unknown illness(most likely cold shock or extreme frostbite)

Early History
The earliest settlers where the nomadic Homo Erectus passing thru the bountiful lands. After many years they transitioned to a more sedentary life style and the years they decided to settle down near the forests. Thru the years they branched out into to forests and the grasslands and thrived. They lived without much contact from the outside world until the 1400s. There where a few exceptions where they were raided by other parties. Such as the vikings.

Virswa Unification Movement (1761-1763)
In the 1750s a man by the name of Émile Jooseppi traveled the world to search for new technologies for his village. As he traveled across the continent he realized that his region was quite different. It was not a united society it was just a independent villages scattered in lush forests and grass lands. In the early 1760s Émile traveled across the lands searching far and wide to find every village. At the various villages he presented his idea for a movement to unify all of the provinces under a single flag. Most villages agreed with his proposal. The major village that disagreed with the proposal was Loué the reason it was that they were vary powerful and they would lose most of it. Government type was a absolute monarchy with Émile as the self appointed ruler. During his short reign he got a lot of work done. Such as armed forces to defend the country of Virswa and proper infrastructure to support the country.

The First Civil War (1764-1771)
The first Virswa Civil War(1764-1771), also known as the 1st Virswa Independence war, was a war between the Virswa government and small anti-unification groups. The war was the culmination of the Virswa Unification movement. In 1764, Revolutionaries seized control of multiple major cities. The next month, they formally declared their movement as a new nation, The Virswa Liberation Front. From 1764 onward, they tried to take control of the whole country. Throughout the war, the government were able to use their army to capture and occupy cities, but control of the forests (where 40% of the population lived) largely eluded them due to their relatively limited supply. In 1766, shortly after an Virswa victory at Loué, the main revolutionary force capitulated. The Treaty of Loué in 1766 ended the war abolished the revolutionary forces for good. In the following years there were still feelings of hate towards the government. With multiple more attempts to start the war again. All of the attempts were thwarted due to the fact that the government had learned a lesson and stationed troops in almost all cities and villages. The government had the difficult task of fighting the war while simultaneously trying to retain the allegiance of the citizens. Citizen support was important, since the goal of the war was to stop the spread of the movement, but this imposed numerous military limitations. The need to retain Citizen allegiance also meant that the government were unable to use the harsh methods of suppressing rebellion they employed later after the war. Even with these limitations, many cities choose to join the government that had protected them. This combination of factors still ultimately lead to the downfall of the revolutionary's.

The Monarchist Abolition coup(1939)
The Monarchist Abolition War, or the Second civil war was a war waged between 1939-1948. It was waged between; The Virswa anti-monarchist movement and the Government forces. It was active from 1939 to the late 1940s, it was started when Louis Jean the monarch was attacked by a group of armed anti-monarchist. They killed him and dragged his body to the town square and hung him. They then invaded the monarch's palace and houses. This war as the name suggested effectively ended the Monarchist rain over Virswa. Contrary to the last war there were no feelings of hate towards the government. Only a small group of people later to be known as the VFA disproved of this.

The Virswa Fascist Army (1948-1972)
The Virswa Fascist Army also know as the VFA is a terrorist organisation seeking the abolition of the democratic government in favor of a Fascist goverment.

The War on drugs and the mob (1991 - Present)
Drug use for medicinal and recreational purposes has been happening in Virswa since the 1800s. But the selling of it by non-government organisations was made illegal in 1961. It was instated to try and limit the effects of the Virswa mafia. However the mafia turned to more nefarious acts to keep a flow of money at first they supplied arms to the VFA. Then when the VFA was disbanded the Mafia turned to money laundering and drug distribution. In the last 10 years the mafia was kept in check by thousands of raids by para-military forces. Another solution presented by the government was government mandated companies, meaning all companies must go thru a process to be rendered legal. The idea was that it would prevent the stores to be used a money laundering fronts. This has not been effective because of the informants that the mafia has everywhere but the methods have been approved by the general populace.

Geography
In the north of Virswa there is a vast rock base. This area mostly consists of eroded hilly terrain and contains many lakes and important rivers used for hydroelectric production, it also encloses an area of wetlands. It cannot support intensive agriculture, although there is subsistence agriculture and small dairy farms in many of the river valleys and around the abundant lakes, particularly in the southern regions. Boreal forest covers much of the shield, with a mix of conifers that provide valuable timber resources. It is known for its vast minerals, such as emeralds, diamonds and copper. As it goes south it turns into vast sedimentary plains perfect for agriculture. These plains produce most of the food in the country.

Location & Borders
In the immortal words of Scruth "Generally Continental, leaning towards Coniferous forest along the northern coast and temperate grassland in the south". In other words in the north it is more of a boreal forest while to the south there are more open plains. Virswa is bordered by multiple countries. They are; North Veikaia, Modrovia and Gardarike.

Regional species
Due to the lush forests in the north multiple species mutated in consequence growing bigger. The 2 major mutations are the taupe bear and the giant salmon. The Taupe bear is a hybrid between a brown and black bear. It gets its name from the dark brown color of its fur the color is taupe. This bear has the ability to climb tree's like the black bear and the strength of the brown bear making it an apex predator. The same is said for the Giant Salmon thousands of years ago the salmon and a now extinct small sturgeon breed and created the Giant Salmon. With its giant teeth and its strong muscles it does not need to try hard to survive.

Climate
The climat of Virswa can be split into three climate zones. Northernmost corner of Virswa has a subarctic climate (Köppen DFC), with short but warm summers; and long but very cold winters. A bit lower near the western coast of Artemia there is a Temperate oceanic climate (Köppen CFB), with short dry summer heavy rain fall happens during the mild winters. The rest of Virswa is a hemiboreal climate (Köppen Dfb).

Demographics
Most of the citizens live in or close to cities. The population density is 107.39/km2. Meaning it is slightly higher than that of Austria's. 43% of the general population can speak more than 1 language. Virswa has a 33% divorce rate. Virswa's HDI is 0.962 which is very high.

Language
The only recognized language is French but most people take up other languages such as; Heltic, English and Gardic. These are usefull because Virswa has good relations with most other countries. As previously stated around 43% of the general populace can speak more than 1 language. Most government officials know at least 3.

Education
In Virswa education is very important. Every person must go thru 15 years of education not including university. The grades are as follows: Maternelle, Jardin, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, CEGEP. This is to insure every single person is highly educated and can contribute to the nation of Virswa. There is not an option to drop-out and post-secondary education is almost completely free. With the exception of privately funded colleges and universities, of course.

Government
Virswa is a Federal parliamentary crowned republic, this means that it is democratic. Every five years elections are held. Most of the populace votes for the Green party. Every citizen has the right to vote except for prisoners. The way the system works is the following: Voting citizens cast there ballots at local poll stations when the elections are held. The votes are then tallied up. The percent of the population that voted for said party is the percent\amount of seats they have in the parliament.

Foreign Relations
The foreign relations of Virswa is Virswa relations with other governments Virswa governments have traditionally maintained active relations with other nations, mostly through multilateral organizations. They also attempt to keep peace around Anterra and are willing to help almost all countries or people in need. Virswa has embassies in a lot of countries. Virswa's foreign aid is administered by the Virswa International Development Agency, which provides aid and assistance to other countries around the world through various methods. The strategy of the Virswa government's foreign aid policy is to provide an effective response while also providing assistance in response to foreign humanitarian crises. However a growing focus on development, defense, and diplomacy in recent decades has produced a concentration of foreign aid funding to countries determined to be security risks to Virswa policy. In addition, although Virswa's foreign aid policies has been molded with the intentions to focus on human security. The foreign aid provided by the country became less "people-centered" and less health-related. Virswa's contributions have been quite inconsistent with regards to human security, which indicates that the reputation that the country has built throughout the years, in fact, exceeds the country's actual record.

Law Enforcement
Virswa has two national police forces:

The Police Nationale, is considered a civilian police force. Its origins date back to 1812 and was created by Lucrèce David Lamar. In 1966 its name was officially changed to "Police Nationale". It has primary responsibility for major cities and large urban areas. The Police Nationale are under the control of the Ministry of the Interior.

The Gendarmerie Nationale is part of the Virswa armed forces. It has the primary responsibility for policing smaller towns and rural areas, as well as the armed forces and military installations, airport security and shipping ports. Being a military force, the gendarmerie has a highly centralized organization structure. It is under the control of both the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of the Interior.

Crime & Punishment
The Virswa justice system is unique among those of Anterra. It is the Judge decision of the length and type of sentence. This allows them to come up with creative punishments and lowers the amount of people who have more than one encounter with the Virswa judiciary system. The crime rate of Virswa is quite low with most of them being minor things like assault and public intoxication. After the War on the mob the crime rate lowered even more. Not significantly but it still has an impact. There are some times juries that are biased and abuse of the system or lack thereof.

Airforce
The Virswa air force has around 37,000 personnel including reserve forces. They operate a total of 1,103 aircraft, 176 of those are attack planes, 169 are transport planes, 41 are attack helicopters, 552 helicopters, 117 trainers, 48 special mission aircrafts. The role of the Virswa airforce is to protect Virswa airspace and to support the other branches and faction missions. The Virswa air force is best known for the perfect execution of missions. They are some of the best pilots in Anterra.

Army
The Virswa ground army has around 126,040 personnel including reserve forces, they operate around 7391 Fighting vehicles and countless other vehicles. Virswa 571 tanks including tank destroyer, MBT, light tanks and tank recovery vehicles. The Virswa MBT is the CMV-120(Leopard 2A5). 503 Self Propelled Guns, 431 Rocket projectors and 5886 Armored vehicles this includes APCs, AFVs, MRAPs, and Armored cars. They also operate countless towed pieces of artillery. Virswa also has thousands of various vehicles in hidden caches around the country. This was done during the times VFA was running around killing people, in case they tried to take control of the government. The practice was kept during the years after in case of an invasion.

Navy
The Virswa navy has 131 vessels this figure counts auxiliary ships and 129 aircraft. The navy has around 44,210 personnel including reserve forces. They operate 3 aircraft carriers (including helicopter carriers), 11 destroyers, 10 frigates, 9 submarines, 16 patrol ships, 13 mine warfare.

Special forces
Virswa's special forces are a force to be reckoned with. They are very capable and have the latest and best technologies to aid them. Virswa has 11 special operation "regiments" these are; 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment 13th Parachute Dragoon Regiment 4th Special Forces Helicopter Regiment 10th Special armored Regiment Special Operations Support Group FORFUSCO Commandos Marine No 10 Air Parachute Commando No 30 Air Parachute Commando 1st CCT(Commando Contre Terrorism) VJIRU-CBRN(Virswa Joint Incident Response Unit) All of the "regiments" have the neccessary training to complete roles other than those assigned to them.

CBRN
During the period were the VFA was active one of the VFAs favorite terrorist methods was thru chemical, biological, radiological, Nuclear attacks. To counter this threat the Virswa government developped the strongest CBRN unit in anterra. After the threat was gone the government did not disband the unit. They kept them in case a threat arose again. Virswas CBRN unit the VJIRU-CBRN are preppared to counter threats in any nation. They can take off from an airbase with 30 minutes notice to counter said threats. They are one of the crown jewels of Virswa's armed forces.

Agriculture & Livestock
Virswa is Anterra's _____(number) largest agricultural producer and _______(faction) _______(number) largest agricultural producer. In the early 1980's, Virswa was the leading producer of the three principal grains of wheat, barley, and corn. Southern Virswa is characterized by large wheat farms. Dairy products, pork, poultry, and apple production are concentrated in the western region. Beef production is located in central Virswa. Virswa is a large producer of many agricultural products and is currently expanding its forestry and fishery industries. Exports from ________(other large producer) face stiff competition from domestic production, (other large producer) agricultural exports to Virswa, totaling ??? million annually, consist primarily of soybeans and soybean products, feeds and fodders, seafood, and consumer products, especially snack foods and nuts. Virswa's exports to (other large producer) are much more high-value products such as its cheese, processed products and its wine. Virswa's competitive advantage is mostly linked to the high quality and global renown of its produce, such as cheese and wine.

Weapon Industry
The Virswa Weapon industry's main customer, for whom they mainly build warships, guns, nuclear weapons and equipment, is the Virswa government. Record high defence expenditure (?? billion), which was considerably increased under the government of Président Arnifrid Urban, goes largely to the Virswa weapon industries. During the 2000–2015 period, Virswa was the _____(number) largest weapons exporter in the world. Virswa manufacturers export great quantities of weaponry to (not too sketchy countries and some to faction) It was reported that in 2015, Virswa weapon sales internationally amounted to ?? billion(general accepted currency) more than double the figure of 2014. While other nations (give a couple of names) have lapsed in production of defense equipment. Virswa has maintained a high-level of production of military equipment for land, air, and sea defense – an expensive approach that relies on the export of arms and technology.

Mining & Resources
In the country of Virswa the Mining/ressource extraction sector is not very important. While Virswa has tons of naturel mineral and ore deposits, they until recently had not extracted them. Some of the large naps of Natural Gas under Gardarike overlap under Virswa's borders, this means that Virswa has access to some of it. (make deal with gardarike about this) Quite a lot of the northern areas of Virswa are dedicated to Forestry. That being said they are not being used to the full potential to allow the wildlife to still have a usable habitat.

Energy
In Virswa the production of energy is as follows: 46% Hydroelectricity, 18% Nuclear, 17% Natural Gas 9% Biomass, 7% Fossil fuels, 3% Other.