Volgastan

Demographics

100% Satyrs
The population of the nation is most folks live in the major cities with the rest living in small towns and hamlets scattered across the countryside. Many of the city dwellers are of the middle class, though the major coastal cities and industrial cities do have a large amount of low class also known as the working class. Rural areas have a large percent of those who are between the middle and low class, mostly farmers and ranchers. The capital city is home to many of the high class, though they also do have country and seaside villas.

Government

The government of Volgastan is a parliamentary republic with the vicereino/vicereina having the final say in any decision if he or she so wishes to do so. Ultimately the nation still is subject to the parent country of Hoxhatoke who can exert influence over the colony should they wish to do so.
Whilst the common people take part in the townhall meetings, matters and laws of state are handled by the landed gentry in the parliament known as the Landsraad.

Defences

Volgastan has a fully equipped army, a small navy and a civilian militia. The army has experience in warfare, fighting in both the August War back seven years ago and recently the Omsk Civil War. The army has a number of tanks, trucks, artillery, and quite a few machine guns and sub-machine guns. They also have sizable air force of biplanes.
The Navy has a small argosy of ships and submarines. They are a powerful regional asset which can respond to any issue within the immediate area.
The Militia is made up of civilians and is mandatory for those wishing to have the ability to vote. Militia are armed with rifles and shotguns and used to handle local issues.
Additionally the Volgastan can call upon the full might of the Hoxhatoke military should their domestic military not be able to handle a situation.

Industry & Trade

Farming is important to the people of Volgastan. Crops include cotton, apples, pears, apricots, strawberries, blue berries, raspberries, grapes, plums, blackberries and vegetables like parsnips, cauliflower, beats, cabbage, beans, wheat, oats, sarsaparilla, potatoes and pumpkins.
Livestock includes cattle, pigs, chickens, turkeys, geese and deer. Fishing includes cod, halibut, salmon, herring, eels, crabs, lobsters, oysters, clams and limited whaling for pilot whales.
Mining consist of zinc, iron, tin, copper, phosphate, plutonium, wolfram (tungsten), titanium and petroleum. Some precious gems like quartz, malachite and hessonite.
Trees that make up the old growth forests are pine, fur, poplar, ash, birch, spruce, maple and apple. There are hickory trees but they tend to grow in small copses instead of the larger woods.
Forests are also home to a myriad of other plants such as sunflowers, sassafras (semechki and root beer is the staple of any summer party in Volgastan). Mushrooms, ferns, herbs, flowers and mosses are common in the forests and grasslands. Many of these small plants are used for medicines.

Infrastructure

Volgastan is fully electrified, every town has electricity generated from either hydroelectric power from the Great Aries Dam in the North or from regional coal power plants. Some farms use vertical windmills to generate extra power, but others still use windmills to grind grain as they have for centuries.
The major roads of the nation are paved, but many of the smaller, ancillary roads are still dirt and compacted earth. There a few bridges that span over valleys and two suspension bridges over the Chanticleer River to link Tungsten and Wolfram.
All major cities are linked by railways. The major seaside cities have shipyards and can accommodate ocean liners and large cargo ships and the armoured cruisers and submarines of the navy.

Guilds and Factions

Guilds still play a powerful part in Volgastan business and trade. Most businesses are part of or work closely with a guild or two. Guilds help businesses recruit workers and help to take care of workers and the families of workers. An example of this is that the Railroad Guild is the Railroad, as in the owner of the guild is also the owner of the railroad.
The shadowy mirror to the guilds are the organised crime syndicates who carry out all sorts of nefarious activities such as illegal gambling, manufacturing of bootleg products, loan sharking, theft, blackmail, extortion, slumlording and growing of illicit drugs.

History

Located on the Artemis Continent, Volgastan is a colony of the great nation of Hoxhatoke. Forty-seven years ago, Volgastan was granted the status of Dominion Protectorate and given mostly autonomous rule over their territory.
It was settled three hundred and ten years ago by the Satyrs from Hoxhatoke. Volgastan has seen its fair share of conflict, peace, prosperity and expansion. Volgastan has a diverse economy of fishing, logging, mining, farming and manufacturing along with a burgeoning service industry.
Along the Chanticleer River, the twin cities of Tungsten and Wolfram churn out all sorts of metal works. Centola, the capital, is an old fortress town that has slowly evolved into a well ordered and mannered small city nestled in the rustic hills and woodlands of the central Habarcq Region. Ethelgrad is a forestry centre located in the northern areas near the expansive, old growth forest known as the Gribayedoff Forest. Also, here is Geving Katorga, a prototype for penal colonies to be constructed in the mother country’s southern wastes. By the sea is the harbour city of Avroult, which is well known for its seafood; though the inhabitants of nearby Rexhepi claim that they have the best seafood.

Architecture

Most of the architecture is what we would describe as colonial, though the cities have an early modernist look about them. Many houses have small wooden fences in a mortised style.

Geography

The physical geography of the nation is characterised by the mountains and rugged forests of the north and east and centre. Grasslands and woodlands cover the central and southern hills. The west is home to great fens, swamps, moors and bogs that do extend up towards the lower reaches of the north. The coastline runs across the south and up the east. River valleys cut through the land, with small brooks and creeks becoming tributaries that feed into major rivers where steamboats lazily sail up and down.
The Climate is one of cool springs with snow during the early parts which gives way to warmer periods with rain and wind. Summers are warm and sunny, with late afternoon rainstorms in the latter half of the season, whilst heat lightning storms dominate the evenings and early night. Fall brings about cool temperatures with foggy mornings and windy, rainy days. Winter brings cold snowy days where clouds hang about, covering the sun. Blizzards are not uncommon.

Natural Resources

Trees that make up the old growth forests are pine, fur, poplar, ash, birch, spruce, maple and apple. There are hickory trees but they tend to grow in small copses instead of the larger woods.
Forests are also home to a myriad of other plants such as sunflowers, sassafras (semechki and root beer is the staple of any summer party in Volgastan). Mushrooms, ferns, herbs, flowers and mosses are common in the forests and grasslands. Many of these small plants are used for medicines.

Alternative Name(s)

The Imperial Dominion of Volgastan

Type

National Territory

Population

15,335,262

Inhabitant Demonym

Volgastani