NationStates Jolt Archive

The Indian Soviet Commonwealth

http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/beth_gellert__0.jpg

Introduction

The Indian Soviet Commonwealth, known informally as Beddgelert or Beth Gellert (both names being pronounced in the same manner, the former a Geletian (Celtic) spelling and the latter more familiar to the Anglophone), is one of the world's largest and strongest communist societies.

Independent of colonial (primarily British) domination for only sixty years, India has counted itself a Soviet Commonwealth since 1982, and its popular government identifies its current form as the Fourth Commonwealth, following a quarter century of political development in the progress of the revolution.

The Commonwealth maintains traits that credit it for hosting one of the world's truest democracies, fastest-growing economies, largest defence organisations, and most highly educated populations. At the same time Soviet India is also beset by problems of over-crowding, natural disaster, chronic substance abuse, and pariah status on the world stage.

These contrasts are mirrored in a population comprised of towering Celts and relatively diminutive Indo-Aryans and Dravidians, a landscape including burning deserts and vast floodplains, and a popular conflict between socialist internationalism and Indian nationalism.

Today, for all its internal disputes, the Fourth Commonwealth, Soviet power revitalised, is prepared to commit its great bulk to the struggle for world revolution.

Links

Factbook Pages

On the Issues (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14211069&postcount=34)

Geography (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=12367844&postcount=4)

Demographics and People (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=12397714&postcount=5)

Industry, Agriculture, and Trade (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=12493218&postcount=6)

Economy (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=12689681&postcount=10)

Transport (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=12493269&postcount=7)

Other Threads

See Gadar! (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=518816) (Revolution!) for the latest news from the Indian Soviet Commonwealth.

Join The Calcutta Communist Contract Organisation (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=551988)!

Defence Factbook (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=553877)

On Communism, a compendium of the works of Graeme Igo (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=532748)

Official Corporate communique

You are what is directly opposite of our goals. Your kind will soon fall. And the power of greed will consume this world.... And all that live within it...

Colderon Jason zion-CEO Raven corps

Responding in his Local Soviet somewhere in Kashmir, an unidentified comrade said of comments made by the Raven Corps CEO, "Wealthy, strong, free, and well-educated... yes, we are very much the antithesis of that rancid organisation and its willing contributors!"

He is reported then to have laughed heartily, like a pirate, and retaken his seat to vote on where to hold the local opiate smoke ring blowing contest this year.

The Final Soviet in Raipur, meanwhile, reaffirms its dedication to the cause of furthering the world revolution, and states that current global corporations will not be long in joining the likes of the British East India Company upon the ash heap of history and the long list of India's vanquished foes.

Jai Hind!

Geography

The Indian Soviet Commonwealth is located as its name suggests: upon the Indian sub-continent.

As Beth Gellert rose -at the behest of the Indian National Army- from the body of colonial India and Ceylon the modern Commonwealth is a political entity uniting all of the territories of colonial India and of Sri Lanka.

The Commonwealth's territorial extent covers some 4,301,140 square kilometres of land and water. It is easy to imagine, then, that the climate and terrain are greatly variable across a nation of such considerable size. Indeed, while the island of Salvador (known also as Sri Lanka, Ceylon, and Serendib, amongst other titles) endures tropical monsoons in its northeast from December to March and its southwest from June to October, and the south of the mainland also experiences monsoon seasons, much of the midnorth is quite temperate, and parts of the northwest -where Iansislian prisoners were once infamously detained- are sometimes described as arctic. Large parts of the west are dominated by hot, dry deserts in which on-going irrigation projects occupy a large part of national economic activity.

The southern mainland is dominated by upland plains, while the mighty Ganga runs through flat to rolling plains and the north of the country collides with the Himalayas and runs into the great Indus plain.

Mountains such as Kanchenjunga (8,598 metres) and the famous K2 (Mt. Godwin-Austen) (8,611 metres) feature impressively upon the Soviet landscape.

These vast and varied lands furnish the Indian Soviet Commonwealth with a bounty in coal and with some of the world's finest iron ore. There is oil and natural gas to be found, though not enough for national needs, and the nation has significant hydropower potential. The Commonwealth counts its rich arable land very important, and also has a wealth of timber and of gemstones including diamonds. Further resources include titanium ore, copper, phosphates, mineral sands, graphite, mica, manganese, bauxite, and chromite. Limestone is widely found, and there are also clays and salt in useful quantities.

For all of its beauty and wonder, the Commonwealth also serves its people with challenges in the form of many natural hazards. Droughts afflict much of the nation, though modern Soviet technology and public works have drastically limited their impact, while other areas are subject to potentially destructive flash flooding. Earthquakes are severe in some regions, and the nation is quite often struck by cyclones.

Demographics and People

At time of writing there were over two thousand Indian Soviet Comrades to each square kilometre of the Commonwealth's territorial extent. This over-crowding, worsening daily, necessitates some societal upheaval, which is on-going.

The bulk of the Soviet popuilation has traditionally dwelled in so-called Pantisocratic Phalansteries -democratic communes- averaging a population of sixteen-hundred a piece. These Phalansteries typically take one of two forms, the first styled after the ancient Celtic hillforts of Europe and the second in the manner of a vast palace such as Versailles. In both cases Indian and Celtic cultures have meshed and modern technology pervades.

Today a major issue facing the Soviets is how to house the expanding population -likely in towerblocks of some manner- in a sustainable fashion and without destroying a communal spirit essential to the survival of a revolutionary communist society. Lately there have begun experiments towards eventual construction of floating cities in pursuit of an idea forwarded to the Commonwealth by the once-great nation of Wazzu.

The Soviet peoples currently living in the sub-continental Commonwealth are racially varied, and though recent generations show an increased willingness to inter-marry, distinct ethnic groups remain for now. The single largest such group claims descent from the Galatians and now self-identifies as Geletian.

These, a Celtic people, are noted for their towering stature and firey temperament. Impressively, in some districts adult Geletian males average around two metres in height.

The Indian population is young, life expectancy having only recently begun to seriously recover after years of inequality and exploitation. The communal nature of the Commonwealth means that elderly people continue to live connected to their community, and most continue limited economic contribution until they reach their deathbeds.

Industry, agriculture, and trade

The Indian Soviet Commonwealth claims one of the largest and fastest-growing anti-capitalist economies in the world, and clings dearly to principles of equality, sustainability, and democracy. In fact, democracy in the work-place is considered central to the liberty of the Soviet revolution and essential to mass-empowerment.

The rise of the Second Commonwealth, in which new elections to the Soviets broke the power of the Communist Party and removed the dictatorial Party Secretary and de-facto premier Sopworth Igo, saw the final abolition of capitalism and the removal from the workplace of all managers. Since 1989 all businesses in the Soviet Commonwealth have been run by their workers through membership in Soviets that meet regularly to discuss -and vote upon- workplace policy and business plans. A profit-sharing system -inclusive of democratic accountability- ensures to some degree the maximisation of effort on the part of those who are keen to profit.

Unemployment is virtually unheard of in the Commonwealth, but workloads vary greatly, largely by personnal choice. Within their communes -the Pantisocratic Phalansteries- citizens generally contribute part-time labour to the upkeep of facilities and to the tending of crops sewn in the surrounding fields. Workshops within each Phalanstery turn out some necessities, help to maintain agricultural and defence equipment, and produce local commodities for barter with communes across the vast and eclectic Commonwealth. Hemp from one region is traded for silk from another, and worker-managed state farms between the communes and the cities ensure the common availability of essential staples while also mass-producing export commodities.

Some comrades survive merely on the product of their Phalanstery and their part-time work within it, but most engage also in job-sharing centred in the University Cities, where -as the name implied- great centres of learning and research pool the resources of comrades and communities across an expansive area for the betterment of all and the continued progress of the revolution. Here, former capitalist enterprises are taken-over by their workers and generally are improved by their self-management techniques, which, according to Soviet propaganda, have significantly improved moral, and as a consequence, also productivity. Since few Soviet citizens hold much respect for the efficiency of full-time managers or the equality of profit-distribution under capitalist systems they find that workers without these bosses can take a greater share of profit from fewer hours of work, and so job-sharing becomes practical and unemployment void.

Transport

Private transport no longer exists in the Indian Soviet Commonwealth, though comrades have no trouble in getting from place to place. A wide range of transport vehicles does exist, including cars and cycles, though in smaller numbers than was the case in the capitalist era. These are generally fitted with electronic beacons that allow communities to check on the number of vehicles available to them and their proximity or condition of use at any time.

Comrades are free to make use of communally-held vehicles in short trips, and abuse of agreed terms of use can be monitored via the mentioned electronic system. Powered vehicles are built to strict specifications on safety and fuel efficiency, and are regulated to confirm with national speed limits. Most cars in Beth Gellert can not pass eighty kilometres per hour. There do exist high performance cars, but these are designated for recreational use within specially demarcated areas, and still must meet fuel efficiency and emissions regulations but face no speed restrictions. Use of such vehicles beyond designated recreational zones is considered criminally dangerous.

That said, such personal forms of transport are not the most popular means of transit within Beth Gellert. That honour goes to the nation’s railways, considered some of the world’s finest. Using a wide gauge generations ago proven to be superior to more widely used narrow gauges, Beddgelen trains are fast and reliable, and provide exceptionally comfortable and safe rides. The rail network is extremely expansive, and its latest generation of engines increasingly fuel efficient and popular. If there is a problem, it lies in communication with the wider world. Portmeirion would like to encourage wider use of its unusual gauge, but the notion of over-hauling entire national rail grids is hard to stomach in most surrounding states.

Bus services, taxis, and trams are also widespread and run to some level around the clock. Recently becoming popular are electric, "share-cars" that are stored in so-called stacks at participating Phalansteries and in connected University Cities. The front car in any stack is always fully charged and may be driven along barricaded courseways between communes and cities and stacked at its destination.

(Bump for updates)

(One more)

Economy

Background

Independent for only sixty years India began as a low-income economy infamous as one of the world's worst famine spots. More than three-quarters of the population was accounted for in rural peasantry, literacy was very much a minority condition, gender inequality was significant, the gap between rich and poor positively epic, and elements of the caste system were strong as ever. Industrialisation seemed little more than a pipe dream.

The Principality spent thirty-five years -plus seven more on Sri Lanka- making little effort towards equality, preferring to use the nation's ever-expanding labour pool to produce crude export goods such as shoes and textiles, even exporting foodstuffs despite on-going famine crises. These enterprises and regressive tax structures were sufficient to sustain a wealthy elite and the institution of the Indian monarchy.

The impact of revolution

The May Revolution of 1982, which drove Prince Llewellyn from the mainland, saw the Igovian Soviet Commonwealth established in a low-middle income state suffering all the above-described handicaps.

While, on Sri Lanka and the Andaman and Nicobars -all of which he called, collectively, Victoria and Salvador- Llewellyn initiated development programmes using massive aid from capitalist powers, incurring huge debts in the attempt to position V&S as a South Asian technical and industrial hub on the sea lanes between Europe and outposts such as Hong Kong and Singapore, Sopworth Igo's Communist Party of India established India's first Five Year Plan (1982-87).

The second plan (1987-92) was cut short by the relatively peaceful February Revolution of 1989 and the creation of the Indian Soviet Commonwealth. Still, in less than seven years of command economics mainland India had achieved dizzying growth in industrial and agricultural output, and had transformed large parts of the landscape. Almost half of the population had been urbanised, and a whole generation was growing up with drastically increased levels of literacy, especially amongst the female population. What is more the caste system and many other limiting traditions had been exploded.

There then followed the reunification of mainland and islands and the flight of Llewellyn. All of this lead to a period -known as the Second Commonwealth- of confusion characterised by a hectic mixing of economic styles ranging from regional planning to partially socialised capitalism (on Sri Lanka), before the rising up of the Third Commonwealth, which lasted until the start of 2007 and over-saw the final transition to today's economic practices.

Communal socialism, India's democratic economy

Soviet India's modern economy incorporates market and simulated-market forces, democratic and command planning, and a measure of subsistence.

The command sector

Following the 1989 February Revolution central planning ceased to be the driving force in Soviet economics, but it is recognised in the Fourth Commonwealth that the First Commonwealth did achieve significant economic growth through its two Five Year Plans. This was mainly due to mass labour mobilisation in the building of basic infrastructure and the impressive scale of its achievement in growth is largely attributed to the low base from which progress began. Such plans today can not be used to build roads where roads already exist, nor to demolish colonial structures and raise communes in their place.

They can, however, work wonders on a regional basis. As the Commonwealth's population continues its relentless climb towards a citizenry of ten billion and the people refuse to give-up their comfortable, sprawling communal living style for anti-communist towerblocks and the like, space is at a premium. Soviet India's vast deserts are now much needed real estate, and Soviet States individually and co-operatively continue to enact Five Year Plans to engage in vast water management programmes and to drive infrastructure into the wilderness.

Volunteer labour is requested after a Soviet vote approving a project, and much is usually found (after all, the people voted to approve the project in the first place). There is a great availability of part-time labour in the Commonwealth, as many people engage in job-sharing and still others have no career but subsist within their community by providing odd-job work and helping communal projects: these people are especially likely to join public works projects. Beyond this, job-sharing labourers in the much-reduced state sector and within any co-operatives voting to support the works can be called-up to help in sufficiently important projects where volunteer labour is insufficient.

The economy of the commune

[working]

The United Kingdom of British Londinium
http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/9606/eurasiancoatofarmssq2.png
Official Communiqué

To the Indian Soviet Commonwealth:

The United Kingdom of British Londinium applauds your socialist ideology and is willing to stand beside you in any conflict.

Trade is crucial to any relationship; as such, British Londinium will now start exports of petroleum and military hardware to your nation.

Sincerely,
Alistair R. Davidson
The Right Honourable Alistair Davidson
Prime Minister of British Londinium

Needless to say, Raipur is quite taken aback by a friendly approach from a, 'moderate' nation that most of the populace would probably describe as conservative (as opposed to the reactionary label applied to most foreign nations), but the Soviets are keen to investigate.

India's alternative economy has begun a slow-down in recent months, and many suspect that the glory days (in which Beth Gellert had one of the 0.1% fastest growing economies in the multiverse and was quite possibly the wealthiest anti-capitalist nation on earth) are over since deprived areas like Bengal and Kashmir have completed their transition from almost entirely rural to semi-urban condition. New economic partners are deemed increasingly important.

That said, military hardware is certainly not a required commodity in Soviet India, which spent its first seven years on the front lines of the Cold War, Sri Lanka backed by the west and the rest of the nation aligned to Moscow. Petroleum may be sought, but it should be noted that the Soviets are more likely to seek raw materials in their base form and to refine them in domestic facilities whenever possible (helps to keep unemployment amongst the lowest on earth, as per today's UN report).

(OOC: Once again I'm on my way out, but I'll try to get back to you in more detail about trade and Soviet economics. Hopefully you'll turn out to be one of few nations against whom comrades don't draft petitions for revolutionary war!)

Soviet Democracy

The Fourth Commonwealth exercises representative democracy with extreme popular oversight coupled with an over riding aspect of direct democracy.

All participatory comrades are members of Soviets of the First Level. Universities, state farms, factories, and phalansteries elect comrades to Soviets of the Second Level.

Delegates to the Soviets of the Second Level are nominated -and students, soldiers, workers, and other citizens may nominate themselves- and then approved or rejected by a ballot of their peers. Some institutions operate secret ballots, others favour open voting, and arguments for both methods continue to be a subject of frequent debate in the Soviets themselves.

Once delegates are elected it is possible for their comrades to establish a petition for a referendum on their recall for failure to uphold the general will. A certain threshold must be reached in terms of signatures obtained as a percentage of represented comrades before a referendum is called, but it is generally quite low, ordinarily only a very few percent, and so not difficult to obtain in cases of significant malpractice.

These Second Level Soviets deal with local administration, business decision-making, and the appointment of delegates to represent their comrades' concerns at state level, where these Third Level Soviets in turn appoint representatives to the Final Soviet at Portmeirion in Raipur.

At any level above the first a Soviet delegate is open to recall by the first level.

There is no chief of state in Soviet India, nor any head of government.

(Up we go)

OOC: I do not understand - is this the AMW or the NS version?

(This is the general NS form. Bigger and richer than the AMW manifestation.)

(Work continues!)

(A gentle reminder to myself. Do something with this! After beer. Not right after, mind. Right.)

*a letter is sent to the Indian Soviet Commonwealth bearing: "К друзьям жизни и свободы!" on the cover, inside is a hand written letter (in cyrillic, russian) fortunately there is a translation into english and sanskrit, but both appear to be shoddy translations, regardless the Cyrillic reads:

Friends, Komrades, we great you as brothers in the eternal revolution. We regret not having larned of your great state sooner, news is slow to travel in our Corner of the world. I am Illyusha Verkhotsov, I am a man who started the revolution in our country. But by no means am I the reason for the revolution. that lies on the people.

I am writing this to extend diplomatic greetings from the Free Territories of Zhyolatska. We are a tiny country on the black sea, but we are proud of our great history. We wish to become allies, as we in Zhyolatska have made Makhno's dream a reality. We are anarcho-communists, we follow the teachings of Kropotkin and Bakunin, we follow the footsteps of the great people's hero Makhno. We hope despite slight ideological differences, that we will be able to come together, and help to herald in a new epoch in human existence.

The time is now comrade, to set aside the chains of oppression, and to lay the path to fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah. Let us beat our swords into plowshares, let the capitalists and imperialists and fascists fear us, for we are the will of the people made manifest.

We are the future. Let us build it together

~Illyusha Kuzmavitch Verkhotsov

Verkhotsov's letter to India is generally well received in the Soviets. Claiming to support the ideas of thinkers and fighters who resisted Bolshevist usurpation of revolutionary energy in the C20th is typically a good start when dealing with Beth Gellert's more than nine-billion citizens, and so a reply drafted by a committee appointed in the Final Soviet is quickly dispatched.

The reply proposes an initial embassy exchange along with the possibility of further consulates to follow, suggests that some twin-city arrangements may be in order so as to help further exchanges and build mutual understanding, and expresses high hopes for the development of economic and defence co-operation.

A little more specifically, the reply invites Zhyolatska to consider becoming the first extra-Indian member of the recently raised Communist League (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=519109), where by co-operation and exchange may be enhanced without binding obligations such as attached to the likes of the Warsaw Pact, and through which Zhyolatska's much smaller economy might be able to secure interest-free development loans for socially managed or owned enterprises.

OOC: Beddgelert, would you like to make a thread for diplomatic negotiations between our nations?

May as well, could be the start of something big =)

May as well, could be the start of something big =)

OOC: Excellent. Also, are you able to create one?

In a return reply, Illyusha Verkhotsov makes sure to make the message clear"

After much voting, the people of the Free territories of Zhyolatska would be honored to accept such a place in the league of communists. However, we fear that we may be unable to render much to your country in return, regardless, we would wish to establish embassies and diplomatic exchanges. We would be especially happy to give your ambassadors a tour of our class-less country a country without classes, without opression.

OOC: Excellent. Also, are you able to create one?

Here we go! (Link) (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=530477)

Here we go! (Link) (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=530477)

Thank you.

Zhyolatska is warmly welcomed by the Indian community, which promptly sets about electing delegates to visit the nation. An embassy exchange is agreed to, and grounds prepared in Raipur to accept the incoming staff.

The Communist League's existing body invites newcomers to raise issues of concern to their nation. A kitty containing hundreds of millions of dollars may be used to help establish and modernise socialist enterprises in Zhyolatska. So long as workers control their own work, they may apply for interest-free loans from the League to buy new capital goods and update what they have. Repayment is largely in-your-own-time, and any enterprise that fails will be able to repay its loans by selling the acquired capital within the economy of Zhyolatska (the Soviets would not want Zhyolatskan capital goods withdrawn from the economy just because one enterprise fails). As it happens, almost no Soviet enterprises fail in the end, and it is hoped that Zhyolatska will have the same success.

Raipur meanwhile wonders whether Zhyolatska's defence forces might desire any co-operative training or Soviet armament: the concern is merited by the recent rise of anti-communist sentiment in the world.

Economy in Zhyolatska is, at the moment, almost non-existent. The people of Zhyolatska see themselves as the sucessors to the Free territory of the Ukraine, and the Makhnovachina, or Nestor Makhno's 'Black army" of anarchists. They view themselves as the example of pure leftism, as the first step towards the next epoch of humanity's development, the guinea pig for a working free state. As such, there is no government, religion, and labor is entirely self-regulated. people enforce law by form of Anarchist Law, where the community watches out for one another, and all policing is entirely voluntary (in other words, if a crime happens one might volunteer to help stop it). not surprisingly, with the national sentiment, crime is rare.

Zhyolatska functions, in many ways, like the second constitutional republic of france, which bakunin described as ((and I am paraphrasing here, as I can't remember or find the quote, read Bakunin an auto-biography on the anarchist, he's both a man to be idolized and despised)) "a nation of people willingly helping one another, proud in their freedoms", or CNT anarchist collectives in Spain.

The national coffers of Zhyolatska are almost bare, destroyed by the revolution, and only dwindled more in the anarchist Reconstruction where capital has been abolished. Instead, Das kapital has become almost a bible for many people regarding their economic futures, and many take the initiative to perform their own to generate goods, their only payment being the goods themselves, rather than a form of exchange. They believe that any form of capitalistic enterprise leads only to hierarchies and "profit". they see profit as unpaid labor, or a redistribution of wealth, rather than the creation of new wealth.

The "army" of Zhyolatska consists of a purely militia force. There is no standing army.

Government is decided by councils and on a consensus vote. This leads an almost truly representative voting system. The people generally Look up to Illyusha Verkhotsov, viewing him as a National Hero and a father of the revolution, though he, and the people, reject anty claim he has to leadership. They have however, by consensus and by his volunteering, elected him to take the charge of handling revolutionary affairs, including realizing the strange contradicting idea of an "anarcho-communist state"

To make things clear, Zhyolatska is not purely anarchist, they are anarchist-communists, but regardless, wish to do what they can internationally to help the Soviet Indian Commonwealth.

((OOC: double to make things easier, the above is a description of my counrty, as you'll note I've not yet fully worked out how the economy works, so for the time being my country is still trying to "organize itself" after the revolution's change. Revolutionary sentiment is high in the country, and most opposing forces or viewpoints were killed, ((the major militarist city, was wiped off the map by nuclear weapons, 4 million fascists/militarists died, yay!:p))
I'm aware there's plenty of theory on anarchist economy, and I'm still working on that,I'm thinking a syndicalist economy for a national economy.

So I'm not sure whether you still want my "fourth world" country in your communist league, but we'd happily accept (( I say fourth world as technically Zhyolatska isn't a nation because it lacks government or any recognized national status,so it's neither first or second ((capitalist NATO or Communist, respectively)) or third world((other))

Using a wide gauge generations ago proven to be superior to more widely used narrow gauges, Beddgelen trains are fast and reliable, and provide exceptionally comfortable and safe rides.

Is it possible to find out what gauge this is? 5 feet? 10 feet? 46,678 feet? :D

Is it possible to find out what gauge this is? 5 feet? 10 feet? 46,678 feet? :D

Well, the vague theory was based upon Brunel's 2,140mm wide (as opposed to 1,435mm Stephenson) gauge, viz the Great Western. I believe that the Confederacy and some European nations, such as the Dutch, used broad-ish gauge for a while, until others smacked them down militarily and in otherwise uneconomically competitive manners. Of course the Soviets are now looking at maglev and such technologies, but, until they came along, our wide tracks were amongst the smoothest and safest going. As such, Soviet India is lagging behind on new forms of transport: we consider that we have the absolute best of the old form, so aren't as keen to move to the new forms. Eventually we'll have to, but we may wait until other people have made the mistakes for us =)

Sort of a bump, sort of a reminder to myself that this exists, and ought to be updated.

(On going minor updates. Do check the external links in the first post, if you happen to be already dying of boredom.)

On The Issues
(The Beddgelen entry in the thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=568817) by Questers.)

Nation Name: Beddgelert (local short form) Beth Gellert (conventional short form), The Indian Soviet Commonwealth of

Nation Type: Direct democracy, Igovian-Soviet Communist state

Government in Power: Soviet Commune

Elections: No head of government or chief of state exists; elected Soviet Consuls and professional Public Servants constantly accountable to referenda-enabled recall or other censure by relevant Soviet bodies

Voting Restrictions: Necessary to vote in Commune-associated Soviets are: citizenship, absence of valid Popular Court injuction for mental incapacity or counter-revolutionary activity

National Religion: None

Military: Officially disbanded but replaced with citizen-militia (de facto largest on earth?) containing Militia, Air, and Oceanic Guard branches with small regular Expert Corps and enormous irregular Auxiliary Corps

Colonial Policy: Active in supporting far-left independence movements within numerous foreign empires, using both overt and covert tactics

Economic Policy: Igovian Socialist, Economic Democracy; capital state-owned and popularly managed with Fixed Value Tax applicable, profit-sharing practiced, internal free-trade, no banking sector, near autarky with limited number of all-Igovian foreign trade partners

Infrastructure: State owned and democratically managed, far-reaching and sophisticated though often unorthodox and particular to Beddgelert

Wealth Gap: Small but resilient, variable from Soviet to Soviet but wage-disparity (in both private profit-sharing and salaried public service) rarely greater than 4 to 1

Freedom of Speech/Assembly: De jure total freedom of speech and assembly, de facto penalties sometimes arise for 'counter-revolutionary agitation' as profit-share reductions may be democratically imposed by co-workers in some situations, while counter-revolutionary gatherings may incite spontaneous raising of disruptive militia

Freedom of Religion: Freedom of belief but organised religion hampered by bar on use of state capital (thus, all capital) for 'superstitious' activities (such as raising a temple, printing religious texts, et cetera) and there is no right not to be offended

Right to Privacy: Near total, exceptions for those convicted of prior counter-revolutionary infringements

Gun Rights: All Commune-affiliated communities are eligible for a state-furnished arsenal and firing-range to be managed by a locally-elected Master-at-Arms (who may appoint assistants in the community), but armouries are broken-open only with community approval

LGBT Rights: Total right to sexual freedom, marriage in Beddgelert has no legal status for any gender or sexual orientation

Drug Rights: Total right to consume alcohol, advertising of addictive substances illegal, state capital used to produce some narcotics to strict purity standards, unlicenced production/distribution a serious counter-revolutionary offence equal to treason

Prostitution: Illegal and arguably unnecessary due to degree of social support

Reverse Discrimination: Buh? That term is redundant.

ID Cards: None

Death Penalty: None

Social Welfare: Largely community-based (official commitment to toal employment, though some foreign assessments claim high under employment)

Education: Communal, optional state and community universities

Healthcare: Free, national, amongst the best in the world

Taxation: Fixed Value Tax on all capital goods

Immigration: Essentially open borders, immigrants must find acceptance at one of the nations millions of communes in order to survive and become citizens

Environmental Laws: Strict, recent monsoonal failure caused massive economic slow-down and repeats could destroy food sufficiency, prompting threats of military action against foreign polluters

((OOC: Mostly a tag with the alternate.))