Strathclyde

The People's Democratic Soviet Republic of Strathclyde (Gaelic: An Soviit Àird á Aiteam á Srath Chluaidh  [ aɲ s̪oviht̪ aːɾʤ a aːtʃʰɛmj a s̪rˠahj xɫ̪uəɣ ] ), also known simply as Strathclyde and Soviet Strathclyde, is a communist nation on the island of Great Britain.

Strathclyde is a parliamentary democracy founded on the principals of the "dictatorship of the proletariat, an elected government, and freedom for all." Currently, the country a member of the United Socialist Alliance. Strathclyde has a large lead and oil industry, both largely dependant on government-owned production facilities. Lead is mined from the inland mountains, and oil is drilled from the Irish Sea.

History
Strathclyde first formed as a political body shortly before the Roman conquest of Britain. Originally a small and unimportant Celtic kingdom, it grew rapidly under a series of great rulers to overtake most of Scotland, and many argue it eventually became the Scottish Kingdom.

Following the collapse of the world capitalist economy in December 2012 (see "The End of the Line"), a period of anarchy ruled over much of the world. The small population of Scotland was nearly wiped out, leaving room for a new beginning. On 8 August 2013, General Mazur, in charge of a small band of Celtic nomads who had escaped the colapse of the economy, proclaimed the People's Democratic Soviet Republic of Strathclyde, a revolutionary state, at the ruins of Kilmarnock. Soon after, a communist government was elected.

Subcontinental War
In September of 2009, military conflict arose in Kashmir between India and Pakistan. What should have been a minor conflict in what was an ongoing dispute was escalated by Pakistan's new president, Ahmed Rana, who replaced General Pervez Musharraf following an American invasion to remove him in 2008. Rana, who was installed by the Americans, responded to the presence of Indian forces in Kashmir by deploying a nuclear missile against New Delhi. India's response to the matter was totally lost by the People's Republic of China, who had signed a mutual defense pact with India, deploying nuclear missiles against Pakistan and the United States, who they blamed for the attacks due to their installation of Rana. Although the United States did not respond with nuclear force, the combined use of nuclear bombs was enough to plunge the entire world into a nuclear winter that would last to this day.

"The End of the Line"
In early 2012, distress from the rising cost of living, widespread poverty, and lack of basic necessities led to riots and chaos worldwide. This was in part due to global economic recession, caused by a mixture of natural disasters largely linked to climate change and the rise in global radiation levels caused by the Subcontinental War, and the polarization of wealth caused by corporate capitalism, a form of free market economy that arose in many states around the world following World War II. This corporate capitalism, which many refered to as 'corporate fascism', focused on the accumulation of wealth in the corporation, at the expense of the individual. This led to corporate cartels raising prices, while the majority of incomes remained static or fell.

With business at a standstill from strikes and the loss of individual disposable income, governments began declaring martial law. The first nation to do so was the United States of America, who, as the only global superpower, influenced many other nations to follow suit. With martial law in place, the American Congress was disbanded, and elections postponed indefinately. This loss of freedom, something held as sacred to the Americans, sparked state and local militias nationwide to begin a resistance movement against the government. Commenting on the riots in Washington, DC, a reporter famously said that “this is the end of the line for America.” She might have said, “this is the end of the line for the world.”

On Friday, 21 December 2012, fears related to the stability of the United States, who remained at war with China, led to huge losses on the New York Stock Exchange. As the day progressed, stock markets around the world followed suit, so that by the close of the New York market on Monday, the entire world was in a deep economic depression. Riots worldwide intensified, and on Christmas Day, American President John Malcolm was assasinated. The nation plunged into civil war, as did various other nations. By January 2013, the world was in a state of total anarchy.

Various militias arose in an attempt to stablize the political scene of various regions. One of these, led by General M Mazur, was the Strathclydian People's Liberation Front. In August, Mazur proclaimed the Strathclydian state at Kilmarnock.

Politics
The Strathclydian Constitution, adopted at independence, provides for a Grand Parliament be elected by the people, on the basis of one Delagate per five thousand persons or portion thereof. While military units are included in the total population, they do not recieve any votes. The Parliament has a fixed term of six months, but may be reelected indefinately. The Parliament also contains Delegates appointed by the Communist Party of Strathclyde of the same proportion of population plus one. Therefore, the current Grand Parliament is comprised of five hundred three delegates, two hundred fifty-one elected directly by the people, and two hundred fifty-two appointed by the Communist Party.

The President is elected seperately, and can only be elected from the Communist Party of Strathclyde. He rules until death or impeachment. Process for impeachment involves a petition of no less than half the total population being presented to the Grand Parliament, who must ratify the petition by a vote of more than two-thirds in favor. The President does not recieve a vote in Parliament, however, he does recieve a vote in case of a deadlock. He also has the sole power to propose legislation and to appoint the Executive Council from the members of Parliament. The President also has the power to declare martial law, but only by the majority vote of the Executive Council. During a period of martial law, the Grand Parliament is disolved, and rule is vested solely in the President and the Executive Council.

The Executive Council consists of the following persons, who must be appointed from the Parliament (with the exception of the Minister of Defense and the Head Justice of the Supreme Court), and who head the various Ministries or departmnets as denoted by their title:


 * Minister of Defense
 * Minister of Internal Security
 * Minister of Environmental Protection
 * Minister of the Economy
 * Minister of Foreign Affairs
 * Ambassador to the United Socialist Alliance
 * Head Justice of the Supreme Court

Various other rules and norms apply to the appointment of the Executive Council. The Minister of Defense must be appointed from the Strathclydian Armed Forces, and is to be appointed from Parliament if a member of the military is a member of the parliament. The Head Justice of the Supreme Court must be appointed from among the justices of the Supreme Court, and is to be appointed from Parliament if a member of the Supreme Court is a member of the parliament. The Minister of the Economy must be appointed from the Communist Party of Strathclyde, as must the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The position of Ambassador to the United Socialist Alliance may be filled by anyone, but is traditionally taken by the President himself. Members of the executive council must be appointed from at least one left-wing and one right-wing party.

Political Parties
Until recently, Strathclyde enforced no restrictions on political parties. After the events of the Heritage Crisis, however, the Christian Heritage Party was banned by Minister of Internal Security, G J Baker. The main political parties in Strathclyde are shown below, left-wing parties on the left, right-wing parties on the right.

Heritage Crisis


The Strathclydian Constitution, as it was originally adopted, declared that "All political parties shall be trated as equal and hold equal ability to enter the Government... no political faction shall be banned for any reason, unless that faction is unlawful by nature." Soon after the first elections, however, The Strathclydian Christian Heritage Party (SCHP) began directly challenging the Government, protecting the illegality of their doing so by demonstrating how it was sanctioned by their religion, and, as such, protected by the Constitution Articles 155 through 159, which protect freedom of religion. The Government, which has to this day maintained an atheistic perspective, began passing laws that were proposed not by the President, but by the SCHP.

The President, seeing this as the problem it was, proposed a bill to Parliament which would have ammended the Constitution to disallow any political parties affiliated with a religious organization. When the motion was tabled, it was met with great hostility from the SCHP. The entire party vacated the Parliament Hall, and begin equiping its members with weapons. The Christian Liberty Militia was formed, and for a period of approximately one month the Militia fought a guerrila civil war against the Government of Strathclyde. The Minister of Internal Security, G J Baker, immediately declared the entire party a terrorist organization. During the war, mass killings were committed against the majority Druidist population. The last of the Militia was captured on 5 October 2013 at Glasgow Mound. Charged with Treason, Sedition, and Committing Terrorist Acts, the members were executed on 20 October.

Current Government
The current government of Strathclyde is represented below in three sections. The first lists the political parties, how many Delegates they have in the Parliament, and what percentage of the popular vote they recieved. The second section lists the President and the Executive Council and what political party they represent. The third section lists current foreign diplomats to various other countries.

Parliament

 * Communist Party of Strathclyde, 336 Delegates, 33.3% of popular vote
 * Strathclydian Social Democratic Party, 46 Delegates, 18.5% of popular vote
 * Strathclydian Conservative Alliance, 38 Delegates, 14.8% of popular vote
 * Marxist Union, 27 Delegates, 11.1% of popular vote
 * National Party of Strathclyde, 27 Delegates, 11.0% of popular vote
 * Liberal Party of Strathclyde, 17 Delegates, 7.0% of popular vote
 * Scottish Capitalist Party, 9 Delegates, 3.7% of popular vote
 * Democratic Alternative, 3 Delegates, 0.6% of popular vote

President and Executive Council

 * President - General M Mazur (CPS)
 * Vice President - Madame J Fletcher
 * Minister of Defense - Leiutenent General A MacLean (SCA)
 * Minister of Internal Security - The Honorable G J Baker (CPS)
 * Minister of Environmental Protection - The Honorable M Ross (SSDP)
 * Minister of the Economy - The Honorable B Devereaux (CPS)
 * Minister of Foreign Affairs - The Honorable T Hewitt (SSDP)
 * Ambassador to the United Socialist Alliance - General M Mazur (CPS)
 * Head Justice of the Supreme Court - His Worship J Lannum (MU)

Foreign Diplomats

 * Ambassador to the Aerican Empire - His Excellency E Herring (no affiliation)
 * High Commissioner to the Republic of Jerna - Major J Gray (CPS)

International Relations
Strathclyde joined the Communist Party of CyberNations very soon after a communist government was elected, in order to further the policies of democratic communism being instituted within the nation. Recently, however, General Mazur began having disagreements with CPCN government officials regarding censorship within the alliance and the sovereignty of Strathclyde within the CPCN.

In December 2013, the Grand Parliament, at the discretion of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, T Hewitt, voted to hold a referendum of the people as to whether to maintain membership within CPCN. The referendum was held on 8 December (coinciding with the four month aniversary of the nation's independence), and the people rejected maintenence of membership by a vote of 51% to 49%.

On 10 December 2013, Strathclyde officially resigned from CPCN. Immediately after withdrawing, it joined the United Socialist Alliance.

Economy
The Strathclydian economy is based on a system of soviets, or workers councils. Unlike the traditional 'Soviet Republic', Strathclyde's economy alone is governed by the soviets, and not the government.

Soviets serve two functions: to act as trade unions and collective bargaining organizations for workers, and to govern the the economy at large. Each city and surrounding area is served by one soviet. Each soviet consists of a council of eight members popularly elected by the workers of the region for a term of three months. The President of Strathclyde appoints the President of the Soviet for each council from amongst the members, who arranges and presides over meetings of the soviet.

The Grand Soviet of Strathclyde is the national soviet, which oversees the regional soviets. The Grand Soviet consists of an Upper and a Lower Panel. The Upper Panel is appointed by the Grand Parliament at the advice of the President, and can overrule any decision made by the Lower Panel. It consists of as many members as there are regional soviets, each member representing one of the regional soviets. The President of Strathclyde is the President of the Upper Panel of the Grand Soviet. The Lower Panel is the main decision-making body of the Grand Soviet, and consists of the Presidents of the regional soviets. The Minister of the Economy (currently B Devereaux) is the President of the Lower Panel of the Grand Soviet.

Corporations with more than twenty employees must be owned by the Government, under the control of the regional soviet. If such a corporation operates cross-regionally, it is put under the control of the Upper Panel of the Grand Soviet. Corporations with twenty or less employees may be privately run, but are still overseen by the regional soviet for purposes of ensuring labor relations and quality control regulations.

Ethnic Groups
Strathclyde was founded by roaming Celtic nomads who survived the collapse of the world economy in December 2012. To this day, the majority of the population is Celtic, though minority groups of British and Scandinavians do exist. Under the Strathclydian Constitution, all ethnicities are granted equal rights to live in Strathclyde and participate in Strathclydian society. Despite this, many Celts do discriminate against minority groups, citing the fact that the nation was founded as a Celtic state to justify their actions. Despite government attempts to curb such discrimination, it still continues to this day in Strathclyde.

Religion
The Strathclydian Constitution guarantees the separation of church and state, and grants every man, woman, and child the right to choose and practice their own faith. The government itself advocates atheism, but does not interfere in the individual practice of any faith, so long as said faith does not advocate hatred or harm towards others. The majority of the population is Druidist, but a significant portion of the population, around 30%, is Christian.

Religious tension has recently become a large problem facing Strathclyde. Although initially citizens of all religions coexisted peacefully, the events of the Heritage Crisis led to increased tension between the Druidist and Christian populations. Today the Government of Strathclyde is attempting to encourage members of both religions, as well as others, to live together peacefully.

Age Groups
Strathclyde's average life expectancy is average for the region, at an average of 64 years for women and 62 years for men. The following chart summarizes age groups as a percentage of population:


 * {| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto 1em auto"

! Age Group || % of Population
 * 0-14 || 45
 * 15-29 || 30
 * 30-44 || 13
 * 45-59 || 10
 * 60+ || 2
 * }
 * 45-59 || 10
 * 60+ || 2
 * }
 * 60+ || 2
 * }

National Holidays
Strathclyde celebrates many holidays, none of which are religiously-based. The following is a list of holidays sanctioned by the Strathclydian government:


 * {| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto 1em auto"

! Month || Day || Holiday
 * January || 1 || New Year's Day
 * || 8 || Emperor Norton Day
 * February || 20 || Family Day
 * March || 15 || Ides of March
 * April || 22 || Lenin Day
 * || 30 || President's Day
 * May || 5 || Marxism Day
 * June || 9 || Kaveh Day
 * July || 13 || Civic Holiday
 * August || 8 || National Day of Strathclyde
 * September || 14 || Proletariat Day
 * October || 25 || Revolutionary Weeks begin
 * November || 7 || Revolutionary Weeks end
 * December || 21 ||Commemoration Day
 * }
 * June || 9 || Kaveh Day
 * July || 13 || Civic Holiday
 * August || 8 || National Day of Strathclyde
 * September || 14 || Proletariat Day
 * October || 25 || Revolutionary Weeks begin
 * November || 7 || Revolutionary Weeks end
 * December || 21 ||Commemoration Day
 * }
 * October || 25 || Revolutionary Weeks begin
 * November || 7 || Revolutionary Weeks end
 * December || 21 ||Commemoration Day
 * }
 * December || 21 ||Commemoration Day
 * }

Although the government does not generally promote monarchal viewpoints, Strathclyde celebrates Joshua A Norton, better known as Emperor Norton I of the United States of America and Protector of Mexico, for directly and successfully challenging the authority of the Government of the United States of America.

Kaveh Day commemorates the foundation of the Persian Socialist Soviet Republic (also known as the Soviet Republic of Gilan).

Commemoration Day marks the date commonly accepted to be the beginning of the economic collapse of the world capitalist economy.

Revolutionary Weeks
Revolutionary Weeks are held between 25 October and 7 November annually, and mark the Russian Revolution of 1917. The dates chosen signify the date of the Russian Revolution under the Julian Calendar (25 October) and the Gregorian Calendar (7 November). Although commerce continues throughout the weeks, except on the beginning and end days, celebrations commemorating the Revolution are common throughout the fourteen day period. The largest event is on the first Saturday of the holiday, when the October Parade is held. The Parade, organized by the government, actually consists of several parades throughout Strathclyde's settlements occuring simultaneously. The largest of these parades is in Kilmarnock, and is presided over by the President.