Difference between revisions of "Donovia-West"

Latest revision as of 17:17, 5 January 2021

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Political

United Republics of Donovia is nominally a republic, but in reality operates as an authoritarian state. Despite outward moves toward democracy, the small political/economic elite maintain power through control of the dominant political party, the Unionist Democratic Party (UDP). The UDP, in turn, dominates the political and economic landscapes. Despite a tumultuous past, the Donovian political structure is generally stable. The UDP arose from the aftermath of the Four Traitors incident two decades ago, with a mandate to clean up the corruption within Donovia that had devastated the nation and ended nearly 70 continuous years of Donovian power and development. While the UDP has managed to create economic stability and increase national prestige through assertive military and diplomatic maneuvering, it has done so through the centralization of state political control. Despite the creation of a strong central authority, Donovia strives to retain a veneer of democracy and a free market economy. While corruption within the government has long been tolerated, the population’s willingness to overlook abuses of power is tied to their economic outlook.

Military

Western Donovian military leadership, practice, and ad hoc deployment along the Baltic borders all suggest Donovian Leadership is much more likely to pursue a hybrid approach in the Baltic in coordination with a conventional mechanized invasion to maintain its borders and protection of Kaliningrad.

Economic

Western Donovia is a de facto kleptocracy in which corrupt leaders (kleptocrats) that use their power to exploit the people and natural resources of their own territory in order to extend their personal wealth and political powers. This takes place in the form of embezzlement of funds at the expense of the wider population. The ruling party uses political leverage to pass laws that enrich them or their constituents and they usually circumvent the rule of law.

Western Donovia possesses hydrocarbon resources which it uses to raise revenue and exercise control over the other countries of the Baltic Sea region. Donovia is one of the world's leading producers of oil and natural gas, and is also a top exporter of metals such as steel and primary aluminum. Donovia is heavily dependent on the movement of world commodity prices as reliance on commodity exports makes it vulnerable to boom and bust cycles that follow the volatile swings in global prices. The Donovian economy is impacted by relatively high inefficiency due to corruption and government involvement in the economy.

Donovia remains a predominantly statist economy with a high concentration of wealth in officials' hands. Economic reforms in the 1990s privatized most industry, with notable exceptions in the energy, transportation, banking, and defense-related sectors. The protection of property rights is still weak, and the state continues to interfere in the free operation of the private sector.

A combination of falling oil prices, international sanctions, and structural limitations pushed Donovia into a deep recession in 2015, with GDP falling by close to 2.8%. The downturn continued through 2016, with GDP contracting another 0.2%, but was reversed in 2017 as world demand picked up. Government support for import substitution has increased recently in an effort to diversify the economy away from extractive industries.

Despite economic problems, Donovia continues to prioritize the rebuilding of its military and funding for its military operations abroad. Donovia’s military and political antagonism toward the United States continues unabated, and its efforts to undermine U.S. institutions and the NATO alliance are serious. Donovia uses its energy position in Europe along with espionage, cyberattacks, and information warfare to exploit vulnerabilities and seeks to drive wedges into the transatlantic alliance and undermine people’s faith in government and societal institutions.

Social

The latest Donovian National Security Strategy warns of the importance of preserving traditional Donovian spiritual and cultural values against foreign Western ideas and influences aimed at undermining Donovia from within. This strikes a chord in western Donovia as most of the population is Orthodox Christian. The strategy emphasizes the need to preserve and strengthen “traditional Donovian spiritual and moral values,” and indicating that Moscow views culture, language, and history as a tool for influence.

According to the Constitution, the Donovia is divided into 85 federal subjects (constituent units), 22 of which are "republics". These federal subjects are grouped into districts, such as western Donovia. Most of the republics represent areas of non-Donovian ethnicity, although there are several republics with Donovian majority. The indigenous ethnic group of a republic that gives it its name is referred to as the "titular nationality". Due to decades (in some cases centuries) of internal migration inside Donovia, each nationality is not necessarily a majority of a republic's population.

Western Donovia has 112,398,000 citizens.

Western Donovian society is divided into three major classes: the regional capitalist class, the middle class, and the working class.

Information

Donovia maintains a large information environment, with its Internet industries counted among the world’s most active. However, censorship, while unofficial, is pervasive regarding corruption and other government malfeasance. Donovian information warfare (INFOWAR) capability is highly developed and world-leading in a number of critical areas. Donovian leaders consider information to be the critical factor of state power and engage in continuous international competition in the information domain executed by both state and non-state actors.

Information warfare is a key component of Donovia’s contemporary way of war. It encompasses all the uses of information and disinformation, information support operations, cyberspace operations, electronic warfare, deception at every level, psychological operations, public affairs, and strategic communications. The Donovian Ministry of Defense defines information warfare as “the ability to undermine political, economic, and social systems; carry out mass psychological campaigns against the population of a state in order to destabilize the society and government; and force a state to make decisions in the interest of their opponents.”

The Donovian government has the ability to influence or control many mass media platforms. Domestically, leaders have sought to eliminate sources of information that deviate from the official line. Donovian officials suspect foreign entities because Donovia’s own media and many Donovian nongovernmental organizations are tools of the state. Even in the West, many popular television and radio stations are agents of Donovian influence. Numerous US media outlets, especially online, cite or copy Donovian-generated stories. Online, platform control is less important as social media can be influenced by bots and control of mainstream users.

Donovia diplomatic and military literature has shown they recognize global information control as a danger to the country. Recently, the Donovia legislature passed a law requiring all digital data on Donovian citizens be stored inside its borders. More recently, the President has stated Donovia is fully capable of being isolated from the global Internet, which he sees as a CIA plot. Military personnel are banned form most use of personal social media accounts.

Donovia claims the Internet is a foreign plot, and in response, has mastered the use of the global network as a force-projection platform and a space for cognitive maneuver. By weaponizing information and employing information operations as a decisive took of state power, Donovia is now pressing its offensive advantages in the information domain to nullify its relative weaknesses in other domains. Donovia’s leaders are working to isolate Donovian societies from supposed Western influence while expanding their own influence abroad. This carries risk in that aggressive efforts to control the information domain domestically can cause blowback if it is not comprehensive.

Infrastructure

The capital of Donovia is Moscow, which is located in western Donovia (sometimes referred to as “European Donovia”). The Federal entities in western Donovia tend to be more densely populated and with more developed infrastructure than the rest of Donovia. Each of these have varying levels of villages, towns, and cities with associated infrastructure. Current Donovian practice is to award city status to settlements of at least 12,000 inhabitants with at least 85% of the working age population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits. The Arctic regions are hampered by accessibility issues, compounded by the severe climate. The Federal entities of western Donovia are Oblasts, Krais, Republics, Autonomous Okrugs, and Federal Cities.

Physical Environment

Donovia West is situated in Eastern Europe on the East European Plain, the eastern part of the Great European Plain, the largest mountain-free landform in Europe, although a number of hills and highlands are interspersed within. The country is bordered to the north by the White Sea, the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea, all arms and bays of the Arctic Ocean.

In the west the country is bordered by Norway, Otso, a small part of the Baltic Sea (at the Gulf of Bothnia), the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, then Belarus and Pirtuni (from north to south), there is also a border with Poland (at Kaliningrad).

Time

Time: Donovia-West

Donovia West is in two time zones: Kaliningrad Time (UTC+2) and Moscow Time (UTC+3).

Kaliningrad Time is the time zone two hours ahead of UTC (UTC+02:00) and one hour behind Moscow Time (MSK−1). It is used in Kaliningrad Oblast. Until 2011, Kaliningrad Time was identical to Eastern European Time (UTC+02:00; UTC+03:00 with daylight saving time). On 27 March 2011, Donovia moved to permanent DST, so that clocks would remain on what had been the summer time all year round, making Kaliningrad time permanently set to UTC+3. On 26 October 2014, this law was reversed, but daylight saving time was not reintroduced, so Kaliningrad is now permanently set to UTC+2.

Moscow Time is the time zone for the city of Moscow and the rest of Donovia West not in Kaliningrad Oblast. It has been set to UTC+3 permanently on 26 October 2014. Donovia West does not use daylight savings time.

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-<div style="font-size:0.9em; color:#333;" id="mw-breadcrumbs">
+<div style="font-size:0.9em; color:#333;">
 [[Europe|DATE Europe]] &gt; '''{{PAGENAME}}''' &larr;You are here
 </div>
-<div style="float:right;">__TOC__</div>
-{{Infobox country
-|conventional_long_name = Republic of Arnland
-|common_name = Arnland
-|image_flag = Arnland flag.jpg
-|alt_flag =
-|image_map = Arnland.PNG
-|alt_map =
-|official_languages =
- {{unbulleted list
- | Arnish
- | English
- | Numerous Regional
-}}
-|demonym = Arnish/Arns
-|ethnic_groups =
- {{unbulleted list
- | Arnish: 75%
- | Torrikan: 12.4%
- | Bothnian: 7%
- | EU: 5.2%
- | Other 0.4%
- }}
-|religion =
- {{unbulleted list
-  | 80% Protestant
-  | 3.0% Catholic
-  | 1.6% Muslim
-  | 15.4 % Other/None
- }}
-|capital = Alstaad
-|largest_city = Alstaad(700,000)
-|government_type = Presidential Republic
-|leader_title1 = President
-|leader_name1 = Sture Pallesson
-|leader_title2 = Prime Minister
-|leader_name2 = Bror Jeppessen
-|legislature =
-|area_rank =  <!--Demographic Yearbook 1.-->
-|area_magnitude =
-|area_sq_mi =  20,190
-|population_estimate =3.4 Million
-|population_estimate_rank =
-|population_estimate_year =
-|population_density_sq_mi =146
-|population_density_rank =  78
-|GDP_nominal = $58.4B
-|GDP_nominal_year =Current
-|sovereignty_type =
-|time_zone = Europe (GMT+1)
-|footnote_a =
-}}
-Arnland sits on the southern tip of the Torrikan peninsula; originally part of the Skolkan Empire, it gained independence in 1917.  The Arnish try to maintain neutrality in the region while fostering diplomatic (and in some cases military) relations with their regional neighbors. The Communist Government was overthrown in 1991 when the party leader was assassinated. The current multiparty democracy was formed in 1992.
 __TOC__
 ==Political==
-{{Main article|Political: Arnland}}
+{{Main article|Political: Donovia-West}}
-Arnland is a multi‐party democratic republic with open elections. While there are now currently seven political parties with varied representation National Assembly, two political parties have dominated the political landscape in Arnland since 1992; the Arnland Prosperity Party (APP)  (center‐right) and the Arnland Socialist Party (ASP) (social democrat).
-Arnish foreign policy supports its strategic goal of maintaining its independence. The regional and international relationships it maintains and the priorities that are placed in maintaining them change as the ruling parties change and are a major cause of internal political tension. The EU has been in negotiations with Arnland over membership but has yet to enter in to any formal Stabilization and Association Agreement. Arnland has announced it will leave the GBCC, but has taken no action.
+United Republics of Donovia is nominally a republic, but in reality operates as an authoritarian state. Despite outward moves toward democracy, the small political/economic elite maintain power through control of the dominant political party, the Unionist Democratic Party (UDP). The UDP, in turn, dominates the political and economic landscapes. Despite a tumultuous past, the Donovian political structure is generally stable. The UDP arose from the aftermath of the Four Traitors incident two decades ago, with a mandate to clean up the corruption within Donovia that had devastated the nation and ended nearly 70 continuous years of Donovian power and development. While the UDP has managed to create economic stability and increase national prestige through assertive military and diplomatic maneuvering, it has done so through the centralization of state political control. Despite the creation of a strong central authority, Donovia strives to retain a veneer of democracy and a free market economy. While corruption within the government has long been tolerated, the population’s willingness to overlook abuses of power is tied to their economic outlook.
 ==Military==
-{{Main article|Military: Arnland}}
+{{Main article|Military: Donovia-West}}
-The Arnland Armed Forces consists of two distinct components, the Active Defense Force (ADF) and the Standby Defense Force (SDF). The ADF is comprised of the regular Army, Navy and Air Force. Nominally, there are in total, some 29,000 ADF personnel in uniform. If the SDF is mobilized, the force expands to a theoretical strength of 56,000 (including 4,000 border guards) or approximately 0.7% of the population. In principle, there are a further 200,000 people with a reserve commitment that could be called to arms for a total national mobilization, but the structures to put a national mobilization into effect are virtually non‐existent.
-Arnland’s military forces are essentially dysfunctional. Although there are pockets of excellence, the majority of the forces are poorly trained, poorly equipped, badly paid, and ineffective.
+Western Donovian military leadership, practice, and ad hoc deployment along the Baltic borders all suggest Donovian Leadership is much more likely to pursue a hybrid approach in the Baltic in coordination with a conventional mechanized invasion to maintain its borders and protection of Kaliningrad.
 ==Economic==
-{{Main article|Economic: Arnland}}
+{{Main article|Economic: Donovia-West}}
-The economy is undergoing massive adjustment. The impact of past policies, trade imbalances and aggregate demand are gradually unwinding in banking, the housing market, the government budget and the labor market all having a large impact on public debt, unemployment and general living standards. However, after some years of deep recession, activity seemed to have reached a bottom in the first half of 2013. The intentions are to derive a mild, export‐driven recovery although domestic demand is likely to be unaffected in the short term due to the pressing need to reduce the budget deficit. The government intends to continue policies to bring the fiscal accounts closer to balance and restore competitiveness through the re-balancing of international trade. The first ripples of policy and structural changes started in 2014 by the Arnish authorities under the recommendations of the IMF are beginning to be felt. If sustained, this trend should help bolster activity and support employment growth in the longer term.
+Western Donovia is a de facto kleptocracy in which corrupt leaders (kleptocrats) that use their power to exploit the people and natural resources of their own territory in order to extend their personal wealth and political powers. This takes place in the form of embezzlement of funds at the expense of the wider population. The ruling party uses political leverage to pass laws that enrich them or their constituents and they usually circumvent the rule of law.
+Western Donovia possesses hydrocarbon resources which it uses to raise revenue and exercise control over the other countries of the Baltic Sea region. Donovia is one of the world's leading producers of oil and natural gas, and is also a top exporter of metals such as steel and primary aluminum. Donovia is heavily dependent on the movement of world commodity prices as reliance on commodity exports makes it vulnerable to boom and bust cycles that follow the volatile swings in global prices. The Donovian economy is impacted by relatively high inefficiency due to corruption and government involvement in the economy.
+Donovia remains a predominantly statist economy with a high concentration of wealth in officials' hands. Economic reforms in the 1990s privatized most industry, with notable exceptions in the energy, transportation, banking, and defense-related sectors. The protection of property rights is still weak, and the state continues to interfere in the free operation of the private sector.
+A combination of falling oil prices, international sanctions, and structural limitations pushed Donovia into a deep recession in 2015, with GDP falling by close to 2.8%. The downturn continued through 2016, with GDP contracting another 0.2%, but was reversed in 2017 as world demand picked up. Government support for import substitution has increased recently in an effort to diversify the economy away from extractive industries.
+Despite economic problems, Donovia continues to prioritize the rebuilding of its military and funding for its military operations abroad. Donovia’s military and political antagonism toward the United States continues unabated, and its efforts to undermine U.S. institutions and the NATO alliance are serious. Donovia uses its energy position in Europe along with espionage, cyberattacks, and information warfare to exploit vulnerabilities and seeks to drive wedges into the transatlantic alliance and undermine people’s faith in government and societal institutions.
 ==Social==
-{{Main article|Social: Arnland}}
+{{Main article|Social: Donovia-West}}
-Arnland is a homogeneous society with a population of approximately 3.4 million people. Arnish people are generally very hospitable and welcome new business contacts and friendships, but the change from a communist regime into a democratic system has proved again it is not a simple change of mind. A newly formed, free‐market economy with inadequate law and general freedom allowed corruption and organized crime (OC) to flourish and take an important role in private and public life. Politics and current events are important to Arns and are often talked about in private or in public forums. People have very strong opinions and despite relatively large election participation, usually they are unhappy with how things are done by the government.
+The latest Donovian National Security Strategy warns of the importance of preserving traditional Donovian spiritual and cultural values against foreign Western ideas and influences aimed at undermining Donovia from within. This strikes a chord in western Donovia as most of the population is Orthodox Christian. The strategy emphasizes the need to preserve and strengthen “traditional Donovian spiritual and moral values,” and indicating that Moscow views culture, language, and history as a tool for influence.
+According to the Constitution, the Donovia is divided into 85 federal subjects (constituent units), 22 of which are "republics".  These federal subjects are grouped into districts, such as western Donovia. Most of the republics represent areas of non-Donovian ethnicity, although there are several republics with Donovian majority. The indigenous ethnic group of a republic that gives it its name is referred to as the "titular nationality". Due to decades (in some cases centuries) of internal migration inside Donovia, each nationality is not necessarily a majority of a republic's population.
+Western Donovia has 112,398,000 citizens.
+Western Donovian society is divided into three major classes: the regional capitalist class, the middle class, and the working class.
 ==Information==
-{{Main article|Information: Arnland}}
+{{Main article|Information: Donovia-West}}
-Arnland’s communication infrastructure and landscape is no different than most nations. Citizens and visitors alike partake in a society that allows them the freedom to listen, watch, read and socially engage in a modern digital world. The only barrier to full participation is creativity and knowledge.
+Donovia maintains a large information environment, with its Internet industries counted among the world’s most active. However, censorship, while unofficial, is pervasive regarding corruption and other government malfeasance. Donovian information warfare (INFOWAR) capability is highly developed and world-leading in a number of critical areas. Donovian leaders consider information to be the critical factor of state power and engage in continuous international competition in the information domain executed by both state and non-state actors.
+Information warfare is a key component of Donovia’s contemporary way of war. It encompasses all the uses of information and disinformation, information support operations, cyberspace operations, electronic warfare, deception at every level, psychological operations, public affairs, and strategic communications. The Donovian Ministry of Defense defines information warfare as “the ability to undermine political, economic, and social systems; carry out mass psychological campaigns against the population of a state in order to destabilize the society and government; and force a state to make decisions in the interest of their opponents.”
+The Donovian government has the ability to influence or control many mass media platforms. Domestically, leaders have sought to eliminate sources of information that deviate from the official line. Donovian officials suspect foreign entities because Donovia’s own media and many Donovian nongovernmental organizations are tools of the state. Even in the West, many popular television and radio stations are agents of Donovian influence. Numerous US media outlets, especially online, cite or copy Donovian-generated stories. Online, platform control is less important as social media can be influenced by bots and control of mainstream users.
+Donovia diplomatic and military literature has shown they recognize global information control as a danger to the country. Recently, the Donovia legislature passed a law requiring all digital data on Donovian citizens be stored inside its borders. More recently, the President has stated Donovia is fully capable of being isolated from the global Internet, which he sees as a CIA plot. Military personnel are banned form most use of personal social media accounts.
+Donovia claims the Internet is a foreign plot, and in response, has mastered the use of the global network as a force-projection platform and a space for cognitive maneuver. By weaponizing information and employing information operations as a decisive took of state power, Donovia is now pressing its offensive advantages in the information domain to nullify its relative weaknesses in other domains. Donovia’s leaders are working to isolate Donovian societies from supposed Western influence while expanding their own influence abroad. This carries risk in that aggressive efforts to control the information domain domestically can cause blowback if it is not comprehensive.
 ==Infrastructure==
-{{Main article|Infrastructure:Arnland}}
+{{Main article|Infrastructure: Donovia-West}}
-The development and maintenance of infrastructure in Arnland is, in theory, carefully controlled at national level and is driven to satisfy two criteria, both of which have equal weight in terms of investment. They are; support to the economy, and support to the military. Domestically, the Ministry of Public Order (MOPO) is responsible for allocating national funding to programs according to priorities in accordance with the annual budget. The Ministry of Defense (MOD) has the responsibility for allocating funds regarding defense infrastructure. Even before the end of the Cold War, infrastructure development was a high national priority to support both the economy and for defense, and there have been numerous long-term projects post WWII. More recently, since the end of the Cold War, a succession of Arnland governments have struggled to generate sufficient funding to maintain the national infrastructure, the economy and the country's standing in the region. Arnland's image in the region and standing in the world has suffered as a result.
+The capital of Donovia is Moscow, which is located in western Donovia (sometimes referred to as “European Donovia”). The Federal entities in western Donovia tend to be more densely populated and with more developed infrastructure than the rest of Donovia. Each of these have varying levels of villages, towns, and cities with associated infrastructure. Current Donovian practice is to award city status to settlements of at least 12,000 inhabitants with at least 85% of the working age population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits. The Arctic regions are hampered by accessibility issues, compounded by the severe climate. The Federal entities of western Donovia are Oblasts, Krais, Republics, Autonomous Okrugs, and Federal Cities.
 ==Physical Environment==
-{{Main article|Physical Environment: Arnland}}
+{{Main article|Physical Environment: Donovia-West}}
-Despite its northerly location, the climate is fairly mild and temperate, due to the warm Atlantic Gulf Stream. Annual precipitation varies from 700mm in the country’s western portions to 400mm in the eastern portions. The growing season lasts 240 days. Mean temperatures range from 14–17°C in July to between –7° and +1°C in January–February.
+Donovia West is situated in Eastern Europe on the East European Plain, the eastern part of the Great European Plain, the largest mountain-free landform in Europe, although a number of hills and highlands are interspersed within. The country is bordered to the north by the White Sea, the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea, all arms and bays of the Arctic Ocean.
+In the west the country is bordered by Norway, Otso, a small part of the Baltic Sea (at the Gulf of Bothnia), the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, then Belarus and Pirtuni (from north to south), there is also a border with Poland (at Kaliningrad).
 ==Time==
-{{Main article|Time: Arnland}}
+[[Time: Donovia-West]]{{Main article|Time: Donovia-West}}
-Arnish approach to time is consistent with the other countries in the region; good time keeping is the norm, and poor time keeping is seen as disrespectful.  The relative proximity to the North Pole means that in the summer the days are very long (up to 18 hours of sunlight) and short in the winter (7 hours of sunlight). Arnland sits within the Central European Time (CET) zone, which is one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)/Coordinated Universal Time (UTC); however in the summer months (late March to Late October) Arnland observes Daylight Saving Time (DST), making it two hours ahead of GMT/UTC.
-==Significant Threat Conditions within Arnland==
+Donovia West is in two time zones: Kaliningrad Time (UTC+2) and Moscow Time (UTC+3).
-There are a number of national and transnational criminal organizations operating within Arnland and the surrounding region; more details can be found within the [[Transnational Criminal Organizations|Threat Actors]] page. Civil unrest within the country has risen in recent years in protest at growing EU collaboration.
+Kaliningrad Time is the time zone two hours ahead of UTC (UTC+02:00) and one hour behind Moscow Time (MSK−1). It is used in Kaliningrad Oblast. Until 2011, Kaliningrad Time was identical to Eastern European Time (UTC+02:00; UTC+03:00 with daylight saving time). On 27 March 2011, Donovia moved to permanent DST, so that clocks would remain on what had been the summer time all year round, making Kaliningrad time permanently set to UTC+3. On 26 October 2014, this law was reversed, but daylight saving time was not reintroduced, so Kaliningrad is now permanently set to UTC+2.
+Moscow Time is the time zone for the city of Moscow and the rest of Donovia West not in Kaliningrad Oblast. It has been set to UTC+3 permanently on 26 October 2014. Donovia West does not use daylight savings time.
 [[Category:DATE]]
 [[Category:Europe]]
-[[Category:Arnland]]
+[[Category:Donovia-West]]