The Soviet state of Svalbard (Nation)
'Beneath the banner that has braved the batter and the breeze for a thousand years'
General Information
| Capital | Trondelang |
|---|---|
| Offical Language | Svarizian, Kalsavyan (हिमाली पहाडहरू), Sisikeh, Svalvo-Nordic |
| Regional and Minority Languages | Magyar, Askalan |
Demographic
| Ethnicity | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Svarizian | 59% |
| Siskeh | 12% |
| Svalvo-Nordic | 11% |
| Kalsavyan | 6% |
| Magyar | 3% |
| Askalan | 1% |
| Various Non-Magyar Wasaruan | 7% |
| Other | 1% |
| ---- | ---- |
Religion
| Religion | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Non-Religious/Atheist | 46% |
| Astrologican | 25% |
| Sikh | 12% |
| Åsatru | 10% |
| Harman Catholic | 1% |
| Other | 6% |
Demonym
Svalbardian, Svalvo (antiquated)
Government
Classification
Federal, Parliamentary, Constitutional monarchy
Current Government
- Ruling Monarch: Rioeste Dar Hakoen
- Prime secretary: Trousel Donnalbain (SDL)
- Chancellor of the exchequer: Maya Toroshnív (YRL)
- Officer of home affairs: Yteya Bredislin (PSR)
- Chief of the diplomatic corps: Rujura Mushafabar (PSR)
- -Spymaster: Stéfan Gregorovik (AO)
- Minister of Defense: Ivan Svarichí (Zovy)
- Minister for trade and shipping: Amar Pattel (SNP)
Establishment
- 1865 Constitution of the Alpine Kingdom of Svalbard
- 1920 Titel Pece Accords - Askala Islands Clause
- 1922 Svalvo-Magyar Settlement
- 1925 Treaty of Freissburg
Other Information
Population: 36,751,007
Currency: BC
Time Zone: Western Svalbardian Standard Time (+2), Eastern Svalbardian Standard Time (+3)
Drives on the: Left
Internet TLD: .sb
National Animal: Silver-Bellied Penguin A.K.A. No-Anime Penguin
The Alpine Kingdom of Svalbard
The Alpine Kingdom of Svalbard1, or more colloquially just Svalbard, is a sovereign nation split across a wide expanse of open sea. The primary landmass, the island of Svalbard, is located off of the east coast of Wasari (Landmass), however the nation is further made up of thirty-one separate islands and four exclaves on the continent of Wasaru. Its land in Wasaru is bordered mostly by Hungary, however Pøt Sagittarius shares a western border with Serpenteum. Otherwise, the nation is surrounded completely by water, with the Nomid Channel to the west, Svalbardian Coast to the south, Sewdica Sea to the north, and Askala Ocean to the east. The Kingdom is made up of 29 provinces and 13 special administrative zones, or 'Krais' - the overseas territories of Svalbard are seen as the last vestiges of the fallen Serene Republic of Trondelang: a state which once controlled the flow of trade across every continent in Utopia - the influence of this empire can still be seen today in the language, culture, styles of governing, and economic systems of today.
Despite the widespread chaos of Utopia, Svalbard has enjoyed a mostly peaceful existence since their failure in the Magyar-Kjanuan war at the end of 1930, in large part thanks to their previously mentioned decision to avoid participation in the geopolitical games the rest of the world engulfs themselves in. This serenity has facilitated a revival in the unique Svalbardian art and culture; an area which now mostly stands stagnant in the war-driven world of Utopia. Svalbard's unicameral legislature is similarly unique in its forgoing of both a head of state and government: the monarch is not recognised as either, but merely a 'citizen of note' in the constitution, whilst those elected to the Senate are seen as the collective government of the country, despite the position of Prime Secretary allowing the leader of the party with the largest seat share to allocate positions of government according to their desires.
Svalbard is not viewed as a great power, and has no affiliation with other nations of Northern Utopia besides minor treaties with USSNDR and Grenopia (Nation), and overlordship over the Protectorate of Hungary. Despite this, Svalbard has one of the world's largest economies, with very high average income and standard of living for its citizens. Svalbard was one of the first industrialised countries and one its foremost powers in the first half of the twentieth century, and still remains competitive in affairs economic, military, scientific, and technological.
Svalbard also has a unique infamy amongst certain nations due to one specific law: the Second Defense of the Realm Act, passed in 1926, amongst other things, forbid the use of 'Wasaruan arts and culture'. Whilst most of measures of this act has since been lifted, either officially or unofficially, this specific areas remains largely enforced today, much to the frustration of many weebs around the world.
Etymology and Terminology
The name 'Svalbard' comes from a combination of the antique word Svalvo, used to describe the Svarizian people, and Bard, meaning land - hence, meaning land of the Svarizians. This name has been brought into question periodically throughout history, as the island is home to far more people than just Svarizians, however public opinion has never been strong enough to force through a change, nor has any government ever felt much of a need to change it.
People from Svalbard are referred to as Svalbardians: in the past, the term Svarizian was often used for people from the Serene Republic of Trondelang, however this term is significantly outdated as it only refers to the specific ethnic group, and not the wide variety of other people who inhabit the kingdom.
History
For a more comprehensive look at Svalbard's past (or simply anything else about Svalbard in much more detail), you may wish to look at some of the separate history factbooks found here.
Prehistory
The landmass of Svalbard became detached from the most recent supercontinent in Northern Utopia around 310 million years ago; as continental drift separated Wasari and Wasaru, Svalbard was stuck in the middle of the two and subsequently was ripped away from the contiguous landmasses. As the island continued to drift, further land fell off of the main island, creating the collections of smaller islands seen around the island today.
The island remained uninhabited by humans until the most recent Ice Age around -10,000 BC, when a land bridge connected Grenopia and Svalbard. These original Wasarian hunter-gatherers were known as the Sisi, and despite being primitive by nature, they did appear to have been knowledgable in early exploration and migration as they were capable of traversing all of Svalbard's diverse landscapes. A period of about 8,000 years after this saw these early people settle down into seven main tribes shown on the left: all of these tribes are believed the have distinct cultures and religion, however very little is known about most of them, partly due to the lack of written records, but primarily because of a mysterious event dubbed the Mahan Dhahi-Dheri, or Great Collapse, by Sisikehian2 scholars of the time, which saw every society outside of those in Sisikeh and the Kalsavys cease to exist.
After this, it would seem that the Sisikeh and Kalsavyan societies experienced a great amount of cultural growth, as the tribes began to institute measures of government such as taxation, legally defined rulers, and patronage - this is largely attributed to the growth of agriculture during this period, as well as the teachings of a religious philosopher who appeared in the Sisikehian tribes around this time. This man was known as Guru Nanak, and it is here where the religion of Sikhism originated: he taught the Sisi of the north of the principle of 'Ik Onkar', or the oneness of God, along with other principles of the religion including fraternity, equality, and virtue; condemning the quarrelling present within the tribal hierarchy, he called for a single person to unite the tribes and prevent the collapse that had been witnessed in other societies. Wishing for an individual who was bountiful in the trait of Santokh, or contentment, he elected a man named Punjab Rai to become the first Maharaja of the Sisikeh Kingdom. Development came slowly but steadily after this point, as a succession of Guru's continued to further Nanak's original teachings, whilst the Maharaja's mostly retained order in the country - despite both of their best efforts, however, on two occasions large groups of people would fall out with the Sisikeh establishment, leaving the territory of the kingdoms are creating their own society: those of Warawai and Arlogo. This conflict broke the peace of Miri-Piri, greatly distrubing the incumbent Guru Amar Das, leading to the creation of the Gurdwara; a temple which welcomed any person from anywhere, in an attempt to return the peace to Sikh society - whilst this worked for a while, eventually jealously got the best of the Rai dynasty as a succession crisis led to the splinter state of Slithein being created, sparking a fierce rivalry for many centuries to come.
Around the year 0, similar developments occurred in the mountains as it appears terrace farming began to be used at this point; making the growth of food possible where it previously wasn't, thus reducing the requirement for people to travel, allowing them to settle down which enabled society to develop. These agricultural systems fostered the creation of institutions to organise food distribution, causing the hunter-gatherers to organise themselves into three tribal kingdoms: Kathu, Kasunda, and Gorkha. The unforgiving terrain of the Kalsavyan peaks created a tough martial society where all were expected to fight and die if needed - if you couldn't fight, you weren't going to live anyway. the tribal kingdoms of Kathu and Kasunda were significantly more powerful than Gorkha on paper, however they spent most of their time clashing with each other, allowing the Gorkha to develop themselves and wait as their opponents wore each other down, until eventually they were able to strike and defeat them both; destroying their capitals of Baluch and Prithvi uniting the mountain range under their rule in the 5th century. The unification of the Kalsavys allowed for culture and religion to develop far faster than had been previously seen, mostly because everyone wasn't fighting each other; but despite this it remains difficult to study the Kalsavyans as written language remained undeveloped for the entirety of the period. What we do know is that living styles became homogenised, as the Gorkha-style dugout was the standard house for the average citizen, meals became larger and more nutritious, meaning agricultural output improved, clothing became more elaborate and fashion-focused rather than purely for survival, and the religious school of thought Dreamtime became more invested in. Whilst this religion has largely died out today, many of its traditions remain important in popular culture around the world.
A large time after this, it is believed Nordic explorers stumbled upon the southern coast of Svalbard. Similar to other groups of Nordic people, the kept Chronicles of their history, however what is unfortunate is that their language deviated so greatly from both modern Nordic and Svalvo-Nordic that most of the chronicles' content has become impossible to translate - what we are sure of is that a 'Djublaheim Federation' was established some time between 700 and 800 AD, and that the hierarchy of this entity worked on a very devolved level: powerful chieftains help reasonably small tracts of land across southern Svalbard, convening together when they felt it was required, for instance to deal with a foreign enemy. Their religion appears to have been identical to the Norðen of today.
Early Republic
The Serene Republic of Trondelang began when disgruntled burghers and peasants from the Svarizian ethnic group banded together and fled the collapsing Magyar kingdom of Cantozvi, in search of a rumoured land to the far north of Utopia. Allegedly, the group sailed following the north star for twenty days and twenty nights before arriving in a lagoon on the north west of an island. They rapidly set about establishing a base here, constructing a small town of around 12 square kilometres, declaring it the new home of the Svarizian people whilst creatively titling it 'Trondelang' - Lagoon City. To organise themselves, a small group of Svarizians from all walks of life gathered in a town hall in central Trondelang; the area upon which would later see the construction of the Senate. In this Covnegration, they agreed to forgo hereditary government, and instead create a peculiarly modern system wherein the citizens of the nation would vote on their head of state3. dubbed the Serene Solisté. To retain their position in society, the rich and powerful merchants, guild masters, and nobles would control a separate body known as parliament, from which each group would amongst themselves decide a candidate for Solisté from each group. This system of government, whilst modified given the republic's changing situation, would be upheld throughout the entirety of its existence until dissolution in 1637. The final agreement of the covnegration was that the name of the new republic, which was henceforth to be 'La Bos Serena Revulic dar Trondelang': The Most Serene Republic of Trondelang.
The republic mostly kept to itself for the next 100 years. Culture, religion, and farming saw gradual improvements in this period, however society was mostly stagnant thanks to the rule of Serene Solsité Guvlarka Mestiv: seeing the expansion of the state as a threat to stability, and aiming to further his own religious doctrine; he passed the Decree on Expansion of Svarizian land, proclaiming that further expansion of the republic into the island of Svalbard was illegal, and it should instead be the priority of the state to ensure the spread of the Astrologican faith whilst retaining the culture of the people who lived there. Upon the election of the next Solisté, Svaderik Karkov, this law became a point of contention as his beliefs were in direct contradiction of those of Mestiv - the republic needed to expand if it was going to prosper. However, fearing upsetting parliament by the attempting to revoke a law that was so recently passed, Karkov instead searched for a loophole, and very soon found one. By utilising both his own and the state's extensive maritime knowledge, he would expand the navy and thus enable expansion overseas, bypassing the limitation of expanding into the island. By 1060, the navy of Trondelang had already gone on numerous explorative voyages, and as such Karkov believed he was in a strong enough position to introduce new 'General Colonisation Laws' - that is, anyone who settled land defined by the law was then the legal owner of it. These laws were passed for the islands of Hakoensville (then named Favrari), Ilis, and Hakir - this expansion into the Grenopian subcontinent ended Svarizian isolation.
Expanding so close to the Grenopian states brought much wealth to the Republic, as trade of valuables that had never before been seen become a lucrative business venture. Seeing this wealth, the Svarizians would search for further opportunities to expand the inflow of trade to Trondelang, making contact with Melodia, the Tluic states, and further investing into Grenopia. This Svarizian meddling would spark conflict with the most prominent Grenopian states of Titel and Cotajromm, wars Svalbard would walk away from with control of two important Grenopian ports, along with extensive influence over Grenopian markets.
"We have seen our destiny laid out before us:
we must use our naval arsenal to create a network of Serene states
throughout the world, brings the riches of Utopia to our doorstep."
-Adapted from a speech by Vlasikun Ostrov, 1151
The power this would bring the young state is believed to have set a precedent: successive Svarizian leaders would see the potential the use of violence and intimidation had to greatly expand trade, and thus bring wealth to both them and the state - this was demonstrated in speeches given to parliament by Serene Solisté Vlasikun Ostrov.
Late Republic
After this point, the republic began to view the world with a very critical eye - everywhere there lied an opportunity to expand their grip on an important market, they had to take it; or, create completely new markets. Wars with Northern Czech and excursions into the northern Magyar fiefdoms through connections to Melodia gave them access to the prosperous Wasaruan markets, along with exclusive control of the Straights leading in and out of the Old Lake Sea, squeezing the Italo-Canadians out of business. With so much newfound wealth, however, there began to be concern over the security of the beating heart of the Republic around the old Lagoon City. Despite fierce pushback from many in parliament, Serene Solisté Guvlarkov Mestiv was able to first commission a project to map out the rest of the island, and then overturn the Decree on Expansion, allowing for Trondelang to expand its borders on the island.
Expansion was rapid: between 1222 and 1276, the republic had pushed up to modern day Kalsavy's Fonil and Rodavilis, but despite this pace there was a conscious effort to maintain the reconciliatory attitude the Astrologican faith mandated. Notable examples of this policy included the recognition of Sikh as an official religion in the republic following the diplomatic absorption of the Sisikeh Kingdom, the invention of a Kalsavyan alphabet in order to preserve the language, and the severe punishment issued to the troops who sacked the Warawain capital of Als Ik Onfar (later rebuilt as Alsford). Trondelang's luck would run out, however, as expanding beyond this point would prove futile for the next four centuries: a powerful confederation of Svalvo-Nordic states had organised themselves south of the border, and the multitude of Svarizian attempts to subdue them were met with stiff resistance, until inevitably both sides would give up fighting for dominance and accept the status quo. This rivalry would prove to be a serious thorn in the republic's side, and is theorised to have severely limited its ability to fight overseas (as raids were a constant threat on the border, a large garrison was maintained), thus preventing certain expansion opportunities.
Regardless, this period was one of immense prosperity for the Svarizian people: often dubbed 'the Golden Age', the relentless but tactful expansion of the republic expectedly brought vast amounts of wealth to the small island. For the people, this translated into a better life than one would expect in a Medieval society; attendance of places of learning was remarkably higher than the average, diets appear to have been more nutritious and well balanced (although there was still a wide gap between quantity of food between the poor and rich), art and culture developed at an astounding rate, and generally people lived longer, happier lives in the Serene Republic. For this to happen, of course, Trondelang needed an effective military to exert control and maintain authority in its far flung territories. For this purpose, the government had to start thinking outside of the box and ditch the traditional military traditions of the time; this saw the development of a proto-fleet in being doctrine, called the Svarizian Standard, wherein a set number of heavy ships had to be maintained in all important trading zones of the republic at all times. Trondelang also became incredibly adept at shipbuilding and transportation - the fact that Trondelang could call for elections of Serene Solistés from all people in the republic from Hakir to Novoroyska demonstrated the impressive capabilities of the Svarizians navigation systems at the time. Whilst the Svarizian society had always dealt in these trades, the expansion of the Republic's global trading empire made these techniques a necessity for the survival of the state. More effective, triangular sails began to be used on ships in order to allow them to both travel faster, and therefore further off-shore safely, and more strict and disciplined rationing along with a more effective supply of food generally allowed for ships to transport more living people at once.
However, where Trondelang failed was in the evolution of its administration to go along with the changing situation both within and outside the republic: where new territories were conquered, separate republics were set up to coexistence in the same system as the master republic Trondelang, however simply planting the same system used in Svalbard to other territories was exceptionally short-sighted as it disregarded to unique circumstances and cultural heritage of the other states within the Serene Republic. Furthermore, other territories that were seen as more vulnerable or valuable were given the status of Krai or Folistas, which both had differing levels of autonomy and unique characteristics which confused the administration and frustrated the populace. To worsen matters, a succession of brash, overzealous, and sometimes plain stupid Solistés, often united in their usage of what became known as 'Star Parliaments'; special groupings of ministers separate from actual parliament whom were able to bypass that part of the government and carry out the Solistés will directly, essentially acting as yes-men, weakened the republic's diplomatic status severely, and in 1628 a coalition of nations led by Shabahnate of Snaisia declared a war on Trondelang that would dismantle the empire. Despite high morale on the Svarizian side, partially derived from their status as leader of democratic nations and defender of the Astrologican faith, but also from the fact it was made clear the republic was fighting for its life, a combination of bad luck, decisive coalition victories, and simply being overwhelmed, the republic ultimately failed, opening the door to a very dark part of Svalbardian history.
Collapse of Society
They broke into our house after sundown, took him (her husband)
whilst he was still asleep, then beat him with the butt-ends of muskets
to wake him up - after having tied him to a spit, then roasted him alive.
- From the memoirs of an unknown Sikh women,
living in the village of Pulijaba
During the War of the League of Snaisia, a militant group called by Ivrelastas had been formed and was neglected by the government. Led by experienced general Haransham Iltenbern, they promised a 'return to order' and an end to the chaos they claimed was brought about by the government being too weak to exert authority over the people. This group became extremely popular after the war, as the complete disaster the republic had endured meant that the republican government was seen with much scrutiny by most people; and only a year after peace was agreed with the coalition, Haransham launched a coup, dissolving the republic and ordering the execution of the final Solisté, Maklakov Yletskin, thus abolishing the title of Serene Solisté instead installing himself as the first Everita of the Svalbardian Empire.
The veil the Ivrelastas put up was that they wished to bring about a strong, authoritative nation more capable of ruling its people - in actuality, Iltenbern was only interested in using his position as the now personal owner of Svalbard to make his own life as comfortable as possible. Having grown up under foreign tutors, Haransham and his descendants were arch-conservatives, and as such pushed for Svalbard to abandon the routes of the republic's plutocratic routes and pursue more traditional policies. Whilst the recounts of the actions taken by the imperial government to try and enforce these policies have been at time sickening, the reality of the situation is far more perplexing: the lack of good infrastructure for travelling within Svalbard (and just general difficulty of travelling large distances at a time) meant that the amount of power the Ilternbern dynasty could exert beyond the large cities (which were the centres of their powerbase) was really very little. This caused extreme national divide as areas like Trondelang and Tongstedlandet became extremely conservative and actually saw real reversal in attitudes towards the role of women and religious orthodoxy, amongst other things: meanwhile, isolated rural communities saw almost no change to their lifestyles as the government really had no way of reaching them - in between all of this, in fringe areas surrounding the government's powerbases saw real conflict between local freedom fighters, demanding all sorts of things from a return to the Serene Republic to their own independent states, crossing swords with the Empire's secret police, the Tyriancia Sqala (est. 1640), trying to enforce central government policy on forcibly Svarizian-ising the culture of the island.
Despite the big ideas of Haransham I, very little was done to actually enforce any of his policies himself - rather hoping that the Tyriancia Sqala were threatening enough to subdue the local populations - and instead lived most of his life lavishing in the four seasonal palaces he had built around the country; perhaps most interesting of them was the Winter Palace, a wide green stucco building with a large, domed central hall, it now serves as the seat of the Senate in the Alpine Kingdom today. The more regal, white-painted Summer Palace is now where the monarchy resides, meanwhile the Spring and Autumn palaces have since been lost to time; the Spring palace being torn down by an angry Sikh mob soon after the fall of the Ilternbern dynasty, whilst the Autumn palace was lost as part of the fighting of the Troubles. Having been able to witness the ineffectiveness of both is father and borther's ruling, Haransham II attempted to right the wrongs of the administration by simplifying the system: previously, the Everita had to rely on a complicated combination of nobles, landowners, military leaders, and local militias to organise policy; however under Haransham II the system became far more streamlined through the creation of the Senate - a council of appointed men whom the Everita delegated differing roles to. This olgigarhic system would ultimately go on to inspire the modern system of government in Svalbard, which still calls itself the Senate. Whilst impressive, these reforms would ultimately prove futile as Haransham's successors would not be able to hold a candle to his impressive capabilities4, and as such membership of opposition movements such as the Søtberry Circle began to climb after the death of Haransham II in 1721, and ultimately the decline in payment of the Tyriancia Sqala coupled with a series of short and ineffective reigns meant that the Imperial government no longer commanded any sort of control. It ultimately came to a head for the royal family in 1741: with multiple parts of the country raising arms against them, Haransham III attempted to quell the fears of the people with a speech in the middle of Trondelang, promising a return to order and an enforcement of 'Svarizian values', which ended prematurely after he was shot in the head by an unknown assailant. The ensuing chaos saw his son, Rødriv attempt to take over, only for the Winter Palace he was residing in to be overrun by an angry mob that threw him out the top story window; leaving Trondelang in the hands of the mob.
The frustrations of the past decade under rule of the Everita's boiled over in incredibly violent fashion after 1741: oppressed groups, economically neglected areas, and people trying to grab as much power as they could simultaneously began fighting in a period known as the War of the Splintered States. Amongst the different warlords, the primary region of conflict was around the Trondelang capital region: the armed militias that took over the capital after the death of Rødriv soon created a clique to organise how they would retake the rest of the country, however disagreements between the two premier figures of the group - Maralov Ulsøn and Anton Yelsien - lead to it ultimately being divided in two; the Wavriliska who wished to dismantle the states that had risen up, and the Pevrosky who wised to reconcile with them and form some sort of union-state. In the ensuing conflict, the Wavriliska proved victorious despite some major setbacks, mainly thanks to Ulsøn being removed by a coup from the Pink Rose Movement, whose leader, Iliston Speareana, was both a skilled tactician and diplomat, and consequently ended the internal split.
During and after this conflict, there were numerous other wars sporadically occurring throughout Svalbard; these conflicts introduced new methods of war, and the technology used to fight them, to a people that had been mostly backwards for the past century. The brutality of war was on full display, and the reality of life began to set in much more clearly than it had been under the romanticist culture of old - these attitude permeated through all parts of society, leading to a great deal of change both at the time and in the future: religion was viewed with scrutiny (particularly Astrology), as the optimistic attitudes constantly being put forward by the church were seen as heavily out of touch, thus the numbers of non-religious people grew greatly after the Troubles. Furthermore, art and culture took a complete U-turn as the pretty and romantic feel of the past was thrown out in favour of more avant-garde and modernist styles. Social awareness and critical thinking also saw an uptick in this period, as the constant conflict made people question the right of their leaders to rule if all they were doing was sending them to die for no tangible reason.
Regardless, by 1769 the Trondelang Republic had reunited and regained its strength, ready to retake the islands. A series of decisive campaigns saw the whole country brought back under one banner in 1799; but the cost Speareana paid for these victories was immense, and her body had been seen extreme strain both physically and mentally, leaving her capabilities to rule the nation permanently diminished. Despite her promising a new democratically elected government, she retained the position of head of state in an attempt to maintain order, but the further extents of the country proved out of the administrations ability to control - upon her death in 1835, things only worsened as without the respect of a strong head of state, more and more people viewed central government authority as more of a suggestion than a rule, and chaos subsequently ensued throughout the nation as once more local powerholders began to exert more power than the government could ever hope to do; mainly given how the centre of power in Trondelang was increasingly unstable, as coups and counter-coups became common practice. Eventually however, push came to shove and the Svalbardian Civil War ended what was thought to be an endless era of conflict on the island, establishing a truly democratic regime for the first time.
Age of Recovery
The new government had numerous advantage; it was compromised of a broad front of groups from across the political spectrum, garnering it respect from most people; it had a popular figurehead in Stéfan I, who was not only a war hero but a jovial man; but perhaps most importantly it inherited a nation that was quite simply tired: too tired to oppose it. The 'Dark Age' of Svalbard had gone on for over two centuries; consequently, so had the resistance to the tyranny imposed upon the people. The struggles people had gone through had sapped the country of almost all the resources it had, not to mention the countless homes that had been destroyed and families that were torn apart - all of this combined meant people had simply had enough, and couple with the fact that this regime was 'good enough' for most people, the vast majority didn't bother to oppose it. The first elected government helped in this too, as the Conservative Senate recouped the small number of assets they had left to establish a solid legal basis for the new country along with a police force. This would be all the good they would do, unfortunately, as they ultimately failed in their next task of rebuilding the economy: by inviting foreign tycoons to Svalbard to kickstart economic growth, however these investors had little care for the economy and saw Svalbard as an area ripe for exploitation, angering the workers and wasting the country's potential.
The industrial unrest of 1872 was the closest Svalbard came to another revolution, however crisis was averted by the election of a Socialist government the same year. The newly elected government appointed Pyetr Ranhaus - a former factory worker himself - to Chancellor of the Exchequer, and thus it fell on him to fix the economy. After throwing out the foreign businessmen, the country was stuck at square one as they had lost the capitalists expertise; but crafty as he was, Ranhaus would look to the past for a solution, and consequently brought back the Guilds from the days of the Serene Republic. Reformed into elected councils of workers, these guilds would be responsible for local economic growth, therefore simplifying the job of the government to allocating resources and injecting investment where needed. The Guild Restructure Act of 1873 became arguably the most influential piece of legislation in Svalbardian history, allowing the country to complete what Ranhaus coined 'a great turn' by catching up to the other nations of the world by around the 1900s.
Although it took a few decades, by the 1910s Svalbard has inarguably become on par with the rest of the world economically, socially, technologically, and culturally; however, the population was no longer content to rest on their laurels, as a new jingoistic ideology had become popular in the general public. Spurred on by publications from authors such as Lev Kharkov and Cets Mashanabjar, Pan-Svalbardian Nationalism (PSN) truly held a vice grip over the nation for the first half of the 20th century - the Livrosky party were elected into power almost purely because of their support of this new, volatile idea, and were consequently forced into expanding the military in preparation for what was envisioned as 'The Great Campaign'. Svalbard therefore entered into the War of the Third Coalition under the premise that they would achieve this goal by fighting for the coalition in the war - and fight they did, as this ten year conflict saw the most Svalbardian causalities in a single war to date. The end result, however, entailed very little gain to the PSN cause, leading many to be furious. The next three decades then saw Svalbard entangle themselves in numerous wars of 'revenge' against other members of the coalition who were viewed as having robbed them of their rightful territory: whilst gains were being made, Svalbard's ability to make these gains were more often than not due to their ability to negotiate and enforce peace quickly, rather than decisive military victories. The wars in these period were total, and the human cost was high - back-and-forth style conflicts caused wars to drag on longer than expected, and the new nature of warfare meant for the first time in history the actual home islands saw serious damage dealt to them through bombing campaigns; the most notable being the Kratz during the Great Northern War against Jadefall, which saw an entire borough of Trondelang destroyed.
Eventually, this cost began to outweigh the benefits of territorial expansion, and after another drawn-out conflict in Wasaru, the people had had enough and elected a broad coalition of Socialist parties who intended to end the fighting and madness that PSN had brought upon the people, instead consolidating what was left of the islands and ensuring the prosperity of Svalbard for years to come. This policy would ultimately put a stop to most if not all involvement Svalbard has ever had in global affairs, as the nation has now retreated back to its islands: instead of foreign policy it instead focuses on growing the domestic market and elevating the prosperity of its citizens. Whilst some rumblings still remain, it would appear that very little would ever be able to change this current state of affairs.
Geography
The island of Svalbard is located in the northern hemisphere, however its southern coast's receive warm water currents from the Wasaruan continent. This gives Svalbard a uniquely diverse climate, as the south of the country has a more temperate, Wasaruan climate; whilst the north remains mostly rigid and frozen over for most of the year as is common place in the northern sections of USSNDR and Grenopia. In terms of physical terrain, most of Svalbard consists of rolling plains: the only exceptions are the small Kalsavys mountain range north of Trondelang, the tundras of the northern Sikh regions, and the large marshlands of Duobala. Svalbard's peculiar central geography is theorised to most likely be caused by past instances of high activity on the tectonic plate running through Svalbard.
Demographics
A national census is taken in all parts of Svalbard once every 10 years, having last taken place in 2020. This concluded that the population had risen to 36,751,007; the first time it was higher than it had been in 1913. Svalbard's population dropped dramatically between then and 1935 due to a large number of wars with other significant powers - conversely, the period of relative peace after this is what has allowed the population to recover
Ethnic Groups
The original people of the island, the Sisi and Kalsavyans, are of mixed and mysterious origins. It is highly possible that they are unique groups descended from those who originally settled in the island, so it is unsure if they are actually the same as those people. What is certain has been proven by a genetic study in 2001, finding that about 80% of Sisi and Kalsavyan genes originate from eastern Wasari, and they share a common genetic heritage with Grenopians - it is possible these two groups then, may have begun as early as 5,000 years ago, or as late as over 20,000. On the other hand, the Svarizian's ethnic origins are far easier to pin down as their origin place of Hungary is more well-documented, and they as a people are far younger. Genetic analysis suggests that the first Svarizians appeared around 2,000 years ago in the Danubia basin, moved north to Svarizia, and then eventually migrated to Svalbard - as such, they have at least one common ancestor with the Magyar people, and possibly other north Wasaruan groups.
Svalbard is an exceptionally diverse nation: only 59% of the population (21,683,094) are ethnic Svarizians, whilst over 10% of the population are groups not native to the islands. There has been a history of migration, particularly from various parts of Wasaru, since around the 1350s after the Ligul-Trondelang trade conflict, which saw a significant population of Impeckans arrive in Trondelang (which is where the name for 'Impeckan Street' comes for on the northern border of the city). Whilst this declined after the collapse of the Republic, a reversal of the previously closed door policy on immigration by Ranhaus Bodker's broad-socialist coalition allowed for this trend of Wasaruans living in Svalbard to return - an appealing prospect particularly after the devastation that had been seen on the continent in the first half of the 20th century.
Religion
Historically, religion was a key part of Svalbardian life: most Svarizians were proud of their adherence to the Astroligcan faith, being unique in the world of Utopia, whilst large pockets of Sikhism also existed in the north. The Astrologican faith was unique for being non-evangelical6, as well as exceptionally humanist in its teachings: the absorption of other cultures' traditions were encouraged by the church, and syncretism was believed to be very high in Medieval Svalbard. However, the decades of suffering endured by the people during the Terror and the Troubles had a remarkable negative impact on religion; people became disillusioned with the conciliatory attitude of Astrology - hopeful beliefs such as life after death that were promoted by the church came under heavy criticism once the Age of Recovery began for being to idealistic, shaming them for attempting to drag people away from reality. This anti-religious stigma grew very strong in the decades following the Svalbardian civil war, leading to a shockingly high number of people abandoning religion entirely. Whilst the hostility towards the church eventually declined, the faith has never recovered and Astrologican citizens are today heavily outnumbered by their areligious counterparts.
History of Migration
Svalbard has had sporadic waves of migration throughout its history. Between about 1050 and 1150, significant waves of North Wasarian immigrants entered Trondelang to flee the conflicts on the continent: much later in the 1300s, southern and eastern Wasaruan groups entered the country through new trade routes opened by Svarizian explorers, and a few decades later smaller groups from western Dissopoloforia and Glestonoph also drifted towards Trondelang from their increased influence - estimates put the total number of immigrant-descended people in Trondelang somewhere between 10-20% by the start of the 17th century. This population would see a drastic decline under the terror, however, as the Arch-Conservative government found that immigrants were an easy scape-goat to lay the blame of the failings of the previous administration on: 'Pogrom' attacks on these groups were frequent, and by 1741 it is believed people descended from those born from the original emigrant groups had fallen to less than 1%.
Svalbard was a closed country between 1636 and 1935: however immigration had a comeback after this as to plug the labour gap from the constant years of warfare, the government encouraged migration from the areas devastated by the past few centuries of war to Svalbard. In 1934, 0.65% of the population of Svalbard had been born in a foreign country - in 1964, this number was 2.71%, and in 1994, it had risen to 4.19%. This post-war push for migration is the primary reason why Svalbard now contains such a high proportion of Wasaruan-descended people living in it; as it was the continent that saw the most destruction and is relatively close to Svalbard, with particular easy access thanks to the port cities controlled by it on the coast of friendly Hungary. Immigration has also contributed to Svalbard's recovering population: between 2000 and 2020, 31% of newborns in Svalbard were from parents descended from outside of the islands
Education
Education is and always has been a highly important matter for the government of the Alpine Kingdom: law dictates every child must attend some form of education between the ages of four and eighteen. Education is managed primarily by the central government, with a national curriculum and standard exam board for all students - guilds for education control very little until university and college level. Svalbardian universities see high numbers of applicants annually; about 48% of the population has a degree, and Svalbardian universities occupy much of the lists of top universities in the world. In terms of alternative education, homeschooling has been encouraged in recent years in an attempt to ease the burden on teachers having to manage larger classrooms (as the teaching profession is not being expanded enough to accommodate) - in 2020, it was believed around 97,000 children were being home-schooled.
Government and Politics
The Alpine Kingdom of Svalbard is a federal state under a constitutional monarchy; however despite the special status of the citizenship of ruling monarch Rioeste Dar Hakoen, there are no special powers that come with being the monarch, and it in reality acts as a position for the face of the state, but not the government. Furthermore, the constitution of Svalbard is uncodified: it is made up of a wide collection of written sources, including statues, case-law, and constitutional conventions. The Senate thus has the power to reform the 'constitution' just by passing new laws that alter old ones.
Svalbard is a unicameral parliamentary democracy; the Senate acts as the supreme governing body and its five hundred members then form the government. The leader of the largest party is automatically assigned the position of Prime Secretary, who will then, usually but is not required to, select other senators to fill in various positions in government. There are no defined positions for the government, however since the formation of the kingdom in 1865, no government has not at least had a Prime Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Divisions and Devolved Government
Svalbard's 29 provinces are all semi-autonomous; they have their own parliaments which are elected through Mixed-Member-Proportional elections, and the Prime Minister of each parliament has the right to propose and pass laws that effect their province. By nature, these local governments are more specialised, and thus have fewer seats (100~ compared to 500) than the national Senate, have elections less often (every four years instead of every three), and also often have less positions in their governments. Local elections in Svalbard are also highly unique globally as Svalbardian guilds also participate in these elections: for every guild stationed in a province, an extra seat is added to the local parliament which is filled by a candidate voted for separately by guild members.
Separately from provinces, the Krais of Svalbardian also have unique administrative properties. These areas are usually both highly strategically important and sparsely populated (if at all), so setting up local parliaments is seen as a waste of time - however, the few citizens of these territories are permitted to vote in national elections. For a long time, Nwevo Øts-Neuf was the only Krai, as its position as a secretive Arctic military and research facility was seen as too crucial to allow it to be as open as the rest of Svalbard, however ever since the resurfacement of the Askala Islands in 2020, these territories have also been made into Krais until they have been sufficiently resettled. Krais are usually run by a local military commander, however they may also be put under the direct jurisdiction of the central government in Trondelang.
Military
The Svalbardian military is split into two branches: the Svalbardian Royal Army (SRA) and the Svalbardian Royal Navy (SRN) - underneath these branches are two airforces departments, the SRA-AF and SRN-AF. All branches of the military are under the jurisdiction of the government, who allocates this role primarily to the Minister of Defense (incumber Yosí McMichael) - there is no single commander-in-chief, as both the SRA and SRN have their own heads of departments.
The military history of Svalbard has been peculiar and varied: the military of the Serene Republic was mostly used as a deterrent and saw little combat, in order to ensure a steady flow of trade to the heartland of the republic - however it was still well-trained enough to secure a number of decisive victories that severely influenced the direction of human history. Whilst the imperial movement's rhetoric heavily favoured the military, it was not actually given much attention by the government so saw deterioration in the Terror, whilst the Troubles saw the abandonment of professional armies in favour of using militia bands or mercenaries which were cheaper and easier to maintain. Only in the Age of Recover did the military see serious improvements: a return to professional training and local production of armaments meant the Svalbardian military once again became a a respected force, and key victories in important wars once again saw the army shape the history of other nations. Due to changing attitudes and a differing diplomatic status, the military is primarily designed for defensive warfare, with an official government statement from 2019 stating that the military will only get involved in foreign affairs under 'exceptional circumstances'.
Economy
Overview
Svalbard's economy is a socialist cooperative economy - this means that the economy is based on the principles that labour employs capital (which in the case of a socialist economy, is always the government), and that the government regulates and monitors all economic activity, however it leaves the actual handling stimulation of the economy to the cooperatives. Due to Svalbard's history, cooperatives operate under the name of guilds as they did historically. The government appoints a Chancellor of the Exchequer to oversee the economy of Svalbard: the incumbent is Trousel Donnalbain. The reasons for this unique system are many and complicated; however the simplistic explanation is that free-market capitalism spawns exploitation, hence inefficiency, however Svalbard's economy is far too localised and specialised to be run from one central location - thus, the workers need to collective and organise themselves in order to foster the highest possible output.
Trondelang is one of the largest financial sectors in the world, and the city ranks highly in terms of city GDP; the Banking Guild of Trondelang, as the country's central banking guild, is responsible for issuing currency digitally to the nation, and sets interest rates for the loans it provides. Banking (service) provides a sizeable section of the country's GDP, and combined with games industry they account for 80% of the economy - other large sectors include pharmaceuticals, shipbuilding, fishing, and extraction of rare-earth minerals. Svalbard also has a large export economy, with a positive import-export balance; primarily in the export of electronic goods, but large quantities of ships, pharmaceuticals, and books are also exported abroad.
Historically, mining and heavy industries dominated the Svalbardian economy after the Alpine Revolution: as Svalbard was one of the earliest adopters of industrialisation (along with being separated from the Empire of Kkhano by a large ocean), coal and iron mining became the staple industry, soon followed by shipbuilding and steelmaking. This early edge gave Svalbard a dominant position in international trade in the late 19th and early 20th century, however, once other nations began to industrialise this advantage slowly declined. Combined with a lack of innovation and general economic decline thanks to war, Svalbard's economic hegemony trailed off in the middle of the 20th century - not helped by the mines of the Kalsavys mountains running dry on reserves of iron and coal. This forced Svalbard to move on to new industries as mentioned previously, and mining now focuses on extraction of radioactive metals and cobalt, which has turned the decline around and returned Svalbard's economic position.
Transport
The rail network is Svalbard is very old, being originally constructed in 1881. It is centred around the Ring Road: a network of rail and road that originates from Trondelang and swings around the entire coast of the country, with separate smaller lines branching off to inland locations. This line is now operated by highspeed trains, however the original lines was built with a narrow rail gauge, intended for steam trains. it took over forty years to fully complete the Ring Road - with the final parts of the line being built in Djublaheim in 1923, finally connecting the entire track - and just a few decades later in the 1960s it needed to be completely rebuilt to accommodate for much faster, modern trains. The main Ring Road is operated by a single guild, the Cross-Island Railways guild, however the smaller subsidiary lines are operated by other guilds.
Alongside the railways, Svalbard has an accompanying road network that also connects around the country's coastline - however it is much more refined inland than the rail networks, with many smaller dual carriageways connecting rural Svalbard. Within cities, road networks exist however are primarily occupied by public transport vehicles such as buses and trams, however personal transportation is often required to access the more remote areas of the country.
Energy
Due to a high focus on electronics in the economy, Svalbard is a high user of energy, and thus by necessity also needs to be a high producer of it. Energy guilds then are key in maintaining the Svalbardian domestic market; primarily the Nuclear Energy Guild and the Guilds centred around renewable energies. In the past, Coal and Oil were in abundance in Minokovnyev and the Slirost Cot, and as such they were the primary drivers of energy in Svalbard. As environmental concerns began to rise - particularly after the Askala Islands Catastrophe in 1956 - the usage of fossil fuels for energy saw heavy criticism; however reserves of coal and oil were begining to dry up around this time anyway, so the switch to renewables was essentially inevitable anyway. Although new fracking ventures have promised that there are still large reserves of oil and coal in the Sewdica Sea, the government has repeatedly refused to look into them for the above reasons, and has adamantly blocked any attempts from other countries to look into them.
Whilst coal mining had ceased to be a viable industry, mining for radioactive materials took its place as many powerplants we built across Svalbard after 1940. Nuclear power was appealing, as the same amount of Uranium could produce far more power than coal, albeit with more effort, and nuclear power was producing over 75% of Svalbard's energy by 1960. Unfortunately, fears of meltdowns in these plants prevented their expansion for a long time, particularly after the highly publicised incident in Brascon during 1961. This means that now most plants use Thorium, as the risk of malfunction is significantly reduced, however nowadays nuclear energy only accounts for around 40% of Svalbard's energy production.
Svalbard's geography, with its extensive coastline, lends itself well to renewable forms of energy like offshore wind farms and wave power. In the northern reaches off the country, the coastline is often littered with wind turbines that capture the strong Arctic sea breeze, and beneath the water Wave Energy Converters do the same with the brutal waves that hit the shores. Whilst some lament the ugliness of giant turbines, the government attempts to keep them as far away from the land as possible to prevent disrupting the environment; and their energy output is inarguable as modern estimates state that over 60% of Svalbard's electrical energy comes from renewable farms.
Fishing
The Svalbardian population consumes an abnormally large amount of fish; the most popular takeway meal in the country is fish and chips, as it has been for many years, and numerous other fish-based meals are very common. Furthermore, Svalbardian fish products are heavily desirable overseas, and the combination of these internal and external pressures has resulted in the need for a massive fishing industry in Svalbard. Svalbard's geographic position gives it easy access to many fish-dense Arctic waters, and the desire to control the passage to them spurred on the conquest of the Askala Islands in the early 1300s. The catching and exportation of fish such as cod, herring, and tuna (among other lesser fish) were a significant source of income for the Serene Republic, and a source of tension between it and its Arctic Sea neighbours. After losing the Askala Islands in the War of the League of Sniasia, one of the Alpine Kingdom's primary objectives once it was able to establish itself was to wrestle back control of the islands, first from Kkhano and later Jadefall, in order to regain a monopoly on Arctic fishing. Despite this, Svalbardian fisheries in the islands would only continue operation for around thirty years after their reconquest, as the environmental disaster that saw the islands sink beneath the water naturally destroyed the infrastructure that enabled fishing in the region, causing widespread unrest at home and a noticeable drop in Svalbardian exports. The development of longer range fishing vessels has somewhat mitigated the loss of the fisheries in the islands, which has become much tamer of an issue since agreements around fishing rights with the USSNDR were signed; however, despite the islands reappearing in the 21st century, fisheries have not been rebuilt due to the high-costs associated with doing so, and environmental concerns surrounding expanding the fishing industry beyond what already exists: after the Askala Islands catastrophe, fishing guilds initially compensated by intensifying operations in other regions at a rate which was unsustainable for the fish population, leading to fishing further down the food chain and only raising further ecological questions around the fishing industry. It is mainly for these ecological concerns that fishing in Svalbard has stagnated since 1960, being overtaken by more sustainable industries.
Due to various fish being a central part of the Svalbardian diet, historians in recent years have noticed a phenomenon which persists across all periods of Svalbardian history - that being, the health of the fishing industry positively correlates with the happiness of the population, and a struggling fishing sector tends to be a precursor for social unrest. As far back as the voyage from Svarizia, much of the Svarizian leadership attributed the reason for fleeing Hungary to a lack of ability to fish in the waters around the Hungarian coast due to incursions from neighbouring hostile powers, as well as the Hungarian states' economic inability to maintain large fleets of fishing vessels. Furthermore, the collapse of the regime of the Everita's and the subsequent War of the Splintered States can be partially explained by an inability to fish around the Askala Islands, and a decline in fishing elsewhere - this argument is further compounded by the successful Alpine Kingdom's concerted efforts to subsidise and encourage participation in the fishing industry, seemingly as a way to placate the population after the previous centuries of turmoil.
Culture
The culture of Svalbard has been influenced by numerous factors throughout history: its status as an island so isolated from the rest of Utopia, its liberal-socialist democratic traditions, the past conflicts the island has seen, its history as a great power (and fall from such place), and the combination of the four distinct groups of the island. As a result of the lengthy reign of the Serene Republic, Svalbardian culture and tradition has found influence just about everywhere in the world in one way or another, and Svalbard has sometimes been described as a 'cultural superpower', despite how the government prefers not to use this title.
Symbolism
Certain symbols have over time become synonymous with Svalbardian art and culture. Firstly, the North Star has been used since the very inception of a Svalbardian state: derived from the story that the Svarizian people followed it north to reach the island from Svarizia, this star is viewed as a guiding symbol and the Svalbardian's 'light at the end of the tunnel'; as it shows that there will always be something to look forward to in the future, no matter how hard it may seem to see past the horizon currently. Because of its history, it has been a prominent feature of almost every flag a state based in Svalbard has used - however it also commonly shows up in other pieces of art.
Similarly, the Hakoen Cross also present on the Svalbardian flag underneath the northern star has become a more important icon in recent history. originating from the Aristocratic family that the Hakoens descend from, the cross has now become a symbol of class unity in Svalbard with its presence next to other symbols of democracy and equality. Another recent addition to Svalbardian symbols are red poppies: in Svalbard, poppies grow natively in certain regions, and are well known for their resilience and thus ability to grow on almost any terrain. Because of this, poppies were the first pieces of wild life to reappear on the island once peace returned after the end of the Troubles, hence their association with pacifism and remembering the human cost of war, which became particularly important in culture after the wars of the early 20th century, where the nation heavily depleted their population fighting in numerous wars - the poppy serves as a reminder not just to Svalbardians, but to all nations that the cost of war will never ultimately be worth the individuals lost, the families destroyed, and the lives cut short in the fighting.
'Old' Arts
These are arts that are associated with the Golden Age of Trondelang. 'Old' Arts typically are romanticist by nature as they originated from the days of the Serene Republic, where things generally looked bright. Literature, Visual Art, and philosophy are usually attributed to this term. Svalbardian authors wrote have written and published a substantial number of literary works, including a wide variety of culture. Famous authors include Yeralevia Rovkin (most well known for the Baron of Ilonkiev), Lev Kharkov (author of 'What is to be Done?'), Cets Mashanabjar (Our Duty), and more recently Maria Forsbackadjér who's novel 'House of Cards' has recently become a popular TV series.
Art quickly grew in popularity after the Trondelang-Tlanyuca colonial war, which made better quality paint an canvas far available by opening up the markets of central Dissopoloforia. Artists at the time commonly depicted religiously important events or made pieces depicting the glory of Svarizian culture: works included 'Geminias Casts Light over Trondelang' by Marlienkoc Sarjev, and 'the Mountain Pass' by Starlø Karakein. In more modern times, art became more centred on the real conditions of people living in the country, with a particular focus on Avant-Garde styled pieces.
Svalbard is also famous for the idea of 'Svarizian Empiricism' - a branch of the philosophy of knowledge that stresses the importance of rigorously testing an idea and scientifically proving its existence through experimentation and experience. The most famous proponent of this philosophy was also its inventory, Pyotr Garianov, who founded the Svarizian (later rebranded as Svalbardian) school of Common Sense in Alsford, which still stands to this day.
'New' Arts
The Terror and Troubles caused culture to pause for around two hundred years - this caused a unique phenomenon in Svalbard wherein art differs wildly in time between the Serene Republic and Alpine Kingdom. This is partially due to a change in attitude - the optimism seen in the Medieval era was replaced with a grim realism, however the introduction of new technologie in the 20th and 21st centuries also went a long way in changing the landscape of Svalbardian culture.
Film and cinema were initially very popular in the early days of the new state: many new artists flocked to this form of media in the late 19th century - the most notable being Freya Pelsina, who produce 'Fravosky', the most technologically advanced film of its age - but whilst Svalbard was one of the leading producers of films by 1900, the artform soon fell off in popularity as innovations in computing technology gave way for something far more interesting: video games.
Since the inception of the concept, Svalbard has always been a leading producer in the video game market: the Electronics and Video Games Guild produces more games than the majority of other country's companies or collectives put together. The first console, the Falscion, was produced in 1950 primarily thanks to the work of Marle Mcclarindale and Mikhail Radclif (who had previously worked in the cryptology department for the government) - as all creators work under the same guild, all games are made for the same consoles produced by the government, which is currently the Falscion12, which doubles as a household and handheld device. Svalbardian developers originally focused on singleplayer experiences such as platformers or RPGs, however the growth of the Esports seen has created more pressure to focus on competitive games such as shooters or fighting games.
Sports
Historically, Svalbardian people have played one of two team sports: cricket or ice hockey. In the southern, more posh Svarizian provinces, cricket found more popularity as it was a more refined game with a more intricate appeal - as well as being a game that people of almost any age above 11 could play at an acceptable level to play casually, which is a rarity in the sports world. On the contrary, the northern Sikh provinces were digusted by the idea of a game that went as slow as cricket and had so many seemingly arbitrary rules to learn; and with the need to find something to do in the long Winter months came the inception of ice hockey; a fast game that was played on ice and had almost no rules.
The Terror attempted to stamp out the sport of ice hockey, as the arch-conservative Svarizian Everitas found the sport repulsive and uncivilised, believing that forcing the Sisi to stop playing it would then make them more inclined to be absorbed into Svarizian culture - these attempts were in vein, as the tradition of ice hockey was far too entrenched and the ridiculous idea of removing a groups' sport became a rallying point for Sisi rebels.
When a calmer atmosphere re-emerged in the Age of Recovery, there was a new push for Svalbardians to play their sports in a more organised and professional manner as was being done elsewhere in the world. In response, the government created two leagues: the Svalbardian National Hockey League (SNHL) and T20 - these leagues allowed for both cricket and ice hockey to be played at a much higher level than the previous local formats had allowed for, creating an avid and active sporting fanbase in the country.
Miscellaneous
This part of the article is used for cataloguing any mildly interesting parts of Svalbard which do not otherwise fit into the other categories, but are either not important enough or have too little to say about them to warrant their own segment.
Zar Devrgos ve Vyntriv va Gentø Eví
The ZDVGE (The Department for Documentation of Benign Occurrences) is Svalbard's equivalent department to similar sectors in other nations such as the SSS or SSIS. As one might expect, this department of government specialises in the reporting and recording of uninteresting activity in Svalbard that may be worth noting
Prunsel
an image of 
has been a popular urban myth for many years in Svalbard. Supposedly, is a huge floating eyeball, reportedly at least twice the height of the tallest humans on record, that will incessantly stare at whoever encounters it until it mysteriously vanishes. There have been supposed sightings of since at least 966AD, when a Svarizian merchant who was unloading his cargo caught sight of , staring unnervingly. Whilst has never been known to attack people yet, it is always best to exercise caution, thus do not approach it or walk towards where it is floating until it has disappeared. People commonly report feelings of distress and uneasiness when in the presence of , and when trying to communicate with it, the general consensus is when you would expect it to talk, only a low pitched buzzing noise can be heard. Modern psychologists have deduced that is not a cause, but rather a result of acute stress: someone with high levels of anxiety may become delusional and see out of the corner of their eye - however, it is still unknown why so many people seem to see this similar figure during these delusions.
Footnotes
1 - Note, NOT referred to as the Soviet State of Svalbard in lore, and only has this name on site because the author of the nation is a complete moron
2 - Sisi, Siskeh, Siskehian, and Sikh are all words used when referring to the ethnicity of people hailing from the north of Svalbard: but generally Sisikehian is used to distinguish between the uses for the other words
3 - The phrasing 'vote on their head of state' should be taken with a heavy grain of salt: after the first few decades of Trondelang's existence, much of the population were uneducated peasants who knew nothing of the politicking in the capital: whilst basic descriptions could be written to try and help establish what people were voting for, most of the population was also uneducated so these helped little. A common practice after the republic's expansion was to either count up or make an estimate of a village or small town's population, then ask the presumably educated and politically aware leadership to cast votes on behalf of their people; a process later crudely called 'second-hand voting'. Furthermore, as the republic's holdings became vast, votes had to be cast from far and wide, meaning people had to manually sail all the way across the sea with ballots, then all the way beck with the results - on the one hand, it is impressive that the administration was able to do this at the time, however it should also be noted that this made fraud a large possibility, along with the threat of votes simply being lost at sea along with the crew
4 - Modern understanding of psychology suggests that Haransham II's punitive treatment of his children led to stunted cognitive abilities; thus it probably isn't very fair to blame how poor they were at ruling on them
5 - Non-Svalbardian being not Svarizian, Sisi, Kalsavyan, or Svalvo-Nordic
6 - Meaning that Astrologicans do not send missions to convert people - there is an actual word for this, but I can't find it anywhere