Gentelibre

Gentelibre, formally the Socialist Republic of Gentelibre, is a large sovereign state that straddles East and West Centralius, with most of the country lying in the East. It is bordered by Airedalandia, Ellisland, Girania, Merkrun, Wennland and Zootron.

History
In 1907, a revolution in the Kingdom of Vaatnia against the oppressive and all-powerful monarchy ended with the emergence of the world's first socialist state. Through the first few years of its existence, Gentelibre, as it was renamed (Gentelibre literally meaning "Free People") suffered from great instability as competing factions within the Communist Party wrestled for control. However, by 1921, through political manoeuvring and successive waves of purges, Anzor Palve consolidated power and launched a wave of expansion which saw Gyre, which had been afflicted by the same economic oppression as Vaatnia before the revolution, added to Gentelibre in 1923. Gentelibre was notably neutral during the Great War, and whilst Ebeline was in shambles in the immediate aftermath, the formerly independent region of Liitnia rebelled and joined Gentelibre. In 1947 growing opposition to the repressive government of Palve culminated with an insurgency beginning, which by 1949 forced him to flee to Ebeline (where he would ultimately lead as well) and overthrew the government. In his place, leader of the guerrillas, Emilio Caster took control. He introduced sweeping reforms that removed references to the Communist Party in the constitution, and held the first democratic elections in 1950. He was re-elected in a landslide with 77% of the vote, and would serve for two decades as President, up until 1970, when for health reasons he did not seek re-election. He did however, have a preferred successor, Robert Ross, Jr., who lost the election by a margin of less than 1%, an impressive feat for the rising 33 year old politician who would go on to win the election in 1980. During this time, Gentelibre emerged as a powerful nation in its own right, largely independent of the Airedalandian and Ebelinian Blocs. Gentelibre introduced limited free-market reforms which gave rise to the country's modern system of corporatist democratic socialism. This did however, lead to long-term stagnation and a two year recession during the 1980s. During the Zootronian Revolution, Gentelibre was staunchly against foreign military intervention, condemning Operation Long Arm, but not backing the Ebelinian government either. Instead, Gentelibre was the largest provider of humanitarian aid, and dealt with the influx of roughly two million refugees fleeing the war. In the years that followed, the young Zootron became an important trading partner of Gentelibre. However, following the start of the Second Cold War, Gentelibre once again distanced itself from the two standoffish blocs.

Physical Features
Gentelibre has coasts bordering the Gyren Sea, Bay of Vaatnia, and Welver Sea. In the Western and Southern coastal regions exist extensive expanses of very productive farmland, where a wide variety of crops can be grown. In the East, in southern and central Vaatnia especially, grain production is important.

The central part of the country, where the capital of Stronhelm lies, is very mountainous. The most important natural resources in the central region are minerals for mining. In the Eastern reaches of Vaatnia exist rich oil fields, and as the plateau in the east turns to the central mountains, coal is also abundantly found.

Finally, in the North, vast forested expanses cover most of Liitnia. Forestry is consequently an important economic activity, and most region's sparse settlements are close to the coast, which is known for its for its rich fishery.

Climate
Gyre and Bloodcoast see moderate temperatures year-round, although snowfall is by no means unheard of. Liitna sees modestly colder temperatures but less variance year round, and has less deciduous trees as a consequence of its climate. Central Gentelibre sees very harsh temperature changes from season to season, with parts of Vaatnia on average varying from -34°C in the winter to 29 °C in summer.

Administrative Divisions
Gentelibre is divided into two provinces and three territories. The provinces of Gyre and Vaatnia constitute most of Gentelibre's land mass and population. The smaller regions of Liitnia and Bloodcoast, which were added to the later on, are organized as territories, the crucial difference in governance being their legislatures do not serve as lower houses on the national level. Instead, they send representatives to the House of Gyren or Vaatnian Representatives, in the cases of Bloodcoast and Liitnia, respectively. Stronhelm, the capital, is also administered as a territory, though it sends representatives to neither of the provincial legislatures. Instead, its government has more autonomy, and the municipal and territorial-level governments are merged. This means the Mayor of Stronhelm is at the same level, at least in theory, as the Governors of Liitnia and Bloodcoast, or Premiers of Gyre and Vaatnia.

Structure
It is a Federal Parliamentary Republic, which is notable for having a legislature consisting of three separate chambers, two of which (The House of Gyren Representatives and House of Vaatnian Representatives) both serve as lower houses, with the upper house being the All-Union People's Assembly. The Head of State is the President, who is elected by the All-Union People's Assembly to a near-completely ceremonial role. The Head of Government is the Prime Minister, who is the leader of the party which commands the most amount of seats in the All-Union People's Assembly. The five Federal Subjects (two provinces, three territories, including the capital) have powers to self-govern, and with the exception of Stronhelm, have members elected to either the House of Gyren Representatives or House of Vaatnian Representatives, which as previously mentioned act as the federal lower house.

Parties & Elections
Since the beginning of open elections in 1950, Gentelibren politics have been dominated by three parties; the Communists, Democratic Socialists, and Libertarians. In recent times the Democratic Socialists have shifted to take on a more centre-leaning stance, and the Communists have consequently made gains on the left of the political spectrum.