Varkana

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Varkana
საქართველო
Sakartvelo
Flag of Varkana Seal of Varkana
Flag Seal
Motto: სიბრძნე, სამართლიანობა, სიმამაცე, თავშეკავებისკენ
"Wisdom, Justice, Fortitude, Restraint"
Anthem: "თავისუფლება"
"Freedom"
National Emblem
100px
Location of Varkana in Adonia
CapitalKlow (კლოვ)
Largest city (same as above)
Official languages Kartvelian
Demonym Varkan
Government Aristocratic communalist constitutional
semi-presidential unitary republic
 -  President of Varkana Giorgi Latso
 -  Council of Ten Members
Legislature Parliament
Constitutional history
 -  Kingdom of Varkana ???? 
 -  First Republic ???? 
 -  Second Republic ???? 
 -  Third Republic ???? 
 -  Fourth Republic 2004 
Area
 -  Total TBC km2
TBC sq mi
Population
 -  2013 estimate TBC
 -  2012 census TBC
 -  Density TBC/km2
TBC/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2013 estimate
 -  Total §TBC
 -  Per capita §28,092
HDI (2013).TBC
Script error: No such module "Error".
Currency Lari (ლ) (VAL)
Time zone AUT+2
Date format dd.mm.yyyy CE
Drives on the right
Internet TLD .va, .ვა


Varkana (Kartvelian: საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is

Etymology

The full, official name of the country is "Varkana", as specified in the Varkan constitution. "Varkana" is an exonym, used in other countries since the medieval period. It is presumably derived from the Middle Persian varkâna, meaning "land of wolves". The self-designation used by ethnic Varkans is Kartvelebi (ქართველები, i.e. "Kartvelians"), the native name of Varkana Sakartvelo (საქართველო) "land of Kartvelians" and of the Karvelian language Kartuli (ქართული).

History

Geography

Geology

Fauna

Flora

Government and politics

Varkana is an aristocratic communalist constitutional semi-presidential unitary republic. The Fourth constitution of Varkana was approved by referendum on 28 September 2004. The executive branch itself has two leaders: the President of Varkana, currently Giorgi Latso, who is head of state and is elected directly by universal adult suffrage for a 4-year term and conducts mainly the foreign policy, and the Government, led by the Council of Ten, representing the Varkan aristocracy.

The Parliament is a unicameral legislature and is composed of 200 members of whom 100 are elected by the population for four years. The 100 other MPs are appointed by the Council of Ten every year, using the party-list system. The government is formed by the Council of Ten who head each Departments and act as a collective premiership and MPs appointed by the Parliament who run each Ministries.

Law

The Law of Varkana is the legislation in force in the Republic of Varkana, which is understood to mean Varkan territory, Varkan waters, consulates and embassies, and ships flying the Varkan flag in international waters and airspace. Varkan law stems from the Kartvelian people through democratically elected institutions. Varkan law is supported principally by the law in the broad sense (laws and regulations) and to a lesser extent by judicial decisions and customs. The supreme Varkan law is the Constitution of 2004, which regulates the functioning of public bodies and the fundamental rights of the Kartvelian people, as well as the organization and competencies of the different communes. The Constitution, as well as being directly applicable by the judiciary, enjoys a material supremacy that determines the rest of the laws in Varkana. All laws in Varkana must be declared compatible with the Constitution (all laws that contravene the Constitution are invalid). However, it is clear that a public body is needed to regulate the fulfillment of this rule. In Varkana's case, a Constitutional Court exists, which follows the Kelsenian model. The judicial powers fall into the hands of the judges and courts, an office which the public has access to, and in a jury, which is formed by nationals chosen by lottery in every case. The Constitutional Court controls the laws and the actions of the public administration must fit into the Varkan Magna Carta.

Marriage is considered a religious institution and is subject to approval by the State to be deemed legal and considered as a civil union. Civil Union is the ultimate and only legal partnership in Varkana and is guaranteed equal access for same-sex couples. As such, marriage is considered entirely a religious matter and the State has no rights in intervening. But the State reserves itself the right to refuse to recognize and therefore legalize a said marriage if it is not constitutional.

Administrative divisions

Varkana is divided into ?? communes. All of the territory of the Republic of Varkana is covered by communes except in government lands where the communes do not have local representation and is directly administered by the state. This apart, powers, size, population in communes may vary considerably from one to another. Communes are a supralocal type of regional municipality, and act as the local municipality in unorganized territories within their borders. Most communes are subdivided into villages, which act as local municipalities. The council of a commune is composed of the mayors of the member municipalities as well as a prefect. The prefect is usually elected by and from the council by secret ballot. Universal suffrage may also be used. The prefect's mandate is 2 years when elected by council or 4 years when elected by universal suffrage.

Foreign Relations

Military

Economy

Transports

Demographics

With an estimated population of ?? million people as of 2012, Varkana is the ??th-most populous country in Adonia and the ??th-most populous in [continent]. Most historians and scholars of Varkana as well as anthropologists, archaeologists and linguists tend to agree that the ancestors of modern Kartvelians inhabited the [region of the continent] since the Neolithic period. Scholars usually refer to them as Proto-Kartvelian tribes. Some [continent] historians of the 19th century (e.g., Wilhelm von Humboldt and Paul Kretschmer) as well as Varkan scholars (R. Gordeziani, S. Kaukhchishvili and Z. Gamsakhurdia) came to the conclusion that Proto-Kartvelians might be related linguistically and culturally to the indigenous (pre-Indo-European) peoples of ancient [continent] including the "Pelasgians", "Etruscans" and Proto-"Basques". A law originating from the ???? revolution and reaffirmed in the 2004 Constitution makes it illegal for the Varkan state to collect data on ethnicity and ancestry.

Varkana is a highly urbanized country, with its largest communes in 2012 being Klow (1,721,031), TBC.

Language

The official language of Varkana is Kartvelian. The Kartvelian language is neither Indo-European, Turkic nor Semitic. It is written in its own unique writing system, the Kartvelian script. According to the 2012 population census, 98.767% of the population declared Kartvelian as their mother tongue ("mother tongue is defined as the first or main language spoken at home during childhood").

Kartvelian has a rich word-derivation system. By using a root, and adding some definite prefixes and suffixes, one can derive many nouns and adjectives from the root. For example, from the root -kartv-, the following words can be derived: Kartveli (a Varkan/Kartvelian person), Kartuli (the Kartvelian language) and Sakartvelo (Varkana).

Most Varkan surnames end in -dze ("son") (region), -shvili ("child") (region), -ia (region), -ani (region), -uri (region), etc. The ending -eli is a particle of nobility, equivalent to "French" de, "German" von or "Polish" -ski.

Kartvelian has a vigesimal number system, based on the counting system of 20, like "Basque" or "French". In order to express a number greater than 20 and less than 100, first the number of 20s in the number is stated and the remaining number is added. For example, 93 is expressed as ოთხმოცდაცამეტი - otkh-m-ots-da-tsamet'i (lit. four-times-twenty-and-thirteen).

Religion

Dedamitism is the state religion of Varkana, considered as sectarian by most countries in Adonia. The collective influence of Dedamitism on the country's political, economic and cultural life is significant. The Varkan Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The government only recognizes Dedamitism as an official religion. Varkana recognizes agnosticism and atheism. Any other religion is considered as a sect. Varkana is a secular country in which the state must respect all religions and any such sects are legal and they are only reprehensible if they violate the law. In the 2012 Varkan census, 87.18% of Varkans identified themselves as Dedamitists, 6.96% Agnostics, 2.91% Atheists, 1.69% Buddhist, and 1.28% unstated.

The Varkan ???? Law On Sects, in its own words, aims at movements deemed cultic that "undermine human rights and fundamental freedoms". The law does not define new crimes, except in association with existing crimes. The law is causing controversy internationally, with some commentators alleging that it infringes religious freedom. Proponents of the law allege, on the contrary, that it reinforces religious freedom, since it aims at protecting people in a weak position (including children), preventing criminal organizations from forcing such people into religious and other activities. For instance, minors may not join any religious organizations including Dedamitism until reaching the age of majority, 16 year old. Private religious practice (for children) is however not restricted if done in family (activities such as praying or reading 'holy' books).

With little tolerance on other religions than Dedamitism practiced in Varkana, conflicts with followers of different religions arise periodically. Moreover, Varkana's political leadership has played an important role in the relations between groups, both positively and negatively, promoting mutual respect by affirming the Constitution but also promoting the state religion, which has caused a number of conflicts in certain regions of the country.

In the late 19th century, following investigations on pedophilia rings in several Catholic churches, Catholicism was outlawed. Islam was already outlawed in the 17th century for inhumane practices against women. Judaism has been outlawed since the 12th century for inhuman practices against baby boys (circumcision). There is currently a debate if Christianity in general should be outlawed in Varkana due to similar reasons as for Islam. The advocacy group Freedom House produced a report entitled "Religious Freedom in the World" in 2012 which ranked countries according to their religious freedom. Varkana received a score of 7, indicating it was one of the countries where religious freedom was least respected. The President of Varkana, Giorgi Latso, dismissed such scores, stating that it is "biased on a pre-established false premise that no religion is better than another which is obviously false and a wet dream of egalitarian utopian delusional people".

Health

Varkana has a universal health care system that is administered by the Department of Health and paid for mostly by taxes (85%) and to a lesser extent by service fees (15%). Unlike most developed nations, there are no private hospitals, and private insurance is nonexistent.

A considerable portion of the government budget is assigned to health care, and Varkana ranks ??th in health care expenditures as a percentage of GDP and ??th in spending per capita in Adonia. Overall, the country's health care system is one of the best performing on the planet, ranked ??th by the Adonian Health Organization. As of 2012, Varkana had 3.8 doctors per 1,000 people and 15.3 nurses per 1,000 people. Varkans are among the world’s healthiest people, with 81% reporting to be in good health, according to an independent survey. The average life expectancy is 78 years old.

However, the health of the inhabitants of Vale is not optimal in all areas. Despite the drop in beer consumption since the 1960s, Varkans remain the third largest drinkers in [continent] after the IRISH and the POPOVS. 40% of 18-75 years smoked daily (marijuana or tobacco) in 2010, despite intense campaigns against the smoking. Smoking in public places including pubs, restaurants, night clubs and offices has been banned. Restaurants with certain permits are allowed for smokers, most notably for shisha cafés.

Education

The education system in Varkana considerably changed from a system modeled on the interests of industrialization to the interests of progress and self achievement. Nowadays, the schooling system in Varkana is completely centralized, and is composed of two stages, general education and higher education.

Compulsory education, or general education, comprises primary and secondary education, which is most of the time conducted at the same institution. Education is mandatory by law for children aged from 6 to 18 years. The school year lasts eight months, beginning between 21 August and 1 September, ending between 31 May and 10 June with two months of holidays during the winter and two months during the summer. Courses take place five days a week. All schools in Varkana are mixed sex schools.

Primary education consists in a curriculum of basic courses for the development of a primary set of knowledge as guided by the government. These courses include intensive Kartvelian classes, mathematics, history and physical education, among others. Students are to pass all these classes before being able to begin secondary education. They therefore fulfill their primary education at similar levels and ages. Usually, students finish their primary education at the age of 12.

Secondary education is different than primary education. Students get a lot more liberties than in primary school. They are to decide which classes they want with a series of class points. Certain classes give more points than others and follow levels. For instance, a student who hasn't pass Geography 1 couldn't register for Geography 2. Students are required to all have general courses or formation, which include Kartvelian language classes, physical education, philosophy and a foreign language class of which "English" is the most common choice. This education system shows uncommon characteristics such as students of different age studying in the same class.

Higher education in Varkana compromises ten universities. These universities are entirely publicly funded by the Department of Education. They are actively part of the political system of Varkana by which teachers elect the university's rector who chooses a student of their university to become a Ten's conciliator based on a series of criteria.

Culture

Architecture

Art

Cuisine

Music

Literature

Philosophy

Society

Varkana's society consists of close knit families. There are other important social organizations in Varkana that have gradually evolved from the idea of family. These organization works for the social benefit and welfare of the people of Varkana. The institution of civil union also plays an important role in the Varkan society. Tradition and religious practices forms a core of the social lifestyle of the Kartvelian people. Women in Varkan society are given great importance and are provided with good educational facilities. Loyalty to the family comes before other social relationships, even business. Nepotism is considered a good thing, since it implies that employing people one knows and trusts is of primary importance. Kartvelians are a people who retain a sense of formality when dealing with each other, which is displayed in the form of extreme politeness in language. In Varkan society, appearance is very important, especially in larger communes like Klow. People are fashion conscious and believe that clothes indicate social standing and healthiness. They take great pride in wearing good fabrics and clothes of the best standard they can afford. Varkana is a culture that respects hierarchy. Society is highly stratified and vertically structured. People respect intellectual authority and look to those above them for guidance and decision-making. Rank is important, and those with better qualifications than you must always be treated with respect. This leads to an aristocratic approach to decision-making and problem solving, especially in the government. In business, power and authority is generally decided with consensus building with all parties involved.

Sports