The Serene Dominion of Ancient Slobovia is a gargantuan, socially progressive nation, ruled by Empress Iris IV with a fair hand, and remarkable for its museums and concert halls, national health service, and devotion to social welfare. The hard-nosed, democratic population of 24.701 billion Ancient Slobovians hold their civil and political rights very dear, although the wealthy and those in business tend to be viewed with suspicion.

The government — a sprawling, bureaucracy-choked, outspoken morass — juggles the competing demands of Education, Environment, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Constantinople. The average income tax rate is 77.4%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The strong Ancient Slobovian economy, worth a remarkable 1,277 trillion guilders a year, is extremely specialized and mostly made up of the Book Publishing industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is 51,736 guilders, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.0 times as much as the poorest.

Large areas of Ancient Slobovia are not accessible by the public, all mothers are allowed six months fully-paid maternity leave, college students make ends meet by selling their kidneys, and the government is pursuing a new programme aimed at promoting cultural sophistication. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Ancient Slobovia's national animal is the silver bear, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Ancient Slobovia is ranked 71,659^th in the world and 3,265^th in the South Pacific for Most Extreme, scoring 20 on the Paul-Nader Subjective Decentrality Index.