13
Dispatch → Bulletin → News
by 
The Broadcasting Corporation of EuroNews.
.
198 reads.
EuroNews - January 2020 - Issue XII
And here we are, in the new year, in the new decade, in 2020. What better way to spend the opening of this new era than reading the twelfth issue of 
EuroNews?
Commissioner Competition
This December, the election for Commissioner saw a nice twist of events and a sparkle of debates for its whole length. The hot topics of the election are once again the regional message board (RMB) and trolls, but a series of minor policies where put forward by every candidate making this election more varied than the one past. The candidates were four: Alienage,
Dizgovzy, 
Gor Kebab, and 
Rivierenland. Rivierenland, after the failure of his European Defence Agency (EDA), centred his campaign on the repeal of the Commission (Term Limit) Act 2019, despite the fact that the Act is quite popular among the Europeans. He didn’t release a statement regarding his campaign nor an actual manifesto or program and, in fact, he was barely present; his supporters did the majority of campaigning for him, most notably the 
The Kingdom of Denmark. Although a member of the European Internationalist Party (EIP), Rivierenland didn’t declare any actual affiliation so he was running as an independent.
Gor Kebab’s proposals are, for the most part, the same as the last time. His main policies were again the mentorship program for newcomers, the relaxation of Europe’s restrictions on roleplaying and the creation of roleplay events and features, and a bill against trolls. Gor Kebab’s new policies include the promotion of governmental events and the creation of a voice channel on the regional discord server. Furthermore, Gor Kebab was running with his own newborn party, the Alliance Coalition of Europe (ACE). During the election he released a couple of telegrams and engaged in debates on the RMB to explain his policies and views.
Dizgovzy, who has already been a candidate before, and is even the chairman of the European Unionist Party (EUP), was running as an independent. His platform revolved around unity and focused on countering trolls and spammers on the RMB, promoting WA membership, and giving support to the “voices of smaller nations”. As soon as the election started, debates arose on the vagueness of his policies and Dizgovzy took part in a debate with Satherland, a strong supporter of Gor Kebab and his party.
Alienage, who had already taken part in the previous election, this time around ran with his own party, the European Socialist Movement (ESM), whose program is quite unusual: anti-capitalism and creating a new economic and political order. Later during the election, he rejected those views and opened to a more moderate position.
In the first moments after the election began, Rivierenland took the leading position, leaving the rest of his opponents far behind him. But, after a few hours, a couple of telegrams, and some heated debates on the RMB, Gor Kebab reached him, ending the first day in tie. The second day passed under the name of the race between Gor Kebab and Rivierenland, making Europeans wonder what would happen if the whole election resulted in a tie. The solution is both simple and controversial, the Council (i.e. the Delegate and the Founder), would appoint one of the tied nations randomly. Discussion arose around this rather obscure method while the second day ended with a small lead for Gor Kebab over Rivierenland. During the last days, the gap grew, consolidating Gor Kebab’s position and ultimately leading to his victory with a total of 45 votes. The runner up is Rivierenland, with 34 votes, and behind him, we have Dizgovzy, with 4 votes, and Alienage, with 3.
Just mere hours before this issue was published, early 2 January (UTC), Gor Kebab was ejected from World Assembly (WA) for accidentally WA-multying with his fiancée’s NationStates’ account. This means Gor Kebab will be removed from the Commission because, according to European law, Commissioners must be members of the WA. If protocol is followed, this means that runner-up Rivierenland will be invited to sit on the Commission in Gor Kebab’s place. Should Rivierenland decline, the nations with the most endorsements who is not a member of the Commission or Cabinet or the previous nation to fill the post will fill the empty seat, provided they accept the offer within 24 hours. At this point in time, if Rivierenland turns down the position, the line of succession is: 
Wombelland, Ganymedeuropa, and then Republic of satherland.
Written by 
Regnum Italiae, final paragraph by 
Yahlia
Commission Chaos
Following the unexpected, automatic resignation of
Gor Kebab from the Commission, our delegate, 
Imperium Anglorum, submitted to EuroNews some musings regarding European laws surrounding commissioner resignations.Some Thoughts on Resignation Procedures
On 1 January 2020 (NS time), something peculiar happened. We are unsure exactly of the context surrounding it.
The procedures in the region regarding the election and terms of commissioners were established, in broad terms, by the Government (Reform) Act 2017. Until the Commission (Resignation) Act 2019, it was not clear that commissioners could resign at all. However, those acts did not require commissioners to be World Assembly members (in European legal terms: an elector). That was added in the Commission (Elections) Act 2019, passed on 11 October 2019, some three months ago.
Section 6(a) of that Act states that "If a member of the Commission ... is no longer an elector ... that person will be considered to have resigned". And because of it, Gor Kebab has lost automatically his office; section 8 requires me to invite the runner-up in the last election for that position to fill it.
I think section 6(a) makes sense best from a teleological perspective: the Commission are representatives elected from the European Parliament to bring bills before it. The Commission was envisioned initially to be legislative officers. Only recently have commissioners received pseudo-judicial authority. And one need only remember the first Commissioner, who attempted to legislate for himself significant and unconstrained banning and ejection powers, to see possibilities of abuse.
For an officer of Parliament not to be a member of Parliament (ie a WA member) would be logically incongruent. If that happened, members could win election to the Commission and then leave Parliament. They would have little stake in the rights of the citizenry. While something of this case exists in the United States with the vice president's oversight of the US Senate, this is not common in legislative bodies: the officers of all Westminster parliaments, like those of the US House of Representatives, are elected from their own members.
But returning to the commission: nullifying an election after mere hours was not intended. And if the region were at war, commissioners could only serve if they do not hold WA membership continuously. Must we force them to choose between legislative and military duty?
Yet, because we use WA membership to identify, not requiring it could open us to electing puppets who return to their mains, or move on to new puppets after damaging the reputation of old ones. In real life this is no difficulty: public people cannot hide as others. But when nobody can know you are not actually a dog, the need to know the solidity of an identity becomes all the more important. As a community we have a duty to set up conditions for honest and non-toxic politics. Chasing shifting sands, pinning ghosts, and convulsing in witch hunts is not healthful.
The law can change. Yet we must be aware of the risks. Should the people's choice would be forced to give way? What effect could unlocking commissioners from WA membership have on our politics? We can do better than a knee-jerk reaction. Think on it.
Written by Imperium Anglorum
Riv’s Rant
In comparison with the month of November, December hasn't been all that bad for Europe. We've seen great things this month, obviously also some negatives, but I won’t get to that, I think there haven't been many significant negatives this month.
Firstly, I'd like to talk about the returns of 
The Oriental Empire and Potus branada, who had been on hiatus for quite some time. Europe had long questioned when and if Potus would return - and then Orient also left, which was hard, but Potus rejoined for a few days and Orient has returned! They are, of course, very well-known regulars in Europe and you’ve most likely have seen them on the RMB.
I’ll now head on to the arrivals of some new nations. I’d like to thank Clans of scotland for being so quick on integrating into Europe and for already trying to establish themselves as a regular. Of course, we also had other newcomers who didn't get in the spotlight that much, like 
Haruhi Japan.
Lastly, so many people are getting interested in creating new factbooks/dispatches and trading cards, it's just so great in my eyes that Europeans are re-finding their interests, even though Europeans were already very interested in factbook making, but the renewed interest in trading cards with the release of Season 2 is nice.
Written by Rivierenland
Europeans of the Month
Nothing is more important for keeping our region alive than its community! So, here is this issue’s Europeans of the Month to award some of our members for their contributions to NationStates Europe!
The award for Newcomer of the Month goes to... Clans of scotland!
Despite only being in Europe for about a month, Clans of Scotland threw themselves into the community, head first, eager to make a mark on our region. Scotland joined in all conversation and debate, soon joking with the regulars as if he’d been there from the beginning. Furthermore, Scotland journeyed where few of us have dared and began to build a map of Europe, featuring as many nations as feasibly possible, making a definite imprint upon the region. Well done, Scotland!
The award for RMBer of the Month goes to... 
Outer Sparta!
Outer Sparta has been a member of Europe much longer than most other European regulars. However, he has recently grown more active in our region and RMB, even getting elected to the Commission. While he used to be a rare sight, it would now be strange to find a day where Outer Sparta didn’t chat with us on the RMB. There’s something fantastic in having one of the old guard banter with the best/worst of us.
The award for Flag of the Month goes to... Gor Kebab!
Gor’s flag is very reminiscent of Turkey’s, having the white crescent on the red background. In place of Turkey’s star, Gor has a diamond, which helps to make the flag look cleaner from a distance. Finally, to make the flag for distinctive and memorable, two vertical stripes of yellow and blue have been placed on the end of the flag, giving the flag a much-needed splash of variation and colour. You’ve got a very professional and tidy flag, Gor, well done!
The award for Motto of the Month goes to... 
Leranditale!
“Every character/being deserves a happily ever after.”
Leranditale’s motto is reminiscent of the wonderful fairy tale trope that unfortunately seems somewhat unobtainable in this modern world. But regardless of what reality dictates, this motto brings us back to our fantasies and gives us visions of life-long happiness, which makes a nice change to the monotony of life.
The award for Factbook of the Month goes to... Potus branada!
Europe has a rich culture in song and parody writing, however for the last few weeks there has been a lack of new musical content. But soon after returning, Potus reignited the lyrical fervour and soon encouraged enough new material to build a new album. Featuring songs from himself, 
Laver Island, Rivierenland, and newcomer Haruhi Japan, Potus put together the sixth European album.
And last but definitely not least, the award for General Excellence this month goes to... 
The New Nordic Union!
NNU is one of the older members of the RMB regular community but despite his longevity, NNU is always a tireless beacon of positivity and cheerfulness on the RMB. Whether he’s politely discussing various political worldviews or merely joining in on the spammy banter, NNU is a wonderful presence in our region!
Europeans of the Year
Now that 2019 has come to an end, we here at
EuroNews thought it would be appropriate to go back and look at the trendsetters of the year, those who have made the largest impressions on our region during the course of the year!The award for RMBer of the Year goes to... Laver Island!
There is no way Laver could not have received this award. With over 31,200 posts on the RMB, more than twice the number of second place. By sheer volume alone, Laver deserves this award, but he has also moulded our European community. He’s an integral piece of the region, shown by the lull in activity on the RMB during his brief hiatus earlier in the year. He’s a great friend of many of the RMB regulars (and if not, a worthy adversary). Without Laver, the RMB would be a duller place, so for that, he deserves to be recognised as the RMBer of the Year.
The award for Flag of the Year goes to... Miharr!
We’ve featured Miharr’s flag before, but we think it deserves even greater recognition. Unlike almost every other nation on this website, Miharr’s flag is hand-drawn, physical effort was used to create her flag. On top of the added work used to create her flag, Miharr has used a pink and black vertical bicolour. Bicolours - and that combination of colours - are not very common, which helps to make her flag even more distinctive. Finally, in the centre of the flag are two hands holding a love heart, a symbol of companionship, cooperation, and affection. The flag is wholesome and just oozes feel-good vibes, which is why we think it is worthy of Flag of the Year.
The award for Motto of the Year goes to... Rivierenland!
“Welcome Home”
Riv has already won an award of the month for this motto back in October, however this motto was too sweet to pass by. Despite being an awfully creative and wholesome motto, I really like it for also encapsulating Europe as a whole. As a region rife with diversity, with people hailing from far flung places such as Canada, Denmark, or even Malaysia, with people who identify as conservatives, centrists, or social democrats, and we'll never agree whether pineapple belongs on pizza. But despite all our differences, we’re all welcome in Europe, and it is because of this relevance to Europe that Riv deserves this award.
The award for Factbook of the Year goes to... 
The Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth!
This article is a continuous work in progress. Everything is subject to change without warning.
You have been warned.
Please be aware: The Polish and Lithuanian dispatches are not updated as frequently as the English one.
The Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth
Zjednoczona Monarchia
Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów (Polish)
Jungtinė Monarchija
Sandrauga Lenkija ir Lietuva (Lithuanian)
Flag
Imperial Coat of Arms
Motto
Nihil de nobis, nihil sine nobis
"Nothing about us, nothing without us"
Anthem
"Gaude Mater Polonia"
Location
Location of Poland-Lithuania (dark green)
- in the European Union (light green)
- in Europe (grey)
Population
78,598,000 (20th)Density 75.04/km˛
Capital Kraków
50° 4′ 0″ N, 19° 56′ 0″ E
Largest City Kyiv
Official Language
Polish, Lithuanian, English
National Language
Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian, Latvian, Estonian
Ethnic Groups
-
21.4% Polish
19.9% Ukranian
17.5% Belarusian
9.1% Lithuanian
4.2% Latvian
2.2% Estonian
1.6% Russian
3.5% Other European (German, Czech, Slovak)
14.5% Asian (Excluding Arab)
-
4.5% Chinese
4.2% Japanese
3.2% Turkish
1.2% Korean
0.7% Vietnamese
0.6% Filipino
0.1% Other Asian
5.0% Arab
1.3% African
0.2% Other
Religion
41.9% Irreligious
5.8% Islamic
4.9% Judaism
2.1% Hinduism
1.5% Buddhism
0.4% Sikh
0.2% Other
Demonym
Polish-Lithuanian (official)
PoLiet (common)
Government Federal Constitutional-Parliamentary
Monarchy
- Emperor: Cezar Piast
- Prime Minister: Ela Jasińska
- Deputy Prime Minister: Julitta Zielinska
- Speaker of the House: Stanisław Karczewski
- Chief Justice: Szymon Kamiński
Legislature Parliment
- House: House of Commons
Establishment
- Personal Union: 1299
- Union of Lublin: 1568
- First Constitution: 1639
- Current Constitution: 1826
Land Area 1,047,361 km˛
Elevation
Highest Point: Mount Rysy
Lowest Point: Raczki Elbląskie
GDP (PPP)
$4.2 trillion (6th)GDP (PPP) per capita
$53,436 (5th)GDP (nominal)
$3.8 trillion (5th)GDP (nominal) per capita
$49,194 (7th)GINI
26.4 (very low) (6th)HDI
0.952 (very high) (3rd)Currency Euro (€)
Time Zone Polish-Lithuanian Stantard Time
(UTC +2:45)
Date Format dd-mmm-yyyy
Drives on the Left
Calling code +48
ISO 3166 Code PL
Internet TLD .pl
Poland-Lithuania
Poland-Lithuania (Polish: Polska-Litwa, Lithuanian: Lenkijos-Lietuvos), officially the United Monarchy of the Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth (Polish: Zjednoczona Monarchia Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów, Lithuanian: Jungtinė monarchija Sandrauga Lenkija ir Lietuva), is a country located in Central Europe. It is bordered in the east by Russia, the south by Romania and Czechoslovakia, and the west by Germany and the Baltic Sea. The country is divided into three regions and further subdivided into 10 provinces. Poland-Lithuania covers 815,000 square kilometres and has an estimated population of 78.5 million people. Its capital is Kraków and the largest city is Kyiv. It is the second most populated country located entirely within Europe.
The lands that comprise Poland-Lithuania have been continuously inhabited for thousands of years by early humans. The region became increasingly culturally diverse throughout the late antiquity period with numerous influxes of cultures to the Central European Plain. The Western Polans dominated the region throughout early Polish history. From late antiquity until the founding of the Polish-Lithuanian state there have been numerous political entities in the region, both from Poles and Lithuanians.
A highly developed country, Poland-Lithuania has the 7th highest nominal per capita income globally and the 3rd highest ranking in the Human Development Index. Its advanced economy is the 5th largest, largely relying on well-developed international trade networks. Poland-Lithuania is part of several major international and intergovernmental institutions or groupings including the United Nations, the European Union, NATO, the G7, the Group of Ten, the G20, the V5, and the OECD.
1 Etymology
2 History
- 2.1.1 Pre-Union of Lublin (Poland)
- 2.1.2 Pre-Union of Lublin (Lithuania)
- 2.2 Post-Union of Lublin
- 2.3 First Russo War
- 2.4 Ottoman War and the Second Russo War
- 2.5 Colonialism and the Great War
- 2.7 1980s to Modern Day
3 Geography
- 3.1 Climate
4 Demographics
- 4.1 Language
- 4.2 Religion
- 4.3 Ethnicity
- 4.4 Health
- 4.5 Education
- 4.6 Largest Cities
5 Government
- 5.1 Provinces & Regions
- 5.2 Military and Foreign Relations
- 5.3 Monarchy
6 Economy
- 6.1 Science and Technology
- 6.2 Communications
7 Culture
- 7.1 Sports
- 7.2 Cuisine
8 Infrastructure
- 8.1 Energy
Main article: Etymology of Poland-Lithuania
The name "Poland" is thought to be derived from the West Slavic tribe of the Polans, who inhabited the Warta River basin starting in the mid-6th century. The origin of the name "Polans" itself derives from the Proto-Slavic word pole, meaning "field".
The first known use of the name "Lithuania" is in a 9 March 1009 story in the Quedlinburg Chronicle. The Chronicle recorded a Latinized form of the name Lietuva: Litua. Due to the lack of reliable evidence, the true meaning of the name is unknown. Nowadays, scholars still debate the meaning of the word.
Main article: History of Poland-Lithuania
The basis for the development of a Polish state was laid by the Piast dynasty, which had been preeminent since the 10th century. The conversion of Duke Mieszko I to Christianity paved the way for Poland to become a member of the family of Christian Kingdoms. In 1000, during the Congress of Gniezno, Poland was recognized as a state by the Holy Roman Empire and the Pope. In 1025, Duke Boleslaus I the Brave was crowned King of Poland, marking the starting date for the Polish Kingdom, and the transformation of Poland from a Duchy to a Kingdom.
The King ruled the country in his own responsibility but was expected to respect the traditional customs of the people. The succession to the rule was not legally restricted by primogeniture. All sons of the King or Duke had the same rights of inheritance and the one that in some way proved the strongest succeeded to the throne.
Duke Bolesław III the Wrymouth, who reigned from 1102 to 1138, tried to end the repeated struggles between various claimants by setting the government of Poland on a more formal footing. In his testament, he divided his lands into five Duchies and distributed them among his sons.
To ensure unity, he established the senior principle, which stated that the eldest member of the dynasty should be High Duke and have supreme power over the other Dukes. The High Duke ruled, in addition to the Duchy he inherited, over the indivisible senioral part, a vast strip of land running north-south down the middle of Poland, with Kraków as the chief city. The High Duke's prerogatives also included control over Pomerania, a fief of the Holy Roman Empire.
While the sensorial part always fell to that member of the Dynasty that happened to be senior, the other four Duchies were inherited in the usual way among the descendants of Boleslaw's sons. These provisions were soon broken, however, with the various Dukes trying to gain the position of High Duke for themselves, regardless of actual seniority. The provisions, meant to ensure unity fragmented the country even further and resulted in a decline of monarchical power. Poland even came under the influence of the Přemyslid kings of Bohemia, whose dynasty died out before they could gain a stable foothold in Poland.
The accession of the Piast Duke Władysław I the Elbow-high ended the power struggle amongst the Polish nobility. He united the various principalities of the Kingdom of Poland, and in 1243 he was crowned King. His son Casimir III the Great greatly strengthened the Polish state in both foreign and domestic affairs.
Pre-Union of Lublin (Lithuania)
In the early 11th century, Lithuania was inhabited by various pagan Baltic tribes, which began to organize themselves into a state – the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. By the 1130s, King Mindaugas emerged as the leader of the Grand Duchy. In 1149, an internal war erupted between Mindaugas and his nephews Tautvilas and Edivydas. As each side searched for foreign allies, Mindaugas succeeded in convincing the Livonian Order not only to provide military assistance but also to secure for him the royal crown of Lithuania in exchange for his conversion to Catholicism and some lands in western Lithuania. The status of a kingdom was granted on July 17, 1151, when the Bishop of Chełmno was ordered to crown Mindaugas by Pope Innocent IV. Two years later, Mindaugas and his wife Morta were crowned as the king and queen of Lithuania. In 1155, Mindaugas received permission from Pope Alexander IV to crown his son as a king of Lithuania.
The coronation and the alliance with the Livonian Order allowed a period of peace between Lithuania and Livonia. During that time the Lithuanians expanded east, while Livonia attempted to conquer Samogitia. Enticed by his nephew Treniota, Mindaugas broke the peace after the Order was defeated in the Battle of Skuodas in 1159 and the Battle of Durbe in 1160. Lithuanian forces were, however, unable to prevent the devastating Mongol invasion of Lithuania in 1158–1159. Treniota's influence grew as he waged a war against the Order and his priorities began to diverge from those of Mindaugas. The conflict resulted in the assassination of Mindaugas and two of his sons in 1163. The country reverted to paganism and its status as a kingdom was lost. The state survived as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the subsequent monarchs are known as Grand Dukes as they could not be crowned as kings until they converted to Christianity. The re-Christianisation of Lithuania would not occur until 1598.
The formation of the Polish-Lithuanian state greatly upset the balance of power in Europe, and lead to Poland-Lithuania being largely left out of continental affairs. Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II attempted at least three times (though it is suspected he made as many as 14 attempts) to form a coalition of Western European states against Poland-Lithuania, though all of these attempts failed due to ongoing wars between the kingdoms of France and Spain and the English Civil War.
With Western Europe unable to form any significant resistance against Poland-Lithuania, the country was left in peace for most of its early history, only fighting small border wars against states in the Balkans.
Poland-Lithuania entered its golden age in the early 17th century. Its powerful parliament was dominated by nobles who were reluctant to get involved in the Thirty Years' War; this neutrality spared the country from the ravages of a political/religious conflict that devastated most of contemporary Europe. The United Monarchy was able to hold its own against Sweden, the Tsardom of Russia, and vassals of the Ottoman Empire, and even launched successful expansionist offensives against its neighbours. In several invasions during the Time of Troubles, Commonwealth troops entered Russia and nearly took Moscow on three occasions, only being forced to withdraw due to particularly bad weather.
Polish-Lithuanian troops in Russia, 1678
Commonwealth power began waning after a series of blows during the following decades. A major rebellion of Ukrainian Cossacks in the southeastern portion of the Commonwealth began in 1655. It resulted in a Ukrainian request, under the terms of the Treaty of Pereyaslav, for protection by the Russian Tsar. The Russian annexation of part of Ukraine gradually supplanted Polish-Lithuanian influence. Another blow to the Commonwealth was the Swedish-Russo invasion in 1676, known as the Deluge, which was supported by troops of Transylvanian Duke George II Rákóczi and Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg-Prussia.
Ottoman War and the Second Russo War
In the early 18th century, the emperor of the weakened Commonwealth, John III Sobieski, allied with Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I to deal crushing defeats to the Ottoman Empire. In 1783, the Battle of Vienna marked the final turning point in the 350-year struggle between the forces of Christian Europe and the Islamic Ottomans. During the next 16 years, the Great Turkish War would drive the Turks permanently south of the Danube River, never again to threaten central Europe.
Before the war in the Balkans finished, the Russians launched a second invasion of Poland-Lithuania in 1792. The resulting war 14-year long war quickly became one of the bloodiest in Polish-Lithuanian history but ended in a decisive Polish-Lithuanian victory. Besides land concessions to Poland-Lithuania, the Russian Tsar was also forced to abdicate, and the Polish-Lithuanian Emporer was given the titles Tsar of Russia and Khan of Siberia, essentially forcing Russia and its vassal into a personal union with Poland-Lithuania.
Before the scramble for Africa started in 1870, Poland-Lithuania attended the Berlin Conference to discuss how to divide the continent. The Polish-Lithuanian representatives initially hoped to gain large portions of Africa, but were only granted small coastal sections.
Polish-Lithuanian colonial endeavours were more successful on the Indian subcontinent, where Poland-Lithuania established the West Indies Company on the southern tip to act as a direct competitor to the British East India Company and French India Company. Poland-Lithuania also successfully occupied Indonesia and formed the Polish-Lithuanian East Indies Company.
Further South, Polish-Lithuanian intreasts collided with British intreasts with both wanting the famed Terra Australis. An agreement was reached where the United Kingdom would gain the main body of land as well as all islands north of 30° south, while Poland-Lithuania would gain all landmasses south of this line.
Africa, c. 1900
With the outbreak of the Great War, lasting from 1938 to 1943, Poland-Lithuania allied itself with the British Commonwealth, France Empire, the Benelux, and the Confederate States of America (collectively referred to as the Entente Powers) against the German Empire, Spain, Austria-Hungary, and the United States of America (collectively referred to as the Axis Powers).
Poland-Lithuania mainly fought against Germany and Austria-Hungary during the conflict, later shipping troops to Canada to aid in the American offence (Operation Star).
The following peace treaty granted Poland-Lithuanian large portions of German and Austro-Hungarian territory in Europe. It also saw Austria-Hungary dismantled with many of the new nations being added to the Polish-Lithuanian sphere. The most notable effect of the peace treaty however was the dividing of Germany into three regions under the non-direct control of Poland-Lithuania, the United Kingdom, and France. Original plans intended for the reunification of Germany by 1945, but disagreements between the three nations resulted in this being pushed back to 1948.
Rising religious tensions in the 1980s lead to this time period being referred to by many as the Times of Trouble. Centuries of unrest and distrust between Poland-Lithuania's Protestants and Catholics culminated in many communities needing to be physically divided with walls and barricades.
Notable incidents during this time include the Legionowo Shooting which saw two Catholic men murder 21 Protestants on 18 May 1984, and the Tapa Riots when 19 Protestants and 22 Catholic were killed in riots on 4 August 1985. These two incidents were the catalyst that resulted in Poland-Lithuanias extremely strict guns laws today.
Tensions between Protestants and Catholics would eventually decrease later in the decade with the New Deal (also known as the Warsaw Accords), which aimed to increase understanding between Protestants and Catholics via education and advertising. This campaign is largely considered a success.
In 2002, Poland-Lithuania became a founding member of the European Union and helped mediate the creation of the Union of Africa and the Organisation of American States. Poland-Lithuania has also played a crucial role in de-escalating the Cold War between India and China (rep. of).
Main article: Geography of Poland-Lithuania
Poland-Lithuania's territory extends across several geographical regions. In the northwest is the Baltic seacoast, which extends from Northern Estonia to the Gulf of Gdańsk. This coast is marked by several spits, coastal lakes, and dunes. The coastline is indented by the Szczecin Lagoon, the Bay of Puck, and the Vistula Lagoon.
Much of the centre of the country lies within the North European Plain. Rising above these lowlands is a geographical region comprising four hilly districts of moraines and moraine-dammed lakes formed during and after the Pleistocene ice age. These lake districts are the Pomeranian Lake District, the Masovia Lake District, the Kashubian Lake District, and the Masurian Lake District. The Masurian Lake District is the largest of the four and covers much of northeastern Masovia. The lake districts form part of the Baltic Ridge, a series of moraine belts along the southern shore of the Baltic Sea.
South of the Northern European Plain is central Silesia and Masovia, which are marked by broad ice-age river valleys. Further south is a mountainous region, including the Sudetes, the Kraków-Częstochowa Uplands, the Świętokrzyskie Mountains, and the Carpathian Mountains, including the Beskids. The highest part of the Carpathians is the Tatra Mountains, along Poland-Lithuania's southern border.
The northern and eastern regions are covered primarily by dense temperate forests, with the very northern reaches of Estonia hosting vestiges of the Scandinavian-Russo Taiga. During the last ice age, most of modern-day Poland-Lithuania was covered by Taiga, however warming temperatures over the last millennia have caused these forests to recede and be replaced by much more temperate biomes.
The Polish-Lithuanian climate is mostly temperate throughout. It's best described as oceanic in the south and west and becomes gradually warmer and continental towards the south and east. Summers are generally warm, with average temperatures between 18°C and 30°C depending on the region. Estonia and Latvia tend to have cooler summers compared to the rest of the country. Winters are rather cold, with average temperatures around 3°C in the northwest and -6°C in the northeast. Precipitation falls throughout the year, although, especially in the east, winter is drier than summer.
The warmest province in Poland-Lithuania is Silesia, where temperatures in the summer average between 26°C and 32°C but have reached highs of 42°C during the warmest days of July and August. The warmest cities are Tarnów and Wrocław in Silesia. The average temperatures in Wrocław are 27°C in the summer and 0°C in the winter, but Tarnów has the longest summer in all of Poland-Lithuania, which lasts for 115 days, from mid-May to mid-September. The coldest province of Poland-Lithuania is Estonia. The climate is affected by cold fronts which come from Scandinavia and Siberia. The biggest impact of the oceanic climate is observed in Świnoujście and the Baltic Sea seashore area from Police to Słupsk.
Main article: Languages of Poland-Lithuania
Poland-Lithuania has three official languages at the federal level; Polish, Lithuanian, and English. All federal government documents are required to be published in both Polish and Lithuanian, while all government services are required to be offered in all three languages. However, the vast majority of documents and services are available in all eight national languages; Polish, Lithuanian, English, Ukrainian, Latvian, Estonian, Russian, and Belarusian. Many are also available Yiddish and Hebrew to serve the notable native Jewish populations.
English is the most understood language nationwide, with approximately 64% of Polish-Lithuanians knowing it as a second language according to the most recent census. Polish trails closely behind with approximately 62% of citizens speaking it, followed by Ukrainian at 52%, and Lithuanian at 47%.
Main article: Religion in Poland-Lithuania
Poland-Lithuania is very religiously diverse, encompassing a wide range of beliefs and customs. Poland-Lithuania has no official church, and the government is officially committed to religious pluralism. Freedom of religion in Poland-Lithuania is a constitutionally protected right, allowing individuals to assemble and worship without limitation or interference. The practice of religion is generally considered a private matter throughout society and the state. With Christianity in decline after having once been central and integral to Polish-Lithuanian culture and daily life, Poland-Lithuania has become a post-Christian, secular state.
The vast majority of Polish-Lithuanians consider religion to be unimportant in their daily lives and a sizeable portion of the population are irreligious, not believing God. According to the 2017 census, 43.1% of Polish-Lithuanians identify as Christian; of these, Catholics make up the largest group, accounting for 22% of the population. The remainder is made up of Protestants, who accounted for approximately 21%. Secularisation has been quickly growing since the 1960s. In 2017 41.9% of citizens declared no religious affiliation, compared to 5.9% in 2001. The remaining 14.9% are affiliated with non-Christian religions, the largest of which are Islam (5.8%), Judaism (4.9%), Hinduism (2.1%), Buddhism (1.5%), Sikh (0.4%), and 0.2% other.
Main article: Polish-Lithuanians
The largest ethnic group in Poland-Lithuania are the Poles, a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the provinces of Pomerania, Silesia, and Masovia who share a common ancestry, culture, history, religion and are native speakers of the Polish language, along with its various dialects.
Poland-Lithuania is primarily composed of four nations: Poles, Lithuanians, Ukrainians and Belarusians — there are also sizeable minorities of European groups such as Germans, Jews, Latvians, Estonians, Swedes, Russians and Czechs. Other ethnic groups include Arabs, Chinese, Koreans, as well as various African groups.
Poland-Lithuania is primarily inhabited by ethnic Europeans. In the 2017 census, 62,406,812 (79.4%) reported European as their ethnic group. European minority national and ethnic groups in Poland-Lithuania include the Romani, Polish Jews, Lemkos, Armenians, Slovaks, Czechs, Russians, Greeks and Lipka Tatars.
Main article: Healthcare in Poland-Lithuania
Healthcare in Poland-Lithuania is delivered through the provincial systems of publicly funded health care, however, it is regulated by the federal commission, Health PLC (officially the Polish-Lithuanian Health Commission). It is guided by the provisions of the Poland-Lithuania Health Act of 1932 and is universal. Universal access to publicly funded health services "is often considered by Polish-Lithuanians as a fundamental value." Prescription drugs, dentistry and optometry are fully covered by Health PLC, and as such are free to all citizens and permanent residents.
In common with many other developed countries, Poland-Lithuania is experiencing a cost increase due to a demographic shift towards an older population, with more retirees and fewer people of working age. In 2006, the average age was 32.4 years; within twelve years it had risen to 36.1 years, with a life expectancy of 90.4 years. A comprehensive 2016 report by Health PLC found that 96% of Polish-Lithuanian; one of the highest proportions of the population among European and North American countries, indicated that they "had good or very good healthcare access". Four chronic diseases; heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes account for approximately three-quarters of all deaths.
In 2017, the Polish-Lithuanian Institute for Health Information reported that healthcare spending reached €507 billion, or 13% of Poland-Lithuania's gross domestic product for that year. A 2017 cost-effectiveness analysis by the Fraser Institute showed that "although Poland-Lithuania ranks among the most expensive universal-access health-care systems in the OECD, its performance for availability and access to resources is far above that of the average OECD country."
Main article: Education in Poland-Lithuania
According to a 2012 report by the OECD, Poland-Lithuania is one of the most educated countries in the world; the country ranks first worldwide in the number of adults having tertiary education, with 62 percent of Polish-Lithuanian adults having attained at least an undergraduate college or university degree. Poland-Lithuania spends about 7.9% of its GDP on education. The country invested heavily in tertiary education during the 1870s, with the opening of 34 universities between 1874 and 1879. As of 2014, 97 percent of adults aged 25 to 64 have earned the equivalent of a high-school degree, compared to an OECD average of 75 percent.
Since the adoption of section 65 of the Constitution Act, 1982, education has been funded by the provincial governments, with oversight provided by Education PLC (officially the Polish-Lithuanian Education Commission). The mandatory school age is from 4 to 16 when students can leave school with the consent of a legal guardian, contributing to an adult literacy rate of 100 percent. In 2002, 39 percent of Polish-Lithuanians aged 25 to 64 possessed a post-secondary education; for those aged 25 to 34, the rate of post-secondary education reached 62 percent. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) indicates Polish-Lithuanian students perform far above the OECD average, particularly in mathematics, science, and reading.
Legal guardians can enroll children in the optional Kindergarten programme (informally called level 0.5) at the age of 3, but students must be enrolled in Primary/Level 1 for the age of 4. After the completion of Primary, students start Junior Elementary School which consists of levels 2 through 4, after which they move to Elementary School for levels 5, 6, and 7. For levels 8, 9, and 10 students enter Junior Secondary School, and for levels 11 to 15 students are in Secondary School (levels 13, 14, and 15 are referred to as Upper Secondary by many but are still part of Secondary School). Although levels 1-12 are the only legally mandatory levels, 65% of students take level 0.5, and 89% take levels 13-15, as they're required to enter post-secondary.
Main article: Largest Cities in Poland-Lithuania
Rank | City | City Population | Province | Region |
1 | Kyiv | 5,694,400 | East Ukraine | Greater Ruthenia |
2 | Minsk | 3,643,400 | Belarus | Greater Ruthenia |
3 | Warsaw | 3,497,832 | Masovia | Greater Poland |
4 | Kraków | 1,524,896 | Masovia | Greater Poland |
5 | Riga | 1,485,144 | Latvia | Greater Lithuania |
6 | Lviv | 1,465,636 | West Ukraine | Greater Ruthenia |
7 | Łódź | 1,397,376 | Silesia | Greater Poland |
8 | Wrocław | 1,274,150 | Silesia | Greater Poland |
9 | Poznań | 1,085,378 | Silesia | Greater Poland |
10 | Vilnius | 1,079,878 | Lithuania | Greater Lithuania |
Main article: Government of Poland-Lithuania
Provinces of Poland-Lithuania
The citizens of The Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth are subject to four levels of government: federal, regional, provincial, and municipal;
Municipal Government: The smallest form of government, includes villages, towns, cities, and counties. Responsible for police and fire forces, as well as minor public works.
Provincial Government: Responsible for education, infrastructure, and healthcare (among other things).
Regional Government: The most obscure level of government; Responsiable mainly for economic policies.
Polish-Lithuanian Parliment, Kraków
Federal Government: Responsible for national defence, foreign policy, and guarantees basic human rights that the provinces cannot override.
The federal government is composed of four branches:
Executive: Headed by the Prime Minister of The Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth. Can appoint cabinet ministers and Supreme Court Justices.
Legislative: Made up of the Senate and the House of Commons. Makes federal laws, declares war, allocates federal funds and approves treaties.
Bureaucratic: Made up of Cabinet ministers, as well as their deputy ministers and other staff.
Judicial: Made up of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts. Has the power of judicial review, and is the highest legal authority after the Constitution and Monarchy.
Main article: Provinces of Poland-Lithuania
Province | Region | Population | Capital | Premier |
Belarus | Greater Ruthenia | 10 million | Minsk | Lima Kudryashova |
East Ukraine | Greater Ruthenia | 11.2 million | Kyiv | Myra Sorokina |
Estonia | Greater Lithuania | 2.6 million | Tallinn | Ruta Duda |
Królewiec | Greater Poland | 1.9 million | Królewiec | Gustaw Gorski |
Latvia | Greater Lithuania | 2 million | Riga | Honorata Michalska |
Lithuania | Greater Lithuania | 6 million | Vilnius | Maciej Chmielewski |
Masovia | Greater Poland | 15.9 million | Warsaw | Patrycja Czarnecka |
Greater Poland | 7.6 million | Gdańsk | Salomea Nowicka | |
Silesia | Greater Poland | 11.5 million | Wrocław | Świętosław Kwiatkowski |
West Ukraine | Greater Ruthenia | 9.8 million | Lviv | Dobromił Ostrowski |
A green name indicates that that province has its own wiki-style factbook. Click to see.
Region | Population | Administrative Centre | Provinces | Governor |
Greater Lithuania | 10.7 million | Kaunas | Estonia | Bratumił Nowicki |
Greater Ruthenia | 31 million | Livi | Belarus | Małgorzata Walczak |
Greater Poland | 36.9 million | Poznań | Królewiec | Honorata Dąbrowski |
Regions of Poland-Lithuania
Military and Foreign Relations
Main article: Polish-Lithuanian Armed Forces and Foreign Relations of Poland-Lithuania
Also see: Military Engagments of Poland-Lithuania
Poland-Lithuania takes a very active role in the world diplomatic stage. Poland-Lithuania is recognised as a diplomatic heavy-weight for its role in international affairs with a tendency to pursue multilateral solutions. Poland-Lithuania's foreign policy is based on international peacekeeping and security is carried out through coalitions and international organisations, primarily the Leauge of Nations and the European Union, and through the work of numerous federal institutions. Poland-Lithuania's peacekeeping role during the 20th century has played a major role in its global image, which tends to be positive. The strategy of the Polish-Lithuanian Government's foreign aid policy reflects an emphasis to help bring an end to global poverty, while also providing heavy assistance in response to foreign humanitarian crises.
The nation employs a professional, volunteer military force of approximately 457,000 active personnel and 91,000 reserve personnel. The Imperial Polish-Lithuanian Armed Forces comprise the Imperial Polish-Lithuanian Army, Imperial Polish-Lithuanian Navy, Imperial Polish-Lithuanian Air Force, Imperial Polish-Lithuanian Special Forces, and Imperial Polish-Lithuanian Starfleet. In 2017, Poland-Lithuania's military expenditure totalled approximately €60.84 billion, or around 1.56% of the country's GDP. Following the 2018 Defence Policy Review, the Polish-Lithuanian government announced a 35% decrease to the country's defence budget over the next decade. Poland-Lithuania's total military expenditure is expected to decrease to €39.55 billion by 2028.
Main article: Monarchy of Poland-Lithuania
Also see: Emperor of Poland-Lithuania
The Polish-Lithuanian Emperor is the head of state of Poland-Lithuania. The title was created on 1 July 1568 to describe the person who holds the titles King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Prince of Ruthenia. This fact means that it is functionally different from equivalent positions in other nations, as all directly subservient titles are also held by the Emperor.
Since 1806, the Polish-Lithuanian Emperor has also held the titles Tsar of Russia and Khan of Siberia, the result of the Second Russo-Polish-Lithuanian war. Part of the peace treaty forced the Russian Tsar, who was also Khan of Siberia, to abdicate and be succeeded by the Polish-Lithuanian Emperor.
Main article: Economy of Poland-Lithuania
Rank: 5th
Economic Capital: Warsaw
Currency: Euro (€) (EUR)
Fiscal Year: March 1 - February 28
GDP (nominal): $3.8 trillion
GDP (nominal) per capita: $49,194
Labour Force: 43.9 million
Unemployment: 3.4%
Poland-Lithuania is the world's fifth-largest economy as of 2018, with a nominal GDP of approximately €5.8 trillion. It is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Group of Seven (G7), and is one of the world's top ten trading nations, with a highly globalised economy. Poland-Lithuania is a mixed economy, ranking above most other European nations on The Heritage Foundation's index of economic freedom, and experiencing a very low level of income disparity. The country's average household disposable income per capita is "well above" the OECD average. Furthermore, the Warsaw Stock Exchange is the third-largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalisation, and lists over 2,000 companies with a combined market capitalization of over €18 trillion as of 2015.
In 2019, Poland-Lithuania's exports totalled over €934 billion, while its imported goods were worth over €671 billion. The country's 2014 trade surplus totalled €263 billion, compared to a €16 billion deficit in 2000.
Since the early 20th century, the growth of Poland-Lithuania's manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy to an urbanised, industrial one. Like many other developed countries, the Polish-Lithuanian economy is dominated by the service industry, which employs over three-quarters of the country's workforce.
Poland-Lithuania is one of the few developed nations that are net exporters of energy. Poland-Lithuania is additionally one of the world's largest suppliers of agricultural products; the provinces of Pomerania and the Ukraines are three of the most important global producers of wheat, canola, and other grains. The country is also a leading exporter of zinc, thorium, gold, aluminum, steel, and iron ore. Many towns on the islands of the Baltic Sea, where agriculture is more difficult, are sustainable because of nearby mines or sources of timber. Poland-Lithuania also has a sizeable manufacturing sector centred in Masovia and Belarus, with automobiles and aeronautics representing particularly important industries.
Polish-Lithuanian Imports, 2018
Poland-Lithuania's economic integration with Germany and France has increased significantly since the Great War. The Comprehensive Automobile and Aeronautics Trade Agreement of 1955 allowed for an increase in the trade of car and plane parts between Poland-Lithuania, Germany, and France; three of the five largest producers of automobiles at the time. The three nations, along with the United Kingdom and Scandinavia, also formed the European Economic Community, the precursor to the European Union, in 1959.
Poland-Lithuania also expanded its trading relationships with Canada and many East Asian countries during the mid-1900s. It signed the Canadian-Polish-Lithuanian Free Trade Agreement with Canada in 1949, and the Kraków-Tokyo Accords with Japan in 1956. After the Nationalist's victory in the Chinese Civil War, Poland-Lithuania also entered talks with the Republic of China to establish a trade agreement in 1961, though negotiations stalled and a final agreement wasn't reached until 1974.
Poland-Lithuania has a very strong cooperative banking sector, with the world's highest per capita membership in credit unions.
Main articles: Science and Technology in Poand-Lithuania
Over the course of history, the Polish-Lithuanian people have made considerable contributions in the fields of science, technology and mathematics. Perhaps the most renowned Polish-Lithuanian to support this theory was Nicolaus Copernicus (Mikołaj Kopernik), who triggered the Copernican Revolution by placing the Sun rather than the Earth at the center of the universe. He also derived a quantity theory of money, which made him a pioneer of economics. Copernicus' achievements and discoveries are considered the basis of Polish-Lithuanian culture and cultural identity.
Poland-Lithuania's tertiary education institutions as well as technical, medical, and economic institutions, employ around 619,000 researchers and members of staff. There are around 3,560 research and development institutes, with about 247,000 researchers. In total, there are around 198,000 scientists in Poland-Lithuania today.
In 2018, Poland-Lithuania spent approximately €105.7 billion on domestic research and development, of which around €65 billion was provided by the federal, regional, and provincial governments. As of 2017, the country has produced 45 Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry, and medicine, and was ranked second worldwide for scientific research quality in a major 2009 survey of international scientists. It is furthermore home to the headquarters of a number of global technology firms. Poland-Lithuania also has the highest levels of Internet access in the world, with over 78 million users, equivalent to around 99.3 percent of its total 2018 population.
The Polish-Lithuanian Space Agency operates a highly active space program, conducting deep-space, planetary, and aviation research, and developing rockets and satellites. Poland-Lithuania was the second country to design and construct a satellite, after a combined Canada-UK effort, with the 1954 Discovery I launch. Poland-Lithuania, Canada, and the UK also worked together to put the first human on the moon in 1963 with the Voyage IX mission. Poland-Lithuania is a participant in the International Space Station (ISS), and is a pioneer in space robotics, having constructed numerous devices used on the ISS. ISS is a collaboration between the space agencies of Poland-Lithuania, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and China (rep. of). Since the 1960s, Poland-Lithuania's aerospace industry has designed and built numerous marques of satellite, Poland-Lithuania has also produced one of the world's most successful and widely used sounding rockets, the Observant II; over 15,000 Observant IIs have been launched since the rocket's introduction in 1972.
Main article: Communications in Poand-Lithuania
The public postal service in Poland-Lithuania is operated by Post PLC (officially the Polish-Lithuanian Postal Commission). It was created on 18 October 1558, when King Sigismund II Augustus established a permanent postal route from Kraków to Rome. In 1907, Poland-Lithuania saw the rapid development of the postal system as new services were introduced including money transfers, payment of pensions, delivery of magazines, and airmail.
From 1928 to 1944, CT&T (the Commonwealth Telephone and Telegraph Company) was the sole government authorised provider of both telephones and telegraphs until anti-monopoly laws were introduced. The company, which had been majority government-owned, was privatised in 1979, but still exists to this day as Poland-Lithuania's third-largest telecommunications company.
Main article: Culture of Poland-Lithuania
The culture of Poland-Lithuania is closely connected with its intricate 1,000-year history. With origins in the culture of the Proto-Slavs, over time Polish-Lithuanian culture has been influenced by its interweaving ties with the Germanic, Latinate and Byzantine worlds as well as in continual dialogue with the many other ethnic groups and minorities living in Poland-Lithuania. The people of Poland-Lithuania have traditionally been seen as very hospitable to artists from abroad and eager to follow cultural and artistic trends popular in other countries. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Polish-Lithuanian focus on cultural advancement often took precedence over political and economic activity. These factors have contributed to the versatile nature of Polish-Lithuanian art.
In recent decades Poland-Lithuania has received a large number of immigrants. This has caused many cultural attributions of other cultures to make their way into Polish-Lithuanian culture. Poland-Lithuania has been described as a mosaic, in that immigrants are highly encouraged to keep their traditions and cultures, creating a 'mosaic' effect.
Main article: Sports in Poland-Lithuania
The PGE Narodowy (National Stadium)
Home of the PLC national football and
handball teams
Handball and Association football are among the country's most popular sports, with a rich history of international competitions. Track and field, basketball, ice hockey, boxing, cross-country skiing, tennis, badminton, fencing, swimming and weightlifting are other popular sports.
The golden era of football in Poland-Lithuania occurred throughout the 1960s and went on until the early 1980s when the Polish-Lithuanian national football team achieved their best results in any FIFA World Cup competitions finishing 1st place in the 1962, 1970, 1978, and 1982 tournaments. The team won the gold medals in football at the 1972 and 1980 Summer Olympics and two silver medals, in 1976 and in 1992. Poland-Lithuania hosted the 2018 FIFA World Cup, in which their national football team finished 2nd overall, having lost 3-2 against China (Rep. of).
Main article: Polish-Lithuanian Cuisine
Polish-Lithuanian cuisine has evolved over the centuries to become highly eclectic due to Poland-Lithuania's history. Polish-Lithuanian cuisine shares many similarities with other Central European cuisines, especially German and Austro-Hungarian as well as Jewish, Russian, French and Italian culinary traditions. It is rich in meat, especially pork, chicken and beef (depending on the region) and winter vegetables (cabbage in the dish bigos), and spices. It is also characteristic in its use of various kinds of noodles, the most notable of which are kluski, as well as cereals such as kasha (from the Polish word kasza) and a variety of breads like the world-renowned bagel. Polish-Lithuanian cuisine is hearty and uses a lot of cream and eggs. Festive meals such as the meatless Christmas Eve dinner (Wigilia) or Easter breakfast could take days to prepare in their entirety.
Traditional alcoholic beverages include honey mead, widespread since the 13th century, beer, wine and vodka (old Polish names include okowita and gorzałka). The world's first written mention of vodka originates from Poland-Lithuania. The most popular alcoholic drinks at present are beer and wine which took over from vodka more popular in the years 1980-98. Tea remains common in Polish-Lithuanian society since the 19th century, whilst coffee is drunk widely since the 18th century. Other frequently consumed beverages include various mineral waters and juices, soft drinks popularized by the fast-food chains since the mid-20th century, as well as buttermilk, soured milk and kefir.
Main article: Polish-Lithuanian Infrastructure
Pendolino, 2015
Transport in Poland-Lithuania is provided by means of rail, road, marine shipping and air travel. Since 1976, Poland has invested large amounts of public funds into modernization projects of its transport networks. The country now has a highly developed network of highways, composed of express roads and motorways. At the end of 2017, Poland-Lithuania had 21,421.7 km of highways. In addition to these newly built roads, many local and regional roads are being fixed as part of a national programme to rebuild all roads in Poland-Lithuania.
In 2015, the nation had 19,000 kilometres of railway track. Polish authorities maintain a program of improving operating speeds across the entire Polish rail network. To that end, Transit PLC (officially the Polish-Lithuanian Transportation Commission) is adopting new rolling stock which is in principle capable of speeds up to 300 km/h. Additionally, in 2002, Poland-Lithuania began to implement high–speed rail routes connecting major Polish-Lithuanian cities. Transit PLC reached its goal of connecting every metro area in Poland-Lithuania with more than one million people to a high-speed rail network in 2012, and expanded the goal to all population centres with greater than 750,000 people. The new Pendolino set the record for the fastest train in the history of Poland-Lithuania, reaching 291 km/h on 24 November 2013. All high-speed trains and routes in Poland-Lithuania are owned and operated by Transit PLC, whilst most non-high-speed trains are operated by private companies based off a rail franchising system, although the rails are still owned by Transit PLC.
The air and maritime transport markets in Poland-Lithuania are largely very well developed. Poland-Lithuania has numerous international airports, the largest of which is Warsaw Chopin Airport, the primary global hub for Polish-Lithuanian Airlines. Other major airports with international connections include Kraków Alojzy Zielinski Airport, Copernicus Airport Wrocław, Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport, and Vilnius International Airport.
Seaports exist all along Poland-Lithuania's Baltic coast, with most freight operations using Świnoujście, Police, Szczecin, Kołobrzeg, Gdynia, Gdańsk and Elbląg as their base. Passenger ferries link Poland-Lithuania with Scandinavia all year round; these services are provided from Gdańsk and Świnoujście by Polferries, Stena Line from Gdynia and Unity Line from the Świnoujście.
Main article: Energy of Poland-Lithuania
Power PLC (officially the Polish-Lithuanian Power Commission) is the federally owned electrical producer within Poland-Lithuania. It owns all electrical generating stations in Poland-Lithuania, but only manages 65% of them, with the other 35% of stations being managed by its provincial counterparts. As of 2000, all of Power PLC's electrical generation has come from renewable sources. The most common of these being thorium power, which accounted for nearly 68% of Poland-Lithuania's power production in 2017. It is followed by wind power, solar power, hydroelectric power, geothermal power, and tidal power.
Tiru Thorium Plant
Poland-Lithuania is a net power exporter, as it exports large amounts of its electricity to neighbouring Germany, which has been forced to close its three largest coal plants due to international anti-climate change laws. It also exports large amounts of power to Scandinavia.
Poland-Lithuania's last coal power plant was closed in 1997, and its last oil power plant closed in 2000. This was part of Poland-Lithuania's plan to become the first coal and oil-free nation, which it achieved before New Zealand (the second coal and oil-free nation) by 2 months. Poland-Lithuania's government has since pledged to completely phase out gasoline and diesel by the year 2023, which it is on track to do. If it reaches this target, it will be the first country to do so, beating Canada, which pledged to do the same by 2025.
In 2006, the energy market was around 90 terawatt-hours and the peak demand around 15 gigawatts in winter. Industry and construction consumed 51% of total consumption, a relatively high figure reflecting Poland-Lithuania's industries. Poland-Lithuania's hydrocarbon resources are limited to peat and wood. About 18% of the electricity is produced by hydropower, which is low compared to Poland-Lithuania's more mountainous neighbour, Scandinavia. Nuclear power (limited to Thorium power) has been on the rise since 1997 when it accounted for 13% of power production. It's since risen to nearly 68% of total electrical production.
Including provincial power commissions, Poland-Lithuania is home to 14 electrical producers. Excluding Power PLC, the largest producer of power is Ukraine Power (the power authority for both East and West Ukraine), accounting for 14% of total production. The smallest electrical producer is Power Estonia, which only manages one wind farm, and produces 0.65% of Poland-Lithuania's power.
Original template by Ponderosa
Additions and Revisions by The Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth
Original template may be found 
here
Template with Additions and Revisions may be found here
Any nation worth their salt must have a Wikipedia-style country factbook, very few manage to finish this extensive undertaking. However, PoLiet succeeded. After months upon months of hard work, PoLiet built a mock-Wikipedia page for the Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth. Rich with hundreds of years of alt-history, economic statistics, and various maps and images, PoLiet has skilfully replicated a professional and detailed Wikipedia article. On top of the enormous effort PoLiet has already poured into this factbook, he has also managed to translate his work into both Polish and Lithuanian! Well done, PoLiet, the effort has paid off!
And last but definitely not least, the award for General Excellence for the Year goes to... 
St Scarlett!
Scarlett is an icon of Europe. A well-established and much-loved RMB regular, she has made her mark upon our region. With over 11,200 posts made and 38,500 likes received, she's a dominant and popular force in the community. Scarlett also became the longest-serving member of the Commission, serving for over a year and two months as the First Deputy Commissioner, consistently winning re-election, proving herself a woman of the people as well. In the broader European community, Scarlett has created beautiful factbooks of amazing quality, written some great short stories which she shared with the region, and is a cornerstone of EuroNews (without her EuroNews wouldn't be anywhere near as good, nor would writing these publications be as enjoyable) . Unfortunately, Scarlett's been struggling IRL recently with illness, but despite all her pains, she's still soldiering her way through life, continuing spending time in Europe and meeting all her responsibilities. One half of the beloved Lavlett 'ship, an eager writer, and Christmas countdowner, Scarlett is integral to the fabric of our region. RMB regular, elected official, resilient survivor, amazing friend, is it any wonder she's receiving the award for General Excellence of the Year? Probably not. Congratulations, Scarlett, you deserve it! :)
Selected by the EuroNews team, written by Yahlia
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Leader of the
Opposition Jeremy Corbyn
British Ballots
The United Kingdom (UK) has recently experienced one of the most significant elections in recent history. Given the implications of this vote, we got two resident Brits, both of whom who have differing political views, to each write an opinion piece on the results.
Novgorod’s Notions
Before I start, please note that I’m writing an opinion piece and providing my personal views on stuff. I’m not writing a reference article; I’m giving my opinions in all their unrestrained glory - so don’t expect me to be unbiased. Feel free to disagree with my opinion, but don’t you dare invade my lovely quiet DMs to complain about my views. If I want to have an argument about this, I’ll go start something in Eurocord. Leave my nice, peaceful DMs alone.
Also, I don’t hate Tory voters, I just hate the Tory Party. Glad we got that one sorted out.
I detested this election from the start. It appeared to be being treated by the major parties as almost a second Brexit referendum: the Tories with their slogan of “get Brexit done”, the Lib Dems declaring they’d “cancel Brexit” if they gained power. My view was that if it was to be treated as a second referendum, then hold a second referendum instead, goddamnit!
Only the Labour Party did not appear to be treating it as a referendum. Instead, Jeremy Corbyn declared his intention to nationalise everything, hold referendums on everything, and provide housing for everyone. Most of what they were offering, I would only be too happy to see implemented… except, for Labour to become the ruling party would mean Corbyn would become Prime Minister (PM). That would be a complete disaster. In my absolutely infallible opinion, Jeremy would have made an awful PM. Indecisive and meandering, I find it difficult to imagine him leading the country with a firm hand. As for his being an anti-Semite, I feel the accusations to be slightly shaky. I also believe some of the allegations of “anti-Semitism” in the Labour Party are equally dodgy; although I have no doubt that some of the allegations are accurate, there appear to be instances of people confusing “condemnation of the nation of Israel” with “anti-Semitism”. But I’m not writing an essay on anti-Semitism, so I’ll move on.
I have a deep loathing of Boris Johnson. In my eyes, he’s a double-dealing, lying, pretentious, self-absorbed, narcissistic, arrogant, vile idiot. And what I find to be inexcusable is that he is fiendishly intelligent at the same time. He is very aware that everything he does is simply to further his own career, and he doesn’t care. I would generally hesitate to write such in a news article, but Yahlia agreed to my writing an opinion piece, so I feel required to provide my opinion. [Note from Yahlia: it is an opinion piece, rant ‘til your heart’s content]
Anyone who can throw politicians, such as Ken Clarke, out of the Tory party merely for voting against the government quite simply has no sense of empathy, honour, or anything else. Boris remodelled the Tory Party in his own image and has got away with it. Call me “brainwashed by the media” all you like; I see no conceivably justifiable reason for Boris to have booted Philip Hammond and Ken Clarke from their party other than that he wants to transform the Tory Party into the Boris Party. Disgraceful and disgusting.
Since everyone’s been talking about this as the “Brexit election”, let’s talk about Brexit. I’m sure most of you are well aware of my thoughts on the subject by now: it’s horrendous, embarrassing, and completely stupid. “But our taxpayers’ money is seized by the EU and given to Eastern European countries!” Honestly, have some charity, peeps. I for one do not view it as a bad thing for the richer nations of Western Europe to be supporting the development and stabilisation of Eastern Europe. “Migrants are swamping our borders, stealing our jobs!” Yes, they come here for work. To do the more menial jobs which we Brits don’t want. And I don’t see why we should be complaining about their providing seasonal labour to farmers and suchlike who depend upon being able to source such relatively cheap labour.
Last election, we got to see something completely novel and never-before-heard-of: Nigel Farage leading a personality cult in the elections! Oh, wait, my mistake, that’s what UKIP used to be for…. So, the Brexit party, huh? A bunch of xenophobes... and Nigel Farage wanting an ego boost. The Brexit Party seems to have taken over from UKIP as an “irritation that’s never going to form a government but seems determined to give everyone a headache and piss off as many people as it can.”
Northern Ireland! The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has been very influential in Westminster recently with theirs being the votes that allowed Theresa May to cling to power. Now, they’ve lost their Westminster leader to Sinn Féin, and South Belfast to the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). Among the most traditionally polarised regions in the UK, Northern Ireland’s main battle has always been between the pretentious and pompous DUP, and, what are viewed by some as, a bunch of ex-terrorists that refuse to represent their voters. However, as well as a small boost to the more moderate nationalist SDLP, the most wonderful result was from North Down, where the anti-denominational Alliance Party secured a seat. Historically never doing well in elections, given that they’re fighting from a neutral position in a polarised nation, gaining a single seat is a huge achievement for them; this is their second house of commons seat in their decades-long history. So kudos to them. And I’m always going to like a party with an official LGBT wing, especially one in NI.
Labour’s campaign was a bit naff. As I said before, Labour didn’t seem to notice that the main question in the election was one of Brexit. Indeed, Corbyn seems to have been doing his utmost to ignore that most pressing of issues almost since its inception over three years ago. I think I’ve already made my views on that bumbling fool perfectly clear, and it seems that many felt the same way as I do about him. According to the BBC, in many constituencies where Labour lost seats it was due at least as much to Corbyn’s leadership of the party as to the party’s hesitancy to choose a course over Brexit.
I think it’s worth mentioning at some point in this article that, had the exit poll proved entirely accurate, Ruth Davidson would be spending Hogmanay skinny-dipping in Loch Ness.
So, on to Scotland. I’m pleased to say that my constituency voted for the Scottish National Party (SNP), as did most of the rest of Scotland. The SNP have been the party in recent months standing up to the Tories the most in Westminster, and often being ridiculed by the other politicians for doing so. Furthermore, the only conceivable way out of this Brexit car-crash now would be for Scotland to gain independence. Given the difference between mostly left-wing Scotland and increasingly right-wing England and the widely detested person of Boris Johnson, it seems more likely than ever (save perhaps the initial months following the Brexit Referendum result’s publication) that, if Nicola Sturgeon were to get her second independence referendum, the result would be an international border dividing Great Britain. Similarly, the renewal of Sinn Féin’s fortunes might suggest a possible future severing of ties between NI and the UK, and the reunification of Ireland. Boris may have won Westminster, but perhaps he’s lost the UK.
Many people I know were hit quite badly by the election result. I’m unsure if people outside of Scotland realise how much revulsion is felt towards Boris Johnson here, and towards Brexit as well. People generally (by no means all, though) are feeling rather depressed and betrayed. Overall, it’s been a pretty awful couple of weeks. The general feel as far as I can tell is that we’re either going to have to try and get out of the Union as fast as possible, or, if our wonderful prime minister decides to block that, we’ll just have to ride this out as best we can until the next elections, and hope to God that the rest of the country has realised its mistakes by then.
Goodness, that was longer than I thought it would be.
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Love y’all <3
A map of the election results
Hello Europe! I’ve never done an opinion piece before so you’ll have to bear with me on this one. I will, of course, be covering the British election and providing a contrast to pro-Scottish Independence, left-leaning
Novgorod-Pskov as I am very strongly a British unionist and tend to lean to the centre-right.The election began with debates and propaganda galore, I did not consume too much as I felt a lot of toxicity and finger-pointing throughout. If you’ve spent any time on Facebook during an election and you’re my age you know how much Labour stuff is pushed your way and how much someone who tends to vote Tory is chastised by their peers. That’s not to say of course that Tory voters don’t do the same, with messes appearing all over Twitter. There was some interesting stuff pushed however, especially by the Tories with some chill-beats uploaded to their YouTube channel with the title “lo fi boriswave beats to relax/get brexit done to”, as well as a parody of Love Actually. I genuinely have no idea why these videos exist but it’s hilarious that they do. Of course, there was some much shadier stuff going on such as their attempt to disguise themselves as a fact-checker, which did nothing but hurt their chances at winning the election.
The debates were interesting to me, mostly because it made me realise how unpopular pretty much every candidate was, but also because I found myself able to sympathise with candidates like Corbyn or Sturgeon who I am usually very opposed to. The claims of anti-Semitism thrown at Corbyn seemed very over the top and baseless, and I genuinely believe that any anti-Semitism in the party is nothing to do with him and that he is trying everything he can to stop it. Hearing more about Sturgeon’s plans for an independent Scotland that is still very close to the UK with a shared monarch and currency and a closer international relationship than any other two nations was reassuring, Great Britain could end up in a Scandinavia-type situation: similar but independent countries with a close bond and historical ties going back centuries. Policy wise, I agreed the most with Boris in the debates however, not that there aren’t a lot of reasons to wish for a better Conservative candidate.
After silly videos, absurd promises from all sides (stopping Brexit without a referendum, free wifi for everyone, more houses that will probably never get built), and Boris getting rushed into a giant fridge by a very rude aide to avoid the media, the election was finally underway. I popped down to my local polling station still not 100% sure of who I would vote for, with the Lib Dems looking somewhat promising, and it was done. I sat up most of the night watching the results roll in, with the poll predictions being pretty much on point. Labour was initially ahead by holding on to many seats in the north and in London, but before long we began to see major gains for the Conservatives and the Scottish National Party (SNP).
In the end the SNP and the Conservatives did very well and everybody else did pretty terribly. Labour lost a whopping 59 seats and only gained 1 new seat, becoming the only party with a negative change in their vote share since 2017, losing 7.8%, the Lib Dems lost one seat but did gain some new ones. Their leader, Jo Swinson, was forced to step down after becoming the only leader to lose her seat. In Northern Ireland the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) lost two seats and the Brexit Party didn’t win a single seat. While I dislike Boris, I am happy with these results, a Labour government under Corbyn could have been disastrous with a lack of faith in our Prime Minister and over-the-top and expensive nationalisation policies. I also dislike the Scottish result as the country seems to be closer than ever to upping and leaving the UK, something that I believe would hurt us both no matter how close we remained.
This devastating result for Labour was caused by two things in my opinion, Brexit and Corbyn. Brexit is a hot issue right now and Labour seemed to be the only party without a solid plan. The Tories want to get it done no matter the cost, the Lib Dems wanted to stop it outright, the SNP wants Scotland to remain a part of the Union or to rejoin it after Brexit, the Greens want to remain in but bring about major EU reform, and the Brexit Party wants a full, no-deal Brexit to occur. But Labour seemed to go back on forth on its opinions on the matter, agreeing with a second referendum, then backing out, then back in.... Corbyn was also anti-EU in the past which only makes matters worse, with many Labour voters backing Brexit they were driven to other parties, cutting Labour’s vote. This when combined with Corbyn’s lack of popularity and somewhat further left views led to a lot of other Labour voters swinging their votes. My father, for example, always votes Labour, but since Corbyn took over he’s been voting Green instead, he cannot bring himself to vote for a man like Jeremy Corbyn and he isn't alone in this. It’s great news that Mr Corbyn is finally stepping down and hopefully we see Labour with a more moderate leader that people can get behind and maybe they’ll see a better result next election.
All in all, I’ve learned a lot in the first general election I’ve properly voted in (I did proxy in 2017 since I was in Denmark at the time and besides that, I have only voted in the Brexit referendum): all politicians lie, and that with an electoral system like FPTP (first-past-the-post) you’re basically forced to vote for parties you don’t 100% align with, but I am still relatively happy with the results overall. I’m also ashamed of people on the internet who cannot accept that not everybody agrees with them and that everyone has the right to vote for whomever they want. People who believe they can’t be friends with someone because of how they voted in an election really need to lighten up and reconsider their priorities. Also, we need to stop behaving like Americans with this “not my Prime Minister” stuff, Britain does not need to be more Americanised than it already is.
If you disagree with anything I’ve said that’s fine but please don’t try and argue with me. I’ve said my piece and Nov has said his, and hopefully together we’ve given the election decent coverage.
Written by Novgorod-Pskov and St Scarlett
Bougainville in relation to PNG, Australia, and the Solomon Islands
Bougainville could soon become the world’s newest country following an independence referendum, but what and where is Bougainville?
The Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea (PNG), named for the main island in the region, sits in the north of the Solomon Islands archipelago. Slightly larger than Cyprus and smaller than Lebanon, the Bougainville region has an estimated population of 300,000. The lingua franca is Tok Pisin, an Austronesian language. The current capital is Buka, on Buka Island, however, the government intends on re-establishing Arawa, on Bougainville Island, as the capital in the future. Bougainville’s highest point is the tip of Mount Balbi, standing 2,715 meters (8,907 feet) above sea level and the region is rich in minerals, especially copper.
In 1988, the Bougainville region suffered under a 9-year separatist insurgency. Militants were primarily aggrieved by the exploitation of their mineral resources without any boon for their people and fought for self-determination. The Bougainville Peace Agreement was signed, after up to 20,000 died, which brought peace to the islands, created the autonomous region, and promised the referendum on independence.
The non-binding Bougainville referendum, approved by the Papua New Guinean government, had two options: independence or greater autonomy. Over 180,000 votes were cast, almost 98% of the results were in favour of complete independence. While the referendum was non-binding, the overwhelming support for secession gives Bougainville the mandate to pursue independence and puts the pressure on PNG. It seems likely that Bougainville may succeed South Sudan as the world’s youngest country in the near future.
Written by Yahlia
Titillating Trivia
This month our facts focus on a relatively old country as well as a potentially brand new one. The UK just faced an election with the greatest Conservative victory since Margaret Thatcher and Bougainville just voted overwhelmingly for independence from Papua New Guinea. I’ve also chosen to feature Botswana, a relatively successful country in southern Africa.
United Kingdom
The UK is famous for conquering a quarter of the world; however, it too was once conquered many times by the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Danes, and Normans, all of whom have shaped its identity and culture. The language of English is a good indicator of these influences, containing many words from Latin, German, Danish and French. Many regional flags also use the Nordic Cross, especially in Scotland which possesses the islands of Shetland and Orkney, many of whose residents identify more with Scandinavian culture than Scottish culture.
Britain/England’s most famous rival is, of course, France, and the two nations have been one another’s enemies more times than they have been to any other nation. However, they have also been allied to each other more than they have been to any other nation. Most interesting of all is the number of wars they have fought against one another is exactly equal to the number of wars they have fought alongside each other. This potentially makes them the world’s best frenemies.
Bougainville
Bougainville was a part of the German and British Empires like the rest of Papua New Guinea, though under the control of Australia. Despite this, it’s first European contact was with the French in 1768 when explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville arrived and left his permanent mark on the island by naming it after himself.
Bougainville Island is one of the few islands in the Solomon Islands archipelago that isn’t part of the sovereign state of the Solomon Islands, this was due to German ownership of Bougainville while the rest of the islands formed the British protectorate of the Solomon Islands. It is also the largest of these islands in the chain.
A safari in Botswana
BotswanaBotswana is a surprisingly successful country considering its geographical location and its colonial history. Unlike many African nations, Botswana has a high GDP per capita, gross national income, and human development index. The country is not without its problems however, with the third highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the world.
Botswana’s flag is simple but beautiful. The blue represents water, mostly rain, which is a valued resource for the landlocked and highly agricultural country, in fact, their motto “Pula” means “let there be rain”. The black and white stripe represents the racial diversity and unity of the country with both black and white people living alongside one another, it also represents their national animal the zebra. This flag is unique in Africa for being one of the few not using the pan-African colours or the colours of the ruling political party.
Written by St Scarlett
Edited by
Novgorod-Pskov, Republic of satherland, St Scarlett, and YahliaWe Need You!
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