History of Istkalen
Due to the repeated attempts of regimes through the years to "rewrite' Istkalen's history, any attempt at creating one complete history is difficult, and often flawed. Little information regarding society exists before 1798; information before 1983 itself is often limited and heavily distorted, each regime through the years having attempted to destroy or modify historical or governmental documents as to create a past that gave to it legitimacy. The information below is the "official history" endorsed by the military junta between 1996 and 2002, which was temporarily adopted by the present Republic as an "official history" until being discarded entirely for a new attempt to formulate a more accurate history.
The State Terror / The Second Empire
The Terror, initiated in 1798 by Emperor Relem mere hours after his coronation, is the colloquial name for what may very well have been the first totalitarian state to have ever existed.
The Terror based itself on a distorted interpretation of the principles of the philosopher Liris, who formulated an idea of a highly ordered state, one meritocratic in nature and one that was 'organic' in its functions - that is, based on the 'harmonious' functioning of the human body. Liris's formulation involved the creation of an absolute morality, clearly defined in law, that would define all actions as either right or wrong. The state, centered around and appointed by the Emperor, thought to be the conduit of spiritual forces on Earth, would persecute all that was considered wrong. Subjects of the emperor would have the responsibility of reporting all that was right and wrong around them to a delegate of the emperor; those involved in committing that which was wrong would then be punished.
Absolute conformity, based upon the edict of the Emperor as according to the formulae of Liris, was the only behavior that was in any way right. Any form of deviation was wrong, and would be severely punished, sometimes by death. Dissent was strictly banned; a bevy of other things which were considered decadent by Liris, including music and art, were as well. Mass killings of artists and musicians, as well as the burning of their work, would continue until the end of the regime in 1910. Any kind of ornamentation was banned; those who attempted to ornament anything would be punished, again sometimes by death.
More worryingly, to show any type of partiality at all - even to, for example, treat one's young children better than strangers - was penalized. A secret police functioned throughout most of the regime to capture those who failed to conform, as well as those who did not fully report what was right or wrong during the assemblies in which subjects had the responsibility of doing so.
The state, per Liris, also functioned in a near brutally efficient way. Everyone save for the Emperor, even those closest to him - were treated as little more than resources. They were expected to contribute all that they could under the hierarchial structure of the state, organized into corporate units headed by leaders appointed by those who had preceded them, and in return, were given enough to continue to function. To not contribute well enough was considered, simply put, 'wrong' and would be punished. To not be happy with one's life was also such an offense, for unhappiness was a detriment to the functioning of the state.
The Social Democratic Party took heavily from the time of the Terror in formulating its eventual plan for governance; however, it provided a further distorting of Liris's ideas, inserting a sense of religion that was not as strong even under the Terror.
The First Republic
In 1909, the population rose up in protest against the Terror, resulting in mass killings yet again. The state secret police conducted regular kidnappings of those considered opponents to the regime; brainwashing was sometimes attempted, although for the most part those captured were killed.
Non-state public meetings were banned and a strict curfew put into place. Public assemblies - the meetings in which all wrong and right would be reported - occurred now twice a day rather than once as before. Stricter penalties were put into place for disobeying the Emperor, who had at that point served only 9 years.
Those who attempted to protest were simply killed. The protests, however, continued to grow in size; by early 1910, mutinies within the military had begun, and the movement against the Terror had become large enough as to overwhelm the state.
In March, the Emperor seemingly went mad, and began to order the execution of members of various directorates. Most of his Privy Council was executed; by his assassination in May, over 1/4 of all state officials had been jailed, if not killed, at his order.
Combined with the ever-growing protests, the state was destabilized. With the assassination of the Emperor, it fell apart completely. The Emperor's sister, Kales, who had been jailed and was due to be executed for allegedly plotting the destruction of the imperial state, was installed as Empress.
In the vacuum created by the collapse of the imperial state, elected municipal and regional assemblies were quickly elected. On the 13th of June, regional assemblies would elect a 190 member National Assembly, of ten delegates from each region. On Wednesday, 15 June 1910, it would proclaim the Republic of Istkalen, led by Premier Indrek Laul in what was to be an "ultra-parliamentary" system.
Empress Kales would move to establish a parallel government, with herself as head of state and of government. The constitution she promulgated on 3 July as to define its functions and structure conflicted greatly with the Republic; they were based on the Empress's idea of a "socialist community," which would in theory abolish hierarchy, leaving even the position of Empress as one barely more than ceremonial - a uniting figure with no actual power.
Kales's proposal was initially ignored by the National Assembly, the dominant force in the country, which drafted a constitution in January of 1911. It was held to a referendum in February, which passed 78,32% to 21,68%, with about 85% of the adult population eligible to vote and turnout at an unusually high 83% when compared to the legally precarious situation of the Assembly.
Said constitution simply confirmed the political order in the country at the time, although it made all legislative assemblies directly elected through first-past-the-post; elections to the National Assembly it (re)defined were held in April of 1911, on the 29th.
The elected National Assembly was significantly less 'republican' in political ideology than the previous assembly; delegates would, on the 5th of May, elect the 'Empress' Kales as Premier, albeit of a government that leaned towards the political left and socialism. It was, however, strongly socially conservative, as would be Istkalen, save for the Eighth, the Fifth, and, to an extent, the Fourth Republics.
Kales (Rejkalech) did not ever threaten the Republic herself as Premier; her primary work was the creation of a program of radical social and economic reform, which has endured to this day, which would give almost full control of the economy to workers and the delegates they would elect, 'de-emphasizing' the role of directorates, re-naming them 'unions' as with the new organizations through which the economy would be organized, to give them what was little more than an advisory role - approved by the Assembly in August of 1911. The seven state chambers, organized on occupational lines, were re-created on so-called 'republican and modern' lines, having been abolished in 1798, as a part of these proposals.
The Fourth Empire
In February of 1912, the Republic was abolished by vote of the National Assembly, and the monarchy restored, with Kales as Empress. Governance continued regularly, continuing to lean left until 1973, long after the abolition of the monarchy.
The economic growth of the Terror continued under the Republic and the Restoration; the country was in theory among the most developed and wealthy in the region.
The Second Republic
In 1946, what amounted to a coup, orchestrated by the National Republican Party alongside members of the military, occurred, abolishing the National Assembly and the position of Empress and establishing a republic under a Head of State elected by the seven state chambers. Parties other than the National Republican Party were in theory banned, although most continued to exist, informally and were tolerated, if not openly accepted, by authorities.
The leadership of the National Republican Party continued to pursue the economically leftist policies of the Republic and the Restoration; however, it also had a program of modernization, which involved the Romanization of the written forms of the five languages of Istkalen, the imposition of controls on religions, a policy of state atheism, and centralization of state functions.
Politically, the country was softly authoritarian. While oppositional political activity was generally tolerated, restrictions on publications and artistic products, through the state chambers, would exist throughout the period, although most of these were mild in quality. In theory, no organizations could be created outside of state control - generally enforced, save for political organizations.
The period of National Republican rule, known as the "National Resurrection," continues to leave Istkalen divided politically to this day.
The Third Republic
In 1973, the period ended, ushering in a period of highly unstable democracy. Economic stagnation prevailed; between 1973 and the end of the democratic period in 1983, there were a total of 86 governments, with elections being held an average of three times a year due to the repeated formation of hung parliaments.
The Fourth Republic
In 1983, Premier Ayros Tiraki seized power in a self-coup. Tiraki re-organized the state into the seven-chamber system; however, she would exert great control over their elections, through the Court of Examination and the Censorate, which she made semi-political appointments to. The chambers were from that point on elected by the unions under them; elections to the unions were restricted by the Court of Examination and Censorate to the point that political activity was effectively halted. Politics became technocratic in nature, although Tiraki held an absolute veto. Organizations outside of state control were banned entirely; Tiraki wanted all activity to be organized through the occupational union and chambers. Despite this, Tiraki strongly believed in the concept of duty in the context of Istkalener republicanism, and thus restored it, demanding that all citizens debate the merits of her regime, albeit through the unions and chambers - to do so outside was, again, a crime.
Economically, Tiraki attempted to abolish money and organize all consumption and production through the unions; a system of rationing was put into place as to uphold the system. The country continued to engage in limited trade during her two-year rule, although it was largely isolationist. Little economic data is available from the time, although most who lived through it found it comfortable and stable.
Culturally, Tiraki acted as a patron of the arts and of education, resulting in a massive expansion of artistic output during her rule. No actual restrictions existed on art, although some did on news media, which was held to a strict standard of impartiality.
Tiraki's rule, despite its authoritarianism, is looked upon generally favorably, as a time of stability, economic growth, and cultural development.
In 1985, the Party of Labor, the communist party in Istkalen, seized power in a coup, coming into a role similar to that of the National Republican Party - that is, as the dominant party in a state that, while mildly authoritarian, allowed relatively wide scope for political expression. It returned to the economic and political system of before 1973, while at the same time undertaking progressive reforms into society, including the passing of new, almost revolutionary, family laws, as well as an attempt to abolish marriage and replace it with a system of cohabitation. In its most radical move, it attempted to move responsibility away from the family by establishing collective canteens, nurseries, and laundries, while at them same time expanding the general scope of the educational system in Istkalen, as a part of an expansion of the greater welfare state, which in its last years guaranteed housing, food, and education to all. The Fourth Republic under Tiraki had attempted these things on a smaller scale, but was never able to reach the success of the Fifth Republic.
It would also further reduce the role of the 'advisory' unions, giving a large portion of what remained of their powers to the state chambers and occupational unions, although they continued to have a prominent role in politics.
The Party of Labor was an oddity among communist parties of the 1980s and 1990s in its social progressivism and general deviation from Marxist theory, at one point, in 1989, in fact disavowing the ideology. Politically, it was isolated, refusing to associate either with the capitalist or socialist blocs of its time. Declaring itself "non-aligned," it attempted to engage in trade with both, to limited success; after 1991, it would become near-totally isolated , resulting in mild economic decline as the country attempted to re-align itself on autarkic lines.
In 1996, mass unrest, which has been exaggerated by some, resulted in the fall of the Party of Labor and the establishment of a military junta. No elections would take place under the junta; all political positions would become appointed by the various ministries. The country attempted to re-engage with capitalist nations, to mild success; the economy began to grow again. Most of the economic and social policies of the Party of Labor government would continue, although it would reduce the scope of the welfare state. Housing and food, for example, were no longer free, although both were heavily subsidized. Education and healthcare, however, did remain as such.
In 2002, the junta held elections to the seven state chambers, and handed over power to a civilian government. The government - a coalition of the three parties which had led the country in the past - the Movement for the National Community (the dominant party under the constitutional monarchy and the first Republic), the National Republican Party, and the Party of Labor - would take power, again continuing previous economic policies.
The First Federation, also known as the False Republic
The Social Democratic Party, at this time, the successor to the Grand National Movement, a far-right party, began to exert its power over the country. In 2003, it staged a terrorist attack which resulted in the death of essentially all those who made up the legislature, the executive, the judiciary, the national Censorate, and the Court of Examination, before pushing for new elections, which it rigged through box-stuffing, voter intimidation, and bribery.
The Social Democratic Party reformed the constitution as to benefit itself; it also dismantled the welfare state and replaced it with a universal basic income; while attempting to forcibly deindustrialize certain sectors of the economy while re-organizing those which remained industrial in nature in a way as to make them extremely inefficient. This resulted in general economic decline, which continued until, in 2010, it allowed technocratic advisors into certain positions, resulting in slight economic recovery, which continued until it pushed forward its "Plan for National Rejuvenation' in 2021, which resulted in Istkalen's occupation by Reitzmag and Vayinaod.
The Fifth Republic
A technocratic government, made of the non-partisan advisors appointed by the Party as to combat general economic decline, was formed, and interim elections were held; however, both remain largely non-functional.
The state underwent multiple re-organizations; in the end, many of its advisors were dismissed entirely, replaced with new appointments,
The Sixth Republic
WIP
