Ryzan

''This page covers the current Ryzani government. To see other pages connected to 'Ryzan', see Ryzan (disambiguation).''Ryzan, officially known as the Second Ryvenate of Ryzan, and also known as the True Empire of Ryzan or the Third Empire of Ryzan, is a constituent country that is a part of the Third Aurlûnoren-Ryzani Empire. It is the 20th government of the nation state of Ryzan. It is historically located in central Syltor, however has expanded into other continents, including Sparwood, Nieden & Haven. Ryzan has historically been a highly politically active region, undergoing more governmental change than any other country in Rathnir history, a record that still remains unbroken even after the international turmoil caused by the Second West March War. Ryzan, alongside the Aurlunor Velande, has been responsible for multiple highly successful union states, including the infamous Second Aurlunoren-Ryzani Empire. Ryzan has also been occupied numerous times by foreign powers, mainly Bardonia, who has launched 4 separate invasions of the country. Ryzan has retained relevancy as one of the most important geopolitical entities in Rathnir despite its previous internal strife.

Etymology
Officially known as the Second Ryvenate of Ryzan (or 'ИМПЕРЙУМ РИЙЗАН' in Ryzani Cyrillic), Ryzan derived its name from the ancient Brothian name for central Syltor. The word 'РИЙЗАН' (Ryzan) translates roughly to 'Our True Land' or simply 'True Land'. The word 'Ryvenate' is a compound word, deriving from the Ryzani word for 'True' (РИЙB or 'Ryiv') and the word for 'Empire' or 'Imperium' (ИМПЕРЙУМ). This means that 'Ryvenate' translates roughly to 'True Empire'. As it is the second state with this name, it is the Second Ryvenate of Ryzan.

Another name used for the state is 'ЦАРЗЭМА РИЙЗАН', which translates to 'Tsar's land of Ryzan' or simply 'Tsardom of Ryzan'. This was used in much larger capacity during the early days of the nation state, where the Tossovich dynasty ruled over a series of Tsardoms which used this as an official native tongue title. It can also be seen on Republican-era documents, indicating that this title was still used even when there was no monarchy in power in Ryzan.

The Aurlunoren Script labels Ryzan as 'Zhanundeor', in reference to the local Zhanundeorian Lhuren that inhabit regions of western Ryzan such as Volkore. During the early modern period, the nation state of Zhanundeor was popularised by the increasingly hostile nature of the Ryzani government towards native Elven population.

History
Further Reading: History of Ryzan

Prehistory
Full Article: Brothian History

The geographical region of Ryzan was historically always part of the northern supercontinent of Uktarra. Contrary to the cold taiga climate of the region in the modern day, palaeontologists in Volkore were able to discover that Ryzan during this period was relatively warm & humid, with an average summer temperature of 25-35oC & an average winter temperature of 10-15oC. Due to having a much larger exposed coastline during this time, it was subject to frequent temperature fluctuations that made it a hotspot for breeding season activity. However, during the breakup of Uktarra during the Cuiciloan Period, and with the collision of the Bardonian Plate into the Syltoren Plate creating a large mountain range creating a large mountain range that blocked cool northern airs from moving further south, Ryzan's average temperature plummeted, resulting in the modern-day mild summers & freezing winters that grip the majority of the region.

Ryzan's earliest settlers were dwarven peoples, who established one of the oldest cities in the world, Erebor. Erebor became a hub for western dwarven civilisation, and, despite the best efforts of the travelling Niedene peoples, dwarven society would persist even after the collapse of other Bronze Age societies. The next significant group to settle in Ryzan were Celestial Elves from the Kingdom of Almador. As the Nandor-based state was gradually declining, these settlers formed their own little collection of tribes in modern-day Volkore. These were the ancestors to the modern Zhanundeorian Elves, a Lhuren subculture with a minor presence in western Ryzan. The largest group, the Ryzani Brothians, would begin settling the region ~2000 years ago. Fleeing destruction to their civilisations in Azia, these people groups would undergo centuries of development & conflict that would culminate in the city-state of Ryzan, led by Tsar Canadian Tossovich, announcing his ambitions to form a confederacy of all the Ryzani people groups.

Six States, One Nation
The Confederacy of Ryzan would be proclaimed in 821 ACA as a loose connection of states & ethnic groups. It quickly attracted both tourists & immigrants to the country. However, with Ryzan facing early external threats due to their rapid expansionism into Alum & Remtal they were forced to gradually decentralise the nation, weakening its internal structure. This decentralisation caused many internal issues, from a secession in Bjornskyull (now Bjornsull) to the Scramble for Ryzan, the Confederacy & the later Commonwealth were riddled with internal issues that prevented major social development. However, Ryzan would totally dissolve following a collection of disputes between the provinces of Volkore & Nebskoslavia, causing the latter to declare independence from the Commonwealth. Following this, a collection of other states would do the same in a joint declaration. The dissolution of the Commonwealth led to the rise of Westreach & an independent Volkore Empire, which joined Bardonia in their world conquest after a brief war against Nebskoslavia.

Aggressive Expansion
Ryzan would reorganise under the leadership of Lord Chamberlain Donklas Tise, who, alongside a collection of regional leaders, would administer the new Kingdom of Westreach in an effort to carve out a new future for Ryzan after the events of the previous collapse. However, following the Partition of Takumakken, Canadian Tossovich would establish complete power over the state once again, forming the Second Tsardom of Ryzan. Tossovich would reinstate a policy of aggressive expansion, which would culminate in the political union of the First Aurlunoren-Ryzani Empire.

The Ryzani Occupation
2 days after integrating Andorn into the Empire, Bardonia would launch an invasion of Ryzan & Andorn, with Aurlunor supporting the Bardonian invasion following the souring of relations between Sareariel Leyla-Earcala & Canadian Tossovich. The Ryzani Occupation was fiercely resisted, with a collection of partisan movements cropping up shortly after Tossovich willingly surrendered. One group, the Ryzani Republican Army, would absorb the other partisans, and would advocate for a free, democratic Ryzan. They would prevail, with the Bardonians deciding that the occupation was too much of a resource burden, and would allow the formation of the Ryzani-Carthyan Republic in 850 ACA.

The Ryzani Republic
The RRA upheld their promise, and the democratic system was formally integrated shortly after independence. Standing as one of the oldest democratic systems in history, the Ryzani democratic system is still widely used, especially in Eldham. After the disappearance of the first President, Mystic, Josbar Liberium would seize total control over the state, forming a secret police & placing the military under his sole command. However, he suffered a humiliating defeat, and after attempting to contest the results by force, we was ousted & replaced with Avaleskei Mcspiegel. Avaleskei would begin expanding a thick alliance network designed to defend Ryzan against a foreign threat, mainly Bardonia. Alliances with Aurlunor, Valle, and eventually joining KATO completed this alliance net. However, shortly after this, Askonia would secede from Valle, and in the subsequent war Ryzan & KATO would suffer a humiliating defeat. This did not shake public approval, however, as Ryzan would successfully repel a series of Osterian raids on the city of Volkoregrod.

A Republican Tsardom
During this time, despite having aged significantly and being relatively disliked by the populace, Canadian Tossovich & his new wife Ibris were allowed to return to Ryzan & become the heads of state. The Third Tsardom is widely regarded as a time of peace & prosperity. Ryzan would leave KATO & instead join the Southern Rathnir Defence Accords. It was during this time that the Zefirov Administration, began extending their support to nations occupied by Bardonia under the previously established Air Ryzan initiative, a service independent of the Ryzani government transporting weapons & other supplies to rebel groups. While this had previously extended only as far as Andorn, a region which Ryzan had heavy stakes in keeping on their side during the Avaleskei Administration, it now expanded to Vallia, Halge, Baykonia & later Lennox when they were invaded and occupied by Bardonia in 870 ACA. Zefirov would also reform the government, including turning the old departments with new, reinvigorated ministries & abolished the monarchy, replacing the Tsar with a new republic. This move was frowned upon by the international community, and caused the majority of nations to cut ties with Ryzan. It was this final straw which gave Bardonia the ability to invade Ryzan.

The West March War
Full Article: West March War Despite the revival of Viodoxa, the SRDA still refused to support Ryzan, and backed away from the situation under the guise of not supporting anti-monarchist states, dissolving months after the fact. This left Ryzan diplomatically isolated, forced to combat against the entire Allium Alliance alone. 3 Allium Alliance regiments would be facing 4 Ryzani regiments spread out across the country in Carthya, Volkoregrod & Tossagrad. The Ryzanis were correct in believing that the Bardonians would march on Tossagrad instead of the much closer capital of Carthya, as they believed that the Bardonians valued PR victories over systematic ones. They were correct, as the Bardonians marched around Carthya & surrounded Tossagrad. Aurlunoren forces occupied Deutzan, and Baykonian garrisons seized Ryzan’s colonies in Helmia. Despite warnings of a potential attack in Volkoregrod, the three-pronged attack on Tossagrad went underway, with the fighting descending into house-to-house combat in a bloody mess. Task Force Volkoregrod was redirected to assist in Tossagrad, followed by Task Force Carthya. The Bardonians would later seize Carthya, with only a few reserves left in Carthya to defend it. The Bardonians would finally seize Tossagrad in the early hours of 26th Heicane, 874 ACA.

After this crushing defeat, the petty kingdom of the Csardom of Nebskoslavia would secede from Ryzan, and later that day President Zefirov, in violation of the constitution, would sign an unconditional surrender in Volkoregrod which allowed Bardonia to occupy all of Ryzan’s territory, and resigned from his position as President.

The Second Ryzani Occupation
The Nebskoslavian secession would be brutally suppressed, one of the first of many acts of extreme violence against native ethnicities in Ryzani territory. During the month-long occupation of Ryzani territory, the Bardonians and the Westreach government would order one of the largest mass genocides in world history, executing 113,000 ethnic Ryzanis and erecting mass graves across the Vonskyri & Nebskoslavian countryside to bury the dead. Displacement and executions of ethnic minorities also have traces in Lennox, Valle, Baykonia & the former Sand Republic. The killings during this period would stunt Ryzan’s population growth to the point where it would never recover to pre-occupation numbers. Behind the scenes, what remained of the Ryzani government, under the leadership of Mocoslav Kovalsky, reorganised under the Interim Ryzani Governing Committee, aka the IRGC, and spread out into the countryside, taking up arms in small pockets across the former territories. While the Bardonians initially split Ryzan into Fiterèi Province in the north, a ‘free’ zone which contained the majority of Ryzan’s wilderness, and Ostrehèmme Province in the south, a zone directly administered by the Bardonian government containing most of the country’s major cities. From Fiterei, Jacob Azurov would eventually proclaim the new Tsardom of Westreach, a Bardonian provincial government spanning all of former Ryzan. This was confirmed in 875 ACA, with the leaders of the Allium Alliance attending his inauguration as the new Tsar. This new government was made up of many former Ryzanis, who had returned to help govern from nations like Barbossa. The Westreach government would control most of central Ryzan and the population centres, with the IRGC being located in the outer rim of the country where the occupation was harder to enforce. They set up operations out of the cities of Donklasgrad & Nova Balreska, setting these as ‘forward bases’ while they started training recruits in foreign countries such as Uldarash, Viodoxa and even secretly in Aurlunor, one the members of the Allium Alliance, without the Velereth’s cabinet noticing. Resistance to the occupation was fierce. Divisions such as the Ranseurs & Bushrangers ambushed Bardonian soldiers with a shoot-on-sight policy. Roads were destroyed, government buildings were burnt down, and both sides committed horrendous atrocities in order to scare the other into submission. In 881 ACA, Kovalsky was admitted to the Third Rathnir Coalition’s council as the representative of the separatist groups. From there, Coalition troops began to flood into the territories occupied by the rebels, eventually convening in the city of Carthya. A small task force composed of the leaders of the IRGC & Coalition troops marched on the city of Volkoregrod, storming the imperial residence of Jacob Azurov, signing a deal between the two which gave Free Ryzan the administrative powers over all of Westreach’s territories, in return for the leaders of the occupational government to be spared from punishment for collaboration. The subsequent Allium-Coalition War resulted in the total defeat of the Bardonian Empire, with Ryzan regaining its independence as a new Tsardom.

War in Ryzan & Third Ryzani Occupation
Without a major northern power, a large power vacuum emerged in Syltor. While Ryzan initially filled this role, it was quickly contested by other nations from outside the continent using a weakened, war-torn Syltor to gain a footing in the region. Ryzan would temporarily unify with Bardonia to form the Great Northern Confederacy, a failed union state that would dissolve after it was revealed that Bardonia had collaborated with Yimmu-Audal in a plot to invade Ryzan. Following this, the assassination of Mocoslav Kovalsky & the re-election of Josbar Liberium as the sixth President left the majority of the populace distrusting the government, and this was only exemplified when Azrael Arden-Astera couped Josbar during his inauguration & announced the formation of the Empire of Ryzan. The War in Ryzan was one of the most sluggish wars of the century, with numerous secessions, coups & unions culminating in the end of Ryzani sovereignty for a third time as the Greater Syltor Empire, and later Fourth Empire of Bardonia administered Ryzan as a core part of Bardonia.

This would change in 919 ACA, when Bardonia would allow Ryzan to form its own occupational government. The Fifth Tsardom, or Ryzani Autonomous Zone was similar to the Tsardom of Westreach in its purpose & internal function. However, the Tsardom would gradually begin reintroducing democracy into their government, reestablishing the Duma & allowing for the return of Josbar-era politicians who had fled persecution to other countries. This sudden change brought a lot of attention to Ryzan, causing the population to grow exponentially until it made up 40% of the total population of the Fourth Empire. It would lead the charge against Mithra in the Mithran-Dandelion War. Shortly after this, however, the Empire would descend into turmoil, with the rising Blank Dandelion movement slowly building itself across the core realms. A coup in Andorn would trigger the Black Dandelion to overthrow the central government, with Duke Azael, infected by the Chancellor's soul, assuming dictatorial control over the government. Initially expecting no resistance, the Black Dandelion was caught off guard when the Fifth Tsardom of Ryzan & other regions of the empire expressed their opposition to the coup. Crezyman would attempt a countercoup, only for yet another coup to cause the conflict to spill over, causing the complete collapse of the Fourth Empire.

Government
Further reading: Constitution of the United Crowns of Syltör

The Second Ryvenate of Ryzan is a confederation of non-independent sovereign states. There are many different layers to the government structure, and certain limitations mean that only certain parts of the government function in certain states.

Head of State - Velereth-Tsarina
The Velereth-Tsarina is the head of state in the Union, similar to their role in Aurlûnor-Ryzan prior. In government, the Velereth-Tsarina has near absolute power, getting the final say on laws, pardons, judicial sentences, honorary distinctions, among other things. However, they are still not above the constitution, and hence can still be tried for violation of the document. The role of Velereth-Tsarina is highly symbolic, and the incumbent stands as the representative of the United Crowns' image on the international frontier. The title of Velereth usually dominates affairs due to the Aurlûnor Velande's title of Velereth directly linking to the first Velereth, and is seen as a sign of great disrespect if it is below any other title.

The current incumbent of the role of Velereth-Tsarina of Aurlunor-Ryzan is: Elle Shan-Ashwood

Deputy Head of State - Regional Administrator
The Regional Administrator acts almost as a Regent, serving the duties of the Velereth-Tsarina when they are not available for whatever reason. The Regional Administrator also has the ability to call a vote of impeachment on the Velereth-Tsarina if they have evidence that the head of state has violated the constitution. When not filling in as head of state in the Velereth-Tsarina's absence, the Regional Administrator acts as the right-hand man/woman of the head of state, acting as head of the Imperial Court.

The current incumbent of the role of Regional Administrator of the United Crowns is: Vacant

Upper Government - Imperial Court
The Imperial Court is comprised of selected trusted individuals who act as the highest governmental body of the Union. Each member is selected by the Velereth-Tsarina herself. The Imperial Court is headed by the Regional Administrator. The courtiers are:


 * Order Councillor - Oversees the Union Armed Forces and personally runs the Union Army.

The current incumbent of the role of Order Councillor of the Imperial Court is: Vacant


 * Judicial Councillor - Leads the Judiciary & acts as the Head Judicial Officer of the Judicial Department.

The current incumbent of the role of Judicial Councillor of the Imperial Court is: Vacant

Relations Councillor - Oversees all foreign affairs regarding the Union and acts as Head of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The current incumbent of the role of Relations Councillor of the Imperial Court is: Vacant


 * Economics Councillor - Manages the Union's economic sector, including banks, resource distribution, shops, etc.

The current incumbent of the role of Economics Councillor of the Imperial Court is: Vacant


 * Advisory Councillor - Serves as a tie-breaker/mediator for votations & discussions in the Court & Regional Councils of Ministers, is not bound to any duty but is put there as a sign of immense respect by the Velereth-Tsarina.

The current incumbents of the role of Advisory Councillor of the Imperial Court & Regional Councils are: Crezyman


 * Regional Chancellor - Acts as the head of their respective Regional Council of Ministers, voices opinions of their Council to the Imperial Court.

The current incumbents of the role of Regional Chancellor of the Imperial Court & Regional Councils are: Seats Vacant

Middle Government - State's Council
The State's Council serves as the local governing bodies of the states within the Union. Each member, Aurlûnor, Ryzan & Deutzan, each have their own Council of Ministers comprised of 4 members, each selected by the Velereth-Tsarina based off that person's abilities.


 * Architectural Minister - Manages the region's infrastructure projects.
 * Cultural Minister - Responsible for production, collection & archiving of the documentation of their region's culture.
 * People/Propaganda Minister - Responsible for the organisation of events & the Department of Propaganda's production in their region.
 * Events Minister - Manages all aspects of the region's events, such as holidays, parties, anniversary celebration, etc.

Incumbents of the Ryzani Council of Ministers

 * Architectural Minister - Raphie Aasimar
 * Cultural Minister - Falyn Fardhac
 * People/Propaganda Minister - Tavin Chernik
 * Events Minister - Kartoffel

Geography
the Second Ryvenate of Ryzan, sits in solely central Syltor, within the larger Aurlunoren-Ryzani Empire. Its northern border with Askonia sits along the Kobold Mountains and is marked by a series of Nebskoslavian border towns along the northwestern Nebek Plains. The western border spans the eastern seaboard of the Gulf of Ryzan, as well as the Bay of Deutzan, with its smallest land border with its fellow member of Aurlunor-Ryzan, Deutzan. The southern border is a collection of islands part of Vologda, as well as the former Nova Balreskan coastline. The eastern border with Bardonia cuts directly through the middle of the Bardonian Plain, which extends deep into Carthya. Historically, the Ryzani-Bardonian border was a straight diagonal line from Neuheim to Carthya, however that has changed since the establishment of the Ryvenate of Ryzan. The eastern coast of Ryzan gives way to the Gulf of Carthya & the Sea of Petals, sharing contested territory with Synderia & the narrowest point between Syltor & Yulara.