Caterina of Montroig

Caterina of Montroig, (IGN: Qwaser_) is a Montroigian military and political leader who served as Empress of Uldarash from June 23 to October 18 2021, and Empress of Loyalist Uldarash from November 4, 2021 to January 2, 2022. Caterina is a member and the leader of the Socialist Montroigian Party and previously served as the Montroig Minister of Infrastructure and the Guardian of Montroig.

Early life
Caterina first came to Rathnir on March 14, 2021.

Early political career
Caterina was elected as Minister of Infrastructure on (or around) April 4, 2021, serving under SpotlightThief's Guardianship.

Guardian of Montroig
Caterina was elected as Guardian of Montroig on May 10, 2021 in an election between her and former Minister of Defense CoCoLaxxative. Caterina was elected with 70% of the vote and beat CoCo with a margin of 40%. Under her administration, Caterina established the colony of Serradeneu in Eldham and passed several internal socialist reforms, including the Free Labor Bill and the Socialist Trajectory Act. Caterina also pushed for greater international cooperation with foreign socialist states, including the United Burgamerian Socialist Republic, which was at the time the largest socialist nation in Rathnir. Under Caterina's administration, the Ministry of Justice was also founded with Wels, a member of the Jacobin Club, serving as the first Minister of Justice. Caterina won reelection on June 6, 2021 and served only 17 days of her second term, before resigning due to being elected Empress of Uldarash.

Empress of Uldarash
Caterina was elected Empress of Uldarash on June 23, 2021, from a pool of candidates consisting of members from the Uldarash High Council, the heads of state of each Uldarashi nations. Caterina beat Crispy Schnoz, the King of Boulderov and Al-Surii, the Sultan of Alokhrad, forcing her to resign from the post of Guardian of Montroig. As Empress, Caterina pushed for democratic reforms in Uldarash, including passing a bill to create an elected lower chamber in the Uldarashi Congress, to counteract the mostly non-elected High Council, consisting of only the national heads of state and military commanders. Caterina was also successful in passing a constitution for Uldarash, although it was criticized for being uncodified and allowing for very easy abuse of power.

Deposition
On October 18, 2021 Caterina was illegally deposed as the Empress of Uldarash by members of the SpiritKnight family, including ScotchKnight, TequilaKnight, and RakiaKnight, as well as former-Emperor of Uldarash Aurelian of Aurora. The deposition was protested by citizens of the eastern democratic nations, including Montroig and Alfheim, however most other nations believed the deposition was justified. Caterina's deposition as Empress was one of the main factors leading up to the Uldarash Civil War.

Allegations of corruption and election fraud
During the Guardianship of Miningboy_12, Caterina was often criticized by Montroig independence supporters, including Miningboy and Independence Commissioner Jack F. Kennedy, for attempting to rig the Montroig Independence Referendum by immigrating foreign Uldarashi citizens, including Uldarash Empress Nikephoros and numerous Auroran nationals, into Serradeneu, legally granting them citizenship and allowing them to vote on any Montroigian bills, including independence referendums.

Caterina again came under the scrutiny of Miningboy and Kennedy during the trials of the two in the wake of the Kennedy Conspiracy, an alleged plot to overthrow Uldarash and take control of parts of north-eastern Chevkri for Montroig. The two claimed that Caterina was attempting to use the courts to exile her political opponents from Montroig and Uldarash, especially due to the fact that Miningboy won reelection and beat the Socialist Montroigian Party, Caterina's party, candidate BuckTootha, by just one vote, only three days prior to the trial being scheduled.

Federal Republic of Montroig v. Qwaser_
Federal Republic of Montroig v. Qwaser_ was a trial in the National Court of the Federal Republic of Montroig that took place on November 3, 2021, presided over by Judge Cynthia Gooblegins, that saw Caterina, represented by CoCoLaxxative stand trial on charges of election fraud, election tampering, and attempting to vote via alternate accounts. The Federal Republic of Montroig was represented by Vice-Guardian Argon Retter and Minister of Justice LegalC. Caterina was found not-guilty by the court. The trial was criticized as being called a "kangaroo court", stating that the judge had already made up her mind and was going to find Caterina not-guilty regardless.

The case would later be looking into and thrown out over errors in judicial procedure. It would also come out that the prosecution purposely did not present evidence against Qwaser_ in order to have her be found innocent. Discussion of a retrial were held, but the newly passed statute of limitations, proposed by Qwaser_, would prevent one from happening.

Empress of Loyalist Uldarash
On November 3, 2021, Caterina gave a 24 hour ultimatum to the Uldarashi Empress Nikephoros and the Uldarashi High Council to either re-instate her as Empress, or she would "depose" Nikephoros. Once the 24 hour period had passed, Caterina stated that Nikephoros was formally deposed and declared herself the sole and true ruler of Uldarash, creating the new state of Loyalist Uldarash with the democratic nations of Alfheim and Montroig seceding from the Second Empire to join the Loyalists.

Uldarash Civil War
The Uldarash Civil War began one day after Loyalist Uldarash was founded, immediately placing Caterina at the forefront of the conflict, being the Empress. Caterina served as the de facto commander-in-chief of Loyalist forces, overseeing the war effort and appointing most of the members of the Loyalist Uldarash War Council. While Empress, Caterina did not appoint anyone to serve in any cabinet positions, and she only ever filled one position, Minister of Foreign Affairs, with herself.

Post-war activities
Following the end of the Uldarash Civil War and the signing of the Treaty of Terroja, Caterina was forced to renounce the throne as Empress of Loyalist Uldarash. The treaty also barred any of Caterina's decedents from claiming the throne of Uldarash. Caterina returned to political life in Montroig, where she currently serves as a judge on the National Court, alongside Lottie993 and Fickogames.

Caterina would later coup the Montroigan government twice and become Empress of the Imperial Federation of Uldarash before it dissolved.