Volkia: Difference between revisions

| leader_name4 = [[YuliyaPyotr DanilovaLapunov]]

In the 67th68th National Assembly, the Federal Council and the Chamber of Deputies is controlled by the Social Democratic Union. The Federal Council consists of 4448 Social Democrats, 1121 Conservatives, 11five Liberals, six Socialists, and sixfour GreensSocialists. The Chamber of Deputies consists of 258283 Social Democrats, 66155 Conservatives, 5026 Liberals, 4721 Socialists, 3712 Greens, 11four Monarchists, and threefour independents. The National Assembly meets in the National Assembly Building, located in [[Volkgoroda]].

Military service is voluntary though conscription can be implemented in times of "national crisis when the voluntary force has been overwhelmed." This is done through the Emergency Conscription System, which provides a list of military aged Volkian males to the Ministry of National Defense. Volkian males are required to register in this system from ages 18 to 2630, with penalties for failure to register.

Provinces may freely organize their local governments and ratify their own constitutions so long as they are in line with the requirements of the federal constitution. Each province also owns and maintains their own natural and financial resources, though the federal government does own land and resources in each province; this amount varies across the provinces. Each province has a bicameral legislature, organized in a similar fashion to the federal legislature.

The constitution mandates that the provinces must maintain a representative, republican style of government and obey the constitution. Provinces may not unilaterally secede from the federation and they must remain subordinate to the federal government. Provinces are also forbidden from making war, engaging in their own foreign relations, or printing and issuing currency. Provinces may pass their own laws as long as they do not conflict with a current federal law. If a federal law contradicts a provincial law when it is passed, the federal law supersedes the provincial law. When conflicts arise regarding these situations, provinces have the right to request the Federal Supreme Court to step in.

There is a single territory (''territoriya''), which is located in the country's far north. [[Kurilsk Territory]] is the country's furthestnorthernmost north,and least populated, and newest administrative division. It joined the federal republic in 1922 as an unincorporated territory. It has since organized a local government, though federal authorities are responsible for many services. While individuals born in Kurilsk Territory are full Volkian citizens, those who are residents of Kurilsk are not able to vote in the presidential elections due to the islands' territorial status.

Roughly 87% of residents have confidence in Volkia's security institutions. The overall crime rate in Volkia is relatively low, though some types of crime are above average for a developed nation, such as {{Wp|homicide}}. Corruption in business and government overall remains low, largely thanks to sweeping anti-corruption reforms passed in the early and mid-1970s followingin response to rampant corruption in the 1960s.

Much of Volkia's environment is protected in the form of national parks and nature reserves, and numerous endangered species receive protection from the government under the ProtectingProtect Endangered Species Act of 1965. Volkia has received praise in some international studies for its protection of such species and their environment, though it has also received harsh criticism for its over-exploitation of the country's fisheries, as well as extensive gas and oil drilling and mining.

[[File:Korona Symbol.png|thumb|right|150x150px|The [[Volkian korona|korona]] (Ӄ) is the official currency of Volkia.]][[File:Izumrud.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Izumrud is a major shipping port of Volkia.]]Volkia has a {{wp|mixed economy}}, which has resulted in a prosperous capitalist {{wp|welfare state}} with a combination of {{wp|free market}} activity and large state ownership in certain key sectors. This was influenced first by liberal and socialist governments in the late 1920-30s and fully implemented by [[Social Democratic Union|Social Democratic administrations]] starting in 1972. Public healthcare is free and parents receive 40 weeks of paid parental leave. Volkia also guarantees its workers a minimum of 30 days paid vacation (20 paid days off, 10 public holidays). The unemployment rate is 3.4%, with 66% of the population aged 15-74 employed. Nearly 8% of the population aged 18-65 receives a disability pension and 2518% of the labor force are employed by the government. The vast majority of workers are unionized, totaling nearly 73% of the labor force in 2020.

The main international passenger gateway is [[Volkgoroda International Airport]], which handled about 30 million passengers in 2015. [[PoltovkaLikhoslavl International Airport]] is the second largest airport, handling about 21 million passengers in 2015. The country has 32 major airports, though the total number of airports and airfields total over 250. The flag carrier and largest airline in Volkia, [[Air Volkia]], is based at Volkgoroda International and provides both domestic and international services. [[File:Volkgoroda International.jpg|thumb|235x235px|Terminal A at Volkgoroda International Airport, the largest airport in Volkia.]]The total length of common-used railway tracks exceeds 35,000 miles (56,327 km). Most of this railroad is electrified, and additionally there are more than 18,641 miles (30,000 km) of industrial non-common carrier lines. Like most of the world, Volkia uses the {{wp|standard gauge}} for their railroads. High speed rail serves most major cities, and plans are in place to expand the system.

According to the constitution, the official language of Volkia is [[Volkian language|Volkian]]. Roughly 79.3 million, or 98.5% of the population aged five years and older, spoke only Volkian at home in 2020. While Volkian is by far the dominant language in the country, Volkians are becoming increasingly multilingual due to globalization. Roughly 5751% of Volkian citizens claim to be able to communicate at least one foreign language, while 2322% claimed to be competent in at least two. The learning of Volkian is a requirement to become a naturalized citizen.

Generally speaking, healthcare is mostly free for Volkian citizens and residents, and totally free for people suffering from {{Wp|chronic diseases}} such as cancer, cystic fibrosis, or hepatitis. Lupines tend to have slightly shorter lifespans than humans, though thanks to medical advancements and a dramatic decrease in inter-lupine violence Volkia's life expectancy has increased nearly 20 years since the 1930s. Today it now matches or exceeds that of other developed nations. As of 2020, the average life expectancy at birth is 7270.6 years for men and 7875.1 years for women. The infant mortality rate is 3.2 deaths per 1,000 live births while the maternal mortality rate is 5.2 per 100,000 live births as of 2020.

Most of the universities in Volkia are public institutions run by either the federal or provincial governments, and students are permitted to study without fee payment. Some universities may charge small fees for administrative costs; these are typically private universities. The general requirement for entrance to a university is a high school diploma or equivalent, like the HSAET. [[Volkgoroda State University]] is the oldest university in Volkia as well as one of the world's oldest, established in 1478. Some 89% of Volkia's university students attend a public university.

All 10ten federal holidays are also provincial holidays. A holiday that falls on a weekend is observed on the closest weekday. While the federal government is officially secular, four of the ten holidays are religious holidays. A Federal Supreme Court ruling allowed the religious holidays to remain federal holidays, noting that these holidays celebrate specific events that also happen to be important to Lunarists. These four religious holidays (Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter Festivals) have been increasingly celebrated by non-Lunarists, so the holidayswhich have effectively become celebrations of Volkian culture.

Every year on a federal holiday, non-essential federal government offices are closed, stock trading is suspended, and every federal worker is paid for the holiday. This typically applies to provincial government offices as well. As a general rule, banks, schools, and businesses may be closed as well; this is not required. However, federalFederal law mandates anyone who works on a federal holiday be paidreceive "time-and-a-half" for all hours worked on the holiday. Additionally, if the day was an otherwise working day for the employee, the employee shall receive vacation time equivalent to one full workday to take at another time.

|LastApril Friday in April29||Presidents Day <br>(День президентов)||Traditionally held onWhile April 29, is [[Aleksey Pushkarev]]'s birthday, this holiday honors all of Volkia's presidents. Volkians typically celebrate with parades and barbecues.

|LastMay Monday in May25||{{nowrap|Defenders of the Federation Day}} <br>(День защитника Федерации)||Honors all members of the [[Volkian Defense Forces]]. Wreathes and flowers are laid on veteran graves and special parties and concerts are held for veterans. Firework displays are held in the evening.

|LastAugust Monday in August11||Labor Day <br> (День труда)||Honors and celebrates the Volkian labor movement and workers. The date coincides with the 1947 general strike that crippled production nationwide and ultimately led to significant rights for workers.