## Overview --- ![[flag_VBR.png]] Vostok, officially the *Vostok Basilica Republic*, is a *telaya* (federal subject) of [[Ankylosante|Ankylosante]]. It is the smallest region in the country, landlocked in the country's far east and sharing borders with Östland to the north, the Evermarsh and Löland to the west and the section of the Voromir River that travels along [[Transelmany|Transelmany]]'s border to the east. | Common Name | Vostok | | ------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------- | | Capital and largest city | Kurumi | | Official languages | Mescrati, Elman | | Demonym | Vostokan | | Government | Unitary Hagioist-Fayowaist one-party socialist state | | Foundation | 9 Viruga 665 AL | | Area | 19,000 sq km | | Population | 2,000,000 | | Currency | Ankylan Dollar *(AKD)*, Vostok Karat *(VKR)* | ## History --- *see also: [[Ankylosante|Ankylosante]]* ### Arrival of Hagioism (656 AL) The people of Vostok were a historically a distinct population within their country, notable for having a large, religious population of educated Lumenians that were well-versed in and amicable to [[Hagioism|Orthodox Hagioism]]— and they were soon able to create an effective fighting force under the leadership of Alain Toufant, after he led several illegal border crossings into South Elmany to secretly assist [[Voromiraka]] efforts to undermine the Elman Kingdom. In 656 AL, once Voromiraka control over the mountain regions (and an informal alliance with [[The Green|the Green]]) had been established, Toufant returned to Vostok with a force of over 1,000 apostles, and established the [[Ankylan Hagioist Party]] in the forests of the southern border region. They soon began their revolutionary work in the countryside following similar tactics as Yemisi’s voromiraka, slowly spreading the Hagioist message in the rural settlements that made up the majority of Vostok, until they had surrounded its three major cities. #### Help from Allies (663—665 AL) Toufant sent his congratulations when Transelmany successfully achieved formal recognition from the Elman Kingdom in the north, but he was unable to assist the [[Voromiraka]] in the [[Transelman Civil War|civil war]] that followed because the AHP were fighting losing battles against both [[Ankylosanten Federal Authority]] forces and Vostok merchant guild mercenaries in a protracted conflict. Once Transelmany and the [[Velsh Union|Velsh Union]] had won their respective civil wars, the tide began to turn for Toufant’s AHP. The VLB and Voromiraka both sent assistance into Vostok, and by 665 the entire region had come under AHP control, and had even spilled into the neighboring Evermarsh. The war had become too expensive for the other merchant guilds to continue, so they sued for peace and formally recognized the new Hagioist government of Vostok in place of the deposed merchant guild, and accepted their delegates to the federal board. Despite this, Vostok did not initially abandon armed struggle and continued trying to spread [[Hagioism]] in other telayas. While they made a sizable westward push into sparsely populated Evermarsh territory, their efforts upon reaching more developed areas met much stronger resistance than it had in Vostok, because the peasantry of other regions still had too little trust in outsiders on top of the other limiting factors. As a result, these incursions did not receive as much attention from the federal government. Even though there was some desire to within the AHP, they chose not to declare independence from Ankylosante because Fayowa made it clear to Toufant that any potential annexation of foreign territory that would amount to another war was out of the question for Transelmany. ### Modern Era (665 AL ― present) ![[Vostok_political.jpg]] *Map of Vostok showing the regions it borders.* Today, the Ankylan Hagioist Party continues to maintain a belligerent rhetorical stance against the Ankylosanten Federal Authority, but one that in practice manifests as mostly a frozen conflict, with the region of the Evermarsh that they managed to carve out existing as a buffer zone between the rest of the country and the Hagioist stronghold of Vostok, which is now officially known as the **Vostok Basilica Republic**. This is because the people of Vostok are mostly content with the status quo, not wishing to jeopardize it with more war. Vostok continues to lead Ankylosante in several important metrics such as literacy rate, homeownership rate and employment, but because of its relative lack of natural resources and landlocked nature it does not come close to the levels of prosperity seen in Transelmany and the Velsh Republic. It relies heavily on trade from the two Hagioist countries, with its biggest export being the minerals and precious stones that can be found all over the region.