Fariva
Fariva is a state of the Kiravian Federacy located in northeastern Great Kirav. Fariva forms the core of the Far Northeast economic and cultural region, and was an early centre of industrialisation. The Republican Revolution that led to the formation of the Confederate Republics of Kiravia began as a property tax revolt in Fariva, and Fariva was the fourth state to be formally admitted to the CRK. Contemporary Fariva is one of Kiravia's best-performing states economically and boasts robust information technology, financial, engineering, manufacturing, brewing, shipping, and fishing sectors.
Government
Fariva is a semi-presidential republic with a single legislative body, the Stanora, which is elected biannually. Executive power is vested in an Executive College (also referred to as the "Cabinet"). The Cabinet is jointly led by a Chief Executive (Governor), who is elected by four years by alternative vote, and a Chancellor elected every two years by the Stanora. The other members of the Executive College are appointed by the Chief Executive in consultation with the Chancellor and his camp in the Stanora, and can be dismissed either individually by consent of both the Chancellor and the Chief Executive, or collectively with a vote of no confidence by the Stanora.
The Farivan Stanora is elected every two years by single non-transferable vote.
| Party | Seats | Caucus | Platform | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Farivan Party Freedom Plus Party Vèurox Farivax Plaiduv |
69 / 225 |
FRA | Liberal conservatism, Libertarian conservatism, Caledonian liberalism | |
| Commonwealth Party Plaiduv Aldhisāvul |
48 / 225 |
CSU | Christian democracy, Social Christianity, Social democracy | |
| Tea Party Xtśaplaiduv |
32 / 225 |
UDI | Modern liberalism, Keynesianism | |
| New Direction Party Plaiduv Inox Isdul |
32 / 225 |
Progressivism, Kirosocialist Revisionism, Post-Kirosocialism, Liberal socialism | ||
| Balsam Fir Party Plaiduv Āltokirtiğsk |
21 / 225 |
AHC | Conservatism, Eshavian language politics | |
| Levantian Union Party Levantiax Anūrarisēx Plaiduv |
3 / 225 |
none | Pan-Levantianism, New Urcean democracy, Liberal conservatism |
Like most Far Northeastern states, Fariva has a tradition of strong local governments. All land in the state, with the exception of two uninhabited islets, is allocated to a municipality or township. Municipalities in Fariva have extensive lawmaking and taxation powers and are responsible for the provision of many public services. Countyship governments in Fariva are the weakest in the Federacy, and are responsible only for overseeing utilities contracts for power and water services, certain roads, and health clinics.
| Member | Party | First Elected | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ioan Peraston | First Farivan Party (FRA) | 21193 | |
| Maria Ardalion | Commonwealth Party (CSU) | 21196 | |
| Vespasian Odrilaven | Levantian Union Party (n-i) | 21205 | |
Law
Farivan law is derived from the law of the Coscivian Empire and comprises both statutory law and a body of non-statutory customary law and juristic consensus, known as réstiálda (lit. "Cultivated Law").
Fariva was the first Kiravian state to abolish capital punishment for ordinary crimes, followed by Niyaska. The state retains the death penalty de jure as a possible sentence for piracy and mutiny within the state's territorial waters, and for perfidy against or desertion from the state defence forces during combat, but has abandoned capital punishment in practice and no longer has the facilities or protocols in place to carry out executions.
The crime rate in Fariva is usually above the Federal average, and comparatively high rates of violent crime affect certain New Coscivian, Kópistonian, and Gaelic ethnic enclaves in the Bérasar metropolitan area. Organised crime has a major presence in the state, and is thought to have significant influence on municipal and state politics. The Institute for Accountable Government lists Fariva as the fifth most corrupt state in the Federacy, behind Kesta and the other leading industrial states of Etivéra, Devahoma, and Niyaska.
Fariva has acquired a certain reputation in Kiravian political discourse for having many laws of an allegedly paternalistic and nanny-statal nature, including laws and local ordinances governing various aspects of personal behaviour, extensive consumer protection policies, and an array of Pigovian taxes and sin duties. A number of factors are thought to explain this legal régime, including the state's early industrialisation and its struggle to manage a large and diverse urban population, strong municipal governments, the pervasive influence of progressive and Instructionalist ideas during high modernity and Kirosocialism and an appetite for technocratic policymaking, the relatively stronger influence of Protestant moralism, and the general absence in Eshavian Coscivian culture of the attitude of kētka ("slack"). Fariva introduced the Federacy's first seatbelt law and has the lowest maximum speed limit (100 kmph) of any state.
Society and Culture
Fariva has a distinct subnnational culture owing to its long history as a centre for commerce, education, and immigration. Although it is integrated with and has made significant contributions to the wider culture of the Kiravian Federacy, Farivans are recognised as having developed characteristically Farivan liguistic traits, culinary and educational traditions, artistic and literary movements, and social values that have contributed to a strong Farivan subnational identity.
Ethnosocial Groups
Fariva has traditionally been the cultural domain of the Eshavian ethnic group and the closely-related Taństans. However, the state's demographics have been changed dramatically by centuries of large-scale immigration, and the Eshavians and Taństans together now comprise some 44% of the population. Nonetheless, Eshavian Coscivian remains the first official language and the both groups are overrepresented in the state's political institutions. Aspects of Eshavian-Taństan culture have been embedded into Farivan life and adopted by the various other groups who have migrated to Fariva over the centuries, forming the foundations of Farivan local and civic culture. Many families of non-Taństem origin who have been settled in the state for centuries, such as the Leonoix family, have become socially integrated with the old Eshavian establishment, as have some wealthy mercantile families of foreign origin, such as the de Marbot-Gisin family, whose ancestors migrated to Bérasar from Burgundie in 20748. Eshavian Coscivians are found throughout the state and are the majority or plurality ethnic group in most areas, though they are now squarely in the minority in Bérasar, its inner suburbs and many of its satellite cities.
Other ethnic groups have arrived in multiple waves of immigration, first by the Æran and Frydhian Coscivians and other groups from the poorer areas of Western Éorsa, such as the Kālatan Coscivians, Paisonic Coscivians, Lusan Coscivians, Kostiatan Coscivians, Valosian Coscivians, Ibarran Coscivians, Ardónian Coscivians, Purgónian Coscivians, Venskan Coscivians, and North Elutes. These Western Éorsan peoples who arrived during the Great Crossing continue to live mainly in and around the state's cardinal cities, but have diffused further afield in the post-Kirosocialist era. Minority groups that have followed similar migration patterns include the Kópistonians, Idsikurians, and Ânaromanotes. Subsequent groups of immigrants have come from other New Coscivian countries (Triatha, Saliera-Arudia-Nutriava, and Kylixa). Others have come from Coscivian diaspora communities or Coscivian-influenced countries elsewhere in Ixnay, such as the Cape, Koré'heranùa, and Rumelistan. Coscivian peoples closely associated with seafaring, such as the Lúnstan Coscivians, Sea Coscivians, and Keregūlan Coscivians, have a large presence in Bérasar and Norvimur. As Farivan ports were (and are) the main shipping hubs serving Kiravian islands in the Kilikas Sea, communities of Koskenkorvite Finns and Koskenkorvan Coscivians, Suderavian Coscivians, and [X Islanders] have lived in Fariva for quite some time. The state is also home to the largest population of 10th, 11th, and 12th-generation Kiravian refugees from the island of Wintergen.
The largest single ethnic group in Fariva, after the Eshavians, are Kiravian Gaels. Though a few Celtic villages remained in hilly areas of western Fariva after Coscivian colonisation, the state's substantial Gaelic minority is mainly as a result of mass in-migration from neighbouring Gaelic-majority states (Arkelly, Dunlévia) during the industrial era. There is a long history of tension between the Gaelic minority and the historically dominant Eshavian Coscivians, beginning with conflicts from the colonial period but primarily based in a legacy of discrimination and political suppression during the industrial age. Gaelic culture in Fariva has been bolstered by immigration of Levantine Gaels from Fiannria, Faneria, Carna, and Urcea (see below).
A notable segment of Fariva's population trace their origins to the countries of continental Levantia, especially Burgundie, Fiannria and Faneria, but also Urcea, Wealdland, Carna, and the Latin States. Fariva has the densest concentrations of Levantine immigrants and persons of Levantian descent in the Kiravian Federacy, which has helped to impart a certain Occidental flavour on the culture of Bérasar in terms of cuisine, architecture, religious practices, sport, the local dialect, and international outlook. Burgundines in particular have a long history in Fariva dating back centuries and sustained to the present day by strong trading and business ties. Some Burgundine families have lived in Fariva for six or seven generations, and the upscale professional neighbourhoods of Bérasar and Madisar continue to host hundreds of white-collar Burgundine expatriates. The city of Epsilar, just outside Bérasar, is famous for its large population of Levantine-Kiravians, particularly those of more distinctive South Levantine and Romance- or Gothic-speaking groups. The small Veltorine diaspora in Great Kirav is overwhelmingly concentrated in the Bérasar metropolitan area.
Religion
The Insular Apostolic Church is the largest religion in the state, followed by Roman Catholicism, Coscivian Orthodoxy, Ruricanism, and Læstorianism. The Gaelic, Ĥeiran Coscivian, and Féinem populations account for most Insular Apostolic adherents, though some smaller communities, such as the Wintergen refugees of Svéntren, are Apostolic as well. Coscivian Orthodoxy in Fariva also has an ethnic character, being practised mainly by communities of Southwest Coscivian and New Coscivian descent concentrated in and around urban centres. Ruricanism is the traditional faith of the Taństem and Tańrisem peoples, and as such has contributed much to Farivan history and culture. It is also a "secondary" religion to many Christians of Kóursem and Ardóniem descent.
Catholicism is particularly strong in the Bérasar area, where it has deep roots planted by some of the earliest Catholic missionaries from Levantia, and has been bolstered by Levantine immigration. Many important Catholic religious, educational, and charitable institutions are located in Fariva, including the University of the Holy Cross, the Archdiocesan Seminary of Saints Basilides, Cyrinus, Nabor and Nazarius (the name of which is even more cumbersome in Coscivian), and the headquarters of the Catholic youth hockey league Our Lady of the Rink. Most Farivan Catholics belong to the Coscivian Rite, but a large minority (and in Bérasar proper, a majority) belong to the Latin Rite. Farivan territory is divided among one archdiocese (Bérasar) and two suffragan dioceses (Norvimur and Pellam), and the entire state, along with the rest of the Far Northeast, is part of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bérasar. The Archbishop of Bérasar is usually a Cardinal and has strong influence over the Kiravian Church as whole.
Mercantile Protestantism has spread in the state as a result of Burgundian influence, giving Fariva the largest Mercantile Protestant population in the Federacy.
Language
Eshavian Coscivian and Kiravic Coscivian and are the state's official languages. Eshavian Coscivian has more native speakers than Kiravic and is the main language of daily life for rural, peri-urban, and small-town Fariva, while Kiravic, specifically the Far Northeastern dialect has far more second-language speakers, and is the main language of everyday life in the inner Bérasar metro. The growth of Kiravic at the expense of Eshavian is largely a result of Kirosocialist language policy aggressively promoting Standard Kiravic as the single national language. Today, Kiravic enjoys primacy over Eshavian in business and public administration, though Eshavian Coscivian continues to enjoy state-sponsored prestige as the state's "heritage language". Eshavian is taught in most public schools (and is the medium of instruction in a large minority of them, particularly in rural areas and certain long-established Taństem-majority large towns), and Eshavian-language literature - whether in the original or in translation - features prominently in the state-mandated curriculum. Many of the state's older universities teach either in High Coscivian or in a combination of High Coscivian and Eshavian Coscivian. Gaelic is the second most spoken language in the state by number of native speakers, narrowly surpassing Kiravic. It is official at the local level in municipalities with large Kiravian Gael or Gaelic-Levantine populations, such as Epsilar, and the state government provides many services to Gaelic speakers, including the routine translation of statutes and other public documents, Gaelic translators in state courts, and the use of Gaelic in emergency broadcasts.
Economy
Fariva has a highly developed, diversified economy driven by international and domestic trade, finance, high-value white-collar services, maritime industries (including fishing), healthcare, education, and high technology. Historically, the major industries in Fariva were the construction and provisioning of seagoing vessels, the manufacture of textiles and ceramic goods, woodworking, and metalworking.
Agriculture
There are around 70,000 working farms in Fariva, with an average size of 28 hectares. Agriculture is a small component of the Farivan economy in terms of GDP share and employment, but is nonetheless crucial to local economies across the state and utilises a significant share of its land area. The state's poor soils, terrain, and climate have long limited agricultural activity, and Farivan farmers are poorly positioned to compete in the domestic and international produce markets. Livestock farming - mainly sheep, dairy cattle, goats, and hogs - is the most productive agricultural activity. Farivan farmers also grow staple crops such as potato, wildrye, and oats, and there are many apple orchards to supply the state's cider brewries.
Maritime Sector
Fariva's economy is intrinsically tied to its Maritime Sector, which draws inspiration from the maritime industries of other prosperous coastal regions. The province boasts two key port cities, Bérasar and Norvimur, both of which have played pivotal roles in Fariva's maritime history. Shipbuilding is a cornerstone of this sector, with shipyards such as Littoral Dynamics SAK and Crestwave Maritime ÁLO crafting various types of vessels. These shipbuilders have earned a global reputation for their expertise, producing everything from cargo ships to cutting-edge research vessels, contributing significantly to the state's economic growth. Bealdeir Corporation is a Fariva-based shipping company with a global presence. Although diversified, its original and core business has been the transport of seafood products at all stages of the supply chain from harvesting to wholesale.
Fisheries
Fishing is another vital component of Fariva's maritime industry. The province's coastline offers an abundant source of fish, drawing inspiration from the traditions of successful fishing regions. Local fishermen utilize a variety of vessels and techniques tailored to specific species and conditions, from small-scale fishing boats targeting cod and haddock to large commercial trawlers pursuing species like North Odoneru salmon and herring. Crustacean harvesting, particularly of Kilikas lobsters and blue crabs, is also prevalent, with specialized gear such as lobster pots and crab traps employed for this purpose. Fariva's maritime industry has embraced responsible and sustainable fishing practices, ensuring the continued health of the Kilikas Sea's marine ecosystem.
The economic singificance of the fishery to Fariva extends beyond trawling operations to the fish processing plants and seafood export facilities in Norvimur, Ilukste, Labdara, and formerly Bérasar. The export of fresh and processed seafood products to Kiravian and international markets is a major source of export earnings. Fariva is also a major producer of fish and shellfish byproducts, such as fishmeal for animal fodder, industrial collagen and chitin, fish liver oil, krill oil, isinglass, aquaculture inputs, and fermented fish sauce.
Marine Insurance
The large and dynamic maritime sector in Fariva has fostered a competitive market for marine insurance , with various insurance companies vying to offer the best coverage options and terms. This competition has resulted in favorable rates and innovative insurance products, providing further support to the maritime industry's growth. As ships from Fariva venture into the unpredictable and often perilous high seas, marine insurance plays a pivotal role in mitigating risks and ensuring the continued prosperity of the province's maritime trade. The largest insurers headquartered in Fariva are OceanGuard RSK, MarineShield Assurance RSK, SeaMaster Insurance Group ÁLO, and Nautical Risk Underwriters SAK.
Standards of Living
Concerns have been raised about barriers to social mobility in Fariva, particularly with regard to the urban working classes, which include many families locked into intergenerational poverty.
Localities
Countyships
- County Amhald
- County Amrām
- County Telbrant
- County Koffin
- County Sirand
Notable Farivans
- Teraya Akēvarin - Adult literacy instructor and retired community organiser, daughter of Soran Akēvarin; resident of Bérasar.
- Androë Foüȷeșca - Ethnic Demarești radio presenter; native of Bérasar, later emigrated to Ardmore.
- The Leonoix family settled in Fariva during the Colonial Era, founding the city of Traprain in County Telbrant. Subsequent generations of the family have mostly remained in the state, and many have distinguished themselves in Farivan politics and business.
- Vespasian Odrilaven - Levantophile politician and armchair lexicographer; Béyasar-born and residing in Epsivar.
- Kreśentius Skoparón - Former Governor of and sitting Federal Councillor for Fariva; born in Ilūkste and residing in Kolega.