View source for About The Islands

<div style="text-align: center;">'''Choose your language''' 
<center>
{|style="width: 20%; height: 70px;" text align="center"
|[[File:flagRUS.png|60px|link=Главная Страница]]<br />[[Главная Страница|Русский]]
|[[File:flagUK.png|60px|link=]]<br />'''English'''
|[[File:flagD.png|60px|link=Über die Inseln]]<br />[[Über die Inseln|Deutsch]]
|}</center>
</div>

== The Island Formation ==

[[File:TavianaArea.jpg|thumb|300px|The Novistrana formation on the map]]

[[File:tavimap.jpg|thumb|300px|Satellite image of the Novistrana island formation]]

The Novistrana island formation is located in the Blatic sea, roughly 120km off the coast of Latvia/Lithuania and consists of a number of large islands as well as many small islands which where formed as a result of three, now inactive volcanos millions of years ago. The terrain of the islands is mostly mountainous with some valleys, low lands and beaches. The Northern part of the territory sits on a vast reserve of natural gas a crude oil - one of the largest in Europe. The North of the islands has a very cold climate, however the Southern part has a more mild climate and low land which is more suitable for farming.

The Novistrana island formation was first mentioned in Finno-Ugric folklore as a mystical island somewhere in the Blatic sea.

Currently in modern times there are two republics present on the island formation. The North-Western most islands make up the Soviet Socialist Republic of Novistrana (Officially: Novistranskaja Sovjetskaja Socialističiskaja Respublika - NSSR), the capital of which is Tavistock. The Novistrana S.S.R also shares 3 land borders with the Taviana S.S.R. The population of the Novistrana S.S.R is approximately 800 000 inhabitants. The economy consists mainly of crude oil and gas exports, heavy industry, fishing and sea transport.

The name "Novistrana" was first mentioned in the 17th century when the Kingdom of Rustakiya as it was previously known become part of the Russian Empire at the request of king Lev. The modern republic of Novistrana S.S.R was formed in 1917 by the Communist Party when it detached from the Russian Empire and separated from the other islands (Now the Taviana S.S.R) after a brief conflict after which the rest of the islands also declared an independent capitalist republic which existed until 1945.

The rest of the islands, mainly Leš and Bukvac make up the Soviet Socialist Republic of Taviana (Officially: Tavianska Sovjetskaja Socialističiskaja Respublika - TSSR).  The capital city of the Taviana S.S.R is Sabina. The economy consists mainly of natural gas exports, crude oil refining, heavy industry, chemical industry, agriculture, fishing and sea transport. The Taviana S.S.R is the larger and wealthier of the two republics with a population of approximately 1 500 000 inhabitants. 

The modern republic of Taviana S.S.R was formed in 1945 by the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

== Taviana S.S.R ==

[[File:tavi_coat.jpg|thumb|Taviana S.S.R Coat Of Arms]]

[[File:flag_of_taviana.png|thumb|Flag of Taviana S.S.R]]

[[File:azbuka.jpg|thumb|Tavianian Azbuka (From the official Taviana Language Schoolbook 1956)]]

Taviana S.S.R (Officially: ''Tavianska Sovjetskaja Socialističiskaja Respublika'' - TSSR– The Soviet Socialist Republic of Taviana) is an island country situated in the Baltic Sea approximately 120km off the coast of Lithuania or Kaliningrad on a volcanic island formation known as Novistrana, which it shares with the Novistrana S.S.R (Officially: ''Novistranskaja Sovjetskaja Socialističiskaja Respublika'' - NSSR - The Soviet Socialist Republic of Novistrana). The Taviana S.S.R has a population of approximately 1 500 000 inhabitants of whch 90% are ethnic Slavs called “Rustaki”, Russians, Poles and 10% ethnic Lithuanians. The capital and second largest city of the republic is ''Sabina'' which is located on the Southern coast of lake Umag on island Bukvac, has a population of approximately 150 000 inhabitants and has the republics main international airport.

The republic is made up of two islands, the bigger of which, on which the capital city is located is called Bukvac – named after the mythical Slavic creature which lurks around lakes at night due to the numerous lakes on the island. The smaller island is called Leš (Lesh), named after the Slavic spirit which guards forests at night dude to the islands large forests. The regional capital city of Lesh, and third largest city in the republic is Branibor, situated near the republics only nuclear power station AES Trebljanka (Atomnaya Elektrostancya Treblyaka).

=== Language ===

The official spoken language on Taviana is Tavianian (Tavijanski Jazik) which is an Eastern Slavic language written in a variation of the Belarusian Cyrillic alphabet. Lithuanian, Russian and Polish are also officially recognised languages of the republic. Hebrew/Jiddish is also spoken in the South of Bukvac, especially in and around the town of Mikhaelov.

=== Religion ===

The largest religious group consisting of 70% of Tavianas population are Orthodox Christians, the second major religious group in the republic are Roman Catholics consisting of approximately 15% population where as the remaining 14% of the population have no religion. Judaism also used to be a major religion in the country until World War 2 in which most of the Jewish population was deported by the Nazi occupants. Judaism is now only belived to be practiced by aproximately less than 1% of the population.

=== Economy ===

Approximately 50% of the Taviana S.S.R economy consists of the extraction of natural resources such as oil and natural gas which are drilled mainly on the islands North coasts. Fishing, farming, and sea cargo transport form another 35% of the republics economy while heavy industry such as metal works, chemical plants and shipyards from the remaining 15% of the economy.

=== Sabina (Capital City) ===

The capital and largest city in the Taviana S.S.R is Sabina. The city was founded in the year 1725 by king Solibor, following the war with Prussian invaders in which he successfully defeated the invaders by taking advantage of the islands mountainous terrain despite being outnumbered 5 to 1. The city was named after his wife Sabina who he married in the same year. Legend has it that on the site where St. Volodymyr’s church now stands, a fort used to stand in which queen Sabina was held by the Prussians and rescued by king Solibor himself. The most prominent feature of the city is the statue of Vladimir Illich Lenin in the square of the Republic erected in 1945 after the communist take over. The square of the republic is also where the national bank of the Taviana S.S.R is located, as well as the national museum and library. The national museum was built in 1886 alongside the national university located beside it. The capital city also features the national gallery and a number of large shopping centers. Some of the more recent architectural achievements in the capital is the parliament building, based on the GDR parliament building in East Berlin and Hotel Marcomio which is the tallest structure in the city. The capital also contains a 750 meter underground tunnel complete with a train station built in 1948 by the communist party.

=== Wars ===


[[File:Slavs.jpg|thumb|Slavs battle the Vikings at Molotovsk]]


'''8th Century''' – The first mention of a mystic group of islands in the Baltic sea in ''Finno-Ugric'' folklore is made approximately in the 8th century.


'''847''' – Slavs from the “Rustaki” tribe arrive on today’s ''Bukvac'' island from Russia, approximately in the area where today's port of ''Molotovsk'' stands and clash with Vikings over control of the islands, eventually dominating them.

'''1240 – 1241''' – In the year 1240, which is the first written account of history on the islands king ''Haakon IV of Norway'' is said to have invaded the kingdom by now known as ''“Rustakiya”'' in an attempt to conquer the islands but was forced out one year later in the final battle that took place on the fields known today as ''Stari Bor''. 

'''1617 – 1618''' - In the years between 1617 - 1618 ''Rustakiya'' was invaded by Swedish forces under the leadership of king ''Gustavus Adoplhus'', the then teenage monarch which ruled Sweeden after succeeding his father king ''Charles IX of Sweden''. A Swedish navy squadron attacked the then capital ''Tavistock'' in today's Novistrana S.S.R while another squadron headed to the gulf of Riga and thus commenced the second phase of the Polish-Swedish war. The Swedes managed to get to the second largest island Leš where they were defeated in the fields where the village of ''Novi Bor'' stands today. 

[[File:RustkiyaFlag.png|thumb|Flag of the Kingdom of Rustakiya]]

'''1715 – 1725''' – Known as the ten year war, this was an era in which the now ''“Kingdom of Rustakiya”'' was repeatedly invaded by ''Prussia''. The last battle was fought in the fields around ''Solibor'' in today’s Taviana S.S.R in which king Solibor, known as the founding father of the modern Novistrana province apparently defeated the Prussians outnumbered 5 to 1, using the mountains to his advantage. The Kingdom of Rustakia was left severely weakened by the ten year war and in 1742 after king Solibor's death as a result of of pneumonia, his only son ''Lev'' wrote to ''Catherine I'', empress of the Russian Empire with a request to become a part of the ''Russian Empire''.

[[File:NovistranaProvinceFlag.png|thumb|Flag of the Novistrana province of the Russian Empire]]

'''1726''' – The Kingdom of Rustakiya becomes a part of the Russian Empire at the request of king Lev and becomes known as the ''Novistrana governorate''. A new fortress and eventually capital is built in the North of Bukvac island and is called ''Ekaterinburg'' in honor of the Russian empress Catherine I. Orthodox Christianity becomes the religion of the Novistrana governorate. Until now the Rustaks were pagans who practiced the Slavic paganism.

'''1890's''' – A series of uprisings begins in the Novistrana governorate lead by Vladislav Dobryj with the aim to detach from the Russian Empire and establish an independent kingdom. An independent kingdom is briefly declared with its capital in Tavistock, the former capital of the Kingdom of Rustakiya and the capital of todays Novistrana S.S.R. The governorate however remains divided with the islands of Leš and Bukvac refusing to respect the new capitals authority. The uprising is later crushed and a permanent Russian navy fleet is stationed in the Tavistock area, eventually changing the demographics of the area to mostly Ethnic Russian with Leš and Bukvac remaining ethnically Rustak.

[[File:TavianaPre1945Flag.png|thumb|Flag of 1917 - 1945 independent Taviana]]

'''1914–1918 (World war 1)''' –  The years between 1914 – 1918 saw the ''Bolshevik'' revolution of 1917 in Russia which gave the Novistrana governorate independence from the Russian Empire and in which the predominantly ethnic Russian ''Republic of Novistrana'' with its capital in Tavistock was born and  become a part of the Soviet Union after a brief conflict which saw the island of Leš and Bukvac break away and establish Taviana, which was not a part of the Soviet Union and remained capitalist until World War 2.

'''1939–1945 (World War 2)''' – World War 2 was a very dark chapter in the island's history. The islands were invaded by the ''Third Reich'' which forced the communist government of the Republic of Novistrana in to exile in Russia along with the Taviana armed forces which were sent to Gulags in Siberia by the then Soviet leader''Joseph Stalin'' as punishment for backing the capitalist government during the 1917 revolution. While fighting continued the Jewish population of Taviana was deported to death camps in Poland while the native population of the island's was forced in to labour, manufacturing weapons. The Red Army eventually recaptured the islands at the end of the war.

'''1945''' – The Soviet leader Joseph Stalin seeks to ease ethnic tensions on the islands and crates the ''Soviet Socialist Republic of Novistrana'' (SSSN Russian: ''N.S.S.R'' ) with the capital ''Tavistock'' for the predominantly ethnically Russian North and the ''Soviet Socialist Republic of Taviana'' (SSST Russian: ''T.S.S.R'') consisting of the islands of Leš and Bukvac with the capital ''Sabina'' for the ethnic Rustaks.

'''1945 Onwards''' – From 1945 onwards both republics saw a large number of Lithuanian, Russian and Polish migrants feeling from the destroyed European mainland who took on the task of re-building the republics. Today both republics are still some of the ''Soviet Union’s'' key allies and serve as an important strategic location for the Soviet Union as well as an important submarine repair base and airbase. Relations between both republics are also improving steadily.

== Novistrana S.S.R ==

[[File:Novistrana Coat of arms.jpg|thumb|Novistrana S.S.R Coat Of Arms]]

[[File:NovistranaFlag.png|thumb|Flag of Novistrana S.S.R]]

Novistrana (Officially: Novistranskaja Sovjetskaja Socialističiskaja Respublika - NSSR - The Soviet Socialist Republic of Novistrana) is a republic consisting of the North Western most islands of the Novistrana island formation, as well as the coast of Northern Bukvac island. The capital city is Tavistock and the republic shares three land border crossings with the Taviana S.S.R on the West coast of island Bukvac.

The name 'Novistrana' translates to “new land” in Russian and was first given to the whole island formation by Catherine I, empress of the Russian Empire in the early 17th century when king Lev, son of king Solibor requested Catherine I for the kingdom (then called the kingdom of Rustakiya) to become a part of the Russian Empire after his kingdom became severely weakened following a 10 year war that king Lev's father king Solibor fought with the Prussians.

The kingdom of Rustakiya became a part of the Russian Empire in 1726 and became formally known as the governorate of Novistrana (Russian: Gubernaya Novistrany). King Lev became governor of Novistrana and died in the year 1751 of smallpox. He was succeeded by his eldest son Bronislav I.

A new capital city for the Novistrana governorate was built in the North of island Bukvac which was further away from possible Norwegian/Sweedish attacks and named Ekaterinburg in honor of Chaterine I. Ekaterinburg featured the duma, which was the main administrative building of the province. The duma was burnt down in the 1890's by Vladislav Dobryj (Vladislav the good) during a series of uprisings against the Russian Empire lead by him. During these uprisings an independent kingdom of Rustakiya was once again declared with the capital city returning to Tavistock. The islands of Leš and Bukvac however refused to recognise the authority of Vladislav Dobryj and the new capital. He was later captured and killed by the Imperial Russian Army and Russian rule was restored in the province.

A Russian navy fleet was also permanently stationed on the islands making up todays Novstrana S.S.R, gradually changing the ethnic make up to mostly ethnic Russian where as the islands of Leš and Bukvac remained mostly ethnic Rustak. 

During the Russian revolution of 1917 the now mostly ethnically Russian North Western islands chose to follow the path of their fatherland and become a communist republic and part of the Soviet Union. A brief conflict erupted on the islands with the islands inhabited by the ethnic Rustaks declaring an independent capitalist country called Taviana with the capital city being Sabina. During World War 2 the island formation was overrun by the Third Reich and the local population was forced in to labour. Novistrana was freed by the Red Army towards the end of the war. 

In 1945 the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin crated the modern Novistsrana Soviet Socialist Republic that we know today and expanded its borders on to island Bukvac. Joseph Stalin also sent the army of Taviana in to Gulags during world war 2 after they were forced to flee to the Soviet Union and established the Taviana Soviet Socialist Republic in 1945 with the capital still being Sabina, but the country now governed by a communist regime.

=== Language ===

The official spoken language in the Novistrana S.S.R is Russian and is written in the Russian Cyrillic script. German and Jiddish are also widely spoken in the republic, especially in the capital city of Tavistock which has a large German quarter. Many other cities in the Novistrana S.S.R have large populations with Germanic roots and large German quarters.

=== Religion ===

The largest religious group consisting of 80% of the population are Orthodox Christians, other religious groups include Roman Catholicism and Judaism.

=== Economy ===

As the cold cimate of the Novistrana S.S.R is not very suitable for agriculture, most of the economy is made up of crude oil and natural gas exports, together with fishing, heavy industry and sea transportation.