Author Topic: Invitation to Petrograd (Samantra and Zaporozh)  (Read 2206 times)

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Offline Markus

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Invitation to Petrograd (Samantra and Zaporozh)
« on: December 19, 2021, 08:59:25 AM »


To: The Government of the Free Lands Zaporozh
From: The Office of the President of the Duma

To whom it may concern,

The secular government of the holy kingdom of Samantra would like to extend a formal invitation to the government of the Free Lands of Zaporozh to send a representative to Petrograd for an exploratory meeting on several areas including cultural and religious, economic and security in order to see each other’s position on key issues and assess where cooperation is possible. Our two nations have much in common and the people of the Holy Kingdom greatly respect the culture, traditions and history of the Free Lands. We hope a visit to our country will help improve relations between our governments for the betterment of both countries as well as the entire region.

The secular government understands and respects the uniqueness of the constitutional arrangement of the Free Lands Zaporozh and extends the invitation to any representative of the government of the Free Lands Zaporozh which can represent the country to such a meeting and we will make proper accommodation to the schedule. On the side of the holy kingdom the President of the Duma (ooc: head of the government) Yeva Litvin will be meeting your delegation should you accept our invitation.
 
We have attached a summary of the proposed schedule of the visit as well as some proposals for our two sides to discuss.
We look forward to your reply.

The Office of the President of the Duma

Proposed schedule:
-   Attending the Divine Liturgy at the cathedral of the Martyrs of the Sacred War. Please note the liturgy will be performed by the Patriarch of Rus and all the Slavs, his holiness Alexy who, under Samantra’s constitutional arrangement, is the Head of state of the Holy Kingdom.
-   A brief visit to the state Duma where President of the Duma Yeva Litvin will give a short speech and will, if prior agreed, invite your representative to also do the same.
-   Talks behind closed doors about the mutually agreed agenda.
-   A short joint press conference where the President of the Duma will take a couple of questions from a representative of the press in Free Lands Zaporozh. Should your representative agree to do the same it would be very much appreciated.

Proposed agenda:
-   Talks about the security of the Rodinian Sea including what the secular government considers the threat of Soviet Rodina.
-   Talks about the cultural and religious heritage our countries share and how our governments can cooperate in order to preserve and promote it.
-   Talks about economic and commercial matters including an assessment of the current status of tariffs, foreign investment restrictions and strategic resources.

Offline Kemerovo

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Re: Invitation to Petrograd (Samantra and Zaporozh)
« Reply #1 on: December 20, 2021, 10:55:55 PM »

To the President of the Duma of Samantra.

Following a vote today in the Family Council it was determined that Artem Lebedev will be sent to speak on behalf of the nation. This decision was made with 33 of the 61 person Families Council agreeing. During his visit Artem will be free to negotiate how he see's best in order to promote good relations between our nations however no formal agreement can be reached without a full session of the Family Council.

The Families Council has instructed our representative to take an active part in all the proposed schedule and will be accompanied by a representative of the "Holy Knowledge" newspaper which is run by the Church in our nation.

Finally the Families Council unanimously voted to approve several key documents that Artem will bring with him should they be needed during things such as the Press Conference or public speeches.

We thank you for this kind invitation and look forward to the successful return of Artem.

With Thanks

The Families Council.

Offline Markus

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Re: Invitation to Petrograd (Samantra and Zaporozh)
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2022, 01:36:59 PM »
The secular government in Petrograd made extensive preparations for hosting the visit of President Artem Lebedev in order to make sure that everything went smoothly. President Artem Lebedev was the first foreign leader to make a state visit to Samantra since the country’s recent emergence from isolation and the secular government wanted to make sure the visit will not be remembered for its organizational problems.
President Yeva Litvin personally greeted the foreign delegation at the airport and had the guests receive the full honors including a 21 gun salute, the playing of the two nations’ anthem by a military band and a review of the guard of honor.


The Samantran honor guard welcoming President Artem Lebedev and the rest of the delegation from the Free Lands of Zaporozh

From the airport, the convoy made its way to the cathedral of the Martyrs of the Sacred War for the Divine Liturgy. The Patriarch of Rus and all the Slavs, his holiness Alexy, personally officiated the Divine Liturgy before a packed full cathedral. 


Cathedral of the Martyrs of the Sacred War was consecrated in 1984 and was dedicated to the Christian Orthodox martyrs of the Sacred War (Great War Era + the Samantran civil war 1914-1954).

From the cathedral, the convoy made its way to the State Duma where it was expected for President Yeva Litvin and President Artem Lebedev to give a short speech before the Duma.


The room was full with members of the state Duma, high raking clergymen invited for the event and prominent members of the Samantran society.

Yeva Litvin, took to the podium first and began her speech:

“Mr. President, honored members of the Duma, ladies and gentlemen. I am extremely pleased to have with us today President Artem Lebedev of Free Lands Zaporozh.”

She then turned to president Lebedev and said:

“Thank you for honoring the invitation of the Samantran state Duma.”

And then she resumed her speech:

“Following out last round of elections, the Samantran people have mandated the secular government to engage more on the world stage, to seek friends and allies and better cooperate in matters of trade. I believe there is no better choice for Samantra to seek friendship than our cousins in Zaporozh. While our two nations’ governments have not had the chance for close ties in recent times our peoples have much in common because of our values: we have a deep faith in the Lord, a strong commitment to family values and a fiercely independent mindset. All that is fertile ground for cooperation and friendship between our governments.
During the course of President Lebedev’s visit we will be discussing avenues of cooperation on matters of culture, economy and security. We will make our position known, understand each other’s point of view, disagree where we must and cooperate where possible.
Thank you.

Mr. President...” she motioned to President Artem Lebedev for him to take her place for a short speech.

After the speech, the delegation from Zaporozh was invited in one of the meeting rooms in the building to begin their talks. The room was recently blessed by a Samantran Orthodox priest and the smell of incense was still present in the room.


The meeting room awaiting the two delegations. The flags of both Samantra and Zaporozh were on display.

After the two delegations took their seats, Yeva as host, began the meeting by saying:

“Allow me to begin by expressing gratitude in the name of the Samantran secular government for accepting the invitation. I hope your stay here will be pleasant and please let us know if there is anything your delegation needs.

“I would like offer a small gift” as Yeva was speaking, one of the members of the Samantran delegation stood up and brought to president Lebedev an icon of Saint Artem of Zaporozhia “in the name of the Samantran people” Yeva continued “Saint Artem is a symbol of the bonds our two nations share. The icon has been blessed by his holiness Patriarch Alexy himself.
“With your permission” Yeva said after the Zaporozh side had a chance to reply ”I propose that we say a prayer in silence before we begin work on our meeting.”

During the exchange servers discreetly made their way to the two delegations and were ready to provide guests with food and drinks. The food was in full accordance with the requirements of the nativity fast and as such there was no meat or anything with eggs or dairy products on the menu.   

Offline Kemerovo

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Re: Invitation to Petrograd (Samantra and Zaporozh)
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2022, 06:53:25 PM »
Artem had expected to be able to get some advice from the Foreign Office before setting off but it was clear they were about as clued in as he was on how to best conduct the visit however seeing as it had been so long since anyone of them had actually done this kind of thing it was infact pointless. As such Artem would be flying by the seat of his pants so to speak. As he was waiting for final checks on his flight his friend Moisey Viktorov came to wish him luck and essentially have him the advice of treating it like a business meeting. Artem thanked him for his well wishes but his advice didn't really help much as Artem had very little first hand knowledge of conducting business.

The flight over the "Inner Karifan" wasn't a particularly long one and Artem was impressed with the greeting. He made a point of proudly singing his nations national anthem, he loved to sing and he had to admit to the hosting President that he was impressed with the vast size and majesty of the Churches. "Our homeland has put a great emphasis on smaller community Churches. The large Cathedrals like yours will come though." He smiled, "I think perhaps the main difference is that we lack the major cities to play host to them but as our cities are beginning to grow so will the space our people need."

As they arrived at the Duma the butterflies in Artem's stomach began doing aerobatics. It wasn't that he wasn't used to speaking in front of crowds it was the significance of what his words would mean to the people back home. He took a sip of water before addressing the Duma. "To be invited to speak on behalf of my nation before such a gathering of fine individuals is perhaps one of the produest, and most nerve wracking experiences of my life. However it is my hope those nerves will soon abate, for as the bible tells us "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them" Truly when the lands of Zaporozhia and Samantra meet, and it is long overdue, we gather in our shared love of our Lord and if he is among us we should all have nothing to worry about. Over the last few weeks I have been proud to watch as our two nations have almost rediscovered our respect and brotherly love. The distance across the Inner Karifan" he paused and gave a small laugh, "I should explain, perhaps one of the things that also unites us is our belief that historically Rodina have done a disservice to our region, holding it back from both progress and humanity. As such why should their name be given to such a region? Back home we have taken to giving it this name and while this ocean, whatever you wish to call it, separates our physical territory it is my mission here to ensure that the distance diplomatically, culturally and spiritually is as close as possible. I thank each of you for your welcome to your beautiful country and look forward to what lies ahead. My God Bless us all." He bowed his head respectfully to the Duma, let out a sigh of relief that he hadn't messed up.

Having grown up in the priesthood Artem was used to the smell of incense and during the silent prayers tried to think back to some of the inspiring words his mentor at  St. Abraham Church School's Theological College would say. He found the words, "The fact is that peace is first of all a gift of God. God is the one who establishes it, for it is he who gives to humanity the whole of creation in order to administer and develop it in a united way." coming to mind from one of the teachers who had taught them for a while about the History of the faith. He hoped now he could try and put some of that into practice. As the prayer came to an end he thanked the President for the relics. "Sadly our gift to you is not yet ready." Artem confessed, "You may have heard of the   Adeova Church restroration that is beginning. We hope that once it is completed it will include an extension with multiple smaller chapels. We wish one of them to be given to your nation and that as we seek to establish a religious college there you'll accept six scholarships a year there. It is our hope again that this will help bring our two nations closer together."


Offline Markus

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Re: Invitation to Petrograd (Samantra and Zaporozh)
« Reply #4 on: January 04, 2022, 10:14:28 AM »
Ooc: Parbhani rightly pointed out that I mistakenly called his representative President instead of Envoy or something similar. We agreed that in the post above President is to be read as Envoy.


The audience in the state Duma chamber appreciated envoy’s Artem speech. After he finished, all guests, Yeva and all but five members of the Duma  stood up and gave a round of applause. Both parties, Legion and Republican, heavily favored good relations with Zaporozh so it was of no surprised that they received the speech favorably.

The five members of the Duma, three from the Legion and two Republicans chose not to stand or applaud because they objected to the Inner Karifan reference and the anti Rodinian rhetoric. While their views were in the minority they nevertheless represented a point of view, although marginal, that existed in Samantran society that Rodina could be a friend of Samantra because of cultural ties and that renaming the Rodinian Sea was a slap in the face to the people of Rodinia not just the Rodinian government.



“It is a wonderful gift and I thank you in the name of the Samantran people for it. We gladly accept.” replied Yeva.

“I apologize that I didn’t have a chance to properly reply during our tour but I remember your comment about the size of our churches and cathedrals. There is downside to it or better said it is a consequence of our recent history. The Sacred War, which we call the whole period on conflict starting with 1914 and the whole Great War Era and going all the way to 1954 with the end of the civil war in Samantra, devastated not just the country but also religious life. Whole communities fled from one side of the country to another. Some fled aboard only to return after decades. All that chaos uprooted many communities and destroyed in many cases irreversible the communal life that used to exist in the rural and small towns of Samantra. All of a sudden in the mid 1950 we were a poor, devastated country with few places to worship and a population that while strongly believed in the Lord knew very little of what Christianity teaches. More than half a century later, we are slowly seeing the kind of community created along small parish churches built or better said rebuilt in neighborhoods. That is why images shown in the  “Family First interview" had such a profound impact on us Samantrans. Villages like the one featured…” she paused because much to her shame she had forgotten the name but quickly one of her assistants next to her whispered so she resumed “Krasnoe. Yes, Krasnoe. They remind us of the stories our grandfathers used to tell us about how life was in Samantra before the devastation. “

Realizing that she should get back to the agenda she resumed:

“So all I can say is that we envy your small churches and the communities you have around them.”

“Now, with your permission I would like to approach the first topic on our agenda and that is security. I will leave Mr. Gedeon Egorov who is my security adviser to explain a bit about our plans.”


Gedeon Egorov, security adviser to the President of the Duma

“Thank you Ms. President.”

“Your excellency” Gedeon says turning his sight to Envoy Lebedev “you have already anticipated perfectly our views on the matter in your speech before the Duma. The Samantran government sees Soviet Rodina as holding back progress and humanity in our region and as a security threat to Samantra, a security threat that we seek to contain and eventually neutralize.

Our first plan of action is to deny access to military ships that do not belong to nations of the Rodinian Sea. That would stop Rodina from receiving military aid by sea from Kaitaine and apply pressure on their government.

The second plan of action is to found an institute for the desovietization of the Rodinian Sea countries by which we will seek to encourage anti soviet activity in Rodina as well as promote anti Soviet opinion in the Rodianian sea states and beyond.

Thank you.”

Yeva frowned at Gedeon’s lack of tact and immediately went on damage control in order to assure the guest that Samantra was not about to start a war.

“I allow me to better… phrase our position. Our proposal is to keep the Rodinian sea exclusively for navies belong to the countries that have access to the Rodinian sea. We are talking here of course only about warships and not civilian ships and we are consulting our friends to see what you think of the proposal. We have not yet discussed this with other governments but we intend to bring this up with NiS in my coming visit there, as they would be affected, with Halych, though with the civil war raging there (ooc: assuming it will not be retconned) we do not know if we will be able to do that. Chistopol will also be consulted of course. We expect the highest opposition to be encountered there since they are members of SUN and that will affect their allies. Allies with whom Samantra doesn’t always get along” she said referring to Drenovia.
“But allow me to underline that under no circumstances are we making a claim to own the Rodinian Sea and if this proposal of ours is poorly received we will not go forward with it. We are not… “

“Rokkenjima” said one of the members of the Samantran team igniting laughter on the Samantran side with only Yeva suppressing her laughter to only a chuckle as to maintain the appearance of neutrality on the matter but clearly agreeing to the statement.

“As for the institute, it will be an umbrella organization with at least part of the funding from the Samantran government which will seek to maintain in the public attention the horror and abuses taking place in Soviet Rodina. It will seek to make use of already existing initiatives  or beging new ones. We have yet to make a definitive list but among the proposals would be to finance and promote books detailing the abuses in Rodina as experienced by Rodinains who have fled the country, expositions in schools in Samantra and other countries about life in Rodina, financing and contributing whatever possible to broadcast from Zaporozh, assuming your government would allow this of course, the Divine Liturgy across the border in Rodina. We have reports that there are thousands if not a lot more Orthodox Christians in hiding in Rodina. We believe them hearing the Divine Liturgy over radio with a sermon mentioning them would give them immense comfort. As I said, the institute will not be founded from the premise that nothing has been done until now in that regard and will seek to fund already existing projects where they exist or to honor those that already have dedicated their lives to fighting in whatever shape or form they could the soviet government of Rodina. And should your government or any NGO from Zaporozh wish to be a cofounder it will of course be of great help and greatly appreciated.” 

Yeva realized that the Samantran side had already monopolized the talks but she wanted to address one more issue:

“I may have been perhaps rude in not addressing this sooner. I have noticed your government’s initiative to not recognize the name of the Rodinian Sea because of obvious and understandable reasons. In fact I believe Chistopol has expressed a similar view recently. Despite us noticing it, we have not expressed any public position on the matter so let me explain our reservations. We are hesitant to support a change in the name of the Rodinian sea for fear that it may be interpreted as a way to erase the history of the Rodinian people. The soviet government of Rodina is one thing, the people are another and such a change could be turned against us by their propaganda machine. The second issue we have is that so far we have not heard or been able to come up with a name can convey at least a similar cultural connection. Rodina means after all “motherland” (ooc: at least that is my understanding it means in Russian)  in the language we all share whether we are Samantrans, Zaporozhians, Chistopolians or Halychians. I would argue even the people of NiS understand the same thing. Calling it East Aranye Sea or even Inner Karifan seems to erase the cultural connection we have with it. But as I said, we are open to the idea; we just don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.”
 

Offline Kemerovo

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Re: Invitation to Petrograd (Samantra and Zaporozh)
« Reply #5 on: January 06, 2022, 11:10:36 PM »
Artem shifted in his seat to ensure he faced Egorov directly. "In regards to denying military ships foreign to the region access I perceive two issues, the first is" a half smile came to his face, "the first is already partly identified by your colleague here, Rokkenjima, and not just her but her friends. One need only look at the Kyne and any historic slight sees huge fleets dispatched and their Tytorian bedfellows are very keen on these, I believe they call Freedom of Navigation exercises, to me a waste of fuel." Artem shrugged, "Now to my knowledge at present Rokkenjima and Tytor don't head into this region. If though you insist on this measure we must ask ourselves whether with their attitude towards the FSC and navigation they'd see a reason to come up here. This makes me think that perhaps makes me think that such an action achieves the opposite of what you want. On the matter of Chistopol I believe they are a nation that stand on a cusp of going one of two ways. The first will see them join with nations belonging to this SUN grouping in a more and more formal way. Yet their anti Soviet pact with the Bene Gesserit and Waddan would make us think that perhaps they could be persuaded to have a view to being more active in our region. While they lack the faith of ourselves they do seem a nation that I'd consider trustworthy. By preventing them from utilising their narrow coastal strip for SUN activities do we not perhaps force what could be a useful partner into the arms of outsiders? Now I do believe that we should be on-guard to ensure that it is us, the nations of the Inner Karifan, Rodinian Sea, whatever name someone should call it, that it is we who ensure that the future of the region is what we want it. I've read much about how East Moreland had a policy for many years of Illumic Self Determinism, they worked to create a network of co-operation so that if any outsider attempted to interfere in the region those nations pulled together and have created a useful and productive partnership in a busy international waterway, one much busier than our own. I wonder if perhaps a similar approach would work here. A Inner Karifan Union, the name may be its biggest stumbling block." He gave a small chuckle. "Might I propose as a starting point though something that maybe achieves your aim discreetly." He produced a map of the region on a tablet computer. It showed the Emerald Strait in detail. "How about we carry out a joint sea-bed mapping of the Strait, on paper it will look like attempts to improve shipping. We could however make a show of force by having a large naval force undertake the mapping, while doing this they can very clearly monitor who comes and goes and if needed make measures to enforce things like smuggling, piracy and the like." Artem hoped this would find a way forward that wouldn't provoke some nations while also helping promote co-operation.


Artem had more of an interest in the second point. "Perhaps naval matters can help us with your idea about Soviet Rodina. I see the organisation being a two way street. The first idea of telling the world about the actions of Rodina is a good one, as is the broadcasting into Rodina but why stop at just the Liturgy. My idea would be that we purchase between the two nations a naval vessel that we outfit as a radio station and we part just outside Rodina's waters. We can then route their broadcast through transmitters even in my homeland. We have a 24 hour radio channel giving news from our nations. This will help convince those in Rodina who have little knowledge of the truth outside their Pravda propaganda about the evils of their Soviet regime's godlessness. In addition it will allow us to broadcast on wider religious issues and make the faithful a part of our community. The commitment to this effort I can guarantee you as even if the Family Council fails to approve it I suspect between my own family and Moisey Viktorov's kin we can make that happen."

"As for the name issue." He sighed this may be a more difficult "A name does not define history. We still teach the history of our people's, we still tell the stories of old and our museums are full of artefacts and statues , paintings and sculptures that remind is of our past and our heritage. In the past many of my countrymen from time to time used Rodina as a means of settling disputes between themselves. A conflict would break out and one family would side with those opposing Rodina while the other would embrace them, as a result many of our people became what could be described as puppets in their games. The Mhorish could have ended up with the name the Moreland Ocean perhaps as their exploring King Paul put people into Lymm, Bakkermaya and even Vaguzia yet even without the name of an ocean I suspect the Morelanders have been able to keep alive their history and their culture. It is the faith we share I believe that binds us and not a name. The fact we may reach a time when you call it one thing and us another is a possibility, but it is of little concern so long as we remain like this." He placed his hands together with curved fingers opposing each and and pulled, the fingers interlocking but not coming apart, a gesture showing the two nations connected. "Names are insignificant compared to what we keep in our heart."

Offline Markus

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Re: Invitation to Petrograd (Samantra and Zaporozh)
« Reply #6 on: January 09, 2022, 06:58:04 PM »
Artem’s response regarding the first point of the agenda was a lot to unpack and so the Samantran side was silent for a few moments. Yeva knew that the decision on how to approach this further rested on her and that she had to say something. She needed a few more moments to think about this so she said something just to buy some time.

“That is an interesting analysis Mr. Lebedev” she managed to say before stopping again and asked for a glass of water from one of the servers while she gave a polite smile to the guests.

As much as she disliked admitting it, she knew that Artem was right about the Rokkenjimans and their allies. Going forward in the manner she had proposed would give them the perfect pretext to send warships to the Rodinian and cause a standoff with them. Such a standoff would likely make the electorate rally behind and make them more likely to support her campaign promise to increase funding for the Armed forces but would likely deteriorate relations with the rest of the  countries of the Rodinian sea. It would also go against the core of Samantran foreign policy philosophy that sought to first make friends and allies especially with neighbors and only after that engage in disputes with major powers. So she decided to give in on the issue:

“I think you are absolutely right, Mr. Lebedev. It would achieve the opposite of what we intend especially regarding Rokkenjima and their allies” she said much to the relief of some of her aids which had feared she was too proud to do a 180 on the issue.

“So we will have to rethink our approach on the matter. As for the nation of Chistopol, I think their interests lie elsewhere, just as we speak their nation is hosting the Pharaoh of Clysperis for talks, but that is perhaps because they did not have an alternative for so long. Now that our two governments have emerged from isolation and it seems more nations are doing so that might change. So if there is nothing to gain from our initial proposal then there is no point in needlessly creating a point of contention by denying their SUN allies access to the Sea.”

“The joint sea-bed mapping of the strait is an excellent proposal and we will start from there.”

Since the talks have led to them discussing Chistopol, she thought it would be a good opportunity to share some of her administration plans regarding the region especially since the representative of Zaporozh seemed to suggest plans about an Inner Karifan Union of some sort.

“This was not part of our agenda for talks today but since the talks took a different turn then expected” referring to the 180 move she had to do on her initial proposal “I think it’s a good time to discuss how would a Council of Slavic/Rus’ nations type of organization would be received by the Families Council. The organization would be open to all nations that use Slavic languages as their native one and would seek to promote intergovernmental cooperation. It would not be as ambition as SUN but more like a forum that would bring around the table the nations that share a common language. Our hope is that nations such as Chistopol would join despite them not being Christian but see nations such Nis join which does not have access to the … Sea. We are blessed that the nations that share the languages of the Rus’ largely inhabit the same part of Mundus, so it is our belief that such an organization will make sense.”

“I know that what has been described as the “Viktorov agenda” proposes that your nation will only sign bi-lateral treaties so there is concern on our side that such an organization, even in the most modest of forms, might not be in accordance to your country’s constitution arrangement.”

Yeva was glad that there was agreement regarding the second proposal: “That is certainly something that we can implement and sounds like a perfect task for the institute. I propose that we will leave our staff to iron out the details in the coming weeks.”

In reference to the Rodinian name issue she replied: “I understand your position but I do hope we will be able to find a name in the future that acknowledges the cultural connection we as a people have to the sea. Maybe the Slavic sea or the sea of Rus’ or some other name will be found in the future but if not, we can as a last resort accept the Inner Karifan as a name.”

Yeva felt that  moving on to the other topics of the agenda would be too early and waited for the guests to see what they thought or if they had issues to add.   

Offline Kemerovo

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Re: Invitation to Petrograd (Samantra and Zaporozh)
« Reply #7 on: January 18, 2022, 11:06:14 PM »
Artem knew that the various Families had discussed ideas of regional bodies, it seemed Aranye was the only continent that lacked one and perhaps that was due to its size. Zaporozh shared nothing in common with the likes of Altona or Eskdale and as such while that would not preclude them being worth forming friendships with it just made them a lower priority. It also meant a Cross-Aranye organisation was in Artem's mind pointless. This idea of one based more on cultural and linguistic ties was more interesting though. With the exception of Chistopol, Kaitaine and Lodja (OOC-Assuming we're saying their Rus and somehow ended up down there).

"My understanding of the  “Viktorov agenda” is that it would apply to matters such as mutual defence, economic trading blocks and things. There is a bit of distaste for them back home when organisations like the CSTO and CNN tie themselves together for no other reason than to boost their own power. What ties the CNN together other than a love of rugby? What makes Diato and Tytor natural allies other than a desire to belong to something?" Maybe it was because Artem was not a career politicial or diplomat but he often thought how strange it was that nations would send others to die for a nation they owed nothing to. At least Zaporozh and Samantra making an agreement, and potentially a larger Rus one, would see each other standing as Brothers in Christ, with the odd exception perhaps. "Depending on the content of the agreement I think we could sell it. For example if it contained a wider pledge to the Institute we discussed bringing onboard other nations, it could perhaps include things such as cultural events, competitions and maybe things such as some businesses like a publishing house that would focus on publishing things such as theological studies, historical journals, even works of fiction tied to our folk tales. This can then be distributed across Mundus and showcase our heritage and our culture. This in turn could act as a boost for our economies and attract people to the region. Meanwhile in terms of things such as defence I am aware of the vast cost of developments needed to stay cutting edge. A process similar to that of the SUN's fighter project could be included where nations would share developments between us, thus spreading the cost and sharing expertise. At this point though I think things such as a carte blanche visa exemption, complete withdrawal of tarrifs and mutual defence would for us be off the table."

He purposely left the issue of the seas name wash over him. It was something that was growing in common parlance and he saw no reason why it wouldn't continue to grow. He stood by his word that it mattered not what the waterway was called between them so long as they acted to ensure it was kept safe and secure from unwanted advances by those both in the region and those from outside it.

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Re: Invitation to Petrograd (Samantra and Zaporozh)
« Reply #8 on: January 22, 2022, 09:38:06 PM »
While it was far too early to have a detailed plan regarding the proposed Slavic Council, her administration had drafted a general idea.

“I think the organization, at least as we will propose it, will more in line with what you had in mind” Yeva said imagining how hard to sell would be a mutual defense organization to the Duma even if she wanted it which she did not “After all what will bring us to the table will be a cultural connection and not fear of an extern threat”.

“One aspect that we will certainly propose is overlapping programs. By that I mean the member countries that wish to support an organization such as the Desovietisation Institute will do so but the rest of the members can opt out and of course later join if they wish to do so. In our vision the organization, as I said, will be more like a forum than political center that issues decisions.”

Yeva was pleased that Artem suggested there was interest in such an organization. With them supporting it there was enough of a foundation to build the council even if the other invited nations will refuse or be reluctant and unengaged members of the future organization. Petrograd was well aware that in Mundus international organization we very often not successful and even when they were they were often carried by only a couple of members.

Yeva then proceed to the next item of the agenda:

“I would like to address the next point of our agenda which is about our religious heritage. I think we are truly blessed that our peoples share a faith in the Lord but more importantly that we are free to worship Him. Our region of the world has known a lot of persecution I think here of the likes of the Earagon genocide just to name of the recent tragedies.

Our country has seen its share of hardships during the scared war but we have recovered. During the decades of recovery we have restored hundreds of churches and we have gained experience in that area. We seek to make use of that experience in helping others and together with the Samantran church will launch a Restoration Fund to fund the restoration of Orthodox churches in our region of Mundus and beyond. With the civil war in Halych ending, I think there is a lot of need in that area. Also, from incidents such as the one in Mktvartvelo I believe there are Orthodox Church communities thought Mundus that need our help in restoring their churches and works of art. So we would like to invite Zaporozh to take part in such Fund contributing in whatever form you find acceptable. For example the Samantran Church will contribute with restoration painters, our administration will provide a 20 million roubles (USD) annual contribution and we expect private fundraising to equal that.

Also on this topic I would like to hear your opinion on religious visas and if we can find some kind of reciprocal agreement for issuing them in a manner that creates as little burden on our clergy as possible.“

Offline Kemerovo

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Re: Invitation to Petrograd (Samantra and Zaporozh)
« Reply #9 on: January 29, 2022, 05:03:47 PM »
Artem liked the idea of the Churches working together. "I think the idea of a kind of Restoration Fund is a good one however why limit it to government funding. For example my homeland tends not to have a vast spare budget to go giving it to nations other than our own. The reason for that is simple, the role of a government is to provide for the needs of its people, to put them in a position to thrive. As such we have thankfully a Families Council committed to keeping taxes as low as possible so that people are left with as much of their income as possible. Now some of my countrymen have done rather well and see it as a duty to help those in need and do charitable deeds. I suspect many of these people would donate to the fund, in addition I have another proposal connected to it. Money is all well and good but often projects like restoring a Church need things other than money. We have at home the Church Youth League who have been highly active in helping support and restore Churches. They've some skilled artists who have helped paint Churches, they've prepared gardens, even such basic tasks as litter picking. If we perhaps propose attached to this Restoration Fund a Pan-Rus Church Youth League we can mobilise a workforce committed to the cause and give them a chance to experience a new land, but not too different a culture. Could this be something you would support? In terms of funding I will naturally request that we contribute to this fund however that will be for the Families Council to determine. I will also speak with some of my better connected friends and see if we can get even more money towards this."

Offline Markus

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Re: Invitation to Petrograd (Samantra and Zaporozh)
« Reply #10 on: January 30, 2022, 01:51:57 PM »
Yeva didn’t really understand why Artem got idea of limiting the Fund only to government funding; after all she said that private fundraising would probably equal the government funding but she didn’t pursue the issue.

“A Pan Slavic Church Youth League?” she said while pondering the implications of that both domestically and aboard. Such a league could potentially extend its activities to other cultural areas and could prove useful she decided.
“That is a great idea and I believe there might be interest for such a league in other Rus’ Christian countries like Halych, Volhynia and Nis but not only limited to them. I mean, there are small Rus’ Christian communities in other far away countries of Mundus like for example Clysperis so it would give a chance to those communities to get connected to their native lands.

The only potential issue I see is one relating to the security of members of the youth league. If we attach such a youth league to the Restauration Fund or we help create a youth league and attach the fund to it as a secondary activity it would create a an extra responsibility for the Samantran government relating to those youth. As Samantran citizens the government is responsible for their safety aboard no matter what but when public funds are involved extra scrutiny would have to be taken. By that I mean that should the country they activate in is deemed insecure by our Ministry of External Affairs we will immediately ask, at least for our citizens, to return home“. Yeva was thinking here of the potential negative press her government would get if they’d finance such an enterprise and the youth were somehow injured or worse in a faraway Mundus country.

Yeva noticed that Artem did not say anything about the proposed religious visa. She didn’t know if that was because he had forgotten or because his answer was somehow related to the Pan Slavic Church Youth League proposal so she decided to not approach the issue again immediately and waited to see if he would touch the subject next.

“It that case, with your permission I would approach the last topic on our agenda which economic matters.

On our part Samantra levies a 25% tax on imports and restricts foreign ownership of real-estate to only its citizens. As a sign of good faith and friendship we will be dropping the import taxes  for good and services produced in your nation and will lift the restriction on the buying of real estate with the exception of agricultural land. I hope you understand that the agricultural sector and land in particular is a strategic sector where we insist that it be kept in Samantran hands.  Furthermore, we will be grating  the most favored nation status to your nation so that any future deals we make third parties your nation will also receive the same treatment if that is better than what you currently are getting. However, let me assure you that it is unlikely that a better deal will be offered to any other nation.”
Yeva took a gamble by offering first and without preconditions the terms. She figured that Artem was less of a politician and as such would appreciate the gesture. 
“Unfortunately, my staff has not been able to find the exact nature of your trade policy and property rights for foreigners so if you would like to explain those to us we would very much appreciated. As would a short description of the status of your oil and gas industry. As far as Samantra goes, we are a blessed nation but not in terms of oil and gas reserves and we import most of our needed oil and gas from MidAranyre states.  ”.

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Re: Invitation to Petrograd (Samantra and Zaporozh)
« Reply #11 on: February 01, 2022, 11:11:40 PM »
Artem was slightly disappointed with the view on the Youth League idea, he suspected he hadn't explained it as well as perhaps a seasoned politician would. "Naturally we would never knowingly send our young people into a country that was dangerous. Should things change while they are there we too would follow the same procedure as you and get them home however best we can. Largely though I'd be expecting things like people from our nation coming to you, maybe Chistopol, who knows one day we may even be able to get a Church built in Lodja." Artem smiled mischievously "We could also set it up as a NGO if we had a mind. A chance to serve the Church and see the world. Its an opportunity I wish I'd had when I was younger. Of course working through an NGO or similar set up would streamline any visa situation but of course we could extend it to members of the clergy and those employed by the Church."

As talk turned to trade Artem knew he would struggle a little more. He was familiar with economics from running a family business but then he thought perhaps he'd have an insight from his own experiences. "I would like to think that the Family Council would agree for a like to like deal. Whatever you lower your tariffs and taxes to we would happily match. We are a natural partnership, our language, our culture, our faith, even our close location. Like you we value agriculture, the dream would be that every Zaporzah family would be self sufficient in terms of growing enough food for themselves however clearly our climate and need for a more diverse economy means those things such as that passed by a long time ago. We do though still see the idea of life on the land as important. Land is granted to families and communes not individuals. To buy and own land the commune would need to agree. Now if for example one of your countrymen wanted to buy property in our nation then as long as the Commune agree then that property could be sold, land could be acquired in a similar way. If I'm honest though I suspect such acquisitions, even for friends such as you, will be difficult."

"When it comes to energy resources we scrape by. We've some coal power stations, not the cleanest but efficient and we've a decent amount of coal. We've some deep mines that have been closed for some time which we're investigating using as geothermal and various heat exchange processes. I've even read of some of the deep mine shafts being used to drop weights down to turn turbines and make energy when supply runs low. We also believe that our limited gas supplies could be supplimented by fracking some of these old abandoned sites. In the short term we recognise though with bare minimum gas supplies, coal being so shunned internationally and oil needing to come from elsewhere we need to look at new ideas. We're considering contacting Altona who have been talking of helping nations set up nuclear power stations and assessing whether that could be a viable alternative. If we could get oil and resources from elsewhere than Midaranye we'd be happy." 

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Re: Invitation to Petrograd (Samantra and Zaporozh)
« Reply #12 on: February 05, 2022, 08:33:04 PM »
"A church in Lodja? That is certainly needed" Yeva thought. Since there seemed to be agreement on the Youth League she moved on to the other two.

"At the end of the day, the Samantran government can only do so much" she said in reply to the statement that Samantrans will find it hard to buy real estate in Zaporozh.
" It is the job of the private sector to do the rest."

"We would be very pleased if the Families Council wouldmatch our reduction in tariffs. "

She then moved on the energy topic:

"Well I do know that  Zaporozh has been blessed with many rivers and that some industries have set up on the rivers to utilize hydro electric power. Maybe you can further invest in hydro? " Yeva didn't really expect to have found a solution that the guest hadn't thought about,  she was more interested to see why he had not mentioned it.

Since Artem was so open about their plans to approach Altona, she decided to share some of the plans Samantra had with the hope that if the other side knows what the other is doing they might find ways to benefit each other:

"As far we know Halych has sizable gas reserves that are sadly disputed with Volhynia. Our hope is that we can broker some kind of deal with either side or both for some of their gas. Our greatest hope is to build a land pipeline all the way to them to transport it. That idea had for decades been only a distant dream but now with the end of the civil war in Halych there is renewed hope for it. I personally think it's a bit too optimistic but it's certainly worth the try.

As far as our suppliers in Midaranye are concerned, our economy has so much need for oil and gas that I can't imagine cutting our dependence from them any time soon. The way we see it, we want to secure the best possible deal with them and my staff has plans to set up a Midaranye tour for me or at least a meeting with OPEN representatives.

Sadly, we can't say we have much to offer in this regard. We don't have any nuclear power plants and we don't even have coal. What I can offer you is that when I or a representative of the Samantran government meets OPEN and negotiates a deal that we also include the oil and gas needs of our nation. That way our negotiation position would be stronger since we would be asking for a larger quantity. It will be some time till we get to the Midaranye tour or OPEN meeting or whatever format we will negotiate so there is plenty of time to talk it through with the Families Council.

We have also considered nuclear power but that comes with a lot of problems. It requires an enormous initial investment and it is very hard to find local governments in Samantra that are willing to approve the construction of such a plant in their jurisdiction. So while the nuclear alternative remains on the table securing oil and gas will remain our number one priority. "

She then waited to see if Artem had anything else he wanted to bring up in the talks.

Offline Kemerovo

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Re: Invitation to Petrograd (Samantra and Zaporozh)
« Reply #13 on: February 16, 2022, 08:25:36 PM »
When the question came about further utilisation of hydro-electric power Artem gave a small smile, it was clear that while Yeva was well informed on the general matters of Zaprozah she perhaps didn't understand the finer intricacies of local politics but that was understandable after all this meeting was in part about getting to know each other a little better. "The great thing about my nation is the fact that we are all free to make our choices and we have minimal oversight from a central authority that is also the problem with huge infastructure projects. To get more hydro electric set up we'd need more families willing to make compromises. At times that just can't.....actually better to say won't happen. For us to be able to build on a big scale we'd need just too many people to play along and with some families wanting to utilise land in different ways we may be slightly limited. It may take a bit longer but we could get some movement from some of the families. As for a collective bargaining approach to OPEN we would be interested. Ironically the loose nature of the system back homes means we actually have a better chance getting nuclear power than hydro-electric. All we need is one family willing to give up land and we have our go ahead. Some of the families with less financial backing are likely to agree to give up some land for the project. As for initial investment you're right that it is a concern but we are confident that we can manage the financial situation so long as someone like Altona aren't too inflexible."


"Now with what I think are some excellent foundations on the table of a relationship and co-operation between us. We now want to expand this further afield. It is our intention in the period ahead to train missionaries to understand the Bene Gesserit and three religions in Chistopol. We want these missionaires to help promote the Christian faith there, we think we may get more interest from the Bene Gesserit in the Theocracy of Kaitaine as they appear more open to religious ideas, while they may try and adapt them into their own cocktail of faith we hope with decent preparation we could help get a foothold there. Would you care to join us in these efforts. If so we are planning on inviting representatives from both nations to our capital to open the path for the later missionary work. Would you care to attend?"


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Re: Invitation to Petrograd (Samantra and Zaporozh)
« Reply #14 on: February 19, 2022, 07:06:05 PM »
Yeva thought a bit about the implications of the Zaporozh system of government. Her staff had prepared whatever research they could but the Envoy was right that their reports lacked the knowledge on the ground. She couldn’t help but think as the Envoy explained the inner working of their country that their decentralized nature combined with their unwillingness to cooperate at times might make them vulnerable to Rodina and especially other foreign power like Daito who only relatively recently left Volhynia. She made a mental note to consider the implications of this with her staff after the visit was over.

   As far as the proposal went regarding the missionaries, that fit will with the plans of both the secular and the spiritual government. The Samantran Orthodox Church always welcomed expanding Orthodox Christianity especially in Rus’ countries though Yeva suspected not even they were that naive to expect any meaningful change in demographics anytime soon. Yeva’s administration on the other hand was interested in building some connections with the two countries before announcing the proposed Slavic Council. Furthermore, Yeva was of the opinion that Zaporozh, with its decentralized structure, was far more likely to be seen as non-threatening than Samantra with its quasi theocratic and centralized state.

“I think there’s no doubt that our Church will approve of this as do we. It’s a noble effort and I would be honored to attend or send a representative, whatever is more preferable”.
“Let’s hope that in their next census millions of Orthodox Christians will appear overnight as it happened in the Kingdom of Clysperis with the Helusians” she said smiling as she joked about what was seen in Petrograd as manipulation of statistics for political purposes.   

“If I may ask, what is the position of Zaporozh or better said the Families Council regarding the Theocracy of Kaitaine?

Much like Zaporozh. we were in relative isolation when the major events took place and since opening up to Mundus we have yet to take a stand in recognizing the Theocracy. We have concerns regarding their secretive religion and their way which seem to encourage infiltration in foreign countries and even governments. That, with all due respect for them, creates the impression of a cult. Of course we admit they are a much better alternative to Soviet Kaitaine and are considering recognizing their state but we are not sure the manner to do it yet. By that I mean if we should recognize that there are in fact two Kaitaine, one Soviet and one Theocracy or just the Theocracy.”

Yeva left out the fact that Petrograd was more than impressed with the fact that a bunch of women managed to fight back against the Soviet war machine and that their experience with the Soviets was seen as invaluable not just in terms of military but also general knowledge of Soviets inner workings.


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Re: Invitation to Petrograd (Samantra and Zaporozh)
« Reply #15 on: February 24, 2022, 10:17:47 PM »
Artem was pleased that Yeva seemed ameniable to the ideas he'd put forward. The conversation turned to the Theocracy, a place seen as an opportunity. "Like yourself we're yet to take an official position on the Theocracy, we are inclined towards a kind of middle path. We'll not refer to them as a country but we'll also not ignore them. We'll work with them on some matters, those that favour us helping get word of our faith in there and possibly tap into their excellent educational set ups however we'll likely not go as far as things like trade deals, after all I'm not sure their desert really gives them a great deal to export as it is. Now in terms of the meeting we'd like to set up who to send is totally over to you. Naturally you'd be very welcome in our nation but should you think it more beneficial to send someone else they too will be welcome. The more the merrier." Artem smiled. "We're naturally concerned about their faith being a little, how shall I say, bonkers, but we also don't think there is much to fear of it spreading because of the exact thing you pointed out, its a Cult, those born into it are brain washed and as a result blind to alternatives. They could though be a useful tool and partner. As for the Soviets they're someone we'll be keeping an eye on to ensure their Communist influence doesn't sneak into our nation. "