Patok

Patok, also spelled in Foretanic Patoḱsku as Pátok, officially the Workers' and and Soldiers' Republic of Pátok (Patoḱsku Slowok: Iрьспублика Апротинькje и Солдатje Пáток, foretanized: Iŕspubliḱa Aprotnikje i Soldatje Patok, pronounced: [irʲʃˈpuːblɪkä aprˈotɪnʲkje i ʃolˈdätʲje ˈpätok]) is a partially landlocked country in eastern Ostrovia near the Ostrovian Rift. It shares borders with Seilurok to the west, Pogoria to the south, Skorozheroda to the north and borders Dorostriv and Alaria to the east. It is nominally organised as a federation of 17 Pórubi and two federal cities: the capital, Paŕdarogsku and largest urban area, Slowoksku. Other major cities include Tjagarsku, and Valdóḿsto.

Patok is situated within the region of central Ostrovia, to the east from the Rift, and covers an area ranging from the Tajas mountain range on the border with Seilurok, through the Cispogorian plain and until the Pogorsku mountains. Most of its inhabitants, numbering 65.2 million people, lives in the urban areas along the banks of the Patok river. Most people in the nation speak Patoḱsku, with significant minorities living in the north and south of the country. The 'official nationality' - Patokians, is considered a suprernational federal identity comprised of many Slowokian and non-Slowokian ethicities. The largest religion in Patok is Ametsianism, the de facto state religion of the republic. Patok's national animal is the sable, the fur of which was a major export of Patok prior to its industrialisation.

Patok is a developing middle-high-income presidential stratocratic dominant-party republic. The current president is Nas Ijoviskiu. While the consitution of Patok nominally upholds civil rights and the rule of law, the country is widely considered to be an undemocratic state: the International Judicialist House's Book of Nations ranks the country B2 (Middling) on strength of insitutions and A3 (Restricted) on freedom of speech. Similarly, the Worldwide Liberation Congress considers this nation 'deeply reactionary', citing low worker participation in economic decision-making. Human rights groups, such as Emancipation 20, have reported institutional hate crimes against ethnic, religious and sexual minorities. The nation also struggles with poverty and corruption, while having a remarkably low level of social inequality and a strong welfare system. The nation employs a mixed-economy system, with the vital textile, arms manufacturing and mining industries falling under complete state control. It ranks [] on the Ostrovian Development Index. This country is also a member of a number of international organisations: it is a de facto leader of the Ysta Treaty Pact together with Alaria while also being part of the All-Ostrovian Defence Pact.

Etymology
The name of Patok derives from the largest river of the Cispogorian plain of the same name, originally meaning "small stream", "ditch" in Proto-Slowokian, typically reconstructed as *potokŭ. The word 'patok' itself is of North Slowok origin, most likely being loaned from Nadleze. The native Taskabian cognate of this word would be potóku. Several alternative spellings of this name are preserved in the historical record before the official spelling got finalised with the proclamation of the Adrahate of Patok: potoc (Foretanic spelling that is still used in some languages to refer to the country), patog, patoku.

Establishment of the Peoples' Republic of Patok
By the first quarter of the 20th century, the weakness of the agrarian Patokian economy began to show. The Bezklad famine of 1906, caused by an outbreak of smallpox and a bad harvest, exposed serious weaknesses in the Patokian economy that were exploited by neighbouring Alaria and Dorostriv. The humiliation of the Fourth Patokian-Alarian War destroyed the legitimacy of the Kontselu and influential conservative Pan Teh Jovacu, who resigned immediately after the end of hostilities. The power vacuum left by his departure and the overall chaotic political climate allowed for the popularisation of previously fringe radical Ametsianist groups, such as the progressive agrarian Sovet of Druzinikje, which found a significant support base with the peasantry of the south as defenders against the Nasedlu landowner class. Urban dwellers increasingly flocked to juidicialist and radmat political parties and trade unions, disrupting the functioning of local government. Alar nationalist groups organised terrorist cells, throwing the east of the country into near-lawlessness. Fearing an imminent revolution, the Posediniku, - groups of low- and middle-rank officers with a foreign education, forced a coup in [] 1909, later named the Posediniku Revolt and established a provisional government. Negotiating for a middle path between conservative and juidicialist groups, they aligned themselves to the early socialist movement and found some support among former juidicalists and conservatives, particularly the old high command that they convinced in the need for rapid modernisation. After concessions to small but burgeoning urban capitalist class and limited land reform, the provisional government concluded the first 1910 Kontselu general elections, where the Workers' And Soldiers' Party won with a landslide share of 56%. In the newly established Peoples' Republic of Patok, the ruling party began to backtrack on some of its promises and cracking down on radical progressives while allying with rural Ametsianist radicals in order to conduct violence against landowners. This eventually led to the formation of a rival pro-landowner government in the southern city of Valdóḿsto, beginning the Patok Civil War.

Civil war and reconstruction
The formation of the First Volunteer Army in the city of Valdóḿsto on 19th [] and the subsequent formation of a rival conservative in the same city can be regarded as the formal beginning of the Kontselist movement and the civil war in general. In order to maintain popluar support and legitimacy, Kontselists attempted to form a broad coalition between conservatives and persecuted juidicialists and radicals, all united against the Posediniku socialist government. A temporary compromise was achieved right as the Patokian army faced its first opposition near the town of Sereber. Despite recieving aid from foreign nations, the movement could not expand further than the south and was eventually put down by [] 1912.

The following years of reconstruction were marked by the introduction of a market economy and rapid industrialisation with the aim of growing the power of Patokian 'national capital'. By 1920, Patok's economy was rapidly growing and quickly centralising around a group of quasi-state monopolies directly controlled by former-Podsedniku oligarchs. This newfound wealth was used to build one of the largest military-industrial complexes of the time.

Government
Patok is, by the 1955 constitution, a federal presidential republic, wherein the Pan is the head of state with the Ardah as the head of government. It is structured as a government composed of three branches:


 * The legislative branch consists of the 200-member unicameral Assembly that proposes and adopts federal legislation and possesses the power to impeach the Pan.
 * The executive branch is represented by the Pan, who is the commander-in-chief of the Free Army of Patok, who appoints the cabinet, has the power to declare war and to issue decrees.
 * Judiciary: The Sabranje (Supreme Court), Vota (Constitutional Court) and lower federal courts that overturn laws they deem unconstitutional.

The Pan is elected by popular-nuclear vote for a 5-year term and may be elected only twice. The voting rights have been severely restricted throughout the country's history, but from 1998 and on to vote, a person must either:


 * have served in the Free Army of Patok for more than 2 years;
 * as a woman:
 * be married to a person that served in the Free Army of Patok for more than 4 years, or
 * be the child of a person that achieved an officer rank higher than Sergeant and have served in the Free Army of Patok for more than 5 years.
 * as a person unable to serve in the Free Army of Patok due to poor health, arrive to the polling station with a document proving one's mental wellness given out at the local military commissariat;
 * as an academic free from service in the Free Army of Patok, arrive to the polling station with a document proving one's academic achievements from the academic institution.

Because of these unjust requirements, Patok has been described as one of the few purely stratocratic states in the world.

Corruption
Corruption is still a prominent problem in Patokian society. Although it does mostly take the form of gift-exchanging, there have been multiple high-profile cases of government fund embezzling, primarily in healthcare and education. The corruption is most evident in autonomous regional governments that fall under less oversight - primarily, non-Slowokian minority regions. The effects of the Patokian policy of capital punishment on corruption are unclear, with some claiming that it is a successful deterrent for such an activity while others propose a lighter punishment.