Uulgadzar

Uulgadzar Republic Бүгд Найрамдах Уулгазар Улс (Uulgadzan) Уулгадзар Рэспу́бліка (Stepadnó)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Бид хаана байх, бид явах Bid khaana baikh, bid yavakh "Where we stay, we go"
Anthem: Уулгазар улсын төрийн дуулал Uulgadzar ulsyn töriin duulal "National Anthem of Uulgadzar"
Location of Uulgadzar in Ostlandet
Capital and largest city	Uulhot
Official languages	Uulgadzan
Recognised national languages	Stepadnó
Ethnic groups (2020)	82% Uulgadzan 16% Stepadnó 2% Other
Religion (2020)	67.9% Ariunxavč 16.1% Christian 9% Atheist/Agnostic/No religion 7% Other
Demonym(s)	Uulgadzan
Government	Devolved unitary semi-presidential republic
• President	Guntomor Khasar
• Prime Minister	Solongo Jurchedei
Legislature	Ardbayshin
Formed by union of various tribes
• Formation of Union of Uul	670 CE
• Mountain War	1593
• Silent Coup	1978
• Proclamation of Uulgadzar Republic	1978
Area
• Total	541,902 sq mi (1,403,520 km2)
Population
• 2022 estimate	6,433,030
• 2020 census	6,200,319
• Density	11.44/sq mi (4.4/km2)
GDP (nominal)	2020 estimate
• Total	₵82,206,743,452
• Per capita	₵13,258.47
Gini (2020)	39.8 medium
HDI (2020)	0.753 high
Currency	Uulgadzan tögrög (UUT)
Time zone	AMT+11 (UGT)
Mains electricity	120 V-60 Hz
Driving side	right
Calling code	+77
ISO 3166 code	UU
Internet TLD	.uu

Uulgadzar (Uulgadzan: Уулгазар [ʊɮɡatsar]), officially the Uulgadzar Republic (Uulgadzan: Бүгд Найрамдах Уулгазар Улс [pukt nɛːramtax ʊɮɡatsar ʊɮs]) is a land-locked devolved unitary semi-presidential republic in Ostlandet. It is bordered by Estcharia to the west, Syntsi to the northwest, Zloveshchiy to the east, Gjorka to the southeast, and Ajakanistan to the south. It is well-known for its sprawling steppe and "shining" mountains. Uulgadzar has a land area of TBD. Its total population, according to the 2020 census, is 6,200,319. Its capital and largest city is Uulhot.

The Uulgadzan people first arrived in the area of modern Uulgadzar in about 4000 BCE. Permanent settlements first began in about 400 CE, with the first united nation of Uulgadzan people being formed in around 670 CE, being named the Union of Uul. In 1593, the Mountain Wars erupted between the Uulgadzan Kingdom and TBD. After the Mountain Wars, the borders of Uulgadzar remained mostly unchanged for the rest of its history. In 1978, the Silent Coup abolished the monarchy and created a more open democracy in Uulgadzar. In 1979, the Uulgadzar Republic was formed.

Since 1990 the quality of life and quality of education in Uulgadzar has improved. A study in 2011 showed that the average Uulgadzan person would receive 3 more years of education in 2010 than they would have in 1990. The percentage of college graduates in the nation rose from 19.5% in 1985 to 68.9% in 2015. The nation's main exports are minerals, particularly copper, gold, coal, and uranium. Recently, there have been investments into producing natural gas via coalbed methane extraction. It is a secular state, however most people in Uulgadzar follow a religion, according to the 2020 census.

Etymology

Uulgadzar (уулгазар) comes from uul (уул) meaning mountain and from gadzar/gazar (газар) meaning ground or land. The two words were separated formally until the 19th century, when the nation's name was changed from Uul Gadzar to Uulgadzar. However, informally the words had been united as early as the 17th century.

History

Main article: History of Uulgadzar

Geography and Climate

Uulgadzar contains a mix of temperate, semi-arid, and arid climates. In the south and north-west, semi-arid steppe climate dominates, causing hot temperatures with little rain. In the west, the Dogšin Desert has a predominately arid climate, with temperatures rarely, if ever, reaching below freezing, and nearly no rain. It is the most sparsely populated place in Uulgadzar. In the east, a temperate climate exists. It is separated from the semi-arid and arid climates by the Uulgadzar Mountains.

Politics

Government

Uulgadzar is a devolved unitary semi-presidential republic under a de jure substantive democracy. The nation's president serves as the head of state and the prime minister as the head of government. The president is voted on directly by the people. The prime minister is selected by the party or parties making up the government. Only a member of the Ardbayshin can become the prime minister.

Legislature

Main article: Ardbayshin

The legislative branch of Uulgadzar operates on a unicameral parliament named the Ardbayshin. The parliament, consisting of 70 seats, has one seat for every district, as well as one seat for each of the eleven provinces. The last elections took place on March 27, 2023, so the next elections will take place on March 27, 2025.

Party		Abbr	Ideology	Seats
	Uulgadzar Forward	ULF	Social democracy	30
	Together Uulgadzar	TUL	Liberal conservatism	26
	Neg-gadzar	NGD	Fascism	9
	People's Community	PEC	Democratic socialism	2
	Democrats	DEM	Social liberalism	2
	Independent	N/A	N/A	1

Law and judicial system

The High Court of Uulgadzar in Uulhot

The judicial branch of Uulgadzar contains the High Court of Uulgadzar and then the Provincial Courts, of which there is one in each province. The provinces are then divided into District Courts of which there are at least 5 in every province. The District Courts are not each one singular court, but a group of courts which manage cases in a local area.

If a District Court provides a verdict which is not satisfying to the party requesting the verdict or the defendant in a criminal case, they can appeal the verdict to a higher court. This pattern continues to the High Court. The Provincial Courts or the High Court can deny overseeing the appeal. In that case, the lower court will review the case with a new judge. After the new judge rules on the case, the new verdict is final. If the court accepts the case, it will go through the same process it did in the previous court to determine a new verdict and, in the Provincial Courts, can be appealed to the High Court. The High Court's verdict is final.

Foreign relations

Uulgadzar is a partner state of the Ostlandet Union and generally maintains amicable relations with most of Ostlandet. The government has established trade agreements with many countries, including Monsilva. Uulgadzar has not been involved in a war with a foreign nation for hundreds of years, and it generally holds a position of neutrality preventing itself from getting into any current wars.

Military

Uulgadzar's military is not very large, with only 0.5% of the nation's GDP being spent on the military. The nation generally believes that a large military is not necessary with its geographic position. It believes the mountains and large rivers that make up the majority of the country will repel any potential invasions. In recent years, however, military spending has risen and a bill was passed in November of 2022 to expand military spending from 0.5% to 2% over 5 years. When questioned, no reason was given by government officials for the change, however it is believed the change occurred due to the rapidly destabilizing situation in Ajakanistan at the time.

Administrative divisions

Overview of the administrative divisions of Uulgadzar

Uulgadzar Republic				Hoydgadzar Talgadzar Shinemori Uulgadzar Uulhot Alama Dogšingazd Ömnö dzüg-gadzar Morigazd Fermgad Baruungadzar Ajakanistan Gjorka Zloveshchiy
Provinces (аймаг aimag)
Districts (сум sum)
Municipal districts (дүүрэг düüreg)
Subdistricts (баг bag)
Municipal subdistricts (хороо khoroo)

Economy

Main article: Economy of Uulgadzar

Economic activity in Uulgadzar has, for most of history, been based on agricultural sources like wheat, maize, and livestock. However, starting in the late 19th century, coal, and, to a lesser extent, iron, copper, tin, and gold, have created a strong mining sector in Uulgadzar. Besides agriculture and mining, dominant industries in Uulgadzar include manufacturing, real estate, and transportation and storage.

Uulgadzar has had a large amount of foreign investment since the 1978 coup. For example, since 1982, seven Monsilvan corporations have invested into building mines in Uulgadzar. The government also promotes investment into the manufacturing industry. In at least three instances, the government has sold state-owned land to foreign corporations for significantly less than the land is worth.

Agriculture

Main article: Agriculture in Uulgadzar

Sheep being herded on a road in the province Uulgadzar.

Agriculture is, historically, Uulgadzar's main industry. In the western and southern provinces, nomadic animal herders were widespread for several millennia before the advent of mining. In Talgadzar and Shinemori, the climate is viable for farming, leading to crops like wheat and maize gaining prominence. After the Uulgadzan Civil War, the communist government forcibly moved farmers and nomads into cities and shrunk the agriculture industry permanently.

Agriculture makes up about 20% of Uulgadzar's annual gross domestic product. However, the high altitude, extreme temperature fluctuation, and low precipitation make it unsuitable for most cultivation. The agricultural sector, therefore, is more focused on animal husbandry, both nomadic and stationary. In 2015, about 80% of land in the country was allocated to agriculture, with the vast majority used by nomadic animal breeders.

Crops produced in Uulgadzar include wheat, maize, and potatoes. Animals raised commercially in Uulgadzar include horses, sheep, cattle, and goats. These animals are raised primarily for the meat they produce, however goats are valued for their hair which can be used to produce cashmere wool.

Mining

Main article: Mining in Uulgadzar

A gold mine in western Talgadzar.

Mining in Uulgadzar was minor until the Uulgadzan Civil War. Farmers and nomads moved into cities by the communist government were looking for places to work, and the factories in cities had conditions described as terrible and severe injuries and deaths were common. The government opened mines outside cities, especially outside Hoydgol and Morigazd. Many people went to work at these mines and mining quickly became the largest industry in the country.

Mining represented about half of the government's income in 2015. It represented nearly 85% of exports in 2010 and rose to nearly 90% in 2015. Most mining operations are overseen by one of the many state-owned mining corporations. Every year, there is an average of five new major mining operations started. Mining employs two-thirds of Uulgadzar's workforce.

The nation operates many joint ventures with mining corporations to ensure that most money from mining operations remains in the country. The largest mine in Uulgadzar, the Dogšin Mining Complex is operated by the government and three separate Monsilvan corporations in a joint venture.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing in Uulgadzar is a much smaller sector than mining and agriculture, but still notable. The government has been attempting to expand the sector, however most efforts lead to little reward. Despite this, manufacturing still employs about 5% of Uulgadzar's workforce.

The government first tried to expand manufacturing in the 1930s, but to no avail as many people were opting to work in mines. Another drive began in the 60s, but many people assigned to factories would refuse to go to them due to the high death rate of factory workers at the time. After the 1978 coup, the government reformed factory regulations and there was a relatively large spike in factory workers. However, the manufacturing workforce has been shrinking since 2010 due to the government's relaxing of safety regulations.

Tourism

Main article: Tourism in Uulgadzar

Tourism to Uulgadzar is popular throughout nations in Ostlandet. Many small mountain villages are created to capitalize on tourists going to see the large mountains throughout Uulgadzar. Despite this, tourism is one of the smallest industries in Uulgadzar. The government does not spend much on supporting infrastructure for tourism.

Historically, Uulgadzar has not been a popular destination for tourism, especially during communist rule. Before 2000, there were many reports of kidnappings of foreigners. However, in 2001, the government began a crackdown on "tourist poachers" as they were called. By 2010, the government stated that the rate of kidnapping of foreigners had decreased to a rate near zero.

Infrastructure

Uulgadzar has a large road network and well-developed urban infrastructure. The road network was developed starting in 1985 by the government purchasing roads that were commonly traveled on from state governments and private developers. The government created motorways from roads that were very commonly traveled and assigned numbers to roads that were used as a funnel to these motorways. By 2015, all of these roads were paved.

The nation has also invested heavily into urban areas. In 2020, the average Uulgadzan lived at least 20 miles from a hospital, while in 2000, they lived at least 50 miles away. The Uulhot metro began construction in 2018 and its first line was completed in 2022, now moving almost 50,000 passengers daily.

Outside of urban areas however, public transport is either extremely limited or non-existent. A new railway has not been constructed since 2007 and the current railways are extremely old or, in some cases, broken to the point of unusability.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Uulgadzar

Every 5 years, a census is taken throughout Uulgadzar. In the 2020 census, the total population of Uulgadzar was 4,926,306. Between 2015 and 2020, the population of Uulgadzar increased by an average annual rate of approximately 1.4%. This has decreased from 1.6% between 2010 and 2015 and 2.3% between 2005 and 2010. In 2020, the median age in Uulgadzar was 27.8 years.

Approximately 3,609,565 Uulgadzans live in urban areas while approximately 1,316,741 live in rural areas. This means approximately 73.3% of Uulgadzar's population lives in urban areas. By province, Dogšingazd has the highest percentage of the population living in urban areas with 91.7% of its population, with the lowest being Morigazd with just 43.7% of its population.

Largest regions

The figures below are the 2020 census numbers for the twenty most populous cities and towns in Uulgadzar. Note that these figures include temporary (nomadic) residents and may be higher than the actual population.

Language

Uulgadzan is the primary language used in most official documents and is used in business, politics, and education. Uulgadzan is the sole official language of Uulgadzar. In addition to Uulgadzan, Stepadnó is spoken by the Stepadnó primarily in the provinces of Talgadzar and Shinemori. It is a recognized national language of Uulgadzar, and an official language of Shinemori. In 2020, 97% of Uulgadzans reported having proficiency in Uulgadzan and 39% reported having proficiency in Stepadnó.

Other languages spoken natively in Uulgadzar include Khoroshiyan Slavic, Syntsian, and Gjorkan. Khoroshiyan Slavic is only spoken natively by about 15,000 people. Syntsian is spoken natively by about 30,000 people. Gjorkan is spoken natively by about 25,000 people. About 48% of Uulgadzans are multilingual.

Prior to the Uulgadzan Civil War, the Uulgadzan script was used to write Uulgadzan and, to an extent, Stepadnó. After the war, the government began a process to adopt the Cyrillic script. The process was declared finished by 1950 and most infrastructure in Uulgadzar is based on the Cyrillic script. In recent years, there have been efforts to revive the Uulgadzan script, but Cyrillic remains the sole official script in Uulgadzar.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Uulgadzar

Religious composition of Uulgadzar in 2020

  Ariunxavč (67.9%)

  Christianity (16.1%)

  Atheist/agnostic/not religious (9%)

  Other (7%)

While the government of Uulgadzar generally allows freedom of religion, the freedom of religion is not guaranteed in the Constitution of Uulgadzar. Uulgadzar's official religion is Ariunxavč.

In 2020, the largest religions in Uulgadzar were Ariunxavč and Christianity. 67.9% of the population were reported as following Ariunxavč, 16.1% were reported as following Christianity, 9% were reported as being atheist, agnostic, or not following any general religion, and 7% followed other minor religions.

Christianity started growing roots in the population of Uulgadzar after Montcrabin missionaries arrived in the late 17th century. This is also when the Ariunxavč religion began to grow, as a majority of the population ignored the teachings of the missionaries and fixated on the many crab-shaped objects that they wore. The religion has been described as a "pseudo-Abrahamic" religion due to the heavy influence Christianity had during the development of the religion.

As of 2021, there are 6,995 places of worship in Uulgadzar; one for roughly every 704 people. In total, there were 19,554 religion-related structures in Uulgadzar, including temporary structures that usually last at least 10 years.

A small portion of Uulgadzar's population is irreligious- it is believed this is due to the growing movement among Stepadnó nationalists to reject most things that originated or were introduced to them by Uulgadzar. From 2015 to 2020, the percentage of irreligious people in Uulgadzar grew from 2.4% to 9%.