FT Gristol-Serkonos

Суверенный Мандат Архангельска

The **Sovereign Mandate of Archangel** (Cyrillic: *Суверенный Мандат Архангельска*) is an interstellar federal empire consisting of planetary governments under the authority of the single federal government. The central government is based in the capital planet of Archangel, in the Romanov system.

## History

### The Silaris Rush

It was around 300 years before the founding of the Mandate, colonization of the region of space in which the modern-day Mandate was handled by the Sovereign Empire of Gristol-Serkonos, a state in the region of Sondria. The region of space was the Silaris Expanse, a relatively sparse area of space with countless planets. It was the endpoint of a wormhole claimed by the Sovereign Empire in 137 BEA (Before Earth Ascension).

Between 14 to 66 EA (Earth Ascension), the country intensified its colonization efforts, colonizing several planets within the decades of the Silaris Rush. Resources gathered from the planets were sent back to Gristol-Serkonos where they were used to create its interstellar empire. In 97 EA, the wormhole suddenly collapsed, cutting off the colonies from Earth. A large majority of these colonies would fall back to the stone age as some of the larger, more successful colonies flourished, beginning the AEA era (After Earth Ascension).

### Mandate Conquest of the Core Systems

The Mandate was founded in Saint Petersburg, Archangel in 100 AEA. The former Sovereign Empire colony consisted of mostly Cyrillic minorities whose population grew exponentially following the colonization of Archangel.

## Government

The Constitution of the Mandate is an set of guidelines and principles passed down mainly through precedent. The Mandate constitution was not formal or even official. It is largely unwritten, uncodified, and constantly evolving. The current constitutional form of government comes from a series of reforms placed by Emperor Dmitri II Romanov called the Dmitrian Political Reforms which democratized the Mandate.

### Executive

The executive branch of the government consists of one Consul and two elected Proconsuls. First is a Hereditary Consul, who is also the head of the Imperial House of Romanov and is the only official with the power to give legislation the Imperial Assent, dissolve the Grand Assembly and hold elections at the advise of the Proconsuls and the Prime Minister. The Hereditary Consul has few overriding reserve powers at their disposal. Without the consent of the government, the Consul can prorogue the government, veto all or certain provisions of the legislation, and changes to the constitution after the Consul has consulted with the public and experts on the subject. If the reserve powers were used, the ruling Consul must abdicate in favour of their heir apparent to ensure the powers of the Consul are not abused.

The second one are elected proconsuls, one male, one female. One consul acts as head of state, chief foreign affairs minister and head of the military. The other acts as the head of government, running the internal affairs of the Alliance. Both act as finance minister, though junior ministers assist in this role. Both Proconsuls must collectively agree upon the decisions made by both legislative councils before giving it the Consul to be given the Imperial Ascent. Both consuls are elected by the Assembly, to ensure that the executive has the support of the legislature at all times. Proconsuls that lose the confidence of the Grand Assembly are ordered by the Consul to step down and call a general election. Together, the consuls select a cabinet of ministers to run the Mandate government and civil service.

### Legislative

The legislative branch of government is the Grand Assembly of the Mandate. This institution is responsible for the day to day running of the state. It is a bicameral legislature consisting of two chambers.

The Federation Council (Cyrillic: *Сове́т Федера́ции; Sovet Federatsii)*, comprising of non-partisan Senators is charged of cooperating with the State Duma in revising, completing, and voting draft laws. Laws concerning budgets, customs regulations, credit monitoring, and the ratification of international treaties are to be considered by the Senate after they have been adopted from the State Duma. Unlike the State Duma, the Senate is not directly elected by the people, but instead chosen by territorial politicians. The Senate currently consists of 170 senators with 10 senators appointed by the State Duma.

The State Duma (Cyrillic: *Госуда́рственная Ду́ма, Gosudarstvennaya Duma*) is lower house of the Grand Assembly. It is consists of 750 representatives elected every five years.

#### Political Parties

The politics in the Mandate became highly diverse following the Dmitrian Reforms. The main political issues of the Mandate is their relationship with other interstellar powers, transhumanism, political and economic corruption, and colonization politics. Nationalist politics has been in severe decline as the Mandate has rallied during the Unification of the Cyrillic colonies.

Another major issue is the genetic and cybernetic enhancements for human beings. While major genetic rewrites are banned under Mandate law and opposed most political groups, debate over the potential of these technologies are fierce. Arguments for longer human lifespans are met with arguments about the preservation of humanity's essence and concerns of abuse. Currently, the Labour Party and Terra Firma are the two political groups supporting transhumanism.

## Exploration and Defence

The Mandate's defence ensured by the Grand Navy of the Sovereign Mandate of Archangel. The Grand Navy is a professional force managed by the Ministry of Defence and is controlled by the High Admiralty of the Grand Navy. The military also manages the Office of Interstellar Explorations (OIE). The mission of the OIE is the advancement of Mandate knowledge about the galaxy, the advancement of science and technology. The fleet's largest vessels are the Avatar-class Titans, these vessels used in extreme range combat alongside battleships and battle-cruisers. These vessels are the only ones armed with a Positron Projection Cannon capable of destroying all forms of armour through the use of antimatter. Due to the rarity and costly production of antimatter, the weapon is almost never used in combat.

Mandate troops also receive state-subsidized genetic therapy and optional cybernetic improvements.