Monterra

**Monterra** is a country taking part in the Sunnie Song Contest. It debuted in the 13th edition and has participated in every edition since then.

## Information

Monterra, officially the Republic of Kyntarik (Kyntarikan: Riikuv Ÿþ Kÿntarïk) is a country participating in the Sunnie Song Contest. The name Monterra comes from the old Latin colloquialism for the area as the Land of Mountains. The name has only stuck in English though with most other languages drawing their name for the country from Kyntarik such as the Kharazhani translation as Reşkpulijaş Kyntarani.

The country is made up of 22 departments and 1 capital departmental. Due to the highly mountainous terrain of the nation, railway is the most popular transport option, with the national railway linking up the major urban hubs. The nation does not have many rural settlements, with most of the population residing in cities. The capital Talvik has a population of 9M people, making it the 4th largest city in Europe behind Istanbul, Moscow and Paris. The devolved Sjukhonsk Region sits in the east of the country with a large Russian speaking minority, Sjukhonsk is comprised of 4 departments.

Kyntarik has participated 35 times in SSC, debuting in Edition 13 with "Good Vibes" by HRVY, finishing 16th in the Semi Finals.

The nation did not debut until Edition 13 due to the highly oppressive monarchy in the nation. Since 1744 the country was led by the benevolent dictatorship of the monarchy. During this time the monarchy closed off Kyntarik to the world with the development of an advanced mining system, being able to export gold, iron, oil and copper to the world. This made the monarchy and in turn the country incredibly wealthy and furthered the isolationist policies of the monarchy. In 1793 the borders closed permanently and relations with Finland and Russia were cut. During this period the monarchy gained full control over the populace, creating the language Kyntarikan which is closely related to Finnish. It also indoctrinated the populace and banned private transport and shops, running a tight closed market economy to boost the mining sector.

Developments in rail were made and in 1822, the national railway linking up all 22 department capitals was founded. Sjukhonsk continued to pursue a separate cultural identity, with Russian remaining an informal language in the region, especially in the border regions where smuggling occurred. This was mostly tolerated to keep the populace happy, with a small office created to regulate the use of Russian in the region. Throughout the 20th century, attempts were made by Finland, Russia, Nazi Germany and the USSR to seize the country. These all failed due to the well equipped and secretive military capabilities of the nation, which diverged drastically from conventional warfare in 1793. The monarchy claimed in 1973 to have first invented the jet engine in 1902.

The country however began having issues during the dawn of the 21st century, with the economy dwindling due to economic developments in nations such as China and Brazil. This led to the first ever public unrest against the monarchy, which had restricted all personal freedoms for over 256 years but had ensured a rich, healthy and isolated populace. With the dawn of the information era, people began seeing overseas for the first time, witnessing personal freedoms such as cars, a choice of shops and jobs and the ability to travel. The discontent spread through the 21st century, with the monarchy being deposed in a peaceful resolution by Ikaen Kaku, Laura Almas and Topi Kallas in 2021. Tied were reopened with Finland and Russia and the nation joined NATO, the EU and the UN.

In 2023 the borders were opening and the first elections were held, during 2021-23 nation underwent a 2 year transition period to prepare to open to the world. The PASD led by Laura Almas became the governing party in the first elections with Almas becoming the Arvosamiiniserii (English: Prime Minister), later in 2023 Topi Kallas won the Ensiilta (English: President) elections, Ikaen Kaku serves as opposition leader. As of 2023, Kyntarik is a wealthy and strong nation with a resolute democracy, high living standards and a diverse economy with a focus on tourism and mining.

The country first became part of the Big 6 in Edition 16 after Little Mix finished 5th the year prior. For the entirety of their participation Kyntarik has had the state broadcaster Kyntarikan Telyviisu Radii Nutiset (KYTRN) manage its participation with the live show being broadcast on Kanyva Yksii (English: Channel One), also known as KYT1.

Kyntarik has been quite successful in the contest, finishing 1st twice in Editions 35 and 37. They tend to finish in either the top 10 or bottom 5 when they qualify. They have taken part in 24 Semi Finals and qualified 15 times from them, this along with five Big 6 and three Team Editions give the nation a 72% qualification rate. With the abolition of the Semi Finals in Edition 45, the nation has made the final 26 times in 35 appearances. Alongside this they have finished in the top 10 fourteen times, meaning they finish in the top 10 53% of the time they qualify.

Kyntarik usually runs the national final Kamlakat Viik to select their artist for the contest but when hosting or qualifying as part of the Big 6 they usually internally select. The internally selected artists took part in Editions 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, 23, 29, 30, 34, 36, 38, 40, 41 and 45. In Edition 23 following the Talvik bombings, Kamlakat Viik was cancelled after the Semi Final stage, with Maisie Peters being internally selected after she recorded in the highest score in that round, she would go onto finish 2nd that year with "John Hughes Movie". Peters is also considered the favourite artist of broadcaster KYTRN, she has been internally selected 4 times to represent the nation finishing 7th, 2nd, 7th and 5th. Peters has taken part in Kamlakat Viik six times, with "Lost The Breakup", "Not Another Rockstar", "Blonde", "Cate's Brother", "John Hughes Movie" and "Psycho".

Kyntarik sends its votes into SSC using a 60% televote, 40% jury split. KYTRN runs a dedicated site for SSC news at [www.kytrn.co.ky/lang-en/scc/kyntarik]. During team editions Kyntarik has taken part alongside Silloria in Edition 20, Citracidia in Edition 30 and Zaun in Edition 40. They have finished last in Edition 20 and 5th in Edition 30. During Edition 40 they broke the SSC record for most points with 198pts, this was shortlived as DPROM and Belcratio broke the Zaun-Kyntarik record 10 seconds later with a 200pt victory, Zaun and Kyntarik finished 2nd overall.

## Participations

Placements
  *Winner*
  *Second place*
  *Third place*
  *Big 6*
  *Last place*
Qualification
  *Big 6 (auto-qualified)*
  *Did not qualify*
  *Disqualified*