History

Gravoslavia was born in 1834. It declared its independence from the Russian Empire, and fought a 2 year long war to break free. Due to the island's oil rich north, Tsar Nicholas I was hesitant to let go of the colony. After a brutal final battle in the city now called Leszkiewicza, in the honour of Adolf Leszkiewicz, a Polish man who joined the rebels' struggle for freedom. He commanded the rebel forces at the Battle of Leszkiewicza, and finally ended the war. His family continues to serve in the Gravoslavian Armed Forces.

## Russian Colony era

On the 9th April 1782, a Russian colony under the leadership of Mattas Gravilov landed on the island. With Japan's isolation from the rest of the world, diplomacy was non-existent with the Japanese. Mattas would return home shortly after it, leaving a man called Ednandas to found the city of Friederikegrad in honour of the Tsar, Catherine II. Ednandas would become the colony's first governor. For over 50 years, the colony thrived. It all came to an end when calls for more autonomy went unheeded by the tsars. The populace grew to dislike the Russians from the mainland, and a deep mistrust emerged between the two groups. A rebellion was inevitable, and it would bring an end to the colony era in 1834.

## The Revolution of Gravoslavia

The people on the island rallied under one name: Gravoslavia. The revolution would last for 2 years. The island's oil rich north forced the Russian Empire to respond, and thousands would die fighting. Thousands more would betray Russia to fight for Gravoslavian freedom. After 2 brutal years of conflict, including the bloodiest battle of the war, the Battle of Mt. Kiera, and the decisive Gravoslavian victory that forced the Russians off the island, the Battle of Leszkiewicza. Gravoslavia knew that if they wanted to maintain their independence, they would need to invest heavily in a military. Gravoslavian militarism was born as soon as the revolution began. Their men were brave, but were held back by lack of training and quality equipment, which the Russians lacked as well.

## Democratic Republic of Gravoslavia

After the revolution, a new constitution was created for the nation. The son of Mattas Gravilov, Ivan Gravilov, was invited to become the country's first president. During his first 5 year term, he established the Gravoslavian congress, and successfully altered the constitution to limit his own powers for the sake of democracy. In 1841, at the end of his term, he was elected again, with a massive majority of 83%. In his second term, he limited his party's, Democratic Gravoslavia Party (DGP), power by lowering the election threshold for entering congress down to 3% of the vote. They still held a majority, but new opposition parties entered congress. In 1845, Gravilov called an early election, so that all future terms could begin and end on a multiple of 5. He was elected for a third time with 78% of the votes.

## The birth of Gravoslavian nationalism

In 1847, Gravilov would encounter the first major problem in his rule. The Russians had been arming volunteers and sending them to Gravoslavia to wreak havoc in the countryside. These militias forced Gravilov to send in the military. They fought bravely, but the training they received was not able to prepare them for the unconventional tactics their enemies used. The enemy would appear one minute, and be gone the next. In the mountains of Standania, named after the first man to successfully climb Mt. Kiera, they were at their worst. The memories of the battle of Mt. Kiera was still fresh in the minds of many, and this war seemed all too familiar. A charismatic general, Pankratiy Volkov managed to negotiate a deal with the militants, taking their weapons and sending them back to Russia. He called Gravilov out for starting a month-long war. He made powerful speeches where he challenged Gravilov's leadership. Could he really be trusted if he could not put down a threat to the country? In the 1850 elections, Volkov announced he would be running for president. He started a new party, the National Action Party (NAP). He vowed to increase security in the nation, and to lead the country away from the path Gravilov was taking them down.

> "Gravilov is a traitor to Gravoslavia. His father was the first man to step foot on this island, and Ivan Gravilov would rather have this country submit to the Russians in the name of "democracy", than to focus on the needs of the people. Has he forgotten the revolution, our brave struggle for freedom, ended just 25 years ago? Has he forgotten the sacrifices we made at the base of Mt. Kiera and in our capital? Has he forgotten the leadership of men like Adolf Leszkiewicz that led us to victory? His changes to the constitution only served to weaken the power of the president, and to bring the country closer to the Russian menace! The National Action party will revert his unneeded changes to the constitution. We will extend the power of the president in order to allow him to deal with any threat. And most importantly, we will begin a massive expansion of the Gravoslavian navy and military. Our armed forces are the pride of our nation, and if Gravilov truly cared for his people, he would have funded them sooner!"
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> -Volkov in one of his election speeches.
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> With powerful speeches, and a growing demand for an expansion of the armed forces, Volkov was elected with 43% of the vote. Gravilov came in close second, receiving 39% of the vote. The remaining 12% were votes to various parties. None of them would manage to enter Congress, With only the DGP and NAP being a part of it, according to the election threshold set by Gravilov.
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## Rule of Volkov

Volkov would go on to win another election in 1855. In both his terms, he put more of the government's budget into the armed forces, and made it a formidable force. Forts were prepared for an invasion of the island, drills were conducted to destroy railroads and roads in the event of an enemy invasion, and the navy officially became another branch of the armed forces. Volkov would prove unable to change Gravilov's constitution due to resistance from the DGP. One minor change was made to the election threshold, raising it to 5%.