Hezhen Federation

**Hezhe** (officially the **Hezhen Federation**) is a country in eastern Asia. It is bordered by
the Greater China region to the east, and shares a small stretch of
bordering land with Korea in the south. It has historically maintained a
 fairly isolationist stance, but has recently emerged into international
 politics on trade terms.

Hezhe's history as an independent nation has its roots in the aftermath of the plague, which saw the USSR's grasp on its more far-flung territories begin to disintegrate. Separatist elements throughout the Soviet Far East, decimated by the plague and neglected by central Soviet authorities, fought not only against the withering remnants of the Red Amy stationed in the region, but also against one another; even after the ultimate downfall of the USSR and the defeat of its lingering military forces, factions within what would become Hezhe continued to struggle for dominance. The most prominent forces in these conflicts were Russians seeking to establish a Slavic republic, Soviet dissidents aiming to reproduce the union in a more ideal form in the Far East, indigenous peoples striving to create a nation all their own, and the vestiges of pro-Soviet factions. This period of time is known as the Twenty Year Conflict, due to the prolonged nature of the struggle.

Ultimately, the indigenous movement, led by Sayiina Wu, prevailed, and began preparing to set up an indigenous nation in the region once known as Primorye. Wu assumed executive power as premier of the nascent nation, and established a Congress of Tribes to represent a federation of the various peoples of the newly christened Hezhen Federation. She, along with other indigenous leaders of the Twenty Year Conflict such as Nastasya Liang and Ai Jian, is regarded as the principle founder of the Hezhen Federation.

Since then, Hezhe has enjoyed an era of continued prosperity, and has fought conflicts to expel Slavic supremacists from Amur and Khabarovsk, which it subsequently absorbed; it also emerged victorious from a two-year conflict with Estovakia. This prosperity is due in large part to competent management of its rich natural resources, resulting in one of the most powerful industrial complexes in the world in terms of sheer producing power. Despite significant public mistrust toward outsiders, particularly of Slavic origin, it is emerging as a participant in regional Asian and global politics, and has recently been elected to the United Nations Security Council.

## Politics and Culture

The Hezhen Federation claims no strong affinity to any particular political ideology (for example, communism), and instead is ideologically rooted in a vehement conviction in indigenous sovereignty; many Hezhen believe their nation is the only one that exists in the world that can be trusted with enacting the will of indigenous peoples throughout Siberia. A notion not unlike 'Manifest Destiny' is also popular in Hezhe, as a significant portion of the population believes it is Hezhe's destiny and right to expand its territory to include all Tungusic, Paleo-Siberian, and Siberian Turkic peoples, and to forcibly expel foreign influences and forces in regions of interest. Not surprisingly, this view manifests in strongly nationalist perspectives on foreign policy, and many Hezhen support remaining largely isolationist with the exception of conducting military operations to safeguard indigenous freedom. In recent years this has begun to shift, as a second popular viewpoint advocates asserting Hezhe as the face of indigenous freedom and carving out its place in the world.

Domestically, however, the Federation is characterised by deeply liberal policies and attitudes. In pursuit of reviving or preserving indigenous traditions, the Hezhen have largely come to view the conservative social perspectives the Russians brought to their lands to be relics of foreign oppression, and have as such rejected them. In a sense, Hezhen culture walks a fine line between this staunch rejection of social conservatism and an impassioned effort to revitalise the traditions of yore: ensuring a diverse, multicultural society that respects the traditions of the many ethnicities and cultures encapsulated within the Federation is thus a primary concern of its government.

To that effect, the legislative body of Hezhe is the Congress of Tribes, a group which pulls an equal number of representatives from all ethnic groups in the federation; each representative is directly elected to this position by the people of their tribe or heritage. This is meant to guarantee that the views and desires of all peoples within Hezhe are being represented with an equal voice on the Hezhen political forum, and ensure no single ethnic group in the federation assumes a dominant posture.

The leading figure of the Congress of Tribes is the premier, who in theory directs the discourse of the Congress, proposes policies and plans, and acts as the public face of Hezhe for both its people and the world at large-- they do not supersede the Congress and arguably are actually subordinate to it. In practise, however, many Hezhen believe current premier Sayiina Wu to be the primary political power in Hezhe rather than the Congress of Tribes, and some in Hezhe have accused Premier Wu of acting in the capacity of an autocrat. Due to her reputation as a hero in Hezhe, however, for better or for worse, it is considered unseemly-- even indicative of anti-indigenous sentiment-- to criticise Wu.

## Economy

Hezhe's economy is based primarily in taking advantage of the abundant natural resources found throughout its territory-- gold, oil, coal, titanium, lead, a great host of minerals and metals present themselves in no short supply in Hezhe. A comprehensive and fluid central economic plan can be credited for the efficient usage of these resources in swiftly producing a powerful industrial economy in Hezhe.

As a result, Hezhe boasts a high-income economy that ranks first in the world in terms of GDP per capita and raw production capacity. Much of its economy lies in its resource development and industrial production, the means of which are largely owned and developed by the state. Hezhe is also one of the most prolific exporters of arms in the world, and produces a significant amount of income from the arms industry.

## Military

The Hezhen armed forces operate under the auspices of the Central Military Directorate, helmed by Commodore Nastasya Liang, itself directly under the authority and oversight of the premier, and are divided into the Hezhen Federal Army, the Hezhen Federal Navy, the Hezhen Federal Air Force, and the Strategic Space and Missile Command. All branches draw their personnel from a pool of paid volunteers, and are rooted in a principle of integrated action-- of all branches working seamlessly together to achieve an objective.

Traditionally, the Hezhen military has been tooled towards mountainous warfare, in anticipation of fighting defensive wars in Hezhe's many mountain regions. Successful campaigns against insurgencies in Amur and Khabarovsk, however, led the Hezhen army to abandon this focus in favour of a more versatile ethos-- indeed, in light of its relatively small size compared to regional and global threats, the primary aim of the Hezhen army is to be able to operate clinically and efficiently in any situation, offensive or defensive, in mountains, in valleys, or in cities, and defeat numerically superior forces through tactics and integrated action with other branches.

This principle of an integrated military rests primarily on the shoulders of the air force, the largest and most experienced branch of the military. Hezhen pilots are expected to be able to destroy aerial threats, support ground troops, conduct air interdiction missions, and carry out anti-ship duties with equal efficiency-- again, often against numerically superior adversaries.

Arguably, the Strategic Space and Missile Command handles the greatest amount of responsibilities in the Hezhen military, as it shoulders authority over Hezhe's wide-spanning missile defence programs, including the Airspace Network system and the anti-ballistic defence systems. It is the first line of defence against aerial threats and missiles invading Hezhen airspace, with a sophisticated defence system that enables this branch to swiftly defeat and destroy aerial incursions into Hezhe.