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Entry 1 said:Socialist Democratic Confederacy of The Amazonas
Confederazione Democratica Socialista della Amazonas
Confederació socialdemòcrata de les Amazones
The Amazonas (Often abbreviated as The SDCA) is well known for being one of the world's first socialist republics in the third world. Originally a joint Italian/Catalan colony during the quest for the new world, they overthrew their corrupt monarchy on 12th October 1917 (5 years before the USSR formed OTL) and abolished Catholicism as their state religion in favor of atheism, as the revolutionaries believed that religion only set people apart in their country. Shortly after the SDCA was formed, the capital of the country was moved to the Island of Marajo, which was where the socialist movement was thought to have their headquarters at the time. Despite being one of the only far-left countries in South America, they maintain quite good relations with their neighbors Columbia to the North-East, Peru to the South-West, and Brazil to the South-East.
Despite owning the largest amount of rain forest in South America and therefore being a largely rural country, there are some booming metropolises around the North-Western coast facing the Caribbean Ocean. This is a testament to the socialist government's efforts of modernizing the nation to keep up with their neighbors and indeed the rest of the world. This has been massively successful, as they are currently the most advanced nation in South America, they have even managed to humble some first world countries in terms of technology and social policies.
The fimbriated triband of The SDCA features the colors Purple, Gold and Green. Purple symbolizes how the evening sunset appeared the night the revolution took place, Gold symbolizes the riches shared with the people taken from the last remnants of the nobility and the royalists, the Green symbolizes the diverse Flora and Fauna of the Amazon and how the people will honor it and protect nature. The Pen and Beaker symbolize the arts and science respectively, which are the key parts of the ideals of socialist realism the SDCA are promoting to the world. The cog behind those represents the fast but controlled industrialization of the nation, keeping them ahead in the new age.
Finally, the national motto of The Amazonas appears in both Italian and Catalan, the two official languages of the country, beneath the coat of arms: "Creativity, Innovation, Liberty." These things are what the people of The SDCA believe will make their country stand out against the countless impoverished nations left behind after the death of European Colonialism.
Entry 2 said:"La Bandiera Bianca"
Italian Republic / Repubblica Italiana
"Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up for treasure for the last days. Behold, the wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter."
- Epistle of James, 5:1-6
The seeds of the Kingdom of Italy's downfall were sown in the First World War. Initially hesitant to honour their alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary, the latter began secret negotiations in an attempt to maintain the Triple Alliance. British military intelligence caught wind of this and, fearing that Italy might join the war against them, began funding anti-war Italian political groups, primarily pacifistic socialist radicals. This had little effect on Italy's decision to declare war, but after the smoke had cleared and hundreds of thousands of Italians lay dead at French and British hands Italy found itself a country weary of war, and British funding had given the socialists a foothold. Despite this it wasn't until the early 1930s that socialism truly took off in the country. Two factors are considered key for the historic surge in socialist popularity: the Great Depression, and Giacomoismo.
Whilst elsewhere socialism was a specifically atheistic ideology, in Italy it had become intertwined with the non-violent teachings of Jesus, and an anti-capitalist interpretation of Christianity. Known as Giacomoismo - named after James (Giacomo) the Just, brother of Christ, whose writings (including the quote found above) influenced the foundation of the ideology - this form of socialism emphasised non-violence, believing that war served only to harm the proletariat and enrich the bourgeoisie. The Giacomoists' powerbase was in the South, where class divisions were strong and the poor were subject to rampant economic and political exploitation. The impact of the Great Depression brought poverty to every corner of Italy, however, and with it dissatisfaction with traditional ideologies. By 1932 the Giacomoists had gained the loyalty of millions of Italians from the North and South, and used this power to launch a co-ordinated series of labour strikes and various other non-violent protests. The government's response was swift and bloody. Though non-violence was central to the Giacomoist philosophy, thousands of poor labourers being imprisoned, beaten, abused, and killed provoked many, reluctantly, to violent resistance.
Day by day the situation escalated. Protests turned into riots; riots into revolution. After months of bloody skirmishes and embarrassing losses, the King saw the writing on the wall and conceded defeat to the socialists, fleeing the country shortly thereafter. Though monarchists and anti-socialist militias would continue to be a problem throughout the 30s and 40s, the socialists had won.
Swiftly a provisional government was formed, a constitution written, and elections held. The new Italian Republic was democratic in character, but Giacomoism was at the heart of its new constitution with protections for civil and human rights acting as an unshakable foundation.
Italy's flag would change several times during this period, before finally settling on a design known affectionately as La Bandiera Bianca. The white field of the flag represented peace and non-violence, and Italy's dedication to such. The Italian tricolour was found in the lower left, but had taken on new meaning: the green represented the land of Italy, the white represented the peace that had been brought to Italy, and the red represented the socialist society that peace would transform Italy into. In the upper left was the emblem of the new government. The circle of an olive branch, a gear, and sheaves of wheat represented peace, progress, and plenty respectively in a self-sustaining circle - peace brought progress, progress brought plenty, and plenty brought peace. In the centre was a traditional bow saw - a symbol of manual labour and the physical toil of the proletariat, but primarily meant as a symbol for Saint James himself, due to a belief that his body was sawn apart following he was martyred. The bow saw was also chosen as the shape of its wooden frame formed an IH monogram - an ancient symbol of Christianity, and an indication that the government intended to return to Christ's original teachings.
Entry 3 said:Byelorussian People’s Atomic Republic
Белорусская Народная Атомная Республика
In an atompunk-inspired ATL, the state of Belarus (along with Ukraine) becomes an allied state to the Soviet Union, instead of a Soviet republic. In addition to that, the worse than OTL devastation suffered by the Soviet Union meant that their atomic program had to became much more of a group effort for the entire Eastern bloc. The resources of other states were included by thinly-veiled threats but also by promises of cheap and plentiful energy for all. In the end, the entire Eastern bloc poured a considerable amount of their resources into a rapid development of both civil and military atomic energy. The one concession made by the Soviet Union to the other states was to situate the nexus of atomic research, testing and installation to Belarus.
In 1955, ten years had passed from the initial start of the atomic program. By that time, already over a 1000 MW of nuclear power capacity had been installed in Belarus. Of course, this included the small and experimental reactors developed in the late 1940-s, but the right designs to scale the power generation up had already been found and this capacity was projected to increase tenfold over the next decade in Belarus alone. The other Eastern bloc states and the Soviet Union were busy building their own capacity based on the shared designs, but the effects of cheap energy flowing across borders from Belarus had already been felt lifting the socialist economy. The future looked as bright as the atomic fire of peace.
Among this wave of euphoria, Belarus adopted the new official name of People’s Atomic Republic to enshrine their historical role in the program. Of course, a new flag was also designed for the same reason.
The flag is composed of a field of red for socialism, along with a green stripe referencing the traditional life of the people of Belarus. In the center stands a symbol of Atomic Sun on Earth, burning orange-yellow, with a simplified yellow atomic symbol in the middle.
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