Neo Westphalian Europe Part 43: Republic of Ingria

The Republic of Ingria, also known as Ingermanland, is another region which great care will need to be taken with as it asserts its sovereignty. The region is currently Russia’s doorway to the Baltic Sea and it also contains a historically very important city for Russian history, St Petersburg.

Too long we have seen NATO forces try and support faux independence movements, in a cynical bid to force terrible oligarchs on these countries that then orient completely to the west. This western EU orientation takes the form of both their security and their trade arrangements. Again it will be important that these independence movements are truly for independence of these regions and good relations are kept between both east and west by these states.

It is of course assumed that with St Petersburg as the major city, in this new nation, a strong focus on good relations with Russia will continue. It will be important to have this new nation exist as a truly independent polity however, as in the wake of the European Union’s collapse it will be necessary to prevent any future conflict between the old foes of Sweden and Russia. An independent Ingria will act as a perfect buffer state between the two.

Ingria will be a multiethnic state as Russians make the majority of the population now. The indigenous Izhorians and Voles have a much reduced population, since the waves of colonisation have entered the area. There are also some Ingrian Finns who remain in this area. One way that this multi ethnic nation could be infused, with a new sense of shared identity, would be to reintroduce the Izhorian language as the national language. Within a generation or two Russian could be replaced by Izhorian, spoken by all Ingrians regardless of their ethnic background.

Such a restoration of rare languages has worked before, most notably in the case of Greek and Hebrew. Again this should not be interpreted as some attempt to de-Russify the region but simply as a way to create a deeper union in the nation. Maintaining balanced relations between Sweden and Russia will be this states most important role, to prevent the outbreak of any conflict.

The existence of this nation should also lay an end to the lie that the only forces seeking the devolution of power in Europe are part of some Russian plot, trying to weaken and dominate the continent. Russia itself will not be immune to the same forces that are currently pushing both sides of the Atlantic towards a future of smaller nation states. Again the current regime in Moscow should not see this as a threat, as long as no forces from the West try and use these moves to attempt regime change. As long as the Moscow government is allowed to play a role in the peaceful secession of these regions, and maintain great post secession ties with the new nations, it should be fine.

We saw a similar process during the break down of the Soviet Union and the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States in its aftermath. A role in a wider CIS, and a shared part in the one belt one road scheme, should seek to calm any concerns Moscow may have. This will allow the greatest chance of peaceful secessions across the region and the current regime in Moscow being welcomed as a partner member in this new world structure, instead of being demonised as an enemy.

If Putin is smart he will push for these changes within his own borders himself. This will give him a much greater moral stand point from which to help champion a similar break up of the United States, into smaller countries. Having both the super states broken into smaller, safer, states will then ease the risk of them having conflict with each other and also remove the current nuclear threat which is building.

All of the territory that will form Ingria will come from former parts of Russia. The new Ingrian nation will be made up of the Slantsevsky, Luzhsky, Gatchinsky, Kingiseppsky, Kirovsky, Lomonosovsky, Tosnensky, Volosovsky and Vsevolozhsky Districts, currently a part of Leningrad Oblast in Russia. Added to this will be the Saint Petersburg metropolis, also currently a part of Russia. It is likely St Petersburg will be a highly autonomous almost city-state, as it is currently in the Russian Federation. However it will be in national union with the capital of Ingria, in Kirjasalo, instead of Moscow.

The Flag of Ingria is yet another in the Nordic cross family. It gets its colours from the colours of the Ingrian coat of arms, which the region acquired during the period of its Swedish occupation. Ingrian Finn nationalists adopted the flag during the Bolshevik Revolution. In 1919 they declared an independent Republic of North Ingria, in the Vsevolozhsky District, and this flag was the official flag of that nation. Later in 1920 the region was reabsorbed by neighbouring Russia. The modern nationalist movement once again uses this flag to represent all the Ingrian territory.

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Neo Westphalian Europe Part 42: Kingdom Of Sweden

Sweden will be one of the last of the remnant monarchies that exist on the continent, following the great geopolitical shake up that is looming. Sweden is another nation that has a number of territories it must cede back to neighbouring states, in the interests of a decentralised future. It will of course need to end the debate with neighbouring Denmark over the Skaneland issue. It will ease tensions with Norway by allowing an independent Jamtland to exist as a buffer between them. It also has a Sami minority in the north, which will have lands returned to them. 

This will leave a remaining Sweden made up of the Angermanland, Bohuslan, Dalarna, Dalsland, Gotland, Gastrikland, Halsingland, Harjedalen, Medelpad, Norrbotten, Narke, Oland, Ostergotland, Smaland, Sodermanland, Uppland, Varmland, Vastmanland, Vasterbotten and Vastergotland Provinces, currently part of Sweden.

The flag of Sweden is another in the Nordic Cross family of flags. It began like other flags of the region, with its cross in the centre of the flag as modelled after the Holy Roman Empire battle flag. It shifted its cross when the Danish flag had to move its cross, so it was not confused with the Knights of Malta flag. The colours of the flag come from the coat of arms of the Swedish monarch. This flag existed from the 1500’s. The Swedish East India Company also flew this early variant of the flag, when it became a sea faring force in later centuries.

The modern version of the flag began to take shape during the Swedish and Norwegian union of the 1800’s. The union flag was similar to the modern flag, with the union cross positioned in its canton. Finally the union cross was removed after the union with Norway had dissolved. This left the current flag being in use officially since 1905.

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Neo Westphalian Europe Part 41: Republic of Jamtland

The Republic of Jamtland was an independent nation in the early Middle Ages. It was operated as a peasant republic, giving it an affinity to the anarchic structures of government that we see growing in parts of Spain and the Middle East. It was eventually captured by the Norwegians and after that became embroiled in centuries of warfare, between Norway and Sweden, over ownership of the territory.

The region has its own language of Jamtlanidc, which also helps set it apart from its neighbours. In modern times a new Jamtland independence movement has sprung up, which considers itself somewhat an act of political theater. However it is easy to see this movement could very easily convert itself into an actual movement for independence again, with so much change across the continent in the aftermath of the EU’s collapse. It is highly likely that an affinity between this republic and similar anarchist republics in the Iberian Peninsula will exist as well. Therefore a fully independent Jamtland would be made out of the Jamtland Province currently a part of Sweden.

Two activists of the Jamtland movement created the flag of Jamtland in 1983. The three colours represent the blue sky and province of Jamtland, the snowy mountains and province of Harjedalen and the green woodland and province of Ragunda.

The seal is an old seal that Jamtland used in the Middle Ages, since its Norwegian time. Although granted to it by the Norwegian crown it does not represent any urge for renewed union with Norway. Although it is interesting that the current coat of arms, which depicts a moose representing Jamtland torn apart by a dog and a falcon representing the neighbouring nations, is replaced with this Norwegian symbol.

The flag has become very popular even among those who do not seek Jamtland independence but are proud of its heritage.

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Neo Westphalian Europe Part 40: Kingdom of Denmark

The Kingdom of Denmark is one of the few regions that looks like it may grow in size, as the shifts around it occur. Most of the large centralised states look set to radically decrease in territorial size, as the devolve their power structures away from heavily federalised cores. However Denmark is already a tiny state that has numerous land claims on neighbouring states.

As the larger nations that currently hold these territories disintegrate, it seems the sensible thing to do will be to cede these territories back to Denmark. The Danes will of course be relinquishing their claims to far flung territories, which exist in places far from its capital Copenhagen. Nothing in this projected model, for future Geopolitical organisation of the world, would indicate these old style imperial or quasi imperial states, with far flung colonies that remain hard to care for far from the centre of power, will continue to exist. However contiguous territories for the Danes are most certainly to seek a restoration of union with this state.

Most of these regions historically spoke Danish or indeed still speak Danish today. These claims are based on the states of nearby Sweden and Germany. In Germany the traditional border between these nations was the Eider River, so a restoration of Danish lands to here is expected. The long debate between Denmark and Sweden for the final returning of the Skaneland, on the Scandinavian peninsula, is likely to be finally resolved in Denmark’s favour in the future world order.

As with many of the Monarchies in the region it is likely that, for now, a new bout of Republicanism in all corners of Europe is likely to be tempered by many readjusting to the idea of returning to ideas of National Sovereignty, as a first start point. These remnant Monarchies will thus continue to survive.

The changes in the region will therefore leave an expanded Danish nation made up of the Nordjylland, Midtjylland, Syddanmark, Sjaelland and Hovedstaden Regions, currently a part of Denmark. Added to this will be the Schleswig-Flensburg District and the Flensburg Urban District, currently part of the Schleswig-Holstein State in Germany. Everything north of the Eider River, in the Rendsburg-Eckernforde District and the Kiel Urban District, of the Schleswig-Holstein State in Germany, would also join this nation. Finally the Skaneland territory of Halland, Skane and Blekinge Provinces, currently in Sweden, will be returned to this nation.

The flag of Denmark is one of the Nordic Cross family of flags. Indeed it is the original such flag, on which all the others base themselves. It is one of the oldest national flags currently still in use. Before the modern concept of nation states it was primarily used as a maritime and war banner. It is possibly based on the war banner of the Holy Roman Empire.

The cross was shifted towards the hoist in 1748. It is possible this was done to help differentiate Danish ships from Knights of Malta ships, which flew a similar flag. All the other Nordic Flags have since copied this model. The flag was officially adopted as the flag for the modern nation state in 1854.

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