Nation/The Ruhn-i-Lehtese States
| The Commonwealth of The Ruhn-i-Lehtese States | ||||
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| Motto: "Vienmeelj vienoti / Always united" | ||||
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 Location of Ruhn-i-Leht
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| Capital | Ruhnu City | |||
| Largest city | Mariehamn | |||
| Official languages | English, Letto-Ruhnese | |||
| Ethnic groups (2014) | 44% Finnish, 26% Latvian, 14% English, 7% Swedish, 5% Estonian, 1% Lithuanian, 3% Others | |||
| Demonym | Ruhneen, Lehtian | |||
| Government | Dictatorship | |||
| - | President | Aljtishs Veejaans | ||
| - | Council Executor | Emiils Leerte | ||
| Legislature | Apvienotaa Saeima | |||
| Establishment | ||||
| - | The Ruhnu City State | November 9, 1943 | ||
| - | The Republic of Ruhnu | September 18, 1986 | ||
| - | Union of The Republic of the Ruhnu and The People's Republic of Leht | February 23, 2011 | ||
| - | The Commonwealth of The Ruhn-i-Lehtese States | August 7, 2015 | ||
| Currency | Rin (RLR) |
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| Drives on the | right | |||
| Calling code | +1943 | |||
| ISO 3166 code | RILS | |||
| Internet TLD | .rhl | |||
Ruhn-i-Leht, officially The Commonwealth of the Ruhn-i-Lehtese States is a nation in the North Pacific. It's the largest island country in Eastern Europe, and the largest in the world to speak Letto-Ruhnese.
Not bordering a single country, Ruhnu is surrounded by the Gulf of Riga, and it's closest neighbours are Estonia and Latvia. Leht, also known as Aaland, is the bigger half of the country. Located in the Baltic Sea, its closest neighbours are Sweden and Finland.
Etymology
The name Ruhn-i-Leht derives from the words Ruhnu (Estonian for Seal), and (и in Russian, i with the Latin alphabet), and Leht (Kaal Leht's surname, river near Turku, Finland).
Geography
Country Stats
The Ruhn-i-Leht lies in Northern Europe, with Leht in the Baltic Sea and Ruhnu in the Gulf of Riga. The nation has a total area of 1592 km², Ruhnu is only 12 km², Leht comprising the remaining 1580 km².
Average Tempratures
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Temprature | -3°C | -5°C | -4 °C | 4°C | 9°C | 16°C | 18°C | 17°C | 13°C | 9°C | 4°C | 0°C |
Regions & Divisions
The Ruhn-i-Leht is usually divided in Ruhnu and Leht, though, officially, The Ruhn-i-Leht consists of Ruhnu, Western Leht (often called The West) and Eastern Leht (often called The East).
History
Ruhnu pre-union
1942 referendum
Most of Ruhnu's history is the same as the history of The Baltic States, as Ruhnu was part of Estonia, until the 1942 Independence Referendum in Estonia and Ruhnu. Proposed by Etimooliius Keela-Plaatus in 1940, a 63% Yes vote meant Ruhnu is independent. At the time, it had 4000 citizens, but with financial support from Latvia, more living space was created. Many from England, Estonia and Latvia were moving to the islands at the time. Latvia and Estonia being more Geographically related, England was all about business. English businessmen were arriving in Ruhnu to make a big project, which resulted in the creation of Macknotic! (at the time AcTec), bringing in television and modern technology to the country.
1986 revamp
In 1986, The Ruhnu City State was renamed to The Republic of Ruhnu, as well as English & popular Letto-Ruhnese were made official languages, together with Estonian (to no longer be an official language in 1994), as the country reached 300'000 citizens. This was a historical moment, as Ruhnu was now to be governed by the United Saeima (Letto-Ruhnese: Apvienotaa Saeima).
2011 landmark
In January 2011, the nation's population reached 5 million citizens.
Leht pre-union
1973 referendum
Leht's history is connected with the history of Scandinavia, as it was an autonomous region of Finland. In 1973, a Referendum proposed by Kaal Leht for Aland Islands independence had a result of 74% no. Until 2004, the country stayed as part of Finland. It was growing pretty rich, and the population was growing and growing.
2005 referendum
In December 4, 2005, a 3 million citizen Aland Islands region tried again. Kaal Leht made another referendum happen, and this time, a 54% yes vote - Aland was independent. The President at the time, Mihhael Prettchi, named the new country "The People's Republic of Leht".
2010 crisis
In 2010, crisis started in Scandinavia, massively affecting the new country. The value of Schends (Leht currency at the time) was falling. Inflation broke the country, and President Prettchi fired the government.
Uniting of Ruhnu and Leht
2011 referendum
In 2011, the almost dead Leht received a proposal. The Republic of the Ruhnu proposed to unite the two nations. A risky 55% Yes vote in the February 22 Referendum made the Union of The Republic of the Ruhnu and The People's Republic of Leht a thing. The Lehtese Schends were removed, Rins were introduced in Leht, and slow rebuilding of the two countries under the Ruhnese flag began.
2012-2015 revamp of Leht
Luckily for the union, in 2012, the crisis in Scandinavia ended. "The Rebuilding of Leht" was going quicker, and in 2015 was "officially complete". On the 7th of August, the Union of The Republic of the Ruhnu and The People's Republic of Leht was renamed to The Commonwealth of The Ruhn-i-Lehtese States - just like it is today.
Infrastucture
Transport
Ruhn-i-Lehtese Transport
In Ruhnu, the Ruhnu Transport Company is the main transport. It has 22 bus stations, and 10 buses driving at once through all of them. Cars are banned, so the other type of transport is bikes. In Leht, Macknotic operate transport. Trains are used to get from multiple cities. In the largest cities (notably Mariehamn, Kumlinge, Tranvik), there is transport around the city. Cars are also banned. 19.7% of Government Expenditure goes to Public Transport.
Transport Difficulties
The most notable problem is the difficulty to get from Ruhnu City to Mariehamn. Other then Ships and Airplanes, the only option is the Letto-Tunnel (built by Latvia, connects Kolka, Latvia to Ruhnu City, Ruhn-i-Leht), then driving from Kolka, Latvia to Turku, Finland (cars aren't banned in Latvia or Finland, all though you can get there by transport), which includes driving through Russia, then get from Korpo, Finland to Kumlinge, Ruhn-i-Leht through a tunnel that connects Finland to Aaland, and then go over multiple bridges to get to Mariehamn. These close cities take a lot longer time to get to then it should, and so, in 2015, a bridge is going to be built between Ruhnu City and Flaka - to be the longest bridge in the world.
Media and Communication
Television
See more in article: Macknotic.
Macknotic is an English-based company operating all of Ruhn-i-Lehtese television and communication.
Phones
Macknotic is the only company to sell phones in the Ruhn-i-Leht. The most popular phones are Samsung phones, with Android, or Nokia phones, with Windows Phone 10.
Health
Government Expanditure on Health
The combined Government Expenditure on Enviroment and Healthcare is above 20% (21.2%) Healthcare recieves 11.3%, whilst Enviroment recieves 9.9%.
Leading Death Causes
89.6% of Ruhneens and Lethians die from old age. 1.4% are accidents, whilst 9% (exact) come from acts of god. In the past, health massively affected this, as heart problems were a common cause of death.
Languages
English
In the Ruhn-i-Leht, there are two official languages - English and Letto-Ruhnese. English is an official language mainly because of Macknotic!, as they are an English-based company and operate most of Media and Communications, English has always been the 'main language' on TV. This influenced the Republic of Ruhnu to make English and official language. One of the main countries English citizens like moving to is the Ruhn-i-Leht due to the language, having a great impact on population growth.
Letto-Ruhnese
See the full article for Letto-Ruhnese
Letto-Ruhnese is a mixture of Latvian speaking and Estonian writing. Letto-Ruhnese has a 21 letter alphabet, compared to Latvia's 33 letters, but speaking is the same as in Latvia. The only exception is the letter 'R' - when speaking Letto-Ruhnese, 'R' is always replaced by the letter 'J' or the two letters 'LJ'. Writing is similar, but very different from Latvian, due to the Estonian writing addition. For example, letters 'ā, ē, ī, ū' are replaced by 'aa, ee, ii, uu'.
For example (latvian to letto-ruhnese),
- Labrīt -> Labjiit
- Labvakar -> Labvakalj
- Šovakar -> Shuovakalj
- Pīlīte -> Piiliite
- Iedzīvotājs -> Iedziivuotaajs
Culture
Music
Folk and Pop are the most popular genres. Latvian and Swedish music often rocks the charts, as Latvian is very similar to Letto-Ruhnese (especially when spoken), and Swedish is a widely used language in Western Leht. English and American music performs very well. Owl City's Fireflies holds the Ruhnese Charts record, being nr.1 for 14 consecutive weeks. In Leht, Avicii's "Wake Me Up" holds the record with 12 consecutive weeks first. Avicii himself was top of the charts 20 consecutive weeks, with Hey Brother being the second chart-topper. This is also a Ruhn-i-Lehtese record.
Sports
Association Football
Football (soccer, association football) is the most popular sport in the country. The Ruhn-i-Lehtese Football Association (RiLFA) is the governing body, and holds two league tournaments - RiLFA Championship and RiLFA Football Second League - and a cup - RiLFA Cup of the Championship (known as the Mint Football Cup for sponsorhip reasons).
Basketball
Basketball is a notable sport in Ruhn-i-Leht. Many like playing it, and certain leagues exist, but Basketball in the Ruhn-i-Leht doesn't have an official governing body. The Regional Basketball Union of Ruhn-i-Leht (RBU-RiL) is arguably the most effective body in Basketball.
National Holidays
Easter, Christmas, New Year and other generic holidays are celebrated. With them come the in latvian "Līgo un Jāņa" days (June 23,24), Ruhnu Independence Day (November 9), Leht Independence Day (December 4). The most notable national holiday is February 22 - National Unity Day, celebrating the day Ruhnu and Leht united.
