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Description

Edit of 23/8/17: Added a few small updates to the stats and finally polished the history section. Enjoy!
And no, this isn't what I think will happen in the future. This is just an exercise of events and statehood. Plus I liked this design too much to not give a backstory

***

Name: United Republic of Greater Virginia
Mottos: Sic semper bellum (Thus always to war) / Nostra semper montibus pacificae (Our mountains are always peaceful)
Anthem: Our Great Virginia; Official ( youtube.com/watch?v=mlfYAEX1kE… )
Carry Me Back to Old Virginny; Semi-official, popular among rural and small town populations ( youtube.com/watch?v=PyhQYOxTHa… )
Population: 9,832,126
Official language: English
Capital: Richmond
Government type: fascist military dictatorship, led by General Jessie McHalough

Flag significance
Blue background: The Atlantic Ocean, rivers of Virginia, the Blue Ridge mountains
White dogwood flower: beauty, unity, the Virginian people and history
Tudor rose: Connection to England culturally and historically
Silver stars: the cities of Virginia and the urban population, metals and minerals from the mines that build up the nation, advancement and creativity
Gold stars: Farms of Virginia and the rural population, wheat and other crops that sustain the nation, productivity and perseverance
Alignment of the stars: Unity and peace between rural and urban people of Virginia, interdependence of one another for the survival of Virginia.
Gold, blue, and white: traditional colors of peace

History:
Ever since the 2016 election, the USA has been divided in terms of the population. Not since the First Civil War has the American people become so split in terms of which side of the wing they are. This is of course shown by the frequent protests, most of which turned into a riot. Ever since Charlottesville in 2017, these riots turned into small battles between the right and the left. While usually there were 1 or 2 deaths, it couldn't be denied that the nation was on the edge of another civil war.
The fabled war came to be when someone, still unknown to this day, assassinated President Donald Trump on December 1, 2019. Mike Pence disappeared without a trance, with theories ranging from fleeing the bloodshed to Canada to being kidnapped by the various left-wing militias. The system of replacement couldn't deal with both leader's being gone, and a power vacuum ensued. However, no one could assume position as leader of the United States, due to the fact that there were no states to unite.

Many of the state's decided to declare independence and become their own republics. States like California and Texas went to be their own countries, fought and supplied the left and right respectively in January 2020. Others, like the Rocky Mountain states banded together into one giant nation called the Confederation of the Rockies (COTR) in March. Although they declared themselves neutral, many of its citizens left the country to fight in the state's that were too unstable to become countries, and its loose border control and tall mountains served as excellent spots for militias to train and camp. The New England states did the same, but sided themselves with the left wing and openly supported them. Both of these countries became routes for refugees hoping to reach Canada.
Some states became too wartorn to become countries, most notably the Midwest region. They fell into being stateless societies used as training grounds for any militia and military that held land there. Battles were frequent and the people there were often killed.

Virginia and West Virginia declared their independence in April of the same year. Due to historical connection and the need for more resources, the two united into Greater Virginia.
At first, the country was a liberal democracy with a constitution modeled after the US one. Freedom of speech was upholded, and all other individual rights here existent. Terry McAuliffe served as President, designing his government like the former USA as well.
Despite calling themselves neutral, their country too began to divide. The same problem that had plagued the US back in 2016 was beginning to infect them. Greater Virginia was threatened to become an anarchist battlefield. Riots like in 2017-2019 were bubbling up. Various news sites were polarizing, and so were the people. The divide between the rural and urban populations was evident.

In September 6, 2020, a large section of the Virginian Armed Forces, led by General Jessie McHalough, launched a military coup d'etat. It was violent and bloody, as the rest of the military tried to defend the capital of Richmond from McHalough's forces from coming in and killing off President McAuliffe. However, due to a glitch in the communication between factions of McAuliffe's military, McHalough was able to infiltrate the city and overwhelm the army. McAuliffe and his cabinet fled to Denver, the capital of the COTR, to become a government-in-exile.
The following day, Jessie McHalough seized power and renamed the country to the United Republic of Greater Virginia.

McHalough, at first, seemed merciful to those who fought against him in the September Coup. He offered amnesty if McAuliffe's soldiers swore loyalty to him and either stayed in the Virginian army or left it entirely. A good percentage of the soldiers chose the first option, since it meant they kept their jobs and got to live. Although they were under surveillance of the new secret police almost 24/7 and were often barred from privileges.
Of course, there were some soldiers who wouldn't swear loyalty to the General. Most of them fled the country, joining McAuliffe in the COTR or perishing in the fighting between the militias. Those who didn't flee, however, were subjected to execution via firing squad. Commanders who fought for the former president got the worst punishment, often being tortured before their execution via the noose. Citizens who opposed McHalough were not spared from these fates.

After clearing out the government, it was time for McHalough's regime to take out the biggest threat to him and the country: the rightist and leftist groups that were tearing the people apart. Websites dedicated to these groups were censored on September 20, as went for any newspaper who supported either group. Web pages and new newspapers that supported the regime replaced the censored ones. All forms of internet activity were surveyed, and anyone who said any form of dissent were traced and jailed.
The headquarters were searched for and cleared out, jailing those who were members and executing notable people and the leaders. The borders of Virginia along with its sparsely populated areas were routinely checked by the police and army for anyone who might've escaped. Of course, they were arrested.

Of course, things had to be done with the problems stemming from the general population. The divide between urban and rural was the biggest one, contributing to the polarized opinions of each group. To combat this, the government began its notable mantra of interdependence and unity between the two groups. The urbanites depend on the farmers and rural people for their food and other materials. After all, Greater Virginia would starve and fall apart without them. On the other side, the rural population depend on the urbanites for their tools and lifestyle. After all, Greater Virginia would stagnate and lose direction without them. If the rural and urban people tried to go in their own, they would never become anything. Their contributions to Greater Virginia were equally important. They need each other.
Whether or not this worked in not known, due to the suppression of free speech.

There was also an attempt to make the former state of West Virginia and Virginia closer together. McHalough ordered that the history curriculum say that West Virginia didn't split off from Virginia on its own during the First Civil War, but that the northern states torn Virginia apart to up their manpower, and kept the two apart. Again, it is not known if this really was effective.

The United Republic of Greater Virginia is also not the friendliest to other countries. Due to McHalough's iron fist, countries like Texas, the People's Republic of New England, and the COTR condemned him and supported McAuliffe's government-in-exile. The New Confederate States of America (NCSA; consisting of the former states of Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, and Tennessee) supported McHalough and were happy to do business with them. Same goes with the Republic of Delmarva and Maryland. Greater Virginia, however, was best friends with the Independent State of the United Carolinas, who went through a similar unification and fascist coup launched by "President" Mark Webbson. The two support each other by supplying weaponry, food, and manufactured goods to their people.

Currently, the United Republic of Greater Virginia is doing alright. Although poor in terms of the average income and the authoritarian rule, the country is very peaceful and does not attempt to add to the ongoing civil war. The closest thing is deporting those deemed threatening to the state. Until something happens to McHalough, it is uncertain if his iron fist will ever dissolve.

Description

Edit of 23/8/17: Added a few small updates to the stats and finally polished the history section. Enjoy!
And no, this isn't what I think will happen in the future. This is just an exercise of events and statehood. Plus I liked this design too much to not give a backstory

***

Name: United Republic of Greater Virginia
Mottos: Sic semper bellum (Thus always to war) / Nostra semper montibus pacificae (Our mountains are always peaceful)
Anthem: Our Great Virginia; Official ( youtube.com/watch?v=mlfYAEX1kE… )
Carry Me Back to Old Virginny; Semi-official, popular among rural and small town populations ( youtube.com/watch?v=PyhQYOxTHa… )
Population: 9,832,126
Official language: English
Capital: Richmond
Government type: fascist military dictatorship, led by General Jessie McHalough

Flag significance
Blue background: The Atlantic Ocean, rivers of Virginia, the Blue Ridge mountains
White dogwood flower: beauty, unity, the Virginian people and history
Tudor rose: Connection to England culturally and historically
Silver stars: the cities of Virginia and the urban population, metals and minerals from the mines that build up the nation, advancement and creativity
Gold stars: Farms of Virginia and the rural population, wheat and other crops that sustain the nation, productivity and perseverance
Alignment of the stars: Unity and peace between rural and urban people of Virginia, interdependence of one another for the survival of Virginia.
Gold, blue, and white: traditional colors of peace

History:
Ever since the 2016 election, the USA has been divided in terms of the population. Not since the First Civil War has the American people become so split in terms of which side of the wing they are. This is of course shown by the frequent protests, most of which turned into a riot. Ever since Charlottesville in 2017, these riots turned into small battles between the right and the left. While usually there were 1 or 2 deaths, it couldn't be denied that the nation was on the edge of another civil war.
The fabled war came to be when someone, still unknown to this day, assassinated President Donald Trump on December 1, 2019. Mike Pence disappeared without a trance, with theories ranging from fleeing the bloodshed to Canada to being kidnapped by the various left-wing militias. The system of replacement couldn't deal with both leader's being gone, and a power vacuum ensued. However, no one could assume position as leader of the United States, due to the fact that there were no states to unite.

Many of the state's decided to declare independence and become their own republics. States like California and Texas went to be their own countries, fought and supplied the left and right respectively in January 2020. Others, like the Rocky Mountain states banded together into one giant nation called the Confederation of the Rockies (COTR) in March. Although they declared themselves neutral, many of its citizens left the country to fight in the state's that were too unstable to become countries, and its loose border control and tall mountains served as excellent spots for militias to train and camp. The New England states did the same, but sided themselves with the left wing and openly supported them. Both of these countries became routes for refugees hoping to reach Canada.
Some states became too wartorn to become countries, most notably the Midwest region. They fell into being stateless societies used as training grounds for any militia and military that held land there. Battles were frequent and the people there were often killed.

Virginia and West Virginia declared their independence in April of the same year. Due to historical connection and the need for more resources, the two united into Greater Virginia.
At first, the country was a liberal democracy with a constitution modeled after the US one. Freedom of speech was upholded, and all other individual rights here existent. Terry McAuliffe served as President, designing his government like the former USA as well.
Despite calling themselves neutral, their country too began to divide. The same problem that had plagued the US back in 2016 was beginning to infect them. Greater Virginia was threatened to become an anarchist battlefield. Riots like in 2017-2019 were bubbling up. Various news sites were polarizing, and so were the people. The divide between the rural and urban populations was evident.

In September 6, 2020, a large section of the Virginian Armed Forces, led by General Jessie McHalough, launched a military coup d'etat. It was violent and bloody, as the rest of the military tried to defend the capital of Richmond from McHalough's forces from coming in and killing off President McAuliffe. However, due to a glitch in the communication between factions of McAuliffe's military, McHalough was able to infiltrate the city and overwhelm the army. McAuliffe and his cabinet fled to Denver, the capital of the COTR, to become a government-in-exile.
The following day, Jessie McHalough seized power and renamed the country to the United Republic of Greater Virginia.

McHalough, at first, seemed merciful to those who fought against him in the September Coup. He offered amnesty if McAuliffe's soldiers swore loyalty to him and either stayed in the Virginian army or left it entirely. A good percentage of the soldiers chose the first option, since it meant they kept their jobs and got to live. Although they were under surveillance of the new secret police almost 24/7 and were often barred from privileges.
Of course, there were some soldiers who wouldn't swear loyalty to the General. Most of them fled the country, joining McAuliffe in the COTR or perishing in the fighting between the militias. Those who didn't flee, however, were subjected to execution via firing squad. Commanders who fought for the former president got the worst punishment, often being tortured before their execution via the noose. Citizens who opposed McHalough were not spared from these fates.

After clearing out the government, it was time for McHalough's regime to take out the biggest threat to him and the country: the rightist and leftist groups that were tearing the people apart. Websites dedicated to these groups were censored on September 20, as went for any newspaper who supported either group. Web pages and new newspapers that supported the regime replaced the censored ones. All forms of internet activity were surveyed, and anyone who said any form of dissent were traced and jailed.
The headquarters were searched for and cleared out, jailing those who were members and executing notable people and the leaders. The borders of Virginia along with its sparsely populated areas were routinely checked by the police and army for anyone who might've escaped. Of course, they were arrested.

Of course, things had to be done with the problems stemming from the general population. The divide between urban and rural was the biggest one, contributing to the polarized opinions of each group. To combat this, the government began its notable mantra of interdependence and unity between the two groups. The urbanites depend on the farmers and rural people for their food and other materials. After all, Greater Virginia would starve and fall apart without them. On the other side, the rural population depend on the urbanites for their tools and lifestyle. After all, Greater Virginia would stagnate and lose direction without them. If the rural and urban people tried to go in their own, they would never become anything. Their contributions to Greater Virginia were equally important. They need each other.
Whether or not this worked in not known, due to the suppression of free speech.

There was also an attempt to make the former state of West Virginia and Virginia closer together. McHalough ordered that the history curriculum say that West Virginia didn't split off from Virginia on its own during the First Civil War, but that the northern states torn Virginia apart to up their manpower, and kept the two apart. Again, it is not known if this really was effective.

The United Republic of Greater Virginia is also not the friendliest to other countries. Due to McHalough's iron fist, countries like Texas, the People's Republic of New England, and the COTR condemned him and supported McAuliffe's government-in-exile. The New Confederate States of America (NCSA; consisting of the former states of Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, and Tennessee) supported McHalough and were happy to do business with them. Same goes with the Republic of Delmarva and Maryland. Greater Virginia, however, was best friends with the Independent State of the United Carolinas, who went through a similar unification and fascist coup launched by "President" Mark Webbson. The two support each other by supplying weaponry, food, and manufactured goods to their people.

Currently, the United Republic of Greater Virginia is doing alright. Although poor in terms of the average income and the authoritarian rule, the country is very peaceful and does not attempt to add to the ongoing civil war. The closest thing is deporting those deemed threatening to the state. Until something happens to McHalough, it is uncertain if his iron fist will ever dissolve.