Tavakareluu

Tävakareluu or Tävakarelia and sometimes abbreviated to KTK, officially the Kingdom of Tävakareluu is a sovereign state in North-Eastern Europe, located in Fennoscandinavia. It covers 33,175 square kilometres (10,576 sq mi) and has a population of around 1.09 million. It is a kingdom and a member of NATO, the United Nations as well as the European Union. The capital is Lappeenranta, and the largest city is Vyborg. It borders two countries, Finland to the west and Russia to the east.

Independence
During the Finnish Declaration of Independence, the Karelian population was more and more annoyed at Russian rule and wished to become part of the new-to-be independent nation of Finland. Finland was appreciative of the Anti-Russian Karelian rebels and vowed to make Karelia an autonomous region of Finland. Russia stepped in and said that it would declare war on the Finnish population if Karelia was to join them. Finland later received its independence, without Karelia. Unknown to Russia at this moment, Finland and some allies were building up an army in Southern Karelia, which declared war on Russia in early December 1917. Backed by Finland's allies, the armies marched into Saint Petersburg and set buildings alight. Russia was not going to let the rebels win, but they were pressured by other European countries to let the rebels take what they wanted and there would be peace. The Russians agreed and the starts of Karelian independence negotiations began.

Creation of Tävakareluu
On the 30th December 1917, the Kingdom of Tävakareluu was created. The Russians had given the new nation the territories north of Saint Petersburg, but only the southern half of Karelia and further west than Karelia's largest city, Petrozavodsk. The capital was made Vyborg as it was the largest city.

Second World War
KTK stayed neutral during the beginning of WWII until the threat of the Soviet Union became too high. The Soviets declared war on KTK and Finland in 1941, as they had seen the war as an opportunity to retake these lands. The countries received military aid from the United Kingdom at the time and later from the United States. The UK and USA managed to push back the Soviet Union from these areas but the war ended in a stalemate. The Treaty of Porkkala, signed by all 5 countries let the TKT keep all of its land, and let Finland keep part of Karelia. Finland, however, was to cede its lands of Salla and Petsamo to the Soviet Union. The people of KTK have been thankful to the US and UK for the whole time after their aid and today they are some of KTK's biggest allies.

Shift of capital to Lappeenranta
At the end of the war, Vyborg was almost completely destroyed as well as all the governmental and administrative buildings. The government took the decision to move the capital city from Vyborg to Lappeenranta, where the Prime Minister at that time, Samu Ältuu, was from. The new capital was in a more central position, although not at the coast. Vyborg still remains, however, the largest city and the most important city and trade port in the country.

Modern Times
Since the 1950s, KTK's economy has flourished and the country has joined several organisations including NATO and the European. KTK adopted the Euro as their currency in 2003. Today, KTK is a highly developed country. The 2004 order by the government to make 60% of KTK's land mass National Parks has lead to the improvement of nature care as well as eco-friendliness and air quality. The most notable parks are the Läantinjaavët National Park as well as the Ladoga Shores National Park. KTK has a booming GDP, HDI, and has on of the world's highest GDPs per capita. KTK has the xth highest population density in the world at 32.9 inh./km2, between Kyrgyzstan and the United States.

Administrative Divisions
Tävakareluu is divided into 4 administrative divisions, known as mäasuutanu. Each mäasuutan includes at least one National Park, and an esokäpuunko, a capital city.

Foreign Relations
KTK has an established structure of foreign relations. It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. It is a member of the European Union, NATO and CON. Many countries have embassies in Lappeenranta, and many have consulates around the country. Only North Korea does not have formal diplomatic relations with KTK.

Tävakareluu has a "Special Relationship" with Finland and Eslania and strong ties with USA, UK, Swania, Latvia, Sweden, Poland, Germany, and other European Union countries, as well as with nations like Australia, South Africa, Mexico and New Zealand. Their relations with Russia are less strong as the war still lingers in the Tävakerelians' minds.