The Socialist-Democratic Republic of Saraim (Diamel Mapping's Nation)

The Socialist-Democratic Republic of Saraim is Diamel Mapping's official nation.

Saraim, officially known as the Socialist-Democratic Republic of Saraim, is a nation in the Central Balkan Region on the Balkan Peninsula. It borders Hungary to the North, Romania and Bulgaria to the East, Greece and Saraimic Albania (A Saraimian Puppet) to the South, and Bosnia, and Croatia to the West, with a Saraimic Exclave bordering Croatia to the East, along with a small exclave in Southern Italy. With a population of c. 24.9 Million People, Saraim is therefore the 53rd most populous nation in the world, with North Korea having more, and Australia less people. Saraim is the 9th most populous nation in Europe, with more people than Romania, but less than Poland.

Saraim has been an independent kingdom or republic for the last 200 years, gaining full independence from the Ottoman Empire and from the Austrian Empire in 1817, for the first time breaking free of foreign control. The country is officially Multilingual at the federal level, with 4 official languages being spoken within the country, however, many more are spoken.

Saraim is a Socialist Democracy (Yes, that exists), however leaning more towards the Democratic side of the spectrum. The Saraimic people enjoy great Freedom of Speech, and drive on the Right side of the road. Saraim boasts a rather well trained, and well equipped military of around 200,000k full time, and 300,000k reserve soldiers. The nation also has one of the best education systems in the world, ranking 25th in the world on the PISA test in 2015.

Saraimian Geography
Saraim has a beautiful, temperate climate, and is described as having one of the most beautiful landscapes in the Balkans. Dotted by rolling hills, wheat fields, forests, and lakes, along with sandy beaches on the coasts in the Italian Peninsula, and a rather warm, summer climate all year round, Saraim is truly a beautiful place. The population of 24.9 million lives mostly in the cities and towns dotting the countryside, but about 35-40% live in the rural villages surrounded by arable farmland and beautifully lush, green forests. The water on the coastlines is kept clean of trash and debris to the best of the governments abilities, and many tourists to the area have commented on the splendid and pleasurable swimming condition of the Aegean Sea off the coasts.

Independence to 20th Century
Due to insistent debate between the governors of Saraim and the Ottoman Empire, along with constant rebellions, the cost of keeping Saraim within the empire seemed to be rising to an unmesurable rate. Finally, on the 4th of May, 1817, the Ottoman Government relented to consistent demand and the pressures of Rebellion, and released the Kingdom of Saraim as an independent, fully sovereign kingdom. Encompassing about half of modern day Saraim's territory, along with a bit of extra, the new kingdom of Saraim was immediately after inception a formidable nation in the Balkans, described by many experts as a "certain bet for world power status".

The Kingdom didn't get involved in any major wars for the first 97 years of it's existence, it's first conflict being WWI. The Great War inflicted much damage to the kingdom, with Saraim suffering about 1 million casualties throughout the war. After a period of unstable peace, WWII erupted in Europe, and with that the Balkans. As Italian and German forces converged on Saraim, the nation was overwhelmed by about 5 to 1 against the vastly superior Axis militaries. As a result, the Kingdom of Saraim was puppeted by Germany.

After WWII, and independence for Saraim, a major reform took place. Saraim had been given twice it's original land before being puppeted by Germany. Therefore, to manage the influx of people, a change of government occurred within the nation, with the current political system being brought into place, and an earlier rendition of the current flag being adopted. The Socialist Democratic Republic of Saraim therefore stepped onto the world stage.

Modern Times
Current events stemming from Saraim are few and far between, except for the occasional mention of an educational accomplishment, or a sports or musical competition the nation has won. However, with rising tensions becoming evident between the nations, Gallia and Saraim have both mobilized their troops for a potential war, the first since WWII for the Republic. Other notable modern time achievements for Saraim would be the 2 victories in the Linguavision Song Contest and the Second placement, along with last years victory in the EFC European Cup for Soccer.

Entertainment
Saraim enjoys many forms of entertainment, from the nationally held High School Geography bee's, to Soccer, Music, and Formula 1 Racing (Saraim has hosted a Grand Prix for the past 5 years.) "Above, you can see the Kingdom of Saraim (in red), overlayed with modern Saraim (dark green)"

Saraim in the Linguavision Song Contest
The Socialist-Democratic Republic of Saraim entered the Linguavision Song Contest for the first time in April of 2017, to partake in LSC VIII. The first contest was promising, with Les New Poppy's scoring 35 points and placing 17th in the competition for Saraim. The next contest, LSC IX, again saw Saraim enter the competition, this time outdoing their previous result by 23 points, with the artist AMiR scoring 58 points with his song Il est temps qu'on m'aime. The nation of Saraim celebrated this success in the streets the next day. But fortunes were about to get better. In LSC X, Saraim sent AMiR to LSC again, with his song Oasis. After a tense battle during voting, and with time running out, it seemed that Katkaris would win at 106 points, with Saraim second at 100 points. Then, just as the timer struck 0 for voting, one more set of votes came in. The whole world held their breath as the votes were read. Then, celebration. The votes had been read. Saraim, 7 points. Katkaris, 0. Saraim, 107, Katkaris, 106. Saraim had won. By 1 point.

Saraim once again won in Linguavision in LSC XI, with AMiR's song Lost scoring 96 points, winning by 7 points. After these two successes, Saraim entered with AMiR's song "Tres Haut", and barely missed out on the win, tying Aneto for 2nd with 113 Points, and losing to Monteregis by 4 points.

Sports
Saraim has always enjoyed a rich, fit, and sportive society. Favorite sports in the nation include: Soccer (Football), Formula 1, Touring Car championships, Golf, Ice hockey (Only recently), American Football, Olympic Events, and Basketball.

Soccer
the Saraim International Football team was founded on December 16th, 2003, after government permitted the founding of international, competitive, teams. Since then, Saraims first official game in the MIFF was the first match in the 2017 MIFF World Cup, a draw against Harinia. Since then, Saraim has enjoyed a very succesful run in international soccer, only ever losing 8 matches, and drawing 3, compared to the astounding total of 22 wins, and a current MIFF World Ranking placing of 3rd, behind the Apollo Union and Valkyria Confederation.

Formula 1
Saraim has hosted a Formula 1 Grand Prix officially for the past 5 years, since 2012. It has a formula 1 team competing in the series, Macaltos Racing, with Sebastian Vettel and Romain Grosjean as drivers. The team has won 9 races over the past 5 years, and secured the first Constructors World Championship in 2017, edging out Mercedes AMG Formula one team and Scuderia Ferrari, with Sebastian Vettel winning the world Drivers Championship in front of Lewis Hamilton and Romain Grosjean

Linguavision Song Contest Results

 * LSC VIII: 17th, 35 Points
 * LSC IX: 11th, 58 Points
 * LSC X: 1st, 107 Points
 * LSC XI: 1st, 96 Points
 * LSC XII: 2nd, 113 Points
 * LSC XIII: 7th, 61 Points
 * LSC XIV: 25th, 15 Points
 * LSC XV: 7th, 
 * LSC: XVI:
 * LSC XVII:
 * LSC XVIII:
 * LSC XIX:
 * LSC XX:

Mappervision Song Contest

 * MSC XXIII: 15th, 58 Points
 * MSC XXIV: 7th, 77 Points
 * MSC XXV: Withdrew
 * MSC XXVI: 14th, 51 Points
 * MSC XXVII: TBA

Allies (Military and Political)

 * Ijanusky (Since March 31, 2017)
 * Slavonica (Since August 2, 2017)
 * Biscasia (Since August 17, 2017)
 * Valkyria Confederation (Since August 17, 2017)