Svobodna Dnevnik

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El Correo Internacional

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New Galasia: Decisive battle continues without a clear winner
By: Asia Galianus
Published: Ochtyr 14, 1582


Many Nova Tairal neighborhoods have already suffered irreparable damage.

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The multifaceted Galasian civil war is facing its more deadly days, after rival forces fight for the control of Nova Tairal, the second largest city in the eastern region of Eastmarch. The Galasian civil war started three years ago and, according to the Rojadavi Council of Human Rights, casualties reached 180,000 last month. But that number may experience a sudden increase as 400,000 civilians -those remaining of the 941,000 inhabitants before the conflict- are trapped inside, without much chance of leaving the city while the fight continues.

Initially under the control of the Rojadavi separatists between Elva 1579 and Septem 1580, the city was retaken by New Galasian forces but since the Council of National Unity took power in Alsace, the local leadership has remained in the control of monarchist officers who do not recognize the Alsace government and have the support -directly or indirectly- of regional governments such as Mestra and Angiris. While the monarchist forces in the north have increased their efficiency and expanded their territory considerably, they are suffering in their isolated territory they control in the southern regions and, since the Rojadavi Army took control of the only road that connects northern Eastmarch with the city, Nova Tairal. Lacking an air force, the monarchist forces have effectively faced an intense siege for two months.

Yesterday, there was an intense battle after which the separatist Rojadavi Army took control of three northeastern districts of the city. Monarchist forces had no option to withdraw to the central districts. The advance of the Rojadavi Army remains slow and prudent, as they do not seem wanting to suffer too many casualties, and it looks like they expect the enemy consumes itself.

Meanwhile, Akhadist militias had been attacking without break the monarchist forces from the south and east, after being reinforced through the Ustyaran border, according to witnesses. Ocassionally, the attack the Rojadavi separatist forces as well, but they seem aimed to take the city at any cost: experts agree that would be a boost for their propaganda efforts. Although they were only a minor faction a year ago, the Akhadist militias control today much of the southern border. They operate under an umbrella of groups, some of them predominantly local and other formed by mostly foreign fighters.

If Nova Tairal falls, the monarchist forces -who seemed to have experience their momentum only some months ago- will suffer a serious strategic setback. If the Rojadavi Army is not able to replace that vacuum, it is clear that no faction would be in a position to win the war by their own, and the Galasian civil war could continue for years without a clear winner.

New Galasian government in Alsace, however, doesn't look very concerned about that scenario. Their Air Force occasionally attacks all sides, with heavy but not too long airstrikes. The military-led Council of National Unity proclaims that the civil war will only end once the international community understand that the Alsace government is the only legitimate force in the country, and the only one able to restore sovereignty and order in all the territory. In recent weeks, Alsace's rhetoric against Angiris and Mestra has become more intense, which they accuse of supporting "terrorist forces" and "illegal supplying to non-state forces". However, it doesn't look that the New Galasian government is looking for a real confrontation with a foreign government, while relations with their other neighbor, the unstable Ustyara, remains cold at best, after Galasian Air Forces bombed alleged terrorist camps along the Ustyara-New Galasia border.

Meanwhile, the possibility of the biggest humanitarian catastrophe since the beginning of the war becomes increasingly distinct, with 400,000 people trapped inside the city, with rapidly shrinking medical supplies and declining stocks of food. Several districts of the city are already on a blackout, with no electricity and water available. According to some reports, nine days ago, Akhadist rebels took the Tomarah area, south of what remained of an air force base. But they still needed to advance another 3 kilometers to reach the central districts of the city, heavily protected by the monarchist forces. But if they keep advancing, the city could approaching to a deadly scenario, with the whole metropolitan area divided in three balanced areas -each of one controlled by the three main sides of the battle- with thousands of civilians without a place where to hide or escape.

That is a scenario that benefits no one - not the Rojadavi separatists, not the monarchist forces, and not even the Alsace government, and most of all, not eastern New Galasia's long-suffering people. But the civil war seems likely to continue for long, with the indifference of the international community.

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El Correo Internacional

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Kyrzbekistan: Long-serving Minister of Foreign Affairs resigns
By: Milena Brovina
Published: Ochtyr 20, 1582


Kyrzbekuz had been Commissar for Foreign Affairs since 1568

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Chachak Kyrzbekuz has resigned as Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of Kyrzbekistan, in a rather opaque and short written statement.

There were rumours of a cabinet reshuffle in the People's Council (Kyrzbekistan's federal government) for weeks, but neither Kyrzbekuz resignation was expected nor it was announced who will replace her, or if there will be further changes in the federal government in the coming days.

Kyrzbekuz had been Commissar of Foreign Affairs (the head of the federal Commissariat of Foreign Affairs, the equivalent to a ministry of foreign affairs) since the proclamation of the Democratic Republic of Kyrzbekistan in 1568, being one of the longest serving Kyrzbekistani officials.

In her 14 years as head of the foreign policy of the Near East nation, Kyrzbekuz has played an important role in key political events and negotiations, such as the international recognition of the Democratic Republic of Kyrzbekistan, her country entry into the Near East Treaty Organization, the constitutional crisis of 1575, or the regional crisis in Wadiyah. Despite the ruling party revolutionary and left-leaning policies, Kyrzbekistan's foreign policy has characterized during Kyrzbekuz tenure as one of non-aligned pragmatism and regional integration.

One of the pending issues that Kyrzbekuz leaves is, however, the relations with the neighbor Akhadic Republic of A'Sir, which continued cold and tense at best, with mutual indirect and unofficial recognition.

Allegedly, Kyrzbekuz had a close relation with President Aygöl Zamambekuz, being one of the President's closest allies in both the federal government and the ruling Socialist People's Party, so her departure was unexpected.

According to the Yalgän Sharek newspaper, official sources claim that Kyrzbekuz is likely to be appointed to the Supreme Committee for State Security, an advisory state body to the Presidency of the Republic, which is said to play an important role in foreign affairs and national security.

Other rumours mention that Kyrzbekuz may join the Kombash Women's University of Pardëqytet as lecturer in International Relations, despite her only formation was a law degree in the University of Frashëri. Another rumour speculated that Kyrzbekuz could be appointed diplomat to a foreign nation, likely Severyane, in order to work to assure that the good relations between both nations remain intact through the complicated political transition that the Eastern Brigidnan country is currently facing. However, a speaker of the Commissariat of Foreign Affairs has denied the later, claiming that the President and the Commissariat has "full confidence in Kazbek Zaribyanur", who has been ambassador in Severyane since 1579.

Kyrzbekus was the last remaining member of the first government of the Democratic Republic of Kyrzbekistan in 1568, back then formed by a left-wing coalition of the Workers People's Party, the Socialist Party, the Arberian Social Democratic Party, and the Kyrzbek Democratic Party. Since 1579, the federal government has been ruled by a coalition government of the far-left Socialist People's Party -which has remained in power since the Democratic Republic of Kyrzbekistan was created- and the center-left Kyrzbek Labour Party. A former lawyer and human right activist, Kyrzbekuz was serving a 7-year sentence for "offenses against the monarchy" and "collaboration with terrorist organization" before being released during the Kyrzbekistani revolution of 1568.

In her resignation statement, Kyrzbekuz wished "the best to my successor in the always difficult and labourious task of defending the interests of the Kyrzbekistani people".

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El Correo Internacional

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Keszaria: National Assembly passes controversial identity law
By: Mauricio Kovács-Tomillo
Published: Elva 28, 1582


Keszarian Senate will discuss the law approved by the National Assembly, but it is expected that it will be passed without major amendments.

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The National Assembly has passed today the "Keszarian Identity Registration Act", which was deemed controversial and unnecessary by some critics. The law, which had the support of 202 of 299 MPs, establishes a "Keszarian identity certificate", for descendants of Keszarian citizens or ethnic Keszarians who live in nearby countries but have no Keszarian citizenship.

Registration will allow those foreign citizens to visit Keszaria without the need of a visa, easier access to a permit of residency in the Keszarian Republic, access to social welfare and education and cultural rights in Keszaria which were not granted to non-citizens before, and access to some jobs in state-owned institutions. It is believed that 2 million ethnic Keszarians could be available to this identity certificate in nearby countries such as Carpathia, Azreae, Lanlania, Assaria, or Ceribia.

However, such identity certificate should not be confused with a national identity card or dual citizenship, as those with the new identity certificate wouldn't have officially the Keszarian citizenship and all the rights associated to it, although it would open an easier and quickly access to citizenship compared to other non-citizens. While the preamble of the "Keszarian Identity Registration Act" established that those who are granted the "identity certificate" will be "considered as sons and daughters of the Keszarian nation", the government claims that it just a "rhetoric device...with no official legal status" besides those actual rights granted by the law.

The approval of the law was a demand of the National People's Party, after negotiations between the ruling Keszarian Democratic Movement and the opposition Civic Democratic Party for the passing of the 1583 national budget collapsed several weeks ago. Although some KDM candidates showed some restrained support to such legislation during the last electoral campaign, it was never part of the KDM platform and many observers were skeptical of the agreement could be reached. However, the government was not willing to such legislative failure, as the ruling party had promised to raise pensions before 1583. Vice President Gyöngy Székély is said to have played an important role in the negotiations, despite the law was not as ambitious as the National People's Party demanded.

The law was passed in the National Assembly with the support of Keszariak Democratic Movement and National People's Party, along the support of a few MPs of the Social Democratic Party and the Communist Party. The opposition Civic Democratic Party decided to vote against -although some of their MPs were absent-, while the centrist Freedom Party decided to abstain, considering it "an unnecessary law".

President Géza Békésy has declared that the legislation will improve the cultural rights and social well-being of many who consider themselves "emotional and culturally linked with our nation...very often with relatives in our republic", but who found themselves "with absurd bureucratic obstacles", granting them a chance to study, work, or simply visit the Keszarian Republic. "From that point of view", he argued, "this a fair and reasonable legislation" which he hoped that will "enrich our nation from both an economic and cultural perspective".

Minister of Foreign Affairs Szabolcs Haraszti has denied that this law could create "nationalistic discrimination" between citizens and non-citizens of first, second, and third class, as some critics have denounced. "The law does not establish any requisite of ethnicity, religion, or even language", Haraszti argued, "so I can't understand where this absurd claim comes from...Anyone who fulfills the objective requisites established by the law could access to the identity certificate, independently of their ethnic or even linguistic background".

Embassies and consulates of the Keszarian Republic will offer free information to those interested about applying the Keszarian identity certificate, as soon as the law enters in force officially, Haraszti explained. A detailed "Q&A brochure" in six languages can already be downloaded from the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Keszarian Republic.

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El Correo Internacional

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Kyrzbekistan: Arberian Princess Mimoza gives surprising interview for Magentinian media
By: Milena Brovina
Published: Tolven 8, 1582


Princess Mimoza, 39, has been living in exile since 1568

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The interview to Princess Mimoza in Magentinian newspaper "El National" a week ago has already caused many comments and controversy in the Arberian language media, both in exile and Kyrzbekistan. While the two-pages interview covered many topics -her childhood, her life in exile and her late professional projects, her family life and experiences in the Mandavines region, the murder of his brother late King Kreshnik II in Goldecia, and her comments about the regional and international political situation- her comment about coming back to his native nation -temporarily or permanently- was the one which raised more comments.

Princess Mimoza, the most important alive member of the Arberian Royal House, fled to exile after the revolution of 1567, which led to the proclamation of the Democratic Republic of Kyrzbekistan months later. Since then, she has lived in different countries, establishing in Magentina in 1579. In 1580 she was hired by the Benedicto Montes Regional Policy Research Institute, a regional think-tank based in Magentina. She has described her stay in the Mandavines region as "an enriching experience, both personally and professionally". Her contract with the Magentinian think-tank ends late this year.

She has declared that there are not political ambitions besides her wish to visit Kyrzbekistan, and that she has no hopes about monarchist restoration in her country. While an Arberian government-in-exile was formed in 1569 -since 1572 based in Ashford-, and another separatist Arberian government-in-exile was created after the 1575 Kyrzbekistani constitutional crisis, the Arberian political community in exile remains divided and isolated, specially since General Baskhim Skënderë's Arberian Monarchist Organization decided to broke relations with the "Ashford's Arberian government", and negotiations between the latter and the Arberian separatist government-in-exile broke up more than a year ago. "It has been more than 14 years already", Mimoza said in the "El National" interview, "it is time to move on". According to a 1580 survey, only 6% of Kyrzbekistani citizens would approve a monarchy as "the most stable and functional system of government", although that number raised to 28% when only ethnic Arberians were asked.

"Primarily, if there weren't legal obstacles", she replied, "there is simply the wish to visit the place where I grew up and lived so many years...While they weren't born there, I also wish my children could visit the place where their family came from, where their native language is still lively spoken". The Arberian Princess declared that the only political activities she is having on mind right now is "the one of a private citizen...I haven't personal ambitions right now".

Asked about if she wouldn't be concerned about her own security in the Near East country, Princess Mimoza didn't seem specially worried about it. "Well, living in Cair Para didn't protected my brother, isn't it?", refering to the murder of late King Kreshnik II in Goldecia on Fein this year, in still unclear circumstances. She added she is not willing to put her family at risk, but she hopes that everything could be work it out.

The first reactions in the Kyrzbekistani media were rather cold and disdainful about Princess Mimoza's announcement. According to a 1569 Kyrzbekistani law, she would have to officially apply for her citizenship to be legally applied in the Democratic Republic of Kyrzbekistan, a process which could last months, according to legal experts.

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El Correo Internacional

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Hôinôm: Empress Hông announces new Prime Minister
By: Bruno Wong
Published: Treizen 28, 1582


Quang Công Quang was Minister of National Security from 1576 to 1579.

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Empress Hông has named Quang Công Quang as the Imperial Kingdom of Hôinôm's new Prime Minister, and asked him to form a new government following consultations with several prominent members of the National Assembly. A month ago, Prime Minister Bûi Quang An has resigned after he lost a vote of confidence in the National Assembly.

Quang, a former Minister of National Security will replace Prime Minister Bûi Quang An, and although no names were confirmed so far, it is expected that a more right-leaning administration will come to power. Quang, 57, comes for a nobility family, and his father was a prominent general in the Hôinômese Armed Forces. He started his career in the 1560s, being previously the CEO of a Hôinômese security company before being appointed Governor of the Ham Miêt province.

Prime Minister Bûi Quang An had been appointed in Quartyr 1579, in the middle of a political crisis caused by social unrest and political repression. An, a former advisor of the Empress, called for parliamentary elections -the first ones in several decades-, and introduce some liberal reforms, such as suspending military censorship and pardoning some political prisoners, and passing some social laws such as introducing a minimum wage for first time in the country's history. On economic policy, An did not introduce many deep changes -and although the government attempted to introduce administrative reforms in order to attract investment in the country-, and it continued the pro-trade and moderatively free-market policies of the former government.

The 1581 elections were both hopeful and disappointings as, although they introduced parliamentary politics for first time since the failed liberal revolution of 1548, they had clearly shortcomings. Many unemployed and women were limited the right of voting, political parties were still illegal, and the electoral campaign was riddled with political abuses, violence, and denounces of electoral fraud. Still, the process was witnessed by many as a realistic first step, and Empress Hông promised that she was willing to sign "A Bill of Rights" to be discussed in the parliament, which was expected to introduce some important constitutional changes.

The elections, however, complicated the reformist agenda of Prime Minister Bûi Quang An, as pro-government and moderate had a poor result in the elections, only a few dozens of seats in the 222-member National Assembly. While a dozen of ethnic minority, left-wing and human rights activist were able to enter in the parliament, a large majority of the candidates elected were Conservatives and "Hard-Right" monarchists, who opposed big changes in the country, and who were often hostile to some of the government's reforms and policies.

Prime Minister Quang Công Quang is expected to face less hostility, as analysts agree that he will have easily a majority in the parliament, but it is unclear if he will attempt to offer cooperation to moderate and reformist parliamentary factions, or rather move toward to the most ultraconservative ones.

In either case, both the national government and the parliament will have only a relative freedom of action, as the monarch retains many executive and legal prerogatives, such as veto power, suspending parliamentary activity, and the power to appoint and fire the Prime Minister.

In a public statement, Empress Hông thanked An for his service as Prime Minister, praising him for his "effectiveness, competence, and self-sacrifice".

It is expected that Prime Minister Quang Công Quang will announce a new national cabinet in the coming days.

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El Correo Internacional

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Magentina: Emiliano Lafuente is reelected as Prime Minister
By: Serafina Villadiego
Published: Alvan, 1583


Lafuente has been Prime Minister since 1578

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Emiliano Lafuente was reelected as Prime Minister after won a 164-141 vote in the National Assembly. He has been Prime Minister since early 1578.

Although the center-left Social Democratic Party was the most voted political party again, even increasing their MPs to 119, they failed to gain enough support from other political parties. The government coalition, Liberal Party and Action for the Republic, increased their number of representatives to 96, but not enough to obtain a majority by their own.

The great surprise was the Conservative Party, which ended third with 68 MPs, a considerably increased compared to 39 four years ago, and their best result in decades. After not long but complicated negotiations, the Conservative Party accepted to form a coalition government with the coalition led by Prime Minister Emiliano Lafuente. Still, they needed the abstention of the nationalist MSM, which was acheived only after Lafuente accepted to sign an agreement on an immigration reform.

It is likely that Emiliano Martino, the Conservative leader, will become Minister of Defense in the new government, along a few other ministries. The last time that the Conservative Party was in the national government was in 1503-1506, under the government of Conservative Prime Minister Patricio Espada, the only Conservative Prime Minister in Magentinian history in the Second Republic.

Lafuente, the ninth Liberal Prime Minister -the fourth in the 16th century-, has however shifter many traditional policies of the centrist party, and it is expected that the new term will bring some important changes in financial, trade, immigration, and foreign policy.

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Khibland: President Michael Haydn faces political pressure
By: Albrekt Mogensen
Published: Marth 1583


Haydn has been President since 1577.

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Michael Haydn, the longest serving president of the Free State of Khibland in its short history, is finding himself in the middle of a political crisis.

Haydn, 56, was elected for first time president in 1571, only to be deposed in a military coup d'etat months later. In 1577, in the first presidential elections since democratic restoration, he won by a landslide, being reelected in 1581. He remains the leader of the Socialist Democratic Party, renamed as Social Democratic Party in 1576.

While he remains a relatively popular politician, the Social Democratic Party -which Haydn founded in the late 1560s, previously known as Socialist Democratic Party until 1576- is facing legal challenges. Already 1579, several SDP lawmakers were involved in a corruption case and were forced to resign, and last year Alred Brockhause, mayor of Macharaviaya and considered Haydn's likely successor in the party leadership, was arrested for similar corruption charges. Now, a few MPs are even discussing the prospect of the impeachment of the president.

Former political allies, the relation between President Michael Haydn and First Minister Primoz Destovnik has turned one of ongoing political infighting, and the relations between the President and the government are almost completely broken. This became evident in 1579, when Haydn forced Destovnik to resign, and a short-lived coalition government between Haydn's Social Democratic Party and centrist parties was formed. However, Destovnik's Progressive Democratic Party won the 1580 elections by a landslide, and Destovnik returned to power a year later.

In late 1579, the parliament passed a controversial constitutional reform, reducing the power of the presidency, which was passed by only one vote, after several MPs from the  populist Khiblander People's Democratic Party surprisingly decided to change their vote. Besides ideological and constitutional differences, one of the main political disputes between Haydn and the government in the signing of a military treaty between Khibland and the Republic of Mordvania, which Destovnik critics argue that it was not negotiated in a transparent way.

Haydn, however, according to local reports, seems confident that the political crisis will not become irreversible. There will be legislative elections in 1584 again, which are likely to be decisive to determine the political future of the small Avidnan territory.

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Keszaria: Criticism after largest liberal newspaper announces ideological shift
By: Mauricio Kovács-Tomillo
Published: Dein 2, 1583


Vízdél Korszak was considered the main nationwide non-nationalist critical voice in the country

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One of Keszaria's largest newspaper, Vízdél Korszak, has stopped publication, with journalists and the opposition alleging government pressure. Vízdél Korszak, one of the oldest newspaper in the country, it has been historically a liberal newspaper, considered close to the centrist Civic Democratic Union and Freedom Party in the past.

Last week, the management of the newspaper announced changes in the organization and cuts in their staff, firing dozens of journalists. Previously, several columnists, considered critical with the government, were announced that the collaboration with the newspaper had arrived to its end, arguing that their salaries were too high for the newspaper keeping functioning.

Journalists said it was a "coup" - they were given notice after being stopped from entering the building yesterday. The management has declared that the closure was only temporary, and that the newspaper will start to publish again in two weeks.

The government-backed newspaper Szórszágos echoes the government line that the temporary closure was purely the result of economic factors, and that it would be "an infringement of the freedom of the press, if we were to have a say in the decisions of a media owner". Vízdél Korszak was facing financial problems for years, and it was acquired by Guttmann Investment, a financial investment fund, last Septem.

While Guttmann Investment promised the old owners that the newspaper will keep functioning with some financial changes, the newspaper journalists were surprised when Jolán Haranyi, editor-in-chief since 1577, was replaced a week ago by Béla Gyarmati, a former Civic Democration Union MP, who is considered today a close political ally of President Géza Békésy.

The decision comes only a few months before the coming Senate and Presidential elections, and it is likely to have an important impact as Vízdél Korszak remained as the only nationwide newspaper which supported the liberal opposition, the rest of media divided in conservative, pro-government, neutral, and nationalist newspapers.

The liberal parties, once mainstream in Keszaria media, have seen reduced their influence to only the radio sector, as Híradó TV- the largest liberal TV in the country for years- shifted recently to more center-right positions after being acquired by a corporation owned by the Takáts family. Guttmann Investment already owns a television channel, BTV, and it therefore strengthens its position in the media industry.

Other liberal newspapers, such as Központ (1558-1580), Idö (1565-1578), and Pënzügyi Köszövár (1560-1582) also closed in recent years, as consequence of financial problems and debts. Lajos Korvath, president of the Independent Thought think thank, considered close to the Civic Democratic Union, has declared that he is concerned that the "existence of the private free media has deteriorated in the late years". The government has, however, denied any involvement, and that the private media is under free market rules as any other private sector of the economy.

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Damara Larsen is announced winner of the 1583 Azuolas Nasvytis Prize
By: Elena Manstein
Published: Dein 11, 1583


Damara Larsen was recently elected as Prime Minister in the first free elections in Oslanburg in more than a decade.

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The Oslanburgan Prime Minister Damara Larsen was announced as winner of the 1583 Azuolas Nasvytis Prize for Freedom of Thought, a symbolical prize conceded by the Mordvanian parliament to people dedicated to the defense of human rights and democracy. The prize was established in 1581, and Larsen will become the fifth person to received the prize.

Larsen, who was imprisoned by the former regime in Oslanburg was released about a year ago, and became Prime Minister again after her party, the Oslanburgan Democratic Party, won the legislative elections by a lanslide.

Timoslav Muster, Chairman of the Mordvanian Assembly of Representatives, has declared that Damara Larsen return from "unlawful prison to successful democratic elections" was a great symbol for the "progress of freedom and democracy". in the region. "It showed that, despite how long it may take, the people who show strength to fight for democracy will prevail in the end".

The Oslanburgan Prime Minister is expected to received the prize in an official visit to the country late this year.

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El Correo Internacional

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Mordvania: Gintaras Baravykas, a political ally of Bozidar Strnad, is confirmed as presidential candidate
By: Elena Manstein
Published: Dein 20, 1583


Gintaras Baravykas had been Vice-Chairman of the Council of Defense since 1566.

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Gintaras Baravykas, Vice-Chairman of the Council of Defense, has announced that he will run as independent candidate in the first presidential elections in Alvan 1584.

Baravykas, 62, was promoted as Admiral during the Mordvanian Republican revolution of 1565-1566, when he played an important role in the decisive support of the Abdanian fleet to the new republican government. He joined the Council of Defense in Alvan 1566, only a few weeks before the proclamation of the Republic of Mordvania, and became Vice-Chairman of the Council of Defense on Dosa the same year, a position he has kept since then. Back then, he was considered a sympathizer of the left-republican Radical Party, one of the republican parties which would led to the formation of the Republican Social Radical Party, although it is believed he hasn't had much relation with the political establishment in years.

Baravykas did not enter in details about which policies or ideas he would support as President of the Republic, but it is believed that some republican parties, such as the Republican Social Radical Party or the more centrist Radical Democratic Party may consider support his candidacy. Baravykas is an ethnic Bunesgan -although one of his grandfathers was an ethnic Mordvanian and his mother was an ethnic Abdanian- but he hopes to become the first President of the Republic of Mordvania, a position established by the constitutional reform of 1582, and which will replace the office of the Council of Defense, which will turn into a military advisory body.

Baravykas is considered the right-hand of Chairman of the Council of Defense Bozidar Strnad, who will not run as candidate in the 1584 presidential elections. It is not clear if Strnad will personally endorse Baravykas as candidate, though. Baravykas, as Vice-Chairman of the Council of Defense, has played a more outspoken role than Strnad, whom public appearances became rare in the late years, and with a more direct relation with the media and other institutions of the republic. Baravykas is expected to run as a continuation candidate.

Baravykas is expected to officially resign as Vice-Chairman and member of the Council of Defense in the coming days. As consequence, Chairman Bozidar Strnad will become the only original member of the Council of Defense since the Mordvanian revolution in 1566.

Baravykas will face in the presidential elections another former member of the Council of Defense, retired General Bronislav Grazrod, who left the Council of Defense in 1582, and the leader of the far-left United Progressive Socialist Party Zvezdana Serebryak - who was previously Foreign Minister and President of the Republican Council (head of government) in 1573-1576 and 1576-1579, respectively.