The Taviana Soviet Socialist Republic (Taviana SSR, TSSR; Cyrillic: Тавиянска Совѥтска Социалистичиска Република, Тавиянска ССР, ТССР; romanized: Тavijanska Sovjetska Socialističiska Republika, Тavijanska SSR, TSSR), also more commonly known simply as Taviana, is an island nation in the Baltic Sea, spanning across multiple islands of the Novistrana archipelago. It has been one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union (USSR) since its admission in 1946.

The Taviana SSR comprises nearly the entire Novistrana archipelago; 25 volcanic islands located 96 nautical miles northwest of Klaipėda, Lithuanian SSR, and 59 nautical miles south of the southernmost tip of Sweden's largest island; Gotland. The Novistrana archipelago covers an area of approximately 655 km². The larger, eastern island is named Bukvats (Cyrillic: Буквац, romanized: Bukvac) after the mythical Slavic creature which lurks around lakes at night due to the numerous lakes on the island; it is commonly referred to as the big island. The smaller, western island is named Lesh (Cyrillic: Леш, romanized: Leš) after the Slavic spirit which guards forests at night due to the island’s numerous large forests; it is commonly referred to as the small island.

The terrain of the Novistrana archipelago is mountainous, featuring two volcanoes; Perun (Cyrillic: Перун, romanized: Perun), named after the highest god of the pantheon in Slavic mythology, and Veles (Cyrillic: Велес, romanized: Veles), named after the Slavic god of earth, waters, livestock, and the underworld. The climate is mild and humid, with an average daily high of 53 °F (12 °C). The winter months are mild and rainy in the south, with temperatures rarely falling below 28 °F (-2 °C). Winters in the north are cold, with heavy snowfall and temperatures plunging to as low as -4 °F (-20 °C ). The summer months are warm, with temperatures in the range of 59 - 68 °F (15 - 20 °C).

Taviana Soviet Socialist Republic Тавиянска Совѥтска Социалистичиска Република (Tavianian) Тavijanska Sovjetska Socialističiska Republika
1946–present
Motto: Пролетариат всех крайов, сѥднитѥ ся (Tavianian) “Proletariat vsech krajov, sjednitje sja!” (Transliteration) “Workers of the world, unite!”
1) Location of the Taviana SSR (red) within the Soviet Union (yellow)
Status: Independent Socialist Republic (1944-1946) Union Republic (1946-present)
Capital: Sabina
Official languages: Tavianian
Religion: State atheism (de facto) Russian Orthodox Roman Catholic United Protestant Judaism
Government: Unitary Marxist–Leninist one-party Soviet socialist republic First Secretary Stanislav Boyko (1946-1964) Anke König (1964-1972) Viktor Kovalev (1972 - present) Chairperson Ilya Borisov (1946 - 1972) Gerd Rapp (1972 - 1984) George Petros al-Misiri (1984-present)
Legislature: Supreme Soviet (1946-present)
Population: 150,000 (1979 census)
Currency: Soviet ruble (руб)
Calling code: +7 03/04/05/06

The population of the Taviana SSR is approximately 150,000 inhabitants; 25,000 of which live in Sabina (Cyrillic: Сабина, romanized: Sabina), the capital, and largest city, located on the southern coast of lake Umag (Cyrillic: Умаг, romanized: Umag) on the larger island, Bukvats. The republic's only international airport, Dubovo (Cyrillic: Дубово, romanized: Dubovo), is located northeast of Sabina. The second largest city with a population of 20,000, Lypestok (Cyrillic: Лѥпесток, romanized: Ljepestok, German: Blütenblatt), is located in the northern region of Bukvats. The largest city on the smaller island, and also the financial capital of the republic, is Branibor (Cyrillic: Бранибор, romanized: Branibor, German: Brandenburg).

As of the 1979 census of the Soviet Union, 65% of the population of the Taviana SSR are Slavs descended from the Rustavi tribe, 25% are ethnic Germans; minorities, including Jews, Roma, Poles, Russians, and Lithuanians, make up the remaining 10% of the population.

By decree of the Supreme Soviet of the Taviana SSR, issued in 1987, the official language of the Taviana SSR is the Tavianian language (Cyrillic: Тавиянски язик, romanized: Tavijanski jazik). It is an East Slavic language written in the Cyrillic script and is used alongside Russian and German which are also commonly spoken, but not officially recognized. Lithuanian and Polish are also commonly spoken among the older generations. Up until World War II, Hebrew and Yiddish were also widely spoken in the southern regions.

Although the Taviana SSR is officially an atheist state, a large portion of the population identifies as Orthodox Christian. Other major religious groups include Roman Catholics and United Protestants. Judaism was also widely practiced up until World War II.

The republic’s main sources of income are exports of natural gas, fishing, food processing, and some heavy industry such as shipbuilding using steel made of locally sourced iron ore. From a military standpoint, the Taviana SSR occupies an important strategic location in the Baltic Sea due to its proximity to major cities of NATO member states and their allies, such as Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, and the major West German port of Hamburg. The nuclear-capable 1007^th Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment has been stationed in the Taviana SSR since 1978. The republic has been a part of the PribVO – Baltic Military District (Cyrillic: ПрибВО - Прибалтийский военный округ, romanized: PribVO - Pribaltijskij voennyj okrug) since its admission into the USSR in 1946.

The name Taviana is thought to be derived from the Rustavi tribe, which settled on the archipelago in the 9^th century.

Human remains discovered at multiple sites on the islands dating as far back as 5000 BC show that the archipelago has been inhabited by humans since at least the Neolithic Period. Although no written evidence exists, artifacts belonging to the Gutes (a North Germanic tribe inhabiting the neighboring island of Gotland) have been uncovered, suggesting that the islands may have been (at least to some extent) inhabited by them at some point in time. Mystical islands on the Baltic Sea have also been mentioned in Finno-Ugric folklore, possibly referring to the Novistrana archipelago. Human remains and artifacts belonging to Baltic Prussian tribes have also been discovered at multiple sites along with quite a large amount of silver Arab dirham coins, indicating that the inhabitants of the islands likely engaged in trade with the Gutes or Rus' merchants which in turn traded with the Abbasid Caliphate.

In the 9^th century, a Slavic tribe named Rustavi settled on the archipelago which they referred to as Novistrana (“New Land”) (Cyrillic: Новистрана, romanized: Novistrana). The natives were eventually baptized and unified with the Slavs under the Old East Slavonic language. Although still spoken by a few elites, the Old Prussian language had become extinct on the islands by the 13^th century. A collection of local history and folklore was recorded in a book named Chronicles of Novistrana, written by explorer, philosopher, pedagogue, and theologian Slavomir Popov in the 9^th century.

The islands were frequently invaded by Vikings until the 11^th century. The Vikings had even set up a permanent settlement on the western shores of Lesh island but were eventually mostly driven out by King Lev who had a fortress built on the site of the settlement in 1070. The fortress went on to become the city now known as Bilgrad Na Moru, however, only the fortress walls have withstood the test of time and remain standing to this day.

In 1240, King Haakon IV of Norway attempted to conquer the kingdom by then known as the Kingdom of Rustavia, but was forced out one year later in the final battle that took place on the fields of Stari Bor (Cyrillic: Стари Бор, romanized: Stari Bor).

Chronicles of Taviana, National Museum, Sabina

During the period of the Black Death in Europe between 1348 and 1351, the Kingdom of Rustavia experienced a large influx of Jews fleeing persecution in the German lands where they were accused of poisoning wells. The Jews were welcomed by King Rudolf I which resulted in increased trade and prosperity in the kingdom.

In 1407 an invading army of Teutonic Knights was destroyed by King Rudolf II. A peace treaty was signed in 1408 with the Grandmaster of the Teutonic Knights.

The next two centuries, known as The Great Rustavia Renaissance, were peaceful and prosperous and saw a large influx of German merchants who settled in the kingdom and lived alongside the locals peacefully until The Great Ten Year War which took place between 1715 and 1725. This was an era in which the Kingdom of Rustavia was repeatedly invaded by Prussia. The last battle was fought in the fields surrounding present-day Solibor where, even though outnumbered 3 to 1, the Prussians were defeated by King Solibor thanks to his expert knowledge of the terrain which he was able to use to his advantage. King Solibor became known as The Great Savior of Rustavia (Cyrillic: Велики спасител Руставии, romanized: Veliki spasitel Rustavii).

However, even though triumphant, the kingdom was left severely weakened by the long conflict. Following King Solibor’s death of pneumonia in 1742 his only surviving son Wilhelm wrote to Catherine I, Empress of the Russian Empire, to negotiate annexation as he was convinced that the Prussians would attempt to invade once again in the near future. The kingdom was annexed two years later, and became known as the Novistrana governorate (Cyrillic: Новистранска губерния, romanized: Novistranska gubernija). A new fortress and eventually capital city was built in the north of Bukvats island and named Ekaterinburg in honor of the Russian empress. This period saw a large migration of ethnic Russians to the poorer, northern regions of the new governorate.

Shipyard workers protest, Branibor, 1905

Rapid industrialization in the 18^th century brought with it the socialist movement to the Novistrana governorate. The socialist movement blamed capitalism for the misery of the proletariat — a new social class that labored under often atrocious conditions in the newly built factories. The Worker's Party of Taviana (Cyrillic: Партия Рабочих Тавияни, romanized: Partija Rabočich Tavijani) was founded in the port city of Branibor in 1905 and organized its first strike in the shipyards that same year. The movement was superseded by the authorities, and members were forced to flee to remote northern parts of the governorate to escape persecution and imprisonment.

1917 saw the October Revolution in the Russian Empire which concluded with the Bolshevik establishment of the Russian Soviet Republic on the territory of the former Russian Empire. The Novistrana governorate rejected communism, and declared independence from the newly established republic on the 7^th of November 1917 as the Kingdom of Taviana (Cyrillic: Тавиянске Кралѥвство, romanized: Tavijanske Kraljevstvo). The capital city was moved from Ekaterinburg to Sabina which was the seat of King Solibor before the annexation. The city is also located further inland and surrounded by mountains that would act as a natural defense should a Bolshevik invasion take place. Frederick of Romanov, the former governor-general, was crowned King Frederick I and ruled the kingdom until 1944.

World War II was a very dark chapter in Taviana's history. The Kingdom of Taviana was invaded and occupied by Germany in 1940, and established as a puppet state which lasted until its liberation by the Red Army in 1944.

During the war, the islands saw little fighting as they were mainly used as an outpost by the 1^st Luftwaffe Field Division which was formed in mid-1942 in Königsberg, Eastern Prussia, out of surplus Luftwaffe ground crew. The division was intended to service airplanes providing support to the Kriegsmarine, whose job it was to protect shipping routes in the Baltic Sea through which iron ore, vital to Germany’s war industry, was supplied from Sweden. The majority of the 1^st Luftwaffe Field Division was later sent to Army Group North as part of the 18^th Army and stationed near Novgorod, Russia. The division was disbanded in 1944. The Kriegsmarine also used the islands as an outpost for refueling and servicing vessels.

Taviana People’s Republic Flag (1944 - 1946)

Taviana was liberated in 1944 by the 3^rd Belorussian Front of the Red Army during the Baltic strategic offensive commanded by Marshal Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Vasilevsky. King Frederick was accused of collaborating with the Nazis, deposed, and sent to the Gulag along with other members of the government where they perished.

The Worker's Party of Taviana was legitimized, unified with other socialist movements in the country, and renamed to the Communist Party of Taviana (CPT) (Cyrillic: Комунистическа Партия Тавияни, КПТ, romanized: Komunističeska Partija Tavijani, KPT). The former stock market building in Branibor was repurposed into the CPT headquarters, and the party's ideology was harmonized with that of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (KPSU). The Taviana People’s Republic (TPR) was established later that year. The TPR was admitted into the USSR in 1946, becoming the Taviana Soviet Socialist Republic (TSSR). A period of Sovietisation began, with the strengthening of the supervision of the CPT. Nationalization of all property, factories, and businesses followed. Collectivization of farms also began taking place which forced farmers to join kolkhozes (collective farms) or be exiled to Siberia. This deprived citizens of all property except personal belongings. Industrialization and urbanization followed to integrate the newly formed Taviana SSR into the Soviet Union's economic system.