Novaya Zemlya Free Republic

Republic consisting of most of Novaya Zemlya. People started migrating to the previously uninhabited island in 1989, fleeing political instability in the Soviet Union, East Asian Federation, Yarphei and other nearby states, and soon many political dissidents from Asia and even outside at least visited Novaya Zemlya. The Republic declared itself independent in 1990; the Soviet Union provided little resistance, having not regarded the island as more than a barren reserve. Vanev was formed in 1991 on the island after other nations expressed interest in the free speech/protest movement which had settled in the Republic.