Dear compatriots, service personnel of the Imperial Armed Forces and friends from abroad,

The year is one of the most basic concepts man has managed to understand and even though its duration is the same for all of us,  365 days, how we experience it and what meaning we give to it is different from person to person. For a child, it takes a full year to go from age 9 to age 10, a full year till next Christmas. For an adult, it may take a year to get a promotion in his job or 365 days till retirement and pension. For an older person, a year may mean waiting and hope that a health problem he can have will be cured. Regardless of the age, however, a new year always gives the opportunity for a new, fresh start in life, a start filled with optimism and opportunities.

In a few hours we are saying goodbye to 2014 as we slowly step in 2015, city after city, region after region, duchy after duchy, starting with St. Paul in east and finishing with Aetos in west. And as this happens, we all look back in the year that is slowly going away, remembering all those events that left their mark on 2014.

January 2014 welcomed us with a scandal of vandalism and islamophobia involving former citizen Hasan Çakar while soon afterwards we all saw Sebastian Schriber’s election as the President of what was then the Ashukov Federation and St. George’s annexation as a new federal territory a month later. In April, we celebrated both Gagarin Day for the first time and the establishment of the Orthodox Church of Ashukovo while in May, 9 days before Jacob Huff’s inauguration as the last President of the Federation, we celebrated Victory Day, the first out of three holidays in Ashukovo for this month – the other two being Slavic Culture and Constitution Days in 11th and 24th of May respectively. Constitution Day also coincided with the formation of a new cabinet under the oversight of Joseph Kennedy. In May 25 Ashukovo also celebrated its first birthday, a birthday many said we wouldn’t see, betting against Ashukovo’s survival for more than a year.

At the beginning of summer, in June, Ashukovo proudly organised the first annual Straight Pride festival in coordination with other nations. Later that month Ashukovo’s flag got rid of the coat of arms which made it look heavy, just a day before July, the most spoken-about month in Ashukovo’s past year. In that ‘month of promises’ our people were presented a government agenda with plans that for the most part didn’t become reality.

In August we saw the adaptation of a new anthem while we were also deeply saddened by the announcement that the other successor to the Amagerian Confederation, Hobartstown and Victoria, had dissolved. And soon starts the downfall for Ashukovo as well.

September was by far the worst month in 2014 for Ashukovo. Decline in activity and departures of individuals threatened the nation’s very existence. Thankfully, the solution was found a month later. After a referendum in the last plenary session of the Federal Assembly, it was decided that Ashukovo would become a Constitutional Monarchy, a Tsardom. It was then that I was personally honoured to be selected as Ashukovo’s first Monarch. And since then, Ashukovo’s slow yet effective rebuilding has begun with reforms in every sector possible in order to guarantee that the Nation will soon stand back on its feet and develop.

Many events also made headlines internationally. From the outbreak of the Ebola virus and the disappearance of flight MH370 to the Crimean crisis and the scandal around the release of Sony Pictures’ film The Interview, 2014 was a busy year for all.

And while we are refreshing our memory remembering all the events that marked the past year, we are also thinking about and trying to speculate what the new year has in stock for us. Though anything can happen in a personal level for all of us, when it comes to the Government, you shall all be reassured and know that the new year will only have a positive effect on the Nation. My Government and me will do our best so that Ashukovo reacquires any piece of glory it has lost. And that cannot happen without strong will, patriotism and your help; because you are Ashukovo. The Tsardom has the potential and I personally promise that in 2015 Ashukovo will become a leading micronational power and a role model for other nations.

So put on the best of your clothing, gather with friends and family and celebrate with me this entry into the New Year.

Happy New Year 2015, God bless you all and most importantly,

God bless Ashukovo.

Your Tsar,
Emmanuel the First.