The Republic of Molossia, also known as Molossia (), is a

micronation A micronation is a political entity whose members claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by world governments or major international organizations. Micronations are classified ...

claiming sovereignty over of land near

Dayton, Nevada Dayton is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lyon County, Nevada, United States. The population was 15,153 at the 2020 census. Dayton is the first Nevada settlement and home to the oldest hotel in Nevada. History ...

. The micronation has not received recognition from any of the member states of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

. It was founded by Kevin Baugh. He continues to pay property taxes on the land to Storey County (the recognized local government), although he calls it " foreign aid". He has stated "We all want to think we have our own country, but you know the U.S. is a lot bigger".

History

Molossia started as a teenage dream of Kevin Baugh, and began, as the Kingdom of Molossia, in 1998 when he bought land in Nevada. Baugh has claimed that he based the idea of Molossia on the film ''

The Mouse That Roared ''The Mouse That Roared'' is a 1955 satirical novel by Irish-American writer Leonard Wibberley, which launched a series of satirical books about an imaginary country in Europe called the Duchy of Grand Fenwick. Wibberley used the premise to m ...

,'' and also claims influence from his time in the military.

Geography and climate

The Republic of Molossia is situated in the Great Basin, the largest arid region in North America. It lies at an elevation of . The terrain consists of dry, rocky or sandy soil. Molossia is situated in the Dayton Valley, near the Carson River. The area occupied by Molossia experiences a dry-summer or Mediterranean climate. The average temperature for the year in Molossia is . The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of .

Military history

Ongoing

The Republic of Molossia claims to be at war with

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, alleging that they are responsible for military drills performed by Kevin Baugh while stationed with the

United States Military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is th ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, and therefore are also responsible for the resulting diagnosis of sleep deprivation. While East Germany formally ceased to exist in 1990 following the

Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany (german: Vertrag über die abschließende Regelung in Bezug auf Deutschland; rus, Договор об окончательном урегулировании в отношении Ге� ...

, Molossia argues that

Ernst Thälmann Island The Ernst Thälmann Island ( es, Cayo Ernesto Thaelmann or ; german: Ernst-Thälmann-Insel or ) is a long and island in the Gulf of Cazones that is named after Ernst Thälmann, a German communist politician. During a 1970s state visit to the ...

, dedicated by Fidel Castro to Weimar German politician

Ernst Thälmann Ernst Johannes Fritz Thälmann (; 16 April 1886 – 18 August 1944) was a German communist politician, and leader of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) from 1925 to 1933. A committed Marxist-Leninist and Stalinist, Thälmann played a major r ...

and given to East Germany, as well as its lack of mention in the Treaty on the Final Settlement or by the nation of Cuba, is therefore still East German land, allowing the war to continue.

National anthem

Molossia has changed its national anthem twice. The first anthem was based on the Romanian patriotic song "

Pe-al nostru steag e scris Unire "Pe-al nostru steag e scris Unire" () is a Romanian patriotic song dedicated to the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia established in 1859. The text was written by and the music was composed by Ciprian Porumbescu in 1880. Its tune ...

," which was named "Molossia, Nation in the Desert." In 2014, the anthem was changed again to the music of "

La Zaïroise "" (French for "The Zairian") was the national anthem of Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is n ...

" (the national anthem of

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

) and was renamed to "Fair Molossia is Our Home" to mark the 15th anniversary of its independence.

National symbols

Molossia's flag is a horizontal tricolor flag of blue, white, and green. The blue bar represents the nation's strength and the desert sky, the white bar represents purity and the surrounding mountains, and the green bar represents prosperity and the Molossian landscape. To save on costs of producing custom-made flags, Molossia typically uses upside-down flags of Sierra Leone. Other national symbols of Molossia include the

mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once- domesticated animals, the ...

, the national animal; the desert quail, the national bird; and the

common juniper ''Juniperus communis'', the common juniper, is a species of small tree or shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae. An evergreen conifer, it has the largest geographical range of any woody plant, with a circumpolar distribution throughout the c ...

and common sagebrush, Molossia's national tree and flower, respectively. It is the origin of the Molossolini, a

non-alcoholic mixed drink A non-alcoholic mixed drink (also known as virgin cocktail, temperance drink, or mocktail) is a cocktail-style beverage made without alcoholic ingredients. Also called "zero proof" drinks, the non-alcoholic drink dates back to the earliest days ...

of Sprite,

grenadine Grenadine is a commonly used nonalcoholic bar syrup characterized by its deep red color. It is a popular cocktail ingredient renowned for its flavor as well as its ability to give a reddish or pink tint to mixed drinks. Grenadine is traditiona ...

, and

pineapple juice Pineapple juice is a liquid made from pressing the natural liquid from the pulp of the pineapple (a fruit from a tropical plant). Numerous pineapple varieties may be used to manufacture commercial pineapple juice, the most common of which are ...

, with added cherries and slices of banana,

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

, and

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

In popular culture

In 2010, the Republic of Molossia was featured in a feature-length special by

Channel Awesome Channel Awesome, Inc. is an American online media production company based in Lombard, Illinois. The company was created in 2008 by Mike Michaud, Mike Ellis, and Bhargav Dronamraju. Channel Awesome operated the ''That Guy with the Glasses'' ...

called ''Kickassia''. In the film, the Republic undergoes an invasion by the Nostalgia Critic (played by Doug Walker) and his posse of reviewers, who briefly replace Molossia with "Kickassia" before being ousted.

Footnotes

Notes

References

External links

* * *
The Republic of Molossia @ YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Molossia 1999 establishments in Nevada Micronations in the United States States and territories established in 1999 History of Nevada Geography of Nevada Storey County, Nevada Micronations