Zaqistan, officially the Republic of Zaqistan, 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 ...
in
Box Elder County,
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, created in 2005 by self-declared president Zaq Landsberg.
The land has no residents or buildings on it, although Landsberg and volunteers have installed monuments and a
border patrol gate, and he refers to the money sent yearly to the
State of Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its we ...
for the property not as taxes but instead a "
tribute
A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...
" which he pays to maintain peaceful
foreign relations
A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through m ...
.
Its state department does not accept applications for citizenship, though previously it was granted for free to anyone who asked, with the option of a passport for a suggested fee of
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
50.
Landsberg, a sculptor who lives in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, won the land in an
eBay
eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...
auction for the minimum bid of $610 in July 2005.
Its size has been variously described as
and 4 acres.
The nearest town is
Montello, Nevada
Montello is a small desert village in Elko County, Nevada, United States. It is home to Montello Elementary School, which is part of the Elko County School District. The population of Montello was 50 as of the 2018 American Community Survey. T ...
, about away.
See also
*
List of micronations
Micronations, sometimes also referred to as ''model countries'' and ''new country projects'', are small, self-proclaimed entities that claim to be independent sovereign states but which are not acknowledged as such by any recognised sovereign st ...
References
Further reading
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External links
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*, upload by
KSL-TV
KSL-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is the Flagship (broadcasting), flagship television property of locally based Bonneville International, the for-profit bro ...
, September 2016, with exhibit at Central Utah Art Center
{{Micronations
Micronations in the United States
Box Elder County, Utah