The State of Kostroman is a gargantuan, orderly nation, ruled by the Governor with an iron fist, and renowned for its state-planned economy, restrictive gun laws, and stringent health and safety legislation. The cynical population of 11.247 billion Kostromanians are ruled without fear or favor by a psychotic dictator, who outlaws just about everything and refers to the populace as "my little playthings."

The large, moralistic, socially-minded, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Defense, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Columbia Heights. The average income tax rate is 48.2%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The large but stagnant Kostromanian economy, worth 100 trillion betales a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a slick, highly efficient, quite specialized black market in Trout Farming, Information Technology, Basket Weaving, and Gambling. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is 8,925 betales, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

All major public areas are watched by police surveillance cameras, Harry Potter books are banned, Kostroman has designated Columbia Heights as its capital city, and The Governor has just been declared ruler of Kostroman in an international press conference. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Kostroman's national animal is the deer, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Kostroman is ranked 60,173^rd in the world and 1^st in Kostroma Oblast for Most Corrupt Governments, with 30.34 kickbacks per hour.