Vanev (sometimes styled as VANEV) is an international organisation that was set up in 1991 shortly after dissidents fleeing oppression in East Asia fled to Novaya Zemlya and established the Novaya Zemlya Free Republic. The Free Republic was contacted by liberal organisations from North America, Oceania and Africa, seeking press freedom and democracy. The member states of Vanev are mostly small nations otherwise considered insignificant. Vanev provides them with technology and military forces.