Republic of Molossia

Molossia, officially the Republic of Molossia, is a micronation claiming sovereignty over 1.3 acre of land near Dayton, Nevada. The micronation has not received recognition from any of the 193 member states of the United Nations. 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 United States 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, and also claims influence from his time in the military. Earlier, it was known as the Grand Republic of Vuldstein where Kevin Baugh was the Prime Minister and his friend, James Speilam, was declared King James I. It went through several government and name changes, including the People's Democratic Republic of Molossia (Communist), Kingdom of Zaira and the United Provinces of Utopia.

The Republic of Molossia claims to be at war with the former state of East Germany, alleging that they are responsible for military drills performed by Kevin Baugh while stationed with the U.S. military in West Germany, and therefore are also responsible for his 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, Molossia argues that Ernst Thälmann Island, dedicated by Fidel Castro to Weimar German politician Ernst Thälmann 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 drink
The signature drink of Molossia is called the Molossolini, a non-alcoholic mixed drink of Sprite, grenadine, and pineapple juice, with added cherries and slices of banana, orange, and pineapple.

In popular culture
In 2010, the Republic of Molossia was featured in a feature-length special by Channel Awesome called Kickassia, with Baugh playing a fictional version of himself. In the film, the Republic undergoes an invasion by the Nostalgia Critic (played by Doug Walker) and his posse of reviewers, who briefly took over Molossia with a dictatorship "Kickassia" before being ousted two days later. The official website for the Republic of Molossia treats the events of the film as factual.

Currency
The Valora (issued by the Bank of Molossia) is divided into 100 Futtrus and denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and coins in 1, 5, 10, 30 (plastic); it has an exchange rate of 0.80. The Valora is also valued to Pillsbury Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough with one tube of cookie dough (13 Ba / 30 oz) being equal to 5 Valora.