
It’s not often that tourists get a close-up look at life inside a dictatorship.

But on a balmy day in Dayton, Nevada, the first tour group of the season sets foot on Molossian soil.

Their passports are examined at the border control desk, before being stamped and dated: ‘REPUBLIC OF MOLOSSIA. PASSPORT CONTROL’.

They venture past a booth where a rather sallow, sickly looking creature sits in khaki uniform with white gloves under the legend: customs.

Molossia is no average country: it is a micronation of 33 citizens (including a few dogs). There’s also a cat, but he hasn’t been honored with citizenship - because, according to the president, he’s a ‘constant source of irritation’ and is not to be trusted. The micronation is celebrating its 40th anniversary under the leadership of its irrepressible president, His Excellency Kevin Baugh – the man described by his wife as a ‘benevolent dictator’ who is escorting today’s tour.

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'Benevolent dictator': Kevin Baugh came up with the idea of forming a micronation with a high school friend in 1977 and is now the President of Molossia

The happy couple: Baugh and his wife, First Lady Adrianne, enjoy showing around visiting tourists

The roughly two-hour expedition takes them past The Tower of the Winds, a monument that includes decorative items and red lava gravel ‘dedicated to the wind and the desert and as a symbol of our nation,’ Molossia’s extensive website explains. There’s also Red Square – home to a post office, trading company and bar and grill – and Norton Park, a ‘tranquil garden where Molossians can relax and enjoy life.’

Molossia has its own currency, rules and identity – despite its geographical location in Nevada in the US.

The micronation was the brainchild of Baugh and his high school friend James Spielman, who in 1977 created their own country called the Grand Republic of Vuldstein after they watched the classic film The Mouse That Roared.

Spielman was proclaimed King and Baugh the Prime Minister of a kingdom - then in Portland, Oregon – and the pair drafted land charters and gave themselves power to make laws in which to govern themselves.

As they got older, Spielman moved on with his life, but Baugh was hooked - renaming the nation the Republic of Molossia and declaring himself the President. Now, 40 years later in the new location of Dayton County, Nevada, his Excellency loves the power that comes with owning his own country.

‘I love being dictator; it is fantastic but it is also intentional. When I remodelled Molossia, I chose to be a dictator,’ says Baugh, 54.

A micronation is a tiny self-declared sovereign country that is not officially recognized by the legitimate governments of the world. All across the globe, these small countries have populations ranging from 3 to 4000 to even over 25,000 as their inhabitants come together and establish their own governing rules.

The territory of Molossia includes five acres in both Northern and Southern California, but most of its dealings occur on the country’s home territory of 1.3 acres in Nevada. Baugh has enlisted most of his family; the Molossian citizens include his wife, the seven children they have between them, two grandchildren and other relatives – as well as animals.

Border line: While Baugh, center, and his wife and daughter geographically live in Nevada, Molossia is a self-declared sovereign country that is not officially recognized by the legitimate governments of the world

Baugh dresses in a custom uniform for events such as parades, wearing a sash in the colors of the country's flag, as well as medals, because he believes a proper dictator has to have the 'right look'

Tours of Molossia last around two hours; the micronation has already hosted 109 visitors this year but Baugh is hoping to surpass 200 to compete with the tiny Pacific nation of Nauru, which is the least visited country in the world

Main Street: Visitors are shown around the different Molossian buildings, from a post office and trading company to a tiki bar and grill and governor's house

‘At one point, 6 months ago, we had seven humans and five dogs and it was kind of crowded but we worked it all out,’ he says. ‘Everyone sort of found their spot and we sort of have some activity going on because we are a busy family.’

The remaining citizens are ‘expatriates’ living locally in neighboring cities throughout Nevada and occasionally coming back to visit their old home country.

‘It is not on our calendar, but Thanksgiving is very big for the greater Molossian family, so that’s when we see everyone,’ Baugh says.

Currently, Molossia is home to four humans – Baugh, First Lady Adrianne, and two of his youngest children– and four dogs.

But one member of the household doesn’t get to enjoy the benefits of being a fully-fledged citizen of Molossia.

‘The cat is not a citizen of the country because you can’t trust cats,’ Baugh says. ‘You never know where their loyalties lie and you always got to keep an eye out for them.

‘Plus our cat is a killer and he is not just catching mice but also rabbits, lizards and birds. I don’t care about the mice but I do care about him killing the rest, so he is a constant source of irritation.

‘But conversely, when I am out in the country doing various projects, he is also my number one companion. Everyone else is always doing something, but he is always right there.

‘I don’t know what to make of the cat but officially, nah, he can’t be trusted.’

Visitors to Molossia can get their passports stamped by the micronation's very own customs department

Molossia's First Lady Adrianne says that sometimes the parents of her children's friends will write up passports to let them spend the night in the micronation

Molossia is just one of many micronationsa cross the globe which have populations ranging from a few thousand to more than 25,000 whose inhabitants come together and establish their own governing rules.

President Baugh has spent years constructing various buildings on the property and says he would like to add a railroad and continue expanding his micronation

From one micronation to another: President Baugh poses with Gennedy Stoylyarov II, left, a Baron of the micronation of Sealand off the coast of England

He made the decision to change the name from Vuldstein to Molossia to make it sound less Germanic, he says - but he didn’t realize that ‘Molossia’ already belonged to another civilization.

‘Molossia in hindsight was kind of a mistake,’ says Baugh, who has worked as a training manager for the US National Guard for 21 years.

‘That was when the internet was new and I didn’t realize that you should probably do a little research before you choose a name.

‘I did discover that there was an ancient nation named Molossia, that no longer exist, but the Greeks don’t forget that type of stuff. I was going to do an interview with a Greek newspaper and they called at three in the morning and they were really belligerent about using the name Molossia.

‘After I did some research, I tried my best to respect Molossia and had some info on my website about the culture, but after that I just cut all that off and made no connection.’

‘So the official story - and this is by presidential decree, because I can decree it - is actually a play on the Hawaiian word Maluhia which means harmony or peace in the Hawaiian language. We are very fond of Hawaii.’

Baugh can decree whatever he wants because of Molossia’s government being a constitutional presidential republic - making him the military dictator. He says he didn’t take a more regal title because ‘I’ve never had a royal feel for myself.

‘There are a zillion micronations, and there are so many dukes and princes and kings and queens, but I’ve never been the royal type.’

He says: ‘When I remodelled Molossia, I chose to be a dictator.

‘Some of that is to poke fun at all the third world dictators that the US was propping up in the 70s and 80s.’

Welcome, friends! President Baugh enjoys sharing stories of Molossia and its rules and attends conferences with the leaders of other micronations

Decorated: Baugh wears a variety of medals, most of which he awarded to himself

But his dictatorship is not marked by the negativity usually equated with such regimes, says his wife and First Lady Adrianne.

‘Not all dictatorships are a bad thing,’ she says. ‘We have a very fair and benevolent dictator. I do tease him that I am going to secede and that I am going to change the flag to pink and purple and glitter just to rile him up.’

The current flag is blue for the sky, white for the mountains and green for the desert – and is the same as that of Sierra Leone, except upside down. It is flown every day in front of the governor’s house, a 1300 sq ft building in Molossia that is the only structure dedicated to living.

‘I’m very dedicated to making sure the flag is always going. We have a lot of drive by visitors so I want to make sure the flag is up when they come by,’ Baugh says.

Baugh wears a special uniform to most formal occasions, parades and tours that his family gives of their land. He dons flashy white jackets with a sash of the country’s flag, a hat with the national crest on it and a variety of medals, most of which Baugh awarded to himself. The national crest consists of the country’s national animal, the wild horse – as well as an image of the sun, since Molossia is in the west, and the old crown of the Kingdom of Vuldstein.

The territory of Molossia includes five acres in both Northern and Southern California, but most of its dealings occur on the country’s home territory of 1.3 acres in Nevada

Molossia includes a Tower of the Winds, a monument that includes decorative items and red lava gravel ‘dedicated to the wind and the desert and as a symbol of our nation’

One for the album: Baugh, dressed in regular clothes and not his 'official' uniform, poses on the border between the United States and the Republic of Molossia

Baugh says he and the citizens of Molossia are 'constantly trying to improve' and 'just seeing where our imagination can take' his beloved micronation

Baugh has devised strict rules and governing policies for the micronation he has ruled for decades

First Lady Adrianne is much more casual when giving tours but models gowns and a tiara when out at higher caliber events.

‘A dictator needs to have a decent looking uniform and because it is a military dictatorship, you have to have a good look,’ Baugh says. ‘A lot of these kings just go around in suits and that’s boring. You got to have the right look. It is all about the look.’

President Baugh loves showing around tourists, who can go to the country’s post office and buy stamps, visit the trading company to buy t-shirts and other Molossian paraphernalia, grab a drink at the tiki bar and grill and even stop by the Molossian bank for the national currency Valora – chocolate chip cookie dough and poker chip coins.

‘Last year we got 101 tourists,’ says Baugh, who loves the tourists dollars that come in to help Molossia, which he has deemed a ‘third world country’.

‘I was shooting for 200 because I am in a competition with the tiny island nation of Nauru which is out in the western Pacific and they are the least visited country on earth.’

‘It would be super cool to beat an established UN nation.’

And they're well on their way; the tourist season this year has already beaten last year's total, with 109 visitors touring Molossia before the Fourth of July.

President Baugh married First Lady Adrianne in 2011 after they met on a dating site; she shares his enthusiasm for Molossia

The most recent micronation conference happened in June in the state of Georgia; Baugh says he is fascinated by the diversity of the tiny sovereign states across the globe

The increase of visitors in Dayton County means more money not just for Molossia but also for the country’s American neighbors.

‘They like us because we bring tourists in. People come from all over the world to see Molossia and who doesn’t like tourists’ dollars?’ he asks.

‘After they visit our country, they are going to want to go somewhere and have lunch.

‘They (neighbors) do like us and we get published on their website every so often.’

The Baugh family advertises their nation with a website and participation in two local Nevada parades, one of which is in Carson City. Walking alongside gymnastic troupes and local celebrities of Nevada, they get to showcase their small country to thousands every year.

While most years are pleasant for the small country, the President noted that there were Trump supporters who weren’t fans of his family’s ingenuity.

‘There are a slice of people who don’t get it,’ he says.

‘But we do get questions about if there is ever any pushback - and the reality is no, because the people who might have that problem, they don’t get it, so they don’t see it.

‘It is invisible to them; the idea of a guy dressing up and having his own country doesn’t make sense to them so they just tune it out completely.’

First Lady Adrianne says she studied 500 pages of information before she began giving tours so she would know all the answers for visitors

Only one building in Molossia is designed for living, while others offer visitors a chance to buy souvenirs or food

First Lady Adrianne often dresses casually while giving tours but wears gowns and a tiara for more important occasions

Molossian citizens can sometimes be found playing broomball, which has few rules, on a rock strewn dirt patch called the Alphonse Simms Memorial Cosmodrome and Broomball Field

The national animal of Molossia is a mustang, which is also featured on the national crest, along with an image of the sun and a crown

The idea of Molossia was also not very popular with Baugh’s first wife, according to First Lady Adrianne.

‘She didn’t even want a sign in the yard,’ says the 38-year-old, who married his Excellency in 2011.

‘From the two years that they stopped being together and he met me, he put in a couple of buildings and he had done a few things and he put himself into it, but I think he was still not sure.

‘Then when I became involved and this has become so much fun.’

The former preschool teacher met her soon-to-be husband on the dating site Cupid.com. They would embark on a whirlwind romance; on their first date, Baugh asked her to be his girlfriend.

Adrianne says: ‘I was like, I don’t know if people do that anymore, but I loved that you asked me, so yes.

‘Shortly after, not even two weeks after, he asked me to be his first lady and I was like “ok.”

‘We didn’t tell anybody that we were going to be together.

‘So he wanted me to be with him on the next tour, and so I was a little bit freaked out because you have been doing this for all these years and I had to study this 500-page website and know all the answers for that weekend.’

Mrs Baugh has been a lot more influential in establishing great relations with both local US leaders and other micro nations.

The mother-of-four personalizes earrings with the color of the Molossian flag for special guests to the country and ran the nation’s Twitter up until President Baugh took it over.

Adrianne, who now works as a marketing manager at a local casino, has also been influential in getting the community involved with the growth of Molossia.

‘Some of the kids’ parents who I was friends with before also kind of embraced it – like, “Ok, I’m writing up Gabe a Passport to come out and stay the night,”’ she says.

The Molossian rail road is a little smaller than its visitors may have anticipated, though President Baugh hopes to build a larger model for visitors

The trading post: Molossia relies on the tourist dollar as much as any other visitor's destination - although the national currency of the micronation is chocolate chip cookie dough and poker chip coins

Tourists can purchase t-shirts and other branded Molossia souvenirs after visit to the tiny sovereign nation in the desert

President Baugh has labeled Molossia a 'third world country,' so tourist dollars are happily welcomed in his micronation

The relationship between Molossia and the surrounding areas extends beyond tourism and parades, as Baugh and his family shop for groceries in ‘America’ but they call the purchased items ‘imports’.

He says: ‘We are importing a lot. Our number one export is garbage and then children. They go to school over in the US.

‘We have to go to the US fairly often because we don’t have any natural resources besides dirt.’

Claiming dual citizenship, those in the Baugh family who are of age do participate in local and national American elections along with paying taxes.

‘We aren’t trying to cause any problems, so as far as they are concerned we are US citizens,’ says Baugh.

‘From a US perspective, Molossia doesn’t exist. It is just an art project in somebody’s yard. As long as we pay our taxes, which we call foreign aid, then they leave us alone.

‘We do vote in local and presidential elections because it is important to participate in the political process. We’d like to have a say in who is running the county.’

Diplomatically, Baugh claims that Molossia reaches out to other countries but that most don’t pay him any attention.

His Excellency has also been influential in the micronation community, helping establish MicroCon in 2015 to help bring many ‘countries’ together.

‘We met down in Anaheim and we had micronationalists from all over the United States and mostly Canada,’ he says.

They convened just this week in Georgia, and Baugh hopes to encourage a gathering in Canada.

‘It is nice to see what other people do for their micronations,’ he says.

He’s amazed at the variety of micronations; King Montague of the Kingdom of Calshara, for example, has a long-standing relationship with Molossia and has land in Los Angeles, Pennsylvania and even supposedly in Antartica. Others have little to no land at all.

‘One of my favorites is the young lady whose entire micronation is a rock that is about 8 inches long,’ he says of micro leader Carol Lynn.

‘She carries it around in a box and when you want to see her country … she can point to the highest part of her country and it is right there on the rock.’

Molossia doesn’t have peaceful relations with all countries, however, including those no longer in existence. For the past 34 years, President Baugh has been at war with East Germany.

‘I was stationed in Europe and of course one of those things that you have to do when sitting on the front lines is that you would have to jump in your tanks in the middle of the night and get in forward position to get ready to oppose the communist hoards,’ says Baugh, who served as medic in Stuttgart, Germany in 1983.

‘Fortunately, the communist forces never showed up - but they woke me up a couple too many times, and at the time I was the Prime Minister of Vuldstein - and so I declared war on East Germany, which was the closest east place to where we were stationed.’

Molossia includes a place called Red Square – home to a post office, trading company and bar and grill – and Norton Park, a ‘tranquil garden where Molossians can relax and enjoy life’

Baugh's attention to detail even includes a customs officer - though he isn't able to say much to tourists

Molossia's currency is called Valora - abbreviated as VL - and even includes specially printed paper bills

Some Valora bills feature pictures of President Baugh, while the poker chips are also specialized in the micronation

President Baugh says that he chose to be a dictator and it is 'fantastic;' he did not give himself a more regal title because ‘I’ve never had a royal feel for myself'

Molossia’s citizens love making movies at what they call ‘Mollywood’ - as well as running a monthly newsletter that details everything happening, along with their very own radio program

Baugh would eventually forget about the declaration document until he stumbled across it nine years ago. He thought the country was no longer in existence until he did some research online.

He says: ‘In the 1970s, an island off the coast of Cuba was given to East Germany by Fidel Castro, basically making it a territory of East Germany.

‘And it may be just in name, but when the reunification happened in 1991, the island wasn’t discussed - so technically that island still belongs to the island of East Germany.’

‘In fact it is literally the nation of East Germany - and because it is still there, we are still at war. And because there is no one to engage in peace, because it is uninhabited land off the coast of Cuba except some marine iguanas, there is no one else there - and so we are still at war and probably will be forever.

Baugh doesn’t plan on sailing to Ernst Thälmann Island to engage in warfare any time soon, calling the whole ordeal ‘political satire’, but he does sell war bonds for the long war online. And he imagines any micronational warfare would not exactly involve physical violence.

‘Micronationalists tend to be much younger, like in their teens, and for some reason teen boys tend to be obsessed with war,’ he says.

‘As soon as they start their micronation, they immediately think about who they can go to war with.

‘If you are a kid in Baltimore and you are having problems with someone in Amarillo, you can’t just roll up on them in a tank.

‘So what the war winds up being is spamming his inbox and crashing his Facebook.’

Baugh, in fact, has already tested the waters of micronational warfare – going to ‘battle’ against Sultan Ali-Ali Achsenfree of Mustachistan in 2006.

‘Ali-Ali is a real person, but his name is Tony and he works in my office, maybe 40 feet from me,’ Baugh says.

‘We put a toupee on his head and gave him a mustache, goatee and a little vest and he was good to go.’

‘Basically me and my sons dressed up as Mustachistanis and filmed ourselves shooting and then we dressed up as Molossians and filmed ourselves shooting back.’

President Baugh says Molossia's 'number one export is garbage and then children. They go to school over in the US'

President Baugh and Molossia’s citizens love making movies at what they call ‘Mollywood’. They run a monthly newsletter that details everything happening, along with their very own Molossian radio program.

For the Molossians, constantly improving their territory is a project they seemingly enjoy. But that is hard when money is tight and the US doesn’t take cookie dough for payment.

‘Micronationalists very rarely have any money. It is not one of those hobbies where you make money,’ he says.

‘I use the word hobby just because that is the best way to describe it. They may say they are a king, but in reality their budgets are a little bit different.’

But that doesn’t stop the proud ruler from enjoying the fruits of his labor.

‘We have a good time with our country,’ says Baugh. ‘We have a lot of fun with the idea of having our own country within the US and we like to laugh and enjoy ourselves.’

They celebrated the 40th anniversary of Molossia on Founder’s Day on May 27 – welcoming more than 50 people to the micronation for a tour, barbecue, music and, of course, a speech by His Excellency himself.

‘With it being our 40th anniversary we have done a lot over the last four decades - especially over the last two decades since we went online,’ he says.

The dictator has big plans for his small country. He wants to build a railroad for visitors and wants to switch almost entirely to solar power so that Molossia isn’t on the US power grid.

‘It is not a survivalist type thing, but more of a way for us to establish ourselves,’ Baugh says.

‘We are constantly trying to improve. Just seeing where our imagination can take Molossia.’

Molossia also includes a cemetery, where pets are buried; the micronation currently has six dog citizens, although its president refuses to grant citizenship to the resident cat