Can a Country Exist for 8 Seconds?

There is a country that only existed for eight seconds, but that's not even the craziest part. Here are the top three countries that were the most short-lived. At number three, we have the Republic of Crimea. In 2014, Crimea tried to go solo with a big vote and declared independence. But before they could even settle, Russia stepped in and took over, and it became part of Russia again. This so-called new country only lasted a single day. At number two, this country even had an actual government and foreign relations. It's the Russian Democratic Federative Republic. After the czars were overthrown, the Russian Democratic Federative Republic was created. But before it could even get started, Lenin took over and ended it. This country only lasted six hours. But none of these are as short as the next one. There's this one country that's so short-lived, you can miss it in the blink of an eye. In 2017, the leader here announced a new country, but he paused the declaration to negotiate with the larger nation it was part of. That's how this country literally just lived for eight seconds, and it's the independent state of Catalonia.