Serbia: Difference between revisions

The Republic of Serbia (Serbian: Република Србија or Republika Srbija) is a republic in southeastern and central Europe, which is united with Montenegro in a loose commonwealth known as the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. The capital is Belgrade. Serbia borders Hungary to the north; Romania and Bulgaria to the east; the Republic of Macedonia and Albania to the south; and Montenegro, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina to the west.

History

The roots of the Serbian state reach back to the 7th century and the House of Vlastimirović. The Serbian kingdom (centered around Duklja) was established in the 11th century. Marked by a disintegration and crises, it lasted until the end of 12th century.

The renewal of the medieval Serbian state in the Raška region was performed by Stefan Nemanja, the Serbian Grand Župan who lived in the 12th century. In 1220, under Stefan the First Crowned, Serbia became a kingdom, and in 1346, an empire under Stefan Dušan was established. The Empire was disintegrated and fell to the Ottoman Turks, after the historic Serbian defeat at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, and the northern Serbian territories (the Serbian Despotate) were conquered by 1459, when Smederevo fell. Bosnia fell a few years after Smederevo, and Herzegovina followed in 1482.

In the period between 1459 and 1804, Serbia remained under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, despite three Austrian invasions and numerous rebellions. Islam expanded during this time, and many Serbs converted to this new religion.

File:Karadjordje.jpg

Karađorđe Petrović, leader of the First Serbian uprising in 1804

The First Serbian Uprising of 1804-1813, lead by Đorđe Petrović (also known as Karađorđe or Black George), and the Second Serbian Uprising of 1815 resulted in the establishment of the Principality of Serbia which was semi-independent from the Ottoman Empire, and the formation of modern Serbia.

From 1815 to 1903, the Serbian state was ruled by the House of Obrenović, with a break in the period from 1842 to 1858, when Serbia was ruled by Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević. In 1903, the House of Obrenović was permanently replaced by the House of Karađorđević, descended from Đorđe Petrović.

The struggle for a modern society, human rights and a nation state lasted almost three decades and was completed with the adoption of the constitution on 15th February 1835. In 1876, Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia declared war against the Ottoman Empire and proclaimed their unification. However, the Treaty of Berlin of 1878, which was agreed at the Congress of Berlin by the Great Powers, granted complete independence only to Serbia and Montenegro, leaving Bosnia and Raška to Austria-Hungary, which blocked their unification until the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913, and WWI (1914-1918).

The June 28, 1914 assassination of Austrian Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand at Sarejevo by Serbian Nationalist within the Austria-Hungary Empire served as a pretext for Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia. This started a chain of events where Russia started to mobilise its troops in defence of its ally Serbia and then Germany declaring war on Russia in support of its ally Austria-Hungary. This culminated eventually into all the major European powers going to war. The Serbian Army won several major victories during World War I, but it was finally overpowered by the joint forces of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria. In World War I, Serbia had 1,264,000 casualties — 28% of its population, which also represented 58% of its male population.

After 1918, Serbia, along with Montenegro, was a founding member of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later known as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During World War II, from 1941 to 1944, Serbia was a German-occupied puppet state that included present-day Central Serbia and Banat. However, parts of the present-day territory of Serbia were during this time under occupation of Croatian, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Albanian, and Italian fascists. The occupying powers committed numerous crimes against the civilian population, especially against Serbs and Jews.

In 1945, after World War II, Serbia was established as one of the federal units of the second Yugoslavia, the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia.

From 1992, after the collapse of the second Yugoslavia, to 2003, Serbia, together with Montenegro, was part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Despite the civil wars in neighbouring Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia remained peaceful until 1998, although part of its leadership and institutions supported Bosnian and Croatian Serbs who were one of the sides in these wars by arming and directing their troops.

Between 1998 and 1999, continued reported clashes in Kosovo between Serbian and Yugoslav security forces and the K.L.A in most of the western media led to NATO aerial bombardment, which would last for 78 days. The attacks were stopped following an agreement, where president of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milošević, agreed to remove all of country security forces including the military and the police, and have them replaced by a body of international police, in return for which, Kosovo would formally remain within the Yugoslav Federation (See: Kosovo War).

Since 2003, Serbia has been part of the State Union of Serbia & Montenegro, into which the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was transformed.

Geography

File:ZlatiborZimi.jpg

Zlatibor tourist center

Serbia is located in the Balkans (a historically and geographically distinct region of southeastern Europe) and in the Pannonian Plain (a region of central Europe). It shares borders with Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, the Republic of Macedonia, and Romania. Serbia is landlocked, although access to the Adriatic is available through neighbouring Montenegro, and the Danube River provides shipping access to inland Europe and the Black Sea.

Serbia's terrain ranges from the rich, fertile plains of the northern Vojvodina region, limestone ranges and basins in the east, and, in the southeast, ancient mountains and hills. The north is dominated by the Danube River. A tributary, the Morava River, flows through the more mountainous southern regions.

The Serbian climate varies between a continental climate in the north, with cold winters, and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall patterns, and a more Adriatic climate in the south with hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall inland.

Administrative subdivisions

Serbia is divided into 29 districts (5 of which are in Kosovo, outside of central government administration) and the city of Belgrade. The districts are further divided into 108 municipalities. It has two autonomous provinces: Kosovo and Metohija* in the south (with 30 municipalities), which is presently under the administration of the United Nations, and Vojvodina in the north (with 54 municipalities).

The part of Serbia that is neither in Kosovo nor in Vojvodina is called Central Serbia. Central Serbia is not an administrative division (unlike the two autonomous provinces), and it has no regional government of its own. In English this region is often called "Serbia proper" to denote "the part of the Republic of Serbia not including the provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo", as the Library of Congress puts it [1]. This usage was apparently also employed in Serbo-Croatian during the Yugoslav era (in the form of "uža Srbija" literally: narrow Serbia). Its use in English is purely geographical without any particular political meaning being implied.

Politics

On 4 February 2003 the parliament of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia agreed to a weaker form of cooperation between Serbia and Montenegro within a commonwealth called Serbia and Montenegro.

After the fall of Slobodan Milošević on 5 October 2000, the country was governed by the Democratic Opposition of Serbia. Tensions gradually increased within the coalition until the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) left the government, leaving the Democratic Party (DS) in overall control. Nevertheless, in 2004 the DSS gathered enough support to form the new Government of Serbia, together with G17 Plus and coalition SPO-NS, and the support of the Socialist Party of Serbia. The Prime Minister of Serbia is Vojislav Koštunica, leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia.

The current President of Serbia is Boris Tadić, leader of the Democratic Party (DS). He was elected with 53% of the vote in the second round of the Serbian presidential election held on 27 June 2004, following several unsuccessful elections since 2002.

The current Prime Minister of the Government of Serbia, as of March 2004, is the former Yugoslav president, Vojislav Koštunica, who replaced Slobodan Milošević as Yugoslav president in October of 2000. The government is formed around the of national conservative party DSS, with G17Plus, SPO-NS and is supported by the Milosevic Socialists (SPS), who do not take part in the government, but in exchange for the support hold minor government and justice positions and influence policies.

Laws concerning the state union must be approved by the Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro, while bills concerning only Serbia are submitted to the National Assembly of Serbia.

Economy

Central Serbia and Vojvodina

Gross Domestic Product
Real GDP PPP: $28.37 Billion (2005)
Real GDP Per Capita - PPP: $2600 (2005) (Source: CIA [2])
Real GDP - exchange rate conversion: $22.73 Billion (2005)*
Real GDP Per Capita - nominal: 3200 (2005)
Real GDP growth rate 2005: 6.3% (Source: Serbian Government [3])

Other statistics (in detail on economy page)
Industrial production growth rate: 7.1% (2004), 1.3% (2005)
Unemployment rate: 20.0% (2005) (31.6% with Kosovo)
Inflation: 15.5% (2005)
Foreign debt: $15.43 Billion (2005)
Direct foreign investment received for 2005: $1 481 Million (Source: NBS [4])

Communications

Transportation

Serbia, in particular the valley of the Morava, is often described as "the crossroads between East and West", which is one of the primary reasons for its turbulent history. The Morava valley route, which avoids mountainous regions, is by far the easiest way of travelling overland from continental Europe to Greece and Asia Minor.

European routes E65, E70, E75 and E80, as well as the E662, E761, E762, E763, E771, and E851 pass through the country. The E70 westwards from Belgrade and most of the E75 are modern highways of motorway / autobahn standard or close to that.

The Danube River, central Europe's connection to the Black Sea, flows through Serbia.

There are three international airports in Serbia: Belgrade, Priština, and the newly rebuilt Niš airport.

The national carrier is Jat Airways and the railway system is operated by Beovoz in Belgrade and by ZTP Yugoslavia on the national level.

Demographics

File:Slovaci u Srbiji.jpg

Slovaks in Serbia during a traditional dance

Serbia is populated mostly by Serbs. Significant minorities include Albanians (who are a majority in the province of Kosovo-Metohia), Hungarians, Muslims (as a nationality), Bosniaks, Roma, Croats, Slovaks, Bulgarians, Romanians, etc. Serbia consists of three territories: the province of Kosovo and Metohia, the province of Vojvodina and Central Serbia (Serbian Cyrillic: Централна Србија, Serbian Latin: Centralna Srbija, English: Central Serbia. Note: The English language sometimes uses the varieties such are "Serbia proper" or "Narrower Serbia"). The two provinces are ethnically diverse, which is a result of the division of the country between the Muslim Ottoman Empire in the south and Catholic Austro-Hungarian Empire in the north.

The northern province of Vojvodina is the most developed part of the country in terms of economic strength. Together with the former Yugoslav republics of Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vojvodina was under the administration of Austria-Hungary before the First World War. Vojvodina is one of the most ethnically diverse territories in Europe, with more than 25 different national communities. According to the last completed census (2002), the province has a population of about 2 million, of which: Serbs 65%, Hungarians 14.3%, Slovaks 2.79%, Croats 2.78%, undeclared 2.71%, Yugoslavs 2.45%, Montenegrins 1.75%, Romanians 1.50%, Roma 1.43%, Bunjevci 0.97%, Ruthenians 0.77%, Macedonians 0.58%, regional affiliation 0.50%, Ukrainians 0.23%, others (Albanians, Slovenians, Germans, Poles, Chinese etc).

Population statistics of Serbia (Estimate May 2005)

Serbia (total): 9,396,411
- Vojvodina: 2,116,725
- Central Serbia: 5,479,686
- Kosovo and Metohija: 1,800,000

Cities

File:Subotica city hall.jpg

Subotica city hall, Vojvodina

Major cities (over 100,000 inhabitants) - 2002 data, for Kosovo and Metohija current UNMIK estimates (unofficial) :

Beograd (Belgrade): 1,119,642 (inner city area); 1,576,124 (wider city area)
Novi Sad: 216,583 (299,294 metro)
Priština: 200,000 (2002 estimation)
Niš: 173,724 (235,159 metro)
Kragujevac: 146,373 (175,802 metro)
Prizren: 121,000 (2002 estimation)
Subotica: 99,981 (148,401 metro)

Serbian holidays

**Holidays**
Date	Name	Notes
January 1	New Year's Day
January 7	Orthodox Christmas
January 14	National Holiday (Orthodox New Year)	"Српска Нова Година" "Srpska Nova Godina"
January 27	Saint Sava's feast Day	Day of Spirituality
February 15	Sretenje	Serbian National Day
April 21	Orthodox Good Friday	Date for 2006 only
April 23	Orthodox Easter	Date for 2006 only
April 24	Orthodox Easter Monday	Date for 2006 only
April 27	Constitution Day
May 1	Labour Day
May 9	Victory Day
June 28	Vidovdan (Martyr's Day)	In memory of soldiers fallen at the Battle of Kosovo

Culture

Sport

Miscellaneous

On August 17 2004 the National Assembly of Serbia adopted Bože Pravde as the country's anthem.
In addition, the Obrenović royal coat of arms now replaces the Coat of Arms of Serbia adopted after World War II. It was first used in the 19th century. The arms are those of the royal Obrenović dynasty; they are used in two versions, the large (pictured) and small (just the central shield with eagle and crown surmounting). Use of these arms is 'recommended' which means that the coat of arms is not yet official. It will become so if adoption of the Obrenović arms is approved by more than 50% of the voters in a constitutional referendum.
1564 Srbija Asteroid is discovered by Milorad B. Protić and named after Serbia.
Serbia grows about one-third of the world's raspberries.
Serbian industries: machine building (aircraft, trucks, and automobiles; tanks and weapons; electrical equipment; agricultural machinery); metallurgy (steel, aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, chromium, antimony, bismuth, cadmium); mining (coal, bauxite, nonferrous ore, iron ore, limestone); consumer goods (textiles, footwear, foodstuffs, appliances); electronics, petroleum products, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals (CIA Fact Book 2006)

Gallery

Temple of Saint Sava, Belgrade
Kalemegdan, Belgrade

Kalemegdan, Belgrade
Novi Sad
Golubac
Monument to Miloš Obrenović in Požarevac
Đurđevi Stupovi, Stefan Nemanja's church, 1169
Đakovica
Niš

Niš

@@ Line 52: / Line 52: @@
 |-
 | colspan=2 style="font-size: smaller;" |
-# In Vojvodina, the following languages are also official: [[Romanian language|Romanian]], [[Rusin language|Rusin]], [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]], [[Slovak language|Slovak]] and [[Croatian language|Croatian]];<br/>In Kosovo also: [[Albanian language|Albanian]].
+# In Vojvodina, the following languages are also official: [[Romanian language|Romanian]], [[Pannonian Rusyn language|Rusyn]], [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]], [[Slovak language|Slovak]] and [[Croatian language|Croatian]];<br/>In Kosovo also: [[Albanian language|Albanian]].
 |}
-The '''Republic of Serbia''' ([[Serbian language|Serbian]]: ''Република Србија'' or ''Republika Srbija'') is a [[republic]] in southeastern and central [[Europe]], which is united with [[Montenegro]] in a loose [[commonwealth]] known as the State Union of [[Serbia and Montenegro]]. The capital is [[Belgrade]]. Serbia borders [[Hungary]] to the north; [[Romania]] and [[Bulgaria]] to the east; the [[Republic of Macedonia]] and UN-run [[Kosovo]] to the south; and [[Montenegro]], [[Croatia]], and [[Bosnia-Herzegovina]] to the west. Serbia became famous for conducting or supporting war crimes and genocide under an expansionist nationalist ideology.
+The '''Republic of Serbia''' ([[Serbian language|Serbian]]: ''Република Србија'' or ''Republika Srbija'') is a [[republic]] in southeastern and central [[Europe]], which is united with [[Montenegro]] in a loose [[commonwealth]] known as the State Union of [[Serbia and Montenegro]]. The capital is [[Belgrade]]. Serbia borders [[Hungary]] to the north; [[Romania]] and [[Bulgaria]] to the east; the [[Republic of Macedonia]] and [[Albania]] to the south; and [[Montenegro]], [[Croatia]], and [[Bosnia-Herzegovina]] to the west.
 == History ==