Serbia
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Serbia, officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian Cyrillic: Република Србија, Latin: Republika Srbija, [listen] ), is a landlocked country in Central and Southeastern Europe, covering the central part of the Balkan Peninsula and the southern part of the Pannonian Plain. 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 Republika Srpska (part of Bosnia and Herzegovina) to the west.
For nearly a century, Serbia was part of various South Slavic states, including the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes from 1918 to 1941 (re-named the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929), the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1992, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1992 to 2003, and the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro from 2003 to 2006. After Montenegro voted to leave the State Union, Serbia officially proclaimed its independence on June 5, 2006, as the successor state to the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro.
Geography
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 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.
Climate
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 inland snowfall.Cities
Major cities (over 100,000 inhabitants) - 2002 census data, for Kosovo and Metohija current [World Gazetteer] estimates (unofficial):
- Beograd (Belgrade): 1,273,651 (inner city area); 1,576,124 (with suburbs)
- Novi Sad: 215,659 (298,139 greater metropolitan area)
- Priština: between 200,000 (2002 estimate) and 262,686 (2006 estimate)
- Niš: 173,724 (250,518 greater metropolitan area)
- Kragujevac: 147.473 (180.252 greater metropolitan area)
- Prizren: between 121,000 (2002 estimate) and 165,227 (2006 estimate)
- Subotica: 99,471 (147,758 greater metropolitan area)
National parks
Serbia has five national parks:
- Fruška Gora (250 km²)
- Kopaonik (120 km²)
- Tara (220 km²)
- Đerdap (Iron Gate) (640 km²)
- Šar-planina (390 km²)
History
Medieval Serbia
The roots of the Serbian state date back to the 7th century and the House of Vlastimirović. A Serbian kingdom (centered around Duklja) was established in the 11th century. It lasted until the end of the 12th century.The medieval Serbian state was re-formed in the Raška region in the 12th century by the Serbian Grand Župan Stefan Nemanja. In 1220, under Stefan the First Crowned, Serbia became a kingdom, and in 1346, Stefan Dušan established the Serbian Empire. The Empire was disintegrated and fell to the Ottoman Turks after the historic Battle of Kosovo in 1389. The northern Serbian territories (the Serbian Despotate) were totally conquered in 1459 when Smederevo fell. Bosnia fell a few years after Smederevo, and Herzegovina in 1482.
Ottoman Serbia
Between 1459 and 1804, Serbia was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, despite three Austrian invasions and numerous rebellions. Islam was in a period of expansion during this time, and many Serbs converted to Islam. The Ottoman period was a defining one in the history of the country; Slavic, Byzantine, Arabic and Turkish cultures suffused. Many contemporary cultural traits (such as Serbian pop music and Serbian cuisine) can be traced back to Ottoman period.
Modern Serbia
The First Serbian Uprising of 1804-1813, led 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. As it was semi-independent from the Ottoman Empire, it is considered to be the precursor of the formation of modern Serbia.From 1815 to 1903, the Serbian state was ruled by the House of Obrenović, except from 1842 to 1858, when Serbia was ruled by Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević. In 1903, the House of Obrenović was replaced by the House of Karađorđević, who were descendants of 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 signed at the Congress of Berlin by the Great Powers, granted complete independence only to Serbia and Montenegro, leaving Bosnia and Raška to Austria-Hungary, who blocked their unification until the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913 and WWI.
The June 28, 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria at Sarajevo in Austria-Hungary by Gavrilo Princip, a South Slav unionist, Austrian subject and member of Young Bosnia, served as a pretext for Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia. Russia started to mobilise its troops in defence of its ally Serbia, which resulted in Germany declaring war on Russia in support of its ally Austria-Hungary. However, as German military planners wished to avoid a war on two fronts against both Russia and France, they attacked France first. This eventually culminated in all the major European Powers being drawn into the war. The Serbian Army won several major victories against Austria-Hungary 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 total population, and 58% of its male population.[[Citing sources citation needed]]
Between the wars
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, Serbia was a German-occupied puppet state that included present-day Central Serbia and Banat, popularly called Nedić's Serbia. However, parts of the present-day territory of Serbia were occupied by Croatian, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Albanian, and Italian armies. The occupying powers committed numerous crimes against the civilian population, especially against Serbs and Jews.[[Citing sources citation needed]]Post WWII
In 1945, Serbia was established as one of the federal units of the second Yugoslavia, the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia, led by Josip Broz Tito until his death in 1980.After the collapse of the second Yugoslavia in 1992 until the year 2003, Serbia, together with Montenegro, was part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Despite the fact that Serbia fought wars on territories of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, it remained peaceful inside itself until 1998. [[Citing sources citation needed]]
Between 1998 and 1999, continued clashes in Kosovo between Serbian and Yugoslav security forces and the K.L.A. prompted a NATO aerial bombardment which lasted for 78 days. The attacks were stopped when Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević agreed to remove all 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).
From 2003 to 2006, Serbia was part of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, into which the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had been transformed. On May 21, 2006, Montenegro held a referendum to determine whether or not to end the union with Serbia. The next day, state-certified results showed 55.5% of voters in favor of independence, which was just above the 55% required by the referendum. On June 3, the Parliament of Montenegro declared Montenegro independent of the State Union and on June 5, the National Assembly of Serbia declared Serbia the successor to the State Union.
Government & politics
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This article is part of the series: Republic of Serbia
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After the ousting 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 Milošević 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.
Administrative subdivisions
Serbia is divided into 29 districts (5 of which are in Kosovo, currently UN-administered) and the City of Belgrade. The districts are further divided into 108 municipalities. Serbia two autonomous provinces: Kosovo and Metohija* in the south (30 municipalities), which is presently under the administration of the United Nations, and Vojvodina in the north (46 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 [link]. This usage was also employed in Serbo-Croatian during the Yugoslav era (in the form of "uža Srbija" literally: narrower Serbia). Its use in English is purely geographical without any particular political meaning being implied.
Demographics
Serbia is populated mostly by Serbs. Significant minorities include Albanians (who are a majority in the province of Kosovo-Metohia), Hungarians, 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 originates in the fact, that the country has been organised from parts ruled by the former Muslim Ottoman Empire in the south and parts ruled by the former Catholic Habsburg 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
Economy
- GDP and growth
Gross Domestic Product Real GDP (PPP): .15 billion (2005 est.) (Source: CIA [link]) .46 billion (2005 est.; for former Serbia and Montenegro) (Source: IMF [link])
Real GDP per capita (PPP): ,400 (2005 est.) (Source: CIA [link]) ,203 (2005 est.; for former Serbia and Montenegro) (Source: IMF [link])
Real GDP (exchange rate conversion): .19 billion (2005 est.; excl. Kosovo) (Source: CIA [link]) .59 billion (2005 est.; for former Serbia and Montenegro) (Source: IMF [link])
Real GDP per capita (exchange rate conversion): 83.76 (2005 est.; for former Serbia and Montenegro) (Source: IMF [link])
Real GDP growth rate (2005): 5.9% (2005 est.; excl. Kosovo) (Source: CIA [link]) Other statistics 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: .43 Billion (2005) FDI (2005): 481 Million (Source: NBS [link]) Culture
The Gusle, Serbian national music instrument
Serbia is one of Europe's most culturally diverse countries. The borders between large empires ran through the territory of today's Serbia for long periods in history: between the Eastern and Western halves of the Roman Empire; and between the Ottoman Empire and the Austrian Empire (later Austria Hungary). As a result, while the north is culturally Central European, the south is rather more Oriental. Of course, both regions have influenced each other, and so the distinction between north and south is artificial to some extent.
The Byzantine Empire's influence on Serbia was perhaps the greatest. Serbs are Orthodox Christians, not Roman Catholics, with their own national church - the Serb Orthodox Church. They use both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets, as a result of both Eastern and Western influences. The monasteries of Serbia, built largely in the Middle Ages, are one of the most valuable and visible traces of medieval Serbia's association with the Byzantium, but also with the Romanic >