| Republic of Serbia
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Anthem: - / Bo-e pravde
"God of Justice"
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Capital
(and largest city) |
Belgrade
361) 44°48-N 20°28-E- / -44.8, 20.467 |
| Official languages |
Serbian1 |
| Demonym |
Serbian |
| Government |
Parliamentary republic |
| - |
President |
Boris Tadi- |
| - |
Prime Minister |
Mirko Cvetkovi- |
| - |
President of Parliament |
Slavica -uki- Dejanovi- |
| Legislature |
National Assembly |
| Establishment |
| - |
Serbian Empire |
1345 |
| - |
Independence lost |
15402[1][2][3] |
| - |
Serbian revolution |
15 February 18043 |
| - |
De facto independence |
25 March 1867 |
| - |
De jure independence |
13 July 1878 |
| - |
Federal Republic[citation needed] |
28 April, 1992 |
| - |
State Union[citation needed] |
4 February, 2003 |
| - |
Republic[citation needed] |
5 June 2006 |
| Area |
| - |
Total |
88 361 km2 (113th)
34 116 sq mi |
| - |
Water (%) |
0.13 |
| Population |
| - |
2008 estimate |
10,159,046[4] |
| - |
Density |
115/km2 (94th)
297/sq mi |
| GDP (PPP) |
2008 estimate |
| - |
Total |
$80.717 billion[5] |
| - |
Per capita |
$10,911[5] (excluding Kosovo and Metohija) |
| GDP (nominal) |
2008 estimate |
| - |
Total |
$52.182 billion[5] |
| - |
Per capita |
$7,054[5] (excluding Kosovo and Metohija) |
| Gini (2007) |
.24 (low) |
| HDI (2006) |
0.821 (high) (65th) |
| Currency |
Serbian dinar4 (RSD) |
| Time zone |
CET (UTC+1) |
| - |
Summer (DST) |
CEST (UTC+2) |
| Drives on the |
right |
| Internet TLD |
.rs (.yu)5 |
| Calling code |
381 |
1 Albanian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Hungarian, Romani, Romanian, Rusyn, Slovak and Ukrainian are Recognised and protected by the ECRML
2 Last Serb duchies, Hungarian vasaals, annexed to Ottoman Empire
3 Statehood Day
4 The Euro is used in KiM alongside the Dinar.
5 .rs became active in September 2007. Suffix .yu
will exist until September 2009. |
Serbia  /„s--bi“/ (help·info) (Serbian: , Srbija), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , Republika Srbija), is a landlocked country in Central- and Southeastern Europe, covering the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and the central part of the Balkans. Serbia is bordered by Hungary to the north; Romania and Bulgaria to the east; the Republic of Macedonia and Albania[6] to the south; and Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro to the west. The country's capital, Belgrade, was titled "City of the Future of South Europe" in 2006.[7]
For centuries, located at, and shaped by, the cultural boundaries between the East and the West, a powerful medieval kingdom - later renamed the Serbian Empire[8] - occupied much of the Balkans. The Serbian state disappeared by the mid-16th century, torn by domestic feuds, Ottoman-, Venetian-, Hungarian- and later, Austrian occupations. The success of the Serbian revolution in 1817 marked the birth of the Principality of Serbia, centered in the “umadija region. In 1918 the former autonomous Habsburg crownland of Vojvodina proclaimed its secession from Austria-Hungary to unite with the Kingdom of Serbia.
The current borders of the country were established after World War II, when Serbia became a federal unit within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Serbia once again became an independent state in 2006, after Montenegro left the Serbia and Montenegro union. In February 2008, the parliament of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia. Serbia's government, as well as the UN Security Council, have not recognized Kosovo's independence. The response from the international community has been mixed. Presently, Kosovo is recognised by 53 out of 192 member states. On October 8, 2008, the majority of the UN states backed Serbia in its judicial move on Kosovo, aimed at determining whether the secession was legal.[9]
Serbia is a member of the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the Council of Europe which it presided over in 2007. It is also a potential candidate for membership in the European Union and a militarily neutral country.[10]
Geography
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Mountain ranges and major rivers of Serbia.
Serbia is at the crossroads between Central, Southern and Eastern Europe, between the Balkan peninsula and the Pannonian Plain. The country is intersected by several major navigable rivers: the Danube (2850km), Sava (945 km), Tisa (1358km), joined by the Timi- River (350 km) and Begej (254 km), all of which connect Serbia with Northern and Western Europe (through the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal - North Sea route), to Eastern Europe (via the Tisa - , Timi- - , Begej - and Danube - Black Sea routes) and to Southern Europe (via the Sava river). The two largest Serbian cities - Belgrade[11] and Novi Sad - are major regional Danubian harbours. The northern third of the country is located entirely within the Central European Pannonian Plain. The easternmost tip of Serbia extends into the Wallachian Plain. The north eastern border of the country is determined by the Carpathian Mountain range,[12] which runs through the whole of Central Europe. The Southern Carpathians meet the Balkan Mountains, following the course of the Velika Morava, a 500 km long (partially navigable) river. The Mid-or peak is the highest point in eastern Serbia at 2156 m. In the southeast, the Balkan Mountains meet the Rhodope Mountains, connecting the country with Greece. The -ar Mountains of Kosovo form the border with Albania, with one of the highest peaks in the region, Djeravica (2656 m). Dinaric Alps of Serbia follow the flow of the Drina river (at 350 km navigable for smaller vessels only) overlooking the Dinaric peaks on the opposite shore in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Over a quarter of Serbia's overall landmass (27%) is covered by forest.[13] In 2010, as projected, the national parks will take up 10% of the country's entire territory.[14]
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. Differences in elevation, proximity to the Adriatic Sea and large river basins, as well as exposure to the winds account for climate differences.[15] Vojvodina possesses typical continental climate, with air masses from northern and western Europe which shape its climatic profile. South and South-west Serbia is subject to Mediterranean influences. However, the Dinaric Alps and other mountain ranges contribute to the cooling down of most of the warm air masses. Winters are quite harsh in Sand“ak because of the mountains which encircle the plateau.[16]
The average annual air temperature for the period 1961-90 for the area with an altitude of up to 300m is 10.9 °C. The areas with an altitude of 300m to 500m have an average annual temperature of around 10.0 °C, and over 1000 m of altitude around 6.0 °C.[17]
Rolling hills in Gornje Suhotno, region of Ni-ava.
National parks
Serbia has 5 national parks:
History
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Early history
Serbia's strategic location between two continents has subjected it to invasions by many peoples. Greeks have colonized its south in 4th century B.C.; the northernmost point of the empire of Alexander the Great being the town of Kale.[18] Prehistoric capital of Europe,[19] Belgrade alone is believed to have been torn by 140 wars since Roman times.[20] The northern Serbian city of Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica) was among the top 4 cities of the late Roman Empire, serving as its capital during the Tetrarchy.[21] Contemporary Serbia comprises the classical regions of Moesia, Pannonia, parts of Dalmatia, Dacia and Macedonia.[22] Around the 6th century, Slavs appeared on Byzantine borders in great numbers.[23] Under nominal Serbian rule since the 7th century (having been allowed to settle in Byzantium by its emperor Heraclius after their victory over the Avars),[24] through early history various parts of the territory of modern Serbia have been colonized, claimed or ruled by: the Greeks and Romans (conquered the indigenous Celts and Illyrians); the Western- and the Eastern Roman Empires (challenged by the incursions of the Huns, the Ostrogoths, the Sarmatians, the Avars, the Serbs, the Frankish Kingdom, the Great Moravia, the Bulgarians and finally, the Hungarians). No less than 17 Roman Emperors were born in the land that is now Serbia.[25]
Medieval Serb kingdoms and the Serbian Empire
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According to legend, the Serbs were ruled by the descendants of the Unknown Archont who led them to the Balkans from White Serbia; its three related medieval dynasties follow a continuous bloodline all the way to the 1400s A.D.
The earliest rudimentary Serb state arose in the mid ninthe century, although it was mostly a vassal principality to the Byzantine and Bulgarian Empires alternatively. Official adoption of Christianity soon followed (under Prince Mutimir Vlastimirovi-).[26] The First dynasty died out in 960 A.D. with the death of Prince -aslav, who managed to unify all the Serb populated lands, centered between contemporary South Serbia and Montenegro, almost all of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the coastal south of Croatia.[27] Following this, Serb lands were soon incoporated under direct Byzantine rule after their defeat of the First Bulgarian Epire in 1018 AD.
Around 1040 AD an uprising in the coastal Serb lands, in the medieval state of Duklja, overthrew Byzantine rule. Duklja then assumed domination over the Serbian lands between 11-12th centuries under the dynasty of Vojislavljevi“ (who, according to legend, they were descendants of the 1st dynasty). In 1077 A.D. Duklja became the first Serb Kingdom (under Michael I- ruler of Tribals and Serbs),[28] following the establishment of the catholic Bisphoric of Bar. From late 12th century onwards, a new state called Raska, centred in present-day southern Serbia, rose to become the paramount Serb state. Over the 13th and 14th century, it ruled over the other Serb lands (the Hum, Travunia and Duklja/Zeta, whereas Bosnia was detached from Serbia proper by its incoporation into Hungary). During this time, Serbia began to expand eastward (toward Nis), southward into Kosovo and northern Macedonia and northward toward Srem and Macva for the first time. This shift away from the Adriatic coast brought Serbia increasingly under the influence of the Eastern Orthodox, although a substantial proportion of Catholics were found in the coastal regions. Although Europe had already experience the East-West Schism by this time, such a split was far less concrete than it is today, and Catholic Slavs in Bosnia and the Dalmatian coast practiced Christianity in a similar way to Orthodox Slavs - priests married, wore beards and gave liturgy in Slavic rather than Latin. By the beginning of the 14th century Serbs lived in four distinctly independent kingdoms- Dioclea, Rascia, Bosnia and Syrmia.[29][30][31]
The House of Nemanji-, descendants of the kings of Duklja, moved from Duklja to Ra-ka, signaling a shift towards continental Serbia in the late 12th century. A direct result of this was the establishment of the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1217, which rivaled the Catholic Bishopric of Bar. Under the Nemanyaden, Medieval Serbia reached itsn economic, legal, miiltary and religious apogee. The Serbian Kingdom of Ra-ka was proclaimed in 1219, joined later by the Kingdom of Syrmia and the Banovina of Ma-va. Finally, the Serbian Empire under Stefan Du-an was formed in 1346. Under Du-an's rule, Serbia reached its territorial peak, becoming one of the larger states in Europe, portraying itself as the heir of the run-down Byzantine Empire, and indeed was the most powerful Balkan state of the period. The renowned Du-an's Code, a universal system of laws, was enforced. The Serbian identity has been profoundly shaped by the rule of this dynasty and its accomplishments, with Serbian Orthodox Church assuming the role of the national spiritual guardian.
Coronation of Emperor Du-an
As a result of internal struggle between rival noble families, and heavy losses inflicted by the Ottomans in the epic Battle of Kosovo, the Serbian Empire had dissolved into many statelets by the beginning of the 15th century. Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, constant struggles took place between various Serbian kingdoms on the one hand, and the Ottoman Empire on the other. The turning point was the fall of Constantinople and its last emperor (of Serbo-Greek ethnicity)[33] Constantine Draga-- Paleologus, to the Turks. The Serbian Despotate fell in 1459 following the siege of the "temporary" capital Smederevo, followed by Bosnia a few years later, and Herzegovina in 1482. Montenegro was overrun by 1499. Belgrade was the last major Balkan city to endure Ottoman onslaughts, when it joined the Catholic Kingdom of Hungary. Serbs, Hungarians and European crusaders heavily defeated the Turkish in the Siege of Belgrade of 1456. Several Serbian despots ruled in parts of Vojvodina as vassals of the Hungarian kings with the title of Hungarian barons. After repelling Ottoman attacks for over 70 years, Belgrade finally fell in 1521, along with the greater part of the Kingdom of Hungary. Forceful conversion to Islam became imminent, especially in the southwest (Ra-ka, Kosovo and Bosnia). Republic of Venice grew stronger in importance, gradually taking over the coastal areas.
Ottoman and Austrian rule
- See also: Great Serb Migrations, Ottoman Serbia, and Habsburg Serbia
The Early modern period saw the loss of Serbia's independence to the Kingdom of Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, interrupted briefly by the revolutionary state of the Emperor Jovan Nenad in the 16th century. Modern times witnessed the rise of the Habsburg Monarchy (known as the Austrian Empire, later Austria-Hungary), which fought many wars against the Ottoman Turks for supremacy over Serbia. Three Austrian invasions and numerous rebellions (such as the Banat Uprising) constantly challenged Ottoman rule. Vojvodina endured a century long Ottoman occupation before being ceded to the Habsburg Empire in the 17th-18th centuries under the terms of the Treaty of Karlowitz (Sremski Karlovci). As the Great Serb Migrations depopulated most of Kosovo and Serbia proper, the Serbs sought refuge in more prosperous (and Christian) North and West were granted imperial rights by the Austrian crown (under measures such as the Statuta Wallachorum in 1630). The Ottoman persecutions ofChristians culminated in the abolition and plunder of the Patriarchate of Pe- in 1766.[34] As Ottoman rule in the South grew ever more brutal, the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I formally granted the Serbs the right to their autonomous crown land, speeding up their migrations into Austria.
The Serbian Revolution and independence (Principality of Serbia)
The quest for independence of Serbia began during the Serbian national revolution (1804-1817), and it lasted for several decades. For the first time in Ottoman history an entire Christian population had risen up against the Sultan.[35] The entrenchment of French troops in the western Balkans, the incessant political crises in the Ottoman Empire, the growing intensity of the Austro-Russian rivalry in the Balkans, the intermittent warfare which consumed the energies of French and Russian Empires and the outbreak of protracted hostilities between the Porte and Russia are but a few of the major international developments which directly or indirectly influenced the course of the Serbian revolt.[35] During the First Serbian Uprising (first phase of the revolt) led by Kara„or“e Petrovi-, Serbia was independent for almost a decade before the Ottoman army was able to reoccupy the country. Shortly after this, the Second Serbian Uprising began. Led by Milo- Obrenovi-, it ended in 1815 with a compromise between the Serbian revolutionary army and the Ottoman authorities. The famous German historian Leopold von Ranke published his book "The Serbian revolution" (1829).[36] They were the easternmost bourgeois revolutions in the 19th-century world.[37] Likewise, Principality of Serbia abolished feudalism- second in Europe after France.[38]
The Convention of Ackerman (1826), the Treaty of Adrianople (1829) and finally, the Hatt-i Sharif of 1830, recognized the suzerainty of Serbia with Milo- Obrenovi- I as its hereditary Prince.[39][40] The struggle for liberty, a more modern society and a nation-state in Serbia won a victory under first constitution in the Balkans on 15 February 1835. It was replaced by a more conservative Constitution in 1838.
In the two following decades (temporarily ruled by the Karadjordjevic dynasty) the Principality actively supported the neighboring Habsburg Serbs, especially during the 1848 revolutions. Interior minister Ilija Gara-anin published The Draft (for South Slavic unification), which became the standpoint of Serbian foreign policy from the mid-19th century onwards. The government thus developed close ties with the Illyrian movement in Croatia-Slavonia (Austria-Hungary).
Following the clashes between the Ottoman army and civilians in Belgrade in 1862, and under pressure from the Great Powers, by 1867 the last Turkish soldiers left the Principality. By enacting a new constitution without consulting the Porte, Serbian diplomats confirmed the de facto independence of the country. In 1876, Montenegro and Serbia declared war on the Ottoman Empire, proclaiming their unification with Bosnia. The formal independence of the country was internationally recognized at the Congress of Berlin in 1878, which formally ended the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78; this treaty, however, prohibited Serbia from uniting with Principality of Montenegro, and placed Bosnia and Ra-ka region under Austro-Hungarian occupation to prevent unification.[41]
Kingdom of Serbia
From 1815 to 1903, Serbia was ruled by the House of Obrenovi- (except from 1842 to 1858, when it was led by Prince Aleksandar Kara„or-evi“). In 1882, Serbia, ruled by King Milan, was proclaimed a Kingdom. In 1903, the House of Kara„or-evi“, (descendants of the revolutionary leader „or“e Petrovi-) assumed power. Serbia was the only country in the region that was allowed by the Great Powers to be ruled its own domestic dynasty. During the Balkan Wars (1912-1913), the Kingdom of Serbia tripled its territory by acquiring part of Macedonia,[42] Kosovo, and parts of Serbia proper.
As for Vojvodina, during the 1848 revolution in Austria, Serbs of Vojvodina established an autonomous region known as Serbian Vojvodina. As of 1849, the region was transformed into a new Austrian crown land known as the Serbian Voivodship and Tami- Banat. Although abolished in 1860, Habsburg emperors claimed the title Großwoiwode der Woiwodschaft Serbien until the end of the monarchy and the creation of Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918.
World War I and the birth of Yugoslavia
On 28 June 1914 the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria at Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina by Gavrilo Princip (a Yugoslav unionist member of Young Bosnia) and an Austrian citizen, led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Kingdom of Serbia. In defense of its ally Serbia, Russia started to mobilize its troops, which resulted in Austria-Hungary's ally Germany declaring war on Russia. The retaliation by Austria-Hungary against Serbia activated a series of military alliances that set off a chain reaction of war declarations across the continent, leading to the outbreak of World War I within a month.
Serbian soldiers crossing the river Kolubara during the Battle of Kolubara in World War I.
The Serbian Army won several major victories against Austria-Hungary at the beginning of World War I, such as the Battle of Cer and Battle of Kolubara - marking the first Allied victories against the Central Powers in World War I.[43] Despite initial success it was eventually overpowered by the joint forces of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria in 1915. Most of its army and some people went into exile to Greece and Corfu where they recovered, regrouped and returned to Macedonian front (World War I) to lead a final breakthrough through enemy lines on 15 September 1918, freeing Serbia again and defeating Austro-Hungarian Empire and Bulgaria.[44] Serbia (with its major campaign) was a major Balkan Entente Power[45] which contributed significantly to the Allied victory in the Balkans in November 1918, especially by enforcing Bulgaria's capitulation with the aid of France.[46] The country was militarilly classified as a minor Entente power.[47] Serbia was also among the main contributors to the capitulation of Austria-Hungary in Central Europe.
Casualties
Prior to the war, the Kingdom of Serbia had 4.5 million inhabitants.[48] According to the New York Times, in 1915 alone 150,000 people are estimated to have died during the worst typhus epidemics in world history. With the aid of the American Red Cross and 44 foreign governments, the outbreak was brought under control by the end of the year.[49] The number of civilian deaths is estimated by some sources at 650,000, primarily due to the typhus outbreak and famine, but also direct clashes with the occupiers.[47] Serbia's casualties accounted for 8% of the total Entente military deaths or 58% of the regular Serbian Army (420,000 strong) has perished during the conflict.[50] The total number of casualties is placed around 1,000,000[51]-> 25% of Serbia's prewar size, and an absolute majority (57%) of its overall male population.[52] L.A.Times and N.Y.Times also cited over 1,000,000 victims in their respective articles.[53][54]
The extent of the Serbian demographic disaster can be illustrated by the statement of the Bulgarian Prime Minister Vasil Radoslavov: "Serbia ceased to exist" (New York Times, summer 1917).[55] In July 1918 the US Secretary of State Robert Lansing urged the Americans of all religions to pray for Serbia in their respective churches.[56][57]
Kingdom of Yugoslavia ("First Yugoslavia")
- See also: Kingdom of Yugoslavia
World War II
Invasion of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was in a precarious position in World War II. Fearing an invasion by Nazi Germany, the Yugoslav Regent, Prince Paul, signed the Tripartite Pact with the Axis powers on 25 March 1941, triggering massive demonstrations in Belgrade. On 27 March, Prince Paul was overthrown by a military coup d'état (with British support) and replaced by the 17-year-old King Peter II. General Du-an Simovi- became Peter's Prime Minister and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia withdrew its support for the Axis.
In response to this Adolf Hitler launched an invasion of Yugoslavia on 6 April. By 17 April, unconditional surrender was signed in Belgrade. After the invasion, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was dissolved and, with Yugoslavia partitioned, the remaining portion of Serbia became part of the Military Administration of Serbia, under a joint German-Serb government, with military power controlled by the German armed forces, while a Serb civil government led by Milan Nedi- was permitted to try to draw Serbs away from their opposition to the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia.
Not all of what is present-day Serbia was included as part of the military administration. Some of the contemporary Republic of Serbia was occupied by the Independent State of Croatia, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Kingdom of Bulgaria, the Fascist Italy's Balkan protectorates, the Albanian Kingdom and the Kingdom of Montenegro. In addition to being occupied by the (Wehrmacht), from 1941 to 1945, Serbia was the scene of a civil war between Royalist Chetniks commanded by Dra“a Mihailovi- and Communist Partisans commanded by Josip Broz Tito. Against these forces were arrayed Nedi-'s units of the Serbian Volunteer Corps and Serbian State Guard.
Genocide of Serbs by the Usta-e regime in Croatia
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