Serbia -- Geography --
Name: Serbia
Capital City: Belgrade
Official Currency: Dinar
Religions: Orthodox, Muslim, Catholic, others. The dominant religion in Serbia is Orthodox Christianity, with smaller numbers of Muslims, Roman Catholics, and Protestants. Most of the ethnic Albanians of Kosovo are Sunni Muslims.
Population: Serbia (total): 9,396,411;
Vojvodina: 2,116,725;
Central Serbia: 5,479,686;
Kosovo and Metohija: 1,800,000.
Land Area: 88,361 sq km
Landforms: 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.
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Serbia -- History --
The roots of the Serbian state date back to the 7th century and the House of Vlastimirovic. 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 Raska region in the 12th century by the Serbian Grand Zupan Stefan Nemanja. In 1220, under Stefan the First Crowned, Serbia became a kingdom, and in 1346, Stefan Dusan 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.
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 can be traced back to Ottoman period.
The First Serbian Uprising of 1804-1813, led by Dorde Petrovic (also known as Karadorde 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 Obrenovic, except from 1842 to 1858, when Serbia was ruled by Prince Aleksandar Karadordevic. In 1903, the House of Obrenovic was replaced by the House of Karadordevic, who were descendants of Dorde Petrovic.
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 Raska to Austria-Hungary, who blocked their unification until the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913 and WWI.
Karadorde Petrovic, leader of the First Serbian uprising in 1804.On 28 June 1914 the 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, led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia. The Russian Empire started to mobilise its troops in defence of its ally Serbia, which resulted in the German Empire 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 the German Empire, 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.
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 Nedic'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.
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.
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 Milosevic 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.
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Serbia -- Economy --
The wars of Yugoslav succession from 1991 to 1995, and their continuation in the Kosovo war in 1999, harmed the Serbian economy in a number of ways. Sanctions imposed on the country beginning in 1992 crippled Serbia’s foreign trade. Serbia’s economy was also damaged because large numbers of draft-age men, intellectuals, and artists fled after the wars began in the early 1990s, and because much of the republic’s economic resources were diverted to the military. The United Nations (UN) lifted most of the sanctions in 1996, and all other sanctions were lifted in 2000 and 2001.
The Serbian economy is based on a mixture of agricultural and industrial production. The most important agricultural area is in Vojvodina. Major crops include wheat, corn, sugar beets, hemp, flax, and fruit. Cattle, sheep, and pigs are also raised. Formerly one of the chief sources of copper in Europe, Serbia’s mining and manufacturing industries suffered in the economic decline, and many factories closed. High inflation and unemployment levels have also plagued the economy.
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Serbia -- Culture --
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 (Western) Europe that Serbia had close ties with back in middle ages.
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Serbia -- Life style --
Serbian cuisine is derived from mixed traditions, mostly influenced by Mediterranean (especially Greek), Hungarian, Turkish and Austrian couisines, which makes it a heterogeneous one.
These influences, while intruding to the point that there are claims that nothing of original Serbian cuisine remained, enable Serbian cuisine to offer unique mix of various traditions; Serbian confectioneries are places where koljivo, baklava, strudel and sachertorte live in perfect harmony. In recent times the Serbian diaspora has spread the kitchen across the world.
Most people in Serbia will have three meals daily, breakfast, lunch and dinner, with lunch being the largest. A number of meals which are in the West bought, in Serbia are often made at home; this include rakija (fruit brandy), jam, jelly, various pickled food, notably sauerkraut (kiseli kupus - pickled cabbage), ajvar and even sausages. This is only partly for economic reasons, but mostly because preparing these is a family get-together event.
Here, some typical meals of Serbian cuisine will be presented. Note that a number of them might originate, also be typical, or at least known as local meals, in other parts of the world. Also, some links below point to similar meals from other cuisines and/or better known to English speakers; the traditional Serbian recipes may differ in details.
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Serbia -- Political system, law and government --
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 ousting of Slobodan Milosevic 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 March 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, who do not take part in the government, but in exchange for the support hold minor government and justice positions and influence policies. The Prime Minister of Serbia is Vojislav Kostunica, leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia.
The current President of Serbia is Boris Tadic, 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.
Political map of SerbiaSerbia 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". This usage was also employed in Serbo-Croatian during the Yugoslav era (in the form of "uza Srbija" literally: narrower Serbia). Its use in English is purely geographical without any particular political meaning being implied.
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