Country Information on Yugoslavia

Terrain The south-east of the country is hilly and mountainous, while the north is a fertile river-riven plain integrated into the Pannonian Plain. In the south-west, the country has access to the Adriatic Sea with a 200-km-coastline and a high shoreline with no islands off the coast. The eastern part of Yugoslavia is dominated by limestone ranges and basins. The country's most important rivers comprise Danube, Sava, Tisza, Morava, and Drina. Climate The climate varies from Mediterranean along the Adriatic coast and in the south of the country to continental and temperate further north and inland. Maximum temperatures in summer (June to August) are around 26°C on the plains and on the coast - though it can get much hotter than this; in the mountains 17°C is the average. In winter (November to February) the mountains get down to -3°C, while the plains are a slightly more bearable 0°C. Here, the rain does not stay mainly in the plain, with about three times as much falling on the mountains as on the flat spots. Fauna/Flora Thriving Mediterranean and subtropical vegetation, like cypress, palm and olive trees, orange, lemon and cherry trees dominate Yugoslavia's coastal areas. Lower mountainous regions are characterized by deciduous trees like oak, elm, maple, walnut, chestnut, ash, willows and lime. Besides, woodland areas are a suitable habitat for bears, wolves, foxes, deer and roedeer. Lake Skutari has one of the most diverse fish populations of all inland waters on the Balkan peninsula and is an important bird sanctuary. History/Politics Serbs settled in the Balkan Peninsula in the 6th and 7th centuries and accepted Christianity in the 9th century. Their petty principalities were theoretically under a "Grand Zhupan", who usually recognized Byzantine sovereignty. Rascia, the first organized Serbian state, was probably founded in the early 9th century, in the Bosnian mountains; it steadily expanded from the 10th century onwards. Bulgaria, meanwhile, challenged Byzantium for sovereignty over the Serbs, the Serb people finally succeeding in gaining independence in 1180 under Grand Zhupan Stephen Nemanja. After Stephan Du?an's death in 1355, the kingdom decayed and fell victim to the onslaught of Ottoman Turks and in 1389, the Ottoman Empire cut that little party short, invading Serbia and settling in for the next 500 years. Throughout the 19th century, the Serbs started pushing back, and by 1878, they had regained their independence. In the First Balkan War 1912, they joined forces with Greece and Bulgaria to liberate Macedonia from Turkey. In the Second Balkan War 1913, they tried to take Macedonia from Bulgaria. In league with Western Europe, they also took Kosovo from Albania. In 1914, a nationalist Bosnian Serb assassinated Archduke Francis-Ferdinand, the Habsburg heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, forcing her to invade Serbia and thus triggering World War I. Croatia, Slovenia, Vojvodina, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia joined forces to form the "Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes". The name was changed to "Yugoslavia" in 1929. In 1941, Yugoslavia signed up with the Tripartite Alliance. After the conquest and dismemberment of Yugoslavia in World War II, German occupation forces set up a puppet government in a much-diminished Serbia. The Serbs waged guerrilla warfare under the leadership of Draza Mihajlovic. Later, Marshal Tito and his pro-Communist partisans attracted the majority of the Yugoslav resistance fighters. Yugoslavia kept its independence after World War II, and in 1945, the Communist Party, under Josip Tito, came to power. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia were granted the status of republics, the monarchy was abolished and Yugoslavia became a federal republic. In 1986, Slobodan Milo?evic became leader of the Serbian Communist party. Beginning in 1989, Serbia ended Kosovo's autonomy, which had been granted in the 1974 constitution. In May 1991, Serbia blocked the ascension of Croatian leader Stipe Mesic to the head of the collective presidency. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was established in 1992 by Serbia and Montenegro. After Yugoslavia announced it was cutting off aid to the Bosnian Serbs, Serbia signed a peace accord with Bosnia and Croatia (Dayton Agreement) in 1995. In March 1999, following the breakdown of negotiations between Albanian Kosovars and Serbia, NATO began bombing military and other targets in Serbia. In June, Milo?evic agreed to withdraw his forces, and NATO peacekeepers entered the province. On 5 October 2000, non-violent political change in Serbia led to the downfall of Milo?evic, making way for a coalition of democratic opposition to take power. Economy The swift collapse of the Yugoslav federation in 1991 has been followed by highly destructive warfare, the destabilisation of republic boundaries, and the break-up of important interrepublic trade flows. The sharp drop in output as industrial plants lost suppliers and markets, and the destruction of physical assets in the fighting all have contributed to the economic difficulties of the republics. Yugoslavia's gross domestic product amounted to -20% in 1999, unemployment was 30% and industrial production growth was -22% in 1999. Culture Yugoslavia's cultural heritage comprises influences of Balkan folk architecture as well as Orthodox monasteries and churches dating back to the Middle Ages. Among Serbia's most accomplished writers is Ivo Andric who won a Nobel Prize for his book Na Drini Cuprija, one of the country's widely acclaimed painters is Djordje Krstic. Further, Yugoslavia has always been playing an active role in the film industry, with the two most important festivals being the Yugoslav Film Festival at Novi Sad and International Film Festival Belgrade (called "FEST").