Serbia and Montenegro

Serbia and Montenegro

Country statistics

area:	102,173sq km (39,449sq mi)
population:	10,633,000
capital (population):	Belgrade (1,168,454)
government:	Federal multi-party republic
ethnic groups:	Serb 63%, Kosovar-Albanian 18%, Montenegrin 5%, Hungarian 3%, Croat
languages:	Serbian 95%, Albanian 5% (both official)
religions:	Serbian Orthodox 80%, Muslim 10%, Roman Catholic 6%, Protestant 1%
currency:	Yugoslav new dinar = 100 paras

Balkan republic in se Europe, formerly known as Yugoslavia. In 1991, the Yugoslav federation began to disintegrate when Slovenia, Croatia, and Macedonia declared independence. In 1992, Bosnia-Herzegovina followed suit. A narrow coastal strip on the Adriatic Sea includes Montenegro's capital, Podgorica. The interior of Montenegro consists largely of barren karst, including parts of the Dinaric Alps and the Balkan Mountains. Kosovo is a high plateau region. Serbia is dominated by the fertile lowland plains of the Danube, on whose banks lie the capital Belgrade and the n city of Novi Sad. (See individual country/republic articles for pre-1918 history and post-independence events.)

Climate and vegetation

The coastal Mediterranean climate gives way to the bitterly cold winters of the highlands. Forests cover c.25% of the republic, while farmland and pasture cover more than 50%.

History and politics

Serbian-led demands for the unification of South Slavic lands were a major contributing factor to the outbreak of World War I. In 1918, the ‘Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes’ formed under Peter I of Serbia. Alexander I succeeded Peter I in 1921. Alexander formed a dictatorship and renamed the country Yugoslavia in 1929. In 1941, Germany occupied Yugoslavia, abruptly halting Peter II's reign. In World War II, the communist partisans led by Tito and the royalist chetniks mounted stiff resistance to the fascist, puppet regime. In 1945, Tito formed the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. In 1948 the Soviet-dominated Cominform expelled Yugoslavia, and Tito adopted an independent foreign policy. In domestic affairs, agricultural collectivization was abandoned (1953) and new constitutions (1963, 1974) devolved power to the constituent republics in an effort to quell unrest. Following Tito's death in 1980, the country's underlying ethnic tensions began to re-surface.

In 1986, Slobodan Milošević became leader of the Serbian Communist Party. In 1989, he became president of Serbia and called for the creation of a ‘Greater Serbia’. Federal troops suppressed demands for autonomy in Albanian-dominated Kosovo. In 1990 elections, non-communist parties won majorities in every republic, except Serbia and Montenegro. In June 1991, Serbian attempts to dominate the federation led to the formal secession of Slovenia and Croatia. The Serb-dominated Federal army launched a campaign against the Croats, whose territory included a large Serbian minority. In January 1992, a cease-fire was agreed. The European Community (EC) recognized Slovenia and Croatia as separate states. In March 1992, Bosnia-Herzegovina's declaration of independence led to a brutal civil war between Serbs, Croats, and Bosnian Muslims. In April 1992, Serbia and Montenegro announced the formation of a new Yugoslav federation and invited Serbs in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina to join. Aid to the Bosnian-Serb campaign of ‘ethnic cleansing’ led the United Nations to impose economic sanctions on Serbia. Military setbacks prompted Milošević to sever support for the Bosnian Serbs.

In 1995, Milošević signed the Dayton Peace Accord, which ended the Bosnian War. In 1996 local elections, the Serbian Socialist (formerly Communist) Party was defeated in many areas. In 1997, mass demonstrations in Belgrade forced Milošević to acknowledge the poll results. Later that year, Milošević resigned the presidency of Serbia to become president of Yugoslavia. In 1998, fighting erupted in Kosovo between Albanian nationalists and Serbian forces. In 1999, after the forced expulsion of Albanians from Kosovo, NATO launched air attacks against Yugoslavia, forcing the Yugoslav army to withdraw. In 2000 elections, Vojislav Kostunica defeated Milošević, who reluctantly resigned after massive public protests. In 2001, Milošević was extradited to the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague. In 2002, a constitutional charter for a new union was agreed. In March 2003, Svetozvar Marovic became the first president of Serbia and Montenegro. In 2003, Serbian prime minister Zoran Djindji"c was assassinated.

Economy

Civil war and economic sanctions devastated Yugoslavia's lower-middle income economy (2002 GDP per capita, US$2370). In 2000, inflation was at 42% and unemployment at 30%. The war also led to a collapse in industrial production. Natural resources include bauxite, coal, and copper. Oil and natural gas are exploited from the n Pannonian plains and the Adriatic Sea. Under Tito, manufacturing greatly expanded, especially around Belgrade. Industries include aluminium, cars, machinery, plastics, steel, and textiles.