Yugoslavia Location : Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Capital City : Belgrade
Curreny : new Yugoslav dinar (YUM); note - in Montenegro the euro is legal tender; in Kosovo both the euro and the Yugoslav dinar are legal (2002)
Languages Spoken : Serbian 95%, Albanian 5%
Climate : in the north, continental climate (cold winters and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall); central portion, continental and Mediterranean climate; to the south, Adriatic climate along the coast, hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall inland
National Holiday : Republic Day, 29 November
Background Information
The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941 was resisted by various paramilitary bands that fought themselves as well as the invaders. The group headed by Marshal TITO took full control upon German expulsion in 1945. Although Communist, his new government successfully steered its own path between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West for the next four and a half decades. In the early 1990s, post-TITO Yugoslavia began to unravel along ethnic lines: Slovenia, Croatia, and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia all declared their independence in 1991; Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" (FRY)in 1992 and, under President Slobodan MILOSEVIC, Serbia led various military intervention efforts to unite Serbs in neighboring republics into a "Greater Serbia." All of these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. In 1999, massive expulsions by FRY forces and Serb paramilitaries of ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo provoked an international response, including the NATO bombing of Serbia and the stationing of NATO and Russian peacekeepers in Kosovo. There are Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS)-led coalitions governing at the federal and Serbian Republic levels, implementing a wide-ranging political and economic reform program. The governing coalition in Montenegro is seeking independence from the Federation. Kosovo has been governed by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) since June 1999, under the authority of UN Security Council Resolution 1244.
Geographical Note
controls one of the major land routes from Western Europe to Turkey and the Near East; strategic location along the Adriatic coast
Economy
MILOSEVIC-era mismanagement of the economy, an extended period of economic sanctions, and the damage to Yugoslavia's infrastructure and industry during the war in Kosovo has left the economy only half the size it was in 1990. Since the ousting of former Federal Yugoslav President MILOSEVIC in October 2000, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition government has implemented stabilization measures and embarked on an aggressive market reform program. After renewing its membership in the IMF in December 2000, Yugoslavia continued to reintegrate into the international community by rejoining the World Bank (IBRD) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). A World Bank-European Commission sponsored Donors' Conference held in June 2001 raised $1.3 billion for economic restructuring. An agreement rescheduling the country's $4.5 billion Paris Club government debts was concluded in November 2001; it will write off 66% of the debt and provide a basis for Belgrade to seek similar debt relief on its $2.8 billion London Club commercial debt. The smaller republic of Montenegro severed its economy from federal control and from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era and continues to maintain it's own central bank, uses the euro instead of the Yugoslav dinar as official currency, collects customs tariffs, and manages its own budget. Kosovo, while technically still part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, is moving toward local autonomy under United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and is dependent on the international community for financial and technical assistance. The euro and the Yugoslav dinar are official currencies, and UNMIK collects taxes and manages the budget.
Religions
Orthodox 65%, Muslim 19%, Roman Catholic 4%, Protestant 1%, other 11%
Ports : Bar, Belgrade, Kotor, Novi Sad, Pancevo, Tivat, Zelenika
International Disputes - Risks to travellers
: Yugoslavia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have delimited about half of their boundary, but several segments, particularly along the meandering Drina River, remain in dispute; FYROM-Yugoslavia signed and ratified a boundary agreement, which adjusts the former republic boundaries, with demarcation to commence in 2002; ethnic Albanians in Kosovo dispute authority of agreement which cedes small tracts of Kosovo to FYROM; Croatia and Yugoslavia continue to discuss disputed Prevlaka Peninsula and control over the Gulf of Kotor despite imminent UN intention to withdraw observer mission (UNMOP)
flight Nav: cheapest-flights-to.com
>
Yugoslavia
flights
|
|
|
