Essay Serbia's Geography and Historical Events

The Balkan Peninsula is a region located in southern Europe. The northern dividing line of the Balkan Peninsula consists of the Kupa, Sava, and Danube rivers. This region is surrounded by the Black Sea to the east, the Mediterranean and Marmara Seas to the south, and the Adriatic Sea to the west. Examples of physical features in the Balkan Peninsula are the many forested mountain ranges that occupy the region, including the Balkan Mountains, the Dinaric Alps, and the Rhodope Mountains, the varied climate ranging from cold, snowy winters in the northern mountains, to a warm, humid climate characteristic of the Mediterranean, as well as fertile soil, especially in the plains, and diverse plants and wildlife throughout the region, such as the endangered Balkan lynx. Some examples of human characteristics that make this region unique

Bosnia is a country in south-eastern Europe that emerged after the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1980. The conflict between the three main ethnic groups in Bosnia, the Serbs, Croats, and Muslims, resulted in genocide committed by the Serbs against the Muslims in this country.

The geographic location of Bosnia and its past history of colonization help explain why non-Serbs were targeted and

Location/Geography: Kosovo is a country located in southeast Europe. Kosovo is neighbors with Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia. Kosovo is a small country with a population of 1,847,708. According to Kosovo Facts (2015), the total area of Kosovo is only a mere 4,203 square miles. Common languages spoken here are Albanian, Serbian, Bosnian, Turkish, and Roma. The capital of Kosovo is Pristina. The average altitude in Kosovo is 800 meters above sea level. There are also many high mountain ranges in Kosovo.

After WW2 victory by the communists in Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia was born. It collapsed with the Soviet Union completely in 1992 breaking into Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. The transition for these countries away from communism was violent especially in Bosnia. Bosnia was split with two majority demographics the Seribians and the Bosniaks. The Serbians started to genocide the Bosniaks most notably in the attack on Srebrenica, where 8,000 people died. In a little over 5 years 100,000 people were killed. In 1995 five years after the start of the genocide and a couple months before the end Clinton, after being shredded by the media, started a NATO bombing of Bosnia. After the bombing the Dalton Peace Accords created a fragile peace in the

As one of the most troubled region of the Balkans in Central Europe, the Balkans were affected by strife and hostility. The problems in the Balkans not only affected the people living in this region, but also other large European powers that fueled many of the major conflicts and events of Europe at the time. The First Balkan War and its profound effects on European history will be discussed, while also exploring the future conflicts in both the Balkans and the rest of Europe.

Slobodan Milošević was assigned to handle some ethnic troubles in the Autonomous Region of Kosovo between the Albanians and the Serbs. The

One of the youngest nations of Europe, Yugoslavia was created after World War I as a homeland for several different rival ethnic groups. The country was put together mostly from remnants of the collapsed Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary. Demands for self-determination by Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, and others were ignored. Yugoslavia thus became an uneasy association of peoples conditioned by centuries of ethnic and religious hatreds. World War II aggravated these rivalries, but Communist dictatorship after the war controlled them for 45 years. When the Communist system failed, the old rivalries reasserted themselves; and in the early 1990s the nation was rent by secessionist movements and civil war. Within several years these conflicts

With a long stemming past of ethnic conflict within Yugoslavia, the country at long last disassembled over what historians would argue was “The bloodiest war in Europe since World War II” (Multi-Ethnic Conflict: Yugoslavia.). Yugoslavia was a country composed of six republics- The socialist republic of Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, and Slovenia. The country was created after world war one in 1929 and was under the control of the Soviet Union up until 1991 when the Soviet Union broke apart. With the fall of the Soviet Union came the inevitable turmoil, violence and destruction within Yugoslavia- the country began to fall apart. Ethnic conflict had been the root of war and violence through out numerous countries all around the world for centuries. The ethnic conflict of Yugoslavia was caused by differences in religion and ethnicity, different perspectives on government and politics, and disagreements over territory. Yugoslavia was just far too small for the different nationalities and government structures within it.

Yugoslavia suffered from instability due to rapid changes socially, politically, and economically in which paved way for Milosevic Slobodan. However, there was essentially two main reasons that allowed the nationalistic Serbian mobilization of Kosovo Albanians: 1) Ordinary people adopted the ideals of the elites and

During the early 1900’s, the Ottoman Empire (which included the Balkan region), took a rapid decline. Some Balkan groups struggled to free themselves from the Ottoman Turks, and some had freed themselves from the Turkish rulers. During 1908, the Ottoman Empire’s power hungry neighbors, Austria-Hungary, annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia and Herzegovina were two areas within the Balkan

Serbia feels a cultural tie to Kosovo because it has many monasteries, churches, and religious sites that are significant to the orthodox Christian faith, which is the main religion for Serbs (Malcolm). The Serbian claim conflicts with the Albanian majority who believes they have a claim to Kosovo because of they are the largest group. Throughout history Kosovo has been profitable because it have many natural resources, such as metals like nickel, and it is known for its abundance of silver, which has caused conflict because many countries have wanted to claim it. During World War Two, Hitler used the mines in Kosovo for profit (Malcolm). Mostly, Kosovo has been coveted because it is in a good location with many mountains guarding it and has always been a checkpoint for many trade routes, which made it prone to conquests. Conflict can always be understood through history, and Kosovo’s strategic location is one main reason for the fighting.

2. In 1989 Slobodan Milosevic came to power in the Socialist Republic of Serbia, then one of six republics that made up the federation of Yugoslavia, on a platform that aggravated the ethnic tension in the region.1 In 1991 three of the six republics declared independence from Yugoslavia, followed by a fourth in 1992.2 Milosevic launched military campaigns and when the fighting ceased in 1995. The two remaining republics, Serbia and Montenegro, formed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.3 In 1997, Serbia began a brutal campaign that involved the massacre of hundreds of civilians, mostly ethnic Albanians, in the region of Kosovo.4 Milosevic was ousted in 2000 and the nation was once again reorganized in 2003.5 In 2006, Montenegro seceded, followed by Kosovo in 2008; a declaration Serbia refuses to acknowledge.6

According to Alan Thornett, after the death of Tito, Slobodan Milosevic wanted to expand its Serbian territory and make a greater Serbia, by gathering together all regions that are inhabited by Serbs. This would mean that Serbia would have more power contrasting everyone else, and a little or no

In 1990 Yugoslavia started to weaken from a multitude of political upheavals and other conflicts. Later resulting in the total separation of Yugoslavia, which was the main cause for why the war started.