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Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in
Southeast Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (a ...
located in the
Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...
(SFR Yugoslavia) which bordered
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
to the north,
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
to the northeast,
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
to the southeast, Macedonia to the south,
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
and
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
to the west, and
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
to the southwest. The state was founded on 27 April 1992 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, known as FR Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia which comprised the
Republic of Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
and the Republic of Montenegro. In February 2003, FR Yugoslavia was transformed from a federal republic to a
political union A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller polities, or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal govern ...
until
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
seceded from the union in June 2006, leading to the full independence of both
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
and
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
. Its aspirations to be the sole legal
successor state Succession of states is a concept in international relations regarding a successor state that has become a sovereign state over a territory (and populace) that was previously under the sovereignty of another state. The theory has its roots in 19th- ...
to SFR Yugoslavia were not recognized by the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
, following the passing of United Nations Security Council Resolution 777, which affirmed that the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had ceased to exist, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was a new state. All former republics were entitled to state succession while none of them continued SFR Yugoslavia's international legal personality. However, the government of Slobodan Milošević opposed any such claims, and as such, FR Yugoslavia was not allowed to join the United Nations. Throughout its existence, FR Yugoslavia had a tense relationship with the international community, as
economic sanctions Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they ma ...
were issued against the state during the course of the
Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from ...
and
Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the wa ...
. This also resulted in hyperinflation between 1992 and 1994. FR Yugoslavia's involvement in the Yugoslav Wars ended with the
Dayton Agreement The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement or the Dayton Accords ( Croatian: ''Daytonski sporazum'', Serbian and Bosnian: ''Dejtonski mirovni sporazum'' / Дејтонски миро ...
, which recognized the independence of the Republics of Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as establishing diplomatic relationships between the states, and a guaranteed role of the Serbian population within Bosnian politics. Later on, growing separatism within the
Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija The Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija ( sr, Косово и Метохиja, Kosovo i Metohija; sq, Kosova dhe Metohija), commonly known as Kosovo and abbreviated to Kosmet or KiM, is an autonomous province defined by the constitu ...
, a region of Serbia heavily populated by ethnic Albanians, resulted in an insurrection by the Kosovo Liberation Army, an Albanian separatist group. The outbreak of the Kosovo War reintroduced Western sanctions, as well as eventual Western involvement in the conflict. The conflict ended with the adoption of
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 United Nations Security Council resolution 1244, adopted on 10 June 1999, after recalling resolutions 1160 (1998), 1199 (1998), 1203 (1998) and 1239 (1999), authorised an international civil and military presence in the Federal Republic of Y ...
, which guaranteed economic and political separation of Kosovo from FR Yugoslavia, to be placed under UN
Administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...
. Economic hardship and war resulted in growing discontent with the government of Slobodan Milošević and his allies, who ran both Serbia and Montenegro as an effective dictatorship. This would eventually cumulate in the
Bulldozer revolution A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous tracks, ...
, which saw his government overthrown, and replaced by one led by the
Democratic Opposition of Serbia The Democratic Opposition of Serbia ( sr, Демократска oпозиција Cрбије, Demokratska opozicija Srbije), commonly referred to as DOS, was a wide alliance of political parties in Serbia, intent on ousting the ruling Socialis ...
and
Vojislav Koštunica Vojislav Koštunica ( sr-cyrl, Војислав Коштуница, ; born 24 March 1944) is a Serbian former politician who served as the last president of FR Yugoslavia from 2000 to 2003 and as the prime minister of Serbia from 2004 to 2008. ...
, which also joined the UN. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ended in 2003 after the
Federal Assembly of Yugoslavia The Parliament of Yugoslavia was the legislature of Yugoslavia. Before World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia it was known as the National Assembly (''Narodna skupština''), while in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia the name was c ...
voted to enact the
Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro The Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Уставна повеља Србије и Црне Горе, ''Ustavna povelja Srbije i Crne Gore'') came into force on 4 February 2003, creating a Confederation, confederacy between Repu ...
, which established the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. As such, the name Yugoslavia was consigned to history. A growing independence movement in Montenegro, led by
Milo Đukanović Milo Đukanović ( cnr, Мило Ђукановић, ; born 15 February 1962) is a Montenegrin politician serving as the President of Montenegro since 2018, previously serving in the role from 1998 to 2003. He also served as the Prime Minister ...
meant that the Constitution of Serbia and Montenegro included a clause allowing for a referendum on the question of Montenegrin independence, after a period of three years had passed. In 2006, the
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
was called, and passed, by a narrow margin. This led to the dissolution of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, and the establishment of the independent republics of Serbia and Montenegro, turning Serbia into a
landlocked country A landlocked country is a country that does not have territory connected to an ocean or whose coastlines lie on endorheic basins. There are currently 44 landlocked countries and 4 landlocked de facto states. Kazakhstan is the world's largest ...
. This can be considered the last act which finalized the dissolution of Yugoslavia.


Name

At the country's founding in 1992 following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFR Yugoslavia), the country's official name was the ''Federal Republic of Yugoslavia'' (FR Yugoslavia), as it claimed to be the sole legal
successor state Succession of states is a concept in international relations regarding a successor state that has become a sovereign state over a territory (and populace) that was previously under the sovereignty of another state. The theory has its roots in 19th- ...
of the SFR Yugoslavia. The United States and European Union member states referred to the country as ''Serbia and Montenegro''1999 CIA
World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available ...

Serbia and Montenegro
as their governments viewed its claim to Yugoslavia's successorship as illegitimate. The 2003 constitution stated that the name of the state was simply "Serbia and Montenegro", dropping all claims to successorship of the SFR Yugoslavia.


History

After the collapse of SFR Yugoslavia in the 1990s, the two Serb majority republics, Serbia and Montenegro, agreed to remain as Yugoslavia, and established a new constitution in 1992, which established the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia essentially as a
rump state A rump state is the remnant of a once much larger state, left with a reduced territory in the wake of secession, annexation, occupation, decolonization, or a successful coup d'état or revolution on part of its former territory. In the last case ...
, with a population consisting of a majority of Serbs. The new state abandoned the Communist legacy: the red star was removed from the national flag, and the communist coat of arms was replaced by a new coat of arms representing Serbia and Montenegro. The new state also established the office of the president, held by a single person, initially appointed with the consent of the republics of Serbia and Montenegro until 1997 after which the president was democratically elected. The President of Yugoslavia acted alongside the Presidents of the republics of Serbia and Montenegro. Initially, all three offices were dominated by allies of Slobodan Milosevic and his
Socialist Party of Serbia The Socialist Party of Serbia ( sr, Социјалистичка партија Србије, Socijalistička partija Srbije, SPS) is a political party in Serbia. It is led by Ivica Dačić. It was founded in 1990 as the direct successor to ...
.


Foundation

On 26 December 1991, Serbia, Montenegro, and the Serb rebel-held territories in Croatia agreed that they would form a new "third Yugoslavia". Efforts were also made in 1991 to include
SR Bosnia and Herzegovina The Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Социјалистичка Pепублика Босна и Херцеговина), commonly referred to as Socia ...
within the federation, with negotiations between Miloševic, Bosnia's Serbian Democratic Party, and the Bosniak proponent of union – Bosnia's Vice-president
Adil Zulfikarpašić Adil Zulfikarpašić (23 December 1921 – 21 July 2008) was a prominent Bosniak intellectual and politician who was the vice president of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian War of the 1990s, under Bosnia's first President ...
taking place on this matter.Steven L. Burg, Paul S. Shoup. ''The War in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Ethnic Conflict and International Intervention''. Armonk, New York, US: M.E. Sharpe, 2000. pp. 72–73. Zulfikarpašić believed that Bosnia could benefit from a union with Serbia, Montenegro, and Krajina, thus he supported a union which would secure the unity of Serbs and Bosniaks. Miloševic continued negotiations with Zulfikarpašić to include Bosnia within a new Yugoslavia, however efforts to include the whole of Bosnia within a new Yugoslavia effectively terminated by late 1991 as Izetbegović planned to hold a referendum on independence while the Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats formed autonomous territories. Violence between ethnic Serbs and Bosniaks soon broke out. Thus, FR Yugoslavia was restricted to the republics of Serbia and Montenegro, and became closely associated with breakaway Serb republics during the Yugoslav Wars.


Yugoslav Wars

The FRY was suspended from a number of international institutions. This was due to the ongoing
Yugoslav wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from ...
during the 1990s, which had prevented agreement being reached on the disposition of federal assets and liabilities, particularly the national debt. The Government of Yugoslavia supported Croatian and Bosnian Serbs in the
wars War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...
from 1992 to 1995. Because of that, the country was under economic and political sanctions. War and sanctions resulted in economic disaster, which forced thousands of its young citizens to emigrate from the country. FR Yugoslavia acted to support Serbian separatist movements in breakaway states, including the
Republic of Serbian Krajina The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sh, Република Српска Крајина, italics=no / or РСК / ''RSK'', ), known as the Serbian Krajina ( / ) or simply Krajina, was a self-proclaimed Serb proto-state, ...
and the
Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is locat ...
, and sought to establish them as independent Serbian republics, with potential eventual reintegration with FR Yugoslvia. However, the Government of FR Yugoslavia would treat these republics as separate entities, and gave unofficial, rather than active, aid by transferring control of units from the JNA to the secessionist movements. In this way, FR Yugoslavia avoided potential accusations of committing acts of aggression against the breakaway republics recognised by the international community. Slobodan Milošević, the
President of Serbia The president of Serbia ( sr, Председник Србије, Predsednik Srbije), officially styled as the President of the Republic ( sr, Председник Републике, Predsednik Republike) is the head of state of Serbia. The curr ...
, did not consider himself to be at war with the breakaway republics of Yugoslavia. Following the transfer of Yugoslav Army units, the state of FR Yugoslavia ceased to play an important military role in the Yugoslav Wars, barring conflicts on the border with Croatia, such as the Siege of Dubrovnik. It instead provided economic and political aid, to avoid provoking the international community further, and to preserve FR Yugoslavia as the republics of Serbia and Montenegro, rather than 'Greater Serbia.' In 1995, following
Operation Storm }) was the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence and a major factor in the outcome of the Bosnian War. It was a decisive victory for the Croatian Army (HV), which attacked across a front against the self-declared proto-state Re ...
, a military offensive by the
Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( hr, Hrvatska kopnena vojska or HKoV) is the largest and most significant component of the Croatian Armed Forces (CAF). Role and deployment The fundamental role and purpose of the Croatian Army is to protect vital national i ...
, and NATO involvement in the Bosnian War, President Slobodan Milošević agreed to negotiate, as the Serbian position within Bosnia had become substantially worse. Under threat of economically crippling the Republika Srpska, he took over negotiating powers for all Serbian secessionist movements, as well as FR Yugoslavia. The ensuing
Dayton Agreements The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement or the Dayton Accords ( Croatian: ''Daytonski sporazum'', Serbian and Bosnian: ''Dejtonski mirovni sporazum'' / Дејтонски миро ...
, signed between representatives from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the
Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Република Босна и Херцеговина) was a state in Southeastern Europe, existing from 1992 to 1995. It is the direct lega ...
and the Republic of Croatia, resulted in each state being recognised as sovereign states. It also provided recognition for Serbian institutions and a rotating presidency within Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Serbian populated areas of the former Socialist Republic of Bosnia were absorbed into Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thus the Yugoslav Wars ended, and Western sanctions on FR Yugoslavia were lifted. However, Slobodan Milošević would not achieve his dreams of admitting FR Yugoslavia to the United Nations as the successor state of SFR Yugoslavia, as an 'outer wall' of Western sanctions prohibited this.


Economic collapse during Yugoslav Wars

Following the adoption of economic sanctions by the international community against FR Yugoslavia, its economy experienced a collapse. Sanctions on fuel meant that fuel stations across the country ran out of petrol, and foreign assets were seized. The average income of inhabitants of FR Yugoslavia was halved from $3,000 to $1,500. An estimated 3 million Yugoslavs (Serbs and Montenegrins) lived below the poverty line, suicide rates increased by 22% and hospitals lacked basic equipment. Along with this, supply links were cut, which meant that the Yugoslav economy could not grow, and imports or exports needed for industries could not be obtained, forcing them to close. The crippled state of the Yugoslav economy also affected its ability to wage war, and after 1992, Yugoslavia had an extremely limited military role within the Yugoslav Wars, due to the JNA units being unable to operate without oil or munitions. On top of this, starting in 1992 and until 1994, the Yugoslav dinar experienced a major hyperinflation, leading to inflation reaching 313 million percent, the second worst hyperinflation in history. Many parts of FR Yugoslavia, including all of Montenegro, adopted the
Deutsche Mark The Deutsche Mark (; English: ''German mark''), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later the unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it was ...
and
Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
currencies instead of the Yugoslav dinar. Western sanctions crippled the Yugoslav economy, and prevented it from playing an active role in aiding Serb breakaway republics. Following the Dayton Agreement, the UN Security Council voted to lift most sanctions, but they were reissued following the outbreak of an Albanian insurgency in Kosovo. The lasting economic impact can be attributed to the eventual downfall of FR Yugoslavia and Slobodan Milošević's government, as well as a deeper desire in Montenegro to leave Yugoslavia.


Kosovo War

In the
Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija The Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija ( sr, Косово и Метохиja, Kosovo i Metohija; sq, Kosova dhe Metohija), commonly known as Kosovo and abbreviated to Kosmet or KiM, is an autonomous province defined by the constitu ...
, a growing desire for independence emerged among the Albanian majority population. Already, an unrecognised Republic of Kosova had emerged with underground institutions. In 1996, the Kosovo Liberation Army, an Albanian militia promoting Kosovar independence, launched attacks against Serbian police stations, killing at least ten Serbian policemen in direct attacks between 1996 and 1998. The low level
insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irr ...
eventually escalated. After Slobodan Milošević was elected President of Yugoslavia in 1997, having served his maximum two terms as President of Serbia, he ordered JNA units to move into Kosovo to aid in the suppression of the insurrection. The governments of FR Yugoslavia and the US declared the Kosovo Liberation Army a terrorist organisation, following repeated deadly attacks against Yugoslav law enforcement agencies. US intelligence also mentioned illegal arms sources of the Kosovo Liberation Army, including conducting raids during the course of the Albanian Civil War, and drug dealing. Despite this, substantial evidence now shows that the CIA had aided in training units of the KLA, although not necessarily providing them with arms and funding. In 1998, the Kosovo War began, following increased open combat with Yugoslav police and JNA units deployed by Milošević. The KLA found itself heavily outnumbered and outgunned in open combat, and had to use guerrilla tactics. Serbian police and JNA units attacked KLA outposts, attempting to destroy them, as KLA units attempted to avoid direct confrontation and use terrorist attacks, including bombings and ambushes, to weaken Yugoslav control. Although unable to gain a strategic advantage, Yugoslav Army units found themselves in a tactical advantage against KLA units which lacked proper training. JNA units themselves lacked morale, and attacks were often directed against civilian targets rather than military targets. 863,000 Albanian civilians were forcibly expelled between March and June 1999 from Kosovo. 169,824 Serb and Romani civilians were estimated by the UNHCR's Belgrade office to have fled from Kosovo-Metohija to either Serbia proper, the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, or the constituent Republic of Montenegro by 20 June 1999. Out of 10,317 civilians, 8,676 Albanians, 1,196 Serbs and 445 Roma, Bosniaks, Montenegrins and others were killed or went missing in connection with the war between 1 January 1998 - 31 December 2000. The Serbian government attributed 1,953 Serbian, 361 Albanian and 266 other civilian deaths or disappearances from 1 January 1998 - 1 November 2001 to “Albanian terrorism in Kosovo-Metohija”. The international community was quick to respond, issuing a peace proposal to Yugoslavia in 1999. The agreement was seen as an essential ultimatum by
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
to Yugoslavia, and this rejected by the Yugoslav government. NATO responded in March 1999 by ordering airstrikes against Yugoslav military targets and infrastructure, including roads, railroads, administrative buildings and the headquarters of
Radio Television Serbia Radio Television of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Радио-телевизија Србије, sr-Lat, Radio-televizija Srbije, italics=yes; abbr. RTS/PTC) is Serbia's public broadcaster. It broadcasts and produces news, drama, and sports programming thro ...
. NATO's bombing campaign was not approved by the UN Security Council, for fear of a veto by Russia, which would cause controversy as to its
legality Legality, in respect of an act, agreement, or contract is the state of being consistent with the law or of being lawful or unlawful in a given jurisdiction, and the construct of power. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, legality is 1 : ...
. The UN Security Council adopted
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1160 United Nations Security Council resolution 1160, adopted on 31 March 1998, after noting the situation in Kosovo, the council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, imposed an arms embargo and economic sanctions on the Federal Re ...
, renewing arms and oil sanctions against FR Yugoslavia, and thus crippling its economy. The effects of continuous aerial bombardment and sanctions cost the Yugoslav economy hundreds of billions of USD and eventually forced Milošević's government to comply with an agreement put forward by an international delegation.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 United Nations Security Council resolution 1244, adopted on 10 June 1999, after recalling resolutions 1160 (1998), 1199 (1998), 1203 (1998) and 1239 (1999), authorised an international civil and military presence in the Federal Republic of Y ...
led to substantial autonomy for Kosovo, and the establishment of a UN mission to Kosovo, as well as the complete withdrawal of units of the Yugoslav National Army. As such, Kosovo remained an Autonomous Province of Serbia, but politically and economically independent. The damage to FR Yugoslavia was immense, with the government estimating $100 billion in infrastructure damage, as well as 1,200 Serbian and Albanian civilians or soldiers confirmed dead. Economists have estimated at least $29 billion in direct damages caused by the bombings. In the aftermath of the Kosovo War, a low level
insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irr ...
continued in parts of Southern Serbia, which had Albanian minorities. However, this insurgency lacked international support, and the Yugoslav Armed Forces were able to put down the insurgency.


Bulldozer Revolution

The string of defeats, as well as a complete collapse of the Yugoslav economy, led to mass unpopularity of the essential dictatorship of Slobodan Milošević and his allies in the
Socialist Party of Serbia The Socialist Party of Serbia ( sr, Социјалистичка партија Србије, Socijalistička partija Srbije, SPS) is a political party in Serbia. It is led by Ivica Dačić. It was founded in 1990 as the direct successor to ...
. In September 2000, amongst accusations of electoral fraud, large scale protests struck the nation. Milošević was eventually removed from power, as his
Socialist Party of Serbia The Socialist Party of Serbia ( sr, Социјалистичка партија Србије, Socijalistička partija Srbije, SPS) is a political party in Serbia. It is led by Ivica Dačić. It was founded in 1990 as the direct successor to ...
lost in the federal elections to the
Democratic Opposition of Serbia The Democratic Opposition of Serbia ( sr, Демократска oпозиција Cрбије, Demokratska opozicija Srbije), commonly referred to as DOS, was a wide alliance of political parties in Serbia, intent on ousting the ruling Socialis ...
. In the aftermath, a new government in Yugoslavia negotiated with the United Nations, accepting that it was not the sole legal successor to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and was allowed to join the UN. Milošević would later be put on trial for corruption and war crimes, especially during the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, although he died in prison before his trial could end in 2006. His culpability, especially of the charges brought against him in the context of the ICTY, remains a subject of controversy within Serbia.


Gradual dissolution

In 2002, Serbia and Montenegro came to a new agreement regarding continued co-operation, which, among other changes, promised the end of the name Yugoslavia (since they were part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). On 4 February 2003, the
Federal Assembly of Yugoslavia The Parliament of Yugoslavia was the legislature of Yugoslavia. Before World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia it was known as the National Assembly (''Narodna skupština''), while in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia the name was c ...
created a loose
state union A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller polities, or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal governm ...
or confederacy—the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, although Yugoslavia was still commonly used. A new constitutional charter was agreed to provide a framework for the governance of the country. On Sunday, 21 May 2006,
Montenegrins Montenegrins ( cnr, Црногорци, Crnogorci, or ; lit. "Black Mountain People") are a South Slavic ethnic group that share a common Montenegrin culture, history, and language, identified with the country of Montenegro. Genetics Accordi ...
voted in an
independence referendum An independence referendum is a type of referendum in which the residents of a territory decide whether the territory should become an independent sovereign state. An independence referendum that results in a vote for independence does not alwa ...
, Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1372 with 55.5% supporting independence. Fifty-five percent or more of affirmative votes were needed to dissolve the confederation and Yugoslavia. The turnout was 86.3% and 99.73% of the more than 477,000 votes cast were deemed valid. The subsequent Montenegrin proclamation of independence on 3 June 2006 and the Serbian proclamation of independence on 5 June ended the confederation of Serbia and Montenegro and thus the last remaining vestiges of the former
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
.


Politics

The Federal Assembly of Yugoslavia, representing FR Yugoslavia (1992–2003) was composed of two chambers: the Council of Citizens and the Council of Republics. Whereas the Council of Citizens served as an ordinary assembly, representing the people of FR Yugoslavia, the Council of Republics was made equally by representatives from the federation's constituent republics, to ensure federal equality between Serbia and Montenegro. The first president from 1992 to 1993 was Dobrica Ćosić, a former communist
Yugoslav partisan The Yugoslav Partisans, Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...
during World War II and later one of the fringe contributors of the controversial
Memorandum of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Memorandum of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, known simply as the SANU Memorandum ( sr-cyr, Меморандум САНУ), was a draft document produced by a 16-member committee of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) from ...
. Despite being head of the country, Ćosić was forced out of office in 1993 due to his opposition to Serbian President Slobodan Milošević. Ćosić was replaced by
Zoran Lilić Zoran Lilić (Serbian Cyrillic: Зоран Лилић; born 27 August 1954) is a Serbian and former Yugoslav politician. He served as President of the National Assembly of Serbia from 1992 to 1994, and as President of the Federal Republic of ...
who served from 1993 to 1997, and then followed by Milošević becoming Yugoslav President in 1997 after his last legal term as Serbian president ended in 1997. FR Yugoslavia was dominated by Milosevic and his allies, until the presidential election in 2000. There were accusations of vote fraud and Yugoslav citizens took to the streets and engaged in riots in Belgrade demanding that Milošević be removed from power. Shortly afterwards Milošević resigned and
Vojislav Koštunica Vojislav Koštunica ( sr-cyrl, Војислав Коштуница, ; born 24 March 1944) is a Serbian former politician who served as the last president of FR Yugoslavia from 2000 to 2003 and as the prime minister of Serbia from 2004 to 2008. ...
took over as Yugoslav president and remained president until the state's reconstitution as the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. Federal Prime Minister
Milan Panić Milan Panić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Панић, ; born 20 December 1929) is a Serbian-American businessman, humanitarian and former politician. He served as the Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1992 to 1993. During and aft ...
became frustrated with Milošević's domineering behaviour during diplomatic talks in 1992, and told Milošević to "shut up" because Milošević's position was officially subordinate to his position. Milošević later forced Panić to resign. However, this situation changed after 1997 when Milošević's second and last legal term as Serbian President ended. He then had himself elected Federal President, thus entrenching the power that he already de facto held. Sabrina P. Ramet. ''Serbia Since 1989: Politics and Society Under Milošević and After''. University of Washington Press, 2005. p. 61. (During Milošević's tenure as President of Serbia, the government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was de facto subordinate to his government, with Milošević installing and forcing the removal of several Federal Presidents and Prime Ministers. However this changed after 1997 when Milošević's last legal term as Serbian President ended and he became Federal President that year, in which Milošević entrenched the power of the Federal Presidency.) After the federation was reconstituted as a State Union, the new Assembly of the State Union was created. It was unicameral and was made up of 126 deputies, of which 91 were from Serbia and 35 were from Montenegro. The Assembly convened in the building of the old Federal Assembly of Yugoslavia, which now houses the
National Assembly of Serbia The National Assembly ( sr-cyr, Народна скупштина, Narodna skupština, ) is the unicameral legislature of Serbia. The assembly is composed of 250 deputies who are proportionally elected to four-year terms by secret ballot. The a ...
. In 2003, after the constitutional changes and creation of the
State Union of Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Y ...
, a new President of Serbia and Montenegro was elected. He was also president of the
Council of Ministers of Serbia and Montenegro {{Politics of Serbia and Montenegro The Council of Ministers of Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Савет Министара Србије и Црне Горе, ''Savet Ministara Srbije i Crne Gore'') was the federal executive governing body of Serbia ...
.
Svetozar Marović Svetozar Marović ( sr-cyr, Светозар Маровић; born 31 March 1955) is a Montenegrin lawyer and politician who served as the last head of state and head of government of Serbia and Montenegro from 2003 until Montenegro's declaration ...
was the first and last President of Serbia and Montenegro until its breakup in 2006.


Military

The Armed Forces of Yugoslavia ( Serbian: Војска Југославије/Vojska Jugoslavije, ВЈ/VJ) included
ground forces An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
with internal and border troops, naval forces, air and air defense forces, and civil defense. It was established from the remnants of the
Yugoslav National Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska ar ...
(JNA), the military of SFR Yugoslavia. Several Bosnian Serb units of the VJ were transferred over to the
Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is locat ...
, during the course of the Bosnian War, leaving only units directly from Serbia and Montenegro in the armed forces. The VJ saw military action during the
Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from ...
, including the Siege of Dubrovnik and the Battle of Vukovar, as well as the
Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the wa ...
, and played combat roles during ethnic
insurgencies An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irr ...
. Following the Kosovo War, the VJ was forced to evacuate Kosovo, and in 2003 it was renamed the ''Armed Forces of Serbia and Montenegro.'' Following the dissolution of the Union between Serbia and Montenegro, units from each army were assigned to the independent republics of Serbia and Montenegro, as recruitment in the army was on a local, rather than Federal, level. Montenegro inherited the small navy of FR Yugoslavia, due to Serbia being landlocked.


Administrative divisions

FR Yugoslavia was composed of four principal political units, consisting of two Republics, and two subordinate Autonomous Provinces, as following: *The
Republic of Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
(capital: Belgrade), including Central Serbia; ** Kosovo and Metohija – Autonomous province within Serbia (capital:
Pristina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians an ...
). Under
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
administration from June 1999 under the terms of the
Kumanovo Agreement The Military Technical Agreement, also known as the Kumanovo Agreement, signed between the International Security Force (KFOR) and the Governments of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia, was an accord concluded on 9 June ...
. **
Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...
, Autonomous province within Serbia (capital:
Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
). *The Republic of Montenegro (capital:
Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; lit. 'under the hill') is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd (Cyrillic: Титоград, ) between 1946 and 1992—in the period that Montenegro form ...
).


Serbia

The territorial organisation of the Republic of Serbia was regulated by the Law on Territorial Organisation and Local Self-Government, adopted in the Assembly of Serbia on 24 July 1991. Under the Law, the municipalities, cities and settlements make the bases of the territorial organization.Law on Territorial Organization and Local Self-Government
, Parliament of Serbia
Serbia was divided into 195
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
and 4
cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
, which were the basic units of local autonomy. It had two autonomous provinces: Kosovo and Metohija in the south (with 30 municipalities), which was under the administration of
UNMIK The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is the officially mandated mission of the United Nations in Kosovo. The UNMIK describes its mandate as being to "help the United Nations Security Council achieve an overall ...
after 1999, and
Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...
in the north (with 46 municipalities and 1 city). The territory between Kosovo and Vojvodina was called Central Serbia. Central Serbia was not an administrative division on its own and had no regional government of its own. In addition, there were four cities: Belgrade,
Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
,
Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
and Kragujevac, each having an assembly and budget of its own. The cities comprised several municipalities, divided into "urban" (in the city proper) and "other" (suburban). Competences of cities and their municipalities were divided. Municipalities were gathered into districts, which are regional centres of state authority, but have no assemblies of their own; they present purely administrative divisions, and host various state institutions such as funds, office branches and courts. The Republic of Serbia was then and is still today divided into 29 districts (17 in Central Serbia, 7 in Vojvodina and 5 in Kosovo, which are now defunct), while the city of Belgrade presents a district of its own.


Montenegro

Montenegro was divided into 21 municipalities.


Geography

Serbia and Montenegro had an area of 102,350 square kilometres (39,518 sq mi), with 199 kilometres (124 mi) of coastline. The terrain of the two republics is extremely varied, with much of Serbia comprising plains and low hills (except in the more mountainous region of Kosovo and Metohija) and much of Montenegro consisting of high mountains. Serbia is entirely landlocked, with the coastline belonging to Montenegro. The climate is similarly varied. The north has a continental climate (cold winters and hot summers); the central region has a combination of a continental and
Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
; the southern region had an Adriatic climate along the coast, with inland regions experiencing hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall inland. Belgrade, with its population of 1,574,050, is the largest city in the two nations: and the only one of significant size. The country's other principal cities were
Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
,
Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
, Kragujevac,
Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; lit. 'under the hill') is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd (Cyrillic: Титоград, ) between 1946 and 1992—in the period that Montenegro form ...
, Subotica,
Pristina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians an ...
, and Prizren, each with populations of about 100,000–250,000 people.


Demographics

FR Yugoslavia had more demographic variety than most other European countries. According to the 1992 census, the Federal Republic had 10,394,026 inhabitants. The three largest named nationalities were
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
(6,504,048 inhabitants, or 62.6%), Albanians (1,714,768 inhabitants, or 16.5%), and
Montenegrins Montenegrins ( cnr, Црногорци, Crnogorci, or ; lit. "Black Mountain People") are a South Slavic ethnic group that share a common Montenegrin culture, history, and language, identified with the country of Montenegro. Genetics Accordi ...
(519,766 inhabitants, or 5%). The country also had significant populations of
Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and  ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...
, ethnic Yugoslavs,
ethnic Muslims Muslims ( Serbo-Croatian Latin and sl, Muslimani, Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic and mk, Муслимани) is a designation for a Serbo-Croatian speaking Muslims, inhabiting mostly the territory of the former Yugoslav republics. The term, adopted ...
, Romani,
Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...
,
Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely unders ...
, Macedonians,
Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym '' Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Roman ...
,
Vlachs "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other E ...
, and others (under 1%). Most of the ethnic diversity was situated in the autonomous provinces of
Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
and
Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...
, where smaller numbers of other minority groups could be found. The large Albanian population was chiefly concentrated in Kosovo, with smaller populations in the
Preševo Valley The Preševo Valley ( sr-cyrl, Прешевска долина, Preševska dolina, al, Lugina e Preshevës) is a geopolitical region in southern Serbia, along the border with Kosovo. The valley geographically includes municipalities of Bujanovac ...
, and in the
Ulcinj Ulcinj ( cyrl, Улцињ, ; ) is a town on the southern coast of Montenegro and the capital of Ulcinj Municipality. It has an urban population of 10,707 (2011), the majority being Albanians. As one of the oldest settlements in the Adriatic co ...
municipality in Montenegro. The ''Muslim'' ( Slavic Muslims, including Bosniaks and Gorani) population lived mostly in the federal border region (mainly
Novi Pazar Novi Pazar ( sr-cyr, Нови Пазар, lit. "New Bazaar"; ) is a city located in the Raška District of southwestern Serbia. As of the 2011 census, the urban area has 66,527 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 100,410 inhabit ...
in Serbia, and
Rožaje Rožaje ( cnr, Рожаје, bs, Rožaje), ; sq, Rozhajë) is a town in northeastern Montenegro. As of 2011, the city has a population of 9,567 inhabitants. Surrounded by hills to its west and mountains to its east (notably Mount Hajla), the ...
in Montenegro). It is important to note that the Montenegrin population often considered themselves as Serbs. ;Total Population of FR Yugoslavia – 10,019,657 *
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
(total): 9,396,411 **Vojvodina: 2,116,725 **Central Serbia: 5,479,686 **Kosovo: 1,800,000 *
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
: 623,246 *Major cities (over 100,000 inhabitants) – 2002 data (2003 for Podgorica): **
Beograd Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 million ...
(Belgrade): 1,280,639 (1,574,050 metro) **
Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
: 215,600 (298,139 metro) **
Pristina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians an ...
: 200,000 (2002 estimate) **
Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
: 173,390 (234,863 metro) ** Kragujevac: 145,890 (175,182 metro) **
Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; lit. 'under the hill') is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd (Cyrillic: Титоград, ) between 1946 and 1992—in the period that Montenegro form ...
: 139,500 (169,000 metro) ** Prizren: 121,000 (2002 estimate) ** Subotica: 99,471 (147,758 metro) More than half of Kosovo's pre-1999 Serb population (226,000), including 37,000 Romani, 15,000 Balkan Muslims (including Ashkali, Bosniaks, and Gorani), and 7,000 other non-Albanian civilians were expelled to central Serbia and Montenegro, following the
Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the wa ...
. According to a 2004 estimate, the State Union had 10,825,900 inhabitants. According to a July 2006 estimate, the State Union had 10,832,545 inhabitants.


Economy

The state suffered significantly economically due to the breakup of Yugoslavia and mismanagement of the economy, and an extended period of economic sanctions. In the early 1990s, the FRY suffered from hyperinflation of the Yugoslav dinar. By the mid-1990s, the FRY had overcome the inflation. Further damage to Yugoslavia's infrastructure and industry caused by the
Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the wa ...
left the economy only half the size it was in 1990. Since the ousting of former Federal Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević in October 2000, the
Democratic Opposition of Serbia The Democratic Opposition of Serbia ( sr, Демократска oпозиција Cрбије, Demokratska opozicija Srbije), commonly referred to as DOS, was a wide alliance of political parties in Serbia, intent on ousting the ruling Socialis ...
(DOS) coalition government has implemented stabilization measures and embarked on an aggressive market reform program. After renewing its membership in the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
in December 2000, Yugoslavia continued to reintegrate with other world nations by rejoining the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The smaller republic of
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
severed its economy from federal control and from Serbia during the Milošević era. Afterwards, the two republics had separate central banks whilst Montenegro began to use different currencies – it first adopted the
Deutsche Mark The Deutsche Mark (; English: ''German mark''), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later the unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it was ...
, and continued to use it until the Mark fell into disuse to be replaced by the
Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
. Serbia continued to use the Yugoslav Dinar, renaming it the ''
Serbian Dinar The dinar ( sr-Cyrl, динар, ; paucal: dinara / динара; abbreviation: DIN (Latin) and дин (Cyrillic); code: RSD) is the currency of Serbia. One dinar is subdivided into 100 para. The dinar was first used in Serbia in medieval times, ...
''. The complexity of the FRY's political relationships, slow progress in privatisation, and stagnation in the European economy were detrimental to the economy. Arrangements with the IMF, especially requirements for fiscal discipline, were an important element in policy formation. Severe unemployment was a key political and economic problem. Corruption also presented a major problem, with a large black market and a high degree of criminal involvement in the formal economy.


Transport

Serbia, and in particular the valley of the Morava is often described as "the crossroads between the
East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
and the
West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
" – one of the primary reasons for its turbulent history. The valley is by far the easiest land route from continental Europe to Greece and
Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
. Major international highways going through Serbia were E75 and E70. E763/ E761 was the most important route connecting Serbia with Montenegro. The
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
, an important international waterway, flowed through Serbia. The
Port of Bar The Port of Bar ( Montenegrin: ''Luka Bar'', ''Лука Бар'', MNSELUBA is Montenegro's main sea port. It is located in Bar. History The Port of Bar was used as a sea port for Shkodër before it was conquered by the Turks in 1571. Right after ...
was the largest seaport located in Montenegro.


Holidays

;Holidays celebrated only in Serbia *15 February – Sretenje ( National Day, non-working) ;Holidays celebrated only in Montenegro *13 July – Statehood Day (non-working)


Proposed national flag and anthem for the State Union

After the formation of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, the Yugoslav tricolour was to be replaced by a new compromise flag. Article 23 of the Law for the implementation of the Constitutional Charter stated that a law specifying the new flag was to be passed within 60 days of the first session of the new joint parliament. Among the flag proposals, the popular choice was a flag with a shade of blue in between the Serbian tricolor and the Montenegrin tricolor of 1993 through 2004. The color shade Pantone 300C was perceived as the best choice. However the parliament failed to vote on the proposal within the legal time-frame and the flag was not adopted. In 2004, Montenegro adopted a radically different flag, as its independence-leaning government sought to distance itself from Serbia. Proposals for a compromise flag were dropped after this and the Union of Serbia and Montenegro never adopted a flag. A similar fate befell the country's state anthem and coat-of-arms to be; the above-mentioned Article 23 also stipulated that a law determining the State Union's flag and anthem was to be passed by the end of 2003. The official proposal for a state anthem was a combination piece consisting of one verse of the former (now current) Serbian national anthem " Bože pravde" followed by a verse of the Montenegrin folk song, "
Oj, svijetla majska zoro "" (Cyrillic: "", ; "Oh, Bright Dawn of May") is the national anthem of Montenegro adopted in 2004. Before its adoption, it was a popular folk song with many variations of its text. The oldest version dates back to the second half of the 19th cen ...
". This proposal was dropped after some public opposition, notably by Serbian Patriarch
Pavle Pavle ( Macedonian and sr-cyr, Павле; ka, პავლე) is a Serbian, Macedonian, Croatian and Georgian male given name corresponding to English Paul; the name is of biblical origin (cf. Saint Paul). People known mononymously as Pavle in ...
. Another legal deadline passed and no state anthem was adopted. Serious proposals for the coat of arms were never put forward, probably because the coat of arms of the FRY, adopted in 1994 combining Serbian and Montenegrin heraldic elements, was considered adequate. Thus, the State Union never officially adopted state symbols and continued to use the flag and national anthem of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by inertia until its dissolution in 2006.


Sports


Association football

FR Yugoslavia, later Serbia and Montenegro, was considered by FIFA and
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
to be the only successor-state of Yugoslavia.Serbia
at FIFA official website
News: Serbia
at
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
official website, published 1 January 2011, Retrieved 4 October 2012
Football was experiencing major success during the 1980s and early 1990s; however, due to the imposed economic sanctions, the country was excluded from all international competitions between 1992 and 1996. After the sanctions were lifted, the national team qualified for two
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
s—in
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
as FR Yugoslavia and in 2006 as Serbia and Montenegro. It also qualified for
Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...
, as FR Yugoslavia. The 1998 World Cup appearance in France was accompanied with plenty of expectation and quiet confidence as the team was considered to be one of the tournament's dark horses due to being stacked with proven world-class players such as 29-year-old
Predrag Mijatović Predrag "Peđa" Mijatović ( sr-Cyrl, Предраг Мијатовић, ; born 19 January 1969) is a Montenegrin retired professional footballer who played as a striker. At club level, Mijatović played for six clubs: Budućnost, Partizan, Va ...
, 33-year-old
Dragan Stojković Dragan Stojković ( sr-Cyrl, Драган Стојковић, ; born 3 March 1965), also known by the nickname Piksi (Пикси), is a Serbian former footballer who played as a midfielder, and the current manager of the Serbia national team. Wi ...
, 29-year-old
Siniša Mihajlović Siniša Mihajlović ( sr-Cyrl, Синиша Михајловић, ; 20 February 1969 – 16 December 2022) was a Serbian professional football player and manager. During his career as a footballer, he played as a defender or midfielder. He won ...
, 28-year-old Vladimir Jugović, and 31-year-old
Dejan Savićević Dejan Savićević ( cyrl, Дејан Савићевић, ; born 15 September 1966) is a Montenegrin former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Since 2004, he has been the president of the Montenegrin Football Association (FSCG), cu ...
, as well as emerging 19-year-old youngster Dejan Stanković, and tall 24-year-old target forwards
Savo Milošević Savo Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Саво Милошевић, ; born 2 September 1973) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. A former forward, he signed for English club Aston Villa after making a name for himself at Partiza ...
and
Darko Kovačević Darko Kovačević ( sr-Cyrl, Дарко Ковачевић) (born 18 November 1973) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He began his career in Serbia with Proleter Zrenjanin and subsequently played for Red Star ...
. Another reason for heightened expectations was that this was the country's first major international appearance following the UN-imposed exile. However, the squad never managed to hit top gear—although it did make it out of the group, it got eliminated by the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
via an injury-time goal in the round-of-16. Two years later at Euro 2000, nearly the same team again made it out of the group and was again eliminated from the tournament by the Netherlands, this time convincingly, 1–6, in the quarter finals. Serbia and Montenegro were represented by a single national team in the
2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...
tournament, despite having formally split just weeks prior to its start. The final squad was made up of players born in both Serbia and Montenegro. They played their last ever international on 21 June 2006, a 3–2 loss to Ivory Coast. Following the World Cup, this team has been inherited by Serbia, while a new one was to be organized to represent Montenegro in future international competitions.


Basketball

The senior men's basketball team dominated European and world basketball during the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s, with three EuroBasket titles (
1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
,
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
, and 2001), two FIBA World Cup titles (
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
and 2002), and a Summer Olympic Games silver medal ( 1996). The national team started competing internationally in 1995, after a three-year exile, due to a UN trade embargo. During that time, FR Yugoslavia was not allowed to compete at the
1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, the 1993 EuroBasket, and also the 1994 FIBA World Championship, which was originally supposed to be hosted by Belgrade, before being taken away from the city and moved to
Toronto, Canada Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
. At the
1995 EuroBasket The 1995 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1995, was the 29th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1996 Summer Olympics, giving a berth to ea ...
in
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, its first international competition, the hungry and highly motivated FR Yugoslav team, which was led by head coach
Dušan Ivković Dušan "Duda" Ivković ( sr-cyrl, Душан "Дуда" Ивковић; 29 October 1943 – 16 September 2021) was a Serbian professional basketball player and coach. He served as head coach of the senior Serbian national basketball team from ...
, featured a starting five full of world-class talent, with established European stars at positions one through four — 27-year-old Saša Đorđević, 25-year-old
Predrag Danilović Predrag "Saša" Danilović ( sr-cyr, Предраг "Саша" Даниловић, ; born February 26, 1970), usually referred to in English as Sasha Danilović, is a Serbian professional basketball executive and former player, considered one of ...
, 29-year-old
Žarko Paspalj Žarko Paspalj (Serbian Cyrillic: Жарко Паспаљ; born March 27, 1966) is a retired Serbian professional basketball player and sports administrator. The EuroLeague Final Four MVP in 1994, his sixteen and a half seasons career was mostly sp ...
, 22-year-old
Dejan Bodiroga Dejan Bodiroga ( sr-Cyrl, Дејан Бодирога; born 2 March 1973) is a Serbian basketball executive and former professional player who is the Chairman of the Euroleague Basketball. During his playing career, he mainly played at the sm ...
— capped off with 27-year-old
Vlade Divac Vlade Divac ( sr-Cyrl, Владе Дивац, ; born February 3, 1968) is a Serbian professional basketball executive and former player who was most recently the vice president of basketball operations and general manager of the Sacramento Kings ...
, the starting center for the
LA Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
at the five position. With a bench that was just as capable — with experienced
Zoran Sretenović Zoran Sretenović ( sr-cyr, Зоран Сретеновић; 5 August 1964 – 28 April 2022) was a Serbian basketball coach and player. Playing career Sretenović played for several clubs in his country and abroad, most notably with Jugoplast ...
(the only player over 30 in the team),
Saša Obradović Saša Obradović (Anglicized: Sasha Obradovic; sr-Cyrl, Саша Обрадовић, ; born 29 January 1969) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player. He is currently the head coach for AS Monaco of the French LNB Pro A Stan ...
, talisman power forward
Zoran Savić Zoran Savić ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран Савић; born November 18, 1966) is a Serbian professional basketball executive and former professional player who is currently the sports director for Partizan Belgrade of the Serbian KLS, the Adriatic Le ...
, and up-and-coming young center Željko Rebrača — the team rampaged through its preliminary group, which featured medal contenders
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
and Lithuania, with a 6–0 record. At the first direct elimination stage, the quarterfinals, FR Yugoslavia scored 104 points to destroy
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, thus setting up a semifinal clash with the tournament hosts Greece. In the highly charged atmosphere of the OAKA Indoor Arena, the FR Yugoslav team demonstrated its versatility, using defensive prowess in that game to pull off a famous eight-point win, in a tense, low-scoring 60–52 game. In the final, FR Yugoslavia played against the experienced Lithuanian team, which was led by basketball legend
Arvydas Sabonis Arvydas Romas Sabonis (; born December 19, 1964) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player and businessman. Recognized as one of the best European players of all time, he won the Euroscar six times and the Mr. Europa Award twice. He p ...
, in addition to other world class players like
Šarūnas Marčiulionis Raimondas Šarūnas Marčiulionis () (born June 13, 1964) is a Lithuanian retired professional basketball player. Widely considered one of the greatest international players, he was one of the first Europeans to become a regular in the Nationa ...
,
Rimas Kurtinaitis Rimas Kurtinaitis (born May 15, 1960) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach, and a retired professional basketball player, who was a member of the senior Soviet and Lithuanian national basketball teams during his playing career. He won ...
, and
Valdemaras Chomičius Valdemaras Chomičius (also known as Valdemaras Homicius; born May 4, 1959) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player for the Soviet and Lithuanian national basketball team, and an assistant coach for the Lithuanian national team. ...
. The final became a classic game of international basketball, with the crafty Yugoslavs prevailing, by a score of 96–90, behind Đorđević's 41 points. They were represented by a single team at the
2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...
as well, even though tournament was played in mid/late-August and early-September of that year, and the Serbia–Montenegro breakup had occurred in May. That team was also inherited by
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
after the tournament, while
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
created a separate senior national basketball team afterwards, as well as their own national teams in all other team sports.


Entertainment

Serbia and Montenegro was represented after its formal dissolution in the
Miss Earth 2006 Miss Earth 2006, the 6th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, was held on November 26, 2006, at the grounds of the National Museum in Manila, Philippines. The pageant was won by Hil Hernández of Chile and crowned by outgoing titleholder, Miss Ea ...
pageant by a single delegate, Dubravka Skoric. Serbia and Montenegro also participated in the Eurovision Song Contest on two occasions and in
Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2005 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the third edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest for young singers aged 8 to 15. On 26 November 2005, the contest was broadcast live from the Ethias Arena in Hasselt, Belgium, in a joint ...
only on one occasion. The country debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest under the name Serbia and Montenegro in 2004, when
Željko Joksimović Željko Joksimović ( sr-Cyrl, Жељко Јоксимовић, ; born 20 April 1972) is a Serbian vocalist, composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. He plays 12 different musical instruments including accordion, piano, guitar ...
got second place. The next to follow was the Montenegrin boyband No Name. In 2006, the year of Montenegrin independence, the country Serbia and Montenegro did not have a representative due to the scandal in Evropesma 2006, but was still able to vote in both the semi-final and the final.


See also

*
List of national border changes since World War I A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
* Military of FR Yugoslavia


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* *
Country Profile: Serbia and Montenegro
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Serbia And Montenegro Former federations Former confederations Modern history of Serbia Former countries in the Balkans Former Slavic countries Former state unions States and territories established in 1992 States and territories disestablished in 2006 1992 establishments in Europe 2006 disestablishments in Europe 2000s in Kosovo 2000s in Montenegro 2000s in Serbia 20th century rump states 2006 disestablishments in Serbia and Montenegro Former member states of the United Nations