ceres country profile - serbia

7/30/2019 CERES Country Profile - Serbia

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Country in a Box:

Republic of SerbiaRepublika Srbija

A Teachers GuideCompiled by the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European StudiesEdmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown Universityhttp://ceres.georgetown.edu

Cathedral of Saint Sava in Belgrade, Serbia
http://www.ceres.georgetown.edu/http://www.ceres.georgetown.edu/


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Serbia in a Box: Table of Contents

Facts at a Glance 3-7

History of Serbia 8-11

Timeline of Major Events in Serbian History 12

Culture of Serbia 13-15

Folklore: The Goats Earsof the Emperor Trojan 16-17

Additional Resources 18

The Danube River near the Iron Gate gorge


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Serbia: Facts at a Glance_______Text and map taken directly from Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook: SerbiaAvailable at: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ti.html

Country Name:Serbia

Capital:Belgrade

Background: The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats,and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its namewas changed to Yugoslavia in 1929.Communist Partisans resisted the Axisoccupation and division of Yugoslavia from1941 to 1945 and fought nationalist opponentsand collaborators as well. The military and

political movement headed by Josip Broz"Tito" (Partisans) took full control ofYugoslavia when their domestic rivals and theoccupiers were defeated in 1945. Althoughcommunists, Tito and his successors (Tito diedin 1980) managed to steer their own pathbetween the Warsaw Pact nations and the Westfor the next four and a half decades. In 1989,Slobodan Milosevic became president of theRepublic of Serbia and his ultranationalist calls for Serbian domination led to the violent breakupof Yugoslavia along ethnic lines. In 1991, Croatia, Slovenia, and Macedonia declared

independence, followed by Bosnia in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegrodeclared a new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) in April 1992 and under Milosevicsleadership, Serbia led various military campaigns to unite ethnic Serbs in neighboring republicsinto a "Greater Serbia." These actions were ultimately unsuccessful and, after internationalintervention, led to the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995. Milosevic retained controlover Serbia and eventually became president of the FRY in 1997. In 1998, an ethnic Albanianinsurgency in the formerly autonomous Serbian province of Kosovo provoked a Serbiancounterinsurgency campaign that resulted in massacres and massive expulsions of ethnicAlbanians living in Kosovo. The Milosevic government's rejection of a proposed internationalsettlement led to NATO's bombing of Serbia in the spring of 1999. Serbian military and policeforces withdrew from Kosovo in June 1999, and the UN Security Council authorized an interim

UN administration and a NATO-led security force in Kosovo. FRY elections in late 2000 led tothe ouster of Milosevic and the installation of democratic government. In 2003, the FRY becamethe State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, a loose federation of the two republics. Widespreadviolence predominantly targeting ethnic Serbs in Kosovo in March 2004 let to more intense callsto address Kosovo's status, and the UN began facilitating status talks in 2006. In June 2006,Montenegro seceded from the federation and declared itself an independent nation. Serbiasubsequently gave notice that it was the successor state to the union of Serbia and Montenegro.In February 2008, after nearly two years of inconclusive negotiations, Kosovo declared itself


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independent of Serbia - an action Serbia refuses to recognize. At Serbia's request, the UNGeneral Assembly (UNGA) in October 2008 sought an advisory opinion from the InternationalCourt of Justice (ICJ) on whether Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence was inaccordance with international law. In a ruling considered unfavorable to Serbia, the ICJ issued anadvisory opinion in July 2010 stating that international law did not prohibit declarations of

independence. In late 2010, Serbia agreed to an EU-drafted UNGA Resolution acknowledgingthe ICJ's decision and calling for a new round of talks between Serbia and Kosovo, this time onpractical issues rather than Kosovo's status. The EU-moderated Belgrade-Pristina dialogue beganin March 2011 and was raised to the level of prime ministers in October 2012. Serbia andKosovo signed the first agreement of principles governing the normalization of relations betweenthe two countries in April 2013 and are in the process of implementing its provisions.

Location: Southeastern Europe, between Macedonia and Hungary

Area: Total: 77,474 sq km, Country comparison to the world: 117Land: 77,474 sq km

Water: 0 sq km

Area - Comparative: Slightly smaller than South Carolina

Terrain: Extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges andbasins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills

Elevation extremes: Lowest point: Danube and Timok Rivers 35 mHighest point: Midzor 2,169 m

Natural Resources: Oil, gas, coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, chromite, gold, silver,magnesium, pyrite, limestone, marble, salt, arable land

Environment - Current Issues: Air pollution around Belgrade and other industrial cities; waterpollution from industrial wastes dumped into the Sava which flows into the Danube

Population: 7,209,764 (July 2014 est.); Country comparison to the world: 101

Urbanization: Urban population: 56.4% of total population (2011)

Life Expectancy at Birth: Total population: 75.02 years; Country comparison to the world: 101Male: 72.17 yearsFemale: 78.07 years (2014 est.)

Ethnic Groups: Serb 83.3%, Hungarian 3.5%, Romany 2.1%, Bosniak 2%, other 5.7%,undeclared or unknown 3.4% (2011 est.)


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The Flag of SerbiaThree equal horizontal stripes of red (top), blue, and white- the Pan-Slav colors representing freedom andrevolutionary ideals; charged with the coat of arms ofSerbia shifted slightly to the hoist side; the principal field

of the coat of arms represents the Serbian state anddisplays a white two-headed eagle on a red shield; asmaller red shield on the eagle represents the Serbiannation, and is divided into four quarters by a white cross; awhite Cyrillic "C" in each quarter stands for the phrase"Only Unity Saves the Serbs"; a royal crown surmountsthe coat of arms. (note: the Pan-Slav colors were inspiredby the 19th-century flag of Russia)

Religions: Serbian Orthodox 84.6%, Catholic 5%, Muslim 3.1%, Protestant 1%, atheist 1.1%,other 0.8%, undeclared or unknown 4.5% (2011est.)

Education Expenditures:4.8% of GDP (2011)

Country comparison to the world: 82

Government Type: Republic

Independence: 5 June 2006 (from Serbia andMontenegro)

Legal System: Civil law system

Executive Branch: Chief of state: PresidentTomislav Nikolic (since 31 May 2012); Head of

government: Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic(since 22 April 2014)

Legislative Branch: Unicameral NationalAssembly (250 seats; deputies elected accordingto party lists to serve four-year terms)

Judicial Branch: Courts of general jurisdiction(municipal courts, district courts, Appellate

Courts, the Supreme Court of Cassation); courts of special jurisdiction (commercial courts, theHigh Commercial Court, the High Magistrates Court, the Administrative Court)

Political Parties and Leaders: Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians or SVM [Istvan Pasztor];Boris Tadic Coalition [Boris Tadic]; Democratic Party of Serbia or DSS [Aleksandar Popovic];Enough of That [Sasa Radulovic]; Party for Democratic Action or PDD [Riza Halimi]; Party ofDemocratic Action of the Sandzak or SDA [Sulejman Ugljanin]; Serbian Radical Party or SRS[Vojislav Seselj]; SNS-led Coalition/A Future We Believe In [Aleksandar Vucic]; UnitedRegions of Serbia [Mladan Dinkic]; With Democratic Party for Democratic Serbia/DemocraticParty or DS [Dragan Djilas]; SPS/PUPS/JS [Ivica Dacic] LDP-led Coalition [CedomirJovanovic]

National Anthem:Name: "Boze pravde" (God of Justice)lyrics/music: Jovan Dordevic/Davorin Jenkonote:adopted 1904; the song was originally written as part of a play in 1872 and has been usedas an anthem by the Serbian people throughout the 20th and 21st centuries


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The Dinar10-dinar Banknote: Front -Portrait of Vuk StefanovicKaradic, the creator of contemporary Serbian alphabet.Back - In the background you can see the members of theFirst Slavic Congress held in Prague in 1848100-dinar Banknote: Front - Portrait of Nikola Tesla,prominent scientist and inventor in the field of electricenergy. Back - a detail from the Tesla electro-magneticinduction engine.5000-dinar Banknote: Front - Portrait of SlobodanJovanovic. Back - Images of Slobodan Jovanovic,

sillhouette of the Federal Parliament and a detail from theinterior of the Parliament building.(http://www.nbs.rs/internet/english/75/75_1/index.html)

Economy - Overview: Serbia has a transitional economy largely dominated by market forces,but the state sector remains significant in certain areas and many institutional reforms areneeded. The economy relies on manufacturing and exports, driven largely by foreign investment.MILOSEVIC-era mismanagement of theeconomy, an extended period of

international economic sanctions, civilwar, and the damage to Yugoslavia'sinfrastructure and industry during theNATO airstrikes in 1999 left the economyonly half the size it was in 1990. After theousting of former Federal YugoslavPresident MILOSEVIC in September2000, the Democratic Opposition ofSerbia (DOS) coalition governmentimplemented stabilization measures andembarked on a market reform program.

After renewing its membership in the IMFin December 2000, Serbia continued toreintegrate into the internationalcommunity by rejoining the World Bank(IBRD) and the European Bank forReconstruction and Development(EBRD). Serbia has made progress intrade liberalization and enterpriserestructuring and privatization, but manylarge enterprises - including the powerutilities, telecommunications company,natural gas company, and others - remainin state hands. Serbia has made someprogress towards EU membership, signinga Stabilization and Association Agreementwith Brussels in May 2008, and with fullimplementation of the Interim Trade Agreement with the EU in February 2010, gained candidatestatus in March 2012. In January 2014, Serbia's EU accession talks officially opened. Serbia'snegotiations with the World Trade Organization are advanced, with the country's complete banon the trade and cultivation of agricultural biotechnology products representing the primaryremaining obstacle to accession. Serbia's program with the IMF was frozen in early 2012because the 2012 budget approved by parliament deviated from the program parameters; thearrangement is now void. However, an IMF mission visited Serbia in February 2014 to initiatediscussions with Serbian authorities on a possible new IMF arrangement and these talks willcontinue following the formation of the new government. High unemployment and stagnanthousehold incomes are ongoing political and economic problems. Structural economic reformsneeded to ensure the country's long-term prosperity have largely stalled since the onset of theglobal financial crisis. Growing budget deficits constrain the use of stimulus efforts to revive theeconomy and contribute to growing concern of a public debt crisis, given that Serbia's totalpublic debt as a share of GDP doubled between 2008 and 2013. Serbia's concerns about inflation


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and exchange-rate stability may preclude the use of expansionary monetary policy. During therecent election campaign, the victorious SNS party promised comprehensive economic reformduring the first half of 2014 to address issues with the fiscal deficit, state-owned enterprises, thelabor market, construction permits, bankruptcy and privatization, and other areas. Majorchallenges ahead include: high unemployment rates and the need for job creation; high

government expenditures for salaries, pensions, healthcare, and unemployment benefits; agrowing need for new government borrowing; rising public and private foreign debt; attractingnew foreign direct investment; and getting the IMF program back on track. Other serious longer-term challenges include an inefficient judicial system, high levels of corruption, and an agingpopulation. Factors favorable to Serbia's economic growth include its strategic location, arelatively inexpensive and skilled labor force, and free trade agreements with the EU, Russia,Turkey, and countries that are members of the Central European Free Trade Agreement(CEFTA).

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $80.47 billion (2013 est.); Country comparison to the world:81

GDP - Real Growth Rate: 2% (2013 est.); Country comparison to the world: 141

GDP - Per Capita (PPP): $11,100 (2013 est.); Country comparison to the world: 111

GDP - Composition by Sector: Agriculture: 7.9%, Industry: 31.8%, Services: 60.3% (2013 est.)

Labor Force: 1.703 million (2013 est.); Country comparison to the world: 125

Agriculture - Products: Wheat, maize, sugar beets, sunflower, raspberries; beef, pork, milk

Industries: base metals, furniture, food processing, machinery, chemicals, sugar, tires, clothes,pharmaceuticals

Current Account Balance: -$1.807 billion (2013 est.); Country comparison to the world: 137

Exports - Commodities: iron and steel, rubber, clothes, wheat, fruit and vegetables, nonferrousmetals, electric appliances, metal products, weapons and ammunition

Exports - Partners: Italy 11.5%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 11.2%, Germany 10.5%,Montenegro 8.4%, Romania 6.3%, Russia 5.4%, Macedonia 4.9%, Slovenia 4.4% (2010 est.)

ImportsPartners: Russia 12.8%, Germany 10.6%, Italy 8.5%, China 7.2%, Hungary 4.9%

Debt - External: $33.6 billion (31 December 2013 est.); Country comparison to the world: 71

Exchange Rates: Serbian dinars (RSD) per US dollar -79.979 (2010)

Military Service Age and Obligation:18 years of age for compulsory military service; 2-yearconscript service obligation (2009)


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Before the Slavs

Although there is scattered evidence ofhuman occupation in the central Balkan

Peninsula reaching back some 35,000 years,dense settlement does not appear to havetaken place until about 70003500 bc, duringthe Neolithic Period. After 3500 bc the regionwas infiltrated by seminomadic pastoralpeoples, who were believed to be speakers ofIndo-European languages, migratingsouthward from the Russian steppes.

These people were divided into severalloose tribal groups, including the Illyrians,who established themselves throughout thewestern part of the peninsula. By the 7thcentury bc the Illyrians had acquired the skillsneeded to work with iron, which became thebasis of trade with the emerging Greek city-states and of power among the nativearistocracies.

In the late 3rd century bc, the Romansbegan to expand into the Balkan Peninsula insearch of iron, copper, precious metals,slaves, and crops. The Roman struggle fordomination, against the fierce resistance ofthe native peoples, lasted three centuries. TheIllyrians were finally subdued in ad 9, andtheir land became the province of Illyricum.The area that is now eastern Serbia wasconquered in 29 bc and incorporated into the

province of Moesia. Roads, arenas,aqueducts, bridges, and fortifications attest toRoman occupation, and the names of severalmodern towns reveal Roman origins,including Sremska Mitrovica (Sirmium) and

Ni (Naissus).The division of the Roman Empire and

the emergence of Byzantium as anindependent power enabled Greek culture topenetrate deep into the Balkans, particularlyfollowing the defeat of a combined Avar-Persian army in 626 by the Byzantines.

History of Serbia_______

Text taken directly from:(http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/654691/Serbia/43570/The-Golden-Age?anchor=ref477220)

Early Period:The earliest information on the Serbs dates from the

late 6th century, when they were vassals of the Avars andlater clients of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius. UnderByzantine patronage, Slavs settled widely in the Balkans,reaching as far south as the Aegean Sea and even settlingin parts of Asia Minor.

The first state to which Serbs trace a political identitywas created by Vlastimir in about 850. This state wascentred on an area in eastern Montenegro and southernSerbia known as Raka.

The significance of the early Serb proto-states lies intheir legacy of an enduring link between the Serb peopleand the Slavonic liturgical tradition of OrthodoxChristianity. the Byzantine emperor Michael IIIcommissioned two brothers from Thessalonica, Cyril(Constantine) and Methodius, to evangelize the Slavs.Michael encouraged Cyril and Methodius to preach in thevernacular, and to facilitate this task they invented ascript using the phonetic peculiarities of the Slavictongue. Initially known as Glagolitic, the script wassubsequently revised to employ characters resembling

those of the Greek and became known as Cyrillic.The rise of the Nemanji dynasty was facilitated by

the collapse of the Byzantine Empire, under the impact ofthe Fourth Crusade (1204). Under the reign of StefanDuan (133155), the Nemanji state reached its greatestextent, incorporating Thessaly, Epirus, Macedonia, all ofmodern Albania and Montenegro, a substantial part ofeastern Bosnia, and modern Serbia as far north as theDanube. In 1375 the archbishop of Pe was raised to thestatus of patriarch, in spite of the anathema ofConstantinople.

Conquest by the TurksThe glories of the Nemanji empire were short-lived.

However, the Ottoman conquest of the Balkan Peninsulawas not a smooth progression. Slav leaders retained anominal independence for some years in return for avariety of forms of vassalage. On St. Vituss Day(Vidovdan), June 28 1389, on the Kosovo Polje, the


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Serbs and their allies suffered a defeat that has becomehallowed in several great heroic ballads. Kosovo became(especially during the 19th century) the Jerusalem of theSerbs.

The Ottoman authorities ruled through local knezes,

who were Christian princes or headmen. It was evenpossible for subject peoples to rise within the system,provided that they converted, and there were severalnotable grand viziers of Slavic origin.

The French Revolution and the Napoleonic erasignaled the beginning of the transformation of the feudalorder throughout the Balkans. In many respects the mostvigorous developments in Serbian national consciousnessreceived their strongest impulse from outside the bordersof Serbia. Ilija Garaanin, in a document known as theNaertanije, argued that the primary solution to the

impediments to Serbian growth was to create a new outletto the Adriatic. This plea for a thrust to the southwest setSerbian foreign policy on a momentous course, theconsequences of which have continued to be felt to thisday. Vuk Stefanovi Karadiproduced a standardizedliterary language. Both Garaanin and Karadi derivedtheir intellectual framework from their education within aprimarily Germanic tradition and from their exposure toways of looking at the world that were fundamentallyforeign to Serbia itself.

IndependenceIn 1877, following the defeat of the Turks by Russia,

Serbia formally became an independent state. As a resultof the two Balkan Wars (1912-1913), Ottoman possessionsin Europe were confined to a small area of eastern Thrace.Since independence, Serbia competed with Austria-Hungary for former Ottoman lands. On June 28, 1914, theAustrian archduke Francis Ferdinand attended a militaryreview in Sarajevoa rather pointed provocation onVidovdan, Serbias national day. His assassination sparkedthe first World War.

In July 1917. the Corfu Declaration, called for a singledemocratic South-Slav state to be governed by aconstitutional monarchy. The particular form thatunification took in 1918 was not part of the original war aims of any of the South Slav peoples.

Stefan Nemanja,(1168 - 1196)He was born in Podgor. The state

institutions and subsequent spiritual legacyestablished by him and his sons marked abreak with earlier practices and marked himas the founder of a brand new dynasty -indeed, one that was to become virtuallysynonymous with the glory of medievalSerbia.

Nemanja's rise to power comessometime during 1166-8, first from theappanage of Dubocica (city of Leskovac), inthe shadow of his elder brother Tihomir - aByzantine appointee - and together with thetwo other brethren, Stracimir and Miroslav.This led to the decisive battle of Pantino inKosovo, where Tihomir perished. He was

thenceforth to reign supreme as GrandZupan, having secured pledges of allegiancefrom his two surviving brothers.

His policies eventually led him on acollision course with his nominal overlord,Byzantine emperor Manuel. Abandoned byWestern allies and facing a superiorByzantine force, he surrender to Manuel in1172. Nevertheless, he ultimately returnedand consolidated power and stability in anautonomous Raska for another eight years.(http://www.srpskoblago.org/serbian-medieval-rulers/stefan-nemanja-grand-

zupan-of-raska-1168-1196)


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On March 27, 1941 the country was invaded byGermany and its allies. On April 14 the King andgovernment fled to Athens. Some loyal Serb units of theYugoslav army set up a resistance movement under a formerofficer and others joined the communist leader Josip Broz,

who came to be better known during the war under his codename, Tito.Despite their adoption of this Soviet-style dictatorship

of the proletariat, Yugoslav communists had never had aneasy relationship with the Soviet Union. In the decade afterWorld War II, the communist regime considered itsacknowledgment of ethnicity to be just a way-stage on theroute to the eventual creation of a broader Yugoslavidentity. As the most dispersed among the peoples ofYugoslavia, the Serbs tended to fear that multipartydemocracy might challenge their rights of citizenship in the

other republics.During the break up of Yugoslavia, the wars of the1990s hovered uneasily between a need to protect thespecific interests of the Serbian republic and a desire todefend the wider Serb diaspora. The devastating wars led toethnic cleansing, massacres on both sides (especiallyKosovo), the involvement of NATO forces and UNpeacekeepers. Battered by continuous war and with theeconomy faltering, Miloevi was defeated by VojislavKotunica in the Yugoslav presidential election in 2000,after which international sanctions against the country werelifted. Miloevi was soon arrested and extradited to TheHague to be prosecuted for war crimes.

During the breakup, the contentious matter of Kosovosfuture remained at the forefront of Serbian politics. Talksbegun in 2005 resulted in a planproposed by the UNenvoy Martti Ahtisaari in 2007 and supported by the UnitedStates and most members of the EUthat called forindependence for Kosovo, albeit under internationalsupervision. With the support the United States, Kosovodeclared independence in February 2008. Serbia, backed byRussia, refused to recognize Kosovo as a sovereign country.

Nonetheless, for a European Serbia, a pro-EU bloc wonnearly 40 percent of the vote in the May 2008 parliamentaryelections. Accordingly, in December 2009 the Serbiangovernment officially applied for EU membership.

Slobodan Miloevi (1941-2006)Politician and administrator, pursued

Serbian nationalist policies that contributedto the breakup of the socialist Yugoslavfederation. He subsequently embroiledSerbia in a series of conflicts with thesuccessor Balkan states.

Miloevi soon introduced a new

populist political style to Serbia, he emergedas a leading defender of the socialisttradition of state economic intervention,attacking economic reform for its socialcosts.

In 1991, Miloevi backed Serbianmilitias who were fighting to unite Bosniaand Croatia with Serbia. In the early springof 1999 the Serbs launched a majoroffensive aimed at defeating Kosovarinsurgents. NATO forces retaliated byinitiating a massive aerialbombingcampaignagainst Yugoslavia, Milosevichordered a program of ethnic cleansing of the

Kosovar Albanians that drove hundreds ofthousands of them into neighbouringcountries as refugees. By June, however,Miloevi had agreed to a peace accord withNATO that obliged him to withdrawSerbian forces from Kosovo.

Unrest under Miloevis rule and afaltering economy grew in 2000, and in theSeptember presidential elections he wasdefeated by opposition leader VojislavKotunica. Miloevi was arrested by theYugoslav government in 2001 and turnedover to the ICTY for trial on charges of

genocide, crimesagainst humanity, and warcrimes. The trial began in February 2002 butexperienced numerous delays because of the

poor health of Miloevi, who served as hisown defense lawyer. On March 11, 2006, hewas found dead in his prison cell.(http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/383076/Slobodan-Milosevic)


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Recent DevelopmentsThe newly formed Serbian Progressive Party (Srpska Napredna Stranka; SNS), which

had split off from the Radicals in 2008, had by 2010 joined the DS in supporting Serbiasaccession to the EU. In March 2010 the Serbian parliament voted to condemn the1995 Srebrenica massacre of Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims). It stopped short of calling the killings

an act of genocide, but the vote helped to advance Serbias EU candidacy. Domestic support forEU accession rose following the lifting of the Schengen visa restrictions on travel to EU membercountries in December 2009. This rise in support coincided with the beginning of the ratificationprocess of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the EU and Serbia. After EU-mediated talks in December 2011, Serbia and Kosovo agreed to jointly manage the bordercrossings. Citing this as proof of Serbias commitment to regional stability, the EuropeanCouncil granted Serbia status as a candidate country on March 1, 2012.

Continued high unemployment, accusations of corruption, and a sluggish economysparked a wave of general dissatisfaction with the DS government, as the euro-zone debtcrisis hampered the return of foreign investment. In legislative elections held in May 2012, thepopulist SNS won the largest share of votes, but a DS-led coalition finished close behind, leaving

the third-place SPS in the role of kingmaker. Two weeks later, SNS leader Tomislav Nikolidefeated two-term incumbent Tadi in the second round of presidential balloting. Observersinitially worried that Nikoli, who had previously advocated an anti-Western form of Serbnationalism, would divert Serbia from its pro-EU course. Nikoli was quick to clarify that hebelieved that closer integration with Europe was the key to Serbias future. Nikoli wasinaugurated in late May 2012, but negotiations on the formation of a new government stretchedinto July. Ultimately, the SNS entered into a coalition with the SPS and the United Regions ofSerbia party to form a government, with SPS leader Ivica Dai at its head. In April 2013 Serbiaand Kosovo agreed to normalize relations, although Serbia stopped short of recognizingKosovos independence. The Kosovar government vowed to grant limited autonomy to ethnicSerbs in northern Kosovo, and both countries stated that they would not work to hinder theothers progress toward accession to the EU. The European Commission responded to thedevelopment by recommending that the EU begin membership talks with Serbia, and accessionnegotiations formally opened in January 2014.

Wishing to capitalize on the popular support for this milestone, the SNS called for a snapelection in the hopes of solidifying its mandate. The move was successful, and in March 2014 theSNS captured a clear parliamentary majority, winning more than 150 of the legislatures 250seats. The leader of the SNS, Aleksandar Vui, was a one-time ally of Slobodan Miloevi, buthis campaign focused on economic reform and anticorruption measures rather than nationalism.He promised to continue to follow a pro-European path by privatizing inefficient state businessesand liberalizing the economy, a goal made all the more challenging by an unemployment ratethat continued to hover around 20 percent.


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Timeline of Major Events in Serbian History_______

Text taken directly from BBC News. Timeline: Serbia. Available at:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/5055726.stm

1389 - Serb nobility decimated in battle of Kosovo Polje as Ottoman Empire expands.

15th - 18th centuries - Serbia absorbed by Ottoman Empire.

1817- Serbia becomes autonomous principality.

1878 - Serbian independence recognised by international treaties.

1929 - Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes renamed Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

1945 - Together with Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro, Serbia becomesone of republics in new Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia under Josip Broz Tito.

1980 - Tito dies.

1989- Slobodan Milosevic becomes President of Serbia.

1991- Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia and Bosnia break away from Yugoslavia.

1992 - Rising nationalist and independence aspirations bring bloody conflict with Croats and

Bosnian Muslims.

1998- Kosovo Liberation Army rebels against Serbian rule. Serb forces launch brutalcrackdown. Hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians flee.

1999- Defiance by Milosevic over Kosovo sparks Nato air strikes against Serbian targets.Milosevic agrees to withdraw forces from Kosovo.

2001 - Serbian PM Djindjic overrules Constitutional Court and authorises extradition ofMilosevic to Hague war crimes tribunal.

2004 - Democratic Party leader Boris Tadic elected Serbian president, defeating nationalistTomislav Nikolic in run-off. Mr Tadic pledges to steer Serbia towards the EU.

2008 - UN-administered Kosovo declares itself independent. Serbia says declaration illegal.

2009- Visa-free travel within EU's Schengen area comes into effect for Serbian citizens. Serbiasubmits formal application to join EU.


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The Culture of Serbia

Serbian Cuisinehttp://www.vegeta.com/articles/serbia

Definitely the most dominant influence on Serbian cuisine is that of the Turkish cuisine. Most ofthe specialties of Serbian cuisine today are inspired by modified Turkish specialties, whereas theinfluence of the Austro-Hungarian cuisine is especially felt in Vojvodina.

Like other national cuisines, Serbian cuisine is not homogenous either. Pies, baklavas, tulumbe(traditional cakes), lamb and sheep meat dishes are characteristic of Kosovo. The Vojvodinaregion cuisine has, for example, taken on the features of Austro-Hungarian cuisine with a lot ofdough and pastry, noodles, soft buns with various fillings (buhtle) and dumplings. People livingin the Srijem region also have different culinary habits than the people living in the Banat orBacka regions.

Only two meals were traditionally eaten in medievalSerbia. Breakfast was introduced later under theinfluence of the west. Until the end of the 20th centurypeople ate mainly stews: soups, thick broths, pepperstews, goulashes. It is not surprising then that for a longtime the spoon was the only eating utensil.

Slatko:is a distinct specialty of Serbian cuisine. Itrepresents a way of conserving fruit most similar to theway western jams are made. The finest slatko delicaciesare made from wild fruit, plums and apricots.

Karadjordje Steak: Karadjordje's steak is a Serbiandish named after the Serbian Prince Karadjordje. It is arolled veal or pork steak, stuffed with kajmak, breaded and baked (or fried). It is served withroasted potatoes and tartar sauce.1

Kajmak(cream) is one of the rare authenticSerbian specialties. Kajmak has a thick, creamyconsistency and a rich, mildly sour taste.Kaymak is traditionally eaten in Serbia asstarter with smoked ham, pastries, preserves orhoney or as a filling in pancakes. Kaymak is

almost always produced in traditional way inhouseholds and can be bought only on openmarkets.2

Music(http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/vie

1http://serbianfoodrecipe.blogspot.com/2http://www.panacomp.net/serbia?s=srpska_kuhinja

Slatko


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Serbian Gusle

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By and large, it was that Ottoman/Gypsy duality that had the most profound effect on thedevelopment of Serbian music in the ensuing centuries. The Ottomans brought Islam to Serbia intheir 400-plus years of rule, accounting for the wailing, Arabic-inflected edge discernible in

much Serbian music.

More important, they brought the Turkish brass sound that began as militaryaccompaniment but by the 19th century found a home in the pleasures of everyday Balkan life.One of the most instantly engaging and unforgettable facets of Balkan music is the brass bands,another product of convergence. Large brass bands are today a staple of the music scene inSerbia, so much so that the idea of a celebration (particularly a wedding) without one is a thoughtbest not entertained. Often played at breakneck tempos but sometimes dropping into passagesthat are slower and more emotive, close listening to Balkan brass reveals intricacies thatobviously take considerable discipline and expertise to play. Nonetheless, the music frequentlyhas an untamed, off-the-cuff quality

The Roma contributions to Serbian music are undeniable. While Gypsies comprise manyof Serbia's brass bands, their utilizing of guitar, violin, cimbalom (hammered dulcimer), Arabicpercussion and other instruments has established pop and traditional realms that bypass brass andhave made their music adaptable to fusions with jazz, rock and techno in the last few decades.

Gusle:A stringed musical instrument of the Balkans, with a round wooden back, askin belly, and one horsehair string (or, rarely, two) secured at the top ofthe neck by a rear tuning peg. It is played in a vertical position, with adeeply curved bow. It has no fingerboard,

the string being stopped by the sidewayspressure of the playersfingers. It is relatedto the medieval rebec and the Greek lira andis used in the Balkans to accompany theperformance of the guslari, or epic singers.

Gajde:The Gajde is classified as a(n) Bagpipeinstrument. The Gajde is constructed withthe following material(s): conical woodenor bone tube, goat or sheep hide bag.3It hasmany variations throughout Europe and the

middle east and is also known as Gaida, Duda, Gajda, Guda andGaita.

3http://musical-instruments.findthebest.com/question/156/1722/What-is-the-Gaida-made-out-of

Gajde (serbian bagpipe)


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Andric, Ivo (1892-1975)Writer of novels and short stories

in the Bosnian/Croatian/Serbianlanguage, who was awarded the NobelPrize for Literature in 1961.

His reputation was established withEx Ponto (1918), a contemplative,lyrical prose work written during hisinternment by Austro-Hungarianauthorities for nationalistic politicalactivities during World War I.

Following World War I, he enteredthe Yugoslavian diplomatic service. Ofhis three novels, written during theSecond World War, twoTravnikahronika (1945; Bosnian Story) and NaDrini uprija (1945; The Bridge on the

Drina)are concerned with the historyof Bosnia.

Writing during periods whenSerbo-Croatian was officiallyconsidered one language in Yugoslavia,Andri first used its Croatian form andlater its Serbian form. He is claimed aspart of Croatian literature, Serbianliterature, and Bosnian literature. Hisworks are written soberly, in languageof great beauty and purity. The NobelPrize committee commented

particularly on the epic force with

which he handled his material,especially in The Bridge on the Drina.

(http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/24035/Ivo-Andric)

Literature:http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/535385/Serbian-literature

Serbian literature developed primarily from the 12thcentury, producing such religious works as the illuminatedMiroslav Gospel, biblical stories, and hagiographies. Thefounder of the independent Serbian church and a figurecustomarily taken as the originator of national literature, SaintSava (11751235) started this literary tradition by writing abiography of his own father, the Serbian ruler Stefan Nemanja.

Revival of Serbian culture and literature occurred until the18th century. The most important representative of theEnlightenment period was Dositej Obradovi, whose writingsgreatly influenced Serbian literary development. A man ofgreat learning and a polyglot who spent most of his lifetraveling through Europe and Asia Minor, Obradovi wrote acaptivating autobiography, ivot i prikljuenija DimitrijaObradovia (1783; The Life and Adventures of DimitrijeObradovi).

The greatest writer of the 19th century was Montenegrinruler Petar II Petrovi Njego, whose epic poem Gorskivijenac (1847; The Mountain Wreath, Eng. trans. The Sabreand the Song) presented in chiseled verse an event fromMontenegrin history, giving a unique picture of Montenegrinsociety and reflecting Njegos philosophy of the eternalstruggle between good and evil. The lyric verses of BrankoRadievi contributed to the break with earlier didactic-objective poetry.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Serbian literaturewas influenced by European currents, particularly FrenchSymbolism and the psychological novel. The most importantwriters of the turn of the century were poets Jovan Dui,Aleksa anti, and Milan Raki; prose writer BorisavStankovi, whose outstanding novel Neista krv (1910; TheImpure Blood) depicted tragic clashes in provincial Serbia oftradition and modernity and of eastern and western cultures.

Serbian writers between World Wars I and II continued tofollow major European literary movements. The BelgradeSurrealist group introduced a note of radical, left-wing

politics, and some of its members later turned to the style ofSocialist Realism. The literature of the 1930s was shaped bythe focus on political and social themes. Among the majorwriters of the period was Ivo Andri, whose novel Na Driniuprija (1945; The Bridge on the Drina) reflects the history ofhis homeland of Bosnia. Andri was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1961.


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Folklore: The Goats Ears of theEmperor Trojan_______

From: http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/078.htm

Once upon a time there lived an emperor whose name was Trojan, and he had ears like a

goat. Every morning, when he was shaved, he asked if the man saw anything odd about him, andas each fresh barber always replied that the emperor had goat's ears, he was at once ordered to beput to death.

Now after this state of things had lasted a good while, there was hardly a barber left in thetown that could shave the emperor, and it came to be the turn of the Master of the Company ofBarbers to go up to the palace. But, unluckily, at the very moment that he should have set out,the master fell suddenly ill, and told one of his apprentices that he must go in his stead.

When the youth was taken to the emperor's bedroom, he was asked why he had come andnot his master. The young man replied that the master was ill, and there was no one but himself

who could be trusted with the honor. The emperor was satisfied with the answer, and sat down,and let a sheet of fine linen be put round him. Directly the young barber began his work, he, likethe rest, remarked the goat's ears of the emperor, but when he had finished and the emperorasked his usual question as to whether the youth had noticed anything odd about him, the youngman replied calmly, 'No, nothing at all.' This pleased the emperor so much that he gave himtwelve ducats, and said, 'Henceforth you shall come every day to shave me.'

So when the apprentice returned home, and the master inquired how he had got on withthe emperor, the young man answered, 'Oh, very well, and he says I am to shave him every day,and he has given me these twelve ducats'; but he said nothing about the goat's ears of theemperor.

From this time the apprentice went regularly up to the palace, receiving each morningtwelve ducats in payment. But after a while, his secret, which he had carefully kept, burnt withinhim, and he longed to tell it to somebody. His master saw there was something on his mind, andasked what it was. The youth replied that he had been tormenting himself for some months, andshould never feel easy until someone shared his secret.

'Well, trust me,' said the master, 'I will keep it to myself; or, if you do not like to do that,confess it to your pastor, or go into some field outside the town and dig a hole, and, after youhave dug it, kneel down and whisper your secret three times into the hole. Then put back theearth and come away.'

The apprentice thought that this seemed the best plan, and that very afternoon went to ameadow outside the town, dug a deep hole, then knelt and whispered to it three times over, 'TheEmperor Trojan has goat's ears.' And as he said so a great burden seemed to roll off him, and heshovelled the earth carefully back and ran lightly home.

Weeks passed away, and there sprang up in the hole an elder tree which had three stems,all as straight as poplars. Some shepherds, tending their flocks near by, noticed the tree growing


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there, and one of them cut down a stem to make flutes of; but, as he began to play, the flutewould do nothing but sing: 'The Emperor Trojan has goat's ears.' Of course, it was not longbefore the whole town knew of this wonderful flute and what it said; and, at last, the newsreached the emperor in his palace. He instantly sent for the apprentice and said to him:

'What have you been saying about me to all my people?'

The culprit tried to defend himself by saying that he had never told anyone what he hadnoticed; but the emperor, instead of listening, only drew his sword from its sheath, which sofrightened the poor fellow that he confessed exactly what he had done, and how he hadwhispered the truth three times to the earth, and how in that very place an elder tree had sprungup, and flutes had been cut from it, which would only repeat the words he had said. Then theemperor commanded his coach to be made ready, and he took the youth with him, and theydrove to the spot, for he wished to see for himself whether the young man's confession was true;but when they reached the place only one stem was left. So the emperor desired his attendants tocut him a flute from the remaining stem, and, when it was ready, he ordered his chamberlain to

play on it. But no tune could the chamberlain play, though he was the best flute player about thecourt--nothing came but the words, 'The Emperor Trojan has goat's ears.' Then the emperor knewthat even the earth gave up its secrets, and he granted the young man his life, but he neverallowed him to be his barber any more.


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Select Bibliography of Sources on Serbia

Balmer, Jesmond Dene. The Sarajevo incident with special reference to Serbian secret societies.

Washington, D.C., 1959

Clark, Janine N. Serbia in the shadow of Miloevi : the legacy of conflict in the Balkans.London ; New York : Tauris Academic Studies ; New York : In the United States and Canadadistributed by Palgrave Macmillan, 2008

Cox, John K. The History of Serbia. Westport, CT : Greenwood Press, 2002

Deliso, Christopher. Culture and customs of Serbia and Montenegro. Westport, Conn. :Greenwood Press, 2009

Donna A. Buchanan (ed.). Balkan popular culture and the Ottoman ecumene : music, image, andregional political discourse. Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2007

Dragnich, Alex N. Serbia through the ages. Boulder, CO : East European Monographs ; NewYork : Distributed by Columbia University Press, 2004

Emmert, Thomas Allan. Serbian Golgatha : Kosovo, 1389. [Boulder] : East EuropeanMonographs ; New York : Distributed by Columbia University Press, 1990

Golemovi, Dimitrije O.Balkan refrain : form and tradition in European folk song. Lanham,Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2010.

Holton, Milne. Serbian poetry from the beginnings to the present. New Haven: Yale Center forInternational and Area Studies; Columbus, OH : Distributed by Slavica Publishers, 1988

Mihailovich, Vasa D. & Branko Mikasinovich (Eds). An anthology of Serbian literature.Bloomington, Ind. : Slavica Publishers, 2007

Milutinovi, Zoran. Getting over Europe : the construction of Europe in Serbian culture.Amsterdam; New York, NY: Rodopi, 2011

Ramet, Sabrina P. Balkan babel : the disintegration of Yugoslavia from the death of Tito to the

fall of Miloevi.Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 2002

Stojanovi, Svetozar. Serbia : the democratic revolution. Amherst, N.Y. : Humanity Books,c2003

Zlatar, Zdenko. The poetics of Slavdom : the mythopoeic foundations of Yugoslavia. New York:Peter Lang, c2007

ceres country profile - serbia

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