Revision as of 22:54, 17 November 2010

The Republic of Serbia (Serbian: Република Србија) is a republic in south-eastern Europe which is united with Montenegro in a loose commonwealth known as the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. The capital is in Belgrade. Serbia borders Hungary to the north; Romania and Bulgaria to the east; the Republic of Macedonia to the south; and Albania, Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina to the west.

>==History==

The roots of the Serbian state reach back to the 7th century and the House of Vlastimirović. The Serbian kingdom (centered around Duklja) was established in the 11th century. Marked by a disintegration and crises, it lasted until the end of 12th century.

The renewal of the medieval Serbian state in the Raška region was performed by Stefan Nemanja, the Serbian Grand Župan who lived in the 12th century. In 1220, under Stefan the First Crowned, Serbia became a kingdom, and in 1346, an empire under Stefan Dušan was established. The Empire was disintegrated and fell to the Ottoman Turks, after the historic Serbian defeat at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, and the northern Serbian territories (Serbian Despotovina) were conquered by 1459, when Smederevo fell. Bosnia fell a few decades after Smederevo.

In the period between 1459 and 1804, Serbia remained under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, despite three Austrian invasions and numerous rebellions. Karađorđe Petrović, leader of Serbian uprising in 1804 Enlarge Karađorđe Petrović, leader of Serbian uprising in 1804

The First Serbian Uprising of 1804-1813, lead by Đorđe Petrović (also known as Karađorđe or Black George), and the Second Serbian Uprising of 1815 resulted in the establishment of the Principality of Serbia which was semi-independent from the Ottoman Empire, and the formation of modern Serbia.

From 1815 to 1903 the Serbian state was ruled by the House of Obrenović, with a break in the period from 1842 to 1858, when Serbia was ruled by Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević. In 1903, the House of Obrenović was permanently replaced by the House of Karađorđević, descended from Đorđe Petrović.

The struggle for a modern society, human rights and a nation state lasted almost three decades and was completed with the adoption of the constitution on 15th February 1835. In 1876 Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia declared war against the Ottoman Empire and proclaimed their unification. However, the Treaty of Berlin of 1878, which was agreed at the Congress of Berlin by the Great Powers, granted complete independence only to Serbia and Montenegro, leaving Bosnia and Raška to Austria-Hungary, which blocked their unification until the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913, and WWI (1914-1918).

After 1918 Serbia, along with Montenegro, was a founding member of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later known as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During WWII (1941-1944), Serbia was a Nazi-occupied puppet state. After WWII (in 1945) Serbia was established as one of the federal units of the second Yugoslavia, the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia.

From 1992, after the collapse of the second Yugoslavia, to 2003, Serbia, together with Montenegro, was part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Since 2003 it has been part of the State Union of Serbia & Montenegro.

Anarchist History

See Former Yugoslavia to read a detailed history of anarchism in Serbia and other Former Yugoslavian countries.

Active Groups

• ASI / Anarcho-Syndicalist Initiative - is@inicijativa.org (international secretary);
• Federation of Internationalist Anarchists - federacija@ml1.net
• IAS-ADA - anarchist library of local group of IAS; c/o Slobodan Gajin, Vojvodjanskih Brigada 15b/8, 24430 Ada.
• RRR (Radical Resourse Room) - polit/cultural project in Kraljevo; kontra@ptt.yu;
• Subwar Collective - Belgrade; shavedwomen216@yahoo.com

External Links

• Anarchy Serbia
• Abolishing the Borders from Below
• Alter-EE
• Belgrade Indymedia
• Interpreting Balkan Fairytales- "Serbia's October Revolution"