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Serbia

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Serbia

BACKGROUND

serbia Information: A country.

Serbia is a country situated at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe. It is located on the Balkan Peninsula, southwestern Europe, in the southern Pannonian Plain. Serbia borders Hungary to the north; Romania and Bulgaria to the east; Macedonia to the south; Croatia to the south, Kosovo to the southwest, and Montenegro and Bosnia-Hercegovina to the west.

During the breakup of Yugoslavia, the country declared independence in April, 1992 as Serbia formed a union with Montenegro, which was peacefully dissolved in 2006. In 2008, the parliament of the province of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence, with mixed responses from the international community.

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Young Bosnia organization, led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia. In defense of Serbia, and to maintain her status as a Great Power, Russia mobilized its troops, which resulted in Austria-Hungary's ally Germany declaring war on Russia.

In 1941, in spite of Yugoslav attempts to remain neutral in the war, the Axis powers invaded Yugoslavia. The territory of modern Serbia was divided between Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Italy (greater Albania and Montenegro), while the remaining part of Serbia was placed under German military administration

Nationalism across Yugoslavia eventually resulted in its breakup, with Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Montenegeo, Kosovo, and Macedonia declaring independence.

Most of the inhabitants of Eastern Serbia, along the Morava and the Timok rivers are of Vlach extraction. Many still speak Vlach at home. Zaječar, the largest city in the Vlach region of Serbia, and Negotin are East Serbian towns with strong concentration of Vlachs. The same applies to Vidin and Kula on the Bulgarianside of the border.

National Dances: Kolo

Location: Balkans

Regions: Šumadija, the great heartland south of Beograd.

Language: Serbian

Religions: Predominantly Serbian Orthodox Christian, Muslim


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