Slovenia former Yugoslavia. Collapse of Yugoslavia: causes and consequences

The final, second collapse of Yugoslavia occurred in 1991–1992.

The first occurred in 1941 and was the result of the defeat of the Yugoslav kingdom at the beginning of World War II. The second was associated not only with the crisis of the socio-political system of Yugoslavia and its federal structure, but also with the crisis of Yugoslav national identity.

Thus, if the unification of the Yugoslavs stemmed from their lack of confidence in their ability to survive and assert themselves as self-sufficient nations, being in a hostile environment, then the second disintegration was the result of this self-assertion, which, it must be recognized, occurred precisely thanks to the existence of a federal state. At the same time, the experience of 1945–1991 also showed that relying on collectivist interests, even in the soft regime of Yugoslav socialism, did not justify itself. The “time bomb” was the fact that the Yugoslav peoples belonged to three mutually hostile civilizations. Yugoslavia was doomed to collapse from the start.

On December 18, 1989, in his report to parliament, the penultimate Prime Minister of the SFRY A. Marković, speaking about the causes of the economic catastrophe in which Yugoslavia found itself, made a bitter but truthful conclusion - the economic system of “market, arbitrary, humane, democratic” socialism, which created by Tito and which they built for more than 30 years with the help of Western loans and allies, in the conditions of 1989, without annual systematic subsidies from the IMF and other organizations, is unviable. In his opinion, in 1989 there are only two paths.

Western capital must be given guarantees that it can buy whatever it wants in Yugoslavia - land, factories, mines, roads, and all this must be guaranteed by a new union law, which must be adopted immediately. Markovich turned to Western capital with a request to accelerate investments and take over the management of their implementation.

A reasonable question may arise: why did the United States, and at the same time the IMF and the West as a whole, which so generously financed Tito’s regime, suddenly at the end of the 80s stop not only financial support, but also change their policy towards Yugoslavia by 180 degrees? An objective analysis shows that in the years 1950–1980, the Tito regime was necessary for the West as a Trojan horse in the fight against the socialist community led by the Soviet Union. But everything comes to an end. Tito dies in 1980, and closer to the mid-80s, the Yugoslav mouthpiece of anti-Sovietism became completely unnecessary - the West found the conductors of its destructive policy in the leadership of the USSR itself.

Powerful German capital, dulled until the second half of the 1980s, but now rekindled, is turning its gaze to Yugoslavia, all in debt and without reliable allies. By the beginning of the 1990s, West Germany, having swallowed the GDR, truly became the leading force in Europe. The balance of internal forces in Yugoslavia by this time also favored defeat. The partyocracy of the Union of Communists (UC) has completely lost its authority among the people. Nationalist forces in Croatia, Slovenia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina receive systematically powerful support from Germany, the USA, Western monopolies, the Vatican, Muslim emirs and bigwigs. In Slovenia, the UK received only 7% of the votes, in Croatia no more than 13%. In Croatia the nationalist Tudjman comes to power, in Bosnia the Islamic fundamentalist Izetbegovic, in Macedonia the nationalist Gligorov, in Slovenia the nationalist Kucan.

Almost all of them are from the same deck of the degenerated Tito leadership of the UK. The sinister figure of Izetbegovic is especially colorful. He fought in World War II in the famous SS Handzardivizion, which fought against the Soviet Army at Stalingrad, and also “became famous” as a punitive formation of the Nazis in the fight against the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia. For his atrocities, Izetbegovic was tried by a people's court in 1945, but he did not stop his activities, now in the form of a nationalist, fundamentalist, separatist.

All these odious figures, having spent some time in opposition to the ruling elite of the Union of Communists, were waiting in the wings. Tudjman and Kucan are closely connected with German politicians and German capital, Izetbegovic - with Islamic extremists in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. All of them, as if on cue, put forward slogans of separatism, secession from Yugoslavia, the creation of “independent” states, referring (the irony of fate!) to the Leninist principle of the right of nations to self-determination up to and including secession.

Germany also had special interests. Having united herself two years before the start of the war in Yugoslavia, she did not want to see a strong state at her side. Moreover, the Germans had long-standing historical scores to settle with the Serbs: the Slavs never submitted to the warlike Germans, despite two terrible interventions of the 20th century. But in 1990, Germany remembered its allies in the Third Reich - the Croatian Ustasha. In 1941, Hitler gave statehood to the Croats who had never had it before. Chancellor Kohl and German Foreign Minister Genscher did the same.

The first conflict arose in mid-1990 in Croatia, when the Serbs, of whom there were at least 600 thousand in the republic, in response to increasing demands for secession, expressed their will to remain part of federal Yugoslavia. Soon Tudjman is elected president, and in December the parliament (Sabor), with the support of Germany, adopts the country's constitution, according to which Croatia is an indivisible unitary state - despite the fact that the Serbian community, called Serbian or Knin (after the name of its capital) Krajna, historically, with XVI century, existed in Croatia. The 1947 constitution of this former socialist republic stated that Serbs and Croats had equal rights.

Now Tudjman declares Serbs a national minority! It is obvious that they do not want to put up with this, wanting to gain autonomy. They hastily created militia units to protect against the Croatian “territorial defense troops.” Krajna was proclaimed in February 1991 and announced its secession from Croatia and annexation to Yugoslavia. But the neo-Ustashi did not want to hear about it. War was approaching, and Belgrade tried to curb it with the help of units of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), but the military was already in different sides barricades. Serb soldiers came to the defense of Krajna, and hostilities began.

There was also bloodshed in Slovenia. On June 25, 1991, the country declared its independence and demanded that Belgrade withdraw its army; The time for playing with the confederal model of state has passed. Already at that time, the head of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic, declared Ljubljana’s decision to be hasty and called for negotiations. But Slovenia was not going to talk and again demanded the withdrawal of troops, this time in the form of an ultimatum. On the night of June 27, fighting began between the JNA and Slovenian self-defense units, who tried to take key military installations by force. During the week of battles, the casualties numbered in the hundreds, but then the “world community” intervened and convinced the Yugoslav government to begin withdrawing the army, guaranteeing its safety. Seeing that it was useless to prevent Slovenia from separating, Milosevic agreed, and on July 18 the troops began to leave the former Soviet republic.

On the same day as Slovenia, June 25, 1991, Croatia declared its independence, where the war had been going on for almost six months. The fierceness of the fighting is evidenced by the number of deaths; According to the Red Cross, their number for the year amounted to ten thousand people! Croatian troops carried out the first ethnic cleansing in Europe since World War II: three hundred thousand Serbs fled the country that same year. At that time, the Russian democratic press, which had kindergarten ideas about geopolitics, blamed Milosevic for everything: since he is a communist, that means he is bad, but the fascist Tudjman heads the democratic party, which means he is good. Western diplomacy also adhered to this position, accusing Milosevic of plans to create a “Greater Serbia.” But this was a lie, because the president demanded only autonomy for the Serbs who had inhabited Western and Eastern Slavonia for centuries.

It is characteristic that Tudjman declared Zagreb, a city located precisely in Western Slavonia, to be the capital of Croatia; less than a hundred kilometers away was Knin, the capital of the historical Serbian Region. Fierce fighting broke out on the Zagreb-Knin line. The Croatian government, naturally supported by NATO countries, demanded the withdrawal of Yugoslav troops. But not a single Serbian soldier would leave Krajna, seeing the atrocities of the revived Ustasha. The JNA units, transformed into the Serbian self-defense forces (since Milosevic still ordered the withdrawal of troops), were headed by General Ratko Mladic. By November 1991, troops loyal to him besieged Zagreb and forced Tudjman to negotiate.

The indignation of the “world community” knew no bounds. From this time on, the information blockade of the Serbs began: all Western media talked about their largely invented crimes, but the Serbs themselves were deprived of the right to vote. Germany and the United States and their allies decide to punish them for their willfulness: in December 1991, the Council of Ministers of the EU (not the UN!) imposed sanctions against Federal Yugoslavia (of which by that time only Serbia and Montenegro remained) allegedly for violating the UN ban on arms supplies to Croatia. They somehow did not pay attention to the fact that Tudjman’s gangs were armed no worse than the Serbs. Since then, the economic strangulation of Yugoslavia has begun.

The following facts indicate what the Croatian state gradually became. To begin with, the Ustasha symbols and army uniforms were restored. Honorary pensions were then awarded to Ustasha veterans and they received special civilian status; President Tudjman personally made one of these murderers a member of parliament. Catholicism was proclaimed the only state religion, although at least 20% of the Orthodox population still remained in the country. In response to such a “gift,” the Vatican recognized the independence of Croatia and Slovenia earlier than Europe and the United States, and the Pope, on March 8, 1993, from the window of his office overlooking St. Peter’s Square, cursed the Serbs and prayed to God for vengeance! It got to the point that Tudjman began to seek the reburial of the remains of the main Croatian fascist Ante Pavelic from Spain. Europe was silent.

On November 21, 1991, the third federal republic, Macedonia, declared its independence. It turned out to be more perspicacious than Slovenia and Croatia: first it got the UN to send in peacekeeping troops, and then demanded the withdrawal of the JNA. Belgrade did not object, and the southernmost Slavic republic became the only one to break away without bloodshed. One of the first decisions of the Macedonian government was to refuse to allow the Albanian minority to create an autonomous region in the west of the country - the Republic of Illyria; so the peacekeepers did not have to sit idle.

On December 9 and 10, 1991 in Maastricht, the heads of 12 states of the European Economic Community (EEC) decide to recognize all new states (Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia) within the boundaries corresponding to the administrative division of the former Yugoslavia. Purely conditional borders, hastily drawn by Tito’s henchmen in 1943, so as not to formally give the Serbs more rights than all other peoples, are now recognized as state borders. In Croatia, the Serbs did not even receive autonomy! But since it actually already existed (no one lifted the siege of Zagreb, and the Ustasha turned out to be strong only in words), Krayne is assigned a certain “special status”, which will henceforth be guarded by 14,000 “blue helmets” (“peacekeeping” UN troops). The Serbs, although with reservations, are getting their way. The war ends, and self-government bodies are formed in Krayna. This small republic existed for just over three years...

But Maastricht laid another ethnic mine. The most ethnically complex republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, has not yet declared its independence. The southwestern part of the country has been inhabited by Croats since ancient times; it was part of the historical region of Dalmatia. In the north adjacent to Slavonia, northwest, east (on the border with Serbia) and in most of the central regions, the majority were Serbs. The Sarajevo area and the south were inhabited by Muslims. In total, 44% of Muslims, 32% of Orthodox Serbs, 17% of Catholic Croats, 7% of other nations (Hungarians, Albanians, Jews, Bulgarians, and so on) lived in Bosnia and Herzegovina. By “Muslims” we mean basically the same Serbs, but those who converted to Islam during the years of the Turkish yoke.

The tragedy of the Serbs lies in the fact that the same people, divided by religion, shot at each other. In 1962, Tito, by a special decree, ordered all Yugoslav Muslims to henceforth be considered one nation. “Muslim” has since been recorded in the “nationality” column. The situation on the political scene was also difficult. Back in 1990, in the parliamentary elections, Croats voted for the Croatian Democratic Commonwealth (the Bosnian branch of Tudjman's party), Serbs for the Democratic Party (leader Radovan Karadzic), Muslims for the Democratic Action Party (leader Alija Izetbegovic, who was also elected chairman of the parliament, that is, the head of the country).

On Bosnia and Herzegovina, on January 11, 1992, the following decision was made in Maastricht: the EEC will recognize its sovereignty if the majority of the population votes for it in a referendum. And again along existing administrative boundaries! The referendum took place on February 29, 1992; it became the first page of the tragedy. The Serbs did not come to vote, wanting to remain in the Federal Yugoslavia; Croats and Muslims came to vote, but in total - no more than 38% of the total population. After this, in violation of all conceivable norms of democratic elections, the referendum was extended by Izetbegovic for another day, and many armed people in black uniforms and green bands on their heads immediately appeared on the streets of Sarajevo - Alia did not waste time to establish independence. By the evening of the second day, almost 64% had already voted; naturally, the absolute majority was in favor.

The results of the referendum were recognized by the “world community” as valid. On the same day, the first blood was shed: a wedding procession passing by an Orthodox church was attacked by a group of militants. The Serb carrying the national flag (this is required according to the Serbian wedding ceremony) was killed, the rest were beaten and wounded. The city was immediately divided into three districts, and the streets were blocked with barricades. The Bosnian Serbs, represented by their leader Karadzic, did not recognize the referendum and hastily, literally within a week, held their own referendum, where they spoke out in favor of a unified state with Yugoslavia. The Republic of Srpska was immediately proclaimed with its capital in the city of Pale. The war, which seemed impossible just a week ago, broke out like a haystack.

Three Serbias appeared on the map of the former Yugoslavia. The first is the Serbian Province in Croatia (capital - Knin), the second is the Republika Srpska in Bosnia (capital - Pale), the third is the Serbian Republic (capital - Belgrade), part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, proclaimed in the spring of 1992, of which the second part included Montenegro ( capital - Podgorica). Belgrade, unlike the EEC and the United States, did not recognize an independent Bosnia and Herzegovina. Milosevic demanded an end to the unrest in Sarajevo and the fighting that began throughout the country, demanded guarantees of autonomy for the Bosnian Serbs, and called for the UN to intervene. At the same time, he ordered the troops to remain in the barracks for now, but to prepare for a possible evacuation; in the event of armed attempts to seize weapons depots and other military facilities - to defend themselves. In response to Milosevic's demands, Izetbegovic... declared war on Serbia, Montenegro and the JNA on April 4, 1992, signing an order for general mobilization. Further more.

In April 1992, the Croatian regular army invaded the territory of Bosnia from the West (during the conflict its number reached 100,000 people) and committed mass crimes against the Serbs. UN Security Council Resolution 787 orders Croatia to immediately withdraw its troops from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nothing of the kind followed. The UN remained silent. But by resolution No. 757 of May 30, 1992, the UN Security Council introduces an economic embargo against Serbia and Montenegro! The reason was an explosion at a market in Sarajevo, which, according to most foreign observers in this city, was committed by Muslim terrorists.

On April 8, 1992, the United States recognized the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina; At that time, the war was already in full swing there. From the very beginning of the process of the collapse of Yugoslavia, the US ruling circles took an open anti-Serbian position and did not hesitate to support all separatists. When it came to the creation of Serbian autonomy, the United States did everything to prevent this. The reasons for this behavior are not difficult to find. Firstly, the desire to completely destroy the communist camp; The States understood very well that the unifying element in Yugoslavia was the Serbian people, and if they were given hard times, the country would fall apart. Serbs in general, as representatives of the Orthodox civilization, have never enjoyed the favor of the West.

Secondly, the oppression of the Serbs undermined the authority of Russia, which was unable to protect its historical allies; By doing this, the States showed all countries oriented towards the former Soviet Union that they are now the only superpower in the world, and Russia no longer has any weight.

Thirdly, the desire to find support and sympathy from the Islamic world, with which tense relations remained due to the American position on Israel; The behavior of Middle Eastern countries directly affects oil prices, which, due to American imports of petroleum products, have a significant impact on the US economy.

Fourthly, support for Germany’s position on the former Yugoslavia, in order to prevent even a hint of divergence of interests of NATO countries.

Fifthly, the spread of its influence in the Balkan region, which constitutes one of the stages of the plan to create a new world order in which the United States will have absolute power; The fact that such sentiments dominate part of American society is evidenced by the writings of ideologists of American imperialism such as Z. Brzezinski, F. Fukuyama, and so on. This involved the creation of several “pocket” Balkan states, burdened with constant interethnic conflicts. The existence of these dwarfs would be supported by the United States and its UN instrument in exchange for pro-American policies. Relative peace would be supported by NATO military bases, which would have absolute influence over the entire Balkan region. Assessing the situation today, we can say that the United States has achieved what it wanted: NATO reigns supreme in the Balkans...

At the turn of 1980–1990, only in Serbia and Montenegro did progressive forces, having dissociated themselves from the rotten leadership of the Union of Communists, torn apart by nationalist aspirations and unable to make any constructive decisions to save the country from collapse, took a different path. Having organized the Socialist Party, they came out under the slogans of preserving a united, indivisible Yugoslavia and won the elections.

The Union of Serbia and Montenegro lasted until May 2006. In a referendum organized by the ardent Westerner Djukanovic, the president of Montenegro, its population voted by a small majority for independence from Serbia. Serbia has lost access to the sea.

The next piece that will inevitably be torn away from Serbia is its historical core of Kosovo and Metohija, where there is practically no Serbian population left. It is also possible that Vojvodina, which has a significant percentage of the Hungarian population, will separate from Serbia. Macedonia, which once hosted a large number of Albanians who are now actively demanding autonomy, is also on the verge of collapse.

Kingdom Yugoslavia was formed in 1918 as a union of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes after the end of the First World War. After World War II in 1945. Yugoslavia began to be called a socialist federation of six union republics and occupied an area of ​​255.8 thousand sq. km. and the capital Belgrade. Having existed for about 88 years, the state collapsed after 2006. no longer existed as a single state space.
The flag of Yugoslavia contained blue, white and red stripes, with a large five-pointed star in the foreground.

Step 2

So, Yugoslavia, a European state that existed on the Balkan Peninsula and had access to the Adriatic Sea, now consists of six independent states and two autonomous regions.
Today, the former Yugoslavia is the countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia, which includes 2 autonomous regions of Vojvodina and Kosovo, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro.

Step 3

Bosnia and Herzegovina, capital of the state Sarajevo. The country's area is 51,129 thousand sq. km. The country has several official languages: Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian.
Sarajevo hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics, and then the city became a center of military operations during the Yugoslav civil war in 1992-1995.
Today the country is popular for its therapeutic balneological resorts, ski resorts and beach holidays, because... has a narrow outlet to the Adriatic Sea.

Step 4

Macedonia, capital of the state Skopje. This is an ancient city that dates back to the 3rd century BC. The country's area is 25.7 thousand square kilometers, the official language is Macedonian. Macedonia is a mountainous country, almost the entire area is occupied by mountain ranges of varying heights. Macedonia does not have access to the sea, but on its territory there are several ski resorts and historical monuments associated with the Roman Empire and Turkish rule in this part of the Balkan Peninsula.
Macedonia

Step 5

Serbia, capital of the state Belgrade. The country's area is 88,361 thousand square kilometers, the official language is Serbian.
Belgrade arose in the first century AD, from 1284 it came under Serbian rule and today is its capital. Of all the countries of the former Yugoslavia, Serbia has the most flat fertile land and deciduous forests. There is no access to the Adriatic Sea, but there is an artificial Belgrade Sea. Also, rivers of extraordinary beauty flow through Serbia, on the mountainous part of which you can raft. The largest river in Serbia is the Danube.
Serbia also includes two autonomous provinces Kosovo, capital Pristina And Vojvodina, capital Novi Sad.
Serbia

Step 6

Slovenia, capital of the state Ljubljana. The country's area is 20,251 thousand square kilometers, the official language is Slovenian.
Slovenia is a small but very beautiful country. It has everything, snow-capped Alpine peaks, valleys with gardens and vineyards, and the Adriatic coast. Even the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, has an unusual history: according to legend, the city was founded by the Argonauts when they returned from Colchis after their journey for the Golden Fleece.
Slovenia today mainly lives on tourism, and also has a developed industry, including pharmaceuticals.
Slovenia.

Step 7

Croatia, capital of the state Zagreb. The country's area is 56,538 thousand square kilometers, the official language is Croatian. Zagreb is quite a large but cozy city with many architectural and historical attractions.
Croatia is a country that has the longest Adriatic coast of all the countries of the former Yugoslavia. That is why it is famous for its resorts around the cities of Split, Shebenik, Trogir, Dubrovnik. On the territory of Croatia there are unique nature reserves Krka, Paklenica, Kornati, etc. One of the cities of Croatia, Split is one of the oldest cities in Dolmatia (region of Croatia), its age exceeds 1700 years. In the center of the city of Split there is Diocletian's Palace, which now houses residential apartments for the city's residents.

Former Yugoslavia is the largest state of the South Slavs. The political and military conflict in Yugoslavia in the early 90s of the 20th century led to the disintegration of the country into the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (which included Serbia and Montenegro), Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia and Macedonia. The final disintegration of the state of Yugoslavia ended in 2003-2006, when the SR Yugoslavia was first renamed into the state union of Serbia and Montenegro, and in 2006, Montenegro, after a referendum, withdrew from its membership.

General information
Capital – Belgrade
The official language and the language of international communication is Serbo-Croatian.
Total area: 255,800 sq. km.
Population: 23,600,000 (1989)
National composition: Serbs, Croats, Bosnians (Slavs who converted to Islam during the Ottoman yoke), Slovenes, Macedonians, Albanians, Hungarians, Ruthenians, Gypsies, etc.
Monetary unit: dinar-krona (until 1920), KSHS dinar (until 1929), Yugoslav dinar (1929-1991)

Historical reference
The modern history of the former Yugoslavia begins in 1918, when the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (KHS) was formed. The date of creation of the state is December 1, 1918, when Dalmatia and Vojvodina - Yugoslav lands that belonged to Austria-Hungary, which collapsed in the fall of 1918, united with the kingdoms and.

In 1929, the state was renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. This name was adopted after the coup d'etat organized by the King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Alexander on January 6, 1929. The state existed with this name until 1945.

After the end of the Second World War, on November 29, 1945, Yugoslavia became a socialist federation, which included six federal republics: Serbia (with autonomous regions - Vojvodina and Kosovo and Metohija), Macedonia (until that time it was an integral part of Serbia - Vardar Macedonia), Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The new state was named Democratic Federal Yugoslavia. In 1946 it was renamed the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (FPRY). Since 1963, the state began to be called the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY).

An independent state of the South Slavic peoples was formed in Europe in 1918. Since 1929 it began to be called Yugoslavia, in 1945, after the liberation of the country from fascist occupation, it was proclaimed the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, and in 1963 it received the name Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). It included the union republics of Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro. In addition, two autonomous provinces were identified as part of Serbia - Vojvodina (with a significant Hungarian population) and Kosovo and Metohija (with a predominance of the Albanian population).

Despite the kinship of all South Slavic peoples, significant religious and ethnolinguistic differences remained between them. Thus, Serbs, Montenegrins and Macedonians profess the Orthodox religion, Croats and Slovenes – Catholic, and Albanians and Muslim Slavs – Islam. Serbs, Croats, Montenegrins and Muslim Slavs speak Serbo-Croatian, Slovenes speak Slovenian, and Macedonians speak Macedonian. In the SFRY, two scripts were used - based on the Cyrillic alphabet (Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia) and the Latin alphabet (Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina). It is important to emphasize that to these ethnolinguistic features were added very significant differences of a socio-economic nature, primarily between the more developed Croatia and Slovenia and the less developed other parts of the SFRY, which aggravated many social contradictions. For example, Orthodox and Catholics believed that one of the main reasons high level unemployment in the country is the high population growth in its Muslim areas.

For the time being, the authorities of the SFRY managed to prevent extreme manifestations of nationalism and separatism. However, in 1991–1992. Ethnic intolerance, aggravated by the fact that many borders between the union republics were initially drawn without due consideration of the national-ethnic composition of the population, acquired a very large scale, and many political parties began to speak out under openly nationalist slogans. As a result, it was during these years that the SFRY collapsed: in 1991, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia separated from it, and in 1992, a new Yugoslav federation was formed - the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), which included Serbia and Montenegro (Fig. 10). This rapid disintegration of the SFRY occurred in various forms - both relatively peaceful (Slovenia, Macedonia) and extremely violent (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina).

The separation was of the most peaceful nature Slovenia, during which, although it was not possible to avoid a small armed conflict, it turned out to be only an episode in this rather calm “divorce” process. And in the future, no serious political, let alone military-political complications arose here.

Separation from the SFRY Macedonia was accompanied not by military, but by diplomatic conflict. After the declaration of independence of this state, neighboring Greece refused to recognize it. The point here is that until 1912 Macedonia was part of the Ottoman Empire, and after liberation from Turkish rule its territory was divided between Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and Albania. Consequently, independent Macedonia, which separated from the SFRY, covered only one of the four parts of this historical region, and Greece feared that the new state would lay claim to its Greek part as well. Therefore, Macedonia was ultimately admitted to the UN with the wording “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”.

Rice. 10. Independent states that emerged on the site of the former SFRY

Much larger military-political complications accompanied the separation from the former SFRY Croatia, in the population of which in the early 1990s. the share of Serbs exceeded 12%, and some of its regions have long been considered originally Serbian. First of all, this applies to the so-called Military Region, a border region created back in the 16th–18th centuries. Austria and preserved in the 19th century. after the formation of Austria-Hungary along the border with the Ottoman Empire. It was here that many Orthodox Serbs settled, fleeing persecution from the Turks. Based on their numerical superiority, these Serbs, even during the existence of the SFRY, announced the creation of their autonomous region of Krajina within the Federal Republic of Croatia, and after Croatia’s secession from the SFRY at the end of 1991, they proclaimed the formation of the independent Republic of Serbian Krajina with its center in the city of Knin , announcing its separation from Croatia. However, this self-proclaimed republic was not recognized by the UN, which sent a peacekeeping contingent to Croatia to prevent the military development of the conflict. And in 1995, Croatia, choosing a moment when the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was economically greatly weakened by a tough embargo from Western countries, sent its troops into Krajna, and a few days later the republic of the Croatian Serbs ceased to exist. In 1998, Croatia also returned to itself the territory of Eastern Slavonia, captured by the Serbs back in 1991 as a result of a bloody military operation. This development of events gave rise to Serbian radicals to accuse the then President of the FRY, Slobodan Milosevic, of “betraying the Krajina.”

Rice. eleven. Settlement of the peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The former Soviet republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia became the arena of even more irreconcilable military-political and ethno-religious confrontation Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was distinguished by the most multinational composition of the population, which for many centuries served as the root cause of various kinds of ethnic conflicts. According to the 1991 census, Serbs made up 31% of its inhabitants, Muslims 44%, Croats 17%, and the rest from other ethnic groups. After the declaration of independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, it turned out that Serbs constituted the majority in its northern and eastern regions, Muslims in the central regions, and Croats in the western regions (Fig. 11).

The reluctance of Serbs and Croats to find themselves in a Muslim state, and Muslims in a Christian one, from the very beginning of the independent existence of Bosnia and Herzegovina led to confrontation between them, which in the spring of 1992 escalated into a civil war. At its first stage, the victory was won by the Bosnian Serbs, who, relying on the forces of the Yugoslav army stationed in the republic, captured almost 3/4 of its entire territory, starting “ethnic cleansing” in Muslim areas and actually turning Muslim cities into enclaves, surrounded on all sides by Serbian troops. The most striking example of this kind is the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, the siege of which by the Serbs lasted more than three years and cost the lives of tens of thousands of its inhabitants. As a result of national-religious divisions in the territory with a predominance of the Serbian population, the Bosnian Republic of Srpska was proclaimed. Croats and Muslims first also formed their own republics, but in 1994, on the basis of an anti-Serbian alliance, they created a single Bosnian Muslim-Croat Federation.

At the same time, a turning point occurred in the course of the war, not in favor of the Serbs, which is explained by several reasons. Firstly, the UN Security Council imposed strict international sanctions against the government of the FRY, accused of interfering in the affairs of a neighboring state and armed support for the struggle of the Bosnian Serbs. Secondly, the leader of the unrecognized Bosnian Republic of Srpska, Radovan Karadzic, was accused of organizing “ethnic cleansing” and declared a war criminal. Thirdly, the Western allies and many Muslim states began to arm the Bosnian Muslim army, whose combat capability increased markedly as a result. Finally, fourthly, American, British and French planes began bombing Bosnian Serb positions.

The Bosnian War ended in the late autumn of 1995. According to the peace agreement, Bosnia and Herzegovina formally retained the status of an independent state with a single president, parliament, central government and other authorities. But in fact it was divided into two parts. One of them was formed by the Muslim-Croat federation with a territory of 26 thousand km 2, a population of 2.3 million people and a capital in Sarajevo, which has its own president, parliament and government. On the other part, the Republic of Srpska was formed with a territory of 25 thousand km 2, a population of more than 1 million people and the capital in Banja Luka. The configuration of the territory of the Republika Srpska is very bizarre: following the settlement of the Bosnian Serbs, it seems to border the more compact territory of the Muslim-Croat federation on the northern and eastern sides. Republika Srpska also has its own president, parliament and government.

Both the Muslim-Croat Federation and the Republika Srpska are self-proclaimed states, since neither is recognized by the UN. Many of the previous contradictions remain between them, especially taking into account the insufficiently clearly defined border line. So, new armed conflicts can be avoided here mainly due to the fact that at the end of 1995, NATO troops, and then the UN peacekeeping contingent, were brought into Bosnia and Herzegovina under the flag of peacekeeping; his mandate has already been extended several times. The international peacekeeping force also includes Russian troops.

However, all this is only a visible stabilization of the situation, which has not resolved the main controversial issues. For example, peacekeeping forces were unable to ensure the return of refugees to their places of former residence. But this is perhaps the main task of democratizing life in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the UN, the number of refugees in the entire territory of the former SFRY amounted to 2.3 million people, and the vast majority of them are in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Fig. 12). And only about 400 thousand of them returned, including a little more than 200 thousand to Bosnia and Herzegovina. It can be added that the mass exodus of Serbs from Sarajevo led to the fact that this once multinational city actually turned into a mono-ethnic one, where the share of Serbs was reduced to several percent.

Rice. 12. Flows of refugees in the territory of the former SFRY

The next act of the Yugoslav drama took place in the late 1990s. and was associated with the problems of the historical area Kosovo and Metohija, located in the southern part of Serbia. This region occupies 11 thousand km 2, and its population, 9/10 of which are Muslim Albanians, is 1.9 million people.

The historical region of Kosovo and Metohija (Kosovo occupies its eastern flat part, and Metohija its western mountainous part) played a huge role in the formation of Serbian statehood. This is evidenced by numerous historical and architectural monuments that have survived to this day. However, in the XIV century. Kosovo's early heyday was interrupted by the invasion of the Ottoman Turks. It was here, on the ever-famous Kosovo Field, that a decisive battle took place between the army of the Turkish Sultan Murad I and the Serbian militia, which was defeated by the Turks. From that time on, the lands of Kosovo and Metohija began to fall into desolation and at the same time were populated by Albanians who accepted the Muslim faith. Gradually, there were more and more Albanians here, and after Turkey lost its possessions in Europe and independent Albania was formed in 1912, Kosovo Albanians began to make attempts to reunite their lands with it. To some extent, they were realized only in 1941, when Nazi Germany, having occupied Yugoslavia, created “Greater Albania” consisting of Albania, most of Kosovo and Metohija and part of the Macedonian and Montenegrin lands with the Albanian population.

After the Second World War, the historical region of Kosovo and Metohija, as part of first the people's and then the socialist federal Yugoslavia, received quite broad autonomy from the very beginning, and according to the 1974 constitution, this autonomous region actually became an independent subject of the federation with very broad rights (with the exception of the right to secede from Serbia). However, in the early 1980s, after the death of the country's leader, Marshal Tito, Albanian nationalism and separatism intensified again, and anti-Serbian protests began in Kosovo. In response to this, in 1989, the Serbian central authorities effectively abolished the autonomy of Kosovo and Metohija. However, this action further aggravated the situation in the region, and it was aggravated by the fact that in all major economic indicators Kosovo occupied the last place in the country: its share in national income and industrial production was only 2%. But in terms of the number of unemployed and the share of illiterate people, Kosovo ranked first.

When the collapse of the SFRY began, the Kosovar Albanians also declared independence and created the Republic of Kosovo. Since the Serbian authorities, naturally, did not recognize this republic, dual power actually arose in the region. In preparation for war, Kosovo Albanians created their own military organization - the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). Illegal supplies of weapons to Kosovo from Albania began, and militants arrived from there.

The situation became especially aggravated in 1998, when the Yugoslav authorities tried to liquidate the KLA bases. Western countries actually supported the Albanian separatists, who openly declared their intention to secede from the FRY. Negotiations began with the participation of various kinds of mediators, which, however, led nowhere. As a result, the Serbs were faced with a choice: either give up Kosovo or enter into an unequal struggle with NATO. They preferred the second path, and then, without the sanction of the UN Security Council, NATO countries began massive bombing of Yugoslavia, and the military contingents of this bloc actually occupied Kosovo, dividing the territory into areas of responsibility. So Kosovo actually turned into a protectorate of Western countries, under the control of the UN mission (UNMIK) and NATO control. But Albanian nationalists continued to insist on complete independence of the region, despite the UN Security Council resolution on preserving the territorial integrity of Serbia. At the same time, they relied on the support of the United States and European Union countries, which intervened in this essentially intra-Serbian conflict, proving that Kosovo is a unique case and will not lead to a chain reaction in other self-proclaimed states. Serbia, Russia and many other countries opposed such a policy, which violates the principle of the territorial integrity of states. Lengthy negotiations did not produce results, and in February 2008, the Kosovo parliament unilaterally adopted a declaration of sovereignty. But it was not accepted by Serbia, which did not want to lose 15% of its territory, Russia, China and dozens of other countries of the world. Due to the position of permanent Security Council members Russia and China, Kosovo has no chance of joining the UN.

In 2000–2002 On the territory of the former SFRY, a new aggravation of the domestic and foreign political situation occurred. This time it was associated with Macedonia and Montenegro.

Aggravation of the situation in Macedonia also directly related to Kosovo.

Approximately a third of the population of Macedonia are Muslim Albanians, living compactly in areas adjacent to the territories of Albania and Kosovo. At the same time, the number and share of Albanians in the population of this country is gradually increasing due to the higher rates of natural growth characteristic of this ethnic community and the recent increased migration influx. The events that took place here in the spring of 2001, when large groups of Albanian militants invaded Macedonia from Kosovo and began shelling its populated areas, essentially represented another attempt to implement the old idea of ​​​​creating a “Greater Albania.” These actions caused discord in the relations between Macedonian Albanians and ethnic Macedonians, who had previously always coexisted relatively peacefully. Not only ethnic, but also economic divisions between them intensified. Local Albanians also began to demand self-determination. Truces between Albanians and Macedonians were made and broken many times. As a result, NATO sent its peacekeeping contingent to Macedonia.

The aggravation of relations between the two constituent parts of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia - Serbia and Montenegro - has been brewing for a long time. Management Montenegro began to insist not even on transforming the federation into a confederation, but on secession from the FRY and gaining complete independence. A referendum on this issue was being prepared. Only thanks to the efforts of Western diplomacy at the beginning of 2002, it was possible to achieve a more or less compromise solution - on the transformation of the FRY into a new state called Serbia and Montenegro. The final formalization of the confederation of Serbia and Montenegro took place at the end of 2002, and at the beginning of 2003 it became the 45th member of the Council of Europe. However, the new state lasted only until May 2008; the new government of Montenegro held a referendum on full sovereignty, for which 55% of all residents voted. Thus, a new state appeared on the map of Europe, and the collapse of Yugoslavia was completely completed.

Moscow State University professor E.B. Valev, a leading specialist in the geography of the Balkan countries, called one of his works devoted to the problems of the former SFRY “The Yugoslav Tangle.” Indeed, such a phrase is perhaps most suitable for characterizing the geopolitical and national-religious situation that has developed over the last decade in this part of Europe.

Attention! Kosovo still remains only a partially recognized state, and Russia does not recognize it. But since this state actually exists (like the DPR, Nagorno-Karabakh, Taiwan or Somaliland), exercises border control and establishes its own order in a certain territory, it is more convenient to call it a separate state.

Short review

They like to compare Yugoslavia with the Soviet Union, and its collapse with the collapse of the USSR. I will take this comparison as a basis and tell briefly about the main peoples of the former Yugoslavia by analogy with the peoples of the former Union.

Serbs are like Russians, an imperial-forming Orthodox people who united everyone and then did not want to let go. The Serbs also believed that the whole world hated them, that they were a stronghold of the true faith and an outpost against the corrupting influence of the West. But after a decade of bloody wars with their neighbors, they somehow calmed down, stopped believing that the main thing in life was the greatness of Serbia and the protection of the Serbian people, and began to organize their country. In 2000, Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic was overthrown, a sane government came to power, and since then Serbia has been developing like all normal countries.

Serbian priest and his friend.Neighborhoods of Mokra Gora (Serbia)

Montenegrins are like Belarusians. A people who are calmer and less concerned about the great mission, so close to the Serbs that it’s even difficult to say what the difference is between them. Only Montenegrins (unlike Belarusians) have a sea, but (again, unlike Belarusians) do not have their own language. The Montenegrins stayed with the Serbs longer than others. Even when the Serbs finally admitted that Yugoslavia had collapsed, the Montenegrins formed a confederate state with them - the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. And only in 2006, in a referendum, slightly more than half of Montenegrins decided to leave the confederation and form a new state.


Montenegrin truck driver. On the way from Cetinje to Kotor (Montenegro).

Croats are like Ukrainians, or rather even Western Ukrainians. Although the Croats are close in language and culture to the Serbs and Montenegrins, they long ago accepted Catholicism, considered themselves part of Europe and always considered themselves superior to any Orthodox cattle. They even had their own analogue of “Bandera” - the so-called “Ustashi” (Croatian fascists who helped the Hitlers) and their own analogue of “Novorossiya” (the so-called Serbian Krajina - a region of Croatia inhabited by Serbs and which declared independence in the early 1990s. ). However, the Croats crushed separatism faster and more successfully than the Ukrainians and moved to Europe. Croatia has already become a member of the European Union and looks like a fairly prosperous and civilized country.


Croatian policemen and saleswoman. Zagreb (Croatia)

Slovenes are like our Baltic people. Among the Yugoslavs, they have always been a more developed, civilized and European-oriented people. It seems that even the Serbs agreed with this, so they gave them independence relatively easily. Slovenians have been in the European Union and the Eurozone for a long time, they have a clean, pleasant, developed and safe country.


Former mayor of the Slovenian town of Canal and director of the hitchhiking museum in the city of Bled (Slovenia)

It is difficult to compare Bosnia and Herzegovina with anything, because a similar conflict did not occur in the history of the USSR. However, it is imaginable. Imagine purely hypothetically that in the early 1990s in Kazakhstan, the Russian population of the north of the country declared an independent republic and started a war with the south, populated mainly by Kazakhs. At the same time, the Ukrainians living in Kazakhstan remembered their independence and, in their places of compact residence, began to fight both the Kazakhs and the Russians. Later, the country would be divided into two autonomous parts - Russian and Kazakh-Ukrainian, and in the Russian part no one would still recognize the government of Kazakhstan, hang Russian flags and wait for a reason to finally secede. Something like this happened in Bosnia: first, a mutual war between Serbs, Bosnian Muslims and Croats, and then the division of the country into two parts - Serbian and Muslim-Croatian.


Passengers of the city tram. Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Macedonians - I don’t even know what it is. One could compare them with Moldovans or Georgians - also Orthodox peoples living in small and poor countries. But Moldova and Georgia fell into several parts, and Macedonia still retained its integrity. Therefore, let's say that Macedonia is like Kyrgyzstan, only Orthodox. The Serbs didn’t even fight here: Macedonia separated - and God bless it. The Yugoslav war reached here in the early 2000s: in 2001, clashes took place in the country between the Macedonian majority and the Albanian minority, which demanded greater autonomy. Well, much like in Kyrgyzstan, there were several clashes between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz.


Our friend is an Albanian from the Macedonian city of Tetovo (right) and his friend

Well, Kosovo is obviously Chechnya. A region that could not officially secede from Serbia, but which nonetheless resisted long and stubbornly. The result was formally different (Kosovo achieved actual independence, but Chechnya did not), but both there and there peace and tranquility were established and you can go there completely without fear.


Street corn vendor in Pristina (Kosovo)

Albania does not belong to Yugoslavia, but has always been close to this region. Josip Broz Tito, the leader of socialist Yugoslavia, even wanted to annex Albania to Yugoslavia as another federal republic. There is a version that he allowed the Albanians to live in Kosovo in order to show them the benefits of living in his country, after which all of Albania, in one impulse, should have entered Yugoslavia. As a result, Albania never visited Yugoslavia, but was always considered a congenial and eternally poor neighbor. In general, Albania is for Yugoslavia what Mongolia is for the Soviet Union.


Albanian girl. City of Durres (Albania)

For a deeper dive into the history of Yugoslavia and the Yugoslav, I recommend Leonid Mlechin’s wonderful documentary “The Yugoslav Tragedy.” The film has no biases in the pro-Serbian or anti-Serbian side, does not paint anyone as white and fluffy, and fairly honestly tries to tell about the time when in the former Yugoslavia people went crazy en masse and started killing each other.

Relation to the past

Yugoslavia was, by socialist standards, a very developed country. It had the highest standard of living among socialist countries, not counting the GDR. In Russia, the older generation can still remember that a trip to Yugoslavia was almost equivalent to a trip to a capitalist country.

Then in the early 90s there was war, economic recession and unemployment. Therefore, many people still treat the socialist past normally and even with nostalgia. It is clear that socialism is remembered more warmly in less developed countries (Bosnia, Serbia, etc.), while in more developed countries (Slovenia and Croatia) it is rather viewed negatively.


Graffiti on a wall in Cetinje (Montenegro)

Even before the trip, I heard that the Balkan peoples still respect Josip Broz Tito, the leader of Yugoslavia from 1945-1980, despite the fact that in the early 1990s. His inheritance was so actively destroyed. This is true - in many cities in the former Yugoslavia, including Croatian, Macedonian and Bosnian ones, there are Tito streets and squares.

Tito, although he was a dictator, was soft by the standards of the 20th century. He carried out repression only against his political opponents, and not against entire ethnic groups or social groups. In this regard, Tito is more like Brezhnev or Franco than Hitler and Stalin. Therefore, in people's memory his image is rather positive.


Josip Broz Tito's grave at the Museum of Yugoslav History in Belgrade (Serbia)

It is interesting that Tito, the son of a Croatian and a Slovenian, actively mixed the population, encouraged interethnic marriages and cohabitation different nations. His goal was to create a new nation - the "Yugoslavs". We have met such people several times - those who were born from mixed marriages or are married to a representative of another nation. But he failed to complete the job. During the collapse of the country, it became clear that the Yugoslavs did not exist, just as the “Soviet people” did not exist, but there were different peoples.


City of Travnik (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Then the “Yugoslav War” occurred - a series of armed conflicts in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Macedonia. It was the bloodiest war on the European continent since World War II, with more than 100 thousand people killed. The level of mutual hatred between peoples who had recently lived peacefully next to each other increased to an extreme degree. It’s amazing how quickly people are able to divide into “us” and “strangers” and violently destroy each other. Unfortunately, there are always gopniks who will only be glad that it has become possible to kill, rob and rape, and not just like that, but for a high idea - say, for Allah or for the Orthodox faith.

People in the Balkans became obsessed with national and religious hatred very quickly, but, fortunately, they came to their senses just as quickly. The conflict did not turn into an eternal smoldering conflict, as in some Palestine or Nagorno-Karabakh. When the main troglodyte cannibals left power, the new governments quickly settled into constructive cooperation. For example, in 2003, the presidents of Croatia and Serbia formally apologized to each other for what their predecessors had done.


City of Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

And this is the most pleasing thing when traveling through the former Yugoslavia - the former enmity has almost been forgotten and people have gradually become accustomed to the fact that not enemies live nearby, but exactly the same people. Today, Serbs, Croats, and Bosnian Muslims peacefully coexist and travel to visit each other, on business, and to visit relatives. The worst thing they told me was that some car with Serbian license plates in Croatia could have its door scratched.

Probably the same feelings would have existed in Western Europe in the 1960s. The war seems to have happened quite recently, but there is no mutual hatred and people are worried about completely different issues.

True, some tension is still felt in Serbian areas outside of Serbia. The Serbs living in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, it seems, still have not come to terms with the fact that they have become a national minority in a foreign state. Perhaps the same thing is happening with the Serbs in Croatia. They do not like or recognize these new states of theirs; they hang Serbian flags everywhere and scold both the government of their current states and the Serbian government (they say that Serbia betrayed and forgot them). But even in these places it is now safe - for example, Serbs can easily travel to Albanian areas and vice versa. So let's hope that sooner or later all these contradictions will be resolved.


Bridge over the Serbian and Albanian parts of the city of Mitrovica (Kosovo)

Economy and level of development

What is most surprising about Yugoslavia is how good its constituent countries look. Of course, they are far from Western Europe, but they are still noticeably ahead of the countries of the former Union. There are very good roads here, including expressways, good and beautiful houses rise in the villages, all the fields are sown, new trams and buses run through the cities, the cities have clean and well-maintained streets.


Residential area of ​​Novi Sad (Serbia)

A characteristic feature is that in the former Yugoslavia almost everywhere is very clean. In cities, different surfaces don’t have a layer of dirt or dust on them, like here, and you can almost always sit on a curb or steps without worrying about the cleanliness of your pants. There are no clouds of dust rising from passing cars, and there are no dirt roadsides on country roads, so you can safely put down your backpack when you catch a car.

In short, although the Yugoslavs are also Slavs and also experienced socialism, for some reason they know simple rules thanks to which the cities remain clean. Those interested in this topic can read Varlamov’s post “How to make sidewalks correctly” and Lebedev’s post “Russian drist”; it describes in detail and clearly why our cities are dirty, while European cities are not.


Berat city center (Albania)

This picture is floating around the Balkan Internet.

Translation: “Ships and planes disappear in this triangle. And in this triangle, young people, investments, happiness and the future disappear.”

It seems to me that the Balkans (if they were the ones painting the picture) are too self-critical. All these countries are developing and looking quite good. Especially when compared with our Slavic triangle Russia - Ukraine - Belarus, where over the past few years investments and the future have really been disappearing.

The poorest country in the region is Albania, but it also looks relatively good. The outback there is generally much better than the Russian one. Things are somewhat better in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo. It’s even better in Croatia, and very good in Slovenia.


Village in eastern Serbia

People and mentality

The Balkans are inhabited mainly by Slavs who have lived through several decades of socialism. Therefore, in their character you can find a lot in common with us. As I already said, people here are not particularly religious, and passion for Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Islam has become more of a fashion than a deeply conscious choice. The Albanian with whom we stayed in Pristina convinced us that all the problems in Europe are from Muslims, and if it were his will, he would expel all Muslims from Europe. To my question: “Aren’t Albanians Muslims?” he replied: “Come on, these are European Muslims! We are completely different, we have no religious fanaticism!”


Rules of behavior in the mosque. Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

People here have a slightly more disregard for the law than Western Europeans. This, of course, has its advantages for the traveler - for example, a car can stop and pick you up in a place where stopping is prohibited. But there are also disadvantages - for example, the same car in the city will park on the sidewalk and interfere with pedestrians.

Our Belgrade acquaintance, a completely pro-Western guy with a European mindset, nevertheless said that you don’t have to pay for travel on the bus, “and if they come to check your tickets, go to the door, stand with your back to the controllers and don’t react to their comments - they , most likely, will quickly fall behind." A very familiar attitude towards established rules.

It’s sad that many people are starting to scold America (they say, it has quarreled everyone in the Balkans) and praise Putin (here, they say, he’s a normal leader, we need one like him). This infantile attitude towards politics is a little annoying - like one big guy came and ruined everything, but another big guy should come and fix everything, and we have nothing to do with it here at all.

Putin, as usual, is loved here much more than in Russia itself - and not only by Serbs, but even by some Croats, Albanians and representatives of other nationalities. One would think that they were saying this out of politeness, but no - when we answered that we ourselves had a cool attitude towards Putin, people were surprised. How can you not love him, he fights America so bravely? True, T-shirts with Putin are sold only where Serbs live; in other places it is somehow not customary to display this.


Sale of T-shirts in Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

In general, with Yugoslavs there is almost always a common language and topics for conversation. Even if people have completely different political views, the cultural code, so to speak, is still common: they understand our problems, and we understand their problems. You drive through the former Yugoslavia, almost like you drive through your native land, but which looks and develops much better.

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