Recently, the powder keg in the Balkans has been ignited again, and the raging war between Russia and Ukraine seems to be burning southward! Overnight, Kosovo crisis has become the focus of the world again!
Kosovo, which is dominated by Albanian people, has always had the desire for independence as an administrative region of Serbian . The Kosovo War broke out in 1999. The Yugoslav Alliance army was simply unable to withstand the aircraft and artillery of the US military, and was forced to withdraw from Kosovo and change it to a United Nations trusteeship. In 2008, Kosovo unilaterally declared independence, but it was impossible for Serbia to recognize it, and half of the countries in the world did not recognize it.
Kosovo saw that the war between Russia and Ukraine was going on. Driven by the forces behind it, it began to make small moves and promulgated a new law to force the Serbs in Kosovo to surrender their license plates issued by Serbia and replace them with Kosovo license plates. The Serbs refused to accept it and took to the streets to demonstrate with the support of Serbia.
The Kosovo authorities were not to be outdone. On December 8 this year, they suddenly dispatched a large number of police forces to attack and arrested the Serb leader, former policeman Pantic. After Pantic was arrested, the situation became even more out of control. The Serbs began to set up roadblocks in Serb residential areas in an attempt to isolate themselves from the Kosovo authorities.
Serbian President Vucic also spoke out for the Kosovo Serb compatriots, publicly accusing the United States of making small moves behind the scenes, and Serbia was forced into a corner! And Kosovo signed its application to join the European Union!
Vucic immediately reviewed the army, and the battle and were about to begin. But at this moment, Kosovo gave up and took the initiative to release Pantic. Vucic also used the donkey to dismantle the roadblocks! Although the situation is still not over, it has eased the situation! It can be said that the Kosovo crisis is essentially an extension of the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield. It is a careful preparation by the United States to open up the second battlefield in Europe and continue to weaken Russia and its allies. As the main body that inherited Yugoslavia, Serbia is far inferior to Yugoslavia. It was not only bullied by Europe and the United States, but also bullied by its younger brother Kosovo. We can't help but miss Yugoslavia even more!
How terrible was Yugoslavia at its peak? He is called the Balkan Tiger , dominating the Balkan Peninsula .
His military strength is extremely powerful. He is the fourth largest military power in Europe. He is by no means a rookie who can be manipulated casually.
Yugoslavia is different from the socialist countries in Eastern Europe. He conquered the country by himself. It was Tito who led the Yugoslav people to liberate Yugoslavia. He is by no means a puppet of the Soviet Union. He refuses to be dictated by the Soviet Union! He is the leader of the Non-Aligned Movement !
It was once the richest country in the socialist camp , with extremely developed industry and agriculture. In 1990, Yugoslavia's per capita GDP was as high as US$3,600, which was more than 11 times that of China.
But what we remember the most is that in the early morning of May 8, 1999, the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia was bombed by NATO . We couldn't help but clenched our fists!
After Tito's death, Yugoslavia suddenly changed and began to embark on the path of division! In 1991, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina successively declared independence, and the Republic of Yugoslavia fell apart!
In 1992, Serbia and Montenegro formed the relatively loose Yugoslavia ! In 2006, Montenegro declared independence in a referendum. In 2018, the Kosovo Parliament adopted a Declaration of Independence and declared independence. At this point, Yugoslavia was divided into seven countries.
How brilliant he was in the past, but how lonely he was when he disintegrated! What exactly caused the Balkan Tigers to fall apart? Let us learn about the tragedy of the disintegration of Yugoslavia!
In the Balkan Peninsula, not only do various ethnic groups live together, but the ethnic groups also have different religious beliefs .There are Serbians, Bulgarians, Croats, Slovenians, Macedonians and other ethnic groups, who believe in Orthodox Christianity, Catholicism, Islam and other sects. Different races and different beliefs have caused the Balkans to remain on the powder keg all year round!
In the 6th century AD, some Slavs crossed the Carpathian Mountains and immigrated to the Balkan Peninsula, gradually forming countries such as Serbia.
1389, Ottoman Türkiye defeated Serbia in the Battle of Kosovo, occupied the Balkan Peninsula, and began a 500-year rule. When Tsarist Russia and Western Europe gradually became stronger, the Ottoman Turkish dynasty gradually declined, and Serbia, supported by Tsarist Russia, which had always wanted to go south to open up the sea, had the opportunity to become independent from Turkey and establish the Serbian Kingdom .
Looking at the decline of Ottoman Turkey, the Austro-Hungarian Empire , which had been bullied in Western Europe, also set its sights on the Balkan Peninsula and dismembered Ottoman Turkey together with Germany. Croatia, Slovenia and other countries declared independence one after another and broke away from the control of Ottoman Türkiye.
But in 1908, the Austro-Hungarian Empire brutally annexed
Serbia's younger brother Bosnia and Herzegovina, which caused uneasiness in other Balkan countries, so the fuse of World War I occurred. In 1914 in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian nationalist Princip assassinated the Crown Prince of the Austria-Hungary Empire Archduke Ferdinand .
The Austro-Hungarian Empire was furious and continued to invade other countries in the Balkan Peninsula with the support of Germany. However, the big brothers behind the small Balkan countries, Tsarist Russia, Britain and France, did not sit back and watch the show, and ended up one after another. The World War between the Allies and the Entente began!
After the First World War, the three brotherly countries of Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia merged to establish the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which was the first common country of the Yugoslavs.
However, Yugoslavia did not take this opportunity to deeply integrate the various ethnic groups in Yugoslavia. Instead, they competed with each other for power. The Serbs relied on their strong position to dominate one family, which led to the intensification of conflicts among various ethnic groups and even large-scale ethnic vendettas!
During World War II , Nazi Germany destroyed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and supported a puppet regime in Serbia. At this time, Yugoslav hero Tito stepped onto the stage of history. He led the Yugoslav Communist Party and finally repelled the invaders through several years of arduous guerrilla warfare .
In 1945, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was formally established. It was a federation of countries where all ethnic groups were equal. Yugoslavia's national policy line was formulated through equal consultation among all ethnic groups, with each ethnic group taking turns to serve as chairperson.
Under Tito's leadership, the ethnic conflicts in Yugoslavia were greatly mediated, and the economy began to take off. Tito also refused the Soviet Union's dictates, and became the leader of the Non-Aligned Movement, becoming a real Balkan Tiger!
But after Tito's death, Yugoslavia lost its leader. Ethnic conflicts gradually became more acute, and with the intervention of Western forces, various ethnic movements emerged one after another. The central government of Yugoslavia was forced to abandon the one-party system in 1989.
After various capitalist political parties came to power, they began to embark on the path of independence. In 1991, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina successively declared independence! The Federal Government of Yugoslavia declared the independence decision illegal, and the Yugoslav Civil War began. The war lasted for more than 10 days. After mediation by the European Community, a ceasefire agreement was reached, and government troops withdrew from Slovenia.
However, in Croatia, the armed conflict between the Croats and the Serbs gradually escalated, and a full-scale civil war broke out. It was not until 1992, through the intervention of the United Nations, that the war in Croatia basically subsided.
The war has been ignited again in Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose population is composed of Muslims, Serbs and Croats. In 1992, the Muslims and Croats, leaving aside the Serbian ethnic group, forcibly passed a resolution declaring the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Bosnian Serbs were strongly dissatisfied and announced that the five Serb-inhabited areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina would be independent from Bosnia and Herzegovina and remain within the Yugoslav Federation. Montenegro and Serbia formed a looser Yugoslav Federation!
The conflicts between the three ethnic groups, namely, the Muslims, Croats and Serbs, completely intensified, and the Bosnian War broke out! Thanks to the support of the Yugoslav government forces, the Serbs won consecutive battles. However, due to continuous military defeats, the two tribes complained to each other, which led to the breakdown of the alliance. The fierce fighting between the two parties turned into a three-party fierce fighting, until the United Nations intervened to mediate!
But in 2006, the relationship between Montenegro and Serbia broke down, and Montenegro organized another referendum. More than half of the voters supported independence, and Montenegro left the union. In 2018, the Kosovo Parliament adopted a Declaration of Independence and declared independence. At this point, Yugoslavia was divided into seven countries.
But what exactly caused the Balkan Tigers to fall apart?
First, there are serious historical grievances between various ethnic groups. The various ethnic groups in Yugoslavia have been under the rule of the Ottoman Turks and the Austro-Hungarian Empire for a long time. In order to maintain their rule, the rulers tried their best to sow discord among the various ethnic groups.
In the First World War, Serbia and Croatia and Slovenia, which were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time, were in hostile camps. The two sides met each other and suffered heavy losses, with hundreds of thousands of casualties.
After World War I, the Austro-Hungarian Empire disintegrated, and Yugoslavia established the unified Kingdom of Yugoslavia. However, the rulers pursued a policy of Greater Serbian hegemony and treated the Slovenians and Croatians very fiercely, which led to the gradual intensification of ethnic conflicts and even large-scale ethnic vendettas! Pan-Yugoslavism had a hard time taking root among the people.
Second, Yugoslavia has uneven economic development and different national cultures. Slovenia and Croatia are close to the west, have more developed economies, and have a strong sense of national pride. Serbia's economic development is average, but it has always wanted to be the leader of Yugoslavia and wants to control the right to speak.
However, economically backward areas such as Montenegro and Kosovo are surrounded by mountains and relatively backward. However, they only hope that the federal government can give them more donations. Each ethnic group thinks more about their own economic interests and it is difficult to consider the overall situation.
The Balkan Peninsula has always been the powder keg of Europe. Because it has an outlet to the Mediterranean , it has always been a battleground for major powers. The long-term division has led to different cultures of various ethnic groups.
Slovenia and Croatia are Catholic and speak Latin . Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia believe in Orthodox Christianity and speak their own languages, but Bosnia and Herzegovina believes more in Islam. Different religious beliefs and languages make the centrifugal force of various ethnic groups very strong.
Third, after Tito's death, Yugoslavia lost its leader. has led to a power vacuum in the political arena and increasingly intensified conflicts among various ethnic groups. However, the Communist Party of Yugoslavia took the initiative to give up its ruling position. At this time, the drastic changes in Eastern Europe swept through Yugoslavia like dominoes, causing Yugoslavia to completely split.
Fourth, the peaceful evolution of the West. The West continues to support the bourgeois regimes of all ethnic groups. It first advocated for Slovenia and Croatia to break away from Yugoslavia, and then provided arms and ammunition to the Muslims and Croats in the Bosnian War to support their independence. And impose economic sanctions on Serbia, and even directly send troops to intervene! It was the direct cause of the disintegration of Yugoslavia.
