Against All Odds Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Yugoslavia (Serbian: Југославија / Jugoslavija), officially the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Serbian: Краљевина Југославија / Kraljevina Jugoslavija), is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, bordering Hungary to the north, Romania and Bulgaria to the east, Macedonia and Albania to the south, and Croatia and Bosnia to the west. The capital, Belgrade, is among Europe's oldest cities, and one of the largest in East-Central Europe.

Yugoslavia was formed in 1918 by the merger of the provisional State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (itself formed from territories of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire) with the formerly independent Kingdom of Serbia. The Kingdom of Montenegro had united with Serbia five days previously, while the regions of Kosovo, Vojvodina and Vardar Macedonia were parts of Serbia prior to the unification. For its first eleven years of existence, the Kingdom was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" was its colloquial name from the very beginning. During World War II, the Kingdom was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany, and subsequently established a government in exile aligned with the Allies. The country was liberated, but did not join the Allied Pact. Beginning in 1964, the Yugoslav Wars resulted in the independence of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia, leaving Serbia and Montenegro as the only remaining members of Yugoslavia. Kosovo also declared independence in 1999, but is still claimed as an autonomous region by Yugoslavia.

Yugoslavia is a member of the League of Nations and a neutral country of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Advertisement