Eastern European “satellite countries”
controlled by the USSR
**Satellite countries are formally independent nations dominated by
another country.
 Romania
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Albania
Bosnia &
Herzegovina^
Bulgaria
Croatia^
Czech Republic
Hungary
Macedonia^
Poland

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Slovakia
Slovenia^
Montenegro^
Objective: To
Serbia^
understand the
Kosovo^
impact outside
intervention had
on the region of
the former
Yugoslavia.
Country of Yugoslavia
Former Yugoslavia
Brief History of Eastern Europe

Location of Eastern Europe created a cultural crossroads of many
different ethnicities. **Ethnicity definition? What two factors
need to be in common?

100 AD controlled by Ancient Rome (Catholic) followed by the
Byzantine Empire (Orthodox Christian).

1300s controlled by the Ottoman Empire (Muslim).

Control by foreign rule made cultures change and new ethnic groups
emerge who fiercely guard their identities.
**Nationalism  devotion and loyalty
to one's own nation or people group.

1900s the regions started to declare independence;
countries contained mixed ethnicities.

After WWII the Soviet Union set up satellite nations who
were controlled by the USSR for 40 years.
 Ethnicities

united under a common enemy  USSR.
1980s Gorbachev began to give new freedoms (Glasnost)
and ethnicities started to recognize their differences.
 Post-Soviet control,
1991, more independence was
desired by ethnic groups.
Satellite nations
Yugoslavia  ethnic breakup
From unified Yugoslavia

7 independent countries
Kosovo
Former Yugoslavia**

Major conflict with the area is that different groups want
control of the same land and the reasons go back centuries.

**Slavs (original ethnic group) migrated in the 500s from
Russia and Poland and called themselves the South Slavs.
 Slavs spread out and created different kingdoms which
started differences in culture  started to change
ethnicities.

Foreign intervention created differences between the South
Slavs.
 Example  **Serbs stayed Christian, and Bosnians
converted to Islam created differences within the Slavs.
South Slavs: all of these
groups were originally Slavs
Slavs Unite

1918  the different regions united to form one
country, Yugoslavia or “Land of the South Slavs,” but
not all those South Slavs got along anymore…

1946, new Yugoslavia constitution set up 6 republics
(states).
 Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia,
Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia.
Kosovo became
(territory).
a self governing province
Former Yugoslavia
Kosovo was
self- governing
President Tito and satellite state

From 1945-1980, President Tito** controlled Yugoslavia
under the direction of the USSR.

Considered an authoritarian leader, BUT he kept the
ethnicities united and peace within the region.

Yugoslavia experienced relative economic success during his
time.

After Tito’s death, Yugoslavia goes into chaos and ethnicities
become fiercely nationalistic and want independence from
Yugoslavia.
Independence breaks out

1990, New Yugoslavian president, Slobodan Milosevic** of the
Serbian Republic, elected as president of Yugoslavia after Tito’s
death.

His interest was for his Serbian people, NOT all Yugoslavians.

1991  4 of the 6 republics voted to become separate countries
and Serbia objected.

1991  Slovenia quickly gained independence because they didn’t
have many Serbs living within their region.

Serbian troops sent in to stop the other republics from getting
independence.
**Milosevic

Croatia and Bosnia were ethnically mixed and had a large number
of Serbs.

To protect Serbia, Milosevic proposed the creation of a “Greater
Serbia” which would expand the borders of that republic to
include all the areas that had Serbian populations.

Alarmed, the Croats and Bosnians declared independence in 1991
to keep Milosevic from stealing their territory.

Yugoslavian army (controlled by Serbia) invaded both republics.

War in Croatia led to civil war which killed thousands of people
before a UN cease fire in 1992.
 Croatian independence.

1992  Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence.
 Mix
of Bosnian, Croats and Serbs lived in the republic.

Bosnian Muslims and Croats backed independence but Serbs
did not.

Milosevic and Serbs started a war in Bosnia.

Milosevic used ethnic cleansing to get rid of Bosnian Muslims
and Croats  more than 200,000 died and 2 million became
refugees.

1995  U.S. sponsored peace negotiations led to a free
Bosnia.
Bosnia’s ethnic groups

Bosnians – 40%


Serbs – 31 %


Muslims
Orthodox
Croats- 15%

Catholic
Bosnian War
Crimes

Milosevic then tried to keep control of Kosovo, which had an
Albanian/Muslim majority.

Kosovo demanded independence and Serbia began ethnic
cleansing.

1999  NATO started bombing Serbia to get them to stop and
Milosevic withdrew.


NATO  a defense alliance of countries from Europe and North
America (US included). Members agree to treat an attack on one
country as an attack on all.
Milosevic accused of war crimes and voted out in 2000.

Serbia had become disgraced under his leadership.
Kosovo

2006  Montenegro (Orthodox) declared independence
from Serbia

2008 Kosovo declared independence.

Former Yugoslavia:
 Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Serbia
 Montenegro
 Croatia
 Macedonia
 Slovenia
 Kosovo
Today?

Cultural diversity makes it difficult to unify the region.

Less urban than the rest of Europe, but as industry grows
so will cities.

Discrimination of minority groups, especially the Jews,
leading to anti-Semitism.

To obtain true democracy, they need to overcome old
hatreds and work together.
In Summary

South Slavs migrated to the region of Eastern Europe and
settled.

Conquering empires brought ethnic, cultural, and religious
differences to the South Slavs (Croat, Bosnian, Serb,
Slovene, etc.)

Conquering empires created intense nationalism for each
ethnicity.

Soviet influence (Tito) controlled ethnic tensions.

1991  with independence ethnic nationalism,
ethnocentrism, and ethnic cleansing began.

Main instigator of the violence was Serbian led Yugoslavia.

Yugoslavia is today broken into 7 different countries.
Ethnicities of Yugoslavia