According to Andyeducation, the Republic of Serbia is a country located on the Balkan Peninsula and a historical and geographical region in Southeast Europe ; it is currently one of the six states resulting from the dismemberment of the former Yugoslavia. It borders Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro (a country with which it formed a confederate state until 2006), Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia.
Its territory extends over the rich and fertile plains of the northern region of Vojvodina, limestone areas and basins in the east, and ancient mountains and hills in the southeast; the Danube river dominates the north. Serbia, and in particular the Morava Valley, are often described as “the crossroads between East and West”, which is one of the primary reasons for its turbulent history. The valley is by far the easiest overland route between continental Europe and Greece and Asia Minor, because it is not a mountainous region. Serbia is a member of the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe, whose presidency he held in 2007. It is one of the potential candidates for future membership of the European Union and a militarily neutral country.
Culture
Serbia is one of the countries with the most cultural diversity in Europe, thanks to the existence of borders between great empires, which passed through the territory of present-day Serbia during long historical periods: between the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire, first, and between the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, later. As a result, while the north is culturally Central European, the south is rather eastern. Of course, both regions have been influenced by each other, so in any case the distinction between north and south is purely artificial. The influence of the Byzantine Empire in Serbia it was perhaps the most important. Serbs are Orthodox Christians, not Catholics, and they have their own national Church (the Serbian Orthodox Church). They also use the Cyrillic alphabet, although in the last century the use of the Latin alphabet has grown considerably. The monasteries of Serbia, built during the Middle Ages, are some of the most visible evidence of Serbia’s medieval association with Byzantium.
Politic and government
The current Government of the Republic of Serbia was formed on July 7, 2008 as a coalition between the Democratic Party (DS) and the Serbian Socialist Party (SPS). The current Prime Minister of the Government of Serbia, after the parliamentary elections of May 11, 2008, is Mirko Cvetkovic, replacing Vojislav Kostunica, who was Prime Minister since March 2004 and former Yugoslav President, who replaced Slobodan Milosevic as President Yugoslav in October 2000.
After the fall of Slobodan Milosevic on October 5, 2000, the country was ruled by the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS). When Slobodan Milosevic was arrested, the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) left the coalition government. However, in 2004 the DSS accumulated sufficient support to form the new Government of Serbia, along with the G17 Plus, the SPO-NS, and the support of the Socialist Party of Serbia.
The current president of the Republic of Serbia is Boris Tadic, elected with 53% of the votes in the second round of the 2004 Serbian presidential elections, and re-elected on February 3, 2008. Tadic is leader of the Democratic Party (DS). The Serbian National Assembly chose the song Bože Pravde (God of Justice) as the anthem of Serbia. Also, Obrenovic’s royal coat of arms is the new coat of arms, which replaces the Coat of Arms of Serbia adopted after the Second World War. It was initially used in the 19th century.
On February 4, 2003, the Parliament of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia agreed to institute a weaker form of cooperation between Serbia and Montenegro within a republic called Serbia and Montenegro. On May 21, 2006, a referendum was held in Montenegro and on June 3, 2006, the Parliament of Montenegro proclaimed its independence.
On October 28 and 29, 2006, a little over 6.6 million voters were summoned to the polls in the 8,385 polling stations assigned to vote on the draft of the new constitution, previously approved by parliament. In this document, Kosovo is vindicated as an inalienable part of Serbia, although with a greater degree of local autonomy. The granting of autonomy to the province of Vojvodina is also proposed. It is a project that seeks a rapprochement between the relations of Belgrade, and the European Union, confirmed in article one, which ensures that Serbia is a state based on European standards and values.
Administrative division
Serbia is divided into 29 districts (5 of which are in Kosovo, outside the government administration) and the city of Belgrade. The districts, meanwhile, are divided into 108 municipalities. There are two autonomous provinces: Kosovo and Metohija in the south (with 30 municipalities), currently under the administration of the United Nations, and Vojvodina in the north (with 54 municipalities).
The part of Serbia that is neither Kosovo nor Vojvodina is called Central Serbia. Central Serbia is not an administrative division, unlike the two autonomous provinces, and does not have its own government.
