546 SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE
late 17th century, Habsburg victories
over the Ottomans per suaded
thousands of Serbs to leave their
homelands in Kosovo and seek a
new life in the Habsburg-controlled
region of Vojvodina, in the north of
the country. This went on to become
the centre of education and culture.
A series of uprisings against the
Ottomans in 1830 led to the creation
of a Serbian principality. This was
upgraded to the status of a kingdom
in 1878, and became the focus of the
aspi rations of people throughout the
Balkans. The collapse of the HabsburgEmpire in 1918 led to the creation of
the kingdom of Serbs, Croats and
Slovenes (later renamed Yugoslavia).
However, the lack of a common
Yugoslav identity resulted in the col-
lapse of the country when Germany
attacked it in April 1941. In Serbia,
resistance groups formed around the
Serbian-nationalist Četnik Move ment,
and the pan-Yugoslav Partisans led
by Communist Josip Broz Tito. In
1945, Tito established a federal
Yugoslavia composed of six rep ublics.
The ethnically mixed Serbian regions
of Vojvodina and Kosovo were made
into autonomous pro vinces. After the
death of Tito in 1980, Serbians
launched a campaign to regain
control of these regions. This upsurge
of Serbian national senti ment was
perceived as a threat by the other
Yugoslav republics, and both Slovenia
and Croatia chose to break away
from Yugoslavia in 1991. In 1999, an
Albanian insurgency was ans wered
by a Serbian crackdown, lead ing to
the NATO bombardment of Serbia.
Throughout the 1990s Serbian
politics was controlled by the
Nationalist-Communist Slobodan
Milošević. He fell from power in
2000, leading to a process of
democratization. Serbia is currently a
parliamentary democracy, with hopes
of joining the EU.LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
Serbian is a Slavic language, related
closely to Bosnian and Croatian and
more distantly to Russian, Polish and
Czech. It is traditionally written in the
Cyrillic script.
Traditional song and dance play an
important part in Serbia’s rich folk
culture. The Roma community has
greatly influenced its musical heritage,
and visitors may come across their
energetic brass bands at weddings and
village fêtes throughout the year.Massacre of Serbs, First Balkan War, 1912KEY DATES IN SERBIAN HISTORYAD 600 Serb tribes settle in the Balkans
1219 Saint Sava establishes the Serbian
Orthodox Church
1345 The Serbian Empire under Stefan Dušan
reaches its height
1389 Serbs and Ottoman Turks fight at the
Battle of Kosovo
1459 Serbia conquered by the Ottoman Empire
1690 Austrian-controlled Vojvodina is settled by
Serbs from Kosovo
1804 First Serbian Uprising against the
Ottoman Turks
1869 Principality of Serbia gains independence
1912–13 Serbia expands its territory during the
Balkan Wars
1918 Serbia becomes part of the kingdom of
Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
1945 Serbia becomes part of the Communist-
ruled Yugoslav Federation
1991 Slovenia and Croatia leave Yugoslavia
1999 NATO bombards Serbia
2008 Kosovo declares its independence
from Serbia