Misplaced Pages

#300699

93-639: The President of the Republic acts as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, while administration and defence policy is carried out by the Government through the Ministry of Defence . The highest operational authority, in-charge of the deployment and preparation of the armed forces in peace and war, is the General Staff . Military service is voluntary, though conscription may occur in wartime. As of 2024, Serbia

186-711: A buffer state between the West and the Soviet Union and also prevented the Soviets from getting a toehold on the Mediterranean Sea . The central government's control began to be loosened due to increasing nationalist grievances and the Communist's Party's wish to support "national self determination ". This resulted in Kosovo being turned into an autonomous region of Serbia, legislated by

279-707: A Bulgarian victory. In 1912 the First Balkan War (1912–1913) erupted between the Ottoman Empire and the Balkan League (Serbia, Greece, Montenegro and Bulgaria). Balkan League victories in the Battle of Kumanovo (October 1912), the Battle of Prilep (November 1912), the Battle of Monastir (November 1912), the Battle of Adrianople (November 1912 to March 1913), and the Siege of Scutari (October 1912 to April 1913) resulted in

372-463: A collapse of existing collectivist arrangements". (Tito died soon after the book was published.) On 4 May 1980, Tito's death was announced through state broadcasts across Yugoslavia. His death removed what many international political observers saw as Yugoslavia's main unifying force, and subsequently ethnic tension started to grow in Yugoslavia. The crisis that emerged in Yugoslavia was connected with

465-677: A coup d'état in October 1988, but not a second one in January 1989. In addition to Serbia itself, Milošević could now install representatives of the two provinces and SR Montenegro in the Yugoslav Presidency Council. The very instrument that reduced Serbian influence before was now used to increase it: in the eight member Presidency, Milošević could count on a minimum of four votes – SR Montenegro (following local events), his own through SR Serbia, and now SAP Vojvodina and SAP Kosovo as well. In

558-679: A lesser extent Germany). Inventory of Serbian Army includes: 242 tanks (30 Russian T-72 B1MS and 212 Yugoslav-made M-84 ), 90 self-propelled howitzers (18 domestically-produced Nora B-52 and 72 Soviet-made Gvozdika ), 60 Yugoslav-made M-77 Oganj MRLs, 320 Yugoslav-made BVP M-80 infantry fighting vehicles, 37 domestically-produced Lazar armoured personnel carriers, over 100 MRAPs and other armoured vehicles (including 43 domestically-produced Miloš ) as well as 18 pieces of domestically-produced PASARS-16 short-range air-defence missile system (armed with total of 50 French Mistral 3 missiles). Serbian Air Force and Air Defense has in operational use

651-595: A meeting in the Cankar Hall in Ljubljana, co-organized with the democratic opposition forces , publicly endorsing the efforts of Albanian protesters who demanded that Vllasi be released. In the 1995 BBC2 documentary The Death of Yugoslavia , Kučan claimed that in 1989, he was concerned that with the successes of Milošević's anti-bureaucratic revolution in Serbia's provinces as well as Montenegro, that his small republic would be

744-410: A ruling elite, and any tensions were solved on the federal level. The Yugoslav model of state organisation, as well as a "middle way" between planned and liberal economy , had been a relative success, and the country experienced a period of strong economic growth and relative political stability up to the 1980s, under Josip Broz Tito . After his death in 1980, the weakened system of federal government

837-523: A series of rallies, called "Rallies of Truth", Milošević's supporters succeeded in overthrowing local governments and replacing them with his allies. As a result of these events, in February 1989 ethnic Albanian miners in Kosovo organized a strike , demanding the preservation of the now-endangered autonomy. This contributed to ethnic conflict between the Albanian and Serb populations of the province. At 77% of

930-403: A strong Yugoslavia" but also hit at the heart of Serbian national sentiment. A majority of Serbs saw – and still see – Kosovo as the "cradle of the nation", and would not accept the possibility of losing it to the majority Albanian population. In an effort to ensure his legacy, Tito's 1974 constitution established a system of year-long presidencies, on a rotation basis out of the eight leaders of

1023-626: A time of austerity. Increasingly, demands were voiced in Serbia for more centralisation in order to force Croatia and Slovenia to pay more into the federal budget, demands that were completely rejected in the "have" republics. The relaxation of tensions with the Soviet Union after Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , the top position in 1985, meant that western nations were no longer willing to be generous with restructuring Yugoslavia's debts, as

SECTION 10

#1732844684301

1116-521: A wise statesman and a successful military leader. The Serbian military was the first to pioneer the high-step as a military step . It is similar to the goose step , with the difference being that the knee is bent at the top of the arc. It was used by the Royal Yugoslav Army and at the time was called the "male step". The Yugoslav People's Army abandoned it after World War II, being in use for over two decades before being replaced by high-stepping in

1209-635: Is activated only in the events of war. Motto of the Serbian Armed Forces is "For Freedom and Honour of the Fatherland" ( Za slobodu i čast Otadžbine ) and is found on uniforms as well as on brigade flags. Serbian Armed Forces Day ( Dan Vojske Srbije ) is marked on 23 April, the anniversary of the Second Serbian Uprising . On that day in 1815, in Takovo , prominent elders met and decided to start

1302-540: Is composed of an active reserve and passive (i.e. war-time) reserve. The active reserve forces have 2,000 members and they are generally required to perform 45 days of military service per year. They are assigned to one of four reserve territorial brigades (Banat Brigade, Belgrade Brigade, Timok Brigade and Rasina Brigade), each having active HQ, command company and logistics company predicted for rapid deployment in case of war. The passive reserve totals about 1,7 million citizens with past military training or experience and

1395-610: Is ranked 56 out of 145 countries considered for the annual GFP review. The Serbian Armed Forces consists of two branches: Serbian Army and Serbian Air Force and Air Defence . Serbia has a long military tradition dating to early medieval period. The modern Serbian military dates back to the Serbian Revolution which started in 1804 with the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman occupation of Serbia . The victories in

1488-733: Is responsible for unitary, administrative and operational control of the Army. Army Command headquarters is in Niš . Air Force and Air Defence Command ( Komanda Ratnog vazduhoplovstva i protivvazduhoplovne odbrane ) is responsible for unitary, administrative and operational control of the Air Force and Air Defence. Its headquarters is in Zemun . The Training Command ( Komanda za obuku ) is responsible for providing basic and specialist training for soldiers, non-commissioned officers and officers of Serbian Armed Forces as well

1581-792: Is still felt decades later. On April 27, 1992, the Federal Council of the Assembly of the SFRY, based on the decision of the Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and the Assembly of Montenegro, adopted the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia , which formally ended the breakup. Yugoslavia occupied a significant portion of the Balkan Peninsula , including a strip of land on the east coast of

1674-452: Is the aviation and anti-aircraft defence based component of the armed forces consisting of: aviation, anti-aircraft, surveillance and reconnaissance units. Its mission is to guard and protect the sovereignty of Serbian airspace, and jointly with the Army, to protect territorial integrity. Command structure of the Serbian Armed Forces is centered around General Staff as the highest command authority , and three separate commands: one for each of

1767-783: The SS (primarily in the 13th Waffen Mountain Division ). At the same time, former royalist, General Milan Nedić , was installed by the Axis as head of the puppet government in the German-occupied area of Serbia, and local Serbs were recruited into the Gestapo and the Serbian Volunteer Corps , which was linked to the German Waffen-SS . Both quislings were confronted and eventually defeated by

1860-597: The 1974 constitution . This constitution broke down powers between the capital and the autonomous regions in Vojvodina (an area of Yugoslavia with a large number of ethnic minorities) and Kosovo (with a large ethnic- Albanian population). Despite the federal structure of the new Yugoslavia , there was still tension between the federalists, primarily Croats and Slovenes who argued for greater autonomy, and unitarists , primarily Serbs. The struggle would occur in cycles of protests for greater individual and national rights (such as

1953-754: The Adriatic Sea , stretching southward from the Bay of Trieste in Central Europe to the mouth of Bojana as well as Lake Prespa inland, and eastward as far as the Iron Gates on the Danube and Midžor in the Balkan Mountains , thus including a large part of Southeast Europe , a region with a history of ethnic conflict. The important elements that fostered the discord involved contemporary and historical factors, including

SECTION 20

#1732844684301

2046-640: The Allied victory in World War II , Yugoslavia was set up as a federation of six republics, with borders drawn along ethnic and historical lines: Bosnia and Herzegovina , Croatia , Macedonia , Montenegro , Serbia , and Slovenia . In addition, two autonomous provinces were established within Serbia: Vojvodina and Kosovo . Each of the republics had its own branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia party and

2139-471: The Croatian Spring ) and subsequent repression. The 1974 constitution was an attempt to short-circuit this pattern by entrenching the federal model and formalising national rights. The loosened control basically turned Yugoslavia into a de facto confederacy , which also placed pressure on the legitimacy of the regime within the federation. Since the late 1970s a widening gap of economic resources between

2232-589: The League of Communists of Slovenia , was endorsing Kosovo and Slovene separatism. Initial strikes in Kosovo turned into widespread demonstrations calling for Kosovo to be made the seventh republic. This angered Serbia's leadership which proceeded to use police force, and later the federal army (the Yugoslav People's Army JNA) by order of the Serbian-controlled Presidency. In February 1989 ethnic Albanian Azem Vllasi , SAP Kosovo's representative on

2325-629: The Republic of Serbia (1992–2006) , a constituent country of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and State Union of Serbia and Montenegro . Prior to 1974, Serbia 's head of state was the speaker of the Serbian parliament. The president is directly elected to a five-year term and is limited by the Constitution to a maximum of two terms. In addition to being the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces ,

2418-508: The SANU Memorandum as "nothing else but the darkest nationalism". However, Kosovo's autonomy had always been an unpopular policy in Serbia, and he took advantage of the situation and made a departure from traditional communist neutrality on the issue of Kosovo. Milošević assured Serbs that their mistreatment by ethnic Albanians would be stopped. He then began a campaign against the ruling communist elite of SR Serbia, demanding reductions in

2511-555: The Socialist Republic of Serbia , SAP Kosovo and SAP Vojvodina . Since the SFR Yugoslav federation was formed in 1945, the constituent Socialist Republic of Serbia (SR Serbia) included the two autonomous provinces of SAP Kosovo and SAP Vojvodina. With the 1974 constitution, the influence of the central government of SR Serbia over the provinces was greatly reduced, which gave them long-sought autonomy. The government of SR Serbia

2604-446: The "motivating causes of the disintegration in economic circumstance and its ferocious pressures". Likewise, Sabine Rutar states that, “while antagonistic representations of the ethnic-national past indeed were heavily (mis-)used during the conflict, one must be careful not to turn these forceful categories of practice into categories of historical analysis”. As President, Tito's policy was to push for rapid economic growth , and growth

2697-506: The 1975 Victory Day Parade , to assert itself as independent from Soviet influence. High-stepping is still used today by Serbian Armed Forces, and is also utilized by the militaries of North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina . There are several marches in use in Serbian Armed Forces. The standard one is Parade March ( Paradni marš ), while the Guard uses its own Guard March ( Gardijski marš ) as standard march music. Also frequently used and

2790-640: The Armed Forces subordinated to the General Staff are: Guard , Signal Brigade , Central Logistics Base , 224th Center for Electronic Action , Technical Testing Center , Peacekeeping Operations Center , as well as the Directorate of Military Police (which includes Criminal Investigative Group and Detachment of the Military Police for Special Operations "Cobras" ). Army Command ( Komanda Kopnene vojske )

2883-564: The Army and appoint, promote and relieve officers of the Army of Serbia. While assuming the office, the president of the republic shall take the following oath before the National Assembly: I, <name>, do solemnly swear that I will devote all my efforts to preserve the sovereignty and integrity of the territory of the Republic of Serbia, including Kosovo and Metohija as its constituent part, as well as to provide exercise of human and minority rights and freedoms, respect and protection of

Serbian Armed Forces - Misplaced Pages Continue

2976-564: The Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia on 23–24 September 1987. At a 1988 rally in Belgrade, Milošević made clear his perception of the situation facing SR Serbia in Yugoslavia, saying: At home and abroad, Serbia's enemies are massing against us. We say to them "We are not afraid. We will not flinch from battle". On another occasion, he privately stated: We Serbs will act in

3069-548: The Communist elites who had so mismanaged the economy by recklessly borrowing money abroad. The policies of austerity also led to uncovering much corruption on the part of the elites, most notably with the "Agrokomerc affair" of 1987, when the Agrokomerc enterprise of Bosnia turned out to be the centre of a vast nexus of corruption running all across Yugoslavia, and that the managers of Agrokomerc had issued promissory notes equivalent to almost US$ 1 billion without collateral, forcing

3162-574: The Constitution and laws, preservation of peace and welfare of all citizens of the Republic of Serbia and perform all my duties conscientiously and responsibly. The term of office of the president of the republic shall last five years and begin from the day of taking of the oath before the National Assembly. If the term of office of the president of the republic expires during the state of war or emergency, it shall be extended so that it lasts until

3255-461: The Presidency, was forced to resign and was replaced by an ally of Milošević. Albanian protesters demanded that Vllasi be returned to office, and Vllasi's support for the demonstrations caused Milošević and his allies to respond stating this was a "counter-revolution against Serbia and Yugoslavia", and demanded that the federal Yugoslav government put down the striking Albanians by force. Milošević's aim

3348-493: The Republic ( Serbian : Председник Републике , romanized :  Predsednik Republike ) is the head of state of Serbia . The current office holder is Aleksandar Vučić . He was elected on 2 April 2017 and took office on 31 May 2017. The list includes the heads of state of the Socialist Republic of Serbia , a constituent country of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and heads of state of

3441-417: The Serbian "ruling class", and the minorities who were seen to benefit from government legislation. Real earnings in Yugoslavia fell by 25% from 1979 to 1985. By 1988, emigrant remittances to Yugoslavia totalled over $ 4.5 billion (USD), and by 1989 remittances were $ 6.2 billion (USD), making up over 19% of the world's total. In 1990, US policy insisted on the shock therapy austerity programme that

3534-910: The Serbian Ministry of Defence favors products that are manufactured in Serbia such as: Lazar armoured personnel carriers, Miloš light armored infantry vehicles, Nora B-52 artillery systems, Lasta 95 training aircraft. Largest procurement of foreign equipment recently included: Chinese HQ-22 air-defence missile system, Airbus H145M utility helicopters, Russian Mi-35 attack helicopters as well as various missile and radar acquisitions (French Ground Master 400 and Ground Master 200 long- and medium-range radar systems, French surface-to-air Mistral for PASARS vehicles; Russian R-77 air-to-air BVR missiles for MiG-29 fighter aircraft, Ataka air-to-surface missiles for Mi-35 attack helicopters and Kornet man-portable anti-tank guided missiles ). Significant acquisitions of military equipment are also planned in

3627-573: The Serbian minority were to be killed, one-third expelled, and one-third converted to Catholicism and assimilated as Croats. Conversely, Serbian Royalist Chetniks pursued their own campaign of persecution against non-Serbs in parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina , Croatia and Sandžak per the Moljević plan ("On Our State and Its Borders") and the orders issues by Draža Mihailović which included "[t]he cleansing of all nation understandings and fighting". Both Croats and Muslims were recruited as soldiers by

3720-519: The Serbian monarch's absolutism . The assassination and human rights abuses were subject of concern for the Human Rights League and precipitated voices of protest from intellectuals, including Albert Einstein . It was in this environment of oppression that the radical insurgent group (later fascist dictatorship) the Ustaše were formed. During World War II, the country's tensions were exploited by

3813-563: The actual number of dead was about 1 million. Of that number, 330,000 to 390,000 ethnic Serbs perished from all causes in Croatia and Bosnia. These same historians also established the deaths of 192,000 to 207,000 ethnic Croats and 86,000 to 103,000 Muslims from all affiliations and causes throughout Yugoslavia. Prior to its collapse, Yugoslavia was a regional industrial power and an economic success. From 1960 to 1980, annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth averaged 6.1 percent, medical care

Serbian Armed Forces - Misplaced Pages Continue

3906-471: The autonomous province of Kosovo was poorly developed, and per capita GDP fell from 47 percent of the Yugoslav average in the immediate post-war period to 27 percent by the 1980s. It highlighted the vast differences in the quality of life in the different republics. Economic growth was curbed due to Western trade barriers combined with the 1973 oil crisis . Yugoslavia subsequently fell into heavy IMF debt due to

3999-436: The autonomy of Kosovo and Vojvodina. These actions made him popular amongst Serbs and aided his rise to power in Serbia. Milošević and his allies took on an aggressive nationalist agenda of reviving SR Serbia within Yugoslavia, promising reforms and protection of all Serbs. The ruling party of SFR Yugoslavia was the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ), a composite political party made-up of eight Leagues of Communists from

4092-732: The battles of Ivankovac (1805), Mišar (August 1806), Deligrad (December 1806) and Belgrade (November–December 1806), led to the establishment of the Principality of Serbia in 1817. The subsequent Second Serbian Uprising of 1815–1817 led to full independence and recognition of the Kingdom of Serbia and weakened the Ottoman dominance in the Balkans . In November 1885 the Serbo-Bulgarian War occurred following Bulgarian unification and resulted in

4185-659: The beginning of the First World War of 1914–1918. Serbian forces repelled three consecutive invasions by Austria in 1914, securing the first major victories of the war for the Allies , but were eventually overwhelmed by the combined forces of the Central Powers (October–November 1915) and forced to retreat through Albania (1915–1916) to the Greek island of Corfu (1915–1916). Serbian military activity after World War I took place in

4278-435: The branches (Army Command and Air Force and Air Defence Command) and one responsible for training (Training Command). The Serbian General Staff ( Generalštab Vojske Srbije ) makes strategic and tactical preparations and procedures for use during peacetime and war. Special forces ( 63rd Parachute Brigade and 72nd Brigade for Special Operations ) are under direct command of the Chief of the General Staff. Organizational units of

4371-400: The communist-led, anti-fascist Partisan movement composed of members of all ethnic groups in the area, leading to the formation of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . The official Yugoslav post-war estimate of victims in Yugoslavia during World War II was 1,704,000. Subsequent data gathering in the 1980s by historians Vladimir Žerjavić and Bogoljub Kočović showed that

4464-415: The context of various Yugoslav armies until the break-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s and the restoration of Serbia as an independent state in 2006. The Serbian Armed Forces are commanded by the General Staff corp of senior officers . The general staff is led by the Chief of the General Staff . The President who is the Commander-in-Chief appoints the Chief of the General Staff on the suggestion of

4557-429: The controversial SANU Memorandum protesting against the weakening of the Serbian central government. The problems in the Serbian Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo between ethnic Serbs and Albanians grew exponentially. This, coupled with economic problems in Kosovo and Serbia as a whole, led to even greater Serbian resentment of the 1974 Constitution . Kosovo Albanians started to demand that Kosovo be granted

4650-495: The council of the League of Communists, as a means to induce the other members to realize that enormous support was on his side in putting down the Albanian strike in Kosovo. Serbian parliament speaker Borisav Jović , a strong ally of Milošević, met with the current President of the Yugoslav Presidency, Bosnian representative Raif Dizdarević , and demanded that the federal government concede to Serbian demands. Dizdarević argued with Jović saying that "You [Serbian politicians] organized

4743-669: The country in line with the Revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Europe . The League of Communists of Yugoslavia dissolved in January 1990 along federal lines. Republican communist organisations became the separate socialist parties. During 1990, the socialists (former communists) lost power to ethnic separatist parties in the first multi-party elections held across the country, except in Montenegro and in Serbia , where Milošević and his allies won. Nationalist rhetoric on all sides became increasingly heated. Between June 1991 and April 1992, four constituent republics declared independence while Montenegro and Serbia remained federated. Germany took

SECTION 50

#1732844684301

4836-474: The country's leaderships' decision to enforce a policy of full employment ), and ethno-religious tensions. Yugoslavia's non-aligned status resulted in access to loans from both superpower blocs. This contact with the United States and the West opened up Yugoslavia's markets sooner than the rest of Central and Eastern Europe. The 1980s were a decade of Western economic ministrations. A decade of frugality resulted in growing frustration and resentment against both

4929-439: The defeat of the Ottoman Empire, which lost most of its remaining Balkan territories per the Treaty of London (May 1913). Shortly after, the Second Balkan War (June to August, 1913) broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with the division of territory, declared war against its former allies, Serbia and Greece. Following a string of defeats, Bulgaria requested an armistice and signed the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest , formally ending

5022-441: The developed and underdeveloped regions of Yugoslavia severely deteriorated the federation's unity. The most developed republics, Croatia and Slovenia, rejected attempts to limit their autonomy as provided in the 1974 Constitution. Public opinion in Slovenia in 1987 saw better economic opportunity in independence from Yugoslavia than within it. There were also places that saw no economic benefit from being in Yugoslavia; for example,

5115-481: The example of a communist country outside of the Eastern Bloc was no longer needed by the West as a way of destabilising the Soviet bloc. The external status quo, which the Communist Party had depended upon to remain viable, was thus beginning to disappear. Furthermore, the failure of communism all over Central and Eastern Europe once again brought to the surface Yugoslavia's inner contradictions, economic inefficiencies (such as chronic lack of productivity, fuelled by

5208-425: The expiry of three months from the day of the end of the state of war, that is, of emergency. No one shall be elected to a position of the president of the republic more than twice. The term of office of the president of the republic shall end with expiry of the period of time for which they have been elected, by their resignation, or released of duty. The president of the republic shall tender their resignation to

5301-485: The federal level across Yugoslavia, which were seen as an obstacle for Serb interests. In 1987, Slobodan Milošević came to power in Serbia, and through a series of populist moves acquired de facto control over Kosovo, Vojvodina, and Montenegro, garnering a high level of support among Serbs for his centralist policies. Milošević was met with opposition by party leaders of the western constituent republics of Slovenia and Croatia, who also advocated greater democratisation of

5394-473: The fight for liberation of Serbia from the Turkish authorities, which eventually led to the free and independent Serbia. The patron saint ( krsna slava ) of the Serbian Armed Forces is Saint Stefan Visoki . The first celebration was held in 2023; earlier that year, the Holy Council of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church decided that the patron saint of the Serbian Armed Forces should be Saint Stefan Visoki, 15th-century Serbian ruler and saint, remembered as

5487-516: The first, monarchist Yugoslavia 's multi-ethnic make-up and relative political and demographic domination of the Serbs. Fundamental to the tensions were the different concepts of the new state. The Croats and Slovenes envisaged a federal model where they would enjoy greater autonomy than they had as a separate crown land under Austria-Hungary . Under Austria-Hungary, both Slovenes and Croats enjoyed autonomy with free hands only in education, law, religion, and 45% of taxes. The Serbs tended to view

5580-717: The following equipment: 13 Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter aircraft (10 of which are modernized to SM standard and armed with R-77 missiles), 13 Yugoslav-made J-22 attack aircraft, 2 Spanish C-295 transport aircraft, 15 Russian Mi-35 attack helicopter (armed with Ataka missiles), 13 Russian Mi-17 utility helicopters, 6 (and 9 more on order) German H145M utility helicopters, 6 Chinese CH-92 combat drones, 4 batteries of Chinese HQ-22 long-range air-defence missile system, one battery (and 2 more on order) of Russian Pantsir medium-range air-defence missile system. In last several years Serbia has embarked on ambitious programme of equipment modernisation and acquisition. Whenever possible,

5673-404: The formation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia , the first breakup and subsequent inter-ethnic and political wars and genocide during World War II , ideas of Greater Albania , Greater Croatia and Greater Serbia and conflicting views about Pan-Slavism , and the unilateral recognition by a newly reunited Germany of the breakaway republics. Before World War II , major tensions arose from

SECTION 60

#1732844684301

5766-414: The initiative and recognized the independence of Croatia and Slovenia, but the status of ethnic Serbs outside Serbia and Montenegro, and that of ethnic Croats outside Croatia, remained unsolved. After a string of inter-ethnic incidents, the Yugoslav Wars ensued, first in Croatia and then, most severely, in multi-ethnic Bosnia and Herzegovina . The wars left economic and political damage in the region that

5859-495: The interest of Serbia whether we do it in compliance with the constitution or not, whether we do it in compliance in the law or not, whether we do it in compliance with party statutes or not. The Anti-bureaucratic revolution was a series of protests in Serbia and Montenegro orchestrated by Milošević to put his supporters in SAP Vojvodina, SAP Kosovo, and the Socialist Republic of Montenegro (SR Montenegro) to power as he sought to oust his rivals. The government of Montenegro survived

5952-522: The large number of International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans taken out by the regime. As a condition of receiving loans, the IMF demanded the " market liberalisation " of Yugoslavia. By 1981, Yugoslavia had incurred $ 19.9 billion in foreign debt. Another concern was the level of unemployment, at 1 million by 1980. This problem was compounded by the general "unproductiveness of the South", which not only added to Yugoslavia's economic woes, but also irritated Slovenia and Croatia further. The SFR Yugoslavia

6045-453: The members of foreign armies. It also serves the role of maintaining the reserve regional brigade structure of the Serbian Armed Forces. The Serbian Armed Forces has a wide variety of equipment, mix of older Yugoslav and Soviet products (dating back to the 1980s and even 1970s) and new equipment, either domestically-produced from Serbian defence contractors or acquired from foreign producers (main suppliers being France, China, Russia, and to

6138-421: The mid-1980s increasingly started to corrode the legitimacy of the Communist system, as ordinary people started to lose faith in the competence and honesty of the elites. A wave of major strikes developed in 1987–88 as workers demanded higher wages to compensate for inflation, as the IMF mandated the end of various subsidies , and they were accompanied by denunciations of the entire system as corrupt. Finally,

6231-666: The minister of defense. The current Chief of the General Staff is General Milan Mojsilović. The armed forces consist of the following service branches: The Serbian Army ( Kopnena vojska Srbije - KoV ) is the land-based and the largest component of the armed forces consisting of: infantry, armoured, artillery, engineering units as well as River Flotilla . It is responsible for defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia; participating in peacekeeping operations; and providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief. The Serbian Air Force and Air Defence ( Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazduhoplovna odbrana Vojske Srbije - RViPVO )

6324-443: The more prosperous republics of SR Slovenia and SR Croatia wanted to move towards decentralization and democracy. The historian Basil Davidson contends that the "recourse to 'ethnicity' as an explanation [of the conflict] is pseudo-scientific nonsense". Even the degree of linguistic and religious differences "have been less substantial than instant commentators routinely tell us". Davidson agrees with Susan Woodward , who found

6417-483: The most popular and recognizable by the general public in Serbia is famous March on the Drina ( Marš na Drinu ). Other frequently used march is Vojvoda Stepa Stepanović March ( Marš vojvode Stepe Stepanovića ). The Serbian Armed Forces actively take part in numerous multinational peacekeeping missions. President of Serbia The president of Serbia ( Serbian : Председник Србије , romanized :  Predsednik Srbije ), officially styled as President of

6510-550: The near future. Purchase of 12 new French Rafale multirole fighter aircraft was recently announced with the aim of replacing MiG-29 which will be in service until the end of the 2020s. The Serbian Armed Forces are composed entirely of professionals and volunteers following the suspension of mandatory military service in 2011. There are 22,500 active members: 4,200 officers, 6,500 non-commissioned officers, 8,200 active-duty soldiers and 3,500 civilians in volunteer military service . It breaks down as follows: The reserve force

6603-411: The next target for a political coup by Milošević's supporters if the coup in Kosovo went unimpeded. Serbian state-run television denounced Kučan as a separatist, a traitor, and an endorser of Albanian separatism. Serb protests continued in Belgrade demanding action in Kosovo. Milošević instructed communist representative Petar Gračanin to make sure the protest continued while he discussed matters at

6696-524: The occupying Axis forces which established a Croat puppet state spanning much of present-day Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina . The Axis powers installed the Ustaše as the leaders of the Independent State of Croatia . The Ustaše resolved that the Serbian minority were a fifth column of Serbian expansionism and pursued a policy of persecution against the Serbs. The policy dictated that one-third of

6789-403: The politics of austerity brought to the fore tensions between the well off "have" republics like Slovenia and Croatia versus the poorer "have not" republics like Serbia. Both Croatia and Slovenia felt that they were paying too much money into the federal budget to support the "have not" republics, while Serbia wanted Croatia and Slovenia to pay more money into the federal budget to support them at

6882-546: The population of Kosovo in the 1980s, ethnic-Albanians were the majority. In June 1989, the 600th anniversary of Serbia's historic defeat at the field of Kosovo, Slobodan Milošević gave the Gazimestan speech to 200,000 Serbs, with a Serb nationalist theme which deliberately evoked medieval Serbian history . Milošević's answer to the incompetence of the federal system was to centralise the government. Considering Slovenia and Croatia were looking farther ahead to independence, this

6975-534: The president has the procedural duty of appointing the prime minister with the consent of the National Assembly , and has some influence on foreign policy. The president's office is located in Novi Dvor . Largely a ceremonial position, the duties and competences of the president as stipulated in chapter 5, article 112 of the Constitution : In accordance with the law, the president of the republic shall command

7068-534: The president of the National Assembly. Advisers to the president carry out the analytical, advisory and other corresponding tasks for the needs of the president of the republic as well as other expert tasks in relations of the president with the Government and the Parliament. Additional posts connected to the office of the president include: • Chief of staff to the president of the republic. • Secretary-general to

7161-491: The president of the republic, who presides over the secretariat of the president of the republic Break-up of Yugoslavia After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, the constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia split apart, but the unresolved issues caused a series of inter-ethnic Yugoslav Wars . The wars primarily affected Bosnia and Herzegovina , neighbouring parts of Croatia and, some years later, Kosovo . Following

7254-452: The republics and autonomous provinces. Tito's death would show that such short terms were highly ineffective. Essentially it left a power vacuum which was left open for most of the 1980s. In their book Free to Choose (1980), Milton Friedman and his wife Rose Friedman foretold: "Once the aged Marshal Tito dies, Yugoslavia will experience political instability that may produce a reaction toward greater authoritarianism or, far less likely,

7347-418: The six republics and two autonomous provinces. The League of Communists of Serbia (SKS) governed SR Serbia. Riding the wave of nationalist sentiment and his new popularity gained in Kosovo, Slobodan Milošević (Chairman of the League of Communists of Serbia (SKS) since May 1986) became the most powerful politician in Serbia by defeating his former mentor President of Serbia Ivan Stambolic at the 8th session of

7440-486: The state to assume responsibility for their debts when Agrokomerc finally collapsed. The rampant corruption in Yugoslavia, of which the "Agrokomerc affair" was merely the most dramatic example, did much to discredit the Communist system, as it was revealed that the elites were living luxurious lifestyles, well beyond the means of ordinary people, with money stolen from the public purse during a time of austerity. The problems imposed by heavy indebtedness and corruption had by

7533-411: The status of a constituent republic beginning in the early 1980s, particularly with the 1981 protests in Kosovo . This was seen by the Serbian public as a devastating blow to Serb pride because of the historic links that Serbians held with Kosovo. It was viewed that that secession would be devastating to Kosovar Serbs. This eventually led to the repression of the Albanian majority in Kosovo. Meanwhile,

7626-583: The territories as a just reward for their support of the allies in World War ;I and the new state as an extension of the Kingdom of Serbia . Tensions between the Croats and Serbs often erupted into open conflict, with the Serb-dominated security structure exercising oppression during elections and the assassination in the National Assembly of Croat political leaders, including Stjepan Radić , who opposed

7719-524: The war. Serbia's independence and growing influence threatened neighboring Austria-Hungary which led to the Bosnian crisis of 1908–09. Consequently, from 1901, all Serbian males between the ages of 21 and 46 became liable for general mobilization. Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in June 1914, Austria-Hungary implicated Serbians and declared war on Serbia (July 1914), which marked

7812-687: The weakening of the Communist states in Eastern Europe towards the end of the Cold War , leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. In Yugoslavia, the national communist party, officially called the League of Communists of Yugoslavia , had lost its ideological base. In 1986, the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) contributed significantly to the rise of nationalist sentiments, as it drafted

7905-590: Was a colossal sum for a poor country. In 1984, the Reagan administration issued a classified document, National Security Decision Directive 133, expressing concern that Yugoslavia's debt load might cause the country to align with the Soviet bloc. The 1980s were a time of economic austerity as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) imposed stringent conditions on Yugoslavia, which caused much resentment toward

7998-525: Was a conglomeration of eight federated entities, roughly divided along ethnic lines, including six republics: Two autonomous provinces within Serbia: With the 1974 Constitution , the office of President of Yugoslavia was replaced with the Yugoslav Presidency , an eight-member collective head-of-state composed of representatives from six republics and, controversially, two autonomous provinces of

8091-445: Was aided when a huge protest was formed outside of the Yugoslav parliament in Belgrade by Serb supporters of Milošević who demanded that the Yugoslav military forces make their presence stronger in Kosovo to protect the Serbs there and put down the strike. On 27 February, SR Slovene representative in the collective presidency of Yugoslavia, Milan Kučan , opposed the demands of the Serbs and left Belgrade for SR Slovenia where he attended

8184-551: Was considered unacceptable. Meanwhile, the Socialist Republic of Croatia (SR Croatia) and the Socialist Republic of Slovenia (SR Slovenia), supported the Albanian miners and their struggle for recognition. Media in SR Slovenia published articles comparing Milošević to Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini . Milošević contended that such criticism was unfounded and amounted to "spreading fear of Serbia". Milošević's state-run media claimed in response that Milan Kučan , head of

8277-527: Was free, literacy was 91 percent, and life expectancy was 72 years. Prior to 1991, Yugoslavia's armed forces were amongst the best-equipped in Europe. Yugoslavia was a unique state, straddling both the East and West. Moreover, its president, Josip Broz Tito , was one of the fundamental founders of the " third world " or " group of 77 " which acted as an alternative to the superpowers. More importantly, Yugoslavia acted as

8370-427: Was indeed high in the 1970s. However, the over-expansion of the economy caused inflation and pushed Yugoslavia into economic recession . A major problem for Yugoslavia was the heavy debt incurred in the 1970s, which proved to be difficult to repay in the 1980s. Yugoslavia's debt load, initially estimated at a sum equal to $ 6 billion U.S. dollars, instead turned out to be equivalent to $ 21 billion U.S. dollars, which

8463-454: Was left unable to cope with rising economic and political challenges. In the 1980s, Kosovo Albanians started to demand that their autonomous province be granted the status of a full constituent republic, starting with the 1981 protests . Ethnic tensions between Albanians and Kosovo Serbs remained high over the whole decade, which resulted in the growth of Serb opposition to the high autonomy of provinces and ineffective system of consensus at

8556-510: Was meted out to the ex- Comecon countries. Such a programme had been advocated by the IMF and other organisations "as a condition for fresh injections of capital." In 1987, Serbian official Slobodan Milošević was sent to bring calm to an ethnically driven protest by Serbs against the Albanian administration of SAP Kosovo. Milošević had been, up to this point, a hard-line communist who had decried all forms of nationalism as treachery, such as condemning

8649-474: Was restricted in making and carrying out decisions that would apply to the provinces. The provinces had a vote in the Yugoslav Presidency, which was not always cast in favor of SR Serbia. In Serbia, there was great resentment towards these developments, which the nationalist elements of the public saw as the "division of Serbia". The 1974 constitution not only exacerbated Serbian fears of a "weak Serbia, for

#300699