Serbia

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Serbia is a country in the Balkans, a former part of Yugoslavia. It's south of Hungary, west of Romania and Bulgaria, north of the Republic of Macedonia and east of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. Some consider it to also border Albania, depending on whether you count Kosovo as an independent country or not.

Contents

[edit] Population

The country's population is 7.2 million (excluding Kosovo), most of whom are Serbs (82%). With Kosovo, the population of Serbia raises to some 9 million, while the ratio of Serbs drops below 70%. Also, some, 1-1.5 million Serbs live in neighboring countries (mostly in Bosnia and Herzegovina (where they are one of three constituent peoples, and Republika Srpska (nearly 49% of Bosnia) is a de-facto Serbian entity), Montenegro and Croatia. Prior to the Kosovo War, Albanians were the second-largest ethnic group. From 1999 Kosovo is a de jure UN protectorate, which declared independence in 2008; international supervision ended in 2012. Other substatial ethnic groups are Hungarians and Slavic Muslims (they call themselves "Bosniaks", but be careful; ethnoreligious labels can have subtle implications, or very serious ones).

Serbs (religious ones) are predominantly followers of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

[edit] Political parties

  • Serbian Progressive Party - moderate conservatives and the largest party in the coalition government, founded after split of Serbian Radical Party. Pro EU.
  • Socialist Party of Serbia - The second largest party in coalition government, and ruling party through turbulent 1990s. Successors of League of Communists and Slobodan Milošević, now advocates social-democracy.
  • Democratic Party - largest opposition party. Serbian equivalent of Democratic Party.
  • Serbian Radical Party - Once the largest (eternal, except during Kosovo crisis in late 1990s) opposition party. Economically left and socially conservative. Staunchly anti-EU and anti-USA, and pro-Russian, pro-Castro, pro-Gaddafi, pro-Chávez, pro-everyone-that-opposes-USA-except-Al-Qaeda. Great fans of Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Jean-Marie Le Pen. Western media usually portray them as ultra-nationalists, although there are more nationalistic options. Fell short of census at 2012 elections.
  • Liberal-Democratic party - offshoot of Democratic Party. Staunchly pro-EU, even if it means loss of Kosovo.
  • Serbian Renewal Movement - moderate monarchist. Main opposition party at early 1990s, today lost almost all significance.
  • New Serbia - socially conservative offspring of Serbian Renewal Movement.
  • Democratic Party of Serbia - opposition. Serbian equivalent of Republican Party. Staunchly anti-EU, due to Kosovo problem.
  • League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina - social democrats that advocates increase of Vojvodina's autonomy in Serbia
  • United Regions of Serbia - moderates that advocates decentralization of Serbia
  • Dveri - Serbian Religious Right (anti-gay, anti-EU, conspiracy theorists, anti-"Darwinists" etc). Fell short of census at 2012 elections.

[edit] Organizations

  • Obraz (Honor) - batshit crazy far right religious fundies. The Constitutional court of Serbia outlawed the organization, and its leader is facing trial.

[edit] Miscellaneous

  • Teaching creationism in schools: officially no, but pupils can attend non-obligatory lectures from religious education. Religious groups had/have great liberty in education (they write textbooks, choose teachers)...
  • Abortion - legal
  • Gay-marriages - Constitution of Serbian only recognizes heterosexual marriages.

[edit] People

[edit] Whom you would like to meet

  • Novak Đoković

[edit] Whom you certainly don't want to meet

[edit] Other

[edit] Footnotes

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