Serbia

The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Communist Partisans resisted the Axis occupation and division of Yugoslavia from 1941 to 1945 and fought nationalist opponents and collaborators as well. The military and political movement headed by Josip Broz “TITO” (Partisans) took full control of Yugoslavia when their domestic rivals and the occupiers were defeated in 1945. Although communists, TITO and his successors (Tito died in 1980) managed to steer their own path between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West for the next four and a half decades. In 1989, Slobodan MILOSEVIC became president of the Republic of Serbia and his ultranationalist calls for Serbian domination led to the violent breakup of Yugoslavia along ethnic lines. In 1991, Croatia, Slovenia, and Macedonia declared independence, followed by Bosnia in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) in April 1992 and under MILOSEVIC’s leadership, Serbia led various military campaigns to unite ethnic Serbs in neighboring republics into a “Greater Serbia.” These actions ultimately failed and, after international intervention, led to the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995.
MILOSEVIC retained control over Serbia and eventually became president of the FRY in 1997. In 1998, an ethnic Albanian insurgency in the formerly autonomous Serbian province of Kosovo provoked a Serbian counterinsurgency campaign that resulted in massacres and massive expulsions of ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo. The MILOSEVIC government’s rejection of a proposed international settlement led to NATO’s bombing of Serbia in the spring of 1999. Serbian military and police forces withdrew from Kosovo in June 1999, and the UN Security Council authorized an interim UN administration and a NATO-led security force in Kosovo. FRY elections in late 2000 led to the ouster of MILOSEVIC and the installation of democratic government. In 2003, the FRY became the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, a loose federation of the two republics. Widespread violence predominantly targeting ethnic Serbs in Kosovo in March 2004 led to more intense calls to address Kosovo’s status, and the UN began facilitating status talks in 2006. In June 2006, Montenegro seceded from the federation and declared itself an independent nation. Serbia subsequently gave notice that it was the successor state to the union of Serbia and Montenegro.
In February 2008, after nearly two years of inconclusive negotiations, Kosovo declared itself independent of Serbia – an action Serbia refuses to recognize. At Serbia’s request, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in October 2008 sought an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on whether Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence was in accordance with international law. In a ruling considered unfavorable to Serbia, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion in July 2010 stating that international law did not prohibit declarations of independence. In late 2010, Serbia agreed to an EU-drafted UNGA Resolution acknowledging the ICJ’s decision and calling for a new round of talks between Serbia and Kosovo, this time on practical issues rather than Kosovo’s status. Serbia and Kosovo signed the first agreement of principles governing the normalization of relations between the two countries in April 2013 and are in the process of implementing its provisions. Prime Minister Aleksandar VUCIC, has promoted an ambitious goal of Serbia joining the EU by 2020. Under his leadership, in January 2014 Serbia opened formal negotiations for accession.

Belgrade Ada Ciganlija Avala Tower Belgrade Fortress Crkva Svetog Marka Festung Kalemegdan Knez Mihalova Danube River Military Museum Museum of Aviation Skadarlija St. Sava Temple Nikola Tesla Museum Tito Mausoleum Kopaonik National Park Niš Nis Fortress Skull Tower Novi Sad Danube Park Dunavaska Street Svetozar Miletic Square Petrovaradina Clock Tower The Fortress Subotica Studenica Monastery Zenum Gardos-Tower of Sibinjanin Janko Zemunski kej  Zlatibor Sirogojno

Date		Name	Type
Jan 1	Friday	Western New Year’s Day	National holiday
Jan 2	Saturday	Second Day of Western New Year’s Day	National holiday
Jan 6	Wednesday	First Day of Baptism	Orthodox, Optional holiday
Jan 7	Thursday	Christmas Day	National holiday, Orthodox
Jan 14	Thursday	New Year	Observance, Orthodox
Jan 27	Wednesday	Spirituality Day/St Sava’s Day	Observance
Feb 15	Monday	Statehood Day of the Republic of Serbia	National holiday
Feb 16	Tuesday	Statehood Day of the Republic of Serbia (Day 2)	National holiday
Mar 20	Saturday	March Equinox	Season
Apr 2	Friday	Western Good Friday	Christian, Optional holiday
Apr 3	Saturday	Western Easter Saturday	Christian, Optional holiday
Apr 4	Sunday	Western Easter Sunday	Christian, Optional holiday
Apr 5	Monday	Western Easter Monday	Christian, Optional holiday
Apr 22	Thursday	Holocaust Remembrance Day	Observance
Apr 30	Friday	Good Friday	National holiday, Orthodox
May 1	Saturday	Labor holiday	National holiday
May 1	Saturday	Holy Saturday	National holiday, Orthodox
May 2	Sunday	Easter Day	National holiday, Orthodox
May 3	Monday	Easter Monday	National holiday, Orthodox
May 3	Monday	Labor holiday second day	National holiday
May 4	Tuesday	Day off for Labor holiday	National holiday
May 9	Sunday	Victory Day	Observance
May 13	Thursday	Eid al-Fitr	Muslim, Optional holiday
Jun 21	Monday	June Solstice	Season
Jun 28	Monday	St Vitus Day	Observance
Jul 20	Tuesday	First Day of Eid al-Adha	Muslim, Optional holiday
Sep 16	Thursday	Yom Kippur	Hebrew, Optional holiday
Sep 22	Wednesday	September Equinox	Season
Oct 21	Thursday	World War II Victims Remembrance Day	Observance
Nov 11	Thursday	Armistice Day	National holiday
Dec 21	Tuesday	December Solstice	Season
Dec 25	Saturday	First Day of Western Christmas	Christian, Optional holiday
Dec 31	Friday	Western New Year’s Eve	Observance