Serbia : A Brief Historical Background

The Republic of Serbia is a picturesque country in Central and Southeast Europe with a population of about 8.1 million people (2003). It is bordered by Romania and Bulgaria in the east, Albania and the Republic of Macedonia in the south, Montenegro , Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the west, and Hungary in the north. The capital of Serbia is Belgrade , the largest city in Serbia , which lies at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers.

Serbia , due to its attractive strategic location, was subjected to invasions by many peoples. It is believed that Belgrade was razed to the ground by thirty different armies. Serbia has continually been going though many periods of hardship and economic difficulty. One of the most astounding facts about Serbia is that it was under the Ottoman occupation for almost four centuries (between 1459 and 1804)! However, most Serbs managed to keep their culture and religion in spite of the long period of Ottoman rule.

Not that the recent past was any better. It was during the 1990's that Serbia underwent a total degradation, due to controversial politicians, who aggravated its state to the utmost. Corruption, bribe, low standards of morality and minimal living standards were all traits of the '90s. Throughout that period most people, and particularly intellectuals, lived like moles in the heart of the twisted world. That period of poverty, violence and aggressiveness required the deepest wisdom and spirituality, courage and struggle to resist the chaos. The international isolation Serbia suffered at that time ended in October 2000. A democratic government was elected and the people of Serbia finally got the chance to start living like humans, to begin expanding their knowledge and to start feeling the influence of Europe and the world.