The Balkan region is often called the "powder keg" of Europe. And it is by no means accidental. In the twentieth century, wars and conflicts of various scales flashed here and there. Yes, and the First World War began precisely here, after the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne was killed in Sarajevo. In the early 90s, the Balkan countries experienced another serious shock - the collapse of Yugoslavia. This event significantly redrawn the political map of the European region.
Balkan region and its geography
On a relatively small area of 505 thousand square kilometers, all Balkan countries are located. The geography of the peninsula is very diverse. Its coastline is strongly dissected and washed by the waters of six seas. The territory of the Balkans is predominantly mountainous and heavily indented by deep canyons. However, the highest point of the peninsula - Mount Musala - is not up to 3000 meters in height.
Two more natural features are characteristic of this region: this is the presence of a huge number of small islands near the coastline (mainly in Croatia), as well as the widespread karst processes (the famous Karst plateau is located in Slovenia, which served as a donor of the name for a separate group of relief forms).
The name of the peninsula comes from the Turkish word balkan, which means "a large and wooded mountain range." The northern border of the Balkans is usually drawn along the Danube and Sava rivers.
Balkan countries: list
Today, there are ten state entities in the Balkans (of which 9 are sovereign states and one is partially recognized). Below is a list of them, including the capitals of the Balkan countries:
- Slovenia (the capital is Ljubljana).
- Greece (Athens).
- Bulgaria (Sofia).
- Romania (Bucharest).
- Macedonia (Skopje).
- Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo).
- Serbia (Belgrade).
- Montenegro (Podgorica).
- Croatia (Zagreb).
- The Republic of Kosovo (a partially recognized state with a capital in Pristina).
It should be noted that in some regional classifications Moldova is also ranked among the Balkan countries.
Balkan countries on the path of independent development
In the second half of the XIX century, all the Balkan peoples were under the yoke of Turkey, as well as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which could not contribute to their national and cultural development. In the 60-70s of the century before last, national liberation aspirations intensified in the Balkans. The Balkan countries, one after another, are trying to embark on the path of independent development.
The first of these was Bulgaria. In 1876, an uprising began here, which, however, was brutally crushed by the Turks. Indignant at such bloody actions, as a result of which about 30 thousand Orthodox Bulgarians died, Russia declared war on the Turks. In the end, Turkey was forced to recognize the independence of Bulgaria.
In 1912, following the example of the Bulgarians, Albania achieved independence. At the same time, Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece created the so-called "Balkan Union" in order to finally free themselves from Turkish oppression. Soon the Turks were driven out of the peninsula. Under their rule there was only a small piece of land with the city of Constantinople.
However, after defeating their common enemy, the Balkan countries begin to fight among themselves. So, Bulgaria, with the support of Austria-Hungary, attacks Serbia and Greece. The latter, in turn, provided military support to Romania.
Finally, the Balkans turned into a large “powder keg” on June 28, 1914, when Prince Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was killed by the Principle in Sarajevo. So began the First World War, into which almost the whole of Europe was drawn, as well as some countries in Asia, Africa and even Central America.
The collapse of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia was created back in 1918, immediately after the liquidation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The process of its collapse, which began in 1991, significantly redrawn the then existing political map of Europe.
The first of the structure of Yugoslavia, as a result of the so-called 10-day war, Slovenia left. Croatia followed, but the military conflict between the Croats and the Serbs lasted 4.5 years and claimed at least 20 thousand lives. At the same time, the Bosnian War continued , the result of which was the recognition of the new state entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
One of the last stages of the collapse of Yugoslavia was the referendum on the independence of Montenegro, which took place in 2006. According to its results, 55.5% of Montenegrins voted for secession from Serbia.
Shaky independence of Kosovo
On February 17, 2008, the Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence. The reaction of the international community to this event was extremely mixed. Today, Kosovo, as an independent state, is recognized by only 108 countries (out of 193 UN members). Among them are the USA and Canada, Japan, Australia, most EU countries, as well as some states of Africa and Latin America.
However, the independence of the republic has not yet been recognized by Russia and China (which are part of the UN Security Council), which does not allow Kosovo to become a full member of the main international organization of the planet.
Finally...
Modern Balkan countries began their path to independence at the end of the XIX century. However, the process of forming borders in the Balkans is still not completed.
Today, ten countries stand out within the Balkan region. These are Slovenia, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, as well as the partially recognized state of Kosovo.