I | INTRODUCTION |
Montenegro, country in southeastern Europe, located on
the Balkan Peninsula. Montenegro faces the Adriatic Sea, which separates it from
Italy, and enjoys a Mediterranean climate. The land is mostly mountainous, with
steep slopes jutting up from the sea to the inland borders. Slavic peoples,
chiefly Montenegrins and Serbs, make up about three-quarters of the population.
The administrative capital and largest city is Podgorica.
From 1946 to 1991 Montenegro was part of a
larger federal state of Yugoslavia, which also included the republics of Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia. That Yugoslav state
broke apart in 1991 when several of the republics declared their independence.
In 1992 Serbia and Montenegro proclaimed themselves the successor state to
Yugoslavia and took the name Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). In 2003 the
FRY adopted a new constitutional charter that gave the member republics more
autonomy and changed the name of the country to Serbia and Montenegro. This
union dissolved in June 2006 after the people of Montenegro voted in favor of
independence from Serbia.
II | THE LAND |
Montenegro is about the same size as
Connecticut, covering an area of 13,812 sq km (5,333 sq mi). From west to east,
Montenegro is nestled between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Albania. In
the southwest Montenegro faces the Adriatic Sea, part of the Mediterranean Sea.
The country’s scenic coastline extends 199 km (124 mi).
A | Mountainous Landscape |
The Dinaric Alps run parallel to the
Adriatic Sea, forming a natural boundary between the narrow coastal plains and
the interior of the Balkan Peninsula. Karst topography of limestone ridges
dominates much of Montenegro’s landscape. At the Gulf of Kotor on the coast,
steep limestone mountains rise dramatically at the water’s edge, giving the
appearance of fjords. Mount Lovcen rises to 1,748 m (5,735 ft) on the
southeastern end of the Gulf of Kotor. The name Montenegro, which is
derived from the Latin words for “black mountain,” is believed to have
originated due to the appearance of Mount Lovcen, either because of the basalt
(a black rock) that makes up much of the mountain or the dark pine forests that
once blanketed its slopes.
Beyond the coast, Montenegro is a mostly
mountainous country. The northwestern part of the country is famed for its
rugged beauty. Durmitor, a mountain massif of the Dinaric Alps, includes 15
peaks that exceed 2,000 m (6,600 ft). Bobotov Kuk, the highest of Durmitor’s
summits and the loftiest peak in Montenegro, rises to a height of 2,522 m (8,274
ft). Durmitor National Park, listed as a World Heritage Site in 1980, includes
one of the last virgin black pine forests of Europe, numerous glacial lakes, and
the Tara River canyon (see World Heritage Committee). With gorges
reaching a depth of 1,300 m (4,265 ft), the Tara River canyon ranks as the
deepest canyon in Europe.
Montenegro’s few regions suitable for
farming are in river valleys, mainly the one along the Zeta River; on the plain
around Lake Scutari in the southeast; and near the city of Cetinje, at the
eastern foot of Mount Lovcen. Lake Scutari, the largest lake of the Balkan
Peninsula, straddles Montenegro’s border with Albania.
B | Plants and Animals |
Mixed coniferous (evergreen) and deciduous
forests are found in the Dinaric Alps. However, many forests have been cleared
or thinned, especially in the southern and western mountains, and the soil has
eroded. The deciduous forests include oak, beech, elm, chestnut, and ash trees.
Coniferous trees, including pine and fir, grow at higher elevations. The coastal
plain of Montenegro contains Mediterranean vegetation, which is adapted to hot,
dry summers. This vegetation includes cypress, palm, olive, fig, cherry, almond,
and citrus trees, as well as pomegranate shrubs and grapevines.
Mountain slopes are home to wild animals
such as brown bears, wolves, foxes, and chamois. Birds include eagles and
partridges. Lake Scutari is a freshwater lake that forms one of the largest bird
reserves in Europe and abounds in fish. The lake and surrounding marshes provide
an important wintering and nesting site for more than 200 species of birds,
including pygmy cormorants and Dalmatian pelicans. Lake and river fish include
trout, carp, and eel. The Adriatic Sea contains many types of fish, as well as
lobster, shrimp, and octopus.
C | Climate |
Montenegro has a pleasant Mediterranean
climate, which is especially pronounced along the coast. The coastal zone is
influenced by a wind called the sirocco, which blows from Africa’s Sahara
and accumulates moisture over the Mediterranean Sea. This wind brings mild,
rainy winters and long, hot, and dry summers to the coastal zone of Montenegro.
In the capital of Podgorica, located about 40 km (25 mi) inland from the coast,
the average temperature in July is 27°C (81°F) and in January, 6°C (43°F).
Farther inland, winters are more extreme with colder temperatures and heavy
snowfall.
III | THE PEOPLE |
Montenegro had a population of 678,177 in
2008. More than 40 percent of the people in Montenegro identify themselves as
having Montenegrin ethnicity. About 30 percent of the people identify themselves
as ethnic Serbs. Although they are closely related Slavic peoples, they have
distinct ethnic identities. Minority groups include Bosniaks (ethnic Bosnian
Muslims), who are concentrated in areas bordering Bosnia and Herzegovina, and
ethnic Albanians, who live mostly in areas bordering Albania and the Serbian
province of Kosovo. Podgorica, called Titograd from 1946 to 1992, is the capital
and largest city of Montenegro. Cetinje, the historical capital of Montenegro,
is an important cultural center.
A | Language and Religion |
Most people in Montenegro speak a variant
of the Serbian language (see Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian Languages).
Many Montenegrins insist that their dialect of the Serbian language should be
called Montenegrin. Ethnic Albanians also speak the Albanian language. Both the
Cyrillic and Roman alphabets are used in Montenegro.
A majority of Montenegrins identify
themselves as Orthodox Christians. The Bosniaks, descendants of Slavs who
converted to Islam in the 15th and 16th centuries, are Sunni Muslims (see
Sunni Islam). Ethnic Albanians are mostly Sunni Muslims, although there are
also Orthodox Christian and Roman Catholic Albanians in Montenegro.
B | Art and Literature |
Montenegro emerged from the Byzantine
Empire, for which Orthodox Christianity was the state religion. Early art forms
involved the painting of icons (sacred images of the saints) and religious
frescoes in Orthodox churches and monasteries. Western artistic movements began
influencing artists and architects in the 19th century. Prominent artists of the
20th century included the painters Petar Lubarda and Milo Milunović and the
sculptor Risto Stijović.
The first major works of literature
appeared in the 19th century. Petar II Petrović Njegoš, a Montenegrin
bishop-prince, wrote the epic drama Gorski vijenac (The Mountain
Wreath, 1847) in verse, adopting the rhythms of folk epics. In the 20th
century Montenegrin writer Milovan Djilas became a famous dissident. While vice
president of Yugoslavia in the 1950s, he began to criticize the communist system
that he had helped create, and he was jailed for years. His The New Class
(1957) is one of the most powerful critiques ever written of communism as
practiced in Eastern Europe and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(USSR).
IV | ECONOMY |
The economy of Montenegro is based primarily
on agriculture. Important crops include grains, tobacco, potatoes, grapes, figs,
citrus fruits, and olives. Food and tobacco processing are staple industries.
Winemaking is a growing industry, and vineyards are found in the area around
Podgorica. Livestock such as sheep, cattle, and goats are raised. Heavy
industries include bauxite mining and aluminum processing. Tourism is
increasingly important, as the country draws visitors to its national parks and
other scenic areas. Montenegro’s coastline includes ports at Bar, Budva, Kotor,
and Herceg Novi that provide shipping access to the Mediterranean.
The Montenegrin economy suffered from the
effects of the wars of Yugoslav succession (1991-1995), particularly from
economic sanctions imposed on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) in
response to its support for warring Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The economy
of Montenegro was also damaged by the diversion of people, medicines, and
financial resources to the war effort. All international economic sanctions
against Serbia and Montenegro were lifted by 2001, after the regime of FRY
president Slobodan Milošević collapsed.
During the Milošević era Montenegro separated
its economy from that of Serbia, removing it from the control of the shared
central government. Montenegro pursued its own, more liberal, program of
privatization. However, political conflicts with the Serbian government hindered
this process. The beginning of the 21st century ushered in a new era of economic
development. Government leaders pursued a more rigorous program to reconstruct
the economy and sought stronger economic ties with other European nations.
Although it is not a member of the European Union (EU), Montenegro adopted the
euro, the monetary unit of the EU, as its national currency in 2002. In January
2007 Montenegro became eligible for greater international economic aid by
joining the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (also known as
the World Bank) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
V | GOVERNMENT |
Montenegro is governed under a constitution
adopted in October 2007. The head of state is the president, who is directly
elected to a five-year term and may serve two terms. A unicameral
(single-chamber) parliament called the Narodna Skupština (National
Assembly) serves as the country’s legislative body. The 81 members of the
National Assembly are elected by direct popular vote to four-year terms. The
head of government is the prime minister, who is appointed by the president with
National Assembly approval. All citizens aged 18 or older can vote. Montenegro
was a partner with Serbia in the shared central government of Serbia and
Montenegro until the union of the two republics was dissolved in June 2006.
VI | HISTORY |
In the Middle Ages (5th century to 15th
century) the region of Montenegro formed the principality of Zeta in the kingdom
of Serbia. Feudal lords ruled parts of the territory, which was virtually
autonomous. The Ottoman Empire conquered Serbia in 1459, and the Montenegrins
withdrew to their mountain strongholds, remaining the only independent people of
the Balkan Peninsula. From the 16th to 19th centuries, Montenegro was a
theocracy ruled by a series of bishop-princes. The first Montenegrin
constitution was drawn up in 1868. In 1905 Prince Nicholas I Petrović decreed
the end of autocratic government, granted a liberal constitution, and
established a parliamentary government; he assumed the title of king in 1910. In
1912 Montenegro joined Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia in forming the Balkan
League, a military alliance against the Ottoman Empire. The Balkan Wars began on
October 8, when Montenegro declared war on the Ottoman Empire. As a result of
the wars, Montenegro almost doubled in size.
After World War I began in 1914, the kingdom
of Montenegro joined its traditional allies, Russia and Serbia, against the
Central Powers. Austria-Hungary occupied Montenegro in late 1915. A year later
Montenegrin patriots met with Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes on the Greek island of
Corfu (Kérkira) and voted to unite in a single Slav kingdom. Their pact was
endorsed by the Allies, who won the war in November 1918, and the Kingdom of
Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was proclaimed in December 1918. In 1921 Montenegro
formally became the province of Zeta in the kingdom, which was renamed
Yugoslavia (“Land of the South Slavs”) in 1929. During World War II Axis troops
invaded the Balkans in April 1941, and Italian forces occupied parts of
Montenegro.
A | Republic in Federation |
In 1946 Yugoslavia was established as a
federal republic under Communist Party rule, and Montenegro became one of its
six constituent republics. In early 1992, after Slovenia, Croatia, and Macedonia
had declared their independence from Yugoslavia, a referendum was held in
Montenegro to determine whether the republic should also become independent or
remain in federation with Serbia. Two-thirds of the voters chose to remain in
the federation, which took the name Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY).
The relationship between Serbia and
Montenegro subsequently became strained. Economic sanctions imposed by the
United Nations (UN) on the FRY were a major source of this tension. Strong
sanctions were originally introduced to punish the FRY for supporting Serbs in
the wars in Bosnia and Croatia. Some sanctions remained after those wars ended,
and the international community threatened additional punitive measures in 1998
after the federal and Serbian governments launched a bloody crackdown on
separatist Albanians in the Serbian province of Kosovo. Montenegrins who opposed
nationalist Serb efforts in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo resented the sanctions
their republic was forced to endure as a result.
In 1997 President Momir Bulatović, who had
been in office since 1990, lost his bid for reelection to reformist Prime
Minister Milo Djukanović. Bulatović was an ally of the Serb nationalist
federation president, Slobodan Milošević, but Djukanović was openly critical of
Milošević. In Montenegrin parliamentary elections held in May 1998, a reformist
coalition led by Djukanović’s Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) won far more
seats than Bulatović’s party, the Socialist People’s Party (SNP). That same
month, Milošević engineered the removal of the federation’s prime minister and
installed Bulatović. After that time, Montenegro’s government regarded the
federal government as illegitimate, and some Montenegrin political leaders spoke
openly of possible secession.
Serbian-led attacks on ethnic Albanians in
Kosovo worsened in 1999, after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
began air strikes against Serbian military targets in March. Hundreds of
thousands of ethnic Albanians fled Kosovo, with the largest numbers seeking
refuge in Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), and
Montenegro. By early June, when the FRY finally accepted an international peace
plan for Kosovo, Montenegro had received nearly 70,000 refugees, according to UN
estimates.
Following the collapse of Milošević’s
regime and the establishment of a democratic government in Serbia in early 2001,
all international economic sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro were lifted.
However, many Montenegrins continued to oppose the domination of their republic
by Serbia, stirring concerns at home and abroad of Montenegro’s possible
secession from the FRY. In March 2002 leaders of Serbia and Montenegro signed an
agreement brokered by the European Union (EU) to preserve the union between the
two republics. In parliamentary elections held in October Djukanović’s reformist
coalition defeated pro-federation forces in Montenegro. In November, Djukanović
resigned as president of Montenegro so he could take the post of prime minister.
In the 2003 presidential elections voters chose DPS candidate Filip Vujanović,
who like Djukanović advocated the independence of Montenegro.
Nevertheless, in January 2003 the
legislatures in both Montenegro and Serbia formally adopted a new constitutional
charter that provided the basis for a new shared central government. The
charter, which was adopted by the central government’s new parliament the
following month, changed the name of the FRY to see Serbia and Montenegro
and gave most governmental authority to the member republics. The charter
authorized each republic to hold a referendum on full independence after a
period of three years.
B | Independent Montenegro |
In May 2006 Montenegrins voted on the
issue of Montenegrin independence. According to an agreement negotiated between
Serbia and Montenegro by the EU, at least 55 percent of the votes needed to be
in favor of independence for the referendum to pass. In the final tally, 55.5
percent of voters chose independence, and in June the two republics formally
became separate nations.
Montenegro held its first elections as an
independent country in September 2006. Prime Minister Djukanović’s DPS-led
coalition won 41 of the 81 seats in the parliament, giving it a slim absolute
majority. However, Djukanović announced his resignation as prime minister in
October. His close ally, Željko Šturanović, a former justice minister, took
office in November after the parliament approved a new government. Djukanović
returned as prime minister in February 2008 after Šturanović resigned due to
health reasons.
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