Country information on Kosovo 

Terrain

The largely mountainous region includes the fertile valleys of Kosovo and Metohija and is drained by the Southern Morava River. In the north-west, the Sar Planina marks Kosovo's border with Macedonia.

Climate

Kosovo has a temperate and continental climate, with heavy snowfall not uncommon in the wintertime. Average temperature ranges from 18° to 19°C in July to 2° to 3°C in January.

Fauna/Flora

The large province of Kosovo has rich, fertile plains drained by several river systems. Kosovo's woodland areas are a suitable habitat for bears, wolves, foxes, deer and roedeer.

History/Politics

The Kosovo Albanians are considered to be descendants of the ancient Dardanians (Illyrians) who are said to have inhabited the Western Balkans in the sixth to eighth centuries AD. The Battle of Kosovo Plain on 15/28 June 1389 was the decisive clash at which the Ottomans destroyed the remains of the Serbian empire. In 1690, the Serbs supported the Habsburg invasion and, fearing reprisals from the Ottomans, many left the region seeking safety in Austria. A small Serbian principality escaped from Ottoman control in 1817 and was recognized as an independent state in 1878. In June 1878, local Albanian potentates met in Kosovo to launch a "League of Prizren" to resist further Serbian encroachments on Albanian-inhabited territories.

However, during the Balkan War of October-November 1912, Serbia and Montenegro occupied major portions of Kosovo. The settlement at the end of the war allowed for an independent Albania, but Kosovo was ceded to Serbia. In early 1915, Serbia drew back Austria-Hungary, which had invaded it in 1914. But by the end of the year, the Central Powers obliged Serbia's forces to retreat through Kosovo to the Adriatic coast. Nevertheless, in late 1918, Kosovo was reconquered by Serbs and Montenegrins. Following Austria-Hungary's demise, the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes set up a Triple Kingdom which became Yugoslavia in 1931. Following the dismemberment of Yugoslavia by the Axis Powers in April 1941, most of Kosovo was incorporated into an Italian-controlled Greater Albania. In July 1945, a Communist-dominated assembly voted for the voluntary union of Kosovo with the Republic of Serbia within a Yugoslav Federation.

The Yugoslav Constitution of 1963 referred to Kosovo as an "Autonomous Province", but its constitutional status was still to be determined by Serbia's parliament. Under the Yugoslav Constitution of 1974, which devolved political power to Yugoslavia's constituent republics, the Socialist Autonomous Provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina became constituent components of the Federation with direct representation and voting rights on federal institutions. Serbian Communist leader Slobodan Milosevic became president of Serbia in December 1987 and helped his allies to power in Vojvodina, Montenegro and Kosovo in late 1988. In 1989 the Serbian parliament passed constitutional amendments reasserting Serbian control over Kosovo.

After April 1990, most Kosovars embraced non-violent resistance under the leadership of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), launched in December 1989 by Dr Ibrahim Rugova. In early 1998 the Serbian government began a crackdown against the Kosova Liberation Army (UÇK), a guerrilla movement which emerged after it became apparent that the peaceful approach was ineffective in face of the regime of Milosevic. The NATO bombing campaign, which began in March 1999 after Serbia's refusal to sign a peace accord for the settlement of the conflict in Kosova, lasted until June 1999 when Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic capitulated and agreed to withdraw all Serbian security forces from Kosova. United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 established a United Nations civilian administration in Kosova, and allowed a NATO-led peacekeeping force to enter Kosova to ensure security. In November 2001, The Democratic League of Kosovo, led by Ibrahim Rugova, recorded 45.65% of the vote in the first province-wide democratic elections in Kosovo.

Economy

Agriculture, stock raising, forestry, and mining are the major occupations. Pristina, Kosovo's commercial centre, suffered damage during the 1999 Kosovo crisis. State-owned industrial plants remain at a near standstill, unemployment is widespread, and infrastructure urgently needs upgrading.

Culture

Kosovo is rich in cultural monuments, churches built in the Middle Ages by rulers and church dignitaries, noblemen, clergy and monks. In 1219 a considerable impetus to the spiritual and artistic life was provided by the foundation of the independent Serbian Archbishopric with its seat in the monastery of Zica.