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Montenegro

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This article is about the republic in Serbia-Montenegro, Europe. For the city in Brazil, see Montenegro, Brazil.

The Republic of Montenegro (Serbian: Црна Гора, Crna Gora, meaning "black mountain") is a small, mountainous republic on the Balkans, bordering Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Albania and the Adriatic Sea. Between 1945 and 2003 it was a republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia respectively; it is now one of two constituent parts of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro.

The principal cities are the capital Podgorica (139,100 inhabitants), Nikšić (57,600), Pljevlja (18,800) and Bijelo Polje (17,100). The former royal capital was Cetinje.

Република Црна Гора
Republika Crna Gora
Flag of Montenegro Coat of arms of Montenegro
(In detail) (In detail)
Map of Montenegro within the state union
Official language Serbian
Capital Podgorica
Area
 - Total
 - % water
13,812 km²
n/a
Population
 - Total (2003)
 - Density
616,258
48.7/km²
Ethnic groups Montenegrins: 43%
Serbs: 32%
Bosniaks: 8%
Albanians: 5%
Others: 12%
President Filip Vujanović
Prime Minister Milo Đukanović
Anthem (state) Oj, svijetla majska zoro
Anthem (country) Hej Sloveni
Time zone UTC +1
Currency Euro

Demographics

Main article: Demographic history of Montenegro

Ethnic composition according to the 2003 census:

The status of Montenegrins as an ethnic group is a matter of some controversy.

According to the constitution of Montenegro, the official language is Serbian of the Ijekavian standard. As of 2003, over 60% of the population declare Serbian their mother tongue, while 21.53% declare Montenegrin language. The used dialects are the same, and very similar to those used by the Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the difference is mostly in the naming.

The Serbs and Montenegrins are mostly Eastern Orthodox Christians. The main church is the Serb Orthodox Church, though there is also a splinter autocephalous Montenegrin Orthodox Church reconstituted in 1993. The faithful reportedly remain close to the Serb Orthodox Church regardless of the new church as can be witnessed by the attendance of sermons and booming monastic life at the Serb church none of which the other side can boast of.

Union with Serbia

On the last referendum on joining Serbia in 1992, some 96% of the votes were cast for the federation with Serbia, although the turnout was at 66% because of a boycott by the Muslim and Catholic minorities as well as some of the Montenegrins. The poorly controlled poll was organized in undemocratic conditions with widespread propaganda from the state-controlled media in favour of a pro-federation vote and voting taking place even on the streets. Today, the political scene is more polarized over this issue.

Since 1996, Milo Đukanović's government de facto severed ties between Montenegro and Serbia (back then still under Milošević) in many regards. Montenegro formed its own economic policy and switched to the Deutsche Mark as its currency. It is currently uses exclusively the Euro, though it is not formally part of the Eurozone. Serbian Dinar is not legal tender in Montenegro and is not accepted as a mode of payment.

The current and previous government of Montenegro are carrying out pro-independence policies. They postponed the census twice, from 2001 to 2002 and then November 2003). They also postponed the independence referendum countless times, which caused many independence supporters too loose faith in the government's will for independence.

On January 13, 2002, following a ban on mass celebrations of the Julian calendar New Year's Eve, an estimated 11,000 people gathered in the capital Podgorica as a show of defiance to the government as well as support to the Serb national identity with the event being coined the 'Serbian New Year's Eve'. The pro-Serb opposition in Montenegro steadfastedly denies the existence of the Montenegrin language and identity and its main program line is unconditional unification with Serbia in a new federation.

In 2002, Serbia and Montenegro came to a new agreement regarding continued cooperation. In 2003, the Yugoslav federation was replaced in favor of a looser state union named Serbia and Montenegro and the possible referendum for Montenegro's independence was postponed until 2006.

The fate of the small Balkan country is going to be decided within the next two years when the three-year-set moratorium on an independence referendum ends.

Symbols

Montenegro's parliament on July 12, 2004, adopted a new flag, national anthem and national day, as part of a push for the republic's independence from the state union of Serbia and Montenegro.

The flag of the former Montenegrin monarchy: the gold coat of arms of the King Nikola on red field with a gold border (the initials НI of King Nikola, however, are left out), shown above, was adopted as the official flag of Montenegro on July 12th 2004 by the Parliament of Montenegro. The move was seen by Serbs as a move by the pro-independence government of Montenegro to further isolate Montenegro's identity from Serbia as the previous flag of Montenegro was akin to the Serb tricolor.

The national day of 13 July marks the date in 1878 when the Congress of Berlin recognised Montenegro as the 27th independent state in the world and the start of the first popular uprising in Europe against the Axis Powers on 13 July 1941 in Montenegro.

Parliament selected the popular folk song "Oh Bright Dawn" as the national anthem.

See also

Template:Serbia and Montenegro

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