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- (Srbia – Crna Gora; Srbija – Crna Gora), state in the SE. Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula, pl. 102.2 km²; consists of 2 republics: Serbia (includes the regions of Kosovo and Vojvodina) and Montenegro. The capital is Be... Geographical encyclopedia

For the term "Kosovo" see other meanings. This article is about the modern state; for the state that existed from 1991 to 2000, see: Republic of Kosovo (1991 2000). Republic of Kosovo Alb. Republika e Kosovës Serb. Republic of Kosovo ... Wikipedia

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Not to be confused with Kossovo. Republic of Kosovo Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija Alb. Republika e Kosovës Serbian. Republic of Kosovo Serbian. Autonomous region of Kosovo and Metohija Alb. Krahina Autonome e Kosovës dhe Metohisë ... Wikipedia

Democratic Party candidate Boris Tadic narrowly defeated the leader of the Serbian Radical Party, Tomislav Nikolic, in the second round of elections.

Kosovo (Kosovo and Metohija) is an autonomous region within Serbia. Currently, the region is populated predominantly by Albanians (over 90%). Of the two million population of Kosovo, Serbs make up about 100 thousand (6%) with the national center in Kosovo Mitrovica.
During the medieval period, the core of the medieval Serbian state formed on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, and from the 14th century until 1767, the throne of the Serbian patriarch was located here (near the city of Pec). Therefore, the Serbian claims to the region of Kosovo and Metohija are based on the principles of historical law. Albanians, in turn, insist on the predominance of ethnic law.

Historically, Albanians have long lived in Kosovo, but did not form a significant part of the population until the beginning of the 20th century. To a large extent, the ethnic composition of the region began to change after World War II, when Josip Broz Tito allowed Albanians who found themselves on the territory of Yugoslavia during the war to remain in Kosovo. The territory of Kosovo was first allocated as an autonomous region within Serbia within the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia in 1945. The Yugoslav Constitution of 1974 granted Serbia's constituent territories the de facto status of republics, with the exception of the right to secede. Kosovo, as an autonomous socialist region, received its own constitution, legislation, supreme authorities, as well as its representatives in all major union bodies.

However, in the late 1980s, the result of an internal political crisis, which led to a surge in violence and major economic difficulties, was the abolition of Kosovo's autonomous status. A new fundamental law of Serbia was adopted, which came into force on September 28, 1990 and restored the supremacy of republican laws over regional laws throughout the republic. Kosovo was left with only territorial and cultural autonomy.

Kosovo Albanians did not recognize the new constitution; Parallel Albanian power structures began to be created. In 1991, an illegal referendum was held in Kosovo, which approved the independence of Kosovo. Kosovo nationalists proclaimed the unrecognized “Republic of Kosovo” and elected Ibrahim Rugova as president. To fight for independence, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) was created in 1996.

In 1998, the interethnic conflict escalated into bloody armed clashes. On September 9, 1998, the NATO Council approved a plan for military intervention in the Kosovo conflict. On March 24, 1999, without UN authorization, a NATO military operation called “Allied Force” began, which lasted until June 20, 1999, when the withdrawal of Yugoslav troops was completed.

Since 1999, more than 200 thousand ethnic Serbs have left the region due to ethnic conflicts between Serbs and Albanian separatists.

Today, the Kosovo settlement remains the most problematic issue on the Balkan agenda. In accordance with UN Security Council Resolution No. 1244 of June 10, 1999, the central role in the peace process is assigned to the UN and its Security Council, and the civilian UN Mission for the Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the Kosovo Force (KFOR) of 16.5 thousand military personnel.

An international police force (3 thousand people) operates under the auspices of UNMIK. Its tasks include ensuring law and order in the region, monitoring the activities of the Kosovo Police Service (6.2 thousand people). The quota of the Russian police contingent within UNMIK is 81 people.

In May 2001, the head of UNMIK approved the “Constitutional Framework for Interim Self-Government in Kosovo,” which sets out the procedure for the formation of regional power structures. In accordance with this document, on November 17, 2001, the first elections to the Assembly (Parliament) of Kosovo were held.

On October 24, 2005, the UN Security Council, in the form of a statement by its chairman, gave the green light to the process of determining the future status of Kosovo. Martti Ahtisaari (Finland) became the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the status process. At a meeting of the Contact Group (CG) held in Washington on November 2, 2005, at the level of deputy foreign ministers, the “Guiding Principles” for developing the future status of Kosovo were approved. The document sets out the priority of the negotiation solution, the leadership role of the UN Security Council at all stages of the status process, consideration of all status options with the exception of the partition of Kosovo, as well as returning the situation in the region to the period before 1999 and unification with other territories.

One of the factors influencing the development of a decision on the status of the region was the Constitution of Serbia, adopted as a result of a nationwide referendum on October 28-29, 2006. Its preamble contains the provision that Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia.

Russia supports international efforts aimed at building a democratic multi-ethnic society in Kosovo on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution No. 1244. Russia is actively involved in resolving the Kosovo problem within the framework of the UN Security Council and the Contact Group (Russia, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, USA, France). At the same time, the Russian side defends the priority of a negotiated settlement, the principles of universality and multiple options for resolving the issue of Kosovo’s status, rejecting the thesis that there is no alternative to the region’s independence. Russia proposed to develop a “road map”, within the framework of which the justified interests of the parties and the priorities of the leading international factors in the Kosovo settlement could be taken into account, and milestones for the parties’ movement towards agreement could be outlined, including on the paths of their European integration perspective. The United States believes that the only way out of the impasse is the Ahtisaari plan, which presupposes the independent status of the region under international control. Representatives of the United States and the European Union say that the negotiations have exhausted themselves, and the status of the region will be determined within the framework of the EU and NATO.

KOSOVO (REPUBLIC OF KOSOVO)
KOSOVA (REPUBLIKA E KOSOVЁ)

D.V.ZAYATS, A.O. KOSHELEV

(The article is abbreviated)

The self-proclaimed state of Kosovo occupies the territory of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). Kosovo lies inland, 85 km from the Adriatic Sea coast. The shape of the edge resembles a rhombus, each of the diagonals of which stretches across the Balkans for approximately 145 km. The main part of the territory of Kosovo is an elevated plain, which is divided into two approximately equal intermountain basins: the eastern - Kosovo, or Kosovo Polje, - part of the gigantic area of ​​​​the Danube basin * and the western - Metohija, through which flow the tributaries of the Drina - a river carrying its waters to Adriatic. Along the perimeter of the region there are mid-mountain massifs: Mokra Gora, Rogozna and Kopaonik in the north, Golyak and Crna Gora in the east, Shar Planina in the south and Prokletiye in the west.

Kosovo Map

Kosovo's neighbors** are Albania and Montenegro (in the west), Macedonia (in the south), Serbian lands (in the north and east). The length of the border between Kosovo and Albania is 114 km. Some parts of Kosovo's borders are disputed by Kosovo leaders. In socialist Yugoslavia, the autonomous region occupied an area of ​​10.9 thousand km2, but nationalist-minded Kosovo Albanians believe that their state should include at least three more communities of Serbia outside Kosovo proper: Presevo, Bujanovac and Medveja. These lands, located in the South Morava basin, east of Pristina, like Kosovo, are home to a predominantly Albanian population. After the “liberation” of Kosovo from the Serbs, the leaders of radical Albanians are hatching plans to secede these border areas from Serbia. The number of militants of the so-called Presevo Liberation Army, who participated here throughout 2000 in clashes with the regular forces of the Yugoslav army, according to various estimates, ranges from several hundred to five thousand people, most of whom went through combat school in the ranks of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA ).

Population

Number. The last official census that took place in Kosovo was back in 1981, and it is now difficult to establish the real demographic and ethnic picture of the region. According to the Center for Demographic Research, in 1997, about 2.3 million people lived in the region. Kosovo has the highest population density in the region: 210 people/km2. Neighboring Montenegro, which is comparable in size, has a population of only 680 thousand people.

Kosovar Albanian folk dance

Demographics. Kosovo is one of two territories of the former Yugoslavia (the other is Macedonia) where the gender balance is skewed towards the male population. This feature, typical of Islamic countries, is quite unusual for Europe, but is quite understandable: culturally and historically, the region is more a fragment of the East than an integral part of the West. The natural increase in Kosovo in 1997 was 2.1% - a very high figure for Europe, which has long been in the zone of a demographic crisis. Due to the high birth rate (27‰*** in 1997), the proportion of younger ages is large: children under 15 years old account for more than a third of the population. Expanded population reproduction is characteristic mainly of Kosovo Albanians, who call themselves Kosovars. Rapid demographic growth became one of the elements of the Albanian strategy for the gradual dissolution of the Serbian community of the region. Another way of increasing demographic pressure on the Serbs, tried in the post-war decades, was the illegal migration of Albanian residents across the Yugoslav border. New migrants were in no hurry to register at their place of residence, and therefore the real size of the Albanian population in the region was hidden from the Serbian authorities.

Ethnic composition. The forced increase in the share of Albanians in the population of Kosovo led to increased interethnic conflicts in the region. Previously, the Serbs and Albanians, although they were not friendly peoples (too many accounts had accumulated between them over centuries of living together), still did not deny each other the right to live on Kosovo soil. Over a relatively short period of time (60 years), the share of Albanians in the population of the region increased from 60 to 90% (Table 1). The campaign carried out by the regime of S. Milosevic to combat Albanian extremists and, to a much greater extent, the bombing of Kosovo by NATO aircraft led to the fact that the Albanian population began to leave the region en masse. The total number of Albanian refugees from Kosovo in 1999 reached, according to some estimates, 700-900 thousand people.

Immediately after the actual surrender of Belgrade and the cessation of hostilities, the pendulum swung in the opposite direction. Albanians gradually began to return to their native places (some of them, taking advantage of refugee status, managed to settle in prosperous countries of Western Europe), Serbs, feeling their vulnerability in front of the KLA militants celebrating their victory, moved from the region to the north. UN observers note that in June-July 1999 alone, about 130 thousand Serbs - more than half of the region's Orthodox community - left Kosovo. In October 2000, according to the new President of the FRY V. Kostunica, only 75 thousand citizens of Serbian nationality remained in Kosovo. But they are not free in their movements, since the few places where Serbs gather, taken under the protection of military contingents of NATO countries and Russia, have essentially turned into a kind of ghetto, separated from the outside world by barbed wire and concrete barriers. In an effort to create an ethnically pure state, the Kosovars are trying to “cleanse” the region of other national minorities: Gypsies, Montenegrins, Macedonians. At the same time, they deny the right to exist even to their co-religionists, the Muslim Slavs, believing that they must recognize themselves as pure-blooded Albanians.

Table 1

Ethnic composition of Kosovo in 1931-1991.

Population of Kosovo, thousand people
Albanians, %
Montenegrins, %
Muslim Slavs, %
Total	100,0	100,0	100,0	100,0	100,0

* Estimates given due to the boycott of the 1991 census by Kosovo Albanians.
** In 1931 and 1991 this number includes Montenegrins, Turks and Muslim Slavs.

Religious composition. The conflict in Kosovo is undoubtedly aggravated by the fact that, in addition to ethnicity, there is also a religious divide between the opposing sides. Albanians, as well as Turks and a small part of the Slavs living in the region, profess Sunni Islam. Mosques with tall minarets are a characteristic feature of the panorama of any major Kosovo city.

Sinan Pasha Mosque in Prizren

Gracanica Monastery (XIV century) near Pristina

But Kosovo is also the cradle of Serbian Orthodoxy. There are dozens of monasteries here; during the difficult times of Ottoman rule (in 1557), the Serbian Patriarchate was established here in the city of Pec. The influence of Orthodoxy was also reflected in the name of the western part of the autonomous region - Metohija (translated as church lands). There are dozens of Orthodox monasteries in Kosovo, the largest - Gracanica near Pristina and Decane near the city of Pec - have existed since the 14th century, hundreds of churches. The religiosity of both religious communities in Kosovo is very high, therefore both Serbs and Albanians are determined to defend the religious shrines in the land of their ancestors to the end. The presence of national relics of Serbian Orthodoxy on the territory of modern Kosovo makes the Albanian demands for independence completely unacceptable to the Serbian side.

Map showing the distribution of Orthodox churches and monasteries in Kosovo

The quality of life of the population is low. A quarter of the population of the autonomous region does not have complete primary education. Unique in Europe, the illiteracy rate was 18% in 1981 (the latest reliable data). Moreover, among women illiteracy exceeded 26%! Infant mortality is 55 people. per thousand births. This difficult social situation is explained primarily by the difficult economic situation of the region as part of Yugoslavia, which has been living under economic sanctions from the world community for almost ten years. The situation is aggravated by uneradicated feudal remnants in public life, many of which, for example, elements of Islamic law, are peculiar atavisms preserved from the days of the Ottoman Empire. Even the high natural population growth, perhaps, serves more as evidence of the low level of economic and social development of Kosovo: low economic activity, especially among women, the reduced status of women, and the decisive role of religion in family relationships.

The main social problem of the region, which no ethnic cleansing can solve, is the problem of unemployment. Already in 1990, unemployment covered up to half of the working population, which was primarily a consequence of the rapid demographic growth of the Albanian community of the region and the inability, and perhaps fear, of the Serbian authorities to create new jobs for the Kosovars. In 1997, even before the start of full-scale hostilities, the number of unemployed was estimated at 860 thousand people, or 65% of the working population. High population growth annually supplies about 30 thousand pairs of workers, but with a steady decline in production, it is almost impossible to find use for them. Young people are joining the ranks of the unemployed or (as is happening more and more often lately) the ranks of illegal armed groups.

The central street of Pristina - the main city of Kosovo

Urbanization and cities. Kosovo is a predominantly rural area. About 35% of the population lives in cities. The largest city is the capital of the region, Pristina (with suburbs of more than 300 thousand inhabitants). Other large cities (population is given according to Albanian sources): Pec (85 thousand inhabitants), Prizren (70 thousand), Kosovska Mitrovica (68 thousand), Gjakovica (60 thousand) Some cities in Kosovo have a zone of attraction** ** extends beyond the borders of the region, spreading to the adjacent territories of Montenegro, Serbia and Macedonia. Many cities in the region, along with Serbian ones, also have Albanian names, for example, Pec - Peja, Djakovica - Djakova, Gnjilane - Djilane, Srbitsa - Skenderaj. It is the Albanian transcription of Kosovo place names that Western media have recently given preference to.

Current status and administrative structure

De facto, a dual power has now developed in Kosovo: the region is simultaneously governed by the international administration representing the member countries of KFOR (peacekeeping forces keeping peace in Kosovo), and the organizational structures of Kosovo Albanians, formed “from below” on the basis of local branches of the KLA. The region has a parliament and government of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo, a constitution has been developed (considered adopted in September 1990), and local authorities are being formed to represent the interests of the exclusively Albanian community. On October 28, 2000, parliamentary elections were held in which the moderate-nationalist Democratic League of Kosovo, led by Professor Ibrahim Rugova, won a landslide victory over the party of the famous KLA warlord Hashim Thaci. Belgrade does not recognize the legality of the government institutions created by Kosovo Albanians, but does not rule out raising the status of Kosovo within the Yugoslav federation.

De jure Kosovo, territory of Serbia, one of the two republics that make up the new Yugoslavia. The international status of Kosovo has not yet been determined in detail, since neither the Republic of Kosovo nor the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia - the new union of Serbia and Montenegro - is officially recognized by most countries in the world. True, the situation has changed significantly with the recent coming to power in Belgrade of a new president, V. Kostunica. Yugoslavia gradually began to emerge from international isolation, it began to be restored in European and world integration structures, which causes poorly concealed dissatisfaction with the current Pristina regime.

The development of the political situation in the region is monitored, practically without interfering in the events taking place, by peacekeeping forces to maintain peace in Kosovo. The territory of Kosovo in June 1999 was divided into five sectors of responsibility of the largest NATO countries. The northern part of Kosovo, where the proportion of the Serbian population is higher, entered the zone of responsibility of France (the headquarters of the contingent is located in Kosovska Mitrovica), the central part of Kosovo Polje and the Podujevo Valley entered the British sector (headquarters in Pristina), the east and southeast of the region are controlled by the American peacekeepers (headquarters in Gnjilan), the Italian sector is limited to the northern part of Metohija (headquarters in Pec),

Russian peacekeepers do not have their own sector. Their areas of responsibility are located in different parts of Kosovo: Kosovska Kamenica in the American sector of KFOR, Malisevo in the German sector, Devica in the French sector, Slatina airport (the only one in the region) in the British sector. In terms of personnel, Russian troops make up 7-8% of the entire KFOR contingent. Their share in the controlled territory is approximately the same.

The official language is Albanian, the Serbian minority uses Serbian, and the working language of the international peacekeeping forces is English.

State symbols. The flag of the Kosovo Albanians, which has now practically become the official flag of Kosovo, copies the national flag of the Republic of Albania: a black double-headed eagle on a dark red cloth (apparently, another reminder of the former symbols of the powerful Byzantium). Albanian banners, previously banned, can now be seen everywhere in Kosovo: on administrative buildings, on roadblocks, on the facades of houses. Not one of the numerous demonstrations of Kosovars is complete without the appearance of a banner with a black eagle. The KLA has its own flag, also based on the Albanian banner.

* A small area in the south of Kosovo Polja belongs to the Aegean Sea basin.

** To decline or not to decline the name Kosovo - this issue does not have a clear solution. Russian names - Ivanovo, Borodino, Izmailovo - are usually declined (Ivanova, Ivanova, in Ivanovo). There is no question of non-Slavic names (Bordeaux, Glasgow) - they are not inclined. Non-Russian, but Slavic names (Rovno, Grodno, Brno) are sometimes declined in the languages ​​of their peoples, but not in Russian. Therefore, we decided to accept the irreversible option here. - Approx. ed.

*** Estimates given due to the boycott of the 1991 census by Kosovo Albanians.

**** During the existence of the SFRY - Titova-Mitrovica. This toponym can still be found in the most recent atlases, but it is no longer used in modern Yugoslavia.

******** It is curious that the areas of responsibility that were determined for the military contingents of NATO countries coincide with the areas of their economic interests. It can hardly be called an accident that the French occupied the northern sector of Kosovo, because French businessmen were already eyeing the Trepca mining and metallurgical plant five years ago. Great Britain chose the sector in the center of the region, apparently because British firms, during the privatization carried out in Serbia, showed interest in the energy enterprises located there. The Italians control the city of Pecs, where the joint Yugoslav-Italian enterprise Zastava Iveco was located.

Kosovo is a republic of South-Eastern Europe, partially recognized by other states. Located in Europe, in the geographical region of the same name. Constitutionally, this region belongs to Serbia, but the population of Kosovo is not subject to their laws. The capital of the republic is Pristina.

The population, according to the 2011 census, is more than 1.7 million people. Mostly Serbs and Albanians live here, and only about 3-5% are other nationalities.

Title and history

The very name of the republic translates as “land of blackbirds.”

The history of the local population living on these lands began 2 thousand years ago. The Illyrians were the first to live here. In the 6th century, Slavic peoples settled. In the 9th century, Christianity was adopted in the territory. Gradually this region became the cultural and religious center of the Serbian state. It was here that the largest majestic cathedrals and temples were built. However, in the 15th century, after prolonged military skirmishes, this territory ceded to the Ottoman Empire.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Serbian Principality was formed on European lands, which strengthened its political positions and conquered Kosovo from the Turks.

In 1945, the federal state of Yugoslavia was formed in the south of Eastern Europe. Kosovo (republic) stood out as an autonomous region within Serbia. In the 90s, this territory experienced a Civil War. In 1989, a referendum was held, which marked the secession of autonomy from Serbia. However, it was only Albania. Military skirmishes and conflicts began in the country. As a result, many local residents died, and even more were left homeless. The unrest continued for several years until 1999 when NATO bombed military bases. Since this year, the republic has been under special control and trusteeship of the UN. In 2008, it declared independence from Serbia, but only unilaterally. The latter did not accept this resolution.

Geography of the region

The state of Kosovo is located on a flat area, shaped like a rectangle. The area of ​​the region is just over 10 thousand km 2. The average height is 500 m above sea level, the highest peak is Jaravitsa, located in the Prokletije mountain system, on the border with Albania. Its height is 2,656 m. The climate of the republic has a pronounced continental type: with cold winters and hot summers. Average winter temperatures are -10...-12° C, summer - +28°...+30° C. Large rivers in Kosovo: Sitnica, Ibar, South Moravia, White Drin.

Administrative-territorial structure of the republic

Administratively, Kosovo is a republic, divided into 7 districts: Kosovo-Mitrovica, Pristina, Gnjilan, Djakovica, Pec, Urosevac, Prizren. They, in turn, are divided into municipalities. There are 30 of them in total. The municipalities of Zvecan, Leposavic and Zubin Potok, located in the northern region of the republic and inhabited by Serbs, are not subordinate to the Kosovo authorities and do not recognize independence. In fact, this territory has its own government, which is concentrated in the city of Kosovsk-Mitrovica. The Kosovo authorities have introduced a bill to create a separate autonomous municipality on these lands. In addition to the northern region, Serbs live in smaller numbers in other municipalities of Kosovo. So-called enclaves, independent autonomous regions, have been created there.

Development

Currently, according to the Constitution adopted in 2008, Kosovo is a unitary and parliamentary republic. The head of state is considered to be the president, whose elections fall on the shoulders of parliament. The executive power in the republic is led by the Prime Minister.

Transport in Kosovo - road and rail. Medicine in the republic is free, but without insurance policies. A doctor's education can only be obtained in the capital - the University Clinical Center.

The city of Pristina (Kosovo) has a population of 200 thousand people and is the largest city in the republic. Another large center is Prizren, with a population of just over 100 thousand people.

Primary-level education is developed; there are 1,200 educational institutions of junior and secondary level in the republic. However, there is a big problem with the distribution and certification of teachers.

In terms of the cultural development of the state, only memories remain of the former religious center. During the hostilities, most of the country's Orthodox monuments were desecrated and destroyed.

Economy of Kosovo

Kosovo is a country that is currently considered one of the poorest in Europe. The state has occupied this position since the time it was part of Serbia, and after leaving it it worsened even more. Mass unemployment, low standard of living, minimum wages - all this has plagued Kosovo for many years, despite the country's great economic potential.

Domestic and foreign policy

The population of Kosovo is characterized by the following feature: the majority of the working population, not having the opportunity to earn money in their own country, settles abroad unofficially, sending their children and parents the means to subsist. According to statistics, out of 1,700 thousand people, 800 thousand are currently outside the country.

Large deposits of minerals such as magnesite, lead, nickel, cobalt, bauxite, and zinc are concentrated in Kosovo. The republic ranks 5th in the world in terms of brown coal reserves. Kosovo has a huge international external debt, part of which was paid by Serbia until 2008.

As a result of separation from Serbia, Kosovo admitted the German currency, the German mark, into the state, and then, together with European countries, switched to the euro. Serbian money remained in the northern region - dinars.

Problems

Kosovo's status is unclear and raises some concerns, which is why investors are not being attracted to the country. This reason leads to the emergence of shadow business in the republic. The main exports from the country are tobacco, cement and gasoline. The drug trade is also thriving in Kosovo. The UN estimates that more than 80% of illicit drugs from Kosovo cross the border into Europe.

Population

The population of Kosovo is 1 million 700 thousand people. In terms of ethnic composition, it is located in the following percentage ratio: 90% are Albanians, 6% are Serbs, 3% are Gypsies and 1% are other nationalities: Turks, Bosnians, Ashkali, Gorani. Albanians are the vast majority of Kosovo's population. The official languages ​​of the republic are Albanian and Serbian. Albanian is based on the Latin alphabet, while Serbian is based on the Cyrillic alphabet.

Tourism

Quite a large number of people from neighboring countries come to see the local attractions. And for good reason. This territory is rich in stunning places and will not leave anyone indifferent. You should fully plan your time and set a clear schedule in order to achieve maximum attendance at interesting places. The people here are hospitable and will always help - you just need to ask for help. You definitely need to learn English well so as not to get into the awkward situation of not knowing the local language.

Currently, peace has established on the territory of the republic, there are no longer military conflicts, so the country is slowly beginning to restore the cities and, of course, the economy. The most difficult thing remains that Kosovo as a separate state is still not recognized by everyone, which significantly hinders its development.

After Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence, the belief spread that a new “Islamic state” had emerged in Europe. But how legitimate is it to talk about the religious factor in this interethnic conflict? Georgy Engelhardt, an employee of the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told NGR about this.

- Georgy Nikolaevich, what role does the religion of the opposing sides play in the Kosovo conflict?

The religious factor is not the main one in this confrontation, which is largely intercommunal in nature, but due to the differences in religion between Serbs and Kosovo Albanians, the religious aspect could not but affect the conflict itself and its specific manifestations. One such manifestation was the campaign to destroy Orthodox churches in Kosovo. In an effort to destroy traces of the presence of Serbs in the region, the Albanians tried first of all to erase religious shrines and monuments from the face of the earth.

Now the leaders of the self-proclaimed state are demonstrating their loyalty to the United States and the EU, gratitude to them for their support, and therefore publicly assure the international community of their commitment to democratic values. However, 10 years ago, Al-Qaeda instructors took a significant part in the creation of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), a fighting force of Kosovo Albanians. True, at that time the Americans were collaborating with al-Qaeda in the Balkans.

After the 1999 war, charitable organizations from the Gulf countries (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE) actively worked in Kosovo with the approval of the UN interim administration. During this time, dozens of mosques were built in the region with funds from foreign philanthropists, as indicated on the signs at the entrance. Some of the region's Islamic clergy also received training in the Gulf countries.

At the end of 2001 - beginning of 2002, representatives of Islamic charities banned after the September 11 attacks, such as BIF (Benevolence International Foundation), were arrested and exposed. Many of them were active in Kosovo, at least during the initial stage of the enclave's de facto independent existence.

Is there a difference in the degree of religiosity between Albanians in Kosovo and in Albania itself? After all, the regime of Enver Hoxha was distinguished by much greater pressure on religions than the regime of Josip Broz Tito. Perhaps it was the adherents of the old traditions who fled to Yugoslavia (Kosovo and Macedonia), who faced repression in their homeland?

The Kosovar community is more religiously homogeneous than Albania, where Albanians are approximately 60-70% Muslim, 20% Orthodox and 10% Catholic. The Albanians of the former Yugoslavia (Kosovo and Macedonian) are overwhelmingly Muslim. According to the latest available studies, more than 90% of Kosovo Albanians considered themselves Muslims, and about 7% considered themselves Catholics. You are right that in Albania the communist regime was extremely unique, and the country had the most stringent anti-religious policy of all European socialist countries. Suffice it to recall the official ban on religions in 1967. There, both the clergy and religious tradition suffered the most severe damage. But in Yugoslav Kosovo and Macedonia, there was still a much more liberal atmosphere, largely due to the policy of flirting with the Arab world, pursued by Tito’s Belgrade within the framework of the “non-aligned movement.” For example, specialists in Balkan Sufism conducted field research in these regions for decades, while traditional Sufi centers in Albania were destroyed by the authorities.

- Is it possible for an Islamist enclave to emerge in Kosovo like Hamastan in the Gaza Strip?

We probably shouldn't expect this anytime soon. It took Hamas twenty years to grow from a conglomerate of underground groups and charities into a proto-state structure. On the other hand, if radical religious views are now alien to most Albanians, the network of Islamist organizations that emerged in the 1990s persists. UN police sources indicate the existence of such groups in the region and that they have sufficient combat capabilities.

In 2007, there was an increase in Wahhabi groups in Novi Pazar, Serbia. This includes the discovery of the training camp of Ismal Prentich’s group, and conflicts in the Muslim structures of Sandjak (an area on the border of Serbia and Montenegro, inhabited predominantly by Muslim Slavs, Sandjak was the last territory that the Serbs conquered from the Turks in the 20th century. Its inhabitants are traditionally considered the most committed to Islam from Muslims of the former Yugoslavia), as well as the aggravation of the situation in the Muslim community of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the summer of 2007. In all these cases, we were talking about cross-border coordinated groups working in Sandzak, Kosovo, and Bosnia, with the control center, in particular, in Vienna. Kosovo, under the rule of the UN administration, has become a “gray zone”, which is convenient for the Wahhabis to use as a rear base both for training people and for transporting goods.

An alarming symptom of the radicalization of the Albanian diaspora was the disclosure of a planned attack on the US Army base Fort Dix near New York - of the six detained conspirators, four were from Kosovo.

- How are the relations between Slavic Muslims and Albanians in the region?

For the Wahhabi environment, the ethnic factor takes second place, and within the framework of these organizations, Muslims of different origins cooperate. More traditional groups tend to have a different attitude towards non-Albanian Muslims. Since the 1960s, Albanian nationalists have consistently sought to assimilate all of Kosovo's Muslim ethnic communities in order to strengthen their position in the province. For example, the Gorani - Muslim Slavs living in the Shar Planina region in southern Kosovo - were constantly subject to pressure from the Albanians even after the 1999 war. In the internal Kosovo political situation, they, as a rule, supported the position of the Serbs and Belgrade. The same applies to some of the Gypsies, Turks and Circassians (the latter, in 1999, due to persecution by Albanians, were forced to move to their historical homeland, Adygea).

The Serbian Orthodox Church refused to cooperate with the authorities of the self-proclaimed Kosovo. What could this demarche mean for the Serbian minority?

After the occupation of Kosovo by NATO forces, the Kosovo diocese of the SOC became one of the main political institutions of the Serbian community of the region. On March 3, the ruling bishop of Rasko-Prizren, Artemij (Radosavljevic), prohibited the clergy of the diocese from collaborating with both the Kosovo authorities and the EU mission.

Western countries are now seeking to abolish the UN administration in Kosovo and transfer its powers to an International Steering Group under the auspices of the EU. Completion of this transfer of control is scheduled for early summer. Bishop Artemije consistently supports Belgrade’s position: the Serbian authorities do not recognize the Pristina administration and have called the sending of an EU mission to Kosovo illegal, while recognizing the mandate of the UN mission. The actions of the head of the Rasko-Prizren diocese are aimed at maintaining in some form the UN presence in the region; he considers the UN civil administration and the KFOR peacekeeping contingent to be the only channel of interaction with international structures. As for the reaction to the bishop’s statement on the part of opponents, at the moment neither the EU nor the authorities in Pristina are politically interested in a sharp surge in violence, primarily against Serbs and Orthodox shrines in Kosovo. They need a point of contact in relations with the Serbian community and with the diocese as a very important political representative of this community in the region.