Croatia
Croatia is an independent state, the Republic of Croatia. (The name is pronounced, in RP, 'crow-EH-SHia', IPA: /krəʊ ˈeɪʃ (ɪ)ə/.) It was one of the six Socialist Republics constituting the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the constitution of 1946, on the renewed independence of Yugoslavia after the Second World War. After the death of Tito in 1980 and the consequent fissiparous strains on Yugoslavia, a Croatian non-communist government was formed in May 1990 with Franjo Tuđman (usually transliterated in English as Tudjman) (1922-1999), the leader of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), as President.
, and Croatia declared its independence in 1991. This was opposed by the Yugoslav People's Army and various Serbian forces in the Croatian War of Independence, which lasted till 1995. In 1992, the EEC and the UN recognized Croatia. After a cease-fire that year, the front line was entrenched, the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFORa) was deployed, and fighting became sporadic until two major Croatian offensives in 1995 won Croatia the victory.
- When the Axis forces occupied the Balkans during the second world war, they established the Independent State of Croatia (NDH, initials of the Serbo-Croatian: Nezavisna Država Hrvatska. This was led by the Ustaše movement under Ante Pavelić, which sought to create an ethnically pure Croatian state - an essentially fascistic political programme. The Ustaše's murderous and genocidal campaign against the Serbs and various minorities is the most important root of the antagonism that led to Balkan political disorder. In turn, the Ustaše were a reaction to the perceived Serbian dominance of the Kingdom of Yogoslavia in the reign, from 1921 to 34, of King Alexander I.
The War of Independence began when militant groups of Croat partisans attacked Serbian residential areas, which were then supported by units of the Serb-dominated Yugoslav army.
The population of Croatia is predominantly Roman Catholic.
