Country Description:

In the early 1990s, Yugoslavia began to unravel along ethnic lines. Slovenia, Croatia and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia declared independence in 1991; Bosnia and Herzegovina followed in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" in 1992. In 1999, massive expulsions by Serbs of ethnic Albanians living in the autonomous republic of Kosovo provoked an international response, including the NATO bombing of Serbia and the stationing of NATO and Russian peacekeepers in Kosovo. Blatant attempts to manipulate presidential balloting in October 2000 were followed by massive nationwide demonstrations and strikes that saw the election winner, Vojislav Kostunica, replace Milosevic.