History UsefulNotes / Kosovo

Kosovo went into the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations administration for the best part of a decade, with any attempt by the West to conclude independence being stymied by UsefulNotes/{{Russia}} in its traditional role as "Big Bro" to the Serbs. As a result, it legally remained a part of Yugoslavia (later Serbia and Montenegro, and then just UsefulNotes/{{Serbia}}).

Eventually, in February 2008, Kosovo declared independence as the Republic of Kosovo ('''Albanian:''' ''Republika e Kosovës'', '''Serbian:''' Република Косово ''Republika Kosovo'') - however to date [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_recognition_of_Kosovo only a limited number of countries]] have recognized it. All of NATO has (except UsefulNotes/{{Spain}}, UsefulNotes/{{Romania}}, UsefulNotes/{{Greece}} and UsefulNotes/{{Slovakia}}, because all of them apart from Greece[[note]]they have the thorny issue of UsefulNotes/NorthCyprus[[/note]] have independence movements back home: Basques and Catalans in Spain, Hungarians in Slovakia, Székely/Hungarians in Romania), Russia has declared the independence to be "illegal" and UsefulNotes/{{China}} is passively supporting the Serbian side. Kosovo has wisely not applied for UN membership. Most Serbs living in Kosovo were predictably angered, with four Serb-majority municipalities in the north of the country going so far as to shut off any attempt by the Kosovar government to reach out to them (since they are still part of the Kosovo region/province/what-have-you, they are obliged to allow visitations by the United Nations).

Famous Kosovar people:

Media set in or pertaining to Kosovo:

At any rate, a campaign during the 1990s of Albanian protests turned nasty after the Dayton Agreement (sorting out the war in the rest of Yugoslavia) didn't address Kosovo. Realizing that the West just wasn't interested, the organization of "KLA" started a rather more... ''active'' campaign. Slobodan Milošević's Yugoslavian army responded in kind, and the result was the UsefulNotes/{{NATO}} bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999.

Part of the problem was that Kosovo is ethnically mostly Albanian, but historically it is very much part of the Serbian national identity - the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, despite being a defeat for the Serbs against the invading Ottoman Turks, is still a matter of great national pride and Serbs got their land back by fighting (with Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarians etc.) to liberate the Balkans from Ottoman rule. The Albanian people have been living there since the 10th or 11th century and they became the overwhelming majority only after the other groups of the region, Serbs[[note]]people who arrived from Northern areas during the Dark Ages, gradually substituting the Romance speakers, but not the semi-nomadic Albanians[[/note]], in that region migrated en masse to Belgrade[[note]]it would be better said 'forcefully removed from...', similarly to what happened to the Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarians during the same time[[/note]] because of the Ottoman Empire, later, during the World War II when Albania became an Italian protectorate and expanded to Albanian-populated areas outside of the country, including Kosovo.

Part of the problem was that Kosovo is ethnically mostly Albanian, but historically it is very much part of the Serbian national identity - the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, despite being a defeat for the Serbs against the invading Ottoman Turks, is still a matter of great national pride and Serbs got their land back by fighting (with Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarians etc.) to liberate Balkans from Ottoman rule. The Albanian people have been living there since the 10th or 11th century and they became the overwhelming majority only after the other groups of the region, Serbs[[note]]people who arrived from Northern areas during the Dark Ages, gradually substituting the Romance speakers, but not the semi-nomadic Albanians[[/note]], in that region migrated en masse to Belgrade[[note]]it would be better said 'forcefully removed from...', similarly to what happened to the Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarians during the same time[[/note]] because of the Ottoman Empire, later, during the World War II when Albania became an Italian protectorate and expanded to Albanian-populated areas outside of the country, including Kosovo.

Like the states of UsefulNotes/{{Croatia}}, UsefulNotes/{{Bosnia}}, UsefulNotes/{{North Macedonia}} and UsefulNotes/{{Slovenia}}, Kosovo tried to break away from UsefulNotes/{{Yugoslavia}} in the early 1990s and declared its independence. Unlike the others, it didn't stick and was only recognized by UsefulNotes/{{Albania}}.

Part of the problem was that Kosovo is ethnically mostly Albanian, but historically it is very much part of the Serbian national identity - the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, despite being a defeat for the Serbs against the invading Ottoman Turks, is still a matter of great national pride and Serbs got their land back by fighting (with Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarians etc.) to liberate Balkans from Ottoman rule. The Albanian people have been living there since the 10th or 11th century[[note]]The state of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasian_Albania Caucasian Albania]] is increasingly thought of as the likely place of origin of the Albanian people [[/note]] and they became the overwhelming majority only after the other groups of the region, Serbs[[note]]people who arrived from Northern areas during the Dark Ages, gradually substituting the Romance speakers, but not the semi-nomadic Albanians[[/note]], in that region migrated en masse to Belgrade[[note]]it would be better said 'forcefully removed from...', similarly to what happened to the Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarians during the same time[[/note]] because of the Ottoman Empire, later, during the World War II when Albania became an Italian protectorate and expanded to Albanian-populated areas outside of the country, including Kosovo.

Kosovo got back in international focus once again when the Republic of Crimea declared independence from pro-NATO UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}} and became a part of Russia, which is now described as unlawful by the same countries that supported the independence of Kosovo. [[AnalogyBackfire As many have pointed out]], there was no genocide on the Crimean people to cause the people to rise against the Ukrainian government, making the cases quite different.

->As Kosovo is one of the only three countries that do not have lyrics for its national anthem, click on [[https://www.kosovothanksyou.com/news/?p=364 this link to hear what the anthem sounds like]]

* '''Highest point:''' Velika Rudoka (2660 m/8,728 ft) (94th)

* The third season premier of ''Series/SEALTeam'' has Bravo Team raiding an apartment in Kosovo in search of a bombmaker, which unfortunately ends in failure when he kills himself with a suicide vest.

[[AC:The Kosovar Flag]]

* '''Lowest point:''' White Drin (297 m/974 ft) (55th)

* '''Highest point:''' Velika Rudoka (2660 m/8,728 ft) (89th)

* '''Highest point:''' Velika Rudoka (2660 m/8,728 ft) (88th)

* '''Highest point:''' Velika Rudoka (2660 m/8,728 ft) (108th)

* '''ISO-3166-1 Code:''' [[XtremelyKoolLetterz XK]]

* Music/RitaOra, born Rita Sahatçiu, singer-songwriter. Born in the capital Pristina, moved to the [[UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} UK]]. Became honorary ambassador of the country in 2015.

Part of the problem was that Kosovo is ethnically mostly Albanian, but historically it is very much part of the Serbian national identity - the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, despite being a defeat for the Serbs against the invading Ottoman Turks, is still a matter of great national pride and Serbs got their land back by fighting (with Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarians etc.) to liberate Balkans from Ottoman rule. The Albanian people have been living there since the 10th or 11th century[[note]]The state of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasian_Albania Caucasian Albania]] is increasingly tought of as the likely place of origin of the Albanian people [[/note]] and they became the overwhelming majority only after the other groups of the region, Serbs[[note]]people who arrived from Northern areas during the Dark Ages, gradually substituting the Romance speakers, but not the semi-nomadic Albanians[[/note]], in that region migrated en masse to Belgrade[[note]]it would be better said 'forcefully removed from...', similarly to what happened to the Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarians during the same time[[/note]] because of the Ottoman Empire, later, during the World War II when Albania became an Italian protectorate and expanded to Albanian-populated areas outside of the country, including Kosovo.

By the way, the overwhelming majority of the population (around 95%) are followers of Sunni Islam, which may count as a RealityIsUnrealistic and an AluminumChristmasTrees to people who couldn't believe that there is a Muslim-majority country in Europe. They're not Turks (though such term is a well-established offensive slur to refer to Muslims in the Balkans, hence [[Webcomic/{{Polandball}} "kebabs"]]); 500+ years of Ottoman rule ''must'' had left some kind of impact in the local culture[[note]] Without the Ottomans, we wouldn't have {{Dracula}}.[[/note]] and faith, which includes the mass conversion of local Albanians, being one of the few European ethnic groups under Ottoman rule who did so.

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Part of the problem was that Kosovo is ethnically mostly Albanian, but historically it is very much part of the Serbian national identity - the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, despite being a defeat for the Serbs against the invading Ottoman Turks, is still a matter of great national pride and Serbs got their land back by fighting (with Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarians etc.) to liberate Balkans from Ottoman rule. The Albanian people have been living there since the 10th or 11th century[[note]]The state of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasian_Albania Caucasian Albania]] is increasingly associated as the likely place of origin of the Albanian people [[/note]], they became the overwhelming majority only after the other groups of the region, Serbs[[note]]people who arrived from Northern areas during the Dark Ages, gradually substituting the Romance speakers, but not the semi-nomadic Albanians[[/note]], in that region migrated en masse to Belgrade[[note]]it would be better said 'forcefully removed from...', similarly to what happened to the Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarians during the same time[[/note]] because of the Ottoman Empire, later, during the World War II when Albania became an Italian protectorate and expanded to Albanian-populated areas outside of the country, including Kosovo.

At any rate, a campaign during the 1990s of Albanian protests turned nasty after the Dayton Agreement (sorting out the war in the rest of Yugoslavia) didn't address Kosovo. Realizing that the West just wasn't interested, the organization of "KLA" started a rather more... ''active'' campaign. Slobodan Milošević's Yugoslavian army responded in kind (and that meant [[https://www.hrw.org/report/2001/10/26/under-orders-war-crimes-kosovo ethnic cleansing]]), and the result was the UsefulNotes/{{NATO}} bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999.

Part of the problem was that Kosovo is ethnically mostly Albanian, but historically it is very much part of the Serbian national identity - the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, despite being a defeat for the Serbs against the invading Ottoman Turks, is still a matter of great national pride and Serbs got their land back by fighting (with Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarians etc.) to liberate Balkans from Ottoman rule. Also, it's worth mentioning that although the Albanians have lived in Kosovo since antiquity[[note]]It's part the Proto-Albanian homeland one of the few regions that is undisputed according to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uzrUEVwfo8 current scholarship]][[/note]] and have been inhabiting it in [[http://www.albanianhistory.net/de/texts1000-1799/AH1689_DE.html significantly large numbers]] in the Middle Ages, they became the overwhelming majority only after the other groups of the region, Serbs[[note]]people who arrived from Northern areas during the Dark Ages, gradually substituting the Romance speakers, but not the semi-nomadic Albanians[[/note]], in that region migrated en masse to Belgrade[[note]]it would be better said 'forcefully removed from...', similarly to what happened to the Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarians during the same time[[/note]] because of the Ottoman Empire, later, during the World War II when Albania became an Italian protectorate and expanded to Albanian-populated areas outside of the country, including Kosovo.

[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kv-map.gif]]

Part of the problem was that Kosovo is ethnically mostly Albanian, but historically it is very much part of the Serbian national identity - the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, despite being a defeat for the Serbs against the invading Ottoman Turks, is still a matter of great national pride and Serbs got their land back by fighting (with Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarians etc.) to liberate Balkans from Ottoman rule. Also, it's worth mentioning that although the Albanians have lived in Kosovo since antiquity[[note]]It's part the Proto-Albanian homeland one of the few regions that is undisputed according to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uzrUEVwfo8 current scholarship]][[/note]] and have been inhabiting it in [[http://www.albanianhistory.net/de/texts1000-1799/AH1689_DE.html significantly large numbers]] in the Middle Ages, they became the overwhelming majority only after the other groups of the region, Serbs[[note]]people who arrived from Northern areas during the Dark Ages, gradually substituting the Romance speakers, but not the semi-nomadic Albanians[[/note]], in that region migrated en masse to Belgrade[[note]]it would be better said 'forcefully removed from...', similarly to what happened to the Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarians during the same time[[/note]] because of the Ottoman Empire, later, during the World War 2 when Albania became an Italian protectorate, expanding to Kosovo.

At any rate, a campaign during the 1990s of Albanian protests turned nasty after the Dayton Agreement (sorting out the war in the rest of Yugoslavia) didn't address Kosovo. Realizing that the West just wasn't interested, the organization of "KLA" started a rather more... ''active'' campaign. Slobodan Milosevic's Serbian army (well, technically Serbian/Montenegrin) responded[[note]] in [[https://www.hrw.org/report/2001/10/26/under-orders-war-crimes-kosovo ethnic cleansing]] [[/note]], and the result was the NATO bombing of Serbia and Montenegro in 1999.

Kosovo went into UN administration for the best part of a decade, with any attempt by the West to conclude independence being stymied by Russia in her traditional role as "Big Bro" to the Serbs.

Eventually, in February 2008, Kosovo declared independence - however to date [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_recognition_of_Kosovo only a limited number of countries]] have recognized it. All of NATO has (except Spain, Romania, Greece and Slovakia, because all of them apart from Greece[[note]]they have the thorny issue of UsefulNotes/NorthCyprus[[/note]] have independence movements back home: Basques and Catalans in Spain, Hungarians in Slovakia, Székely/Hungarians in Romania), Russia has declared the independence to be "illegal" and China is passively supporting the Serbian side. Kosovo has wisely not applied for UN membership. On 22 July 2010, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion after Serbia requested it that the declaration of independence was legal, which the International Court confirmed it was because there is no law that prohibits the declaration of independence.

Kosovo got back in international focus once again when the Republic of Crimea declared independence from pro-NATO UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}} and became a part of the [[UsefulNotes/{{Russia}} Russian Federation]], which is now described as unlawful by the same countries that supported the independence of Kosovo[[note]]As many have pointed out, there was no genocide on Crimean people to cause the people to rise against Ukrainian government, making the cases quite different.[[/note]].

By the way, the overwhelming majority of the population (around 95%) are followers of Sunni Islam, which may count as a RealityIsUnrealistic and an AluminumChristmasTrees to people who couldn't believe there is a large number of, let alone ''indigenous'', Muslims in Europe. They're not Turks (though such term is a well-established offensive slur to refer to Muslims in the Balkans, hence [[Webcomic/{{Polandball}} "kebabs"]]); 400+ years of Ottoman rule ''must'' had left some kind of impact in the local culture[[note]] Without the Ottomans, we wouldn't have {{Dracula}}.[[/note]] and faith, which includes the mass conversion of local Albanians, being one of the few European ethnic groups under Ottoman rule who did so. Contrary to popular beliefs, the [[BalkanizeMe conflicts in the Balkans]] seldom have religious connotations (unlike the horror that is the Middle East). As with UsefulNotes/TheTroubles, differing faiths are mainly used as national identities, albeit a more pronounced one. According to a recent research, [[http://www.interfaithkosovo.org/reports/414/kosovo-receives-free-and-equal-status-for-freedom-of-thought/?lang=En Kosovo is the only Balkan country to have a "Free and equal" status against atheists and religious minorities]].

Famous Kosovar people:
* Mother Teresa of Calcutta, born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. A Kosovar Albanian by ethnicity, though she was born in Skopje in what is now UsefulNotes/{{North Macedonia}}.
* Music/RitaOra, born Rita Sahatçiu, singer-songwriter. Born in the capital Pristina, moved to the [[UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} UK]]. Became honorary ambassador of the country in 2015.
* Majlinda Kelmendi, judoka and Kosovo's first Olympic gold medalist in 2016 (which also happens to be their debut year).

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->The blue field alludes to the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations, which administered the region after UsefulNotes/TheYugoslavWars. At the center is a golden silhouette of the map of Kosovo -- the only flag besides that of UsefulNotes/{{Cyprus}} to use its own map. The map in turn is crowned with six white stars, traditionally symbolizing the nation's six major ethnic groups: Albanians, Serbs, Turks, Gorani, Roma and Bosniaks; an Albanian ultra-nationalist ideology, meanwhile, attributes it to the regions of Greater Albania: mainland UsefulNotes/{{Albania}}, Kosovo, western parts of [[UsefulNotes/{{North Macedonia}} the Republic of North Macedonia]], parts of northern UsefulNotes/{{Greece}}, parts of southern UsefulNotes/{{Montenegro}} and the Presevo Valley in southern UsefulNotes/{{Serbia}}.

* ''Literature/TheDayOfThePelican''

* Mother Teresa of Calcutta, born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. A Kosovar Albanian by ethnicity, though she was born in Skopje in what is now UsefulNotes/{{NorthMacedonia}}.