Croatia
From Conservapedia
| Croatia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Flag |  |
| Capital | Zagreb |
| President | Stjepan Mesić |
| Premier | Ivo Sanader |
The Republic of Croatia (Republica Hrvatska) is a nation of southern Europe bounded by Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of 21,829 square miles (56,538 sq km) and a population of 4.44 millions (2007 est). The capital city is Zagreb; other major centres include Dubrovnik, Split, Osijek and Rijeka. The nation comprises three traditional regions: Croatia, around the Zagreb; Slavonia, the eastern territory extending to the Serbian border, and Dalmatia, the long and narrow coastal region.
From 1918 to 1991 Croatia formed part of Yugoslavia (it had a period of independence between 1941 and 1945 as a pro-Nazi puppet state). In 1991 it declared independence from Yugoslavia and was immediately embroiled in war with the Yugoslav National Army (JNA) and ethnic Serbian forces in the Karjina region bordering Bosnia-Herzegovina. Conflict with the JNA was fiercest in eastern Slavonia, with the city of Osijek suffering severe bombardment and the border town of Vukovar being besieged and then stormed by the JNA after a stubborn Croat resistance. The two conflicts ended in 1995 with a refurbished Croatian Army (armed and trained by the United States) reconquering rebel districts and the JNA withdrawing from occupying territories; many of Croatia's Serb minority population fled to Serbia.
