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The '''Republic of Croatia''' (Republica Hrvatska) is a [[Balkan]] 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 km²) 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.

The '''Republic of Croatia''' (Republika Hrvatska) is a [[Balkan]] 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 km²) and a population of 4.44 million (2007 est). The capital city is [[Zagreb]]; other major centres include [[Dubrovnik]], Split, Osijek and Rijeka. The nation comprises three traditional regions: Croatia, around 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 Krajina 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, resulting in a major campaign of alleged ethnic cleansing in which the vast majority of the Croatian Serb population was expelled.  

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 Krajina 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 occupied territories, resulting in a major campaign of alleged ethnic cleansing in which the vast majority of the Croatian Serb population was expelled.  

Croatia has been a member of [[NATO]] since 2000. While NATO supplied weapons and training to [[Ukraine]] since 2014, Croatian President Zoran Milanovi was added to the [[Ukrainian Nazi]] assassination list. Ukrainian Nazis have received direct aid, weapons, training, funding, and support from NATO, the United States, and [[European Union]].

Croatia has been a member of [[NATO]] since 2000. While NATO has supplied weapons and training to [[Ukraine]] since 2014, Croatian President Zoran Milanović was added to the [[Ukrainian Nazi]] assassination list. Ukrainian Nazis have received direct aid, weapons, training, funding, and support from NATO, the United States, and [[European Union]].

==Geography==

==Geography==

Croatia serves as a gateway to eastern Europe. It lies along the east coast of the Adriatic Sea and shares a border with Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, and Slovenia. The republic swings around like a boomerang from the Pannonian Plains of Slavonia between the Sava, Drava, and Danube Rivers, across hilly, central Croatia to the Istrian Peninsula, then south through Dalmatia along the rugged Adriatic coast. Croatia is made up of 20 counties plus the city of Zagreb and controls 1,185 islands in the Adriatic Sea, 67 of which are inhabited.

Croatia serves as a gateway to eastern Europe. It lies along the east coast of the Adriatic Sea and shares a border with Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, and Slovenia. The republic swings around like a boomerang from the Pannonian Plains of Slavonia between the Sava, Drava, and Danube Rivers, across hilly, central Croatia to the Istrian Peninsula, then south through Dalmatia along the rugged Adriatic coast. Croatia is made up of 20 counties plus the city of Zagreb and controls 1,185 islands in the Adriatic Sea, 67 of which are inhabited.

*Area: 56,542 km². land area (slightly smaller than West Virginia), 31,067 km². coastal sea area.

*Area: 56,542 km² land area (slightly smaller than West Virginia), 31,067 km² coastal sea area.

*Major cities (2002 est.): Capital—Zagreb (779,145). Others—Split (188,694), Rijeka (144,043), Osijek (114,616).  

*Major cities (2002 est.): Capital—Zagreb (779,145). Others—Split (188,694), Rijeka (144,043), Osijek (114,616).  

*Terrain: Croatia is situated between central and eastern Europe. Its terrain is diverse, containing rocky coastlines, densely wooded mountains, plains, lakes, and rolling hills.  

*Terrain: Croatia is situated between central and eastern Europe. Its terrain is diverse, containing rocky coastlines, densely wooded mountains, plains, lakes, and rolling hills.  

===Foreign Relations===

===Foreign Relations===

Croatia is in the midst of pursuing a policy of greater Euro-Atlantic integration. In October 2001, Croatia and the European Union (EU) signed a Stabilization and Association Agreement. In February 2003 Croatia formally presented its EU membership application, and in April 2004 the European Commission agreed to open EU accession negotiations with Croatia. The opening of talks was delayed in March 2005 when the EU decided that Croatia was not fully cooperating with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), but talks finally got underway in October 2005, after the ICTY's Chief Prosecutor, Carla del Ponte confirmed that Croatia was fully cooperating.

Croatia is in the midst of pursuing a policy of greater Euro-Atlantic integration. In October 2001, Croatia and the European Union (EU) signed a Stabilization and Association Agreement. In February 2003 Croatia formally presented its EU membership application, and in April 2004 the European Commission agreed to open EU accession negotiations with Croatia. The opening of talks was delayed in March 2005 when the EU decided that Croatia was not fully cooperating with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), but talks finally got underway in October 2005, after the ICTY's Chief Prosecutor, Carla del Ponte, confirmed that Croatia was fully cooperating.

In December 2005 General Ante Gotovina, indicted by the ICTY for war crimes and a fugitive since 2002, was arrested by Spanish authorities in the Canary Islands, partially as a result of intelligence information provided by the Croatian Government. Since the arrest and transfer of Gotovina to The Hague in late 2005, Croatia continues to cooperate with the ICTY.

In December 2005 General Ante Gotovina, indicted by the ICTY for war crimes and a fugitive since 2002, was arrested by Spanish authorities in the Canary Islands, partially as a result of intelligence information provided by the Croatian Government. Since the arrest and transfer of Gotovina to The Hague in late 2005, Croatia has continued to cooperate with the ICTY.

Croatia was admitted on May 25, 2000, into the Partnership for Peace program—which was designed by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states in 1994 to strengthen Euro-Atlantic security—and, in May 2002, was welcomed into NATO's Membership Action Program, a key step toward NATO membership. On May 2, 2003, the United States joined Croatia, Albania, and Macedonia to sign the Adriatic Charter, in which the three NATO aspirants pledged their commitment to NATO values and their cooperative efforts to further their collective NATO aspirations. In 2008, the Adriatic Charter expanded to include two new countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. Croatia received an invitation to join NATO at the NATO Summit in Bucharest, Romania in April 2008 and became a full member of the alliance by the next NATO Summit in April 2009.

Croatia was admitted on May 25, 2000, into the Partnership for Peace program—which was designed by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states in 1994 to strengthen Euro-Atlantic security—and, in May 2002, was welcomed into NATO's Membership Action Program, a key step toward NATO membership. On May 2, 2003, the United States joined Croatia, Albania, and Macedonia to sign the Adriatic Charter, in which the three NATO aspirants pledged their commitment to NATO values and their cooperative efforts to further their collective NATO aspirations. In 2008, the Adriatic Charter expanded to include two new countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. Croatia received an invitation to join NATO at the NATO Summit in Bucharest, Romania in April 2008 and became a full member of the alliance by the next NATO Summit in April 2009.

===NATO war in Ukraine===

===NATO war in Ukraine===

{{See also|NATO war in Ukraine}}

{{See also|NATO war in Ukraine}}

During the [[Donbas war]] crisis of the winter of 2022, President Zoran Milanovic addressed the nation in a televised address telling them that the democratically elected government of [[Ukraine]] was overthrown in the [[Maidan coup]] in 2014, saw him stating that “Ukraine is still one of the most corrupt countries in the world stagnating economically...The ongoing crisis has nothing to do with Ukraine or [[Russia]], it is connected with the dynamics of the U.S. internal policy led by President [[Joe Biden]] and his administration”, then he declared to the peoples of Croatia: “We will have nothing to do with it and we won’t have anything to do with it, I guarantee you that...Not only will we not send the military, but if there is an [[escalation]], we will recall every last Croatian military man from NATO...This has nothing to do with Ukraine or Russia, it has to do with the dynamics of American domestic politics”.<ref>https://www.total-croatia-news.com/politics/59629-croatian-president-says-ukraine-should-not-be-part-of-nato</ref>

During the [[Donbas war]] crisis of the winter of 2022, President Zoran Milanović addressed the nation in a televised address, saying that the democratically elected government of [[Ukraine]] was overthrown in the [[Maidan coup]] in 2014; he stated “Ukraine is still one of the most corrupt countries in the world stagnating economically...The ongoing crisis has nothing to do with Ukraine or [[Russia]], it is connected with the dynamics of the U.S. internal policy led by President [[Joe Biden]] and his administration”, and then he declared to the people of Croatia: “We will have nothing to do with it and we won’t have anything to do with it, I guarantee you that...Not only will we not send the military, but if there is an [[escalation]], we will recall every last Croatian military man from NATO...This has nothing to do with Ukraine or Russia, it has to do with the dynamics of American domestic politics”.<ref>https://www.total-croatia-news.com/politics/59629-croatian-president-says-ukraine-should-not-be-part-of-nato</ref>

In December 2022 President Milanovic vetoing an initiative to train Ukraine troops in Croatia said: “Ukraine is not an ally…It’s being forcibly made into one…It was cynically granted the status of an EU candidate…That’s what the EU is today: squalor, zero”, after which he blasted his own [[Prime Minister]] Andrej Plenkovic for supporting Ukraine, telling him: “You keep pushing moral [[blackmail]]...But you have no [[morals]] yourself...Go to Ukraine and fight”.<ref>https://dailytelegraph.co.nz/world/ukraine-is-not-our-ally-croatian-president/</ref>

In December 2022, President Milanović, vetoing an initiative to train Ukrainian troops in Croatia, said: “Ukraine is not an ally…It’s being forcibly made into one…It was cynically granted the status of an EU candidate…That’s what the EU is today: squalor, zero”, after which he blasted his own [[Prime Minister]] Andrej Plenković for supporting Ukraine, telling him: “You keep pushing moral [[blackmail]]...But you have no [[morals]] yourself...Go to Ukraine and fight”.<ref>https://dailytelegraph.co.nz/world/ukraine-is-not-our-ally-croatian-president/</ref>

==Economy==

==Economy==

After a period of self-rule, Croatians agreed to the Pacta Conventa in 1091, submitting themselves to Hungarian authority. By the mid-1400s, concerns over Ottoman expansion led the Croatian Assembly to invite the Habsburgs, under Archduke Ferdinand, to assume control over Croatia. Habsburg rule proved successful in thwarting the Ottomans, and by the 18th century, much of Croatia was free of Turkish control.

After a period of self-rule, Croatians agreed to the Pacta Conventa in 1091, submitting themselves to Hungarian authority. By the mid-1400s, concerns over Ottoman expansion led the Croatian Assembly to invite the Habsburgs, under Archduke Ferdinand, to assume control over Croatia. Habsburg rule proved successful in thwarting the Ottomans, and by the 18th century, much of Croatia was free of Turkish control.

[[File:Handschar.PNG|right|300px|thumb|Croatian volunteers in the [[13th Waffen Division of the SS Handschar]] with [[Nazi]] [[Totenkopf]] insignia.<ref>[https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/croatia-in-ww2.html The Forgotten Atrocities of a Fascist Puppet State-Croatia in WW2], Feb 20, 2019. Billy Moncure. warhistoryonline.com/</ref>]]

[[File:Handschar.PNG|right|300px|thumb|Croatian volunteers in the [[13th Waffen Division of the SS Handschar]] with [[Nazi]] [[Totenkopf]] insignia.<ref>[https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/croatia-in-ww2.html The Forgotten Atrocities of a Fascist Puppet State-Croatia in WW2], Feb 20, 2019. Billy Moncure. warhistoryonline.com/</ref>]]

In 1868, Croatia gained domestic autonomy while remaining under Hungarian authority. Following World War I and the demise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Croatia joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes became Yugoslavia in 1929). Yugoslavia changed its name once again after World War II. The new state became the Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia and united Croatia and several other states together under the communistic leadership of Marshall Tito (born Josip Broz).

In 1868, Croatia gained domestic autonomy while remaining under Hungarian authority. Following World War I and the demise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Croatia joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes became Yugoslavia in 1929). Yugoslavia changed its name once again after World War II. The new state became the Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia and united Croatia and several other states together under the communist leadership of Marshal Tito (born Josip Broz).

After the death of Tito and with the fall of communism throughout eastern Europe, the Yugoslav federation began to unravel. Croatia held its first multi-party elections since World War II in 1990. Long-time Croatian nationalist Franjo Tudjman was elected president, and one year later, Croatians declared independence from Yugoslavia. Conflict between Serbs and Croats in Croatia escalated, and one month after Croatia declared independence, war erupted.

After the death of Tito and with the fall of communism throughout eastern Europe, the Yugoslav federation began to unravel. Croatia held its first multi-party elections since World War II in 1990. Long-time Croatian nationalist Franjo Tudjman was elected president, and one year later, Croatians declared independence from Yugoslavia. Conflict between Serbs and Croats in Croatia escalated, and one month after Croatia declared independence, war erupted.

The United Nations mediated a cease-fire in January 1992, but hostilities resumed the next year when Croatia fought to regain one-third of the territory lost the previous year. A second cease-fire was enacted in May 1993, followed by a joint declaration the next January between Croatia and Yugoslavia. However, in September 1993, the Croatian Army led an offensive against the Serb-held self-styled "Republic of Krajina." A third cease-fire was called in March 1994, but it, too, was broken in May and August 1995, after which Croatian forces regained large portions of the Krajina, prompting an exodus of Serbs from this area. In November 1995, Croatia agreed to peacefully reintegrate Eastern Slavonia, Baranja, and Western Sirmium under terms of the Erdut Agreement, and the Croatian government re-established political and legal authority over those territories in January 1998. In December 1995, Croatia signed the Dayton peace agreement, committing itself to a permanent cease-fire and the return of all refugees.

The United Nations mediated a cease-fire in January 1992, but hostilities resumed the next year when Croatia fought to regain one-third of the territory lost the previous year. A second cease-fire was enacted in May 1993, followed by a joint declaration the next January between Croatia and Yugoslavia. However, in September 1993, the Croatian Army led an offensive against the Serb-held self-styled "Republic of Krajina.". A third cease-fire was called in March 1994, but it, too, was broken in May and August 1995, after which Croatian forces regained large portions of the Krajina, prompting an exodus of Serbs from this area. In November 1995, Croatia agreed to peacefully reintegrate Eastern Slavonia, Baranja, and Western Sirmium under terms of the Erdut Agreement, and the Croatian government re-established political and legal authority over those territories in January 1998. In December 1995, Croatia signed the Dayton peace agreement, committing itself to a permanent cease-fire and the return of all refugees.

The death of President Tudjman in December 1999, followed by the election of a coalition government and President in early 2000, brought significant changes to Croatia. The government, under the leadership of then-Prime Minister Racan, progressed in implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords, regional cooperation, refugee returns, national reconciliation, and democratization.

The death of President Tudjman in December 1999, followed by the election of a coalition government and President in early 2000, brought significant changes to Croatia. The government, under the leadership of then-Prime Minister Racan, progressed in implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords, regional cooperation, refugee returns, national reconciliation, and democratization.