Republika Srpska
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This article is about the Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For the former Republika Srpska Krajina in Croatia, see Republic of Serbian Krajina; for Republika Srbija (Republic of Serbia), see Serbia.
The Republika Srpska (RS, [
rɛpǔblika sr̩̂pskaː], Serbian-Kyrillic Република Српска/РС, also Srpska and in German-speaking countries incorrectly called Serbian Republic or Serbian Republic) is one of two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), along with the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is located in Southeastern Europe.
It has existed since the Bosnian War, is today inhabited by a majority of Bosnian Serbs and has its own political system with independent legislative, executive and judicial branches. According to Article 9 of the constitution, the capital of Republika Srpska is the city of Sarajevo, which is not itself in Republika Srpska. However, the de facto capital is Banja Luka, the largest city with almost 200,000 inhabitants, which has been the seat of government as well as the administrative, economic and cultural centre since 1998.
The area was a theatre of the Bosnian war, which lasted from 1992 to 1995. War crimes were committed, including the Srebrenica massacre.
Geography
The Republika Srpska covers 24,857 km², or just under 49% of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its territory covers the north and east of Bosnia and Herzegovina. There is no territorial connection between the two sub-areas west and east of Brčko. The corridor a few kilometres wide by which they were connected in the past is now part of the Brčko District, which is a condominium of both entities under the direct control of the state as a whole. The borders of Republika Srpska enclose the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the north and east. The territory of Republika Srpska borders Croatia to the north, Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and again briefly Croatia.
The main cities of Republika Srpska are:
- in the northwestern part of the country:
- Banja Luka (seat of government)
- Prijedor
- Doboj
- Prnjavor
- Novi degree
- Gradiška
- Derventa
- in the eastern part of the country:
- Istočno Sarajevo including Istočno Novo Sarajevo and Pale (former capital)
- Bijeljina
- Zvornik
- Trebinje
- Foča
- Višegrad
History
→ Main article: History of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Republika Srpska was proclaimed on 9 January 1992 under the name Srpska Republika Bosna i Hercegovina and received its current name on 12 August 1992. The Dayton Peace Agreement of 1995 recognised Republika Srpska as one of two entities of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On 1 March 1992, the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia following a referendum which showed that over 99% of those voting wished to do so. The turnout was 67% after Radovan Karadžić called for a boycott.
The war aim of the Bosnian Serb leadership in the ensuing Bosnian War was to conquer as large a part of Bosnia-Herzegovina as possible and to unite it with Serbia at a later date in the sense of a Greater Serbia. It was significantly supported in this by the Milošević regime. In the process, numerous "ethnic cleansings" and other war crimes were committed against Bosniaks (for example, the Srebrenica massacre, which is classified as genocide) and Croats.
The Dayton Agreement recognised Republika Srpska as an entity of the newly constituted state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with 49% of the territory of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The territory includes towns such as Srebrenica, Višegrad and Foča, whose Bosniak or Croat populations were displaced or murdered. The return of displaced persons is difficult, partly due to the persistent nationalism of the Republika Srpska leadership.
