The Republika Srpska (RS) is one of the two political entities that compose the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the other entity is the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina). Flag of Serbia. ... The Serbian flag is a tricolour with Pan-Slavic colors. ... Coat of arms of Republika Srpska The coat of arms of the Republika Srpska shows, on a red shield, overheaded by the Karadjordjevic crown, a bicephalic silver eagle in take off, armed with gold, with golden tongue and legs, the chest covered by a red shield with the Serbian cross... An official language is something that is given a unique status in the countries, states, and other territories. ... The Serbian language or Serb language is one of the standard versions of the Central-South Slavic diasystem, formerly (and still frequently) called Serbo-Croatian. ... The Bosnian language (bosanski jezik) is one of the standard versions of the Central South Slavic diasystem, formerly known as Serbo_Croatian. ... In politics a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has an alternative meaning based on an alternative meaning of capital) is the principal city or town associated with its government. ... View of Sarajevo from the east. ... Mayor Dragoljub Davidović Area  - Total 93. ... This article explains the meaning of area as a physical quantity. ... 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Population density can be used as a measurement of any tangible item. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Serbs (in the Serbian language Срби, Srbi) are a south Slavic people living chiefly in Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Bosniaks (natively: Bošnjaci) are South Slavs descended from those who converted to Islam during the Ottoman period (15th-19th century). ... President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, universities, and countries. ... A prime minister may be either: the chief or leading member of the cabinet of the top-level government in a country having a parliamentary system of government; or the official, in countries with a semi-presidential system of government, appointed to manage the civil service and execute the directives... For the novel by Ayn Rand, see Anthem (novel). ... Bože pravde (God of Justice) is the anthem of Serbia and Republika Srpska. ... Time zones are areas of the Earth that have adopted the same standard time, usually referred to as the local time. ... UTC also stands for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Coordinated Universal Time or UTC, also sometimes referred to as Zulu time, the basis for civil time, differs by an integral number of seconds from atomic time and a fractional number of seconds from UT1. ... A 50 konvertibilnih maraka banknote The convertible mark or konvertibilna marka in Bosnian is the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Government type: emerging democracy Administrative divisions: there are two first-order administrative divisions referred to as the Entities - the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska See Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina Independence: April 1992 (from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) National holiday: Bosnia and Herzegovina - BiH... Federation of BiH shaded red Official languages Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Capital Sarajevo Area  – Total  – % water  26,110 km²  n/a Population  – Total (2002)  – Density  2,318,972  88/km² Ethnic groups (2002) Bosniaks: 72,9% Croats: 21,8% Serbs: 4,4% and others: 1,0% President Niko Lozančić Time zone...

Name

Republika Srpska is primarily inhabited by Serbs. In English it is sometimes called the Serb Republic or Republic of Srpska, although the latter is an incorrect translation ("Srpska" is an adjective, not a noun). Because of the potential for confusion between the "Serb Republic" (Republika Srpska) and the "Republic of Serbia" (Republika Srbija), the name "Republika Srpska" is often used in its untranslated form in non-Slavic countries to avoid any confusion with The Republic of Serbia. This article follows that convention. Serbs (in the Serbian language Срби, Srbi) are a south Slavic people living chiefly in Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... An adjective is a part of speech which modifies a noun, usually making its meaning more specific. ... A noun, or noun substantive, is a word or phrase that refers to a person, place, thing, event, substance or quality. ... The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. ... Serbia and Montenegro  – Serbia    – Kosovo and Metohia        (UN administration)    – Vojvodina  – Montenegro Official language Serbian1 Capital Belgrade Area  – Total  – % water  88,361 km²  n/a Population  – Total (2002)     (without Kosovo)  – Density  7. ...

History

Origins

For the origins and early history of Serbs in the territory of today's Republika Srpska, see History of the Serbs. Serbs (in the Serbian language Срби, Srbi) are a south Slavic people living chiefly in Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. ...

Also see: Vrbaska banovina, History of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bosanska Krajina. Map showing banovinas in 1929 (Vrbaska banovina is coloured green, in the left part of map) Vrbaska banovina (Banovina of Vrbas) was a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. ... This is the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Bosanska Krajina (lit Bosnian Bosnia and Herzegovina enclosed by three rivers - Sava, Una and Vrbas. ...

Creation of Republika Srpska

During the political crisis that followed the secession of Slovenia and Croatia from the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on June 25, 1991, a separate Bosnian Serb Assembly was founded on October 24, 1991, as the representative body of Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was a Balkan state that existed from 1945 to 1992. ...

A plebiscite was held on November 9 and 10, 1991, that asked citizens whether they want to remain within Yugoslavia. The parliamentary government of Bosnia and Herzegovina asserted that this plebiscite was illegal, but the Bosnian Serb Assembly acknowledged its results. On November 21, 1991, the Assembly proclaimed that all those municipalities, local communities, and populated places in which over 50% of the people of Serbian nationality had voted, as well as those places where citizens of other nationalities had expressed themselves in favour of remaining in a joint Yugoslav state, would be territory of the federal Yugoslav state.

On January 9, 1992, the Bosnian Serb Assembly adopted a declaration on the Proclamation of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Republika Srpska Bosne i Hercegovine). On February 28, 1992, the constitution of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared that the state's territory included Serb autonomous regions, municipalities, and other Serbian ethnic entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (including regions described as "places in which the Serbian people remained in the minority due to the genocide conducted against them during World War II"), and it was declared to be a part of the federal Yugoslav state.

From February 29 to March 2, 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina held a referendum on independence. The majority of Bosnian Serbs boycotted the vote on the grounds that it was unconstitutional because the referendum bypassed the veto power of the representatives of the Serbian people in the Bosnian parliament. On April 6, 1992, the European Community formally recognised the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its independence on April 7, 1992. On August 12, 1992, the reference to Bosnia and Herzegovina was dropped from the name, and it became simply Republika Srpska. The European Community (EC), most important of three European Communities, was originally founded on March 25, 1957 by the signing of the Treaty of Rome under the name of European Economic Community. ...

War in Bosnia

The Bosnian Serb Army evolved from Bosnian Serb officers and soldiers of Yugoslav People's Army, maintained and expanded the borders of Republika Srpska during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia. Bosnian Serb Army, officially Army of the Republika Srpska (Serbian Војска Републике Српске/Vojska Republike Srpske, ВРС/VRS) is the military of the Bosnian Serb political entity of Republika Srpska. ... The Yugoslav Peoples Army (Jugoslavenska/Jugoslovenska narodna armija, JNA, Slovene Jugoslovanska ljudska armada, JLA) was the army of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia prior to its dissolution. ... This is the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ...

On May 12, 1992, at a session of the Bosnian Serb Assembly, Radovan Karadzic announced the six "strategic objectives" of the Serbian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina: . Radovan Karadžić Radovan Karadžić (born June 19, 1945) is a Bosnian Serb politician, poet, psychiatrist and accused war criminal. ...

1. Establish state borders separating the Serbian people from the other two ethnic communities.
2. Set up a corridor between Semberija and Krajina.
3. Establish a corridor in the Drina river valley, that is, eliminate the Drina as a border separating Serbian states.
4. Establish a border on the Una and Neretva rivers.
5. Divide the city of Sarajevo into Serbian and Muslim parts and establish effective state authorities in both parts.
6. Ensure access to the sea for Republika Srpska.

At the same session, the Bosnian Serb Assembly voted to create the Vojska Republike Srpske (VRS) (Army of the Republika Srpska), and appointed Ratko Mladic, the commander of the Second Military District of the Yugoslav federal army, as commander of the VRS Main Staff. At the end of May 1992, after the withdrawal of Yugoslav forces from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Second Military District was essentially transformed into the Main Staff of the VRS. The new army immediately set out to achieve by military means the six "strategic objectives" of the Serbian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the goals of which were reaffirmed by an operational directive issued by General Mladic on November 19, 1992). Bosanska Krajina (lit Bosnian Bosnia and Herzegovina enclosed by three rivers - Sava, Una and Vrbas. ... Drina is a river on the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro. ... Una can mean: Una, a river in Bosnia and Croatia, tributary to Sava Una, a city in Bahia, Brazil Una, a district of Himachal Pradesh, India Una-, a purported SI prefix. ... Neretva (also Неретва) is a river in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. ... View of Sarajevo from the east. ... The Adriatic Sea Source: NASA The Adriatic Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea separating the Apennine peninsula (Italy) from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges. ... Ratko Mladić Mladić (centre of the screen) is a fugitive from the ICTY and faces charges from prosecutor Carla del Ponte (giving the talk). ...

Various allegations have been made with regard to the nature of the Serb Republic with respect to the amount of ethnic cleansing and other war crimes committed against non-Serbs in territory controlled by the Republika Srpska and its military forces. So far, the authorities of Republika Srpska have only admitted to two massacres: the Vlasic massacre of 90 Bosniak civilians in 1992 and the 1995 massacre of 5-8,000 Bosniaks at Srebrenica. Both its founding President and war-time military leader Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic are sought by the Hague Tribunal but some of those responsible for concentration camps (not to be confused with Nazi-style extermination camps) at Omarska, Trnopolje and Manjaca remain in positions of local authority. To some, the name and insignia of Republika Srpska are inherently intolerant towards other Bosnians and evoke very negative connotations of war-time problems for them. The term ethnic cleansing refers to various policies of forcibly removing people of another ethnic group. ... A war crime is a punishable offense, under international law, for violations of the law of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ... Srebrenica Srebrenica is a town in the east of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Republika Srpska entity. ... The phrase Hague Tribunal can also be used to refer to ICTY. The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), also known as the Hague Tribunal is an international organization based in The Hague in the Netherlands. ... A concentration camp is a large detention centre created for political opponents, aliens, specific ethnic or religious groups, civilians of a critical war-zone, or other groups of people, often during a war. ... Starved detainees at the Omarska camp, ITN pictures that went around the world Omarska is a locality near Prijedor in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina. ...

Legitimacy

Republika Srpska map. Internal RS borders are not determined on natural geographical features of the region. Its borders were postulated as part of the political agreement that was based on ethnic division and are used to determine the extents of political jurisdictions within entities. On the ground there is no active border between RS and FBiH and one would generally not know the difference when crossing from one entity into another.

The legal existence of Republika Srpska was postulated by the Agreed Basic Principles issued on September 8, 1995, and the Further Agreed Basic Principles issued on September 26, 1995, and was confirmed by the Dayton Peace Agreement, although Republika Srpska has never received international recognition as a state. (Under an agreement on August 29, 1995, a unified delegation composed of three delegates of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and three delegates of Republika Srpska — led by former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević — was authorized to negotiate and sign the Dayton Peace Agreement on behalf of the Republika Srpska.) The Dayton Agreement or Dayton Accords is the name given to the agreement at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio to end the war in the former Yugoslavia that had gone on for the previous three years, in particular the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Official language Serbian written in Cyrillic alphabet1 Capital Belgrade2 President3 Svetozar Marović Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 105th 102,350 km² 0. ... Slobodan Milošević. ...

Republika Srpska was not created by the Dayton Peace Agreement; indeed, Republika Srpska was a party to several of the annexes to the General Framework Agreement. Republika Srpska has maintained its territorial and legal continuity since it was proclaimed on January 9, 1992, and the constitution adopted in 1992 (as amended) remains in force to this day.

A revision or withdrawal of the Dayton Agreement would not cause a discontinuation of Republika Srpska (nor a number of other changes in the political makeup of Bosnia and Herzegovina possibly required to make the government more straightforward), only a democratic consensus.

Politics

The RS has its own government, coat of arms, anthem, president, parliament (the Народна Скупштина Републике Српске/Narodna Skupština Republike Srpske), customs department, postal system, and airline (Air Srpska). Air Srpska (R6/SBK) was the official charter airline carrier of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ...

Republika Srpska also has its own entity police force and a standing army (Vojska Republike Srpske ). In late 2004 negotiations begun on integrating the police systems of both entities, including the transfer of the administration from the entity ministries to a new state-level Ministry of Security. Negotiations to place the armies of both entities under the control of a new state-level Ministry of Defence also begun in autumn of 2004. Bosnian Serb Army, officially Army of the Republika Srpska (Serbian Војска Републике Српске/Vojska Republike Srpske, ВРС/VRS) is the military of the Bosnian Serb political entity of Republika Srpska. ...

1993 5000 Dinar banknote showing Petar Kocic

From 1992-94 RS had its own currency, the Republika Srpska dinar, but now uses the convertible mark along with the rest of Bosnia-Herzegovina. It uses the Serbian tricolour as its flag. Although the constitution names Sarajevo as the capital of the RS, the northwestern city of Banja Luka is the headquarters of most of the institutions of government — including the parliament — and the de facto capital. Republika Srpska 5000 dinars 1993 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Republika Srpska 5000 dinars 1993 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Petar Kočić Petar Kočić (Cyrillic - Петар Кочић) (1877 — 1916) was Serbian poet and writer. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... A five-dinar note featuring Saddam Hussein The word Dinar (in Arabic and Persian: دينار) traces its origin back to the Roman currency, the denarius (pl. ... The Serbian flag is a tricolour with Pan-Slavic colors. ... View of Sarajevo from the east. ... Mayor Dragoljub Davidović Area  - Total 93. ...

Administrative divisions

Republika Srpska is divided into municipalities. There are sixty-three municipalities within Republika Srpska. A municipality or general-purpose district (compare with: special-purpose district) is an administrative local area generally composed of a clearly defined territory and commonly referring to a city, town, or village government. ...

Also a significant portion of the Brcko District (48% of its area) was created from Republika Srpska's territory (Republika Srpska controlled this territory until March 5th, 1999; see the History and Mandate of the OHR North/Brcko (http://www.ohr.int/ohr-offices/brcko/history/default.asp?content_id=5531)). When the Brcko District was created, Republika Srpska's territory within the District (as well as that of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina) became a shared territory of both entities. District Brcko's territory was defined as being shared by both entities as a condominium (http://www.ohr.int/ohr-offices/brcko/gen-info/default.asp?content_id=5528), but it was not placed under control of either of the two, and is hence under direct jurisdiction of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Republika Srpska's authorities never officially accepted the Brcko Arbitration result, but nevertheless had to comply. Brčko. ... Federation of BiH shaded red Official languages Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Capital Sarajevo Area  – Total  – % water  26,110 km²  n/a Population  – Total (2002)  – Density  2,318,972  88/km² Ethnic groups (2002) Bosniaks: 72,9% Croats: 21,8% Serbs: 4,4% and others: 1,0% President Niko Lozančić Time zone...

Economy

Today, Republika Srpska is the poorer political entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Miscellaneous

1994 Postage Stamp

In 1992, the new government of RS issued postage stamps and currency -- prized abroad by collectors. Republika Srpska postage stamp from 1994 depicting Tavna Monstery, originally built in the 13th century by Nemanjići, near Bijeljina This image of a postage stamp may be copyrighted and/or have other restrictions on its reproduction imposed by the issuing authority. ... Republika Srpska postage stamp from 1994 depicting Tavna Monstery, originally built in the 13th century by Nemanjići, near Bijeljina This image of a postage stamp may be copyrighted and/or have other restrictions on its reproduction imposed by the issuing authority. ...

Republika Srpska does not have its own Internet domain name (nor does the Federation), but its institutions do not prefer the Bosnia-Herzegovina TLD (.BA) or indeed any other single TLD. Third parties offer the subdomain .RS under either one of the top level domains .BA (Bosnia & Herzegovina) [1] (http://www.rs.ba/) or .SR (Suriname, but resembling Serbia, which actually uses .YU) [2] (http://www.rs.sr/). A domain name is the unique name of a computer on the Internet that distinguishes it from the other systems on the network. ... Federation of BiH shaded red Official languages Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Capital Sarajevo Area  – Total  – % water  26,110 km²  n/a Population  – Total (2002)  – Density  2,318,972  88/km² Ethnic groups (2002) Bosniaks: 72,9% Croats: 21,8% Serbs: 4,4% and others: 1,0% President Niko Lozančić Time zone... A top-level domain (TLD) is the last part of which Internet domain names consist of. ... Serbia and Montenegro  – Serbia    – Kosovo and Metohia        (UN administration)    – Vojvodina  – Montenegro Official language Serbian1 Capital Belgrade Area  – Total  – % water  88,361 km²  n/a Population  – Total (2002)     (without Kosovo)  – Density  7. ...

See also

• History of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina

This is the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Federation of BiH shaded red Official languages Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Capital Sarajevo Area  – Total  – % water  26,110 km²  n/a Population  – Total (2002)  – Density  2,318,972  88/km² Ethnic groups (2002) Bosniaks: 72,9% Croats: 21,8% Serbs: 4,4% and others: 1,0% President Niko Lozančić Time zone... Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Categories: Bosnia and Herzegovina | Politics of Bosnia and Herzegovina | Lists of subnational entities | Bosnia and Herzegovina geography stubs ...

Official pages

• Government page (http://www.vladars.net/en/)
• President page (http://www.predsjednikrs.net/engleski/)
• National Assembly page (http://www.narodnaskupstinars.net/)
• Constitutional Court page (http://www.ustavnisud.org/)
• Office of the Public Prosecutor page (http://www.tuzilastvo-rs.org/)
• Ministry of Interior page (http://www.mup.vladars.net/)
• Ministry for Refugees and Displaced Persons page (http://www.mirl.org/)
• The Office for Tracing Detained and Missing Persons page (http://www.nestalirs.com/)
• Tax Administration page (http://www.poreskaupravars.org/)
• Customs Directorate page (http://www.rucrs.com/)
• Civil Services Agency page (http://www.adu.vladars.net/)
• Directorate for Privatization page (http://www.rsprivatizacija.com/)
• Chamber of Commerce page (http://www.pkrs.inecco.net/)
• Institute for Statistic page (http://www.rzs.rs.ba/)
• Secretariat for Relations with ICTY page (http://www.rs-icty.org/)
• Republika Srpska Post page (http://www.srpskeposte.com/)
• RTRS - Entity Government Run Television Station page (http://www.rtrs.tv/)

External links

• Srpska Online (http://www.srpska.com/english/index.php)
• The University of East Sarajevo (http://www.unssa.rs.ba/)
• Banja Luka University (http://www.uni.bl.ac.yu/)
• Banja Luka Stock Exchange (http://www.blberza.com/)
• Collection of Postal Stamps issued by Republika Srpska (http://www.filatelija.rs.sr/index.jsp)
• Free Srpska (http://www.slobodnasrpska.org/en/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1)