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Extensible Markup Language | 1995-06-15 | 5KB | 19 lines

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> <!DOCTYPE card PUBLIC "-//Apple, Inc.//DTD card V 2.0//EN" "" > <card> <id>29722</id> <filler1>0</filler1> <cantDelete> <false /> </cantDelete> <showPict> <true /> </showPict> <dontSearch> <false /> </dontSearch> <owner>5472</owner> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheet_3106.css" /> <content> <layer>background</layer> <id>31</id> <text>MACEDONIAOfficial names: (internal) Republika Makedonija (Republic of Macedonia) and (international) The Former Yugoslav Republic of MacedoniaMember of: UN, OSCE (observer)Area: 25713 km2 (9928 sq mi)Population: 1937000 (1994 census)Capital: Skopje 563000 (city 408000; 1991 census).Other major city: Bitolj (Bitola) 79000 (1991 census)Languages: Macedonian (67%), Albanian (23%), Turkish (4%)Religions: Macedonian Orthodox (over 60%), Sunni Islam (nearly 25%)GOVERNMENT The 120-member Assembly is elected for four years by universal adult suffrage. A President ΓÇô who appoints a Cabinet and a Prime Minister ΓÇô is elected by the Assembly.GEOGRAPHYMacedonia is a plateau about 760 m (2500 ft) high, bordered by mountains including the Sar range, which rises to Korab at 2753 m (9032 ft). The central Vardar valley is the only major lowland. Climate: The climate tends towards continental with cold, snowy winters and warm summers.ECONOMYMacedonia was one of the least developed regions of Yugoslavia. The republic is largely agricultural, raising sheep and cattle and growing cereals and tobacco. Steel, chemical and textile industries rely, in part, upon local resources that include iron ore, lead and zinc. The economy has been severely damaged by intermittent Greek trade blockades and the disruption of trade with Serbia (owing to international sanctions against that country). Currency: Macedonian denar.HISTORYThe ancient kingdom of Macedon ΓÇô which became a major power under Philip II and his son Alexander III (the Great) ΓÇô included most of the present republic of Macedonia but was centered on northern Greece. After a period of Roman rule, the region was invaded by the Goths and Avars, before the present state became part of the Bulgarian empire and the Slavic world in the 9th century. A Macedonian state flourished briefly at the end of the 10th century but was conquered by the Byzantine Empire in 1018. From about 1280 Macedonia came under Serbian rule. The entire region was conquered by the (Turkish) Ottoman Empire by the 1370s. Under Ottoman rule the areaΓÇÖs ethnic composition became more complicated as Albanians moved east and Turks settled in the Vardar valley. When Ottoman power declined in the 19th century, Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece all claimed the region on an ethnic, religious or historical basis.Macedonia remained under Turkish rule until the First Balkan War (1912), after which those areas with a Greek-speaking majority were assigned to Greece and the remainder was partitioned between Bulgaria and Serbia, the latter gaining the area comprising the present republic. Bulgaria continued to claim all Macedonia and occupied the region during World War I. In 1918 Serbian Macedonia was incorporated within the new kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which was renamed Yugoslavia in 1929. When Yugoslavia was reorganized on Soviet lines by Marshal Tito in 1945 a separate Macedonian republic was formed within the Communist federation. After TitoΓÇÖs death (1980), the Yugoslav experiment faltered and local nationalist movements arose. Following the secession of Slovenia and Croatia and the outbreak of the Yugoslav civil war (1991), Macedonia declared its own sovereignty. Despite initial opposition from Greece, which denied the existence of a ΓÇÿMacedonianΓÇÖ people, the republic gained international recognition in 1992. However, in 1994 Greece imposed a total trade embargo on Macedonia (with the exception of food imports and medical supplies). This move, which devastated the Macedonian economy, was condemned by all of GreeceΓÇÖs EU partners. The nationalist aspirations of some of MacedoniaΓÇÖs Albanian minority have increased tension.</text> </content> <name>Macedonia</name> <script></script> </card>