1.
Republika Srpska
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Republika Srpska is one of two constitutional and legal entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The administrative centre is Banja Luka, in Serbo-Croatian, Republika Srpska means Serb Republic. The second word is an adjective derived by adding the suffix -ska to srb-. The -ps- sequence rather than -bs- is a result of voicing assimilation, in a session on 14–15 October 1991, the Peoples Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina approved the Memorandum on Sovereignty, as had already been done by Slovenia and Croatia. The Union of Reform Forces soon ceased to exist but its members remained in the assembly as the Independent Members of Parliament Caucus, on 9 January 1992, the assembly proclaimed the Republic of the Serb People of Bosnia and Herzegovina, declaring it part of Yugoslavia. The republic was part of Yugoslavia and could enter into union with political bodies representing other peoples of Bosnia, the referendum had a 64% turnout and 92. 7% or 99% voted for independence. On 6 March the Bosnian parliament promulgated the results of the referendum, the republics independence was recognized by the European Community on 6 April 1992 and by the United States on 7 April. On the same day the Serbs assembly in session in Banja Luka declared a severance of ties with Bosnia. The name Republika Srpska was adopted on 12 August 1992, the political controversy escalated into the Bosnian War, which would last until the autumn of 1995. The boundary lines between the entities were delineated in Annex 2 of the Agreement, between 1992 and 2008, the Constitution of Republika Srpska was amended 121 times. The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina resulted in changes in the country. Some two million people, about half the population, were displaced. In 1996 there were some 435,346 ethnic Serb refugees from the Federation in Republika Srpska, in 1991, 27% of the non-agricultural labor force was unemployed in Bosnia and this number increased due to the war. By 2009, the unemployment rate in Bosnia and Herzegovina was estimated at 29%, ethnic cleansing reduced the numbers of other groups. Serb police, soldiers, and irregulars attacked Bosniaks and Croats, though on the other side, Bosniaks and Croats did the same atrocities to the Serbian population in the region of Herzegovina and the villages surrounding Srebrenica. Some were killed on the spot, others were rounded up and killed elsewhere, the number of Croats was reduced by 135,386, and the number of Bosniaks by some 434,144. Some 136,000 of approximately 496,000 Bosniak refugees forced to flee the territory of what is now Republika Srpska have since returned home, in the early 2000s, discrimination against non-Serbs was alleged by NGOs and the Helsinki Commission. The International Crisis Group reported in 2002 that in parts of Republika Srpska a non-Serb returnee is ten times more likely to be the victim of violent crime than is a local Serb
2.
Yugoslav Air Force
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Not to be confused with the air force of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav Royal Air Force. The Yugoslav Air Force was the air force of Yugoslavia, the official name of the branch was Air Force and Anti-Air Defence. At its height, it was one of the largest air forces in Europe, the Yugoslav Air Force was disbanded following the war in Yugoslavia 1991-1995. By early 1945, Yugoslav Partisans under Marshal Tito had liberated a large portion of Yugoslav territory from the occupying forces, on 5 January 1945 the various air units of the NOVJ were formally incorporated into a new Yugoslav Air Force. At the same time, a Yugoslav fighter group which had been under Soviet instruction at Zemun airfield became operational, thus, when peacetime came, the JRV already possessed a strong and experienced nucleus of personnel. On 12 September 1945 the Military Aviation Academy in Belgrade was established to train future pilots, the development of the JRV was further helped in late 1945 with the creation of the Aeronautical Union of Yugoslavia. This comprised six aeronautical unions - one for each constituent republic - with the joint aim of promoting sport flying, in June 1947 the first VSJ flying school at Borongaj started training pupils. The organization of the post-war JRV was based on the Soviet pattern of divisions, regiments, virtually all of the initial equipment was supplied by the Soviet Union – the aircraft captured during the war had quickly been retired. By the end of 1947, the JRV had reached a strength of some 40 squadrons of aircraft, in June 1948 Yugoslavia broke off relations with the Stalinist Soviet Union. The country was subjected to extreme political pressure from the Soviet Union and its Balkan neighbors. The possibility of an invasion was taken seriously, the serviceability of JRV aircraft fell rapidly, with some aircraft being cannibalised to provide spares for the remainder. However, the strength of the JRV was still declining, so in 1951 the Yugoslav Chief of Staff, Colonel General Koča Popović. It was agreed that a shipment of aircraft would be forthcoming. In October 1951, the first de Havilland Mosquito F. B.6 fighter-bombers were supplied, the following year,150 Republic F-47D Thunderbolt fighter-bombers were delivered from the USA under a Mutual Assistance Pact. The first jet aircraft to be operated by the JRV, four Lockheed T-33A jet trainers, serials for the Thunderjets were from 10501 to 10729. The first eight Thunderjets, all former 48 TFW aircraft, arrived at Batajnica on June 9,1953, at the same time, a number of Yugoslav pilots underwent jet flying training in Germany. These deliveries substantially improved the effectiveness of the JRV. Ten Westland Dragonfly helicopters were obtained in 1954, and in 1956, in 1959 the JRV was merged with the air defence units operated by the Army and became known as the Air Force and Air Defence
3.
Yugoslav Wars
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The Yugoslav Wars were a series of ethnically-based wars and insurgencies fought from 1991 to 2001 inside the territory of the former Yugoslavia. The wars are considered to be a series of separate but related military conflicts which occurred in. The wars ended through peace accords, involving full international recognition of new states, as a result, the JNA began to lose Slovenes, Croats, Kosovar Albanians, Bosniaks, and ethnic Macedonians, and effectively became a Serb army. According to the 1994 United Nations report, the Serb side did not aim to restore Yugoslavia, other irredentist movements have also been brought into connection with the wars, such as Greater Albania and Greater Croatia. Often described as Europes deadliest since World War II, the conflicts have become infamous for the war crimes involved, including cleansing, crimes against humanity. These were the first European conflicts since World War II to be formally judged genocidal in character, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia was established by the UN to prosecute these crimes. According to the International Center for Transitional Justice, the Yugoslav Wars resulted in the deaths of 140,000 people, the Humanitarian Law Center estimates that in the conflicts in former Yugoslav republics at least 130,000 people lost their lives. The war have alternatively been called, Wars in the Balkans Wars/conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, third Balkan War, a term suggested by British journalist Misha Glenny in the title of his book, alluding to the two previous Balkan Wars fought 1912–13. In fact, this term has been applied by some historians to World War I. Yugoslavia Civil War/Yugoslav Civil War/Yugoslavian Civil War/Civil War in Yugoslavia, the nation of Yugoslavia was created in the aftermath of World War I, and was composed mostly of South Slavic Christians, but the nation also had a substantial Muslim minority. In the 1980s, relations among the six republics of the SFRY deteriorated, Slovenia and Croatia desired greater autonomy within the Yugoslav confederation, while Serbia sought to strengthen federal authority. As it became clearer that there was no solution agreeable to all parties, although tensions in Yugoslavia had been mounting since the early 1980s, it was 1990 that proved decisive. In the midst of hardship, Yugoslavia was facing rising nationalism among its various ethnic groups. By the early 1990s, there was no authority at the federal level. The Federal Presidency consisted of the representatives of the six republics, the communist leadership was divided along national lines. The representatives of Vojvodina, Kosovo and Montenegro were replaced with loyalists of the President of Serbia, Serbia secured four out of eight federal presidency votes and was able to heavily influence decision-making at the federal level, since all the other Yugoslav republics only had one vote. While Slovenia and Croatia wanted to allow a multi-party system, Serbia, led by Milošević, demanded a more centralized federation. This prompted the Croatian and Slovene delegations to walk out and thus the break-up of the party, the first of these conflicts, known as the Ten-Day War, was initiated by the JNA on 26 June 1991 after the secession of Slovenia from the federation on 25 June 1991
4.
Novi Sad
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Novi Sad is the second largest city of Serbia, the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina and the administrative center of the South Bačka District. According to the 2011 census, the city has a population of 250,439, the population of the administrative area of the city stands at 341,625 people. Novi Sad was founded in 1694, when Serb merchants formed a colony across the Danube from the Petrovaradin fortress, a Habsburg strategic military post. In the 18th and 19th centuries, it became an important trading and manufacturing centre, as well as a centre of Serbian culture of that period, the city was heavily devastated in the 1848 Revolution, but it was subsequently restored. Today, along with the city of Belgrade, Novi Sad is the industrial and financial center of the Serbian economy, also. The name Novi Sad means New Plant in Serbian and its Latin name, stemming from establishment of city rights, is Neoplanta. The official names of Novi Sad used by the administration are. Historically, it was also called Neusatz in German, in its wider meaning, the name Grad Novi Sad refers to the City of Novi Sad, which is one of the city-level administrative units of Serbia. Novi Sad could also refer strictly to the part of the City of Novi Sad, as well as only to the historical core on the left Danube bank. Human dwelling on the territory of present-day Novi Sad has been traced as far back as the Stone Age, several settlements and necropoleis were unearthed during the construction of a new boulevard in Avijaticarsko Naselje, and were dated to 5000 BC. A settlement was located on the bank of the river Danube in the territory of present-day Petrovaradin. In antiquity, the region was inhabited by Illyrian, Thracian and Celtic tribes, celts were present in the area since the 4th century BC and founded the first fortress on the right bank of the Danube. Later, in the 1st century BC, the region was conquered by the Romans, during Roman rule, a larger fortress was built in the 1st century with the name Cusum and was included in the Roman province of Pannonia. In the 5th century, Cusum was devastated by the invasion of the Huns, by the end of the 5th century, Byzantines had reconstructed the town and called it by the names Petrikon or Petrikov after St. Peter. Slavic tribes such as the Severians, Obotrites and Serbs, with its subgroup tribes Braničevci and Timočani, the Serbs absorbed the aforementioned Slavs as well as the Paleo-Balkanic peoples in the region. In the Middle Ages, the area was controlled by the Ostrogoths, Gepids, Avars, Franks, Great Moravia, Bulgaria, again by Byzantines. It was included into the medieval Kingdom of Hungary between the 11th and 12th centuries, in the same year, several other settlements were mentioned to exist in the territory of modern urban area of Novi Sad. Some other settlements existed in the area of Novi Sad, Mortályos, Csenei, Keménd
5.
Soviet Air Forces
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The Soviet Air Forces was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces, the Air Forces were formed from components of the Imperial Russian Air Service in 1917, and faced their greatest test during World War II. The groups were involved in the Korean War, and dissolved along with the Soviet Union itself in 1991–92. Former Soviet Air Forces assets were divided into several air forces of former Soviet republics. March of the Pilots was its anthem, the All-Russia Collegium for Direction of the Air Forces of the Old Army was formed on 20 December 1917. This was a Bolshevik aerial headquarters initially led by Konstantin Akashev and it became the Directorate of the USSR Air Forces on 28 March 1924, and then the Directorate of the Workers-Peasants Red Army Air Forces on 1 January 1925. Gradually its influence on aircraft design became greater, from its earliest days, the force mimicked ground forces organization especially in the 1930s, by which time it was made up of air armies, aviation corps, aviation divisions, and aviation regiments. At first, the I-16 proved superior to any Luftwaffe fighters, however, the Soviets refused to supply the plane in adequate numbers, and their aerial victories were soon squandered because of their limited use. Later, Bf-109s delivered to Francos Spanish Nationalist air forces secured air superiority for the Nationalists, on 19 November 1939, VVS headquarters was again titled the Main Directorate of the Red Army Air Forces under the WPRA HQ. Between 1933 and 1938, the Soviet government planned and funded missions to break numerous world aviation records, not only did aviation records and achievements become demonstrations of the USSRs technological progress, they also served as legitimization of the socialist system. With each new success, Soviet press trumpeted victories for socialism, furthermore, Soviet media idolized record-breaking pilots, exalting them not only as role models for Soviet society, but also as symbols of progress towards the socialist-utopian future. The early 1930s saw a shift in focus away from collectivist propaganda. In the case of aviation, the government began glorifying people who utilized aviation technology instead of glorifying the technology itself. Pilots such as Valery Chkalov, Georgy Baydukov, Alexander Belyakov, in May 1937, Stalin charged pilots Chkalov, Baydukov, and Belyakov with the mission to navigate the first transpolar flight in history. On 20 June 1937, the aviators landed their ANT-25 in Vancouver, a month later, Stalin ordered the departure of a second crew to push the boundaries of modern aviation technology even further. The public reaction to the flights was euphoric. The media called the pilots Bolshevik knights of culture and progress, Soviet citizens celebrated Aviation Day on 18 August with as much zeal as they celebrated the October Revolution anniversary. Literature including poems, short stories, and novels emerged celebrating the feats of the aviator-celebrities, feature films like Victory, Tales of Heroic Aviators, and Valery Chkalov reinforced the positive hero imagery, celebrating the aviators individuality within the context of a socialist government
6.
Ilyushin Il-2
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The Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik was a ground-attack aircraft produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the Second World War. To Il-2 pilots, the aircraft was simply the diminutive Ilyusha, to the soldiers on the ground, it was the Hunchback, the Flying Tank or the Flying Infantryman. Its postwar NATO reporting name was Bark, the Il-2 aircraft played a crucial role on the Eastern Front. The idea for a Soviet armored ground-attack aircraft dates to the early 1930s, however, Soviet engines at the time lacked the power needed to provide the heavy aircraft with good performance. Il-2 was designed by Sergey Ilyushin and his team at the Central Design Bureau in 1938, TsKB-55 was a two-seat aircraft with an armoured shell weighing 700 kg, protecting crew, engine, radiators, and the fuel tank. Standing loaded, the Ilyushin weighed more than 4,700 kg, the prototype TsKB-55, which first flew on 2 October 1939, won the government competition against the Sukhoi Su-6 and received VVS designation BSh-2. The prototypes - TsKB-55 and TskB-57 - were built at Moscow plant #39, the BSh-2 was overweight and underpowered, with the original Mikulin AM-351,022 kW engine designed to give its greatest power outputs at high altitude. Because of this it was redesigned as the TsKB-57, a lighter design, with the more powerful 1,254 kW Mikulin AM-38 engine. The TsKB-57 first flew on 12 October 1940, the production aircraft passed State Acceptance Trials in March 1941, and was redesignated Il-2 in April. Deliveries to operational units commenced in May 1941, the 23 mm armament of Il-2 was subject to a competition. One of the first 1940 photographs of the Il-2 show it equipped with two MP-623 mm autocannons developed by Yakov Taubin at OKB-16, the MP-6 gun weighed 70 kg and developed an initial muzzle velocity of 900 m/s. It operated on the short recoil principle and had a rate of fire of about 600 rpm, factory trials of the MP-6 gun on the Il-2 were conducted in August 1940. In the early Il-2 prototypes, these guns were fed by 81-round clips, in flight, these clips sometimes became dislodged because of their large surface, which caused them to experience significant aerodynamic pressure. The VYa-23 was declared the winner at this trial, subsequently, in May 1941, development of the MP-6 gun was terminated and Taubin was arrested and summarily executed in October that year. The Il-2 is a single-engine, propeller-driven, low-wing monoplane of mixed construction with a crew of two, specially designed for assault operations and its most notable feature was the inclusion of armor in an airframe load-bearing scheme. Production early in the war was slow because after the German invasion the aircraft factories near Moscow, Ilyushin and his engineers had time to reconsider production methods, and two months after the move Il-2s were again being produced. The tempo was not to Premier Stalins liking, however, and he issued the following telegram to Shenkman and Tretyakov, As a result, the production of Shturmoviks rapidly gained speed. Stalins notion of the Il-2 being like bread to the Red Army took hold in Ilyushins aircraft plants, the first use in action of the Il-2 was with the 4th ShAP over the Berezina River days after the invasion began
