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Kosovo- a historical overview

In the often very emotional discussions about the future status of Kosovo, history is continually being brought into the picture by all sides to justify the claim to the region. An overview (as neutral as possible) of the history of Kosovo from the middle ages till today.

The UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari suggests limited sovereignty (under EU supervision) for Kosovo, a suggestion Belgrade categorically rejects. For the Kosovo Albanians, however, independence from Serbia can't come fast enough, and they welcome the Ahtisaari Plan. Both sides use historical developments and experiences as important arguments to strengthen their position. Today approximately 90 percent of the circa 1.9 million inhabitants of Kosovo are ethnic Albanians, 6 percent Serbs and 4 percent belong to smaller minority groups. Kosovo has an area of around 11,000 square kilometers (4,200 square miles), which is about half the size of the German state of Hesse.

A soldier holds a booby trap mine.
Photo: UN

Heart of the medieval Serbian state

During the reign of King Stefan Dusan (1331-1355), Kosovo was the heart of the medieval Serbian state, which stretched from Belgrade as far as present-day Greece. A number of important Serbian Orthodox monasteries were founded in Kosovo in this period, such as those in Decani, Gracanica or Pec, all of which still exist today. In 1346 Pec became the seat of the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church. On the 28th of June 1389 Prince Lazar was defeated in the Battle of Kosovo (Amselfeld) by the Ottoman army of Sultan Murad I. Both generals died in the battle. Despite his defeat, Lazar was proclaimed a martyr by the Serbian Orthodox Church and canonised. He and his army, as the last bulwark of Europe, had heroically resisted the Ottomans and sacrificed themselves in battle for their beliefs and their people. Kosovo is still a "Holy Land” for many Serbs today.

Conversion of the majority of Albanians to Islam

Although a clear majority of the Kosovo population remained Serbian when the Serbian state was ultimately subjugated by the Ottomans in 1459, the proportion of Albanians, with their completely independent culture and language, continued to increase. The nationalist awakening of the Serbs in the 19th century was largely based on the medieval Serbian State's romantic perception of Kosovo as the "Cradle of Serbianism”. Many Serbs, most of whom remained Christian even under the Ottoman rule, condemned the Albanians because the majority converted from Christianity to Islam, the religion of the Ottoman arch enemy.

Reprisals, raids and revenge

When, during the Balkan Wars, the Ottoman Empire was forced further and further into retreat, the European super powers laid down the borders of the newly founded Albania in 1912. This included only half of the Albanian population. After the First World War Kosovo became part of the new Yugoslavian state: the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians. Many Serbs viewed the Albanians as a disruptive factor in the old Serbian country, and they were subjected to heavy reprisals from the start. The use of the Albanian language in school lessons and in publications was forbidden. The Albanians reacted with guerilla warfare against army and police, and in part with raids on the Serbian population.

In 1941, after the capitulation of Yugoslavia in the Second World War, almost all of Kosovo became a part of Mussolini's (and then the Nazis') "Greater Albania”. This reversal of power resulted in acts of revenge of Albanians against Serbs, particularly against colonists, who'd been settled in Kosovo in the 1920s in order to boost the Serbian population. Around 20,000 Serbs fled, many were killed.

Autonomy, but no republic under Tito

In Tito's Yugoslavia after 1945, Kosovo (and the Vojvodina) received the status of independent provinces within the constituent republic of Serbia. At this time 790,000 people lived in Kosovo, 68 percent of whom were Albanian, and 24 percent Serbs. Aleksandar Rankovic's infamous secret police increasingly took control of Kosovo. On Rankovic's orders, around 200,000 Islamic Kosovo Albanians registered as "Turks” were resettled in Turkey from 1945-1966. In 1966 Tito removed him from office. In 1974, in the new Yugoslavian constitution, both independent provinces were given almost the same status as the 6 constituent republics. The right to become an independent state, however, was refused Kosovo and Vojvodina.

Rapid increase in the Kosovo Albanian population

President Tito, who had protected the Kosovo Albanians to some extent, died on the 4th of May 1980. A year later, Kosovo Albanian students held violent protests in Pristina, demanding republic status for Kosovo. Many Serbs left Kosovo in the 1980s claiming discrimination and harassment by the Albanians. The continued catastrophical state of the economy, however, (which also drove many Kosovo Albanians to emigrate as guest workers) is likely to have played a major role in their exodus. Moreover, the rapid growth of the Kosovo Albanian population in the 1980s led to constant outbreaks of violence. Many Serbs felt this was a deliberate maneuver in an attempt to change the balance of power by gaining a majority. According to the census of 1981, 77 percent of the 1.6 million inhabitants of Kosovo were Albanian, 13 percent Serbs and 10 percent belonged to other ethnic groups.

Province independence abolished

The increasingly nationalist mood of the Serbs provided the basis for Slobodan Milosevic's rise to power. He was elected President in September 1987, and soon put an end to the autonomy of the province of Kosovo, dissolving parliament and government in 1990.
The Albanians reacted, after a referendum in 1991, by declaring Kosovo an independent country - which was,however, only recognised by Albania. In an unofficial election in 1992 the author Ibrahim Rugova, who advocated a strict policy of passive resistance, was elected president by an overwhelming majority of 99.5 percent.

Systematic Serbism

The years following the abolition of the province autonomy were characterised by systematic "Serbism”. All schools, for example, were required to teach the Serbian curriculum; Kosovo Albanian doctors and nursing staff in public hospitals were fired. Thousands of Kosovo Albanians in other fields suffered the same fate unless they were prepared to declare their loyalty to Serbia in writing. As a result all Serbian institutions were boycotted by the Kosovo Albanians, who began building a parallel underground school and health system (mostly in private homes). Daily police terror caused great insecurity and fear amongst the Kosovo Albanians.

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Norbert Rütsche

Norbert Rütsche is a freelance journalist who has been living in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, since November 2005. He's a regular contributor ...
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Further articles on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » EU Policy, » History, » Serbia, » South East Europe
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » EU Policy, » History, » Serbia, » South East Europe