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{{Short description|Ethnic group in the Balkans}}
{{refimprove|date=June 2013}}{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox ethnic group {{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Serbs of Kosovo | group = Kosovo Serbs
| native_name = {{native name|sq|Serbët në Kosovë}}<br>{{native name|sr-Cyrl|косовски Срби}}<br>{{native name|sr-Latn|kosovski Srbi}}
| image =
| native_name_lang =
{{image array|perrow=5|width=65|height=75
| image = Lazarke.jpg
| image1 = Milutinst.jpg| caption1 = ]
| caption = Girls from ] in ]
| image2 = Stefan Decanski ktitor.jpg| caption2 = ]
| population =
| image3 = Knezlazar.jpg| caption3 = ]
| region1 = {{flag|Kosovo}}
| image4 = Đurađ Branković, Esphigmenou charter (1429).jpg| caption4 = ]
*]: 22,530
| image5 = Miloš Obilić, by Aleksandar Dobrić, 1861.jpg| caption5 = ]
*]: 18,000
| image6 = Arsenije IV Jovanović Šakabenta.jpg| caption6 = ]
*]: 16,000
| image7 = Čolak-Anta Simeonović, Světozor, Sep. 7, 1876.jpg| caption7 = ]
*]: 13,900
| image8 = Corporal Jake Allex.jpg| caption8 = ]
*]: 7,209
| image9 = Stevan Kragujevic, Vera Segan, Mira Stupica, Mira Trailovic, snimanje drame u Radio Beogradu, 1950s.JPG| caption9 = ]
*]: 3,692
| image10 = Ljuba Tadić 2007 Serbian stamp.jpg| caption10 = ]
*]: 3,148
| image11 = Milutin Šoškić.jpg| caption11 = ]
*]: 3,112
| image12 = Tomislav Trific (2008).jpg| caption12 = ]
| pop1 = ca. 95,000
| image13 = Aleksandar Tijanic.jpg| caption13 = ]
| ref1 = <ref name="Cocozelli">{{harvnb|Cocozelli|2016|p=267}}</ref><ref name="Judah2019">{{cite news |last1=Judah |first1=Tim |title=Kosovo's demographic destiny looks eerily familiar |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2019/11/07/kosovos-demographic-destiny-looks-eerily-familiar/ |date=7 November 2019 |publisher=Balkan Insight}}</ref><ref name="esi">{{cite web |title=Statistics, lies and confusion in Kosovo |url=https://www.esiweb.org/sites/default/files/reports/pdf/ESI_Invented%20pogroms%20-%20Statistics%20and%20the%20vanishing%20of%20Serbs%20-%2019%20Feb%202024.pdf |website=esiweb.org |publisher=European Stability Initiative |date=19 February 2024}}</ref>
| image14 = Dragan Maksimovic.jpeg| caption14 = ]
| region2 = {{flag|Serbia}}
| image15 = Dejan Stojanovic, Chicago, 2003 (3).jpg| caption15 = ]
| pop2 = 68,514
| image16 = Jorgovanka Tabaković Crop.jpg| caption16 = ]
| ref2 = <ref name="UNHCR2019"/>
| image17 = Goran Svilanović.jpg| caption17 = ]
| langs = ]
| image18 = Ivica Dacic.jpg| caption18 = ]
| rels = ]
| image19 = Viktorija.jpg| caption19 = ]
| related = Other ], especially other ].
| image20 = Milan Bisevac.jpg| caption20 = ]
| image21 = MilosKrasic.jpg| caption21 = ]
| image22 = Novak Djokovic Hopman Cup 2011 (cropped).jpg| caption22 = ]
| image23 = Marko Simonovic.jpg| caption23 = ]
| image24 = Milena Rasić3 2011.jpg| caption24 = ]
| image25 = ESC2013 - Serbia 10 (crop 2).jpg| caption25 = ]
}}
| caption =
| population= '''300-350,000''' (including Serbia,Montenegro and US)
|region1 = ]{{efn|{{Kosovo-note}}|name=Kosovo-note}}
|pop1 = '''100,000''' (1.5–7%) (estimated by BBC) <br> 25,532 (2011 Kosovo Census) {{efn|name=2011Census|Note that the census did not include the Serb population of ] and was partially boycotted by Serbs in the rest of Kosovo.}}
|region2 = {{SRB}} {{small|(excl. Kosovo)}}
|pop2 = '''205,835''' (2009)<ref>(1 August 2009 UNHCR) '']'' 5 April 2010 Link retrieved 5 April 2010</ref> and to a lesser extent ], ]
| langs = ]<br>(''Zeta-South Raska, Kosovo-Resava,<br> Prizren-South Morava dialects'')
| rels = ] (])
}} }}
{{Serbs}}


'''Kosovo Serbs''' are one of the ethnic groups of ] and they form the largest ethnic minority community in Kosovo (5–6%).<ref name="Cocozelli" /><ref name="Judah2019" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-07-28 |title=Kosovo Population 2019 |url=http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/kosovo-population/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728020418/http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/kosovo-population/ |archive-date=28 July 2019 |access-date=2021-07-11}}</ref><ref name="Small-Arms-Survey" /><ref>{{cite web |date=28 December 2021 |title=Kosovo Demographics |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/kosovo/ |publisher=]}}</ref><ref name="ECMI Kosovo 2013">{{cite web |year=2013 |title=Community Profile: Serb Community |url=http://www.ecmikosovo.org/uploads/Serbcommunity1.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116165216/http://www.ecmikosovo.org/uploads/Serbcommunity1.pdf |archive-date=16 January 2017 |access-date=29 January 2017 |publisher=] Kosovo}}</ref> The precise number of Kosovo Serbs is difficult to determine as they have boycotted national censuses. However, it is estimated that there are about 95,000 of them, nearly half of whom live in ].<ref name="esi" />{{sfn|Cocozelli|2016|p=267}} Other ] live in the Southern municipalities of Kosovo.<ref name="Small-Arms-Survey">{{cite journal |author1-last=Khakee |author1-first=Anna |author2-last=Florquin |author2-first=Nicolas |date=1 June 2003 |title=Kosovo: Difficult Past, Unclear Future |url=https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/resources/SAS-SR03-Kosovo.pdf |journal=Kosovo and the Gun: A Baseline Assessment of Small Arms and Light Weapons in Kosovo |publisher=] |volume=10 |pages=4–6 |doi= |jstor=resrep10739.9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630150030/https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/resources/SAS-SR03-Kosovo.pdf |archive-date=30 June 2022 |access-date=3 March 2023 |quote=Kosovo—while still formally part of the so-called ] dominated by ]—has, since the war, been a United Nations protectorate under the ] (UNMIK). However, members of the '''Kosovo Serb''' minority of the territory (circa 6–7 per cent in 2000) have, for the most part, not been able to return to their homes. For security reasons, the remaining Serb enclaves are, in part, isolated from the rest of Kosovo and protected by the multinational ]-led ] (KFOR).}}</ref><ref name="ERIS 2017">{{cite journal |author-last=Keil |author-first=Soeren |date=December 2017 |title=The Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Kosovo |journal=European Review of International Studies |location=] and ] |publisher=] |volume=4 |issue=2–3 |pages=39–58 |doi=10.3224/eris.v4i2-3.03 |issn=2196-7415 |jstor=26593793|url=http://create.canterbury.ac.uk/17029/3/17029_Serb%20paper%20final%20accepted%20version.pdf }}</ref>
'''Kosovo Serbs''' ({{lang-sr|Косовски Срби/Kosovski Srbi}}, "Serbs of Kosovo") are the ] living in ]{{efn|name=Kosovo-note}}, where they are the largest or second largest ] group, numbering around 100,000 or 1.5-7% of the population.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ks-gov.net/esk/esk/pdf/english/general/kosovo_figures_05.pdf |archiveurl=//web.archive.org/web/20080309073836/http://www.ks-gov.net/esk/esk/pdf/english/general/kosovo_figures_05.pdf |archivedate=9 March 2008 |format=PDF |title=Kosovo in figures 2005 |author=UNMIK |publisher=Ministry of Public Services}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/3524092.stm |title=churchesRegions and territories: Kosovo |author=BBC News |date=20 November 2007 |accessdate=24 July 2009}}</ref><ref name=factbook>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kv.html |title=World Factbook |author=CIA |publisher=CIA |date=19 June 2014|accessdate=30 January 2014}}</ref>


The medieval ] (1217–1346) and the ] (1346–1371) included parts of the territory of Kosovo until its annexation by the Ottomans following the ] (1389), considered one of the most notable events of ].{{sfn|Cox|2002|p=29}}{{sfn|Šuica|2011|p=152-174}} Afterwards, it was a part of the ]. Modern ] considers Kosovo in this period to be the political, religious and cultural core of the ].{{sfn|Ivić|1995|p=}}
During the 12-13th century, Kosovo was the cultural, diplomatic and religious core of the ]. It was also an important part of the 14th century ], but was occupied by the Ottomans following the ]. After five centuries as part of the ], Kosovo was annexed by the ] in 1912, following the ]. It was then part of Serbia (and later ]), until the 1999 ] resulted in the ''de facto'' separation of Kosovo from the rest of Serbia, followed by its ] in 2008. Most of Kosovo's pre-1999 Serb population relocated to Serbia proper following the ] campaign after 1999.<ref>{{cite book|author=Siobhán Wills|title=Protecting Civilians: The Obligations of Peacekeepers|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=QoqQ7kBrlSAC&pg=PA219|accessdate=24 February 2013|date=26 February 2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-953387-9|page=219}}</ref>


In the ] (1455–1913), the situation of the Serb population in Kosovo went through different phases. In the 16th century, the ] was re-established and its status strengthened even more. At the end of 18th century, the support of the Patriarchate to the Habsburgs during the ] of 1683–1699 triggered a wave of ] to locations under the control of the ].<ref>{{Citation|last=Casiday|first=Augustine|title=The Orthodox Christian World|url=https://rifdt.instifdt.bg.ac.rs/bitstream/handle/123456789/1932/Cvetkovic%20-%20Serbian%20Tradition.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|year=2012|pages=135|publisher=Routledge}}</ref> After the independence of the ] to its north, Kosovo came increasingly to be seen by the mid-19th century as the "cradle of Serb civilization" and called the "Serbian ]". Kosovo was annexed by the ] in 1912, following the ].
==Demonym==

The formal name for the Serb community in Kosovo is ''Srbi na Kosovu i Metohiji'', '''Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija'''. The term "Kosovo Serbs" is predominantly used in English. They are known by the demonym ''Kosovci'',<ref name="Vlahović2004">{{cite book|author=Petar Vlahović|title=Serbia: the country, people, life, customs|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Dx4qAQAAMAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Ethnographic Museum|isbn=978-86-7891-031-9|page=392}}</ref> though this is properly used for inhabitants of the region of Kosovo (in the narrow sense – centred around the ]), along with ''Metohijci'' (of ]).
As a region of the ], Kosovo was divided in several ]. In the pre-World War II period, the ] took place which aimed to increase the number of Serbs in Kosovo with colonists from ] and ]. After World War II, Kosovo's districts were reunited. They were referred to as the ]. Serbs were one of the people of the province within the ] (1944–1992). As a result of the ] and following by its ], in 2008 it is ] by the international community. Serbs are the second largest community in ].<ref name="Small-Arms-Survey"/><ref name="ERIS 2017"/>

More than half of Kosovo's pre-1999 Serb population (226,000),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.srbija.gov.rs/kosovo-metohija/20031|title = Интерно расељена и прогнана лица са Косова и Метохије}}</ref> including 37,000 ], 15,000 ] (including ], ], and ]), and 7,000 other non-Albanian civilians were expelled to central ], following the ].<ref>{{•}} {{cite book |author-last=Vladisavljević |author-first=Nebojša |year=2012 |chapter=Kosovo and Two Dimensions of the Contemporary Serb-Albanian Conflict |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wkQ3I6GyClEC&pg=PA29 |editor1-last=Hudson |editor1-first=Robert |editor2-last=Bowman |editor2-first=Glenn |title=After Yugoslavia: Identities and Politics Within the Successor States |publisher=] |pages=29–30 |doi=10.1057/9780230305137_3 |isbn=9780230201316 |access-date=12 December 2022}}<br />{{•}} {{cite book |author-last=Wills |author-first=Siobhán |year=2009 |title=Protecting Civilians: The Obligations of Peacekeepers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QoqQ7kBrlSAC&pg=PA219 |publisher=] |page=219 |isbn=978-0-19-953387-9 |access-date=12 December 2022}}<br />{{•}} {{cite web |title=Abuses against Serbs and Roma in the new Kosovo |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/kosov2/ |date=August 1999 |url-status=live |publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113211702/http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/kosov2/ |archive-date=13 November 2022 |access-date=12 December 2022}}<br />{{•}} {{cite web |title=The Violence: Ethnic Albanian Attacks on Serbs and Roma |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/kosovo0704/7.htm |date=July 2004 |url-status=live |publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220712101508/https://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/kosovo0704/7.htm |archive-date=12 July 2022 |access-date=12 December 2022}}<br />{{•}} {{cite web |title=Kosovo Crisis Update |url=http://www.unhcr.org/3ae6b80f2c.html |date=August 4, 1999 |url-status=live |publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702170303/https://www.unhcr.org/3ae6b80f2c.html |archive-date=2 July 2022 |access-date=12 December 2022}}<br />{{•}} {{cite web |title=Forced Expulsion of Kosovo Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians from OSCE Participated state to Kosovo |url=http://www.osce.org/odihr/21342 |date=October 6, 2006 |url-status=live |publisher=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528105950/https://www.osce.org/odihr/21342 |archive-date=28 May 2022 |access-date=12 December 2022}}</ref> According to the ] the establishment of a ], a ] association of ] with a majority Serb population in Kosovo is proposed.

==Terminology==
The formal names for the Serb community in Kosovo is "Serbs of Kosovo and Metohija" (''Srbi na Kosovu i Metohiji'') or "Serbs of ]" (''Kosmetski Srbi''), in use by the community itself and the Serbian government. They are also referred to as ''Serbs of Kosovo'' ({{langx|sr|Косовски Срби/Kosovski Srbi}}) or ''Serbs in Kosovo'' ({{langx|sr|Срби на Косову/Srbi na Kosovu}}, {{langx|sq|Serbët në Kosovë}}). The term "Kosovo Serbs" is predominantly used in English. They are known by the demonym ''Kosovari'',<ref name="Vlahović2004">{{cite book|author=Petar Vlahović|title=Serbia: the country, people, life, customs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dx4qAQAAMAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Ethnographic Museum|isbn=978-86-7891-031-9|page=392}}</ref> though this is properly used for inhabitants of the region of Kosovo (in the narrow sense – centred around the ]), along with ''Metohijci'' (of ]).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pižurica|first1=Mato|last2=Pešikan|first2=Mitar|last3=Jerković|first3=Jovan|title=Pravopis srpskoga jezika|date=2010|publisher=Matica Srpska|isbn=978-86-7946-105-6|edition=4th}}</ref>


==History== ==History==
===Medieval period===
{{multiple image |total_width=300
| footer = '''Left:''' ], ] and founder of ] monastery<br />'''Right:''' Main Gate of the ] in ], which ] used as capital of ]
| image1 = Stefan Decanski ktitor.jpg
| image2 = Kaljaja1.jpg
}}


] raided and settled the western Balkans in the 6th and 7th century.{{sfn|Bogdanović|1986|loc= ch. II, para. 2}} The White Serbs are mentioned in '']'' as having settled the Balkans during the reign of Byzantine Emperor ] (r. 610–641), however, research does not support that the White Serbian tribe was part of this later migration (as held by historiography) rather than migrating with the rest of Early Slavs.{{sfn|Bogdanović|1986|loc= ch. II, para. 3}} Serbian linguistical studies concluded that the Early South Slavs were made up of a western and eastern branch, of parallel streams, roughly divided in the ]–]–] line.{{sfn|Bogdanović|1986|loc= ch. II, para. 4}} However, per ] in the early Middle Ages Eastern Herzegovinian dialects were Eastern South Slavic, but since the 12th century, the ], including Eastern Herzegovinian, began to separate themselves from the rest of the Eastern South Slavic dialects.<ref>Ivo Banac, The National Question in Yugoslavia: Origins, History, Politics, Cornell University Press, 1988, {{ISBN|0801494931}}, p. 47.</ref> The Bulgarian Khan ] (836–852) took over the territory of Kosovo from the Byzantines in the mid-9th century and Kosovo remained under the influence of the first Bulgarian Empire until the Byzantine restoration of the early 11th century.<ref>Historical Dictionary of Kosovo. Volume 79 of Historical Dictionaries of Europe, Scarecrow Press, 2010, p. 54, {{ISBN|0810874830}}.</ref> In 1040–41 a ] broke out, which included Kosovo. ] broke out in 1072, in which Serbian prince ] was crowned Emperor of Bulgaria at ],<ref>Златарски, ; Литаврин, 403-404</ref> however, despite some initial success, Bodin was eventually captured in southern Kosovo and the rebellion was suppressed.{{sfn|Stephenson|2000|p=142}}{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|p=26}}<ref>Scylitzes Continuatus: 163–165</ref>{{verify source|date=April 2020}} ], the new independent Serbian Grand Prince, began raiding Byzantine territories, first in ], advancing into Macedonia{{clarify|date=April 2020}} (1091–95). He broke several peace treaties which he personally negotiated with the Byzantine Emperor at ] and ], until finally submitting in 1106.
===Middle Ages===
{{Multiple image
] came to the Balkans between the 6th and 7th centuries. The Byzantine Slavs, known as '']'' were ] in several waves, between the 7th and 9th century. The northwestern part of modern-day Kosovo, ], was part of the ]. In the late 9th century the region was seized by the ]. Although Serbian prince ] restored control over ] throughout the 10th century, the rest of Kosovo was returned to the Byzantine Empire after the Bulgarian Empire crumbled in the late 10th century. In a renewed Slavic rebellion of Tsar ], entire Kosovo was controlled by the First Bulgarian Empire from the late 10th century, until the Byzantine restoration of 1018. In 1040–1041 a massive Slavic rebellion against the Eastern Roman Empire arose that temporarily controlled Kosovo. After its break, the Byzantines restored control.
| align = left
| direction = vertical
| width = 220
| image1 = Novo Brdo Castle citadel 02.JPG
| caption1 = ] was built by ], ]. It has been referred as the "''Mother of all Serbian cities''"
| image2 = Patriarchate of Peć 2010.JPG
| caption2 = ], the seat of the ] from the 14th century when its status was upgraded into a patriarchate
}}
In 1166, a Serbian prince, ], the founder of the ], asserted independence after an uprising against the Byzantine Emperor ].<ref>{{cite book|author=Yuri Stoyanov|title=The hidden tradition in Europe|date=1994|publisher=Arkana1}}</ref> Nemanja defeated his brother, Tihomir, at Pantino near Pauni, and drowned him in the ] river. Nemanja was eventually defeated and had to return some of his conquests, and vouched to the Emperor that he would not raise his hand against him. In 1183, Stefan Nemanja embarked on a new offensive allied with the ] after the death of ] in 1180, which marked the end of Byzantine domination over the region of Kosovo. Nemanja's son, ], ruled a realm reaching the river of Lab in the south. Stefan conquered all of Kosovo by 1208, by which time he had conquered Prizren and Lipjan, and moved the border of his realm to the Šar mountain. In 1217, Stefan was crowned ''King of Serbs'', due to which he is known in historiography as Stefan "the First-Crowned".<ref>{{cite book|author=Stephanos Efthymiadis|title=The Ashgate Research Companion to Byzantine Hagiography: Volume II: Genres and Contexts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=73TeCwAAQBAJ|date=1 April 2016|publisher=Routledge|page=375|isbn=9781317043966}}</ref>


In 1219, the ] was given autocephaly, with ], ] and ] being the Orthodox Christian ] with territory in modern-day Kosovo. By the end of the 13th century, the centre of the Serbian Church was moved to ] from ].
In 1072, an uprising was prepared by the Bulgarian and Slavic<ref name="Finlay1854"/> nobility in ] led by ], known in modern historiography as the ]. The rebels chose ], a Serbian prince, the son of ] of ], as their leader, as he was a maternal descendant of the Bulgarian Emperor ];<ref>Златарски, </ref> in the autumn of 1072 Constantine Bodin arrived at ], where he was proclaimed Emperor of the Bulgarians.<ref>Златарски, ; Литаврин, 403-404</ref> Despite some initial success, Bodin was subsequently captured at ] (Taonion<ref name="Finlay1854"/>), in southern Kosovo<ref name="Cirkovic2008">{{cite book|author=Sima M. Cirkovic|title=The Serbs|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=2Wc-DWRzoeIC&pg=PA26|date=15 April 2008|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4051-4291-5|pages=26–}}</ref> in December 1073<ref name="Finlay1854">{{cite book|author=George Finlay|title=History of the Byzantine and Greek Empires...|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=rPPELPzrQwYC&pg=PA49|year=1854|publisher=W. Blackwood and sons|pages=49–}}</ref> and then sent to ], then ], where he spent several years, while Voiteh died ''en route''.<ref name="Stephenson2000">{{cite book|author=Paul Stephenson|title=Byzantium's Balkan Frontier: A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900-1204|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ILiOI0UgxHoC&pg=PA142|date=29 June 2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-77017-0|pages=142–}}; Scylitzes Continuatus: 163–165</ref>
Next, ] became the independent Serbian Grand Prince; he had advanced all the way to ], burned it down and raided the neighbouring areas. He met the Byzantine Emperor at ] for negotiations, and concluded peace which was broken by Vukan who defeated John Komnenos, the Emperor's nephew. ] had to come to Ulpiana in 1094 to negotiate. Peace was concluded and Vukan gave hostages to the Emperor, including his two nephews, though he broke peace again by defeating John Komnenos once again.


] serving as the capital of Serbia during the 14th century, and was a centre of trade.<ref>{{cite web |title=Prizren {{!}} History, Geography, & Points of Interest |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Prizren |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=4 August 2021 |language=en}}</ref> King ] founded the great ] near Prizren in 1342–1352. During those periods, several major monasteries were endowed with vast possessions in the regions of ] and ].{{sfn|Živković|Bojanin|Petrović|2000|p=}} The Serbian Kingdom was elevated into an ] in 1345–46. Stefan Dušan received ] in 1342 at Pauni to discuss an alliance against the Byzantine Emperor. In 1346, the Serbian Archbishopric at Peć was upgraded into a ], but it was not recognized before 1375. After the death of Dušan in 1355, the ] began, with feudal disintegration during the reign of his successor, ] (r. 1355–1371).{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=345-366, 373-382}}{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|p=75-80}}
] monastery]]
In 1166, a Serbian prince, ], the founder of the ], asserted independence after an uprising against the Byzantine Emperor ]. Nemanja defeated his brother, Tihomir, at Pantino near Pauni, and drowned him in the ] river. Nemanja was eventually defeated and had to return some of his conquests, and vouched to the Emperor that he would not raise his hand against him. In 1183, Stefan Nemanja embarked on a new offensive allied with the ] after the death of ] in 1180, which marked the end of Byzantine domination over the region of Kosovo.


Parts of Kosovo became domains of ], but ] expanded his demesne further onto Kosovo. The armies of Vukašin from ] and his allies defeated Vojislav's forces in 1369, putting a halt to his advances. After the ] on 26 September 1371 in which the Mrnjavčević brothers lost their lives, ] of ] took Prizren and Peć in 1372. A part of Kosovo became the demesne of the ].{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=373-382}}{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|p=77-80}}
Nemanja's son, ], ruled a realm reaching the river of Lab in the south. Stefan conquered all of Kosovo by 1208, by which time he had conquered Prizren and Lipljan, and moved the border of his realm to the Šar mountain.


] fought in 1389 between Serbs and Ottomans. 1870 ] painting.]]
In 1217, Stefan was crowned ''King of Serbs'', due to which he is known in historiography as Stefan "the First-Crowned". In 1219, the ] was given autocephaly, with ], Prizren and Lipljan being the Orthodox Christian ] with territory in modern-day Kosovo. By the end of the 13th century, the centre of the Serbian Church was moved to ] from ].


The ] invaded the realm of ] on 28 June 1389, at the ] near ], at ]. The Serbian army was led by Prince Lazar who led 12,000–30,000 men against the Ottoman army of 27,000–40,000 men. Lazar was killed in battle, while Sultan ] also lost his life, believed to have been assassinated by Serbian knight ]. The outcome of the battle is deemed inconclusive, with the new Sultan ] having to retreat to consolidate his power. ] came to prominence as the local lord of Kosovo, though he was an Ottoman vassal at times, between 1392 and 1395.{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=382-389, 408-414}}{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|p=82-85}}
King ] founded the great ] near Prizren in 1342–52. The Serbian Kingdom was elevated into an ] in 1345–46. Stefan Dušan received ] in 1342 at Pauni to discuss an alliance against the Byzantine Emperor. In 1346, the Serbian Archbishopric at Peć was upgraded into a ], but it was not recognized before 1370. After the death of Dušan in 1355, the ] began, with ] during the reign of his successor, ] (r. 1355–71). Parts of Kosovo became domain of ], but ] expanded his demesne further onto Kosovo. The armies of Vukašin from ] and his allies defeated Vojislav's forces in 1369, putting a halt to his advances. After the ] on 26 September 1371 in which the Mrnjavčević brothers lost their lives, ] of ] took Prizren and Peć in 1372. A part of Kosovo became the demesne of the ].


The ] invaded the realm of ] on 28 June 1389, at the ] near ], at ]. The Serbian army was led by Prince Lazar who led 12,000–30,000 men against the Ottoman army of 27,000–40,000 men. Lazar was killed in battle, while Sultan ] also lost his life, believed to have been assassinated by Serbian knight ]. The outcome of the battle is deemed inconclusive, with the new Sultan ] having to retreat to consolidate his power. ] came to prominence as the local lord of Kosovo, though he was an Ottoman vassal at times, between 1392 and 1395. Another battle occurred between the Hungarian troops supported by the Albanian ruler George Kastrioti ] on one side, and Ottoman troops supported by the ] in 1448. Skanderbeg's troops which were going to help John Hunyadi were stopped by the Branković's troops, who was more or less an Ottoman vassal. Hungarian King ] lost the battle after a 2-day fight, but essentially stopped the Ottoman advance northwards. Kosovo then became vassalaged to the ], until its direct incorporation as the ] after the final fall of Serbia in 1459. Another battle occurred in ] between the Hungarian troops supported by the Albanian ruler ] on one side, and Ottoman troops supported by the ] in 1448. Skanderbeg's troops en route to help John Hunyadi were stopped by the Branković's troops, who was more or less an Ottoman vassal. Hungarian regent ] lost the battle after a 2-day fight, but essentially stopped the Ottoman advance northwards.{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|p=106}} In 1455, southern regions of the ] were invaded again, and the region of Kosovo was finally conquered by the ] and incorporated it into the Ottoman administrative system.{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|p=107, 111}}


In 1455, new castles rose to prominence in ] and ], centres of ]. In 1455, new castles rose to prominence in ] and ], centres of ].


===Ottoman rule=== ===Early Modern period===
The ] brought ] with them, particularly in towns, and later also created the ] as one of the ]. During the Islamisation many Churches and Holy Orthodox Christian places were razed to the ground or turned into ]s. The big ] near Prizren was torn down at the end of the 16th century and the material used to build the Mosque of Sinan-pasha, an Islamized Albanian, in Prizren. Although the ] was officially abolished in 1532, an Islamized Serb from Bosnia, ] ] influenced the restoration of the ] in 1557. Special privileges were provided, which helped the survival of Serbs and other Christians on Kosovo.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Mario Katic |author2=Tomislav Klarin |author3=Mike McDonald |title=Pilgrimage and Sacred Places in Southeast Europe: History, Religious Tourism and Contemporary Trends |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w4i8BAAAQBAJ|date=2014|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|page=204 |isbn=9783643905048}}</ref>
] fought in 1389 between Serbs and Ottomans]]
], led by Patriarch ], 17th century.]]
The ] brought ] with them, particularly in towns, and later also created the ] as one of the ]. During the Islamisation many Churches and Holy Orthodox Christian places were razed to the ground or turned into ]s. The big ] near Prizren was torn down at the end of the 16th century and the material used to build the Mosque of Sinan-pasha, an Islamized Serb, in Prizren. Although the ] was officially abolished in 1532, an Islamized Serb from Bosnia, ] ] influenced the restoration of the ] in 1557. Special privileges were provided, which helped the survival of Serbs and other Christians on Kosovo.
Kosovo was taken by the Austrian forces during the ] (1683–1698). In 1690, the ] ], who previously escaped a certain death, led 37,000 families from Kosovo, to evade ] wrath since Kosovo had just been retaken by the Ottomans.<ref>{{cite book|author=Plamen Mitev|title=Empires and Peninsulas: Southeastern Europe Between Karlowitz and the Peace of Adrianople, 1699–1829|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cz7pbGvCqhwC|date=2010|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|page=172|isbn=9783643106117}}</ref> The people that followed him were mostly ], but there were numerous Orthodox Albanians and others too. 20,000 Serbs abandoned ] alone. Due to the oppression from the Ottomans, other migrations of Orthodox people from the Kosovo area continued throughout the 18th century. By contrast, some ] adopted Islam and gradually fused with the predominant Albanians, and adopting their culture and even language. By the end of the 19th century, ] replaced the Serbs as the dominating nation of Kosovo.<ref name="Historical-Dictionary-of-Kosovo">{{cite book|author=Robert Elsie|title=Historical Dictionary of Kosovo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pg-aeA-nUeAC|date=15 November 2015|publisher=Scarecrow Press|page=256|isbn=9780810874831}}</ref>


In 1766 the Ottomans abolished the ] and the position of Christians on Kosovo was greatly reduced. All previous privileges were lost and the Christian population had to suffer the full weight of the Empire's extensive and losing wars, even to take the blame for the losses.{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
Kosovo was taken by the Austrian forces during the ] (1683–1698). In 1690, the ] ], who previously escaped a certain death, led 37,000 families from Kosovo, to evade ] wrath since Kosovo had just been retaken by the Ottomans. The people that followed him were mostly ], but there were numerous Orthodox Albanians and others too. 20,000 Serbs abandoned ] alone. Due to the oppression from the Ottomans, other migrations of Orthodox people from the Kosovo area continued throughout the 18th century. It is also noted that some ] adopted Islam and some even gradually fused with the predominantly Albanians and adopted their culture and even language. By the end of the 19th century, ] replaced the Serbs as the dominating nation of Kosovo.


During the ], Serbs from northern parts of Kosovo prepared to join the uprising and an Ottoman-Albanian coalition arrived to suppress their efforts, before they could partake in the uprising. Ottoman violence resulted in a number of Serbs migrating to central Serbia in order to join rebels led by ].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tričković|first=Radmila|date=February 1965|title=Pismo travničkog vezira iz 1806.|journal=Politika|location=Belgrade}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hrabak|first=Bogumil|date=1996|title=Kosovo i Metohija prema Prvom srpskom ustanku|url=https://scindeks.ceon.rs/article.aspx?query=ISSID%26and%267372&page=8&sort=8&stype=0&backurl=%2Fissue.aspx%3Fissue%3D7372|journal=Baština|volume=6}}</ref> ] were the only Albanian tribe to fully support Serb rebels.<ref>Dj. Mikic drustveno politicki razvoj kosovskih Srba u XIX veku, Glasnik muzeja Kosova XIII-XIV, Pristina 1984</ref>
In 1766 the Ottomans abolished the ] and the position of Christians on Kosovo was greatly reduced. All previous privileges were lost and the Christian population had to suffer the full weight of the Empire's extensive and losing wars, even to take the blame for the losses.{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
<ref>I. Dermaku, Neki aspekti saradnje Srbije i Arbanasa u borbi protiv turskog feudalizma 1804-1868. godine, Glasnik Muzeja Kosova XI, Pristina, 1972, page 238</ref> After the independence of the ] to its north, Kosovo came increasingly to be seen by the mid-19th century as the “cradle of Serb civilization” and called the "Serbian ]".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Omer |first1=Atalia |last2=Springs |first2=Jason |title=Religious Nationalism:A Reference Handbook |date=2013 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1598844405 |page=1999 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=blLVIW8sthYC&pg=PA1999 |access-date=25 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1= Stavrianakis|first1=Anna|title=A Tale of Two Ethnicities? An Analysis of Approaches to 'Ethnic Conflict': The Case of Kosovo |journal=Global Politics Network |date=October 2002|volume=16|issue=4|pages=13|url=http://www.globalpolitics.net/essays/Stavrianakis.A%20Tale%20of%20Two%20Ethnicities.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Dobbs|first1=Michael|title=Serbian Nationalism Lifts Milosevic |newspaper=] |date=March 1999|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/balkans/stories/milosevic033099.htm?noredirect=on}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Kuljanin|first1=Vedran|title=Why Kosovo Matters: What the West Doesn't Understand About the Balkans- Part III |publisher=] |date=May 2016|url=http://natoassociation.ca/why-kosovo-matters-what-the-west-doesnt-understand-about-the-balkans-part-iii/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Kosovo: The Jerusalem of Serbia|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/balkans/overview/kosovo.htm|newspaper=]|date=July 1999}}</ref>


The term ''Arnauti'' or ''Arnautaši'' was coined by 19th and early 20th century Serbian ethnographers to refer to the ], which they perceived as Albanised Serbs; ] who had converted to Islam and went through a process of ].<ref>Dietmar Müller, ''Staatsbürger aus Widerruf: Juden und Muslime als Alteritätspartner im rumänischen und serbischen Nationscode: ethnonationale Staatsbürgerschaftskonzepte 1878–1941'', . {{ISBN|3-447-05248-1}}, {{ISBN|978-3-447-05248-1}}</ref><ref name=RK>''Religion and the politics of identity in Kosovo'', : see footnotes</ref> In modern anthropology, the historical validity of the term has been criticized as well as use as a tool of nation-building and homogenization policies of the Serbian state.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Roudometof |first1=Victor |title=Nationalism, Globalization, and Orthodoxy: The Social Origins of Ethnic Conflict in the Balkans |date=2001 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=0313319499 |page=198 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I9p_m7oXQ00C&pg=PA198 |access-date=25 April 2020}}</ref><ref name="L2006">{{cite book|author=Anna Di Lellio|title=The Case for Kosova: Passage to Independence|year= 2006|publisher=Anthem Press|page=20|quote=What is most problematic about the arnautas thesis, though, is not its historical claims, which can be tested against the evidence, but its political or ideological implications.}}</ref><ref name="Banac1988">{{cite book|author=Ivo Banac|title=The National Question in Yugoslavia: Origins, History, Politics|page=295}}</ref><ref name="VárdyTooley2003">{{cite book|author=Steven Béla Várdy|title=Ethnic Cleansing in Twentieth-century Europe|year=2003|publisher=Social Science Monographs|page=226|quote= Simultaneously, they developed the thesis many of them were initially Serbs who had been converted to Islam. They spoke of arnautasi ( Albanized Serbs ) in order to " reclassify " the Albanians as Serbs.}}</ref>
===Serbian and Yugoslav rule===
], 31.December 1912.]]
The arising ] planned a restoration of its rule on Kosovo as Ottoman might crumbled on the Balkan peninsular. The period witnessed a rise of Serbian nationalism, as the Serb elite refused to admit the Albanian national spirit and referred to the ] as ''Arnauts'', "Albanians of Serbian origin" or "]-speaking Serbs". Serbia's plans for a post-Ottoman period included the return of Kosovo.


] took place in 1878, during and after the ]. In ] were carried out by Albanians in ] and ].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Skendi |first1=Stavro |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8QPWCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA201 |title=The Albanian National Awakening |date=2015 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-4776-1 |pages=201, 293 |access-date=28 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728220204/https://books.google.com/books?id=8QPWCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA201 |archive-date=28 July 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> ] claimed that the Albanians were responsible for forcing an estimated 150,000 Serbs out of Kosovo from 1876 until 1912.<ref name="Lampe Lampe 2000 p.">{{cite book |last1=Lampe |first1=J.R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZ1x7gvwx_8C |title=Yugoslavia as History: Twice There Was a Country |last2=Lampe |first2=P.J.R. |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-521-77401-7 |page=97 |quote=The Albanians were accused of having forced some 150,000 Serbs out of Kosovo since the mid-1870s and of conducting a campaign of local terror against the Serbs who remained.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dragnich |first1=A.N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9E3utu93TD0C |title=The Saga of Kosovo: Focus on Serbian-Albanian Relations |last2=Todorovich |first2=S. |publisher=East European Monographs |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-88033-062-6 |pages=95}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bogdanović |first=Dimitrije |url=https://www.rastko.rs/kosovo/istorija/knjiga_o_kosovu/bogdanovic-kosovo_3_c.html |title=Knjiga o Kosovu |year=1986b |pages=132 |language=Serbian}}</ref> Albanians were also accused of conducting a campaign of terror against the Serbian population who remained.<ref name="Dragnich Todorovich 1984 p.">{{cite book |last1=Dragnich |first1=A.N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9E3utu93TD0C |title=The Saga of Kosovo: Focus on Serbian-Albanian Relations |last2=Todorovich |first2=S. |publisher=East European Monographs |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-88033-062-6 |series=East European monographs |page=121}}</ref><ref name="Lampe Lampe 2000 p." />
Albanians formed the nationalistic ] in ] in the 19th century. The Aim of the League of Prizren was to unite the four Albanian-inhabited Vilayets by merging the majority of Albanian inhabitants within the Ottoman Empire into one ]. However at that time Serbs were opposing the Albanian nationalism along with Turks and other Slavs in Kosovo, which disabled the Albanian movements to establish Albanian rule over Kosovo.


===Modern period===
During the ], the ] and the ] fought alongside the Kingdoms of ] and ] as part of the ] to drive the Ottoman forces out of Europe and to incorporate the spoils into their respective states. Serbia, Montenegro and Greece had occupied the entire Western Balkan (Albanian-inhabited territories) with the exception of ] in the hope of achieving recognition with their new borders. Resistance from the Albanians across their entire region in favour of their own proposed independent nation state led to fighting between the Balkan League armies (less geographically uninvolved Bulgaria) and Albanian forces. To end the conflict, the ] decreed an independent ] (akin to its present borders), with most of the ] awarded to Serbia and the Metohija region awarded to Montenegro.<ref>{{cite book|last=Anderson|first=Frank Marby|author2=Amos Shartle Hershey |title=Handbook for the Diplomatic History of Europe, Asia, and Africa 1870-1914|publisher=National Board for Historical Service, Government Printing Office|location=Washington, DC|year=1918|chapter= The Treaty of London, 1913 |chapterurl=http://archive.org/stream/handbookfordipl01hersgoog#page/n432/mode/2up}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Malcolm|first1=Noel|title=Kosovo|publisher=Pan|isbn=0-330-41224-8|page=253|accessdate=29 June 2014}}</ref> Serbian authorities planned a recolonization of Kosovo and numerous Serb families moved into the region; this, and mass killings of Albanians, restored to some extent the demographic balance between Albanians and Serbs {{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}. ] wrote: {{quotation|The Serbs in Old Serbia, in their national endeavour to correct data in the ethnographical statistics that are not quite favourable to them, are engaged quite simply in systematic extermination of the Muslim population.}} During the ], in the winter of 1915–1916, the Serbian army withdrew through Kosovo in a bid to evade the forces of tCentral Powers. Thousands died of starvation and exposure. In 1918, the Serbian army pushed the ] out of Kosovo, and the region was unified as Montenegro subsequently joined the Kingdom of Serbia. The Monarchy was then transformed into the ].
{{Multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| width = 220
| image1 = Devojke iz Gnjilana.jpg
| caption1 = Serb women in ], in ], 1911
| image2 = Serb women in festive dress, near Prizren. Autochrome by Auguste Léon, 9 May 1913 (Coll. Musée Albert-Kahn).jpg
| caption2 = Serb women in traditional clothing, near ], 1913
}}

The arising ] planned a restoration of its rule in Kosovo as Ottoman might crumbled on the Balkan peninsula. The period witnessed a rise of Serbian nationalism. Some historians suggest that Austro-Hungarian emissaries were active in areas where Serbs and Albanians coexisted, deliberately stirring conflicts and divisions between the two nations to advance their state's political interests and influence.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stojančević |first=Vladimir |title=Srpski narod u Staroj Srbiji u Velikoj istočnoj krizi 1876-1878 |date=1998 |publisher=Balkanološki institut SANU, Službeni list SRJ |year=1998 |location=Belgrade}}</ref> During the ], the ] and the ] fought alongside the Kingdoms of ] and ] as part of the ] to drive the Ottoman forces out of Europe and to incorporate the spoils into their respective states. Serbia, Montenegro and Greece had acquired the entire Western Balkan (Albanian-inhabited territories) with the exception of ] in the hope of achieving recognition with their new borders. Resistance from the Albanians across their entire region in favour of their own proposed independent nation state led to fighting between the Balkan League armies (less geographically uninvolved Bulgaria) and Albanian forces. To end the conflict, the ] decreed an independent ] (close to its present borders), with most of the ] awarded to Serbia and the Metohija region awarded to Montenegro.<ref>{{cite book|last=Anderson|first=Frank Marby|author2=Amos Shartle Hershey |title=Handbook for the Diplomatic History of Europe, Asia, and Africa 1870–1914|publisher=National Board for Historical Service, Government Printing Office|location=Washington, DC|year=1918|chapter= The Treaty of London, 1913 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/handbookfordipl01hersgoog#page/n432/mode/2up}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Malcolm|first1=Noel|title=Kosovo|publisher=Pan|isbn=0-330-41224-8|page=253 |year=2002}}</ref>

====World War I and First Yugoslavia====
During the ], in the winter of 1915–1916, the Serbian army withdrew through Kosovo in a bid to evade the forces of the Central Powers. Thousands died of starvation and exposure. In 1918, the Serbian army pushed the ] out of Kosovo, and the region was unified as Montenegro subsequently joined the Kingdom of Serbia. The monarchy was then transformed into the ].

The 1918–1929 period of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes witnessed a decrease in the Serbian population of the region and an increase in the number of Albanians. In 1929, the state was renamed the ]. The territories of Kosovo were split among the ], the ] and the ]. The state lasted until the ] ] and ] (1941).


====World War II====
The 1918–1929 period of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes witnessed a decrease in the Serbian population of the region and an increase in the number of Albanians. In the kingdom, the former Ottoman province of Kosovo was split into four counties – three being a part of the entity of Serbia: Zvečan, Kosovo and southern Metohija; and one of Montenegro (itself now a ceremonial entity): northern Metohija. However, the new administration system since 26 April 1922 revised the plan and split Kosovo among three areas of the Kingdom: ], ] and Zeta.
{{see also|World War II in Yugoslavia|World War II persecution of Serbs}}
] ] set fire to a Serb village near ], circa 1941.]]


After the ] (6–18 April 1941), the Axis powers divided territory among themselves. Kosovo and Metohija was divided between ], ] and ] occupation. The largest part of what is today ] was under Italian occupation and was annexed into an ] ], the ] through a decree on 12 August 1941, while northern parts were included in ], and southeastern parts into the Bulgarian occupational zone.{{sfn|Антонијевић|2009|p=9}} Parts of eastern Montenegro and western Macedonia were also annexed to Albania.<!---->
In 1929, the state was transformed into the ] with the '']'' nationality unifying all Kosovan ]. The territories of Kosovo were split among the ], the ] and the ]. The Kingdom lasted until the World War II ] invasion of 1941.


During the occupation, the population was subject to expulsion, internment, forced labour, torture, destruction of private property, confiscation of land and livestock, destruction and damaging of monasteries, churches, cultural-historical monuments and graveyards.{{sfn|Антонијевић|2009|p=9}} There were waves of violence against Serbs in some periods, such as April 1941, June 1942, September 1943, and continuous pressure in various ways.{{sfn|Антонијевић|2009|p=10}} Civilians were sent to camps and prisons established by the Italian, German and Bulgarian occupation, and the Albanian community.{{sfn|Антонијевић|2009|p=24}} The expulsion of Serbs proved problematic, as they had performed important functions in the region, and been running most of the businesses, mills, tanneries, and public utilities, and been responsible for most of the useful agricultural production.{{sfn|Fischer|1999|p=238}} Most of the war crimes were perpetrated by the ] ("volunteers"),{{sfn|Božović|1991|p=85}} ] and the ].{{sfn|Mojzes|2011|p=95}} The Skanderbeg Division was better known for murdering, raping, and looting in predominantly Serbian areas than for participating in combat operations on behalf of the German war effort.{{sfn|Mojzes|2011|pp=94–95}} The most harsh position of Serbs was in the Italian (Albanian) zone.{{sfn|Антонијевић|2009|p=27}} A large part of the Serb population was expelled or forced to flee in order to survive.{{sfn|Антонијевић|2009|p=27}} Serbian estimations put the number of expelled at around 100,000; an estimated 40,000 from the Italian-occupation zone, 30,000 from the German zone, and 25,000 from the Bulgarian zone.{{sfn|Антонијевић|2009|pp=26–27}} It is estimated that 10,000 Serbs and Montenegrins were killed in Kosovo during WWII.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ramet |first1=Sabrina P. |title=The Three Yugoslavias: State-building and Legitimation, 1918-2005 |date=2006 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=9780253346568 |page=141 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FTw3lEqi2-oC&pg=PA141}}</ref>
Following the Axis ], most of Kosovo became part of an Italian-controlled ], and smaller portions became part of the ] and ] German-occupied ]. Prior to the surrender of ] in 1943, German forces took over direct control of the region. After numerous uprisings of ] ] and ] ], the latter being led by ], Kosovo was liberated after 1944 with the help of the Albanian partisans of the ], and most of it became a province of ] within the ] (other parts lay outside the province within Serbia whilst another part went to the newly formed Macedonian republic).


====Second Yugoslavia====
The Province of Kosovo was formed in 1946 as an autonomous region to protect its regional ] majority within the ] as a member of the ] under the leadership of the former Partisan leader, ], but with no factual autonomy. After Yugoslavia's name changed to the ] and Serbia's to the ] in 1953, the Autonomous Region of Kosovo gained some autonomy in the 1960s. In the 1974 constitution, the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo's government received higher powers, including the highest governmental titles – President and Premier and a seat in the Federal Presidency which made it a ''de facto'' Socialist Republic within the Federation, but remaining as a Socialist Autonomous Region within the Socialist Republic of Serbia. ] (called Serbo-Croatian at the time) and ] were defined official on the Provincial level marking the two largest linguistic Kosovan groups: Serbs and Albanians. In the 1970s, an Albanian nationalist movement pursued full recognition of the Province of Kosovo as another Republic within the federation, while the most extreme elements aimed for full-scale independence. Tito's government dealt with the situation swiftly, but only gave it a temporary solution. The ethnic balance of Kosovo witnessed unproportional increase as the number of ] rose dramatically due to higher birth rates.{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}} ] barely increased and dropped in the full share of the total population down to 10% due to higher demographic raise of the Albanian population.{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
The Province of Kosovo was formed in 1946 as an autonomous region to protect its regional ] majority within the ] as a member of the ] under the leadership of the former Partisan leader, ], but with no factual autonomy. After Yugoslavia's name changed to the ] and Serbia's to the ] in 1953, the Autonomous Region of Kosovo gained some autonomy in the 1960s. In the 1974 constitution, the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo's government received higher powers, including the highest governmental titles – President and Premier and a seat in the Federal Presidency which made it a ''de facto'' Socialist Republic within the Federation, but remaining as a Socialist Autonomous Region within the Socialist Republic of Serbia.
] and ], ] and symbol of Serbian-Albanian friendship<ref>{{cite web|title=Prishtine – mon amour |url=http://bturn.com/events/prishtine-mon-amour|publisher=bturn.com|date=7 September 2012}}</ref>]]
In 1981, Albanian students organized protests seeking that Kosovo become a Republic within Yugoslavia. Those protests were in
] and ] were defined official on the Provincial level marking the two largest linguistic Kosovan groups: Serbs and Albanians. In the 1970s, an Albanian nationalist movement pursued full recognition of the province of Kosovo as another republic within the federation, while the most extreme elements aimed for full-scale independence. Tito's government dealt with the situation swiftly, but only gave it a temporary solution. The ethnic balance of Kosovo witnessed unproportional increase as the number of ] rose dramatically due to higher birth rates.<ref>{{cite book|author=IBP USA|title=Kosovo Country Study Guide Strategic Information and Developments9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cz7pbGvCqhwC|date=3 March 2012|publisher=Lulu.com|page=28|isbn=9783643106117}}</ref> ] barely increased and dropped in the full share of the total population down to 10% due to higher demographic raise of the Albanian population.


In 1981, Albanian students organized protests seeking that Kosovo become a Republic within Yugoslavia. Those protests were harshly contained by the centralist Yugoslav government. In 1986, the ] (SANU) was working on a document, which later would be known as the ]. An unfinished edition was filtered to the press. In the essay, SANU explained the Serbian peoples history as victims of a 500 year and more genocide from Kosovo, and therefore called for the revival of Serb nationalism. During this time, ]'s rise to power started in the League of the Socialists of Serbia. Milošević used the discontent reflected in the SANU memorandum for his political goals. In 1981, Albanian students organized protests seeking that Kosovo become a Republic within Yugoslavia. Those protests were harshly contained by the centralist Yugoslav government. In 1986, the ] (SANU) was working on a document, which later would be known as the ]. An unfinished edition was filtered to the press. In the essay, SANU explained the Serbian peoples history as victims of a 500-year and more genocide from Kosovo, and therefore called for the revival of Serb nationalism. During this time, ]'s rise to power started in the League of the Socialists of Serbia. Milošević used the discontent reflected in the SANU memorandum for his political goals.


One of the events that contributed to Milošević's rise of power was the ''Gazimestan Speech'', delivered in front of 1,000,000 Serbs at the central celebration marking the 600th anniversary of the ], held at ] on 28 June 1989. One of the events that contributed to Milošević's rise of power was the ''Gazimestan Speech'', delivered in front of 1,000,000 Serbs at the central celebration marking the 600th anniversary of the ], held at ] on 28 June 1989.


Soon afterwards, as approved by the Assembly in 1990, the autonomy of Kosovo was revoked back to the old status (1971). The proclamation of an autonomous Kosovo by Tito and his communists was in fact a part of Tito's hope to continue the communist Yugoslavia.{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}} He had said "Strong Serbia, Weak Yugoslavia – Weak Serbia, Strong Yugoslavia" Milošević, however, did not remove Kosovo's seat from the Federal Presidency. After ]'s secession from Yugoslavia in 1991, Milošević used the seat to attain dominance over the Federal government, outvoting his opponents. Soon afterwards, as approved by the Assembly in 1990, the autonomy of Kosovo was revoked back to the old status (1971). He had said "Strong Serbia, Weak Yugoslavia – Weak Serbia, Strong Yugoslavia" Milošević, however, did not remove Kosovo's seat from the Federal Presidency. After ]'s secession from Yugoslavia in 1991, Milošević used the seat to attain dominance over the Federal government, outvoting his opponents.
{{multiple image |total_width=440
| footer = '''Left:''' Destroyed Serbian Orthodox ] in Petrić village<br />'''Right:''' Ruins of a Serb part of ] destroyed during ].
| image1 = Intolerance.jpg
| image2 = Prizren, poškozená srbská čtvrť.jpg
}}

===Breakup of Yugoslavia and Kosovo War===
After the ] of 1995, the ], ] ] organisation that sought the separation of Kosovo and the eventual creation of a ],<ref>{{cite book|title=State-building in Kosovo. A plural policing perspective|date=5 February 2015|publisher=Maklu|isbn=9789046607497 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YS15BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA53 |page=53}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Liberating Kosovo: Coercive Diplomacy and U. S. Intervention |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X5sa90AEvi0C&pg=PA69|publisher=]|date=2012|page=69 |isbn=9780262305129}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Dictionary of Genocide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rgGA91skoP4C&pg=PA249|publisher=]|date=2008|page=249|isbn=9780313346422}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) |url=http://www.britannica.com/topic/Kosovo-Liberation-Army|encyclopedia=] |date=14 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Albanian Insurgents Keep NATO Forces Busy |url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,101938,00.html|magazine=] |date=6 March 2001}}</ref> began attacking Serbian civilians and Yugoslav army and police, bombing police stations and government buildings, killing Yugoslav police and innocent people of all nationalities, even Albanians who were not on their side.<ref>{{cite news|title=KLA Ran Torture Camps in Albania|date=29 April 2009 |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/kla-ran-torture-camps-in-albania|access-date=14 September 2016}}</ref> {{As of|2014}}, mass graves of Kosovar Albanian victims are still being found.<ref>{{cite news |title=Remains of Kosovo Albanian war victims found in Serbia|date=27 May 2014 |url=http://www.focus-fen.net/news/2014/05/27/337619/remains-of-kosovo-albanian-war-victims-found-in-serbia.html|access-date=29 June 2014}}</ref> There have been many reports of abuses and war crimes committed by the KLA during and after the conflict, including the massacres of civilians in (], ], ], and ], along with prison camps (such as ]), organ theft and destruction of medieval churches and monuments.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ristic |first1=Marija |title=Kosovo Organ-Trafficking: How the Claims were Exposed |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2015/09/04/kosovo-organ-trafficking-how-the-claims-were-exposed-09-04-2015-1/ |website=Balkan Insight |date=4 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Abuses After June 12, 1999 |url=https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/2001/kosovo/undword2c.html |website=hrw.org |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=2001}}</ref>

According to the 1991 Yugoslavia census, there were 194,190 Serbs in Kosovo<ref name="Political Parties of Eastern Europe">{{cite book|last=Bugajski|first=Janusz|title=Political Parties of Eastern Europe: A Guide to Politics in the Post-Communist Era|year=2002|publisher=The Center for Strategic and International Studies|location=New York|isbn=1563246767|page=479|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9gGKtLTQlUcC&q=Political+Parties+of+Eastern+Europe:+A+Guide+to+Politics+in+the+Post}}</ref> after the Kosovo War, a large number of Serbs fled or were expelled and many of the remaining civilians were subjected to abuse.<ref name="Human Rights Watch">{{cite web|title=Abuses against Serbs and Roma in the new Kosovo |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/kosov2/|publisher=]|date=August 1999}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=After Yugoslavia: Identities and Politics Within the Successor States |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wkQ3I6GyClEC&pg=PA29 |date=2012|page=30|isbn = 9780230201316|last1 = Hudson|first1 = Robert|last2 = Bowman|first2 = Glenn| publisher=Palgrave Macmillan }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Kosovo Crisis Update|url=http://www.unhcr.org/3ae6b80f2c.html|publisher=]|date=4 August 1999}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Forced Expulsion of Kosovo Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians from OSCE Participated state to Kosovo |url=http://www.osce.org/odihr/21342?download=true|publisher=]|date=6 October 2006}}</ref><ref name="Siobhán Wills 219">{{cite book|author=Siobhán Wills|title=Protecting Civilians: The Obligations of Peacekeepers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QoqQ7kBrlSAC&pg=PA219|access-date=24 February 2013|date=26 February 2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-953387-9|page=219}}</ref> During the unrest in Kosovo, 35 churches and monasteries were destroyed or seriously damaged. After Kosovo and other ], Serbia became home to highest number of refugees and ] (including Kosovo Serbs) in Europe.<ref>{{cite web|title=Serbia home to highest number of refugees and IDPs in Europe |url=http://www.b92.net/eng/news/society.php?yyyy=2011&mm=06&dd=20&nav_id=75016|publisher=]|date=20 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Serbia: Europe's largest proctracted refugee situation |url=http://www.osce.org/serbia/24323?download=true|publisher=]|date=2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=S. Cross |author2=S. Kentera |author3=R. Vukadinovic |author4=R. Nation|title=Shaping South East Europe's Security Community for the Twenty-First Century: Trust, Partnership, Integration|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=el-YZHB8hzYC&pg=PP1|access-date=31 January 2017|date=7 May 2013|publisher=]|page=169|isbn=9781137010209}}</ref>

In total, 156 Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries have been ] since June 1999, after the end of the Kosovo War and including the ]. Many of the churches and monasteries dated back to the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries.<ref>{{cite magazine| magazine= Christianity Today| url= http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/marchweb-only/3-22-31.0.html| author= Ted Olsen| title= Dozens of Churches Destroyed in Kosovo| date= 1 March 2004| access-date= 14 March 2013}}</ref> KLA fighters are accused of vandalizing ] and terrorizing the staff. The KFOR troops said KLA rebels vandalized centuries-old murals and paintings in the chapel and stole two cars and all the monastery's food.<ref>{{cite web|date=17 June 1999|title=KLA rebels accused of vandalizing Serb monastery|publisher=CNN|location=New York|url=http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9906/17/kosovo.04/}}</ref>

===21st century===
The interim Kosovo government unilaterally ] on Sunday, 17 February 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geography.about.com/b/2008/02/17/kosovo-declares-independence-from-serbia.htm |title=Kosovo Declares Independence From Serbia |publisher=Geography.about.com |access-date=18 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807052836/http://geography.about.com/b/2008/02/17/kosovo-declares-independence-from-serbia.htm |archive-date=7 August 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Serbia refuses to recognise this declaration of independence. Kosovo's self-proclaimed independence has been recognised by 98 UN countries, and one non-UN country, the ] (Taiwan). The remaining Kosovo Serbs (mostly in ]) want to remain part of Serbia, but Serbian majority towns are now rare in Kosovo.
] celebration in ] (2009)]]


Some officials{{who|date=September 2014}} in the Serbian government have proposed a partition of Kosovo, with ] and ] becoming part of Serbia or given autonomy. The United States opposes the partition of Kosovo, stressing that the "great majority of countries around the world are not going to stand for that."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jdQvXRlU0EMYPC6QmGyS2f7VsQYQ|title=US 'absolutely' opposed to Kosovo partition|publisher=]|date=28 February 2008|access-date=9 March 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005133945/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jdQvXRlU0EMYPC6QmGyS2f7VsQYQ|archive-date=5 October 2012}}</ref> In response to the seizure of railways in Northern Kosovo and formation of Serbian offices to serve as part of a parallel government, Kosovo's Prime Minister stated that they would "not tolerate any parallel institution on Kosovo's territory" and would assert their authority over all of Kosovo.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/8460/|title=Kosovo PM: End to Parallel Structures|publisher=Balkan Insight|date=7 March 2008|access-date=9 March 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414065836/http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/8460/|archive-date=14 April 2009}}</ref> The UN's Special Representative in Kosovo said the "international community has made it very clear that no partition of Kosovo will be acceptable."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/8390/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924001525/http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/8390/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 September 2015 |title=UN: Kosovo Partition 'Not An Option' |publisher=Balkan Insight |date=5 March 2008 |access-date=9 March 2008 }}</ref> ], a Senior Fellow at the ], suggested such "a partition within a partition" would prevent a "Serbia-Kosovo War" and provides the "best chance" of Kosovo having a long-term stable relationship with Serbia.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080220/OPINION01/802200396/1008|title=Prevent trouble with partition of Kosovo|newspaper=]|last=Eland|first=Ivan|author-link=Ivan Eland|date=20 February 2008|access-date=9 March 2008}}</ref> Chairman of the Serb Municipalities of Kosovo Alliance Marko Jakšić dismissed the talk of partition and said the action of Serbs in Kosovo is to protest the Kosovo declaration. Oliver Ivanović, a Kosovo Serb political leader, said he was against Kosovo's partition because "most Serbs live south of the Ibar and their position would become unsustainable".<ref name="B92">{{cite news|url=http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=02&dd=25&nav_id=47967|title=K. Serb leader: Partition talk is nonsense|publisher=B92|date=25 February 2008|access-date=9 March 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228145930/http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=02&dd=25&nav_id=47967|archive-date=28 February 2008}}</ref> A Reuters analysis suggested that Kosovo may be divided along ethnic lines similar to Bosnia-Herzegovina. ] of the ] ] was quoted as saying, "the Republika Srpska style is acceptable for Serbia, but within the confines that it (Kosovo) is still part of Serbia."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/europeCrisis/idUSHAM836641|title=Serbs bid for Bosnia-style division in Kosovo|work=Reuters|last=Robinson|first=Matt|date=29 February 2008|access-date=9 March 2008}}</ref> ], the European Union's ] in Kosovo, and the ] said no plans are under discussion to carve out a canton or grant any other autonomy to Serbs living in the north of Kosovo. He told the ], Kosovo, daily Koha Ditore, "It is quite clear that the privileged relations between the Serbs here (in Kosovo) and Belgrade are in the spheres of education, health care, and religious objects," adding that "the government in Pristina has to be respected."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2008/03/03/eu_dismisses_serb_autonomy_in_kosovo/6460/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20110604191528/http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2008/03/03/eu_dismisses_serb_autonomy_in_kosovo/6460/|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 June 2011|title=EU dismisses Serb autonomy in Kosovo|publisher=United Press International|date=3 March 2008|access-date=9 March 2008}}</ref>
After the ] of 1995, the ] began attacking Serbian civilians and Yugoslav army and police, bombing police stations and government buildings, killing Yugoslav police and innocent people of all nationalities, even Albanians who were not on their side.{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}} This triggered a Yugoslav interior ministry counter strike, aiming at crippling KLA-members, but since this was a guerilla organization it was hard to establish civilians from insurgents, and ] started a lobby in the United States congress. The numbers that US, UK, NATO and UN officials operated with were around 10,000 Kosovo Albanians killed.<ref>{{cite web| publisher= Washington Post| url= http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/balkans/stories/cohen051699.htm| title= Cohen Fears 100,000 Kosovo Men Killed by Serbs| date= 16 May 1999| accessdate= 28 March 2013}}</ref> This triggered a 78-day ] campaign in 1999. {{As of|2014}}, mass graves of Kosovar Albanian victims are still being found.<ref>{{cite news|title=Remains of Kosovo Albanian war victims found in Serbia|url=http://www.focus-fen.net/news/2014/05/27/337619/remains-of-kosovo-albanian-war-victims-found-in-serbia.html|accessdate=29 June 2014|date=27 May 2014}}</ref>


]
According to the 1991 Yugoslavia census, there was 194,190 Serbs in Kosovo<ref name="Political Parties of Eastern Europe">{{cite book|last=Bugajski|first=Janusz|title=Political Parties of Eastern Europe: A Guide to Politics in the Post-Communist Era|year=2002|publisher=The Center for Strategic and International Studies|location=New York|isbn=1563246767|page=479|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=9gGKtLTQlUcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Political+Parties+of+Eastern+Europe:+A+Guide+to+Politics+in+the+Post&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9aJUUebACILM0QWwpIC4Bg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA}}</ref> however with the arrival of NATO, a large number of Serbs fled the region, estimated at 100,000 by the UNHCR. Around 120,000 remain in Kosovo and oppose any rule by Albanians. During the unrest in Kosovo, 35 churches and monasteries were destroyed or seriously damaged. In total, 156 Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries have been destroyed since June 1999. Many of the churches and monasteries dated back to the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries.<ref>{{cite web| publisher= Christianity Today| url= http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/marchweb-only/3-22-31.0.html| author= Ted Olsen| title= Dozens of Churches Destroyed in Kosovo| date= 1 March 2004| accessdate= 14 March 2013}}</ref>
On 30 September 2008, Serbian ] ] stated that he would consider partitioning Kosovo if all other options were exhausted. The former Foreign Minister for ], ], applauded the suggestion saying "finally this is a realistic approach coming from Serbia. Finally, after several years, there is a room to discuss."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hkWFbKTxXuU8ha3fYEyAKjGkULlA|title=Serbian president says dividing Kosovo an option: report|publisher=]|date=30 September 2008|access-date=1 October 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003151046/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hkWFbKTxXuU8ha3fYEyAKjGkULlA|archive-date=3 October 2008}}</ref> After his comments aroused controversy in the media, Tadić reiterated that he was suggesting this as a possibility only if all other options were exhausted.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=10&dd=01&nav_id=53880|title=Tadić "not suggesting Kosovo partition"|publisher=B92|date=1 October 2008|access-date=1 October 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081004040834/http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=10&dd=01&nav_id=53880|archive-date=4 October 2008}}</ref>


In the Brussels Agreement of 2013, Serbia agreed to grant the government in Pristina authority over Kosovo, while Pristina made an agreement to form ], which has not been fulfilled. Kosovo Serbs have accepted many aspects of Kosovo's rule and Kosovo Serbs now vote on Kosovo central election commission ballots in local elections.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}
===Republic of Kosovo===
The interim Kosovo government unilaterally ] on Sunday, 17 February 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://geography.about.com/b/2008/02/17/kosovo-declares-independence-from-serbia.htm |title=Kosovo Declares Independence From Serbia |publisher=Geography.about.com |accessdate=18 October 2011}}</ref> Serbia refuses to recognise this declaration of independence. Kosovo's self-proclaimed independence has been recognised by {{Numrec|Kos}} UN countries, and one non-UN country, the ] (Taiwan). The remaining Serbs from ] want to remain in the Republic of Serbia, but Serbian majority towns are now rare in the Albanian-dominated, partially recognised Republic of Kosovo.


During the ] pandemic, Kosovo Serbs found themselves in a limbo, stuck between different orders issued by Serbia and Kosovo.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-09-30|title=COVID-19 Exacerbates Ethnic Serb Limbo in Kosovo|url=https://balkaninsight.com/2020/09/30/covid-19-exacerbates-ethnic-serb-limbo-in-kosovo/|access-date=2020-12-06|website=Balkan Insight|language=en-US}}</ref> In November 2020, during the COVID pandemics, Kosovo policemen and inspectors stormed and temporarily closed several Serb-owned pharmacies in North Kosovo, attempting to confiscate medicine supplies, because the items were allegedly not registered within the central system in ]. The act was met with citizen protest which were on the verge of escalation.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-11-19|title=Kosovo health officials inspect pharmacy in North Mitrovica amidst the pandemic - assisted by the ECI police unit, citizens protest|url=https://kossev.info/kosovo-health-inspectors-inspect-a-pharmacy-in-north-mitrovica-in-the-middle-of-the-pandemic-citizens-protest/|access-date=2020-12-06|website=KoSSev|language=sr-RS}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Građani sprečili zaplenu lekova na Kosovu|url=https://www.danas.rs/drustvo/gradjani-sprecili-zaplenu-lekova-na-kosovu/|access-date=2020-12-06|website=Dnevni list Danas|date=19 November 2020|language=sr-RS}}</ref> In December 2020, the vaccines for COVID-19 were sent to North Kosovo by Serbia without any consultation with Kosovan authorities. ] opposed the arrival of those vaccines, claiming that they were illegally distributed by Serbia.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-12-28|title=Kosovo Protests 'Illegal' Arrival of COVID-19 Vaccines in North|url=https://balkaninsight.com/2020/12/28/kosovo-protests-illegal-arrival-of-covid-19-vaccines-in-north/|access-date=2021-01-05|website=Balkan Insight|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title='Illegal' Vaccines In Northern Kosovo Provide A Heavy Dose Of Cross-Border Politics|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/illegal-vaccines-in-northern-kosovo-provide-a-heavy-dose-of-cross-border-politics/31025332.html|access-date=2021-01-05|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=30 December 2020 |language=en |last1=Bislimi |first1=Bekim |last2=Heil |first2=Andy }}</ref> Only few people were vaccinated and the remaining vaccines were sent back after an investigation was launched.<ref>{{Cite web|date=29 December 2020|title=Serbia Accused of Playing Politics by Sending Vaccines to Kosovo|url=https://balkaninsight.com/2020/12/29/serbia-accused-of-playing-politics-by-sending-vaccines-to-kosovo/|access-date=2021-01-05|website=Balkan Insight|language=en}}</ref> In 2021 health workers from North Kosovo protested against arrests of their colleagues who are employed in the hospitals which take care of patients with COVID-19. They described the actions as "inhumane" and sent protesting letters to various international institutions and organisations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rts.rs/page/stories/sr/story/125/drustvo/4233427/kosovska-mitrovica-zdavstveni-radnici-protest.html|title=Protest zdravstvenih radnika u Kosovskoj Mitrovici|last=Serbia|website=www.rts.rs|access-date=2021-01-25}}</ref>
], established by the Brussels Agreement in 2013]]


Kosovo's Serb minority is often the target of demonstrations of hostility and attacks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2020/09/28/are-serb-churches-serb-critique-of-an-unwise-choice/|title=Are 'Serb' churches Serb? Critique of an unwise choice|last=Andrea Lorenzo Capussela|date=2020-09-28|website=European Western Balkans|language=en-US|access-date=2021-07-07}}</ref> In addition to that, members of the Kosovo Serbs community face mistreatment and prejudice in Serbia too.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-01-14|title=Return to Kosovo: The Serbs Who Re-Embraced Their Hometown|url=https://balkaninsight.com/2020/01/14/return-to-kosovo-the-serbs-who-re-embraced-their-hometown/|access-date=2021-07-12|website=Balkan Insight|language=en-US}}</ref>
Some officials{{who|date=September 2014}} in the Serbian government have proposed the partitioning of Kosovo, with ] and ] becoming part of Serbia or given autonomy. The United States opposes the partition of Kosovo, stressing that the "great majority of countries around the world are not going to stand for that."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jdQvXRlU0EMYPC6QmGyS2f7VsQYQ|title=US 'absolutely' opposed to Kosovo partition|publisher=]|date=2008-02-28|accessdate=2008-03-09}}</ref> In response to the seizure of railways in Northern Kosovo and formation of Serbian offices to serve as part of a parallel government, Kosovo's Prime Minister stated that they would "not tolerate any parallel institution on Kosovo's territory" and would assert their authority over all of Kosovo.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/8460/|title=Kosovo PM: End to Parallel Structures|publisher=Balkan Insight|date=2008-03-07|accessdate=2008-03-09|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20090414065836/http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/8460/|archive-date=14 April 2009}}</ref> The UN's Special Representative in Kosovo said the "international community has made it very clear that no partition of Kosovo will be acceptable."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/8390/|title=UN: Kosovo Partition 'Not An Option'|publisher=Balkan Insight|date=2008-03-05|accessdate=2008-03-09}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> ], a Senior Fellow at the ], suggested such "a partition within a partition" would prevent a "Serbia-Kosovo War" and provides the "best chance" of Kosovo having a long-term stable relationship with Serbia.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080220/OPINION01/802200396/1008|title=Prevent trouble with partition of Kosovo|publisher=]|last=Eland|first=Ivan|authorlink=Ivan Eland|date=2008-02-20|accessdate=2008-03-09}}</ref> Chairman of the Serb Municipalities of Kosovo Alliance Marko Jakšić dismissed the talk of partition and said the action of Serbs in Kosovo is to protest the Kosovo declaration. Oliver Ivanović, a Kosovo Serb political leader, said he was against Kosovo's partition because "most Serbs live south of the Ibar and their position would become unsustainable".<ref name="B92">{{cite news|url=http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=02&dd=25&nav_id=47967|title=K. Serb leader: Partition talk is nonsense|publisher=B92|date=2008-02-25|accessdate=2008-03-09}}</ref> A Reuters analysis suggested that Kosovo may be divided along ethnic lines similar to Bosnia-Herzegovina. ] of the ] ] was quoted as saying, "the Republika Srpska style is acceptable for Serbia, but within the confines that it (Kosovo) is still part of Serbia."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/europeCrisis/idUSHAM836641|title=Serbs bid for Bosnia-style division in Kosovo|publisher=Reuters|last=Robinson|first=Matt|date=2008-02-29|accessdate=2008-03-09}}</ref> ], the European Union's ] in Kosovo, and the ] said no plans are under discussion to carve out a canton or grant any other autonomy to Serbs living in the north of Kosovo. He told the ], Kosovo, daily Koha Ditore, "It is quite clear that the privileged relations between the Serbs here (in Kosovo) and Belgrade are in the spheres of education, health care, and religious objects," adding that "the government in Pristina has to be respected."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2008/03/03/eu_dismisses_serb_autonomy_in_kosovo/6460/|title=EU dismisses Serb autonomy in Kosovo|publisher=United Press International|date=2008-03-03|accessdate=2008-03-09}}</ref>
On 30 September 2008, Serbian ] ] stated that he would consider partitioning Kosovo if all other options were exhausted. The former Foreign Minister for ], ], applauded the suggestion saying "finally this is a realistic approach coming from Serbia. Finally, after several years, there is a room to discuss."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hkWFbKTxXuU8ha3fYEyAKjGkULlA|title=Serbian president says dividing Kosovo an option: report|publisher=]|date=2008-09-30|accessdate=2008-10-01 }}</ref> After his comments aroused controversy in the media, Tadić reiterated that he was suggesting this as a possibility only if all other options were exhausted.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=10&dd=01&nav_id=53880|title=Tadić "not suggesting Kosovo partition"|publisher=B92|date=2008-10-01|accessdate=2008-10-01 }}</ref> Kosovo's parliamentary speaker, Jakup Krasniqi, condemned any suggestion of paritioning saying, "All of those who aim to divide Kosovo, I want to say, it will end in nothing. Serbs lost their right to Kosovo with the unjust war against the Albanian majority."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/kosovo-slams-serb-leader-s-partition-claim/id_32079/catid_68|title=Kosovo slams Serb leader’s partition claim|publisher=]|date=2008-10-01|accessdate=2008-10-01}}</ref>
===Post Brussels Agreement of 2013===
Since the Brussels Agremeent of 2013 where Serbia agreed to abolish all of its institutions and role in Kosovo Serbs have accepted many aspects of the Republic of Kosovo. They now vote on republic of Kosovo central election Commission ballots in local elections. Mayors like Goran Rakic of North Mitrovica and Kosovo assembly members loyalty oaths to the Republic of Kosovo. <ref>http://inserbia.info/today/2014/02/goran-rakic-elected-north-mitrovica-mayor/</ref>Krstmir Pantic of North mitrovica could not become mayor because he refused to sign the oath to the republic of Kosovo after he was chosen in the elections of 2013. Kosovo Serb policeman must take an oath when they join the Kosovo police to the Republic of Kosovo. Kosovo Serbs who serve in the legal system must take the Republic of Kosovo bar exam to practice law. There is now wide acceptance and recognition of Kosovo independence among Kosovo Serbs and a strong patriotism about the Republic of Kosovo and not Serbia.<ref>https://euobserver.com/foreign/124538</ref>
<ref>http://balkanist.net/serbian-elections-and-a-new-crisis-in-north-kosovo/</ref> Kosovo Serbs pledge to join republic of Kosovo army and wear its uniform. <ref>http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/serb-wears-kosovo-uniform-with-pride</ref>


==Demographics== ==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographic history of Kosovo|Kosovo Serb enclaves}} {{Main|Demographic history of Kosovo|Serbian enclaves in Kosovo}}
]
{| class="infobox" {| class="infobox"
|- |-
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!] !]
!Others !Others
|- style="background:#f5f5f5;"
|'''1921'''
| style="text-align:right;"|65 %
| style="text-align:right;"|26 %
| style="text-align:right;"|9 %
|- style="background:#fffaf0;"
|'''1931'''
| style="text-align:right;"|60 %
| style="text-align:right;"|33 %
| style="text-align:right;"|7 %
|- style="background:#f5f5f5;"
|'''1948'''<ref>{{cite web|title=Report on the size and ethnic composition of the population of Kosovo
|url=http://www.icty.org/x/file/About/OTP/War_Demographics/en/milosevic_kosovo_020814.pdf|publisher=]|date=14 August 2002}}</ref>
| style="text-align:right;"|68 %
| style="text-align:right;"|24 %
| style="text-align:right;"|8 %
|- style="background:#fffaf0;"
|'''1953'''
| style="text-align:right;"|65 %
| style="text-align:right;"|23 %
| style="text-align:right;"|11 %
|- style="background:#fffaf0;"
|'''1961'''
| style="text-align:right;"|67 %
| style="text-align:right;"|23 %
| style="text-align:right;"|9 %
|- style="background:#fffaf0;"
|'''1971'''
| style="text-align:right;"|73 %
| style="text-align:right;"|18 %
| style="text-align:right;"|8 %
|- style="background:#f5f5f5;"
|'''1981'''
| style="text-align:right;"|77 %
| style="text-align:right;"|13 %
| style="text-align:right;"|9 %
|- style="background:#fffaf0;" |- style="background:#fffaf0;"
|'''1991'''<ref name="Political Parties of Eastern Europe" /> |'''1991'''<ref name="Political Parties of Eastern Europe" />
| style="text-align:right;"|82.2&nbsp;% | style="text-align:right;"|82 %
| style="text-align:right;"|9.9&nbsp;% | style="text-align:right;"|10 %
| style="text-align:right;"|7.9&nbsp;% | style="text-align:right;"|8 %
|- style="background:#f5f5f5;" |- style="background:#f5f5f5;"
|'''2000<ref name="osce">Statistics Office of Kosovo, World Bank (2000), OSCE (2007)</ref>''' |'''2000<ref name="osce">Statistics Office of Kosovo, World Bank (2000), OSCE (2007)</ref>'''
| style="text-align:right;"|88&nbsp;% | style="text-align:right;"|88 %
| style="text-align:right;"|7&nbsp;% | style="text-align:right;"|7 %
| style="text-align:right;"|5&nbsp;% | style="text-align:right;"|5 %
|- style="background:#fffaf0;" |- style="background:#fffaf0;"
|'''2007<ref name="osce"/>''' |'''2007<ref name="osce"/>'''
| style="text-align:right;"|92&nbsp;% | style="text-align:right;"|92 %
| style="text-align:right;"|5&nbsp;% | style="text-align:right;"|5 %
| style="text-align:right;"|3&nbsp;% | style="text-align:right;"|3 %
|} |}


During the 20th century, the Serb population of Kosovo constantly decreased. Their share in the overall population of the region is now estimated at around 100,000 or 7% of total population.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kv.html |title=CIA – The World Factbook |publisher=Cia.gov |accessdate=18 October 2011}}</ref> Serbs mostly populate the ], as well as compact ] where they comprise 95% of population and whose {{convert|1200|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} comprise 11% of Kosovo's territory.. Diplomats from the ] have voiced concern over slow progress on Serb rights.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45235&Cr=kosovo&Cr1=#.Uc1bljtkPng |title=UN rights chief urges broad cooperation to achieve comprehensive settlement in Kosovo |publisher=UN News Center |accessdate=18 June 2013}}</ref> ] pointed out discrimination against Serbs and ] immediately after the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/kosov2/ |title=Human Rights Watch: Abuses Against Serbs And Roma In The New Kosovo (August 1999) |publisher=Hrw.org |accessdate=18 October 2011}}</ref> During the 20th century, the Serb population of Kosovo constantly decreased. Today, Serbs mostly populate the ], as well as ], which comprises 11% of Kosovo's territory and where they comprise 95% of population. {{convert|1200|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}. Diplomats from the ] have voiced concern over slow progress on minority rights.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45235&Cr=kosovo&Cr1=#.Uc1bljtkPng |title=UN rights chief urges broad cooperation to achieve comprehensive settlement in Kosovo |publisher=UN News Center |access-date=18 June 2013}}</ref> ] pointed out discrimination against Serbs and ] immediately after the ].<ref name="Human Rights Watch" />


] calculated, based on 2010 and 2013 estimations, that ca. 146,128 Serbs resided in Kosovo, that is, ca. 7.8% of the total population.<ref name="ECMI Kosovo 2013"/> In 2012, the ] estimated that the number was 90–120,000.<ref>{{cite web|title=Srpska zajednica na Kosovu|year=2012|website=helsinki.org.rs|publisher=] |language=sr |url=http://www.helsinki.org.rs/serbian/doc/Srpska%20zajednica%20na%20Kosovu.pdf |quote=Prema ocenama...broj Srba na Kosovu je između 90.000 i 120.000. |access-date=11 June 2015}}</ref> The Republic of Kosovo-organized 2011 census did not take place in ], and was boycotted by a considerable number of Serbs in southern Kosovo.<ref name="ECMI Kosovo 2013"/> The ECMI did call "for caution when referring to the ]".<ref name="ECMI">{{cite news|title=ECMI: Minority figures in Kosovo census to be used with reservations|publisher=ECMI |url=http://www.infoecmi.eu/index.php/ecmi-minority-figures-in-kosovo-census-to-be-used-with-reservations/|access-date=22 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170528122213/http://www.infoecmi.eu/index.php/ecmi-minority-figures-in-kosovo-census-to-be-used-with-reservations/|archive-date=28 May 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> There are ten municipalities constituted by a Serb numerical majority.<ref name="ECMI Kosovo 2013"/> These are the four northern municipalities of ], ], ], ], and the six southern (enclave) municipalities of ], ], ], ], ] and ].<ref name="ECMI Kosovo 2013"/> As of 2014, the ] estimates that around 96,000 Serbs live in Kosovo.{{sfn|Cocozelli|2016|p=267}}
Besides municipalities of ], ], ] and ] in Serb-dominated North Kosovo, Serb majority have three other municipalities further south: ], ], and ].<ref name="census">{{cite web|url=http://esk.rks-gov.net/rekos2011/?cid=1,92|title=REKOS 2011: Results|date=September 2012|publisher=Statistical Office of Kosovo|accessdate=22 September 2012}}</ref> In ], ] and ] Serbs form about 45% of the total population.<ref name="census"/>


The UNHCR estimated in 2019 that the total number of IDPs (Serbs and non-Serbs) from Kosovo in Serbia are 68,514.<ref name="UNHCR2019">{{cite web |title=UNHCR - Kosovo Fact Sheet 2019 |url=https://www.unhcr.org/see/wp-content/uploads/sites/57/2019/05/Fact-sheet-Kosovo-9-May-2019.pdf |publisher=UNHCR}}</ref> Serbia has claimed (2018) that a total 199,584 IDPs from Kosovo (Serbs and non-Serbs) origin have settled and live in Serbia after the war based on the original data it gathered in 2000.<ref name="rtv2018" /><ref name="politika2018" /> The UNHCR reported in 2009, based on the official figures by the government of Serbia, that around 205,835 IDPs who fled from Kosovo lived in Serbia.<ref>{{cite news|title=UNHCR: Returns to Kosovo halted |newspaper=B92 |date=5 April 2010 |url=http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2010&mm=04&dd=05&nav_id=66264 |quote=1 August 2009 UNHCR |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231212618/http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2010&mm=04&dd=05&nav_id=66264 |archive-date=31 December 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> These included Serbs, Roma, ] and Egyptians.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cvejic |first1=Slobodan |last2=Babovic |first2=Marija |title=IDPs FROM AND WITHIN KOSOVO: Vulnerabilities and Resources June 2009 |url=https://drc.ngo/media/1659347/IDPs-from-and-within-Kosovo.pdf |publisher=SeConS – Development Initiative Group and Danish Refugee Council, prepared under the UNHCR and UNDP Joint Programming Framework |page=4}}</ref> The registration data in 2000 are the only official data which have been generated and there has been no re-registration of IDPs in Serbia since 2000. The same figure has been used in all official reports since then with some statistical reconfigurations. As such, the reliability of the registration of IDPs living in Serbia has been questioned.<ref name="rtv2018">, Radio-televizija Vojvodine, 1 October 2018: Prema najnovijim podacima, u Srbiji, ne računajući teritoriju Kosova i Metohije, živi 199.584 interno raseljenih lica sa KiM od čega su 68.514 lica, odnosno 16.644 porodice, u stanju potrebe - nemaju odgovarajuće stambeno rešenje i adekvatne prihode kojim bi mogli sebi takvo rešenje da obezbede.</ref><ref name="politika2018">{{Cite web|title=U Srbiji živi skoro 200.000 interno raseljenih lica sa KiM|url=http://www.politika.co.rs/sr/clanak/412338/U-Srbiji-zivi-skoro-200-000-interno-raseljenih-lica-sa-KiM|access-date=2021-02-18|website=Politika Online}}</ref><ref name="Allen">{{cite web |last1=Allen |first1=Richard |title=Support for IDPs in Serbia Summary Report and Proposals |url=http://www.unhcr.rs/media/docs/Support_for_IDPs_in_Serbia_ENG_S-01-IZMENE-01-11-2016.pdf |publisher=UNHCR |quote=Officially, there are 203,140 persons displaced from Kosovo and still living in Serbia. This data comes from the registration of IDPs in 2000 and following subsequent movements of people out of Kosovo. There has been no re-registration exercise, but the total number of registered people is adjusted annually to reflect population movements and demographic changes. While the reliability of registration data can be questioned, it remains the sole source of official data.}}</ref>
Estimations on the total number of Serbs in Kosovo ranges between 90-120,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.helsinki.org.rs/serbian/doc/Srpska%20zajednica%20na%20Kosovu.pdf|title=HELSINŠKI ODBOR ZA LJUDSKA PRAVA U SRBI|website=helsinki.org.rs|publisher=]|language=Serbian|accessdate=11 June 2015}}</ref>


In 2003, the number of Kosovo Serb IDPs in Montenegro was {{circa}} 12,000.<ref name="auto1">{{cite journal|author=Radević, Dragana|title=Izbjeglice i interno raseljene osobe u Crnoj Gori–trajna rješenja|journal=Migracijske I Etničke Teme|year=2005|url=https://www.academia.edu/3433639|quote=Crna Gora je pružila (ili pruža) utočište za 18.047 interno raseljenih osoba s Kosova od kojih je većina izbjegla 1999., a manji broj njih 2000. (Izvještaj o registracijiraseljenih lica..., 2003). Među interno raseljenima trećina su Romi, a najviše ih je smješteno u romskim naseljima, gdje su izmiješani s lokalnim sunarodnjacima ... Ukupan broj raseljenih u Crnoj Gori je približno 26.500}}</ref> The numbers do not include those that have received Montenegrin citizenship. As of 2015, there were at least 6,600 Kosovo Serb refugees in Montenegro.<ref name="auto">{{cite news|date=12 January 2015|title=Izbeglice sa Kosova protiv Tačijeve posete|url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/rs/article/izbeglice-sa-kosova-protiv-ta%C4%8Dijeve-posete|quote=Estimates suggest that over 6,600 Kosovo Serbs still live in Montenegro, over 15 years after the conflict ended. The majority of them still live in temporary refugee settlements without personal identity documents.}}</ref> By 2019, there were 135 IDPs in total in Montenegro from Kosovo.<ref name="UNHCR2019"/>
===Albanisation===
{{main|Albanisation}}


In 2017, per the Serbian President ], there were 94,998 Serbs in Kosovo. In the north, there were 47.1 percent of them and south of the Ibar lived 52.8 percent of the Serbs.<ref name="BLIC">{{cite web |title= (MAPA) SRBI NA KOSOVU U sastav ZSO ulazi 10 opština sa srpskom većinom: Najviše ih je u Severnoj Mitrovici, a najveća enklava i povratničko mesto su JUŽNO OD IBRA |url= https://www.blic.rs/vesti/politika/najvise-srba-u-severnoj-mitrovici-najveca-enkava-i-povratnicko-mesto-juzno-od-ibra/hlm5gzf |publisher=Blic.rs|access-date=2023-11-19}}</ref> The ] ] estimated that there were around 95,000 Serbs in Kosovo in 2023, based on primary school pupil data.<ref name="esi" />
The term ''Arnauti'' or ''Arnautaši'' was coined by ethnographers for "Albanised Serbs"; ] who had converted to Islam and went through a process of ].<ref>Dietmar Müller, ''Staatsbürger aus Widerruf: Juden und Muslime als Alteritätspartner im rumänischen und serbischen Nationscode: ethnonationale Staatsbürgerschaftskonzepte 1878–1941'', . ISBN 3-447-05248-1, ISBN 978-3-447-05248-1</ref><ref name=RK>''Religion and the politics of identity in Kosovo'', : see footnotes</ref> It is claimed that more than 10,000 ethnic Serbs have had their names ], e.g. from ] to Nikoliqi, ] to Petroviqi, and their nationality changed from "Serbian" to "Kosovan". This has been interpreted by some as a form of ].<ref>Novosti Online, 7 July 2011, </ref>

]
]

{|class="sortable wikitable" style="font-size:90%;"
|-
|+ Serb community in Kosovo (] 2013 {{estimation}})<br>by municipality
|-
! Municipality
! Percentage
! Number
|-
| ] || 76.48% || 22,530
|-
| ] || 96% || 18,000
|-
| ] || 96.1% || 16,000
|-
| ] || 93.29% || 13,900
|-
| ] || 70.58% || 9,100
|-
| ] || 82.15% || 7,209
|-
| ] || 61.46% || 5,802
|-
| ] || 97.15% || 5,718
|-
| ] || 99.96% || 5,300
|-
| ] || 5.29% || 5,000
|-
| ] || 71.23% || 3,500
|-
| ]|| 4.79% || 3,500
|-
| ] || 8.01% || 3,019
|-
| ]|| 12.37% || 3,000
|-
| ]|| 3.37% || 2,000
|-
| ] || 1% || 2,000
|-
| ]|| 4.16% || 1,700
|-
| ]|| 1.76% || 1,000
|-
| ] || 1.03% || 1,000
|-
| ] || 2.51% || 900
|-
| ] || 1.53% || 600
|-
| ] || 0.59% || 300
|-
| ]|| 0.59% || 280
|-
| ] || 0.13% || 237
|-
| ] || 0.06% || 60
|-
| ]|| 0.18% || 49
|-
| ] || 0.11% || 46
|-
| ] || 0.02% || 17
|-
| ] || 0.02% || 14
|-
| ] || 0.01% || 12
|-
| ]|| 0.02% || 7
|-
| ] || <0.01% || 2
|-
| ] || <0.01% || 1
|-
|}


==Culture== ==Culture==
{{multiple image
] painting by ].]]
| footer = '''Left:''' ] (]) and ] from ]<br />'''Right:''' ] painting by ].
The Battle of Kosovo is particularly important to Serbian history, tradition, and national identity.<ref>{{cite book|author=Isabelle Dierauer|title=Disequilibrium, Polarization, and Crisis Model: An International Relations Theory Explaining Conflict|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=GCuDsecLWmYC|date=16 May 2013|publisher=University Press of America|isbn=978-0-7618-6106-5|page=88}}</ref>
| width1 = 200
| image1 = Ensemble "Kolo" dancing folk dance of Gnjilane.jpg
| width2 = 200
| image2 = Gracanica-1913.jpg
}}


The Battle of Kosovo is particularly important to Serbian history, tradition, and national identity.<ref>{{cite book|author=Isabelle Dierauer|title=Disequilibrium, Polarization, and Crisis Model: An International Relations Theory Explaining Conflict|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GCuDsecLWmYC|date=16 May 2013|publisher=University Press of America|isbn=978-0-7618-6106-5|page=88}}</ref>
Notable ] in Kosovo include the ], ], ], ], ].


] of Serbian orthodox church take care of Serbian people and Orthodox heritage in Kosovo. Numerous ] and churches are spread around Kosovo. Some of them include: ], ], ], ], ] and ]. The last four make up the ], founded by the ], is a combined ].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Centre |first1=UNESCO World Heritage |title=World Heritage Committee puts Medieval Monuments in Kosovo on Danger List and extends site in Andorra, ending this year's inscriptions |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/268 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |access-date=4 August 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
In connection with social gatherings among the Serbs around the churches and monasteries called ''Sabori'' during the '']'' and ''Hram'' (Patron of the monastery) there was a belief that everyone must dance (to instrumental accompaniments) in order to gain and secure good health. In upper ] the Sabor was held on November 21 by the ruins of the monastery of the Holy archangel founded by the Serbian Emperor ] the Mighty in the 14th century. There was also great social gatherings at the ] fortress.<ref> Ethnomusicology, Vol. 6, No. 2 (May, 1962)</ref>

Medieval ] built by Serbian rulers and lords present important cultural heritage.

In connection with social gatherings among the Serbs around the churches and monasteries called ''Sabori'' during the '']'' and ''Hram'' (Patron of the monastery) there was a belief that everyone must dance (to instrumental accompaniments) in order to gain and secure good health.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kolo |url=https://www.crkvenikalendar.com/tradicija/kolo_en.php |access-date=2024-04-08 |website=www.crkvenikalendar.com}}</ref> In upper ] the Sabor was held on 21 November by the ruins of the monastery of the Holy archangel founded by the Serbian Emperor ] the Mighty in the 14th century. There were also great social gatherings at the ] fortress.<ref> Ethnomusicology, Vol. 6, No. 2 (May 1962)</ref>

Serbian folk music is rich in a large number of songs from Kosovo, which were especially preserved in the performances of ] and ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Национална Ревија - National Review |url=https://www.nacionalnarevija.com/en/tekstovi/br%2038/08%20Etno.html |access-date=2024-04-08 |website=www.nacionalnarevija.com}}</ref>

The Serbs in Kosovo speak the dialects of Zeta-South Raška, Kosovo-Resava, and Prizren-South Morava.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thaj Enterprises - Foreign Recruitment Agency |url=https://thajenterprises.com/frontend/country/4 |access-date=2024-04-08 |website=thajenterprises.com}}</ref>

===UNESCO World Heritage Sites===
{{multiple image
|align = center
|direction = horizontal
|total_width = 950

|image1 = Visoki_Dečani,_exterior_view,_GentiBrehamaj.jpg
|width1 = 350
|caption1 = ]

|image2 = Patrikana_e_Pejës.jpg
|width2 = 300
|caption2 = ]

|image3 = 2011 Prizren, Cerkiew Bogurodzicy Ljeviškiej 12.JPG
|width3 = 280
|caption3 = ]

|image4 = Manastiri_Gracanices.jpg
|width4 = 360
|caption4 = ]
}}


==Prominent people== ==Prominent people==
===Monarchs===
{{Serbs}}
], Serbian ruler who led the army in the ]]]
*]
*], Serbian ruler who led the army in the ], born in ] fortress in Boževce village near ].
*]
*], ]
*]
*] *]
*], ]
*]
*], Serbian nobleman
*]
*], magnate and '']''
*]
*], lord of ]
*]
*], lord of District of Branković
*]
*] *]
*]
*]
*], ]
*]

*]
===Politicians===
*]
*], prime minister of ]
*]
*], ] of ]
*]
*], ] of SAP Kosovo
*]
*], Chairman of the Executive Council of SAP Kosovo
*]
*], acting ]
*]
*], ] and director of the ]
*], ]
*], ]
*], Deputy Prime Minister of ]
*], Minister of Communities and Returns of Republic of Kosovo<ref>{{cite web |title=Aleksandar Jablanovic says resignations unilateral move of Serbian List (Voice of America) |url=https://media.unmikonline.org/mediareports/serb-monitoring-10863 |publisher=UNMIK Media Observer |date=15 August 2024}}</ref>
*], Minister of Communities and Returns of Republic of Kosovo
*], Minister of Communities and Returns of Republic of Kosovo
*], State Secretary of the ]<ref>{{cite web |title=Oliver Ivanović |url=https://www.belgradeforum.org/speaker/oliver-ivanovic/ |website=belgradeforum.org |publisher=Belgrade Security Forum}}</ref>
*], businessman and politician
*], doctor and politician, Member of the ]
*], Chairman of the Serbian National Council for Central Kosovo<ref>{{cite news |title=Kosovo Russians? |url=https://www.dw.com/en/kosovo-serbs-apply-en-masse-for-russian-citizenship/a-15546775 |work=Deutsche Welle |date=21 November 2011}}</ref>
*], first President of the Assembly of the Community and Municipalities of AP Kosovo
*], former mayor of Zubin Potok<ref>{{cite web |title=Slaviša Ristić |url=https://www.fakeobservers.org/biased-observation-database/details/ristic-slavisa.html |website=fakeobservers.org |publisher=European Platform for Democratic Elections}}</ref>

===Religious people===
]]]
*], Archbishop of Peć and first Serbian Patriarch
*], Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch
*], the first metropolitan of ]
*], Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch
*], monk and horologist who invented and built the first known mechanical public clock in ]
*], Catholic Bishop of ]

===Military people===
], U.S. ] recipient]]

*], knight during the ]
*], military commander in Austrian service during the ]
*], military commander and one of the most important figures of the ]
*], Serbian Orthodox priest and revolutionary who participated in the ] as a commander of a detachment in ]
*], ] ] who received the ] for his service in the ] during ]
*], one of the organizers of the anti-fascist uprising in Kosovo
*], commander in the Balkan Wars and World War I
*], ] commander
*], Chetnik commander
*], Chetnik soldier
*], general of the Army of Yugoslavia
*], Serbian police general
*], pilot
*], Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces

===Writers===
*], Serbian Orthodox clergyman and writer
*], writer and poet
*], author of a memoir of his time as a ] in the army of the Ottoman Empire.
*], writer who lived in the 15th century
*], an Orthodox Christian monk, scribe, historian and theologian
*], writer
*], poet
*], Serbian Jewish writer
*], poet
*], poet, writer and essayist
*], writer, professor and member of ]
*], poet

===Science and education===
*], historian and member of the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts
*], geographer and ethnologist
*], Rector of the ]
*], professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at ]'s ] and a corresponding member of the ]
*], pianist and professor at the ]
*Anđelko Karaferić, musician, Professor of ] and Associate Dean at the University of Pristina Faculty of Arts
*], actress and associate professor of Diction at the University of Pristina Faculty of Arts
*Jasmina Novokmet, conductor, professor and former Associate Dean at the University of Pristina
*], pianist, assistant professor of Piano and Chief of the Piano Department at the University of Pristina
*], graphic artist and Dean of the University of Pristina Faculty of Arts
*], artist, historian and professor
*], professor of philosophy and sociology

===Art===
====Visual art====
*], sculptor
*], photographer
*], fashion designer
*], graphic artist, painter, scenographer
*], painter

====Cinema and theatre====
], actor]]
*], ] and four-time ] winner
*], Dobričin prsten and ] winner
*]
*] *]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]

*]
====Music====
*]
] is only artist from ] who represented ]]]
*]
]]]
*]
*], folk singer who interpreted traditional songs from Kosovo<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=RTS, Radio televizija Srbije, Radio Television of Serbia|title=Косовo у гласу Јордана Николића |website=www.rts.rs |url=http://www.rts.rs/page/oko/ci/story/3230/muzika/4250533/jordan-nikolic.html |access-date=2021-02-08}}</ref>
*]
*], performer of traditional songs from Kosovo and Macedonia
*]
*], performer of traditional songs from Kosovo
*]
*], folk singer
*]
*], folk singer
*]
*], rock artist who represented ] in the ] as part of ]
*]
*], folk singer
*]<ref> Accessed 10 April 2015. “Đoković, whose family is originally from Kosovo, will be in the province to support the Serbs there...”</ref>
*], folk singer
*], folk singer
*], pop singer and dancer
*], pop-folk singer
*], popular musician
*], pop singer who represented Serbia in the ], with band ] in the ] and solo in the ]

===Sport===
], football player and Olympic champion]]
], World and European champion, Olympic silver medalist in volleyball]]
], one of the greatest tennis players, whose father was born in Kosovo<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2011/10/djokovic-doesnt-regret-kosovo-comments/32421/|title=Djokovic doesn't regret Kosovo comments|date=7 October 2011|website=TENNIS.com}}</ref>]]
], basketball player has origins in Kosovo on father's side]]
*], football player and Olympic champion
*], football player and Olympic champion
*], football goalkeeper and European Cup champion
*], football player
*], football player and coach
*], football player and coach
*], football player and coach
*], football player
*], football player
*], football player
*], football player and 2009 ]
*], football player
*], football player
*], football player
*], football player
*], football player
*], football player
*], football player
*], football player
*], boxer and European Amateur Championships silver medalist
*], basketball player, Olympic and World Cup silver medalist
*], basketball player
*], basketball player
*], basketball player
*], basketball player
*], volleyball player, World and European champion, Olympic silver medalist
*], high jumper
*], middle distance and long-distance runner
*], middle distance and long-distance runner
*], tennis player, World No.1 and 17-time Grand Slam champion<ref> Accessed 10 April 2015. "Đoković, whose family is originally from Kosovo, will be in the province to support the Serbs there..."</ref>
*], Swedish ice hockey player and two-time Olympic medalist<ref>{{cite web | title=Danijela Rundqvist blog | url=http://danijelarundqvist.blogspot.com/2012_09_01_archive.html | access-date=14 February 2010}}</ref>
*], Slovenian basketball player, European and EuroLeague champion

===Other===
*], merchant who made a fortune through tobacco trade and invested his fortune in building educational facilities
*], an organizer of the ] and one of the founders of the ]
*], farmer from who was at the centre of a notorious incident in May 1985
*], former paramilitary, JSO Commander and convicted criminal
*], Miss Earth Serbia 2013 and Miss Universe Serbia 2014
*], ]


==See also== ==See also==
*] *]
*]
*]
*], a 2015 Serbian film
*]
*] *]


==Notes== ==Annotations==
{{Cnote2 Begin|liststyle=upper-alpha}}
{{notelist}}
{{Cnote2|a|As of 2015, there are at least 6,600 Kosovo Serb refugees in Montenegro.<ref name="auto"/> In 2003, the number was {{circa}} 12,000.<ref name="auto1"/> The numbers do not include those that have received Montenegrin citizenship. }}
{{Cnote2 End}}


==References== ==References==
{{Reflist|2}} {{Reflist|2}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin|2}}
* {{Cite book|last=Антонијевић|first=Ненад|title=Албански злочини над Србима на Косову и Метохији у Другом светском рату: Документа|year=2009|edition=2nd|publisher=Музеј жртава геноцида |url=http://www.muzejgenocida.rs/images/izdanja/Antonijevic,%20Nenad,%20Albanski%20zlocini.pdf}}
* {{cite book|last=Bogdanović|first=Dimitrije|title=The Kosovo Question Past and Present |series=Serbian Academy Of Sciences And Arts Monographs |volume=DLXVI |year=1986|orig-year=25 December 1984 |url=http://www.rastko.rs/kosovo/istorija/knjiga_o_kosovu/index.html}}
* {{cite book|last=Božović|first=Branislav|title=Surova vremena na Kosovu i Metohiji: kvislinzi i kolaboracija u drugom svetskom ratu|year=1991|publisher=Institut za savremenu istoriju |isbn=9788674030400 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-gdnAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Ćirković|first=Sima|author-link=Sima Ćirković|year=2004|title=The Serbs|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Wc-DWRzoeIC|isbn=9781405142915}}
* {{cite book |last1=Cocozelli |first1=Fred |editor1-last=Ramet |editor1-first=Sabrina |title=Ethnic Minorities and Politics in Post-Socialist Southeastern Europe |chapter=The Serbs of Kosovo |date=2016 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-316982778 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FpEwDQAAQBAJ }}
* {{Cite book|last=Cox|first=John K.|title=The History of Serbia|year=2002|publisher=Greenwood Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U765FGDfbPoC|isbn=9780313312908}}
* {{Cite book|last=Fine|first=John Van Antwerp Jr.|author-link=John Van Antwerp Fine Jr.|title=The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest|year=1994|orig-year=1987|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=0472082604 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LvVbRrH1QBgC}}
* {{cite book|last=Fischer|first=Bernd J.|title=Albania at War, 1939-1945|year=1999|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers|isbn=978-1-85065-531-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P-MiG9ngCp8C}}
* {{Cite book|editor-last=Ivić|editor-first=Pavle|editor-link=Pavle Ivić|title=The History of Serbian Culture|year=1995|publisher=Porthill Publishers|isbn=9781870732314 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7nItAQAAIAAJ}}
* {{cite book|last=Mojzes|first=Paul|title=Balkan Genocides: Holocaust and Ethnic Cleansing in the 20th Century|year=2011|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9781442206632 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KwW2O7v7CUcC}}
* {{Cite book|last=Stephenson|first=Paul|title=Byzantium's Balkan Frontier: A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900-1204|year=2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ILiOI0UgxHoC|isbn=9780521770170}}
* {{Cite book|last=Šuica|first=Marko|chapter=The Image of the Battle of Kosovo (1389) Today: a Historic Event, a Moral Pattern, or the Tool of Political Manipulation|title=The Uses of the Middle Ages in Modern European States: History, Nationhood and the Search for Origins|year=2011|location=New York|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|pages=152–174|isbn=9780230283107|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_y5aCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA152}}
* {{Cite book|editor-last1=Živković|editor-first1=Tibor|editor-link1=Tibor Živković|editor-last2=Bojanin|editor-first2=Stanoje|editor-last3=Petrović|editor-first3=Vladeta|title=Selected Charters of Serbian Rulers (XII-XV Century): Relating to the Territory of Kosovo and Metohia|year=2000|publisher=Center for Studies of Byzantine Civilisation}}
* {{cite book|title=Le Kosovo-Metohija dans l'histoire serbe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2AosX4CrcdcC|year=1990|publisher=L'AGE D'HOMME|isbn=978-2-8251-0139-1|language=fr}}
<!--
* {{cite journal|journal=СРБИ НА КОСОВУ И У МЕТОХИЈИ|date=27–29 May 2005|author=Milica Grković|title=ИМЕНА МЕСТА И ЉУДИ НА КОСОВУ И У МЕТОХИЈИ У СРЕДЊЕМ ВЕКУ|url=http://www.sanu.ac.rs/Izdanja/SrbiNaKosovu/03GrkovicMilica.pdf|publisher=SANU}}
* {{cite journal|journal=СРБИ НА КОСОВУ И У МЕТОХИЈИ|date=27–29 May 2005|author=Zoran Avramović|title=КАРАКТЕРИСТИЧНА ЗНАЧЕЊА КУЛТУРЕ КОСОВСКО-МЕТОХИЈСКИХ СРБА|url=http://www.sanu.ac.rs/Izdanja/SrbiNaKosovu/07AvramovicZoran.pdf|publisher=SANU}}
* {{cite journal|journal=СРБИ НА КОСОВУ И У МЕТОХИЈИ|date=27–29 May 2005|author=Vladimir Stojančević
|title=ПРОШЛОСТ КОСОВСКО-МЕТОХИЈСКИХ СРБА 1912–1918. ГОДИНЕ|url=http://www.sanu.ac.rs/Izdanja/SrbiNaKosovu/10StojancevicVladimir.pdf|publisher=SANU}}
* {{cite journal|journal=СРБИ НА КОСОВУ И У МЕТОХИЈИ|date=27–29 May 2005|author=Miloš Blagojević
|title=СРПСКА АДМИНИСТРАТИВНА ПОДЕЛА КОСОВА И МЕТОХИЈЕ У XII ВЕКУ|url=http://www.sanu.ac.rs/Izdanja/SrbiNaKosovu/11BlagojevicMilos.pdf|publisher=SANU}}
* {{cite journal|journal=СРБИ НА КОСОВУ И У МЕТОХИЈИ|date=27–29 May 2005|author=Milić F. Petrović
|title=СРБИЈА И РЕФОРМНА АКЦИЈА ВЕЛИКИХ СИЛА НА КОСОВУ И МЕТОХИЈИ КРАЈЕМ 19. И ПОЧЕТКОМ 20. ВЕКА – ИЗ АРХИВСКЕ ЗБИРКЕ ЈОВАНА ЈОВАНОВИЋА ПИЖОНА|url=http://www.sanu.ac.rs/Izdanja/SrbiNaKosovu/09PetrovicMilic.pdf|publisher=SANU}}
* {{cite journal|journal=СРБИ НА КОСОВУ И У МЕТОХИЈИ|date=27–29 May 2005|author=Borislava Lilić
|title=ОСЛОБОЂЕЊЕ КОСОВА 1912. ГОДИНЕ У УСПОМЕНАМА ПЕШАДИЈСКОГ ПОТПУКОВНИКА ВИДЕНА ТОШИЋА |url=http://www.sanu.ac.rs/Izdanja/SrbiNaKosovu/12LilicBorislava.pdf|publisher=SANU}}
* {{cite journal|journal=СРБИ НА КОСОВУ И У МЕТОХИЈИ|date=27–29 May 2005|author=Dragiša Kecojević
|title=КОСОВО И МЕТОХИЈА: ТЕРОР НАД СРБИМА |url=http://www.sanu.ac.rs/Izdanja/SrbiNaKosovu/13KecojevicDragisa.pdf|publisher=SANU}}
-->
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|2}}
;Books
* {{Cite book|editor-last=Аврамовић|editor-first=Зоран|title=Историја и књижевност Срба Косова и Метохије|year=2007|publisher=Филозофски факултет|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X_ikoAEACAAJ|language=sr|isbn=978-86-85047-11-4}}
* {{Cite book|last=Bataković|first=Dušan T.|author-link=Dušan T. Bataković|title=The Kosovo Chronicles|date=1992|publisher=Plato|url=https://www.rastko.rs/kosovo/istorija/kosovo_chronicles/index.html}}
* {{Cite book|last=Bataković|first=Dušan T.|author-link=Dušan T. Bataković|title=Kosovo, la spirale de la haine: Les faits, les acteurs, l'histoire|date=1998|edition=2nd|publisher=L'Age d'Homme|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rJC_ZjQCSoEC|isbn=9782825111321}}
* {{Cite book|editor-last=Bataković|editor-first=Dušan T.|editor-link=Dušan T. Bataković|title=Kosovo and Metohija: Living in the Enclave|year=2007|publisher=Institute for Balkan Studies|url=http://www.balkaninstitut.com/pdf/izdanja/posebno/Enklave.pdf}}
* {{Cite book|last=Bataković|first=Dušan T.|author-link=Dušan T. Bataković|title=A Turbulent Decade: The Serbs in Post-1999 Kosovo: Destruction of Cultural Heritage, Ethnic Cleansing, and Marginalization (1999-2009)|date=2014|location=Paris|publisher=Dialogue|isbn=9782911527128|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wFTDrQEACAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Bataković|first=Dušan T.|author-link=Dušan T. Bataković|chapter=Kosovo and Metohija: History, Memory and Identity|title=The Christian Heritage of Kosovo and Metohija: the Historical and Spiritual Heartland of the Serbian People|date=2015|location=Los Angeles|publisher=Sebastian Press|pages=569–608|isbn=9788682685395|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8LK2DAEACAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Bataković|first=Dušan T.|author-link=Dušan T. Bataković|chapter=The Serbs of Kosovo and Metohija 1999-2007: Surviving in Ghetto-like Enclaves|title=The Christian Heritage of Kosovo and Metohija: the Historical and Spiritual Heartland of the Serbian People|date=2015|location=Los Angeles|publisher=Sebastian Press|pages=935–945|isbn=9788682685395|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8LK2DAEACAAJ}}
* {{Cite book| last = Благојевић| first = Милош| author-link = Miloš Blagojević| title = Поседи манастира Хиландара на Косову и Метохији (XII-XV век): The Estates of Chilandar Monastery in Kosovo and Metohija (12th-15th centuries)| year = 2006| publisher = Завод за уџбенике и наставна средства| isbn = 9788617134943| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NOaPAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{cite book|last=Bogdanović|first=Dimitrije|title=Књига о Косову|trans-title=The Book on Kosovo|year=1985|publisher=SANU|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N-wJAQAAIAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Ćurčić|first=Slobodan|title=Gračanica: King Milutin's Church and Its Place in Late Byzantine Architecture|year=1979|publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press|isbn=9780271002187|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T77qAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{cite book|last=Dželetović|first=Pavle Ivanov|title=Злочини Арбанаса над Србима|publisher=Геополитика|year=2004}}
* {{Cite book|editor-last1=Đorđević|editor-first1=Života|editor-last2=Pejić|editor-first2=Svetlana|title=Cultural Heritage of Kosovo and Metohija|year=1999|location=Belgrade|publisher=Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of the Republic of Serbia|isbn=9788680879161|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e6MtAQAAIAAJ}}
* {{cite book|last=Karapandžić|first=Bor. M.|title=Srpsko Kosovo i Metohija: zločini Arnauta nad srpskim narodom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4JwMAAAAIAAJ|year=1986|publisher=sn.n.}}
* {{Cite book|last=Krstić|first=Branislav|title=Saving the Cultural Heritage of Serbia and Europe in Kosovo and Metohia|year=2003|publisher=Coordination Center of the Federal Government and the Government of the Republic of Serbia for Kosovo and Metohia|isbn=9788675560173|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cm8tAQAAIAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Krstić|first=Branislav|title=Kosovo: Facing the Court of History|year=2004|publisher=Humanity Books|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1luqQgAACAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|editor-last1=Marković|editor-first1=Miodrag|editor-last2=Vojvodić|editor-first2=Dragan|title=Serbian Artistic Heritage in Kosovo and Metohija: Identity, Significance, Vulnerability|year=2017|publisher=Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts|url=https://www.academia.edu/34710555}}
* {{cite book|last=Mikić|first=Đorđe|title=Društvene i ekonomske prilike kosovskih srba u XIX i početkom XX veka|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Re0JAQAAIAAJ|year=1988|publisher=SANU|isbn=9788670250772}}
* {{Cite book|editor-last=Mitrović|editor-first=Dragan M.|title=The Predicament of Serbian Orthodox Holy Places in Kosovo and Metohia : elements for a historical, legal and conservational understanding|year=2010|edition=1st|publisher=Faculty of Law|url=https://ius.bg.ac.rs/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/The-Predicament-of-Serbian-Orthodox-Holy-Places.pdf}}
* {{cite book|last=Nušić|first=Branislav Đ.|title=Kosovo: opis zemlje i naroda|year=1986|url=https://archive.org/stream/kosovoopiszemlj00nugoog|language=sr}} {{small|(Public Domain)}}
* {{Cite book| last = Ocić| first = Časlav| chapter = Kosovo and Metohia: Ethnodemographic Changes from the End of World War II to 1991| title = Срби на Косову и у Метохији: Зборник радова са научног скупа| year = 2006| publisher = Српска академија наука и уметности| pages = 441–460| chapter-url = http://www.vi.sanu.ac.rs/Izdanja/SrbiNaKosovu/29OcicCaslav.pdf| access-date = 18 January 2019| archive-date = 19 January 2019| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121259/http://www.vi.sanu.ac.rs/Izdanja/SrbiNaKosovu/29OcicCaslav.pdf| url-status = dead}}
* {{Cite book|last=Перуничић|first=Бранко|title=Зулуми ага и бегова над српским народом у Косовском вилајету (1878-1913)|year=1989|publisher=Нова књига|isbn=9788673350592 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IaAMAAAAIAAJ}}
* {{Cite book| last1 = Petrović| first1 = Ruža| last2 = Blagojević| first2 = Marina| title = The Migration of Serbs and the Montenegrins from Kosovo and Metohija: Results of the Survey Conducted in 1985-1986| year = 1992| publisher = Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts| url = https://www.rastko.rs/kosovo/istorija/kosovo_migrations/index.html}}
* {{cite book|last=Popović|first=Zarija R.|title=Pred Kosovom: beleške iz doba 1874-1878 godine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d3U-AQAAMAAJ|year=1900|publisher=Drž. štamp. Kralj. Srbije}}
* {{cite book|last=Stojančević|first=Vladimir|title=Srpski narod u Staroj Srbiji u Velikoj istočnoj krizi 1876-1878|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=44gyAAAAMAAJ|year=1998|publisher=Službeni list SRJ|isbn=9788635503905}}
* {{Cite book|last=Subotić|first=Gojko|title=Art of Kosovo: The Sacred Land|year=1998|location=New York|publisher=The Monacelli Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t49TAAAAMAAJ|isbn=9781580930062}}
* {{Cite book|last=Živković|first=Tibor|author-link=Tibor Živković|title=Forging unity: The South Slavs between East and West 550-1150|year=2008|publisher=The Institute of History, Čigoja štampa|isbn=9788675585732|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JlIsAQAAIAAJ}}

;Journals
* {{Cite journal|last=Antonijević|first=Nenad|title=Kidnapped Serbs and Other Non-Albanians in the Territory of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and the Metohija from 1998/89 to 2002 and Their Fate: Information|journal=Istorija 20. Veka: Časopis Instituta Za Savremenu Istoriju|year=2009|volume=27|issue=1|pages=201–204|url=http://istorija20veka.rs/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Istorija-20.-veka-2009-1.pdf}}
* {{cite journal|author=Zdravković-Zonta, Helena|title=Serbs as threat the extreme negative portrayal of the Serb "minority" in Albanian-language newspapers in Kosovo|journal=Balcanica|year=2011|issue=42|pages=165–215|url=http://dais.sanu.ac.rs//bitstream/id/21277/4439.pdf|doi=10.2298/BALC1142165Z|doi-access=free}}

;Conference papers
* {{cite book|last=Pejin|first=Jovan|chapter=The Extermination of the Serbs in Metohia, 1941-1944|chapter-url=https://www.sanu.ac.rs/Izdanja/SrbiNaKosovu/14PejinJovan.pdf|title=Срби на Косову и у Метохији: Зборник радова са научног скупа|year=2006|publisher=Српска академија наука и уметности|pages=189–207}}
{{refend}}


==External links== ==External links==
* Contains detailed information on the post-1999 status of Serbs, Roma and other Kosovo minorities
* by Minority Rights Group International (May 2009) * by Minority Rights Group International (May 2009)
* *


{{Ethnic groups in Kosovo}} {{Ethnic groups in Kosovo}}
{{Ethnic groups in Serbia}}
{{Serbian diaspora}}


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{{DEFAULTSORT:Serbs Of Kosovo}}
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Latest revision as of 10:26, 16 December 2024

Ethnic group in the Balkans

Ethnic group
Kosovo Serbs
Serbët në Kosovë (Albanian)
косовски Срби (Serbian)
kosovski Srbi (Serbian)
Girls from Štrpce in Serbian traditional clothing
Regions with significant populations
 Kosovo ca. 95,000
 Serbia68,514
Languages
Serbian
Religion
Serbian Orthodox Church
Related ethnic groups
Other South Slavs, especially other Serbs.
Part of a series on
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Kosovo Serbs are one of the ethnic groups of Kosovo and they form the largest ethnic minority community in Kosovo (5–6%). The precise number of Kosovo Serbs is difficult to determine as they have boycotted national censuses. However, it is estimated that there are about 95,000 of them, nearly half of whom live in North Kosovo. Other Kosovo Serb communities live in the Southern municipalities of Kosovo.

The medieval Kingdom of Serbia (1217–1346) and the Serbian Empire (1346–1371) included parts of the territory of Kosovo until its annexation by the Ottomans following the Battle of Kosovo (1389), considered one of the most notable events of Serbian history. Afterwards, it was a part of the Serbian Despotate. Modern Serbian historiography considers Kosovo in this period to be the political, religious and cultural core of the medieval Serbian state.

In the Ottoman period (1455–1913), the situation of the Serb population in Kosovo went through different phases. In the 16th century, the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć was re-established and its status strengthened even more. At the end of 18th century, the support of the Patriarchate to the Habsburgs during the Great Turkish War of 1683–1699 triggered a wave of Serb migrations to locations under the control of the Habsburg monarchy. After the independence of the Principality of Serbia to its north, Kosovo came increasingly to be seen by the mid-19th century as the "cradle of Serb civilization" and called the "Serbian Jerusalem". Kosovo was annexed by the Kingdom of Serbia in 1912, following the First Balkan War.

As a region of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Kosovo was divided in several banovinas. In the pre-World War II period, the Yugoslav colonisation of Kosovo took place which aimed to increase the number of Serbs in Kosovo with colonists from Central Serbia and Montenegro. After World War II, Kosovo's districts were reunited. They were referred to as the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo. Serbs were one of the people of the province within the Socialist Republic of Serbia (1944–1992). As a result of the Kosovo War and following by its declaration of independence, in 2008 it is partially recognized by the international community. Serbs are the second largest community in Kosovo.

More than half of Kosovo's pre-1999 Serb population (226,000), including 37,000 Romani, 15,000 Balkan Muslims (including Ashkali, Bosniaks, and Gorani), and 7,000 other non-Albanian civilians were expelled to central Serbia and Montenegro, following the Kosovo War. According to the 2013 Brussels Agreement the establishment of a Community of Serb Municipalities, a self-governing association of municipalities with a majority Serb population in Kosovo is proposed.

Terminology

The formal names for the Serb community in Kosovo is "Serbs of Kosovo and Metohija" (Srbi na Kosovu i Metohiji) or "Serbs of Kosmet" (Kosmetski Srbi), in use by the community itself and the Serbian government. They are also referred to as Serbs of Kosovo (Serbian: Косовски Срби/Kosovski Srbi) or Serbs in Kosovo (Serbian: Срби на Косову/Srbi na Kosovu, Albanian: Serbët në Kosovë). The term "Kosovo Serbs" is predominantly used in English. They are known by the demonym Kosovari, though this is properly used for inhabitants of the region of Kosovo (in the narrow sense – centred around the Kosovo Field), along with Metohijci (of Metohija).

History

Medieval period

Left: Stefan Dečanski, King of Serbia and founder of Visoki Dečani monastery
Right: Main Gate of the Fortress in Prizren, which Stefan Dušan used as capital of Serbian Empire

Sclaveni raided and settled the western Balkans in the 6th and 7th century. The White Serbs are mentioned in De Administrando Imperio as having settled the Balkans during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641), however, research does not support that the White Serbian tribe was part of this later migration (as held by historiography) rather than migrating with the rest of Early Slavs. Serbian linguistical studies concluded that the Early South Slavs were made up of a western and eastern branch, of parallel streams, roughly divided in the TimokOsogovoŠar line. However, per Ivo Banac in the early Middle Ages Eastern Herzegovinian dialects were Eastern South Slavic, but since the 12th century, the Shtokavian dialects, including Eastern Herzegovinian, began to separate themselves from the rest of the Eastern South Slavic dialects. The Bulgarian Khan Presian (836–852) took over the territory of Kosovo from the Byzantines in the mid-9th century and Kosovo remained under the influence of the first Bulgarian Empire until the Byzantine restoration of the early 11th century. In 1040–41 a massive Bulgarian rebellion broke out, which included Kosovo. Another rebellion broke out in 1072, in which Serbian prince Constantine Bodin was crowned Emperor of Bulgaria at Prizren, however, despite some initial success, Bodin was eventually captured in southern Kosovo and the rebellion was suppressed. Vukan I, the new independent Serbian Grand Prince, began raiding Byzantine territories, first in Kosovo, advancing into Macedonia (1091–95). He broke several peace treaties which he personally negotiated with the Byzantine Emperor at Zvečan and Lipjan, until finally submitting in 1106.

Novo Brdo Fortress was built by Stefan Milutin, King of Serbia. It has been referred as the "Mother of all Serbian cities"Patriarchate of Peć, the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church from the 14th century when its status was upgraded into a patriarchate

In 1166, a Serbian prince, Stefan Nemanja, the founder of the Nemanjić dynasty, asserted independence after an uprising against the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus. Nemanja defeated his brother, Tihomir, at Pantino near Pauni, and drowned him in the Sitnica river. Nemanja was eventually defeated and had to return some of his conquests, and vouched to the Emperor that he would not raise his hand against him. In 1183, Stefan Nemanja embarked on a new offensive allied with the Kingdom of Hungary after the death of Manuel I Komnenos in 1180, which marked the end of Byzantine domination over the region of Kosovo. Nemanja's son, Stefan, ruled a realm reaching the river of Lab in the south. Stefan conquered all of Kosovo by 1208, by which time he had conquered Prizren and Lipjan, and moved the border of his realm to the Šar mountain. In 1217, Stefan was crowned King of Serbs, due to which he is known in historiography as Stefan "the First-Crowned".

In 1219, the Serbian Church was given autocephaly, with Hvosno, Prizren and Lipljan being the Orthodox Christian eparchies with territory in modern-day Kosovo. By the end of the 13th century, the centre of the Serbian Church was moved to Peć from Žiča.

Prizren serving as the capital of Serbia during the 14th century, and was a centre of trade. King Stefan Dušan founded the great Monastery of the Holy Archangel near Prizren in 1342–1352. During those periods, several major monasteries were endowed with vast possessions in the regions of Kosovo and Metohija. The Serbian Kingdom was elevated into an Empire in 1345–46. Stefan Dušan received John VI Kantakuzenos in 1342 at Pauni to discuss an alliance against the Byzantine Emperor. In 1346, the Serbian Archbishopric at Peć was upgraded into a Patriarchate, but it was not recognized before 1375. After the death of Dušan in 1355, the fall of the Serbian Empire began, with feudal disintegration during the reign of his successor, Stefan Uroš V (r. 1355–1371).

Parts of Kosovo became domains of Vukašin Mrnjavčević, but Vojislav Vojinović expanded his demesne further onto Kosovo. The armies of Vukašin from Pristina and his allies defeated Vojislav's forces in 1369, putting a halt to his advances. After the Battle of Maritsa on 26 September 1371 in which the Mrnjavčević brothers lost their lives, Đurađ I Balšić of Zeta took Prizren and Peć in 1372. A part of Kosovo became the demesne of the Lazar of Serbia.

Battle of Kosovo fought in 1389 between Serbs and Ottomans. 1870 Adam Stefanović painting.

The Ottoman Empire invaded the realm of Prince Lazar on 28 June 1389, at the Battle of Kosovo near Pristina, at Gazimestan. The Serbian army was led by Prince Lazar who led 12,000–30,000 men against the Ottoman army of 27,000–40,000 men. Lazar was killed in battle, while Sultan Murad also lost his life, believed to have been assassinated by Serbian knight Miloš Obilić. The outcome of the battle is deemed inconclusive, with the new Sultan Bayezid having to retreat to consolidate his power. Vuk Branković came to prominence as the local lord of Kosovo, though he was an Ottoman vassal at times, between 1392 and 1395.

Another battle occurred in Kosovo 1448 between the Hungarian troops supported by the Albanian ruler Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg on one side, and Ottoman troops supported by the Branković dynasty in 1448. Skanderbeg's troops en route to help John Hunyadi were stopped by the Branković's troops, who was more or less an Ottoman vassal. Hungarian regent John Hunyadi lost the battle after a 2-day fight, but essentially stopped the Ottoman advance northwards. In 1455, southern regions of the Serbian Despotate were invaded again, and the region of Kosovo was finally conquered by the Ottoman Empire and incorporated it into the Ottoman administrative system.

In 1455, new castles rose to prominence in Pristina and Vushtrri, centres of Branković District.

Early Modern period

The Ottomans brought Islamization with them, particularly in towns, and later also created the Kosovo Vilayet as one of the Ottoman territorial entities. During the Islamisation many Churches and Holy Orthodox Christian places were razed to the ground or turned into mosques. The big Monastery of Saint Archangels near Prizren was torn down at the end of the 16th century and the material used to build the Mosque of Sinan-pasha, an Islamized Albanian, in Prizren. Although the Serbian Orthodox Church was officially abolished in 1532, an Islamized Serb from Bosnia, Grand Vizier Mehmed-pasha Sokolović influenced the restoration of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć in 1557. Special privileges were provided, which helped the survival of Serbs and other Christians on Kosovo.

The Great Migrations of the Serbs, led by Patriarch Arsenije III Čarnojević, 17th century.

Kosovo was taken by the Austrian forces during the War of the Holy League (1683–1698). In 1690, the Serbian Patriarch of Peć Arsenije III, who previously escaped a certain death, led 37,000 families from Kosovo, to evade Ottoman wrath since Kosovo had just been retaken by the Ottomans. The people that followed him were mostly Serbs, but there were numerous Orthodox Albanians and others too. 20,000 Serbs abandoned Prizren alone. Due to the oppression from the Ottomans, other migrations of Orthodox people from the Kosovo area continued throughout the 18th century. By contrast, some Serbs adopted Islam and gradually fused with the predominant Albanians, and adopting their culture and even language. By the end of the 19th century, Albanians replaced the Serbs as the dominating nation of Kosovo.

In 1766 the Ottomans abolished the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć and the position of Christians on Kosovo was greatly reduced. All previous privileges were lost and the Christian population had to suffer the full weight of the Empire's extensive and losing wars, even to take the blame for the losses.

During the First Serbian Uprising, Serbs from northern parts of Kosovo prepared to join the uprising and an Ottoman-Albanian coalition arrived to suppress their efforts, before they could partake in the uprising. Ottoman violence resulted in a number of Serbs migrating to central Serbia in order to join rebels led by Karađorđe. Kelmendi were the only Albanian tribe to fully support Serb rebels. After the independence of the Principality of Serbia to its north, Kosovo came increasingly to be seen by the mid-19th century as the “cradle of Serb civilization” and called the "Serbian Jerusalem".

The term Arnauti or Arnautaši was coined by 19th and early 20th century Serbian ethnographers to refer to the Albanians in Kosovo, which they perceived as Albanised Serbs; Serbs who had converted to Islam and went through a process of Albanisation. In modern anthropology, the historical validity of the term has been criticized as well as use as a tool of nation-building and homogenization policies of the Serbian state.

Atrocities against Serbs took place in 1878, during and after the Serbian–Ottoman War. In 1901, massacres against Serbs were carried out by Albanians in North Kosovo and Pristina. Jovan Cvijić claimed that the Albanians were responsible for forcing an estimated 150,000 Serbs out of Kosovo from 1876 until 1912. Albanians were also accused of conducting a campaign of terror against the Serbian population who remained.

Modern period

Serb women in traditional clothing, in Gnjilane, 1911Serb women in traditional clothing, near Prizren, 1913

The arising Kingdom of Serbia planned a restoration of its rule in Kosovo as Ottoman might crumbled on the Balkan peninsula. The period witnessed a rise of Serbian nationalism. Some historians suggest that Austro-Hungarian emissaries were active in areas where Serbs and Albanians coexisted, deliberately stirring conflicts and divisions between the two nations to advance their state's political interests and influence. During the First Balkan War, the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Montenegro fought alongside the Kingdoms of Greece and Bulgaria as part of the Balkan League to drive the Ottoman forces out of Europe and to incorporate the spoils into their respective states. Serbia, Montenegro and Greece had acquired the entire Western Balkan (Albanian-inhabited territories) with the exception of Vlora in the hope of achieving recognition with their new borders. Resistance from the Albanians across their entire region in favour of their own proposed independent nation state led to fighting between the Balkan League armies (less geographically uninvolved Bulgaria) and Albanian forces. To end the conflict, the Treaty of London decreed an independent Principality of Albania (close to its present borders), with most of the Vilayet of Kosovo awarded to Serbia and the Metohija region awarded to Montenegro.

World War I and First Yugoslavia

During the First World War, in the winter of 1915–1916, the Serbian army withdrew through Kosovo in a bid to evade the forces of the Central Powers. Thousands died of starvation and exposure. In 1918, the Serbian army pushed the Central Powers out of Kosovo, and the region was unified as Montenegro subsequently joined the Kingdom of Serbia. The monarchy was then transformed into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

The 1918–1929 period of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes witnessed a decrease in the Serbian population of the region and an increase in the number of Albanians. In 1929, the state was renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The territories of Kosovo were split among the Zeta Banovina, the Banate of Morava and the Banate of Vardar. The state lasted until the World War II invasion and Axis occupation of Yugoslavia (1941).

World War II

See also: World War II in Yugoslavia and World War II persecution of Serbs
German soldiers set fire to a Serb village near Mitrovica, circa 1941.

After the invasion of Yugoslavia (6–18 April 1941), the Axis powers divided territory among themselves. Kosovo and Metohija was divided between Italian, German and Bulgarian occupation. The largest part of what is today Kosovo was under Italian occupation and was annexed into an axis Greater Albania, the Albanian Kingdom through a decree on 12 August 1941, while northern parts were included in German-occupied Serbia, and southeastern parts into the Bulgarian occupational zone. Parts of eastern Montenegro and western Macedonia were also annexed to Albania.

During the occupation, the population was subject to expulsion, internment, forced labour, torture, destruction of private property, confiscation of land and livestock, destruction and damaging of monasteries, churches, cultural-historical monuments and graveyards. There were waves of violence against Serbs in some periods, such as April 1941, June 1942, September 1943, and continuous pressure in various ways. Civilians were sent to camps and prisons established by the Italian, German and Bulgarian occupation, and the Albanian community. The expulsion of Serbs proved problematic, as they had performed important functions in the region, and been running most of the businesses, mills, tanneries, and public utilities, and been responsible for most of the useful agricultural production. Most of the war crimes were perpetrated by the Vulnetari ("volunteers"), Balli Kombëtar and the SS Skanderbeg Division. The Skanderbeg Division was better known for murdering, raping, and looting in predominantly Serbian areas than for participating in combat operations on behalf of the German war effort. The most harsh position of Serbs was in the Italian (Albanian) zone. A large part of the Serb population was expelled or forced to flee in order to survive. Serbian estimations put the number of expelled at around 100,000; an estimated 40,000 from the Italian-occupation zone, 30,000 from the German zone, and 25,000 from the Bulgarian zone. It is estimated that 10,000 Serbs and Montenegrins were killed in Kosovo during WWII.

Second Yugoslavia

The Province of Kosovo was formed in 1946 as an autonomous region to protect its regional Albanian majority within the People's Republic of Serbia as a member of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia under the leadership of the former Partisan leader, Josip Broz Tito, but with no factual autonomy. After Yugoslavia's name changed to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbia's to the Socialist Republic of Serbia in 1953, the Autonomous Region of Kosovo gained some autonomy in the 1960s. In the 1974 constitution, the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo's government received higher powers, including the highest governmental titles – President and Premier and a seat in the Federal Presidency which made it a de facto Socialist Republic within the Federation, but remaining as a Socialist Autonomous Region within the Socialist Republic of Serbia.

Ramiz Sadiku and Boro Vukmirović, People's Heroes of Yugoslavia and symbol of Serbian-Albanian friendship

In 1981, Albanian students organized protests seeking that Kosovo become a Republic within Yugoslavia. Those protests were in Serbian and Albanian were defined official on the Provincial level marking the two largest linguistic Kosovan groups: Serbs and Albanians. In the 1970s, an Albanian nationalist movement pursued full recognition of the province of Kosovo as another republic within the federation, while the most extreme elements aimed for full-scale independence. Tito's government dealt with the situation swiftly, but only gave it a temporary solution. The ethnic balance of Kosovo witnessed unproportional increase as the number of Albanians rose dramatically due to higher birth rates. Serbs barely increased and dropped in the full share of the total population down to 10% due to higher demographic raise of the Albanian population.

In 1981, Albanian students organized protests seeking that Kosovo become a Republic within Yugoslavia. Those protests were harshly contained by the centralist Yugoslav government. In 1986, the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) was working on a document, which later would be known as the SANU Memorandum. An unfinished edition was filtered to the press. In the essay, SANU explained the Serbian peoples history as victims of a 500-year and more genocide from Kosovo, and therefore called for the revival of Serb nationalism. During this time, Slobodan Milošević's rise to power started in the League of the Socialists of Serbia. Milošević used the discontent reflected in the SANU memorandum for his political goals.

One of the events that contributed to Milošević's rise of power was the Gazimestan Speech, delivered in front of 1,000,000 Serbs at the central celebration marking the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo, held at Gazimestan on 28 June 1989.

Soon afterwards, as approved by the Assembly in 1990, the autonomy of Kosovo was revoked back to the old status (1971). He had said "Strong Serbia, Weak Yugoslavia – Weak Serbia, Strong Yugoslavia" Milošević, however, did not remove Kosovo's seat from the Federal Presidency. After Slovenia's secession from Yugoslavia in 1991, Milošević used the seat to attain dominance over the Federal government, outvoting his opponents.

Left: Destroyed Serbian Orthodox Holy Trinity Church in Petrić village
Right: Ruins of a Serb part of Prizren destroyed during 2004 unrest in Kosovo.

Breakup of Yugoslavia and Kosovo War

After the Dayton Agreement of 1995, the Kosovo Liberation Army, ethnic-Albanian paramilitary organisation that sought the separation of Kosovo and the eventual creation of a Greater Albania, began attacking Serbian civilians and Yugoslav army and police, bombing police stations and government buildings, killing Yugoslav police and innocent people of all nationalities, even Albanians who were not on their side. As of 2014, mass graves of Kosovar Albanian victims are still being found. There have been many reports of abuses and war crimes committed by the KLA during and after the conflict, including the massacres of civilians in (Lake Radonjić, Klečka, Staro Gracko, and Gnjilane, along with prison camps (such as Lapušnik), organ theft and destruction of medieval churches and monuments.

According to the 1991 Yugoslavia census, there were 194,190 Serbs in Kosovo after the Kosovo War, a large number of Serbs fled or were expelled and many of the remaining civilians were subjected to abuse. During the unrest in Kosovo, 35 churches and monasteries were destroyed or seriously damaged. After Kosovo and other Yugoslav Wars, Serbia became home to highest number of refugees and IDPs (including Kosovo Serbs) in Europe.

In total, 156 Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries have been destroyed since June 1999, after the end of the Kosovo War and including the 2004 unrest in Kosovo. Many of the churches and monasteries dated back to the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries. KLA fighters are accused of vandalizing Devič monastery and terrorizing the staff. The KFOR troops said KLA rebels vandalized centuries-old murals and paintings in the chapel and stole two cars and all the monastery's food.

21st century

The interim Kosovo government unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on Sunday, 17 February 2008. Serbia refuses to recognise this declaration of independence. Kosovo's self-proclaimed independence has been recognised by 98 UN countries, and one non-UN country, the Republic of China (Taiwan). The remaining Kosovo Serbs (mostly in North Kosovo) want to remain part of Serbia, but Serbian majority towns are now rare in Kosovo.

Vidovdan celebration in Gazimestan (2009)

Some officials in the Serbian government have proposed a partition of Kosovo, with North Kosovo and Štrpce becoming part of Serbia or given autonomy. The United States opposes the partition of Kosovo, stressing that the "great majority of countries around the world are not going to stand for that." In response to the seizure of railways in Northern Kosovo and formation of Serbian offices to serve as part of a parallel government, Kosovo's Prime Minister stated that they would "not tolerate any parallel institution on Kosovo's territory" and would assert their authority over all of Kosovo. The UN's Special Representative in Kosovo said the "international community has made it very clear that no partition of Kosovo will be acceptable." Ivan Eland, a Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute, suggested such "a partition within a partition" would prevent a "Serbia-Kosovo War" and provides the "best chance" of Kosovo having a long-term stable relationship with Serbia. Chairman of the Serb Municipalities of Kosovo Alliance Marko Jakšić dismissed the talk of partition and said the action of Serbs in Kosovo is to protest the Kosovo declaration. Oliver Ivanović, a Kosovo Serb political leader, said he was against Kosovo's partition because "most Serbs live south of the Ibar and their position would become unsustainable". A Reuters analysis suggested that Kosovo may be divided along ethnic lines similar to Bosnia-Herzegovina. James Lyon of the International Crisis Group thinktank was quoted as saying, "the Republika Srpska style is acceptable for Serbia, but within the confines that it (Kosovo) is still part of Serbia." Pieter Feith, the European Union's special representative in Kosovo, and the International Civilian Representative for Kosovo said no plans are under discussion to carve out a canton or grant any other autonomy to Serbs living in the north of Kosovo. He told the Pristina, Kosovo, daily Koha Ditore, "It is quite clear that the privileged relations between the Serbs here (in Kosovo) and Belgrade are in the spheres of education, health care, and religious objects," adding that "the government in Pristina has to be respected."

Map showing the Serb community and the Albanian communities (yellow being the Albanian communities) by the Brussels Agreement in 2013

On 30 September 2008, Serbian President Boris Tadić stated that he would consider partitioning Kosovo if all other options were exhausted. The former Foreign Minister for Serbia and Montenegro, Goran Svilanović, applauded the suggestion saying "finally this is a realistic approach coming from Serbia. Finally, after several years, there is a room to discuss." After his comments aroused controversy in the media, Tadić reiterated that he was suggesting this as a possibility only if all other options were exhausted.

In the Brussels Agreement of 2013, Serbia agreed to grant the government in Pristina authority over Kosovo, while Pristina made an agreement to form Community of Serb Municipalities, which has not been fulfilled. Kosovo Serbs have accepted many aspects of Kosovo's rule and Kosovo Serbs now vote on Kosovo central election commission ballots in local elections.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kosovo Serbs found themselves in a limbo, stuck between different orders issued by Serbia and Kosovo. In November 2020, during the COVID pandemics, Kosovo policemen and inspectors stormed and temporarily closed several Serb-owned pharmacies in North Kosovo, attempting to confiscate medicine supplies, because the items were allegedly not registered within the central system in Pristina. The act was met with citizen protest which were on the verge of escalation. In December 2020, the vaccines for COVID-19 were sent to North Kosovo by Serbia without any consultation with Kosovan authorities. Kosovo opposed the arrival of those vaccines, claiming that they were illegally distributed by Serbia. Only few people were vaccinated and the remaining vaccines were sent back after an investigation was launched. In 2021 health workers from North Kosovo protested against arrests of their colleagues who are employed in the hospitals which take care of patients with COVID-19. They described the actions as "inhumane" and sent protesting letters to various international institutions and organisations.

Kosovo's Serb minority is often the target of demonstrations of hostility and attacks. In addition to that, members of the Kosovo Serbs community face mistreatment and prejudice in Serbia too.

Demographics

Main articles: Demographic history of Kosovo and Serbian enclaves in Kosovo
Ethnic groups in Kosovo
Year Albanians Serbs Others
1921 65 % 26 % 9 %
1931 60 % 33 % 7 %
1948 68 % 24 % 8 %
1953 65 % 23 % 11 %
1961 67 % 23 % 9 %
1971 73 % 18 % 8 %
1981 77 % 13 % 9 %
1991 82 % 10 % 8 %
2000 88 % 7 % 5 %
2007 92 % 5 % 3 %

During the 20th century, the Serb population of Kosovo constantly decreased. Today, Serbs mostly populate the enclaves across Kosovo, as well as North Kosovo, which comprises 11% of Kosovo's territory and where they comprise 95% of population. 1,200 km (463 sq mi). Diplomats from the United Nations have voiced concern over slow progress on minority rights. Human Rights Watch pointed out discrimination against Serbs and Roma in Kosovo immediately after the war.

ECMI calculated, based on 2010 and 2013 estimations, that ca. 146,128 Serbs resided in Kosovo, that is, ca. 7.8% of the total population. In 2012, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia estimated that the number was 90–120,000. The Republic of Kosovo-organized 2011 census did not take place in North Kosovo, and was boycotted by a considerable number of Serbs in southern Kosovo. The ECMI did call "for caution when referring to the 2011 Census in Kosovo". There are ten municipalities constituted by a Serb numerical majority. These are the four northern municipalities of North Mitrovica, Leposavić, Zvečan, Zubin Potok, and the six southern (enclave) municipalities of Gračanica, Štrpce, Novo Brdo, Ranilug, Parteš and Klokot. As of 2014, the OSCE estimates that around 96,000 Serbs live in Kosovo.

The UNHCR estimated in 2019 that the total number of IDPs (Serbs and non-Serbs) from Kosovo in Serbia are 68,514. Serbia has claimed (2018) that a total 199,584 IDPs from Kosovo (Serbs and non-Serbs) origin have settled and live in Serbia after the war based on the original data it gathered in 2000. The UNHCR reported in 2009, based on the official figures by the government of Serbia, that around 205,835 IDPs who fled from Kosovo lived in Serbia. These included Serbs, Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians. The registration data in 2000 are the only official data which have been generated and there has been no re-registration of IDPs in Serbia since 2000. The same figure has been used in all official reports since then with some statistical reconfigurations. As such, the reliability of the registration of IDPs living in Serbia has been questioned.

In 2003, the number of Kosovo Serb IDPs in Montenegro was c. 12,000. The numbers do not include those that have received Montenegrin citizenship. As of 2015, there were at least 6,600 Kosovo Serb refugees in Montenegro. By 2019, there were 135 IDPs in total in Montenegro from Kosovo.

In 2017, per the Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, there were 94,998 Serbs in Kosovo. In the north, there were 47.1 percent of them and south of the Ibar lived 52.8 percent of the Serbs. The think-tank European Stability Initiative estimated that there were around 95,000 Serbs in Kosovo in 2023, based on primary school pupil data.

Linguistic structure of Kosovo by settlements 1931
Serb-populated areas of Kosovo
Serb community in Kosovo (ECMI 2013 est.)
by municipality
Municipality Percentage Number
North Mitrovica 76.48% 22,530
Leposavić 96% 18,000
Zvečan 96.1% 16,000
Zubin Potok 93.29% 13,900
Štrpce 70.58% 9,100
Gračanica 82.15% 7,209
Novo Brdo 61.46% 5,802
Ranilug 97.15% 5,718
Parteš 99.96% 5,300
Gjilan 5.29% 5,000
Klokot 71.23% 3,500
Vushtrri 4.79% 3,500
Kamenica 8.01% 3,019
Obiliq 12.37% 3,000
Lipjan 3.37% 2,000
Pristina 1% 2,000
Istog 4.16% 1,700
Rahovec 1.76% 1,000
Peja 1.03% 1,000
Kosovo Polje 2.51% 900
Klina 1.53% 600
Skenderaj 0.59% 300
Viti, Kosovo 0.59% 280
Prizren 0.13% 237
Ferizaj 0.06% 60
Shtime 0.18% 49
Deçan 0.11% 46
Gjakova 0.02% 17
Mitrovica 0.02% 14
Podujevo 0.01% 12
Dragash 0.02% 7
Suva Reka <0.01% 2
Kaçanik <0.01% 1

Culture

Left: Serbian traditional dance (kolo) and clothing from Gnjilane
Right: Gračanica monastery painting by Nadežda Petrović.

The Battle of Kosovo is particularly important to Serbian history, tradition, and national identity.

Eparchy of Raška and Prizren of Serbian orthodox church take care of Serbian people and Orthodox heritage in Kosovo. Numerous Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches are spread around Kosovo. Some of them include: Banjska monastery, Devič monastery, Gračanica monastery, Patriarchal Monastery of Peć, Visoki Dečani monastery and Our Lady of Ljeviš. The last four make up the Medieval Monuments in Kosovo, founded by the Nemanjić dynasty, is a combined World Heritage Site.

Medieval fortifications built by Serbian rulers and lords present important cultural heritage.

In connection with social gatherings among the Serbs around the churches and monasteries called Sabori during the Slava and Hram (Patron of the monastery) there was a belief that everyone must dance (to instrumental accompaniments) in order to gain and secure good health. In upper Prizren the Sabor was held on 21 November by the ruins of the monastery of the Holy archangel founded by the Serbian Emperor Stefan Dušan the Mighty in the 14th century. There were also great social gatherings at the Kaljaja fortress.

Serbian folk music is rich in a large number of songs from Kosovo, which were especially preserved in the performances of Jordan Nikolić and Mara Đorđević.

The Serbs in Kosovo speak the dialects of Zeta-South Raška, Kosovo-Resava, and Prizren-South Morava.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Visoki Dečani MonasteryPatriarchate of PećOur Lady of LjevišGračanica Monastery

Prominent people

Monarchs

Lazar of Serbia, Serbian ruler who led the army in the Battle of Kosovo

Politicians

Religious people

Arsenije IV Jovanović Šakabenta

Military people

Aleksa Mandušić, U.S. Medal of Honor recipient

Writers

Science and education

Art

Visual art

Cinema and theatre

Ljuba Tadić, actor

Music

Viktorija is only artist from Kosovo and Metohija who represented Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest
Nevena Božović

Sport

Milutin Šoškić, football player and Olympic champion
Milena Rašić, World and European champion, Olympic silver medalist in volleyball
Novak Djokovic, one of the greatest tennis players, whose father was born in Kosovo
Luka Dončić, basketball player has origins in Kosovo on father's side

Other

See also

Annotations

  1. As of 2015, there are at least 6,600 Kosovo Serb refugees in Montenegro. In 2003, the number was c. 12,000. The numbers do not include those that have received Montenegrin citizenship.

References

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Sources

Further reading

Books
Journals
Conference papers
  • Pejin, Jovan (2006). "The Extermination of the Serbs in Metohia, 1941-1944" (PDF). Срби на Косову и у Метохији: Зборник радова са научног скупа. Српска академија наука и уметности. pp. 189–207.

External links

Ethnic groups in Kosovo
Ethnic map of Kosovo
Ethnic groups in Serbia
Serbs (Vojvodina, Kosovo)
Larger ethnic minorities
Smaller ethnic minorities
See also
Demographic history of Serbia
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