The Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the official military force of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The BiH armed forces were officially unified in 2005 and are composed of two founding armies: the Bosniak-Croat Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (VFBiH) and the Bosnian Serbs' Army of Republika Srpska (VRS).
The Army of Republika Srpska, commonly referred to in English as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of Republika Srpska, the self-proclaimed Serb secessionist republic, a territory within the newly independent Bosnia and Herzegovina, which it defied and fought against. Active during the Bosnian War from 1992 to 1995, it continued to exist as the armed forces of RS, one of two entities making up Bosnia and Herzegovina, until 2006 when it was integrated into the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Forces of the VRS engaged in a number of campaigns, including Operation Corridor 92, Operation Vrbas '92, Operation Bura, and Operation Spider; they were also involved in the siege of Sarajevo, as well as the Srebrenica massacre.
Republika Srpska is one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the north and east of the country. Its largest city and administrative centre is Banja Luka, lying on the Vrbas river, and with a population of about 138,963 people.
Banja Luka or Banjaluka is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska, of which it is also the de facto capital. Banja Luka is the traditional centre of the densely-forested Bosanska Krajina region of northwestern Bosnia. According to the 2013 census, the city proper has a population of 138,963, while its administrative area comprises a total of 185,042 inhabitants.
The Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941) and Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–1992).
The Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, based in Sarajevo, is the chief officiating body of football in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bosnian football association was founded as the Sarajevo football sub-association of Yugoslavia in 1920. In 1992, the association was re-founded as the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Ferhat Pasha Mosque, also known as the Ferhadija Mosque, is a mosque in the city of Banja Luka and one of the greatest achievements of Bosnia and Herzegovina's 16th century Ottoman Islamic architecture. The mosque was demolished in 1993 at the order of the authorities of Republika Srpska as a part of an ethnic cleansing campaign, and was rebuilt and opened on 7 May 2016.
Gradiška, formerly Bosanska Gradiška, is a city of northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in Republika Srpska entity. As of 2013, it has a population of 51,727 inhabitants, while the city of Gradiška has a population of 14,368 inhabitants.
The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, often referred to as Bosnian Serbs or Herzegovinian Serbs, are native and one of the three constitutive nations of the country, predominantly residing in the political-territorial entity of Republika Srpska. Most declare themselves Orthodox Christians and speakers of the Serbian language.
The Republika Srpska was a self-proclaimed statelet in Southeastern Europe under the control of the Army of Republika Srpska during the Bosnian War. It claimed to be a sovereign state, though this claim was only partially recognized by the Bosnian government in the Geneva agreement, the United Nations, and Yugoslavia. For the first six months of its existence, it was known as the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This article is about the Demographic history of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and deals with the country's documented demographics over time. For an overview of the various ethnic groups and their historical development, see Ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The University of Banja Luka is the second-oldest university in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A public university, it is the flagship institution of higher education in Republika Srpska, one of two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2018–19 school year, there are 11,186 enrolled students.
Kneževo, formerly Skender Vakuf, is a town and municipality located in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Administratively, it is a part of the Republika Srpska entity. As of 2013, it has a population of 9,793 inhabitants.
The Jewish people of Bosnia and Herzegovina are one of the minority peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to country's constitution. The history of Jews in Bosnia and Herzegovina spans from the arrival of the first Bosnian Jews as a result of the Spanish Inquisition to the survival of the Bosnian Jews through the Holocaust and the Yugoslav Wars. Judaism and the Jewish community in Bosnia and Herzegovina have one of the oldest and most diverse histories of all the former Yugoslav states, and is more than 500 years old, in terms of permanent settlement. Then a self-governing province of the Ottoman Empire, Bosnia was one of the few territories in Europe that welcomed Jews after their expulsion from Spain.
The First League of Yugoslavia's 1991/1992 season was the 64th edition of the Yugoslav First League, the premier football club competition of SFR Yugoslavia. It was the last edition in which professional football teams from SR Bosnia and Herzegovina and SR Macedonia participated, as well as the last of the SFR Yugoslavia in general as the First League of FR Yugoslavia was established the following season. Red Star Belgrade won the competition.
The most widely professed religion in Bosnia and Herzegovina is Islam and the second biggest religion is Christianity. Nearly all the Muslims of Bosnia are followers of the Sunni denomination of Islam; the majority of Sunnis follow the Hanafi legal school of thought (fiqh) and Maturidi theological school of thought (kalām). Bosniaks are generally associated with Islam, Bosnian Croats with the Roman Catholic Church, and Bosnian Serbs with the Serbian Orthodox Church. The State Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the entity Constitutions of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska provide for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right in ethnically integrated areas or in areas where government officials are of the majority religion; the state-level Law on Religious Freedom also provides comprehensive rights to religious communities. However, local authorities sometimes restricted the right to worship of adherents of religious groups in areas where such persons are in the minority.
The modern-day countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia both originated from Yugoslavia. The majority of population in both countries speak one of the standard varieties of Serbo-Croatian and Serbia is one of the largest investors in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Republika Srpska football team is the official team of Republika Srpska, an entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA.
The Archives of Republika Srpska is an administrative organisation within the Ministry of Education and Culture of Republika Srpska, one of two constituent entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Archives' headquarters is in Banja Luka, and it has its regional offices in Doboj, Zvornik, Foča, Sokolac, and Trebinje. Its aim is to collect, store, preserve, organise, research, and provide access to archival materials on the territory of Republika Srpska, where it is designated as a central institution for the protection of cultural heritage. The Archives is also involved in research projects, exhibitions, and in the publishing of books and scholarly papers, mostly in the fields of archival science, history, and law. It is organised into two sectors, which are responsible for the protection of archival materials within and outside the Archives, respectively. The Archives currently holds 794 fonds and 35 collections, which span the period from the 17th century to the modern day.
Poles are one of 17 constitutionally recognized ethnic minorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They arrived during the Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina and settled mostly in the north of Bosnia proper, bringing new technology and skilled manpower. Their destiny was tied closely to that of the Ukrainian minority, with whom they joined the Yugoslav Resistance after the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia. After the Second World War, Bosnian Poles faced difficulties with establishing their rights as a minority as well as persecution by local population and remaining fascist collaborators. This forced a vast majority to answer the Polish government's call for repatriation. There were around 30,000 Poles in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1930, while their number today is estimated to be less than a thousand, with communities in the major cities of Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Zenica and Mostar.
