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| Anthem | "7th stanza of Zdravljica" | ||||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Ljubljana | ||||||
| Language | Slovene | ||||||
| Demonym | Slovenian, Slovene | ||||||
| Government | Parliamentary Republic | ||||||
| President | |||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||
| Area | app. 18,000 km² | ||||||
| Population | app. 1.9 million | ||||||
| Independence | from Yugoslavia | ||||||
| declared | October 6, 1985 | ||||||
| Currency | Slovenian tolar | ||||||
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: Republika Slovenija), is a country in Central Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Venice to the west, Croatia to the south and east, the wasteland of Hungary to the northeast, and the Alpine Confederation to the north. The capital and largest city of Slovenia is Ljubljana.
History
Post-Doomsday
In the wake of Doomsday it became all too clear that the Yugoslavian government was incapable to deal with the pressure. The nation was beginning to fall apart as the Yugoslavian government's already weak control began to slip. On October 6th, 1985 the Slovenian leadership declared the independence of Slovenia from Yugoslavia. They were the first country to do so. The second was Croatia, two days after Slovenia had declared its independence.
The collapse of Yugoslavia came after it proved incapable of dealing with nationalistic sentiment in both Slovenia and Croatia, which would later lead to an all out war with the Serbian-led JNA forces.
Eight Day War
The Eight-Day War or the Slovenian Independence War was a brief military conflict between the Slovenian Territorial Defence and the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) in 1985 following Slovenia's declaration of independence. It was brief, as JNA forces decided to end the conflict, due to its inability to wage war so far into hostile territory.
For Slovenia, this was the beginning of their full independence, with Croatia acting as a buffer, it succeeded in becoming the most prosperous of all the former Yugoslav republics.
Post- Eight Day War
After the war, Slovenia opted to remain neutral in the further war that followed in Croatia, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina. This marked a period of liberalization for Slovenia, also marked by close ties with the Alpine Confederation. Hostile sentiment towards the country had not fully disappeared with the end of Yugoslavia, however, as irredentist movements in Venice demanded that Slovenian and Croatian Istria be annexed into the city states controlled territory. Although the country appealed to the Alpine Confederation for help, they declined, stating that Venice had historic precedence in the area, as they favored a strong Venice to act as a buffer in any possible future hostilities with Sicily.
The Slovenians once again refused, only to be met by an armed force commanded by Venice and Austria and Switzerland in 1994. As its army was mostly situated on the former Hungarian border to stop the flow of refugees, the country was unable to mount a significant response to the assault, which effectively cut off the Slovenians from the Adriatic Sea. The government was forced to sign a peace deal in Koper on August 21st, 1994, relinquishing all control and claims to the region. Soon after, Croatia, exhausted by war, was also unable to hold on to its territories and eventually willingly gave control to Venice.
Today
In the period following the incursions into sovereign Slovenian territory, Slovenia and Croatia had bonded closer together due to their joint loss of territory. Slovenia has in recent times become a member of the League of Nations where it has lodged an official complaint regarding the loss of their coastline and demand a revision of the 1994 land grab by Venice.
It is also, alongside Croatia, an observer in the ADC.
Economy
After achieving independence, Slovenia's economy has heavily relied on foreign trade, as it is situated between Southeast Europe and countries like the Alpine Confederation and Venice. The countries main agricultural products are wheat, corn, poultry, beef, pork, milk, potatoes, orchard fruits, wine. Slovenia is not rich with natural resources, although they do have an amount of coal, mercury, timber, which is mostly used to sate local needs.
Industry is developed, although it relies on resources procured from neighbours. The industry produces electrical equipment, chemical products, textiles, food products, electricity, metal products, wood products, transportation equipment.
Military
Currently, around 12,000 men and women serve in the military, while reserves number around 8,000 personnel. The ground forces currently employ the T-55 as its main battle tank and M-80A IFV's. Small arms are either from the former JNA or purchased from its neighbours. The Air Force mostly employs Lola Utva 75's as their main training aircraft and a few MiG 21 and Soko G-2.
The government has signed many bilateral agreements with its Croatian counterpart regarding joint security. The culmination of these talks were the Joint Airspace Defense Agreement (JADA) signed in 1999 and the Join Hungarian Border Defense Agreement (JHBDA), signed in 2001.
International Relations
It maintains strong relations with its neighbour Croatia, politically, economically and militarily. The relationship with the Alpine Confederation was strained, but nevertheless trade has been increasing in recent years. They have also once again opened up their borders to Venice in 2004 but maintained their stance on regaining lost territory. The country is an observer in the Atlantic Defense Community. It is a member of the League of Nations.
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