Slovenia is located in southern Central Europe, the country is not large, the area is only 20,000 square kilometers (slightly larger than Beijing), the population of 2.05 million, typical small country widows.
Between 1945 and 1991, Slovenia was a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (hereinafter referred to as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). Slovenia's relations with the Yugoslav Federation are similar to those between Russia and the Soviet Union. But even during his stay in the Yugoslav Federation, there were always calls for independence within Slovenia.
Slovenia and its neighbors
Although Slovenes, Croats and Serbs belong to the Broad Sense of the Yugoslav Nation, they have historically formed a unified state, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The country was founded after the end of World War I and was renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929. But within Yugoslavia, Slovenia has always been a restless factor. There is a deep historical reason for this – the Slovenes were historically ruled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During this period, the Slovenes remained in hostile relations with their brother ethnic group, the Serbs. During World War I, nearly 3% of Slovenes died in the war for the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Even after World War I, due to the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the declaration of the merger of Slovenia with Serbia and Croatia, the Yugoslavs in this region finally united. But relations between Slovenes and other ethnic groups have always been delicate. Particularly within the Yugoslav state, where the main state power was in the hands of the Serbs, who were overwhelmingly populous, marginalized and beginning to feel dissatisfied. The seeds of the division of the Yugoslav state had been quietly planted at this time.
The historical Austro-Hungarian Empire included the Slovene region
After the end of World War II, the region was established as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, and Slovenia joined the Yugoslav Federation as a federal republic. Although both were member states, the Slovenes gained greater power within the Yugoslav Federation. It could even join a number of multinational organizations as a national subject. Slovenia, for example, joined the Slovenian Coastal Regions Organization in 1947 and became a member of the Trieste Free Trade Zone in 1954.
It was in this capacity that slovenia's economy flourished within the Yugoslav Federation, and the standard of living of the people was much higher than that of other member states within Yugoslavia. This situation also made Slovenes always feel superior and unwilling to live a hard life with fraternal countries and fraternal peoples within Yugoslavia.
Existed with the Yugoslav Federation of 1945-1991
Due to their historically deranged relationship with neighboring countries, Slovenes are also widely distributed in countries such as Italy and Austria, which are adjacent to the country. The Slovene population abroad accounts for about one tenth of the Slovenian population. This part of the Slovene diaspora living in the capitalist world is a staunch supporter of Slovenia's independence from Yugoslavia.
On June 25, 1991, taking advantage of the upheavals in Eastern Europe, Slovenia declared its independence from Yugoslavia, kicking off the prelude to the dissolution of Yugoslavia.