Republika Srpska (Serbian, Bos. а Croatian in Latin Republika Srpska, in Serbian Cyrillic Република Српска) is one of the two entities of the federated Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The entity’s capital is de facto Banja Luka, where the country’s administration is based; although it is guaranteed by the constitution for the capital of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo and for the capital of the Republic of Srpska Istočno Sarajevo (Serb. Istočno Sarajevo). RS has its own government, its own president, parliament, official symbols, and until 2003 it even had its own airline (Air Srpska). In 2004, there were efforts to unite the police forces of both entities, but they failed. A few years later, it was possible to reform the armed forces and integrate the military units of the RS into the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As currency, the entity uses the convertible mark, just like the Federation of BiH (however, until 1994 it had its own currency, which was the Republika Srpska dinar).
History
The Republic of Serbia was created at the beginning of war chaos in the former Yugoslavia. At the end of 1991, in response to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s declaration of sovereignty, Serb members of the Bosnian parliament created the Assembly of the Serbian Nation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which adopted the republic’s constitution on February 28, 1992. This date is considered to be the date of the establishment of the Republic of Srpska. The initiators of the creation of the republic had the intention of its separation from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Radovan Karadžić became the first president of the Republic of Serbia. A brutal war followed, during which the Bosnian Serbs managed to occupy up to 70% of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Republic located the headquarters of its most important bodies in the village of Pale, just a few kilometers from Sarajevo. Despite the long and bloody siege of Sarajevo, the Bosnian Serbs failed to capture Sarajevo.
The Dayton Peace Accords of 1995, which ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, agreed that the Republika Srpska would continue to exist, but within Bosnia and Herzegovina as one of its two state entities, its borders were determined, stipulating that the republic will occupy approximately 49% of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
After the war, a complex process of consolidation and unification of Bosnia and Herzegovina began, which has not yet ended and is overseen by the international community.
The present
Although the republic respects the compromise peace of 1995, it has not completely given up its independence claims. The separatist tendencies in the republic were strengthened by the example of Kosovo. For now, however, it seems that the republic is not interested in secession from Bosnia by force, its politicians talk exclusively about a peaceful path. On the other hand, the already mentioned political process of unification of Bosnia and Herzegovina is taking place while respecting the autonomy of both state entities.
