- This article is about the Yugoslav Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija between 1946 and 1974, up until its reconstitution as the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo
Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo was one of the two socialist autonomous areas of the Socialist Republic of Serbia incorporated into the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from...
. For the period of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija between 1990 and 1999, see Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (1990–1999). For the modern region, autonomous province, or country see KosovoKosovo is a disputed territory in the Balkans. Its majority is governed by the partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo , a self-declared independent state which has de facto control over the territory; the exceptions are some Serb enclaves...
.
The
Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (
SerbianSerbian is a South Slavic language, spoken chiefly in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, and in the Serbian diaspora...
,
CroatianCroatian is a South Slavic language which is used primarily in Croatia, by Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, by Croatian minorities in some neighbouring countries, in the Italian region of Molise, and parts of the Croatian diaspora....
, Serbo-Croatian:
Autonomna Pokrajina Kosovo i Metohija, Аутономна Покрајина Косово и Метохија) was an autonomous province of
SerbiaSocialist Republic of Serbia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is a predecessor of modern day Serbia, which served as the biggest republic in the Yugoslav federation and held the largest population of all the Yugoslav...
, within the larger federation of
YugoslaviaThe Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the second half of World War II until it was formally dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro,...
from 1946 to 1974, when it was replaced by the
Socialist Autonomous Province of KosovoSocialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo was one of the two socialist autonomous areas of the Socialist Republic of Serbia incorporated into the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from...
.
During the interwar period, the name of
KosovoKosovo is a disputed territory in the Balkans. Its majority is governed by the partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo , a self-declared independent state which has de facto control over the territory; the exceptions are some Serb enclaves...
was associated with a specific region, though did not exist as any form of political subdivision.
- This article is about the Yugoslav Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija between 1946 and 1974, up until its reconstitution as the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo
Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo was one of the two socialist autonomous areas of the Socialist Republic of Serbia incorporated into the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from...
. For the period of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija between 1990 and 1999, see Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (1990–1999). For the modern region, autonomous province, or country see KosovoKosovo is a disputed territory in the Balkans. Its majority is governed by the partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo , a self-declared independent state which has de facto control over the territory; the exceptions are some Serb enclaves...
.
The
Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (
SerbianSerbian is a South Slavic language, spoken chiefly in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, and in the Serbian diaspora...
,
CroatianCroatian is a South Slavic language which is used primarily in Croatia, by Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, by Croatian minorities in some neighbouring countries, in the Italian region of Molise, and parts of the Croatian diaspora....
, Serbo-Croatian:
Autonomna Pokrajina Kosovo i Metohija, Аутономна Покрајина Косово и Метохија) was an autonomous province of
SerbiaSocialist Republic of Serbia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is a predecessor of modern day Serbia, which served as the biggest republic in the Yugoslav federation and held the largest population of all the Yugoslav...
, within the larger federation of
YugoslaviaThe Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the second half of World War II until it was formally dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro,...
from 1946 to 1974, when it was replaced by the
Socialist Autonomous Province of KosovoSocialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo was one of the two socialist autonomous areas of the Socialist Republic of Serbia incorporated into the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from...
.
History and background
During the interwar period, the name of
KosovoKosovo is a disputed territory in the Balkans. Its majority is governed by the partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo , a self-declared independent state which has de facto control over the territory; the exceptions are some Serb enclaves...
was associated with a specific region, though did not exist as any form of political subdivision. Its new outline following the end of the war and the establishment of Tito's Communist regime was carved out of the southeastern corner of Serbia. The entity of Kosovo had last existed as an
Ottoman ProvinceThe Kosovo Province, also known as the Vilayet of Kosova was a vilayet of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkan Peninsula which included: the current territory of Kosovo, the western part of the Republic of Macedonia, a part of southern Serbia and a portion of north-eastern...
. By 1946, one piece of the Ottoman Province had been given to the new Yugoslav republic of
MacedoniaThe Socialist Republic of Macedonia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
(including the former capital
SkopjeSkopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia, with more than a quarter of the population of the country, as well as its political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. It was known in the Roman period under the name Scupi. The city developed rapidly after World War II,...
), whilst another chunk had passed to
MontenegroSocialist Republic of Montenegro or SR Montenegro in shortened form, was a socialist state that was a constituent country in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is a predecessor of the modern day Montenegro...
, also a new entity. Whilst another significant piece had formed a part of
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
since the Treaty of London in 1913, the remainder lay within
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...
. The new province's borders were demarcated with the purpose of incorporating a large area within Serbia where there had been a significant presence of
AlbanianAlbanians are a people from southeast Europe who live in Albania and neighboring countries. They speak the Albanian language. About half of them live in Albania, with other large groups residing in Kosovo, the Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, and Montenegro...
ethnic minority population, and thus was created the autonomous
region of Kosovo and Metohija in 1946 (to the contrary, Vojvodina held a higher rank -- of a province -- from the onset of Communist rule).
Kosovo officially became an autonomous
province in 1963, though the central Communist government did not permit the return of many of the refugees, ethnic Serbs. This ban capitally changed ethnic structure. Albanians became majority.
The Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija received more and more autonomy and self-government within Serbia and Yugoslavia during the 1970s, and its name was officially changed in 1974 to
Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo ("and
MetohijaMetohija , is a large basin and the name of the region covering the southwestern part of Kosovo. It encompasses three of the seven districts of Kosovo, namely:* District of Peć* District of Đakovica...
" was removed because it was not used by the Kosovo Albanians and "Socialist" was added to further show the
SocialistSocialism refers to various theories of economic organization advocating public or direct worker ownership and administration of the means of production and allocation of resources, and a society characterized by equal access to resources for all individuals with a method of compensation based on...
ideal of then's SFRY).
See also
- Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (1945-1963)
The Autonomous Province of Vojvodina was an autonomous province of Serbia, within the larger federation of Yugoslavia from 1946 to 1963, when it was replaced by the Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.The region of Vojvodina was politically restored in 1945 as a province of...
- Socialist Republic of Serbia
Socialist Republic of Serbia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is a predecessor of modern day Serbia, which served as the biggest republic in the Yugoslav federation and held the largest population of all the Yugoslav...