The Serbian revolution was a long and complex historical process, undertaken by the oppressed Christian serfs (Raja) of the Ottoman Empire, intending to obtain rights of social dignity, national recognition and political autonomy at the beginning of the 19th century. As a rebellion of a disenfranchised group of society with a clear aim for acquiring national statehood, it inspired revolutions of other Christian peoples of the Turkish Empire, Greeks and Romanians before all. This major endeavor of Serbian history lasted for almost three decades and featured different methods of fighting. Therefore, some historians claim the Era of the Diplomatic Struggle (1815-1830) as a more fruitful period of the revolution than the previously fought uprisings (1804-1815). Although this might be an interesting point, the role of the armed efforts of Serbian insurgents in opening the door for diplomatic negotiations with the Sultan and Muslim nobility remains indisputable. In the following lines, we will see how the famous battles of the two Serbian uprisings created the ground for the ensuing political negotiations with the Turks.

Can you name a war fought by Icelanders? Kind of a difficult task. One would have to search deep in the past to find when was the last time inhabitants of this remote northern island resorted to weapons and methods of warfare. Well, nothing strange for a country that doesn’t even have a proper army and hasn’t had one for centuries. Yet, in the second half of the twentieth century, in the midst of the Cold War, Iceland was involved in three related conflicts. Truth be told, the wars fought over fishing rights lacked usual military engagements. Still, they caused a severe crisis in international affairs, especially regarding the unity of the NATO pact. How come? Island fought the Cod Wars against one of its closest allies, the United Kingdom.

Originally imagined as a small-scale agrarian rebellion against the oppressive, unlawful rule of Turkish provincial authorities in the Belgrade Pashalik, the First Serbian Uprising soon became an event of great prominence in European diplomacy. A small jacquerie on the northern borders of the once-powerful Ottoman Empire sparked a series of national revolutions among the Christian peoples of the Balkans. After ten years of severe fighting, magnificent victories and cruel defeats, Serbian insurgents finally succumbed in autumn of 1813, after the fall of Belgrade. Regardless of that, after the Uprising, the path to eventual success was traced and the revival of the Serbian national state was only a question of time.

Introduction

The New World envisioned by the Nazis collapsed with the defeat of the Axis in World War Two. Instead, a whole different world was about to be built with Communism as one of its pillars. As the war was ending, the red wave coming from the east was unstoppable, changing the political map of pre-war Europe along the way. The entire eastern part of the continent fell into the firm grip of Moscow, turning the countries in the region into de facto puppets of the Soviet Union. Such was the case with Yugoslavia, a monarchy known for its distinct anti-Soviet policy. Establishing post-war Yugoslavia turned the country into its total opposite - a faithful copy of the Soviet Union.

The USSR has been unarguably one of the most significant factors of the 20th century, leaving a substantial mark on world history. It was one of two world superpowers and a leader of the communist bloc in the Cold War, without mentioning other various aspects and contributions to science, culture, technology, etc. Often depicted as a “world’s bad guy” and dubbed the Red Giant as a menacing figure indicating its leading ideology, most of the world thought the Soviet Union was a strong and stable nation that would endure for a long time. Thus, when in December of 1991 it dissolved, many were left in astonishment. That left a burning question – why did the USSR collapse if it was that powerful?

It is often the destiny of small nations to be swallowed by the big ones. Human history has witnessed more than a few of them disappear as if they never existed. However, after the First World War, many of them, long forgotten, resurrected. The all-proclaimed right of self-determination gave birth to several new countries, old nations. Among them were three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. It was, however, their ill fortune that the peace established in Versailles was not destined to last long. Once a new storm loomed over the Old Continent, the independence of the Baltic countries was once again endangered. And so, after three decades of independence, former masters, now under the red banner of communism, abducted the freedoms of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The Soviet occupation of the Baltic States that started in 1940 lasted for half a century.

Sonderbund War - Switzerland Forged in the Civil War

When speaking of Switzerland, the first things that come to mind are banks, chocolate and neutrality. For over one and a half centuries, Switzerland has been an island of peace and prosperity, while the rest of the continent went through horrors of more than a few wars. The Switzerland everyone knows today was, however, forged in a war. More precisely, it was a civil war. It lasted for only three weeks in November of 1847 and is better known as the Sonderbund war.