1. Ethnic groups in Yugoslavia (1991). Total population: 23 million
The ethnic composition of the Yugoslavia, according to the census of 1981.
SOURCE:

2. YUGOSLAVIA’S AGONY IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR
The German and Italian armies conquered Yugoslavia swiftly in April 1941, and it suffered only 1,000 combat dead. In the next four years Yugoslavia suffered around
ONE MILLION DEAD, however, as the result of partisan and civil war.
Croatian fascists in the Ustasha Party collaborated with the Germans and launched a bloody campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Serbs in Croatia.
The Yugoslav Communist Party sought to rally all ethnic groups against the German occupiers and received arms from Great Britain.
The Serb monarchist “Chetniks” sometimes fought the Germans but more often the Ustasha, Communists, and Bosnian Moslems.

3. Josip Broz Tito ( )
He propagated a “Yugoslav” identity that never caught on.
He ONLY allowed pluralism in “ethnic heritage societies.”
He failed to reduce the prosperity gap between north & south.
He encouraged the mostly Serb officer corps to regard itself as the “guardian of socialism.”
Violent riots broke out in Kosovo in 1981.
Marshal Josip Broz Tito ( ), the independent-minded Communist leader of Yugoslavia (posing in military uniform shortly after the liberation of his country)
SOURCE:
See also Sabrina P. Ramet, Nationalism and Federalism in Yugoslavia, , 2nd edn (Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1992), p. 251 .

4. Defined Croatia as “the state of the Croatian nation.”
IN CROATIA FRANJO TUDJMAN ( ) EVOLVED GRADUALLY INTO A NATIONALIST
Fought with Tito in World War II and became a general in the Yugoslav Army.
Switched to an academic career in 1963 and championed the Croatian outlook.
Founded the Croatian Democratic Union in 1989, which came to power in 1990.
Defined Croatia as “the state of the Croatian nation.”
Franjo Tudjman ( ), the first president of Croatia.
Tudjman fought against the Ustasha with the Communist partisans in the Second World War and rose to be a general in the army of Tito's postwar Yugoslavia. In 1963 he left the army to pursue an academic career and soon earned a Ph.D. in history. As a faculty member at the University of Zagreb, he fell afoul of the authorities by arguing that the interwar kingdom of Yugoslavia had failed because of oppression by the federal government, not because of reactionary Croatian nationalism. In 1972 he was sentenced to two years in prison. In June 1989 he hurled himself into politics by founding the Croatian National Union (HDZ).
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5. The Serb Communist Party boss Slobodan Milosevic suddenly redefined himself as a nationalist in 1987 and celebrated the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo in 1989
Gagovic, Drasko. "Slobodan Milosevic." Photograph From
Serb President Slobodan Milosevic, who signed the Dayton Agreement in 1995, was forced to resign as President in 2000 after losing an election, and was delivered to The Hague soon thereafter to stand trial for genocide and crimes against humanity. The trial dragged on for years, and he had a fatal heart attack in his cell in 2006, before a verdict was reached.
[Bildersammlung: Protagonisten. The Yorck Project: Das große dpa-Bildarchiv, S. 684
(vgl. dpa, S. 203) (c) 2005 The Yorck Project]

6. The “Battle of Kosovo” (16th-century Russian miniature) and Serb mourners on the Field of Black Birds in 1989
Battle of Kosovo 1389, old Russian miniature (Facial chronicle of Ivan IV.)
Date 16th century
Source
A key moment in the movement to revive Serb nationalism led by Slobodan Milosevic: Serbs travel to Kosovo to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the battle on June 28, 1389, in which the Ottoman Turks destroyed the medieval Kingdom of Serbia on the Field of Black Birds.
SOURCE: T.C.W. Blanning, ed., _The Oxford Illustrated History of Modern Europe_ (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 303.

7. The “Republic of Serb Krajina” (1991-95)
After Slovenia and Croatia declared independence in June 1991, Serb forces carved out a new para-state by March 1992.
Croats and Serbs both engaged in massive ethnic cleansing.
Germany recognized Croatia in December 1991.
Bosnia declared independence in March 1992, and the fighting spread.
The "Republic of Serb Krajina" ( )
SOURCE:

8. Burial on December 18, 1991, of 39 Croat civilians killed in the fighting at Pdravska Slatina
Mourning at the mass burial of 39 Croat civilians in Pdravska Slatina on December 18, Until March 1992, the worst fighting was in southern Croatia; thereafter, in Bosnia.
[Bildersammlung: Kriege, Krisen & Konflikte. The Yorck Project: Das große dpa-Bildarchiv, S. 279
(vgl. dpa, S. 84) (c) 2005 The Yorck Project]

9. Bosnian Serb forces laid siege to Sarajevo from May 2, 1992, to February 26, 1996, or 1,395 days
SOURCE:
From creator famainternational.com: " Sarajevo Survival Map is the ultimate visual document, a Topography of Life and Death. It is the only Map in the world that has made a visual reference to the tragedy of a besieged European city at the end of 20th century. Representing a successful combination of it's hand-drawn illustration quality, topographic precision, text legends and true portrayal of the siege elements, such are; number and types of guns surrounding the city, the anti-sniper protection barricades, water sources, a secret underground tunnel, survival gardens, sniping zones and other key strategic urban elements. Serving as a document on the Historical level, an event of true value on a Cultural level, and on a Political level a powerful lesson for all of us." "The siege of the city lasted from May 2, 1992 to February 26, 1996 or 1,395 days, which is the longest siege in the modern history of mankind." This map was featured on the blog Strange Maps as well:

10. The Security Council created UNPROFOR in February 1992 to monitor the Serb-Croat cease-fire, but its mission soon expanded (167 of 37,000 troops died in action)
National Battalions in UN Forces in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Early 1993
SOURCE:
The ideal of the UNPROFOR "humanitarian" mission to Bosnia.
SOURCE:
United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), armored personnel carriers of the British battalion at Stari Vitez, May 1994.
SOURCE:

11. Some of the 3,500 Bosnian Moslems confined by Serbs in a stable in Manjaca, August 1992
Bosnian Serb troops have confined 3,500 Bosnian Moslems in a former stable in Manjaca (photograph taken on August 13, 1992). On August 4 the UN Security Council had condemned the mistreatment of prisoners in such Bosnian Serb prison camps and demanded immediate access for Red Cross teams.
[Bildersammlung: Kriege, Krisen & Konflikte. The Yorck Project: Das große dpa-Bildarchiv, S. 280
(vgl. dpa, S. 84) (c) 2005 The Yorck Project]

12. Mostar, capital of Herzegovina (the 16th-century bridge was destroyed by Croatian artillery on November 9, 1993)
The historic bridge across the River Neretva, built by the Turks in Mostar, the captial of Herzegovina, in the 1560s. This bridge came to symbolize the concept of communication and cooperation between ethnic groups until it was destroyed by Croatian artillery on November 9, 1993.
SOURCE: T.C.W. Blanning, ed., _The Oxford Illustrated History of Modern Europe_ (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 304.

13. AREAS OF CONTROL IN BOSNIA, SEPTEMBER 1994
Pink: Bosnian Serb Army
Yellow: Croatian Defense Council
Green: Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (plus 3 UN “Safe Havens” in east)
VRS = Bosnian Serb Army
HVO = Croatian Defence Council
ARBiH = Army of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
SOURCE:

14. SREBRENICA MASSACRE, July 1995
The last of the 8,000 bodies recovered were buried in 2010
The old factory that served Dutch UN peacekeepers (Dutchbat) as their base in Srebrenica in 1995 (photographed in 2009).
SOURCE:

15. With NATO air support, Croatia destroyed the “Republic of Serb Krajina” in August 1995, and Milosovic signed the Dayton Accord with Presidents Izetbegovic and Tudjman in November
President Slobodan Milosevic of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, President Alija Izetbegovic of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and President Franjo Tudjman of the Republic of Croatia initial the Dayton Peace Accords. The Balkan Proximity Peace Talks were conducted at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Nov. 1-21, The talks ended the conflict arising from the breakup of the Republic of Yugoslavia. The Dayton Accords paved the way for the signing of the final “General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina” on Dec. 14 at the Elysee Palace in Paris.
SOURCE:

16. German troops in the NATO peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia (Sarajevo, December 1997)
Soldaten des deutschen Kontingents der Friedenstruppe SFOR in der Innenstadt von Sarajewo
Sarajewo, 4. Dezember 1997
Photographie
Bundesbildstelle, Bonn;

17. Some of the 600,000 Kosovar refugees who fled after the brutal Serb offensive in March 1998
Kosovo-Albaner aus dem Dorf Prekaze fliehen am 6. März 1998 auf einem von einem Traktor gezogenen Anhänger vor den Kämpfen zwischen serbischen Polizeikräften und bewaffneten Albanern. Die blutigen Säuberungsaktionen serbischer Sondereinheiten in der Kosovo-Region werden von serbischer Seite als Polizeioffensive gegen »Terroristen« der »Kosovo–Befreiungsarmee« (UCK) dargestellt.
[Bildersammlung: Kriege, Krisen & Konflikte. The Yorck Project: Das große dpa-Bildarchiv, S. 281
(vgl. dpa, S. 85) (c) 2005 The Yorck Project]

18. NATO bombed Serbia from March through June 1999, destroying both the defense ministry and Chinese embassy in Belgrade
Ein amerikanischer Tarnkappen-Bomber B-2 Spirit bei einem Einsatz für die Nato in Jugoslawien am 6. April Der futuristisch anmutende vierstrahlige B- 2-Stealth-Bomber ist mit einem Preis von rund zwei Milliarden Dollar das teuerste Militärflugzeug der Welt. Der 21 Meter lange strategische Bomber kann bis zu 18 Tonnen Bomben über Kilometer transportieren.
[Bildersammlung: Ein Tarnkappen-Bomber B-2, The Yorck Project: Das große dpa-Bildarchiv, S. 2324
(vgl. dpa, S. 747) (c) 2005 The Yorck Project]

19. By June 1999 U.S. Marines and KFOR occupied Kosovo
Gunnery Sgt. William Post (center) marches with the local children down the main street of Zegra, Kosovo, on June 28, Post learned from the children how to say left and right in Albanian and then proceeded to teach them how to march.
SOURCE:

20. In 2008 the Kosovo parliament proclaimed its independence, but only the countries in green have recognized it

21. U. S. State Department Wanted Poster (2000)
U.S. State Department Wanted Poster (2000). Slobodan Milosevic died in his cell in The Hague in 2006, and Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic are still on trial.
Wanted poster issued by the U.S. Department of State in 2000, offering a $5 million reward for the apprehension of the three most notorious Serb war criminals, Slobodan Milosevic, Radovan Karadzic (president of the Bosnian Serb para-state) and General Ratko Mladic, commander of Bosnian Serb military forces. Milosevic was turned over to the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague soon thereafter and died in his prison cell in Karadzic is standing trial today (2010), and the whereabouts of Mladic are still unknown.
SOURCE:

22. NATO as of 2009

23. Among the peoples of the Caucasus, only the Georgians, Armenians, & Azeris gained “republics” in the old USSR
Some peoples of the Caucasus had received no meaningful regional autonomy under the USSR, but the Georgians, Armenians, and Turkish-speaking Azeris did enjoy their own "socialist republics."
SOURCE:

24. The Republic of Georgia, with the Russian-occupied enclaves of Abkhazia and South Ossetia (where massive fighting broke out in 2008)
The Republic of Georgia, with the Russian-occupied enclaves of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
SOURCE:

25. Stalinists drew the eastern border of Ukraine, assuming that it had little meaning….

26. Merkel confers with Ukraine’s Prime Minister Tymoshenko, February 2009
Deutsch: 45. Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz 2009: Dr. Angela Merkel (li), Bundeskanzlerin, Deutschland, im Gespräch mit Yulia V. Tymoshenko (re), Premierministerin, Ukraine.
English: 45th Munich Security Conference 2009: Dr. Angela Merkel (le), Federal Chancellor, Germany, in Conversation with Yulia V. Tymoshenko (ri), Prime Minister, Ukraine.
Date 7 February 2009( ), 12:45
Source

27. Polarization in Ukraine’s 2010 Presidential Election

28. President Viktor Yanukovych sparked protests in November 2013 when he cancelled a trade deal with the EU
President Putin visits Ukraine and Prime Minister of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych.
Date 22 December 2006
Source

29. The pro-EU protests on Maidan Square, Kiev, from November 2013 to February 2014
Clockwise from top left: A large EU flag is waved across Maidan on 27 November 2013, opposition activist popular singer Ruslana addresses the crowds on Maidan on 29 November 2013, Pro EU rally on Maidan, Euromaidan on European Square on 1 December, tree decorated with flags and posters, crowds direct hose at militsiya, plinth of the toppled Lenin Statue.
SOURCE:

30. THE WAR IN DONBASS, end 2014