I.

Introduction

Vojvodina, province in northern Serbia which enjoyed autonomous status from 1946 to 1989. Vojvodina is bordered on the north by Hungary, on the west by Croatia, on the east by Romania, and on the south by the Serbian region of Sumadija. The capital city of the province is Novi Sad; the only other important city is Subotica. The area of Vojvodina is approximately 21,506 sq km (8,304 sq mi).

II.

Land and Resources

Vojvodina is situated in the southern part of the Great Hungarian Plain and includes some of the richest agricultural land in the former Yugoslavia. Major rivers are the Danube, Tisza, and Tamis. The Fruska Gora Ridge (with elevations up to 593 m/1,946 ft) fills the south-west corner of the province, and portions of the southern Carpathian Mountains occupy the south-east. There are oil and gas deposits in eastern Vojvodina, but no other important mineral resources.

III.

Population

Vojvodina’s population is 2,013,889 (1991). More than 60 per cent of the population of the province are ethnic Serbs. Ethnic Hungarians, comprising about 17 per cent of the population, are the second largest nationality group. Ethnic Croats, Czechs, Slovaks, and Ruthenes (see Ruthenia) also live in the region.

IV.

Economy

Vojvodina has some of the richest agricultural land in Serbia. Major crops are wheat, maize, sugar beet, hemp, and sunflowers. Livestock includes cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry. Horticulture and grape cultivation are also important. Local industry includes large-scale food processing, textiles, machinery, petrochemicals, mineral fertilizers, and cement production. There has traditionally been commercial navigation on the Danube, although this was partially obstructed by the United Nations embargo against Serbia and Montenegro (imposed in May 1992 and finally lifted in October 2000).

V.

History

Long inhabited, Vojvodina was ruled by the Roman Empire. During the 6th century there were successive waves of immigration by Lombards (who then moved to Italy), Avars, and Slavic peoples. In the late 9th century, Magyar Hungarians settled in Vojvodina and the area became part of the Kingdom of Hungary. When much of Hungary was incorporated into the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Vojvodina was included. In 1690 numerous Serbs migrated into the area from territories to the south occupied by the Ottoman Empire. The area was devastated by recurrent warfare; to repopulate the region, Habsburg authorities established a large German colony and encouraged Serbs and Croats to settle there. Vojvodina remained under Habsburg rule until 1918, when it was annexed to the emergent Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, later Yugoslavia. During the inter-war years, the Belgrade government sponsored an increased settlement of Serbs in Vojvodina, and pressured local Hungarians to emigrate. As a result the ethnic composition of the province changed. Briefly reassigned to Hungary during World War II, Vojvodina was returned to Yugoslav rule in 1945.

In recognition of Vojvodina's separate history and distinct cultural traditions, Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito established Vojvodina as an autonomous province within the Republic of Serbia in 1946. However, Serb nationalism grew with the rise to power of Serbian president Slobodan Milošević in the late 1980s, and in March 1989 he reversed Tito's policy and abolished the autonomous status of Vojvodina and Kosovo. Pressure for a restoration of provincial autonomy in Vojvodina continued throughout Milošević’s rule, despite severe repression, with indigenous Serbs joining local Hungarians in demanding autonomy. With a change of government in October 2000—when President Milošević was ousted in a popular uprising and replaced by Vojislav Koštunica—there have been renewed hopes of autonomy.