The Balkans

Josip Broz, known as Tito since the 1930s, was elected President of the Federal Assembly of Yugoslavia on January 13th, 1953.

In 1945 Tito wrote. ‘We mean to make Yugoslavia both democratic and independent’. How was this possible, asks Basil Davidson, for a war-torn Communist country in a world of super-powers?

Jason Tomes looks at the reign of King Zog.

In the 50 years after its opening in 1948 by dictator Enver Hoxhe, Albania's Institute of Archaology is now suffering from a funding shortage, but is still maintinaing its work and museum.

Penny Young looks at the ambititious plans to reconstruct the celebrated Ottoman bridge in Mostar, destroyed by fighting in Bosnia-Herzegovinia.

The sorry history of ethnic conflict in the Balkans, concluding that forgeign intervention has needlessly fanned the flames of nationalism.

The troubled history of the region, and the deep-rooted antagonisms between the different ethnic groups laying claim to it.

Mikhail Gorbachev's period as President of the Soviet Union, 1985-91, was truly revolutionary. But Steven Morewood argues that he failed to understand or control the forces he unleashed.

Ann Hills investigates Romania's rural rescue scheme.

Caught between the bear and the eagle – Dennis Deletant examines how one Balkan nation with substantial minorities problems, struggled in vain to avoid being swept aside in the gathering storms of inter-war Europe.