Zagoria

Zagoria ,officially the Socialist Republic of Zagoria (Slovenian: Zagorska Socialistična Republika,Croatian: Zagorska Socijalistička Republika),is a small nation between Slovenia and Croatia,with capital Žirina.

History
Zagoria shared its history with the neighboring Slovenia and Croatia,since before 1991 it was divided between them. However,the first time that Zagoria was mentioned was in 1100,in an Austrian document. At that time,the region was called Zeigermark in german. The capital of Zeigermark,before its division between Croatia,Hungary and Holy Roman Empire,was Grad na Žirjanski Dolini (Fortress/city on the Žirja Valley),the nowadays' Grad. People of Zagoria always managed to get at least autonomy,and in 1600,after centuries of silence,the Habsburgs created a special autonomous region,based on the ancient one previously nominated: Zeigermark. However,the region was really poor and few money were invested in development. This woke up the Zagorian people,for the first time really united,and the Great farmers' revolution started (1630). At first,Zagorians managed to create fortified borders in order to stop the imminent Habsburgic answer to the revolt. But at that moment,Habsburgs had problems with the Turks,so Zagoria (Zagorska,in the local languages)became,shortly,an independent principality ,with capital the city of Žirina,that was conquered during the revolt,and as prince Ivan Belovasić "The Courageous". But in 1647,the Austro-Hungarian army sorrounded the small state and occupied it again. Official documents from that era,say clearly that 60.000 people were killed by the Austrians during the afterwar massacres. After this short period of independence,Zagoria was divided between Styria (nowadays' Slovenia) and Zagreb region (nowadays' Croatia). However,even though the state didn't politically exist,the population and the local intellectuals mantained a strong sense of community and love for the homeland,developing an own dialect/language and literature. After WW1,with the creation of the Yugoslavian Kingdom,Zagoria became a small banovina (region) of the kingdom,gaining autonomy again. However,the region was governed not by Zagorian origined people,but by Serbians or Croatians. This made the population angry and in 1930 a new,but shorter,revolt started. In few months,the Yugoslav army lifted it and abolished the Zagorian banovina,splitting it again. With the beginning of WW2,Zagoria became one of the areas with the largest partisan activity in Yugosalvia,with 79% of the population active against nazism as partisans. Zagorian partisans,were known for their courage and ability,becoming so the strongest branch of the Yugoslav Liberation Army. Marshal Tito personally visited Zagoria during the WW2 and was surprised to see a such great love for the homeland. But Tito understood that love in the wrong way. Zagorians weren't fighting for Yugoslavia actually,but for Zagoria itself. The war damaged seriously the region,but the Yugoslav Socialist government helped the reconstruction and development of the region,in order to thank the local people for their fight against the Nazi-fascism. The years of the socialist Yugoslavia were relatively happy for the region,split again between Slovenia and Croatia. industry and agricolture were rich and in 1974,Zagoria was given the status of Autonomous province. In 1991,after the fall of communism and the beginning of the Yugoslav wars,Zagoria passed a really bad period. The short war in Slovenia damaged the region,that saw violent battles between the units of the Yugoslav Army and the Slovenian Army,since many and important barracks were present in the region. Fortunately,the Slovenian war of independence lasted only ten days,and Zagoria was also too far away to be touched by the war in Croatia. In 1995,after the war in Croatia ended,the Croatian Zagorian Community and the Slovenian one decided that it was the time to ask for independence,peacefully. Strangely,Slovenia and Croatia agreed,with the condition that the borders would have been always opened for trade and normal circulation,and that the local Police would collaborate with the Slovenian and Croatian police. Zagoria,choose to be a Socialist Republic,remembering that the socialist system was the only one who could manage properly the local economy and security. However,Zagoria is not a dictatorship and the economy is actually liberal.

Languages
Zagoria is a small nation,but a great mosaic of languages and dialects,due to Zagoria's position. In fact,as well as Slovenian and Croatian,the other two official languages,other languages are widely spoken,such as German and Hungarian. These two languages influenced a lot the nowaday's "standard" Zagorian language/dialect. Words like košarek(basket,from hungarian),arbajt (work,from german) or cug(train,from german) are now entering in the Zagorians' lives more and more,with also the dictionaries introducing these new words,making them official,and not only "dialectical".

Economy
The state has a well-developed economy,even if it's a socialist state. The exceptional variety of the landscapes and regions of this small state,permitted the development of many industries and activities. The economy is also helped by the liberal way the state manages the trade. The main natural resources are:Iron,corn,soy,cattle,potatoes,wood,steel,petroleum (only a little,in the north,near the Hungarian border). The main partners are:Slovenia,Croatia,Italy,Germany,Hungary,Bosnia and Serbia. Industry is largely based on: Agricolture,mining,mechanic industries,technology,finance (the last 3 industries are exclusively developed in the main cities).

The main companies established in Zagoria are Gradokemika d.o.o. (Chemical products), Edvard Kardelj Kombinat (mechanics) and Mladost d.o.o. (the nation's main company for school books distribution).