Montenegro

A country of the western Balkan Peninsula bordering on the Adriatic Sea. An ancient Balkan state, it was at various times under Ottoman Muslim and theocratic Christian rule before becoming an independent kingdom (1910-1918). Montenegro then joined the newly formed Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which became Yugoslavia after 1929. In 1991, four of the six Yugoslav republics declared independence, leaving Montenegro and Serbia as the sole constituents of a reorganized federal republic. Yugoslavia changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro in 2003 and dissolved the union altogether in 2006. Podgorica is the capital and largest city. Population: 685,000.