<P> It was a socialist state and a federation governed by the League of Communists of Yugoslavia made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia with Belgrade as its capital . In addition, it included two autonomous provinces within Serbia: Kosovo and Vojvodina . </P> <P> The SFRY traces back to 26 November 1942 when the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia was formed during World War II . On 29 November 1945, the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia was proclaimed after the deposal of King Peter II thus ending the monarchy . The new communist government originally sided with the Eastern bloc under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito at the beginning of the Cold War, but the SFRY pursued a policy of neutrality after the Tito--Stalin split of 1948, and it became one of the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement . </P> <P> Following the death of Tito on 4 May 1980, rising ethnic nationalism in the late 1980s led to dissidence among the multiple ethnicities within the constituent republics . With the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, inter-republic talks on transformation of the federation also failed and led to recognition of their independence by some European states in 1991 . This led to the federation collapsing along federal borders, followed by the start of the Yugoslav Wars and the final downfall and breakup of the federation on 27 April 1992 . Two of its republics, Serbia and Montenegro, remained within the reconstituted Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, but the union was not recognized internationally as the official successor state to the SFRY . The term "former Yugoslavia" (bivša Jugoslavija / бивша Југославија) is now commonly used retrospectively . </P> <P> The SFR Yugoslavia maintained neutrality during the Cold War as part of its foreign policy . It was a founding member of the UN, Non-Aligned Movement, OSCE, IFAD, WTO, Eutelsat and BTWC . </P>

After the fall of communism the yugoslavian republics began to