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Montenegro (c-enaudio=en-us-Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора -shtsr̩̂ːnaː gɔ̝̌raCrnaGora is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the southeast. Its capital and largest city is Podgorica, while Cetinje is designated as the Prijestonica (Пријестоница), meaning the former Royal Capital City. In the 10th century, modern Montenegro was divided into three Slavic principalities: Duklja, roughly corresponding to the southern half, Travunia, the west, and Rascia, the north. In 1042, archon Stefan Vojislav led a revolt that resulted in independence of Duklja and the establishment of the House of Vojislavljević. Duklja reached its zenith under Vojislav's son, Mihailo (1046 � 81), and his son Bodin (1081 � 1101). By the 13th century, Zeta had replaced Duklja when referring to the realm, which at the time was part of the Serbian Grand Principality of the Nemanjić dynasty. With the fall of the Serbian Empire in the late 14th century, southern Montenegro came under the rule of the Balsic noble family, then the Crnojevic noble family, and by the 15th century, Zeta was more often referred to as Crna Gora (Venetian: ). A sovereign principality since the Late Middle Ages, Montenegro saw its independence from the Ottoman Empire formally recognized in 1878. From 1918, it was a part of Yugoslavia. On the basis of a referendum held on 21 May 2006, Montenegro declared independence on 3 June of that year. Montenegro is classified by the World Bank as a middle-income country. Montenegro is a member of the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, the Central European Free Trade Agreement and a founding member of the Union for the Mediterranean. Montenegro is also an official candidate for membership in the European Union and official candidate for membership in NATO. |