(formerly Kosovo-Metohija), an autonomous region in Yugoslavia; part of the Socialist Republic of Serbia. Area, 10,900 sq km; population, 1,240,000 (1971). Capital, Priština. Most of the region’s territory is occupied by the large basins of Kosovo Polje and Metohija, through which the Beli Drin and Ibar rivers flow. The climate is of the moderate continental type, with 600-700 mm of precipitation annually (average January temperature, about 0°C; average July temperature, about 20°C). The region’s mountain slopes are covered with broad-leaved forests, many meadows, and mountain pastures.
Kosovo is a mainly agricultural region; about half of the economically active population is involved in agriculture. The major crops include grains (corn, wheat, and barley), and tobacco; there is also truck farming, horticulture, and viticulture. Cattle and sheep are raised in the mountains. Crafts and handicrafts are still very important in the cities, where one-quarter of the population lives, and in rural settlements. Industry employs more than one-tenth of the economically active population. The leading industrial sector is the mining of lead and zinc ore at Trepča and other centers in the Kopaonik Range, which accounts for two-thirds of the total mined in Yugoslavia. Also important are the smelting of lead (four-fifths of Yugoslavia’s total production) and zinc. Lignite, chromites, and magnesite are also mined. Other industry includes chemicals, cement, wood products, paper, textiles, tanning, and food processing.
From the eighth to 12th century, Kosovo was the center first of the state of Raska (Rascia) and then of the Serbian state. The city of Pec was the center of the Serbian archdiocese (after 1346, the patriarchate). In the 15th century, the area was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire, along with the other Serbian lands. From the 16th to 18th century it was the scene of several anti-Turkish revolts. Large numbers of Serbs left the area, and much of the territory was colonized by Albanian Muslims. According to the Treaty of London (1913), Kosovo was divided between Serbia and Montenegro. In 1918, it became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (after 1929, Yugoslavia). In April 1941 it was occupied by fascist German troops, but in late 1944 it was liberated by the Yugoslav National Liberation Army in conjunction with the National Liberation Army of Albania. From 1945 to 1963 it was the autonomous region of Kosovo and Metohija; from 1963 to 1969, an autonomous province. Since 1969 it has been called Kosovo.
I. S. DOSTIAN and S. N. RAKOVSKII