5 countries we think exist, but they don't, anymore
Youngsters often love to explore the world through an atlas. But the geography of the world changes with time. For example, countries that used to exist even a few decades back may not exist now, thanks to civil wars, ethnic turmoil and political mergers and struggle for independence. Here are five such instances of geopolitical change from around the world.
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia or the land of South Slavs was established in 1918 as part of the Austro-Hungarian empire inhabiting Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was located in the central-west Balkan peninsula of Europe. In 1929, it officially became the country Yugoslavia. However, after World War II, the country’s power dynamics shifted. It passed to communists from the monarchs. This is when it became dissolved due to ethnic tensions and brutal civil wars. Finally, after a long struggle, Yugoslavia got divided into seven distinct states: Macedonia, Slovenia, Serbia, Kosovo, Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Rhodesia
Situated in south central Africa, Rhodesia emerged as a self-declared yet unrecognised country in 1965. However, it was primarily run by the British and South Africans. Both exploited the country’s rich storehouse of gold, copper and coal. Finally, in 1979, the country gained independence after a 14 year-long Rhodesian Bush war and got divided into two separate sovereign countries called Zimbabwe and Zambia.
German Democratic Republic
At the end of World War II, the Allied powers divided Germany and its capital Berlin into east and west giving birth to a new country called the East Germany or the German Democratic Republic. Until 1990, it was under the soviet rule. However, it took little time to reunite with West Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Now, German Democratic Republic has been replaced with modern day Germany.
Czechoslovakia
After World War II, Austria-Hungary got divided into separate nations and Czechoslovakia was one of them. Located in central Europe, Czechoslovakia emerged in 1918 and included Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia. However, it was invaded by the Nazis followed by the Soviet power until 1989 when communism ended peacefully with the Velvet revolution. Four years later, Czechoslovakia got divided into two sovereign nations, Czech Republic and Slovakia, where the former got to keep the original flag.
Prussia
Since 1701, Prussia, a country located on the south-eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, existed and was ruled by the German Hohenzollern dynasty. Over the 18th and 19th centuries, Prussia expanded in size, thanks to its military strength, and included northern Germany and western Poland under its power. However, after the World War II, the Allied powers dissolved the country into divide Germany and Poland and gave away a portion of it to the Soviet Union.