home Zander List of unrecognized and partially recognized states. Unrecognized states on the world map Unrecognized and partially recognized states

List of unrecognized and partially recognized states. Unrecognized states on the world map Unrecognized and partially recognized states

Self-proclaimed (unrecognized) states are the general name of state entities that, while possessing all the signs of statehood, do not have international recognition and cannot act as a subject of international relations.

Self-declared (unrecognized) states can be classified by the control of the self-proclaimed governments over the declared territory, the degree of their international recognition, and the reasons for their self-declaration.

IN Lately The phenomenon of “partially recognized states” has appeared in the world, i.e. recognized by at least one of the UN member countries. Their appearance is associated with the practice of using “double standards” by some members of the world community in solving the problem of unrecognized states. The danger of this problem is the contradiction between two fundamental principles of international law: the “territorial integrity of the state” and the “right of the people to self-determination.” And at present, some sovereign states are abusing these principles in order to solve their own political and economic problems.

Based on the above problems and the contradictions in determining the status of unrecognized states, it is possible to assume: if all the unique features of a state formation, all the historical and political features of its emergence are taken into account, then it will be possible to determine whether it has the right to be called a sovereign member of the international community.

Conditionally self-proclaimed states can be divided into 4 groups:

1) states formed as a result of revolutions and civil wars (for example, in Somalia).

2) states formed as a result of separatism, including self-proclaimed states - those that declared their independence with a special declaration (almost all post-socialist unrecognized states).

3) states formed as a result of the post-war division (R. Korea - DPRK, PRC - ROC Taiwan, etc.).

4) as well as states that arose due to the independence of the colonies from the metropolises.

1. Some of the unrecognized states that exist today appeared before the 1980s of the last century for various reasons. Currently there are 4 such states:

Republic of China Taiwan (since 1949), State of Palestine (formally by UN decision - since 1947, declaration of independence - 1988), Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (since 1976) and Republic of Turkey Northern Cyprus(since 1983)

2. The turn of the 1990s can be considered a new stage in the formation of modern unrecognized states. – the period of collapse of socialist federations - the USSR and Yugoslavia (SFRY) and related ethno-territorial conflicts (examples - the Republic of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Transnistria; Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (until 1999); Serbian Krajina and Republika Srpska (until 1995); and the Republic of Kosovo). Initially, the international community proclaimed the priority of the principle of “inviolability of borders,” but subsequently some countries moved away from this.

3. Also, de facto existing unrecognized states arose in connection with the civil war that began in 1988 in Somalia. As a result, 2 types of such states were formed: the first declared the goal of achieving independence (Somaliland, Northland, Jubbaland), the second declared the creation of “autonomous states” with their subsequent entry into the unified “Somali Federation” (Puntland, Maahir, Galmudug, South- Western Somalia).

4. Individual self-proclaimed states arose during civil wars, and are now actively using terrorist attacks and criminal “basis” for their existence. These included Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka, Waziristan in Pakistan, and the Shan and Wa States in Myanmar.

Often, self-proclaimed states cease to exist as a result of military special operations - like the Republic of Serbian Krajina (“killed” as a result of a military special operation by Croatia in 1995) or the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (which ceased to exist de facto after the second Chechen war of 1999-2000).

At present, as already noted, so-called “partially recognized states” have emerged, that is, those that are not recognized by the world community as a whole, but are recognized by individual UN member countries. And although cases of “selective” recognition were observed earlier (ROT Taiwan, recognized by 22 UN member states and the Vatican; SADR - Western Sahara, recognized by 48 UN states and 12 countries that “frozen” recognition; State of Palestine, recognized as independent 111 UN member countries, but not having the opportunity to join the UN), the most chronologically close precedent in the recognition of self-proclaimed states can be considered the recognition of Northern Cyprus by Turkey in 1983, and the recognition of the Republic of Kosovo by a number of countries on February 17 is the most recent precedent. 2008.

Since February 17, 2008, the Republic of Kosovo has been recognized by 70 states, and since August 26, 2008, the Republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have been recognized by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Nauru.

Thus, it should be noted that at present, as already noted, so-called “partially recognized states” have emerged, that is, those that are not recognized by the world community as a whole, but are recognized by individual UN member countries. Similar processes of “partial recognition” continue to this day.

Main characteristics

In legal theory, international legal recognition of states is usually understood as a unilateral voluntary act of a state in which it declares that it considers another state as a subject of international law.

There are two theories of recognition in international law: constitutive and declaratory.

The constitutive theory is that only recognition gives the recipient of recognition the corresponding quality: to the state - international legal personality, to the government - the ability to represent the subject of international law in interstate relations. Recognition has legal-forming significance: only it constitutes (creates) new subjects of international law. Without recognition from a group of leading states, a new state cannot be considered a subject of international law.

The declarative theory is that recognition does not convey the corresponding quality to the addressee, but only states its appearance and serves as a means of facilitating contacts with him. In other words, recognition is declarative in nature and is aimed at establishing stable, permanent international legal relations between subjects of international law. That is, recognition only states the emergence of a state, and it does not matter how many countries have recognized it.

There are also two forms of official recognition: de facto and de jure

De facto recognition is characterized as incomplete, it expresses uncertainty that a given state or government is sufficiently durable or viable. It may, in principle, entail the establishment of consular relations, but is not mandatory, while de jure recognition is complete and final. It necessarily entails the establishment of diplomatic relations. In any case, the establishment of diplomatic relations is considered to mean de jure recognition.

De jure recognition is complete and final. It presupposes the establishment of international relations between the subjects of international law in full and is accompanied, as a rule, by a statement of official recognition and establishment of diplomatic relations.

At the present stage of development of international law, it should be noted that the institution of recognition is not codified: it is formed by a group of international legal norms (mainly customary) that regulate all stages of recognition of new states and governments, including the legal consequences of recognition. International treaties contain only individual rules on recognition.

Any country in relation to unrecognized states, if it seeks to remain within the framework of international law, can behave as follows:

Firstly, she has every right to recognize or not recognize the neoplasm. The state itself determines the validity and forms of recognition. This should happen taking into account one’s own interests and the requirements of real politics.

Secondly, it is unacceptable to interfere in the process of self-determination, much less resort to armed aggression.

In this case, Russia's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia fits well into this policy. For this, in addition to formal law, there are also compelling political reasons.

– First of all, the humanitarian rights of the population, including Russian citizens, should be ensured.

“In addition, it is necessary to prevent instability at our borders. To do this, it is necessary to give official status to their governments, which have already been legitimized to some extent in the international arena.

Thus, in order to recognize one or another self-proclaimed state as a full-fledged member of the international community, any sovereign country must proceed from the fact that in this case it has the full right to recognize or not recognize such an entity. That is, legally, from the point of view of equal rights of peoples, this is not only a right, but also an obligation. Any state must itself analyze the real parameters of the statehood of a self-defined new entity, determine the validity, varieties, forms of recognition, etc.

And all this should happen taking into account one’s own interests, objectives, and real policy requirements, in the context of this specific current situation with an unrecognized state.

The list of modern unrecognized states in scientific publications is quite long. It includes: Transnistrian Moldavian Republic(PMR), Republic of Abkhazia, Republic of South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Artsakh), Republic of China on Taiwan, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Kosovo. Often added to this cohort of “seven unrecognized” are the Republic of Somaliland, Tamil Eelam (in Ceylon), and more recently the Islamic State of Waziristan, whose independence was proclaimed in February 2006 by Pashtun militants (supporters of the Taliban) in northwestern Pakistan . Occasionally, South Sudan, Kashmir, Western Sahara, Palestine, Kurdistan and some other territories (for example, exotic Sealand) are mentioned in the same context.

The existence of unrecognized states of the European periphery is directly related to the processes of disintegration of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia and a number of ethnic armed conflicts of the 1990s, which have still not received their political settlement. The unrecognized states of the European periphery are small territorially, their population is small even by European standards. The clear leader among unrecognized states in these parameters is Kosovo, whose leaders today control an area of 11,000 square meters. km with a population of about 2 million people. Ethnic Albanians make up a significant majority in the region, Serbs, Croats, Hungarians, Turks, Roma and other ethnic minorities - up to 100 thousand people.

Transnistria controls a territory of 4,163 square meters. km, where 555.5 thousand people live. Abkhazia occupies an area of 8,600 square meters. km with a population of 250 thousand people. Only 146.6 thousand people live in Nagorno-Karabakh, who manage to hold a territory of 11,000 square meters. km, taking into account the six occupied regions of Azerbaijan. South Ossetia has a territory of 3,900 square meters. km, population – 70 thousand people. It is the smallest of the unrecognized states.

Moreover, three of the four named states (with the exception of Transnistria) are geographically located outside of Europe: they are located on the southern side of the Caucasus ridge, separating Europe from Asia. On this basis, the Transnistrian conflict can be attributed to the sphere of the European periphery, and the other three to the European borderland zone. It is advisable to study unrecognized states in the context of the conflicts that gave rise to them. This approach allows us to minimize the costs associated with analyzing the prospects for the development of such state entities, while maintaining the context of the phenomenon under study. Considering an ethnic armed conflict, the product of which is one or another independent state, it is possible to identify the characteristics of each situation and predict the prospects for changing the status of an unrecognized state. Combining the capabilities of neo-institutional analysis and conflict theory creates the foundation for a new interpretation of the processes of institutionalization of ethnic confrontations and expands the range of analytical tools for the comparative study of individual examples of unrecognized states.

Based on the analysis of a number of materials and empirical data devoted to this problem, it is reasonable to highlight several main parameters for a comprehensive consideration of the phenomenon of self-proclaimed (unrecognized) states. Among them are:

– the history of the emergence of an unrecognized state entity, a description of the ethnic conflict and the main stages of its development;

– the effectiveness of the negotiation process, mediation, peace plans;

– formation of statehood and economic complex of unrecognized state entities;

– features of the political system, the degree of its democracy;

– the presence or absence of real opportunities for the return of an unrecognized state entity to the state from which it separated;

– chances for existence as an independent state;

– the interest and ability of external forces to change or preserve the status of an unrecognized state entity.

When taking into account the listed parameters, one can count on a more or less accurate understanding of the problems of each unrecognized state.

Unrecognized states can be classified on various grounds. The key criterion for recognition of unrecognized states is control over their territory. According to this indicator, they can be divided into four ideal types. The first is unrecognized states with full control of their territory (Waziristan, Transnistria, Somaliland, Northern Cyprus). The second is unrecognized states that partially control their territory (Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Tamil Eelam, South Ossetia). The third is an entity under the protectorate of the international community (Kosovo, which is legally part of Serbia, but has actually been administered by the UN administration since 1999 on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 1244). The fourth is quasi-states (ethnic groups that have not received the right to self-determination) that control enclaves of compact settlement of their ethnic group (Kurdistan, located in Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria). The concept of “unrecognized state,” as already noted, is conditional. In fact, partially recognized states are usually included in this cohort of state entities. Thus, according to the criterion of recognition of sovereignty, one can distinguish between actually unrecognized states (Kosovo, Transnistria) and partially recognized states (Taiwan), some of which exist under conditions of military occupation (Western Sahara, Palestine). Taiwan has diplomatic relations with twenty-six countries around the world, Northern Cyprus is recognized by Turkey. The lack of recognition of a state by the international community negatively affects its legal status and operational capabilities. Such a state is incapable of active economic activity, cannot enter into trade contracts and implement multilateral investment and infrastructure projects. The unrecognized state relies only on humanitarian assistance from the international community, social and cultural projects; cooperation with various countries and regions is in its infancy. Therefore, its existence and development directly depend on the political and legal recognition of a territory.

The unrecognized states of the European periphery and borderlands have existed for quite a long time: Kosovo - nine years, Abkhazia, NKR, South Ossetia - sixteen, Transnistria - eighteen years. The prospects for a change in status (recognition of independence, irredent, forceful takeover, return to a single state through conflict resolution) are different for all territories.

Kosovo has the greatest prospects in terms of possible transformations of the existing status. We are talking about gaining independence in one form or another, since the United States and the European Union are interested in this. Apparently, Serbia will only be able to delay such a decision or negotiate for itself some political and economic concessions (integration of Serbia into the EU or division of the territory of Kosovo).

Abkhazia, Transnistria and South Ossetia can count on partial, incomplete recognition by Russia, but their future prospects are far from obvious. Such “semi-independence” will not be recognized by the United States, the European Union, India, China and many other states.

In Transnistria and South Ossetia, the possibilities of obtaining formal independence are less realistic for a number of geopolitical and organizational-territorial reasons. In the case of the PMR, Russia still has great opportunities to revive the strategy of unification of Moldova and Transnistria. South Ossetia appears to have a strong economic case for reunification with Georgia.

Nagorno-Karabakh has the least chance of changing its status. This situation is mainly determined by the position of the United States, EU countries, Russia, Iran and Turkey. They are generally interested in maintaining the status quo in the conflict zone, and the political possibility of territorial exchange, which could open the way to a political settlement, remains insignificant.

Thus, unrecognized states can be typologized on various grounds. The key criterion for recognition of unrecognized states is control over their territory. According to this indicator, they can be divided into four ideal types.

The phenomenon of unrecognized states and the problem of their international legal status

On the political map of the world over the past 100 years, more than a hundred unrecognized states have existed or still exist, which were proclaimed on the territory of almost 60 countries. Some existed and now exist de facto, but are not fully recognized by the international community, while others are recognized, but do not have their own territory. The problem of unrecognized states is one of the most pressing political problems in the world today.

So what are unrecognized states by definition?

Unrecognized states are the general name of state entities that, although possessing all the signs of statehood, do not have international recognition and cannot act as a subject of international relations.

Unrecognized states can be classified by the self-proclaimed government's control over the claimed territory, the degree of their international recognition, and the reasons for their self-declaration.

Recently, the phenomenon of “partially recognized states” has appeared in the world, i.e. recognized by at least one of the UN member countries. Their appearance is associated with the practice of using “double standards” by some members of the world community in solving the problem of unrecognized states. The “danger” of this problem is the contradiction between two fundamental principles of international law: the “territorial integrity of the state” and the “right of the people to self-determination.” And at present, some sovereign states are “abusing” these principles in order to solve their own political and economic problems.

Based on the above-mentioned problems and contradictions in determining the status of unrecognized states, it is possible to assume: if all the unique features of a state formation, all the historical and political features of its emergence are taken into account, then it will be possible to determine whether it has the right to be called a sovereign member of the international community.

How do unrecognized states arise?

Conventionally, they can be divided into 4 groups:

1) states formed as a result of revolutions and civil wars (for example, in Somalia).

2) states formed as a result of separatism, including self-proclaimed states - those that declared their independence with a special declaration (almost all post-socialist unrecognized states).

3) states formed as a result of the post-war division (R. Korea - DPRK, PRC - ROC Taiwan, etc.)

4) as well as states that arose due to the independence of the colonies from the mother country.

1. Some of the unrecognized states that exist today appeared before the 1980s of the last century for various reasons. Currently there are 4 such states:

2. The turn of the 1990s can be considered a new stage in the formation of modern unrecognized states. - the period of collapse of the socialist federations - the USSR and Yugoslavia (SFRY) and related ethno-territorial conflicts (examples - the Republic of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Transnistria; the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (until 1999); Serbian Krajina and Republika Srpska (until 1995 g.); and the Republic of Kosovo). Initially, the international community proclaimed the priority of the principle of “inviolability of borders,” but subsequently some countries moved away from this.

3. Also, de facto existing unrecognized states arose in connection with the civil war that began in 1988 in Somalia. As a result, 2 types of such states were formed: The first declared the goal of achieving independence (Somaliland, Northland, Jubbaland), the second declared the creation of “autonomous states” with their subsequent inclusion in the united “Somali Federation” (Puntland, Maahir, Galmudug, South- Western Somalia).

Often self-proclaimed states cease to exist as a result of military special operations - like the Republic of Serbian Krajina ("dead" as a result of a military special operation by Croatia in 1995) or the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (which ceased to exist de facto after the second Chechen war of 1999-2000).

Similar processes of “partial recognition” continue to this day.

What is international legal recognition of states?

In the theory of international law, it is usually understood as a unilateral voluntary act of a state in which it declares that it considers another state as a subject of international law.

There are two theories of recognition in international law: constitutive and declaratory.

There are also two forms of official recognition: de facto and de jure

How should any country behave towards unrecognized states if it strives to remain within the framework of international law?

Secondly, it is unacceptable to interfere in the process of self-determination, much less resort to armed aggression.

In this case, Russia's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia fits well into this policy. For this, Russia, in addition to formal law, also has compelling political reasons.

1. First of all, the humanitarian rights of the population, including Russian citizens, should be ensured.

2. In addition, it is necessary to prevent instability at our borders. To do this, it is necessary to give official status to their governments, which have already been legitimized to some extent in the international arena.

Conclusions:

In order to recognize one or another self-proclaimed state as a full-fledged member of the international community, any sovereign country must proceed from the fact that in this case it has the full right to recognize or not recognize such an entity. That is, legally, from the point of view of equal rights of peoples, this is not only a right, but also an obligation. Any state must itself analyze the real parameters of the statehood of a self-defined new entity, determine the validity, varieties, forms of recognition, etc.

And all this should happen taking into account one’s own interests, objectives, real policy requirements, in the context of this specific current situation with an unrecognized state

The problem of unrecognized states interests me from the point of view of international law. Having studied this topic, I came to the conclusion that any sovereign country should be guided by its geopolitical and geo-economic interests when deciding the issue of “recognition” or “non-recognition”, the requirements of real politics, and act in the context of this specific current situation with an unrecognized state.

And in this regard, Russia’s recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is, in my opinion, completely justified.

The list of modern unrecognized states in scientific publications is quite long7. It includes: the Transnistrian Moldavian Republic (PMR), the Republic of Abkhazia, the Republic of South Ossetia, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Artsakh), the Republic of China on Taiwan, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Kosovo. Often added to this cohort of “seven unrecognized” are the Republic of Somaliland, Tamil Eelam (in Ceylon), and more recently the Islamic State of Waziristan, whose independence was proclaimed in February 2006 by Pashtun militants (supporters of the Taliban) in northwestern Pakistan . Occasionally, South Sudan, Kashmir, Western Sahara, Palestine, Kurdistan and some other territories (for example, exotic Sealand8) are mentioned in the same context.

Transnistria controls a territory of 4,163 sq. km, where 555.5 thousand people live. Abkhazia occupies an area of 8,600 sq. km with a population of 250 thousand people. Only 146.6 thousand people live in Nagorno-Karabakh, who manage to hold a territory of 11,000 sq. km, taking into account the six occupied regions of Azerbaijan10. South Ossetia has a territory of 3,900 sq. km, a population of 70 thousand people11. This is the smallest of the unrecognized states.

– the history of the emergence of an unrecognized state entity, a description of the ethnic conflict and the main stages of its development;

– the effectiveness of the negotiation process, mediation, peace plans;

– formation of statehood and economic complex of unrecognized state entities;

– features of the political system, the degree of its democracy;

– the presence or absence of real opportunities for the return of an unrecognized state entity to the state from which it separated;

– chances for existence as an independent state;

– the interest and ability of external forces to change or preserve the status of an unrecognized state entity.

When taking into account the listed parameters, one can count on a more or less accurate understanding of the problems of each unrecognized state. Unrecognized states can be classified on various grounds. The key criterion for recognition of unrecognized states is control over their territory. According to this indicator, they can be divided into four ideal types. The first is unrecognized states with full control of their territory (Waziristan, Transnistria, Somaliland12, Northern Cyprus). The second is unrecognized states that partially control their territory (Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Tamil Eelam, South Ossetia). The third is an entity under the protectorate of the international community (Kosovo, which is legally part of Serbia, but has actually been administered by the UN administration since 1999 on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 1244). The fourth is quasi-states (ethnic groups that have not received the right to self-determination) that control enclaves of compact settlement of their ethnic group (Kurdistan, located in Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria). The concept of “unrecognized state,” as already noted, is conditional. In fact, partially recognized states are usually included in this cohort of state entities. Thus, according to the criterion of recognition of sovereignty, one can distinguish between actually unrecognized states (Kosovo, Transnistria) and partially recognized states (Taiwan), some of which exist under conditions of military occupation (Western Sahara, Palestine). Taiwan has diplomatic relations with twenty-six countries around the world, Northern Cyprus is recognized by Turkey. The lack of recognition of a state by the international community negatively affects its legal status and operational capabilities. Such a state is incapable of active economic activity, cannot enter into trade contracts and implement multilateral investment and infrastructure projects. The unrecognized state relies only on humanitarian assistance from the international community, social and cultural projects; cooperation with various countries and regions is in its infancy. Therefore, its existence and development directly depend on the political and legal recognition of a territory.

List of unrecognized states

Partially recognized states with actual control of their territory:

Republic of China (Taiwan), which controls the island of Taiwan and several smaller islands. Following the Chinese Civil War in 1949, it lost diplomatic recognition and its UN seat to the People's Republic of China on October 25, 1971 by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758. Currently recognized by only 23 states. Taiwan actually carries out diplomatic relations through its so-called. economic and cultural representative offices (in fact, embassies).

Kosovo (since 2008) Located on the territory of Serbia (Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija). Based on UN Security Council Resolution 1244) is under international control. The UN does not recognize the Republic of Kosovo as the legitimate government of Kosovo. Currently recognized by 43 countries.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is located in the northern part of Cyprus and was formed after the invasion of Cyprus by the Turkish armed forces in 1974. It declared its independence in 1983. In 2004, its territory was actually included in European Union as part of the Republic of Cyprus. Recognized only by Turkey and unrecognized Abkhazia.

Unrecognized states with actual control of most of their territory:

Territories former USSR:

Transnistria (since 1990) in Moldova.

Abkhazia (since 1992) in Georgia is a self-proclaimed and virtually independent state; it is not officially recognized by any state. Located between the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea, it is legally part of northwestern Georgia. The government of Abkhazia does not control the eastern part of the Kodori Gorge, located in the northeast of Abkhazia; this area is under the control of the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

South Ossetia (since 1991) in Georgia.

The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (since 1991) is an unrecognized state entity proclaimed within the borders of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region (NKAO) and the adjacent Shaumyan region of the Azerbaijan SSR. The regions of NKR - Martakert, Martuni and Shahumyan are fully or partially controlled by the Azerbaijani authorities.

Territory of Somalia:

Somaliland (since 1991). Located in northwestern Somalia. In May 1991, the northern clans proclaimed the Independent Republic of Somaliland, which includes 5 of the 18 administrative regions of Somalia.

Puntland (since 1998) in Somalia.

Galmudug (since 2006) in Somalia.

Maahir (since 2007) in Somalia.

Northland (since 2008) in Somalia.

Waziristan in Pakistan.

Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka.

Partially recognized states under military occupation

Western Sahara, most of which is actually ruled by Morocco. Saharan Arab democratic republic, which governs the rest, is recognized by 48 states and is a member of the African Union.

The Palestinian state is recognized by a number of Arab and Muslim states, as well as Russia.

Partially unrecognized states:

Israel is not recognized by the majority of Arab and Muslim states (currently 24, relations with 4 states are suspended), but is recognized by Egypt, Jordan and Turkey.

The People's Republic of China is not recognized by states that recognize Taiwan.

Cyprus is not recognized by Turkey.

North Korea is not recognized by South Korea.

South Korea is not recognized by North Korea.

The Czech Republic is not recognized by Liechtenstein.

Slovakia is not recognized by Liechtenstein.

Liechtenstein is not recognized by the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

2. Origins of the conflict in Kosovo

The origins of the conflict between Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo in 1998-1999 lie at the end of the 14th century.

For centuries, Albanians have been striving to create their own state, and objectively three forces stood in the way of its creation: Turkey, which controlled the territory of their residence until 1912; Serbs, whose interests extended to Kosovo and Macedonia, partly inhabited by ethnic Albanians; and Italy, which has repeatedly tried to gain a foothold by military means on a coast so close to it. It is worth recalling: after the defeat of Austria-Hungary in the First World War, Italy, which fought on the side of the Entente, demanded the return of its historical region of Dalmatia, where a significant part of the population were Croats. Not wanting to cede this territory, the Croats chose to unite with the linguistically related Serbs into a single state, later called Yugoslavia.

The idea of the need to exercise the right of self-determination for the Albanian people first appeared in the form of a demand for the creation of a special Albanian vilayet (region) during the Ottoman Empire. The Albanians were Turkey's main weapon in suppressing the freedom and national movements of Christian peoples in the Balkans who were fighting to recreate their national state.

As a result of the Balkan Wars at the beginning of the century, Turkey's hegemony in the Balkans was ended. Albanians created their own state. In 1913, the Republic of Albania received international recognition. Kosovo was annexed by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Serbia still considers these lands to be its own, but the Albanians cannot agree with this.

After Albania declared independence in 1921, its territorial claims against Serbia not only remained, but also intensified. Since the mid-30s, Albania has also become a testing ground for the strategic interests of Germany and Italy. During the Second World War, fighting on the side of the fascist occupiers, Albanians continued terror against the non-Albanian population, which in fact can be equated to genocide.

After World War II, Kosovo received broad autonomy within Serbia, which in turn was part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The 1946 Constitution recognized Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, Macedonians and Montenegrins as nations.

Certain political groups of the Albanian national minority persistently seek the separation of Kosovo and Metohija from Serbia and, for this purpose, are increasingly openly resorting to non-recognition of the legitimate authorities, violence and terrorism. They need international support, first of all, to create the “Republic of Kosovo” as a transitional solution, and then - “Greater Albania”, which is their real goal and which, in addition to a significant part of the SR Yugoslavia (and Serbia and Montenegro), would include parts of Macedonia and Greece.

In Kosovo, extreme and aggressive Albanian nationalism is manifested, accompanied by a demographic explosion and attempts only by the logic of large numbers to realize the right to realize the separatist goal - the withdrawal of the territory of Kosovo and Metohija from the state territory of Serbia and its subsequent annexation to Albania. At the same time, it is forgotten that more than 200,000 Serbs left this territory under the pressure of Albanian terror, and in their place, only from 1945 to the present day, settled from 350,000 to 400,000 people who fled from Albania. Thus, for a long time, the ethnic structure of the population in Kosovo was forcibly changed, conditions were created for the Albanians to appear on the international political stage demanding that they be given a separate state.

In socialist Yugoslavia, great attention has always been paid to federal relations. Yugoslavia was proud of its achievements in the field of interethnic relations. The country's leadership was especially sensitive to 25 ethnic groups, national minorities, which even began to be called in a new way - nationality. The country published 150 newspapers and magazines in the languages of national minorities. In the province of Kosovo there were 904 Albanian primary and 69 secondary schools and a university. Each decade brought a significant expansion of autonomy rights.

After World War II, Kosovo received the status national region within Serbia. In 1963, Kosovo became an autonomous region. However, cases of clashes between Albanians and Serbian police are becoming more frequent. The fight against Albanian dissidents is entrusted to the Yugoslav UGB (analogous to the KGB in the USSR).

There is a massive emigration of Albanians, including to Turkey.

In 1974, with the adoption of the new Serbian constitution, Kosovo was guaranteed broad rights of autonomy.

Albanian newspapers and Albanian television appear. Official language becomes Albanian, the main positions are occupied by Albanians

The 1974 Constitution gave the region such broad powers that it actually became an independent subject of the federation. Representatives of Kosovo were members of the country's collective governing body - the Presidium of the SFRY.

The autonomous region had equal rights with other republics, except for one thing - it could not separate from Serbia. Kosovo has been trying for many years to achieve republican status, dreaming of creating a unified Albanian state. Dreaming of creating a unified Albanian state in the Balkans by unifying all the lands where Albanians live, Kosovo has been striving for many years to achieve the status of a republic. They believed that this would make it possible to raise the question of self-determination and secession from Yugoslavia

For the past 20 years, Albanians in Kosovo have refused to participate in the census. Therefore, data on their numbers vary. According to some sources, in 1981 the population of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo was 1,584 thousand people, of which 1,227 thousand were Albanians, or 77.4%, and Serbs? 209 thousand, or 13.2%. The Albanians themselves believe that there are about 2 million people in the region. According to today's data from the Statistical Office of Yugoslavia, there are about 917 thousand Albanians in the region, or 66%. Serbs, Montenegrins and those who consider themselves Yugoslavs number 250 thousand.

In 1981, an anti-Serb uprising broke out in Kosovo. A state of emergency was introduced in the region, but the central Serbian government failed to normalize the situation. Over the next eight years, mass protests by Albanians were repeated several times.

The ongoing process of ousting residents of Serbian and Montenegrin nationalities from the region has become the most important indicator of the crisis. According to newspapers, the Serbian population had dropped to 10% by 1991.

The leadership of Serbia in the 80s. used different methods of struggle: martial law and curfew were introduced; new economic programs were developed to solve the “problems of Kosovo”, which included overcoming the isolation of the region, changing its economic structure, strengthening the material basis of self-government; political attempts were made to form unity on a class rather than national basis.

However, it was not possible to achieve a positive result.

When over Eastern Europe The “wind of change” caused by the processes of perestroika in the USSR blew, the West sharply increased support for all anti-socialist and nationalist forces capable of weakening the ruling communist regimes.

In the spring of 1989, the central authorities of Yugoslavia, fearing the growth of separatist sentiments among Kosovo Albanians, actually abolished the autonomous status of this region. In May 1989, Milosevic was elected Chairman of the Presidium of the Socialist Republic of Serbia

The ineffectiveness of searching for a way out of the crisis led the Serbian leadership to the conviction that only centralization of power and the abolition of certain powers could stabilize the situation. In Serbia, a campaign was launched for the legal, territorial and administrative unity of the republic, for the reduction of the rights of the autonomous regions. The threat to say goodbye to dreams of a republic brought 40 thousand Albanians onto the streets of Pristina, the regional capital, in January 1990. Angry, protesting, ready to fight for their rights, they posed a threat to the stability of Serbia and even Yugoslavia. This happened at a time when inconclusive disputes over the future of the federation allowed Slovenia and Croatia to openly talk about independence. Everything happened against the backdrop of a crisis that affected all spheres of life and power structures. Military units and police officers brought into the region tried to maintain order in Kosovo by force. This resulted in clashes and casualties.

The Serbian Constitution adopted in 1990 reduced the legal status of the region to territorial and cultural autonomy, depriving it of all elements of statehood. As a sign of protest, Albanians began a campaign of civil disobedience: parallel power structures were created (underground parliament and government), Albanian teachers refused to follow the new school curriculum and began teaching the Albanian school curriculum underground. The Albanian University also studied underground. As a result, the entire region was divided into two parallel societies - Albanian and Serbian. Each had its own power, its own economy, its own education and culture. The official economy was undoubtedly dominated by Albanians, using private firms and private capital. Only Serbs were represented in the political structure, because Albanians boycotted the elections. In September 1991, amid the collapse of the Yugoslav Federation, Kosovo Albanians declared independence and created the Republic of Kosovo. In May 1992, they held presidential and parliamentary elections. The writer Ibrahim Rugova became the president of the unrecognized republic. Naturally, Belgrade considered all these actions illegal. Dual power has developed in Kosovo. The Albanians did not recognize the power of Belgrade, and the Serbs did not recognize the Kosovo Republic.

In the summer of 1991, Yugoslavia began to fall apart. The dissolution of the Yugoslav Federation was carried out in violation of its Constitution. This very quickly led to ethnic confrontation and wars in Croatia and Bosnia.

Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia emerged from it and declared independence. Serbia and Montenegro remained part of Yugoslavia. At the time of the separation of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbs living there declared their desire to separate from them and join Serbia. Their attempt to create autonomous regions was not recognized by the governments of these two newly independent states. Then they began to fight and received help from Belgrade, which wanted to maintain a unified Yugoslav state or create a unified Serbian state. In this war, the West was against the Serbs. The war was brutal and accompanied by atrocities on both sides. During more than three years of fighting, about 300 thousand people died. In Europe, this was the bloodiest conflict since World War II.

As a result, the Bosnian Serbs achieved autonomy, but not unification with Serbia. The Serbs found themselves a divided nation on their historical land. And against this sad background for the Serbs, a real threat of losing Kosovo arose.

Probably everyone has heard that there are unrecognized states in the world. But not everyone knows what exactly is meant by this concept, how these countries arose, and what caused their appearance. Let's try to figure it out.

Unrecognized states is a term used to describe regions that have independently declared sovereignty. At the same time, these countries are not recognized or partially recognized from the point of view of diplomacy. In turn, the majority of self-proclaimed states have all the characteristics of a separate country. These include:

official name;
attributes: flag, anthem, symbols;
population;
controls;
army (usually armed forces);
legislation.

Despite this, UN members do not consider such states to be separate countries and view them as sovereign regions under the control of one or more states that are members of the UN.

There are many reasons why self-proclaimed countries could have formed. Thus, some regions separated and declared their sovereignty as a result of military actions, revolutions, armed conflicts, and national liberation struggles.

Appeared not long ago a large number of unrecognized countries, the cause of which was the separation from the metropolises of the state that previously owned the territory of the exploited country. This applies to former colonies. There are especially many of them on the African continent. Most states received sovereignty and diplomatic recognition. But some entities remained in the unrecognized category.

Another option for the emergence of such states is the foreign economic and foreign policy manipulations of various countries. Thus, some authors (participants in world politics) created so-called “puppet states” - this was an effective technique for creating a neutral zone between warring countries. Thanks to this, you can protect yourself from hostile armies. Such zones are often called “cordons sanitaires”

Satellites are also an excellent way to lobby the state. Many countries of the world have resorted to this method at different stages of their development. Thus, a formally independent state is formed on a specific territory. Moreover, it is a puppet and is completely controlled by another country, which thus dictates its political and economic interests.

Which modern countries are classified as unrecognized states?

On this moment There are a number of unrecognized states that are located in different territories of the world. A lot of such regions are concentrated in Somalia. Here the following states declared their sovereignty: Himan and Heb, Somaliland, Puntland, Jubaland, Avdaland, Azania.

In 2014, two unrecognized states were formed on the territory of Ukraine: . Both republics emerged as a result of a crisis that spread throughout the country. The Ukrainian authorities do not recognize the separation of these regions and their sovereignty.

Most of the territories of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions are controlled by Ukraine. And in the government of the republics they are considered separatist terrorist organizations.

None of the fully recognized countries considers Lugansk and Donetsk region sovereign states.

Also interesting are those countries of the world that are not exactly states, but rather state-like entities. These include Sealand and the Order of Malta.

Sealand, also known as Sealandia, is a principality that is defined as a virtual state. It is located on the territory. The history of this principality is peculiar. Sealand's sovereignty was announced by Paddy Roy Bates. The former British army soldier independently appointed himself the monarch of Sealand, and named his family the ruling dynasty.

Afterwards, work began on the creation of state attributes. Surprisingly, the Batesom family has found followers who consider themselves subjects of the ruling dynasty and help in the formation of a separate state. At the moment, it is believed that Sealand's form of government is a constitutional monarchy. The country has a flag, anthem and other symbols.

The Order of Malta has greater rights than Sealand. Thus, this knightly religious order has observer status with the United Nations and is often considered a dwarf state. The country has developed diplomatic relations. It cooperates with 105 countries. The Order of Malta has its own currency - the Maltese scudo.

Citizens of the country receive passports. The Order of Malta carries stamps, has its own anthem, coat of arms and other state attributes. The official language here is Latin.

Partially recognized states and their features

There are also a number of countries in the world that other states have partially recognized. Among them are those that control their territory in whole or in part. The latter include the following:

Republic of China Taiwan. This self-proclaimed republic declared independence in 1911. The country's territory is located on other small islands. For some time this country had full powers, but after the events of 1949 it was deprived of diplomatic recognition. At the moment, the state is recognized by 22 countries, has its own embassies, and establishes diplomatic relations independently.
SADR. It was founded in 1976. It is now recognized by 60 countries that are members of the United Nations, and is also partially recognized by South Ossetia. The SADR is part of the African Union. Most of the territory of the republic is part of Morocco.
State of Palestine. It has one of the brightest stories, which is distinguished by a large number of controversial situations and military conflicts. The state was self-proclaimed in 1988. Today it is recognized by 137 countries of the world: 136 of which are internationally recognized, and 1 - partially. Palestine is an observer of the United Nations. The state is divided into two parts that are not connected to each other.
The first part is the Gaza Strip. The territory is governed by Hamas, which is both an Islamic resistance movement and a political party. Hamas is recognized by many countries as a terrorist organization. The second part of Palestine is the West Bank. The territory is partially controlled by the Palestinian National Organization. The head of the PNA is the country's President Mahmoud Abbas. The war with Israel in 1948 was a turning point in the history of Palestine.
It was then that the state underwent serious changes: both parts were occupied. And in 1980, the territory of Jerusalem was annexed to Israel. In 1993, the countries signed an agreement according to which the PNA was formed, designed to find a compromise solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. The PNA was supposed to exercise control over both parts of the state. But in 2006 he left the Gaza Strip, after which the Hamas group seized power in this territory.
Republic of Kosovo. Since 2008, this territory of Serbia has been autonomous. The official name is the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. This administrative unit declared its independence, which was recognized by 109 UN members, as well as some countries with unrecognized or partially recognized statuses.

Unrecognized state- this is the general name of regions that have declared themselves sovereign states and have such signs of statehood as the presence of a population, control over territory, a system of law and governance, but at the same time do not have diplomatic recognition from UN member states, and their territory, as a rule, it is regarded by UN member states as being under the sovereignty of one or more UN member states.

Unrecognized states have their own classification: unrecognized states, partially recognized and partially unrecognized states. Partially recognized and partially unrecognized states differ from each other only in the number of countries that recognize them.

For example, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognized by Turkey (a UN member) and Abkhazia (the same partially recognized state). All other UN member states recognize the territory of Northern Cyprus as part of the Republic of Cyprus. The Republic of Kosovo has been recognized by 108 countries, 19 are planning to do so, and 64 states have refused recognition.

Well-known unrecognized states in Ukraine are Kosovo, Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. But there are quite a lot of such states. Here are some of them: In Europe - the Republic of Kosovo; Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus; Principality of Sealand. In Asia - Khalistan in the state of Punjab; the Republic of China, which controls the island of Taiwan; Wa State and Shan State, unrecognized states within Myanmar; Islamic Emirate of Abyan and Islamic Emirate of Shabwa in Yemen; Waziristan in Pakistan; Islamic State of Azawad in Mali; Sultanate of Sulu in Malaysia; People's Republic Nagalim in India; Republic of Hau Pakumoto on the island of Moorea, French polynesia; Bansamoro Republic in the Philippines; Syrian Kurdistan or Western Kurdistan; Islamic State of Fallujah in Iraq; State of Palestine.

On the African continent - the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, most of which is controlled by Morocco; There are nine unrecognized states on the territory of Somalia - Somaliland, Puntland, Jubaland, Galmudug, Himan and Heb, Awdaland, Azania, Al Sunna Walama'a, Jamaat Al-Shabaab. In Australia - the Republic of Murrawarri and the People's Republic of Euahlai - Queensland.

On the territory of the former USSR - the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic on part of the territory of the former Moldavian SSR;

The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is an unrecognized state declared within the borders of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region; Abkhazia and South Ossetia on the territory of Georgia; and, finally, the Republic of Crimea on the territory of Ukraine.

Today, several ways of forming unrecognized states are known. States can arise as a result of revolutions and people's liberation struggles (separatism), when territories are divided after the end of wars, when colonies gain independence from their mother countries, and, finally, states can arise due to foreign policy conflicts of states.

Taiwan is one of the provinces of China, located on the island of the same name between the East China and South China Seas. This state arose as a consequence of the revolution and civil war in China. In 1949, after the proclamation of the People's Republic of China, the overthrown Kuomintang government moved to the island of Taiwan and the Republic of China was proclaimed. For a long time (from 1949 to 1971), a representative of Taiwan occupied China's place in the UN. The PRC views Taiwan as its integral part and seeks reunification with it on the basis of the principle of “one state, two systems.” In the second half of the 20th century. Taiwan had one of the world's highest economic growth rates; today it is included in the group of newly industrialized countries, and since 1997, according to the classification of the International Monetary Fund, it has been among the economically developed countries.

An example of the emergence of a state as a result of separatism is Khalistan. Khalistan (literally Land of the Pure) - a project to create a national Sikh state in the territory Indian state Punjab, where a synthesis of Islam and Hinduism was established. The capital of the Sikhs is the city of Amritsar. The government of this state is in exile, and the territory is controlled by India.

Unrecognized states can become full-fledged independent states(for example, Eritrea), can be absorbed by the mother country after a certain period of independence (for example, Ichkeria, Adjara), or can maintain their transitional status for a long time (for example, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus since 1983). Some unrecognized states are constantly ceasing to exist. The reasons for this process vary: one part of the territorial entities achieves its recognition (this was the case, for example, with the new post-communist states), the other part, which does not have the prospect of recognition and is deprived of assistance from other states or international organizations, gradually fades into oblivion. This happened, for example, with the Republic of Herzeg-Bosna, which was actually abolished by the international community before the signing of the Dayton Accords, with the tacit consent of the Croatian authorities. The self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra, created by the separatist forces of Nigeria in May 1967, was able to exist for three years, during which time the country suffered Civil War. The military defeat of the rebels also marked the collapse of the unrecognized state. It can be assumed that the status of Kosovo, changing before our eyes, will cause numerous disputes for a long time, and many scientists and legal scholars, for a number of parameters, will continue to classify this territorial entity as an unrecognized state.

Let us consider the political structure, legal system, legal personality and economic models of some of these states.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is a republic that is governed by a president and has a parliament - the Republican Assembly - consisting of 50 members elected through a proportional electoral system. On the territory of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus there is only one embassy - Turkey. Diplomatic institutions and consular missions of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus itself are located in several countries: in Turkey - an embassy, in Azerbaijan, Great Britain, Italy, USA, Pakistan, Qatar, Oman and the UAE - representative offices; in Kyrgyzstan, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has an economic and tourism office .

The currency is Turkish lira. All export-import operations are carried out through Turkey. Of the types of business in the republic, the most developed industry is the construction of real estate, but at the same time, foreign citizens who have purchased real estate in the territory of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus are faced with problems in registering ownership rights to this real estate. Moreover, this problem is widespread. One of the significant sources of income is the gambling business for foreigners.

To make international phone calls, the telephone code “+90 392” is used, which uses international numbers telephone code Turkey "+90" and the usual Turkish area code. All sea ports The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is open only to Turkish ships; ships from other countries have not entered there since 1974. Air traffic is subject to the mandatory landing of all aircraft flying to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus at one of the airports in Turkey.

South Ossetia is a presidential republic and also has its own parliament. Today there are three embassies of South Ossetia: in Abkhazia, in the Russian Federation and in the city of Tskhinvali, which also houses the Nicaraguan embassy and residence. The only currency that is freely circulated in the republic is the Russian ruble. Other foreign currency does not circulate, despite the presence exchange offices, on which only three types of currencies can be exchanged: Russian rubles, euros, US dollars. The main products produced in South Ossetia are fruits, which are supplied to the Russian Federation. The only mode of transport in the republic is road; there are no railway or air services in the republic.

Citizens of unrecognized states, as a rule, have passports issued by these states. However, these passports are not recognized by other countries that do not recognize this state. For citizens, this means, first of all, the inability to travel abroad with their passport. Residents of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia, for the most part, also have passports of the Russian Federation, which they use outside their countries.

From all this we can conclude that unrecognized states are politically and economically very dependent on those countries that support them.

If we summarize the information about the level of economic development of unrecognized states, then their economies are in poor condition and are very dependent on the support of countries that recognize them. Probably the only exception is Taiwan, which is a developed economy.

Crimea, unlike most unrecognized states, has a large territory - 26,860 square meters. km and a population of more than 2 million people. By comparison, the unrecognized states of the post-Soviet space are territorially small, their population is small even by European standards. Thus, South Ossetia has a territory of 3900 square meters. km, population - 70 thousand people and is the smallest (in terms of territory and population) unrecognized state in the post-Soviet space. Transnistria controls a territory of 4163 square meters. km, where 555.5 thousand people live. Abkhazia occupies an area of 8,600 square meters. km with a population of 250 thousand people. Only 146.6 thousand people live in Nagorno-Karabakh, who manage to hold a territory of 11,000 square meters. km, taking into account the six occupied regions of Azerbaijan. All other unrecognized states, if they have their own territory, it is very insignificant.

Have you ever wondered how the history of a state begins? Is it enough for the townspeople to just get together (and there are still cities in the world that consist of one city) and decide that that’s it, now we are citizens new country? This is what, for example, the citizens of the city of Fiume did, led by their ruler, the poet Giabriele D’Annunzio. But, either the ruler was too impractical, or the stars did not align, but after two years of existence, the Republic of Fiume capitulated. And in two years of “life” it was recognized by only one country in the world - the USSR.
And by the way, this is the meaning of our story - the state exists when it is recognized. Therefore, the future of all self-proclaimed states is debatable. Ten unrecognized and partially recognized states of our time, and their difficult fate, are in our TOP.

1 Republic of China (founded 1911)

The Republic of China or Taiwan are examples of how you can lose everything. Previously, it controlled the entire territory of modern China, but after the revolution in 1947, the country not only lost all mainland, but also a place in the UN, as well as recognition by the majority of members of the organization. Now Republic of China Only 22 states from the UN list recognize it.

2 Free Kashmir (established 1947)

Free Kashmir (Azad Kashmir) became “Free” after ousting the ruler Maharaja Hari Singh and separating from India. The irony of the situation was given by the views of the ruler himself; he wanted to separate the state from India and prevent the seizure of the province by Pakistan. As a result, Pakistan is the only one to recognize Free Kashmir. In general, everything is as you wanted, but only without you.

3 Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (established 1976)

The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic or SADR is one of the most “recognized” (59 UN member states) unrecognized states in the world. The state's problem is different: its closest neighbor, Morocco, categorically disagrees with this. Most of the SADR's territory is de facto controlled by Morocco, with less being a mixture of buffer zones, restricted zones and restricted areas.

4 Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (founded 1983)

1983 is famous not only because it is the year of birth of Alina Kabaeva. This year the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was also born - as a result of an armed attack by Turkey. As a result, only Türkiye recognized the newborn country, and this situation still remains.

5 Palestine (founded 1988)

Well, everyone knows about Palestine. This state managed to declare itself. Firstly, it keeps Israel firmly in suspense, and secondly, it is recognized by 137 UN member states. True, this did not deprive Palestine of internal problems. Now its territory is divided into two parts, controlled by different formations, and there are a lot of internal problems here.

6 Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (founded 1990)

Transnistria is a case when someone came to the rescue at the right time. One of the first “former” territories that realized that it is not necessary to go along with everyone else. But in reality, everything is not so “sugar” here. The state status of the PMR is recognized by Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh - countries in themselves with very controversial status. And although the PMR has long wanted to join Russia, the latter is not taking this step.

7 Somaliland (established 1991)

Somaliland is 5 of the 18 states of Somalia, where about a third of the country's population lives. The history of the newly created state is sad. Despite the fact that in 2003 99% of the population voted for the secession of Somalia, not a single state has yet recognized Somaliland as independent.

8 South Ossetia and the Republic of Abkhazia (year of establishment 1992 and 1994)

Why did we combine these two subjects into one issue? Yes, because both of them are pieces of Georgia (well, at least Georgia thinks so). However, a number of states, such as the Republic of Vanuatu and Nicaragua, led by Russian Federation, they are recognized. And of course they both recognize each other.

9 Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (founded 1991)

Nagorno-Karabakh is such a confusion of borders, controlled territories and interests of other countries that it is very difficult to understand all of this. However, this did not prevent three countries: the PMR, the Republic of South Ossetia and the Republic of Abkhazia from recognizing the country. True, they themselves are unrecognized, so this did not help the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.

10 Republic of Kosovo (founded 2008)

The Republic of Kosovo, after declaring independence in 2008, is recognized by 110 UN member countries, as well as many unrecognized states. But this “piece” turned out to be too large, and Northern part Kosovo, with its Serbian population, does not recognize the Republic. In addition, Serbia, whose territory, in fact, was encroached upon by the Republic of Kosovo, is categorically against it.