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Since 1848 the Swiss Confederation has been a federal state of relatively autonomous cantons, some of which have a history of confederacy that goes back more than 700 years, putting them among the world's oldest surviving republics.The early history of the region is tied to that of Alpine culture. Switzerland was inhabited by Gauls and Raetians, and it came under Roman rule in the 1st century BC. Gallo-Roman culture was amalgamated with Germanic influence during Late Antiquity, with the eastern part of Switzerland becoming Alemannic territory. The area of Switzerland was incorporated in the Frankish Empire in the 6th century. In the high medieval period, the eastern part became part of the Duchy of Swabia within the Holy Roman Empire while the western part was part of Burgundy.The Old Swiss Confederacy in the late medieval period (the Eight Cantons) established its independence from the House of Habsburg and the Duchy of Burgundy, and in the Italian Wars gained territory south of the Alps from the Duchy of Milan. The Swiss Reformation divided the Confederacy and resulted in a drawn-out history of internal strife between the Thirteen Cantons in the Early Modern period. In the wake of the French Revolution, Switzerland fell to a French invasion in 1798 and was reformed into the Helvetic Republic, a French client state. Napoleon's Act of Mediation in 1803 restored the status of Switzerland as a Confederation, and after the end of the Napoleonic period, the Swiss Confederation underwent a period of turmoil culminating in a brief civil war in 1847 and the creation of a federal constitution in 1848.The history of Switzerland since 1848 has been largely one of success and prosperity. Industrialization transformed the traditionally agricultural economy, and Swiss neutrality during the World Wars and the success of the banking industry furthered the ascent of Switzerland to its status as one of the world's most stable economies.Switzerland signed a free-trade agreement with the European Economic Community in 1972 and has participated in the process of European integration by way of bilateral treaties, but it has notably resisted full accession to the European Union (EU) even though its territory has been surrounded by EU member states since 1995.Contents1 Early history1.1 Prehistory1.2 Antiquity1.3 Medieval period2 Old Confederacy (1300–1798)2.1 Late Medieval period2.2 Reformation2.3 Early Modern Switzerland3 Napoleonic period and aftermath (1798–1848)3.1 French invasion and Helvetic Republic3.2 Restoration and Regeneration3.3 Sonderbund War of 18474 Modern Switzerland (1848–present)4.1 Industrialisation4.2 World Wars (1914–1945)4.3 History after 19455 Order of accession of the cantons6 See also7 Notes and references8 Bibliography9 External linksEarly historyMain article: Early history of SwitzerlandDivico and Julius Caesar after the Battle of BibractePrehistoryArcheological evidence suggests that hunter-gatherers were already settled in the lowlands north of the Alps in the Middle Paleolithic period 150,000 years ago.[1] By the Neolithic period, the area was relatively densely populated. Remains of Bronze Age pile dwellings from as early as 3800 BC[2] have been found in the shallow areas of many lakes. Around 1500 BC, Celtic tribes settled in the area. The Raetians lived in the eastern regions, while the west was occupied by the Helvetii.AntiquityMain article: Switzerland in the Roman eraIn 58 BC, the Helvetii tried to evade migratory pressure from Germanic tribes by moving into Gaul, but were defeated by Julius Caesar's armies and then sent back. The alpine region became integrated into the Roman Empire and was extensively romanized in the course of the following centuries. The center of Roman administration was at Aventicum (Avenches). In 259, Alamanni tribes overran the Limes, putting the settlements on Swiss territory on the frontier of the Roman Empire.A map of Switzerland during the Roman periodThe first Christian bishoprics were founded in the fourth century.With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Germanic tribes entered the area. Burgundians settled in the west; while in the north, Alamanni settlers slowly forced the earlier Celto-Roman population to retreat into the mountains. Burgundy became a part of the kingdom of the Franks in 534; two years later, the dukedom of the Alamans followed suit. In the Alaman-controlled region, only isolated Christian communities continued to exist and Irish monks re-introduced the Christian faith in the early 7th century.Medieval periodMain article: Switzerland in the Middle AgesUnder the Carolingian kings, the feudal system proliferated, and monasteries and bishoprics were important bases for maintaining the rule. The Treaty of Verdun of 843 assigned Upper Burgundy (the western part of what is today Switzerland) to Lotharingia, and Alemannia (the eastern part) to the eastern kingdom of Louis the German which would become part of the Holy Roman Empire.In the 10th century, as the rule of the Carolingians waned, Magyars destroyed Basel in 917 and St. Gallen in 926. Only after the victory of King Otto I over the Magyars in 955 in the Battle of Lechfeld, were the Swiss territories reintegrated into the empire.In the 12th century, the dukes of Zähringen were given authority over part of the Burgundy territories which covered the western part of modern Switzerland. They founded many cities, including Fribourg in 1157, and Bern in 1191. The Zähringer dynasty ended with the death of Berchtold V in 1218, and their cities subsequently became reichsfrei (essentially a city-state within the Holy Roman Empire), while the dukes of Kyburg competed with the house of Habsburg over control of the rural regions of the former Zähringer territory.Under the Hohenstaufen rule, the alpine passes in Raetia and the St Gotthard Pass gained importance. The latter especially became an important direct route through the mountains. Uri (in 1231) and Schwyz (in 1240) were accorded the Reichsfreiheit to grant the empire direct control over the mountain pass. Most of the territory of Unterwalden at this time belonged to monasteries which had previously become reichsfrei.The extinction of the Kyburg dynasty paved the way for the Habsburg dynasty to bring much of the territory south of the Rhine under their control, aiding their rise to power. Rudolph of Habsburg, who became King of Germany in 1273, effectively revoked the status of Reichsfreiheit granted to the "Forest Cantons" of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden. The Forest Cantons thus lost their independent status and were governed by Reeves.Old Confederacy (1300–1798)Main article: Old Swiss ConfederacyThe Battle of Laupen (1339) between Swiss forces and an army of the Dukes of Savoy (Diebold Schilling the Elder, 1480s).Late Medieval periodMain article: Growth of the Old Swiss ConfederacyOn 1 August 1291, the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden united to defend the peace upon the death of Emperor Rudolf I of Habsburg, forming the nucleus of the Old Swiss Confederacy.By 1353, the three original cantons had been joined by the cantons of Glarus and Zug and the city states of Lucerne, Zürich, and Bern, forming the "Old Federation" of eight states that persisted during much of the 15th century. At the battle of Sempach 1386, the Swiss defeated the Habsburgs, gaining increased autonomy within the Holy Roman Empire.Zürich was expelled from the Confederation from 1440 to 1450 due to a conflict over the territory of Toggenburg (the Old Zürich War). The Confederation's power and wealth increased significantly, with victories over Charles the Bold of Burgundy during the 1470s and the success of Swiss mercenaries.The traditional listing order of the cantons of Switzerland reflects this state, listing the eight "Old Cantons" first, with the city states preceding the founding cantons, followed by cantons that joined the Confederation after 1481, in historical order.The Swiss defeated the Swabian League in 1499 and gained greater collective autonomy within the Holy Roman Empire, including exemption from the Imperial reforms of 1495 and immunity from most Imperial courts. In 1506, Pope Julius II engaged the Swiss Guard, which continues to serve the papacy to the present day. The expansion of the Confederation and the reputation of invincibility acquired during the earlier wars suffered a first setback in 1515 with the Swiss defeat in the Battle of Marignano.ReformationMain article: Reformation in SwitzerlandThe Reformation in Switzerland began in 1523, led by Huldrych Zwingli, priest of the Great Minster church in Zürich since 1518. Zürich adopted the Protestant religion, joined by Berne, Basel, and Schaffhausen, while Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz, Nidwalden, Zug, Fribourg and Solothurn remained Catholic. Glarus and Appenzell were split. This led to multiple inter-cantonal religious wars (Kappeler Kriege) in 1529 and 1531, because each canton usually made the opposing religion illegal, and to the formation of two diets, the Protestant one meeting in Aarau and the Catholic one in Lucerne (as well as the formal full diet still meeting usually in Baden)[3][4] but the Confederation survived.Early Modern SwitzerlandMain article: Early Modern SwitzerlandDuring the Thirty Years' War, Switzerland was a relative "oasis of peace and prosperity" (Grimmelshausen) in war-torn Europe, mostly because all major powers in Europe depended on Swiss mercenaries, and would not let Switzerland fall into the hands of one of their rivals. Politically, they all tried to take influence, by way of mercenary commanders such as Jörg Jenatsch or Johann Rudolf Wettstein. The Drei Bünde of Grisons, at that point not yet a member of the Confederacy, were involved in the war from 1620, which led to their loss of the Valtellina in 1623.Leonhard Euler (1707–83), one of the most prominent scientists in the Age of EnlightenmentAt the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, Switzerland attained legal independence from the Holy Roman Empire. The Valtellina became a dependency of the Drei Bünde again after the Treaty and remained so until the founding of the Cisalpine Republic by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1797.In 1653, peasants of territories subject to Lucerne, Bern, Solothurn, and Basel revolted because of currency devaluation. Although the authorities prevailed in this Swiss peasant war, they did pass some tax reforms and the incident in the long term prevented an absolutist development as would occur at some other courts of Europe. The confessional tensions remained, however, and erupted again in the First War of Villmergen, in 1656, and the Toggenburg War (or Second War of Villmergen), in 1712.Napoleonic period and aftermath (1798–1848)French invasion and the Helvetic RepublicMain articles: Switzerland in the Napoleonic era and the Helvetic RepublicDuring the French Revolutionary Wars, the French army invaded Switzerland and turned it into an ally known as the "Helvetic Republic" (1798–1803). It had a central government with little role for cantons. The interference with localism and traditional liberties was deeply resented, although some modernizing reforms took place.[5][6]Resistance was strongest in the more traditional Catholic bastions, with armed uprisings breaking out in spring 1798 in the central part of Switzerland. The French Army suppressed the uprisings but support for revolutionary ideas steadily declined. The reform element was weak, and most Swiss resented their loss of local democracy, the centralization, the new taxes, the warfare, and the hostility to religion.[7]Major steps taken to emancipate the Jews included the repeal of special taxes and oaths in 1798. However, the reaction took place in 1815, and not until 1879 were the Jews granted equal rights with the Christians.[8]In 1803, Napoleon's Act of Mediation partially restored the sovereignty of the cantons, and the former tributary and allied territories of Aargau, Thurgau, Grisons, St. Gallen, Vaud and Ticino became cantons with equal rights. Napoleon and his enemies fought numerous campaigns in Switzerland that ruined many localities.Restoration and RegenerationMain article: Restoration and Regeneration in SwitzerlandThe Congress of Vienna of 1814–15 fully re-established Swiss independence and the European powers agreed to recognize permanent Swiss neutrality. At this time, Valais, Neuchâtel, and Geneva also joined Switzerland as new cantons, thereby extending Swiss territory to its current boundaries.The long-term impact of the French Revolution has been assessed as (by William Martin):It proclaimed the equality of citizens before the law, equality of languages, freedom of thought and faith; it created a Swiss citizenship, basis of our modern nationality, and the separation of powers, of which the old regime had no conception; it suppressed internal tariffs and other economic restraints; it unified weights and measures, reformed civil and penal law, authorized mixed marriages (between Catholics and Protestants), suppressed torture and improved justice; it developed education and public works.[9]On 6 April 1814, the so-called "Long Diet" (delegates from all the nineteen cantons) met at Zurich to replace the constitution.[10]Cantonal constitutions were worked out independently from 1814, in general restoring the late feudal conditions of the 17th and 18th century. The Tagsatzung was re-organized by the Federal Treaty (Bundesvertrag) of 7 August 1815.The liberal Free Democratic Party of Switzerland was strong in the largely Protestant cantons obtained the majority in the Federal Diet in the early 1840s. It proposed a new Constitution for the Swiss Confederation which would draw the several cantons into a closer relationship. In addition to the centralization of the Swiss government, the new Constitution also included protections for trade and other progressive reform measures. The Federal Diet, with the approval of a majority of cantons, had taken measures against the Catholic Church such as the closure of monasteries and convents in Aargau in 1841,[11] and the seizure of their properties. Catholic Lucerne, in retaliation, in 1844 recalled the Jesuits to head its education. That succeeded and seven Catholic cantons formed the "Sonderbund." This caused a liberal-radical move in the Protestant cantons to take control of the national Diet in 1847. The Diet ordered the Sonderbund dissolved, igniting a small-scale civil war against rural cantons were strongholds of pro-Catholic ultramontanism.[12]Sonderbund War of 1847Main articles: Sonderbund War and Switzerland as a federal stateReligious geography in 1800 (orange: Protestant, green: Catholic).The Radical-liberal-Protestant element charged that the Sonderbund was in violation of the Federal Treaty of 1815, §6 of which expressly forbade such separate alliances. Forming a majority in the Tagsatzung they decided to dissolve the Sonderbund on October 21, 1847.[13][14] The odds were against the Catholics, who were heavily outnumbered in population; they were outnumbered in soldiers by 79,000 to 99,000 and lacked enough well-trained soldiers, officers, and generals. When the Sonderbund refused to disband, the national army attacked in a brief civil war between the Catholic and the Protestant cantons, known as the Sonderbundskrieg ("Sonderbund War".) The national army was composed of soldiers of all the other cantons except Neuchâtel and Appenzell Innerrhoden (which remained neutral). The Sonderbund was easily defeated in less than a month; there were about 130 killed. Apart from small riots, this was the last armed conflict on Swiss territory.[15] Many Sonderband leaders fled to Italy, but the victors were generous. They invited the defeated cantons to join them in a program of federal reform, and a new constitution was drafted along American lines. National issues were to be under the control of the national parliament, and the Jesuits were expelled. The Swiss voted heavily in favor of the new constitution by 2 million against 300,000. Switzerland became calm. However, conservatives around Europe became frightened and prepared their own forces to meet possible challenges, which indeed soon exploded the Revolutions of 1848. In those violent revolutions, outside Switzerland, the conservatives were always successful.[16]Modern Switzerland (1848–present)Main article: Modern history of SwitzerlandIndustrializationAs a consequence of the civil war, Switzerland adopted a federal constitution in 1848, amending it extensively in 1874 and establishing federal responsibility for defense, trade, and legal matters, leaving all other matters to the cantonal governments. From then, and over much of the 20th century, continuous political, economic, and social improvement has characterized Swiss history.While Switzerland was primarily rural, the cities experienced an industrial revolution in the late 19th century, focused especially on textiles. In Basel, for example, textiles, including silk, were the leading industry. In 1888 women made up 44% of the wage earners. Nearly half the women worked in the textile mills, with household servants the second largest job category. The share of women in the workforce was higher between 1890 and 1910 than it was in the late 1960s and 1970s.[17]Gotthard line in 1882Swiss Universities in the late 19th century are notable for the number of female students receiving medical education.[18]World Wars (1914–1945)Main article: Switzerland during the World WarsThe major powers respected Switzerland's neutrality during World War I. In the Grimm–Hoffmann Affair, the Allies denounced a proposal by one politician to negotiate peace on the Eastern Front; they wanted the war there to continue so as to tie Germany down.While the industrial sector began to grow in the mid-19th century, Switzerland's emergence as one of the most prosperous nations in Europe—the "Swiss miracle"—was a development of the short 20th century, among other things tied to the role of Switzerland during the World Wars.[19]League of Nations conference in Geneva (1926).Germany considered invading Switzerland during World War II but never attacked.[20] Under General Henri Guisan, the Swiss army prepared for a mass mobilization of militia forces against invasion and prepared strong, well-stockpiled positions high in the Alps known as the Réduit. Switzerland remained independent and neutral through a combination of military deterrence, economic concessions to Germany, and good fortune as larger events during the war delayed an invasion.Attempts by Switzerland's small Nazi party to cause an Anschluss with Germany failed miserably, largely due to Switzerland's multicultural heritage, a strong sense of national identity, and long tradition of direct democracy and civil liberties. The Swiss press vigorously criticized the Third Reich,[21] often infuriating German leaders. Switzerland was an important base for espionage by both sides in the conflict and often mediated communications between the Axis and Allied powers.Switzerland's trade was blockaded by both the Allies and by the Axis. Both sides openly exerted pressure on Switzerland not to trade with the other. Economic cooperation and extension of credit to the Third Reich varied according to the perceived likelihood of invasion, and the availability of other trading partners. Concessions reached their zenith after a crucial rail link through Vichy France was severed in 1942, leaving Switzerland completely surrounded by the Axis. Switzerland relied on trade for half of its food and essentially all of its fuel, but controlled vital trans-alpine rail tunnels between Germany and Italy.Switzerland's most important exports during the war were precision machine tools, watches, jewel bearings (used in bombsights), electricity, and dairy products. During World War Two, the Swiss franc was the only remaining major freely convertible currency in the world, and both the Allies and the Germans sold large amounts of gold to the Swiss National Bank. Between 1940 and 1945, the German Reichsbank sold 1.3 billion francs worth of gold to Swiss Banks in exchange for Swiss francs and other foreign currency.[22]Hundreds of millions of francs worth of this gold were monetary gold plundered from the central banks of occupied countries. 581,000 francs of "Melmer" gold taken from Holocaust victims in eastern Europe was sold to Swiss banks.[23] In total, trade between Germany and Switzerland contributed about 0.5% to the German war effort but did not significantly lengthen the war.[24]Over the course of the war, Switzerland interned 300,000 refugees.[25] 104,000 of these were foreign troops interned according to the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers outlined in the Hague Conventions. The rest were foreign civilians and were either interned or granted tolerance or residence permits by the cantonal authorities. Refugees were not allowed to hold jobs. 60,000 of the refugees were civilians escaping persecution by the Nazis. Of these, 26,000 to 27,000 were Jews.[26] Between 10,000 and 25,000 civilian refugees were refused entry.[27][28] At the beginning of the war, Switzerland had a Jewish population of between 18,000[29] and 28,000[30] and a total population of about 4 million.Within Switzerland at the time of the conflict, there was moderate polarization. Some were pacifists. Some took sides according to international capitalism or international communism. Others leaned more towards their language group, with some in French-speaking areas more pro-Allied, and some in Swiss-German areas more pro-Axis. The government attempted to thwart the activities of any individual, party, or faction in Switzerland that acted with extremism or attempted to break the unity of the nation. The Swiss-German speaking areas moved linguistically further away from the standard (high) German spoken in Germany, with more emphasis on local Swiss dialects.In the 1960s, significant controversy arose among historians regarding the nation's relations with Nazi Germany.[31]By the 1990s the controversies included a class-action lawsuit brought in New York over Jewish assets in Holocaust-era bank accounts. The government commissioned an authoritative study of Switzerland's interaction with the Nazi regime. The final report by this independent panel of international scholars, known as the Bergier Commission,[32] was issued in 2002.History after 1945Further information: Politics of SwitzerlandDuring the Cold War, Swiss authorities considered the construction of a Swiss nuclear bomb.[33] Leading nuclear physicists at the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich such as Paul Scherrer made this a realistic possibility. However, financial problems with the defense budget prevented substantial funds from being allocated, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968 was seen as a valid alternative. All remaining plans for building nuclear weapons were dropped by 1988.[34]Opening speech by president Pascal Couchepin at the World Economic Forum, one of the many international organizations based in SwitzerlandFrom 1959, the Federal Council, elected by the parliament, is composed of members of the four major parties, the Protestant Free Democrats, the Catholic Christian Democrats, the left-wing Social Democrats and the right-wing People's Party, essentially creating a system without a sizeable parliamentary opposition (see concordance system), reflecting the powerful position of an opposition in a direct democracy.In 1963, Switzerland joined the Council of Europe. In 1979, parts of the canton of Bern attained independence, forming the new canton of Jura.Switzerland's role in many United Nations and international organizations helped to mitigate the country's concern for neutrality. In 2002, Switzerland voters gave 55% of their vote in favor of the UN and joined the United Nations. This followed decades of debate and its previous rejection of membership in 1986 by a 3-1 popular vote.[35]Women's suffrage in Switzerland was introduced by popular vote in 1971. An equal rights amendment was ratified in 1981.[36]Switzerland is not a member state of the EU but has been (together with Liechtenstein) surrounded by EU territory since the joining of Austria in 1995. In 2005, Switzerland agreed to join the Schengen treaty and Dublin Convention by popular vote. In February 2014, Swiss voters approved a referendum to reinstitute quotas on immigration to Switzerland, setting off a period of finding an implementation that would not violate the EU's freedom of movement accords that Switzerland adopted.Order of accession of the cantonsMain article: Cantons of SwitzerlandFurther information: Flags and arms of cantons of SwitzerlandThe order of precedence of the Swiss cantons given in the federal constitution follows the historical order of accession except for the three city cantons of Zürich, Bern and Lucerne placed at the top.[37]Eight Cantons1291 founding cantons – Uri-coat of arms.svg Uri, Schwytz-coat of arms.svg Schwyz, Wappen Unterwalden alt.svg Unterwalden1332 – Lucerne-coat of arms.svg Lucerne1351 – Zurich-coat of arms.svg Zürich1352 – Glaris-coat of arms.svg Glarus, Zug-coat of arms.svg Zug1353 – Berne-coat of arms.svg Bernexpansion to Thirteen Cantons1481 – Fribourg-coat of arms.svg Fribourg, Solothurn-coat of arms.svg Solothurn1501 – Bale-coat of arms.svg Basel, Schaffhouse-coat of arms.svg Schaffhausen1513 – AppenzellRI-coat of arms.svg AppenzellAct of MediationFurther information: Cantons of the Helvetic Republic1803 – St.Gallen-coat of arms.svg St. Gallen, Grisons-coat of arms.svg Graubünden, Argovie-coat of arms.svg Aargau, Thurgovie-coat of arms.svg Thurgau, Tessin-coat of arms.svg Ticino, Vaud-coat of arms.svg VaudRestoration period1815 – Valais-coat of arms.svg Valais, Neuchatel-coat of arms.svg Neuchâtel, Coat of Arms of Geneva.svg GenevaSwitzerland as a federal state1979 – Jura-coat of arms.svg Jura (secession from Bern)1999 – official status of the six half-cantons as cantons (Obwald-coat of arms.svg Obwalden and Nidwald-coat of arms.svg Nidwalden, AppenzellRE-coat of arms.svg Appenzell Ausserrhoden and AppenzellRI-coat of arms.svg Appenzell Innerrhoden, Bale-coat of arms.svg Basel-Stadt and BaleCampagne-coat of arms.svg Basel-Landschaft)See alsoHistoriography of SwitzerlandHistory of the GrisonsHistory of ZürichList of Presidents of SwitzerlandPolitics of SwitzerlandPostage stamps and postal history of SwitzerlandGeneral:History of the AlpsHistory of EuropeNotes and referencesSwitzerland's PrehistoryJulia Slater (September 10, 2007). "Prehistoric find located beneath the waves". swissinfo.Hughes, Christopher, Switzerland (London, 1975) p.66 ff, 84.Bonjour, Edgar et al. A Short History of Switzerland (Oxford, 1952) p.191.Marc H. Lerner, "The Helvetic Republic: An Ambivalent Reception of French Revolutionary Liberty," French History (2004) 18#1 pp 50-75.R.R. Palmer, The Age of the Democratic Revolution 2:394-421Otto Dann and John Dinwiddy (1988). Nationalism in the Age of the French Revolution. Continuum. pp. 190–98. ISBN 9780907628972.Holger Böning, "Bürgerliche Revolution und Judenemanzipation in der Schweiz," Jahrbuch des Instituts für Deutsche Geschichte (1985), Vol. 14, pp 157-180William Martin, Histoire de la Suisse (Paris, 1926), pp 187-88, quoted in Crane Brinson, A Decade of Revolution: 1789-1799 (1934) p. 235Wilhelm Oechsli, History of Switzerland 1499-1914, Cambridge University Press, 2013, p. 365.Wikisource Coolidge, William Augustus Brevoort (1911). "Switzerland/History/Constitution" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 259.William L. Langer, Political and social Upheaval 1832-1852 (1969): 133-37.W. B. Duffield, "The War of the Sonderbund" English Historical Review 10#40 (1895), pp. 675-698 in JSTORJoachim Remak, A Very Civil War: The Swiss Sonderbund War of 1847 (Westview, 1993) online editionRalph Weaver, Three Weeks in November: A Military History of the Swiss Civil War of 1847 (2012) excerptLanger, Political and Social upheaval pp 135-37Regina Wecker, "Frauenlohnarbeit - Statistik und Wirklichkeit in der Schweiz an der Wende zum 20," Jahrhundert Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Geschichte (1984) 34#3 pp 346-356.Holmes, Madelyn (1984). "Go to Switzerland, young women, if you want to study medicine". Women's Studies International Forum. 7 (4): 243–245. doi:10.1016/0277-5395(84)90048-7. Bonner, Thomas N. (Spring 1988). "Medical women abroad: a new dimension of women's push for opportunity in medicine, 1850-1914". Bulletin of the History of Medicine. 62 (1): 58–73. PMID 3285925.Roman Studer, "When Did the Swiss Get so Rich?" Comparing Living Standards in Switzerland and Europe, 1800-1913, Journal of European economic history, (2008) 37#2 pp 405-452. onlineLet's Swallow Switzerland by Klaus Urner (Lexington Books, 2002).Georges André Chevallaz, The Challenge of Neutrality: Diplomacy and the Defense of Switzerland, (2001) pp 120. [1]The Bergier Commission Final Report, page 238 Independent Commission of Experts Switzerland.The Bergier Commission Final Report, page 249 Independent Commission of Experts Switzerland.The Bergier Commission Final Report, page 518 Independent Commission of Experts Switzerland.Asylum in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.The Bergier Commission Final Report, page 117 Independent Commission of Experts Switzerland.Asylum in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. states 24,000Karacs, Imre (December 11, 1999). "Switzerland refused to help 24,500 Jews in war". The Independent. Retrieved February 4, 2009.Switzerland from the Shoah Resource Foundation accessed Feb 4, 2009Second World War-Refugees in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. states 28,000Hadrien Buclin, "'Surmonter le passé?': les intellectuels de gauche et le débat des années soixante sur la deuxième guerre mondiale," ["Overcoming the Past?": Intellectuals on the Left and the Debate of the 1960s About the Second World War] Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Geschichte (2013) 63#2 pp 233-249.Independent Commission of Experts Switzerland – Second World War ICE7.4 States Formerly Possessing or Pursuing Nuclear Weapons Retrieved March 5, 2014Swiss nuclear bomb International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War October 9, 2010. Retrieved March 7, 2014See "Moving towards the UN in slow motion" SWI May 25, 2007Banaszak, Lee Ann (1996). Why movements succeed or fail: Opportunity, culture, and the struggle for woman suffrage. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691026398."Regional Portraits: Cantons". Neuchâtel, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Statistical Office. 2011. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved December 21, 2015.BibliographyBalsiger, Jörg. Uphill Struggles: The Politics of Sustainable Mountain Development in Switzerland and California (2009)Bonjour, E., H. S. Offler, G. R. Potter. A Short History of Switzerland (1952) onlineBurnett, Amy Nelson and Campi, Emidio (eds). A Companion to the Swiss Reformation, (Brill, 2016). ISBN 978-90-04-30102-3Church, Clive H., and Randolph C. Head. A concise history of Switzerland (Cambridge University Press, 2013). pp 132–61 onlineCodevilla, Angelo M. Between the Alps and a Hard Place: Switzerland in World War II and the Rewriting of History (2000) excerpt and text searchDawson, William Harbutt. Social Switzerland: Studies of Present-day Social Movements and Legislation (1897) 302pp; with focus on social and economic history, poverty, labour onlineFahrni, Dieter. An Outline History of Switzerland. From the Origins to the Present Day (8th ed. 2003, Pro Helvetia, Zürich). ISBN 3-908102-61-8Halbrook, Stephen P. Target Switzerland: Swiss Armed Neutrality in World War II (2003) excerpt and text searchLerner, Marc. A laboratory of liberty: the transformation of political culture in Republican Switzerland, 1750-1848 (Brill, 2011).Luck, James Murray. A History of Switzerland. The First 100,000 Years: Before the Beginnings to the Days of the Present. SPOSS, Palo Alto CA. (1985) ISBN 0-930664-06-XOechsli, Wilhelm. History of Switzerland, 1499-1914 (1922) full text onlineOzment, Steven E. "The Reformation in the Cities: The Appeal of Protestantism to Sixteenth-Century Germany and Switzerland (1975)Remak, Joachim. A very civil war. The Swiss Sonderbund War of 1847. (1993).Schelbert, Leo. Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (2007) excerpt and text searchWilson, John. History of Switzerland (1832) excerpt and text search, outdatedExternal linksWikimedia Commons has media related to History of Switzerland.Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Switzerland/History.History of Switzerland on swissworld.orgSwiss Diplomatic Documents (DDS)History of Switzerland: Primary DocumentsSwiss American Historical Society

No it doesn’t and even if it did, it doesn’t make the case for union weaker, why would it?Assuming it was outperforming the rest of the UK, then that might have something to do with the around extra £15Bn per annum that the UK govt provides Scotland, more than Scotland raises itself.And by the way that figure that Scotland receives £15BN per year more than it raises is produced by the SNP led (pro independence) Scottish Government.SNP and their supporters complain about Tory austerity but have imposed greater Austerity on Scotland. The “Savage” Tory austerity was £200M per annum for day to day spending, for the entire UK.But have they been managing Scotland well, despite the savage SNP austerity?The SNP have asked us to judge them on their record on Education, so how have they done there? They must be pretty proud of it, if that is what they are asking us to judge them on it, right?The pupil attainment gap has increased.Since the SNP came to power, in each of the three main disciplines as measured by PISA (mathematics, reading & science), Scotland's performance has declined significantly. This is true in absolute terms, relative to the whole of the UK and relative to the average for all OECD countries.So in maths and reading, where Scottish pupils used to perform significantly better than rUK students, latest available data shows we've dropped back to average at best. In science, where Scottish pupils used to perform in line with the UK average, their performance in the most recent survey is very significantly worse. In all three disciplines, we've gone from out-performing the OECD average to being - well - distinctly average.Looking at our performance in international league-table format: in all three subject areas we've dropped below the OECD average and into the bottom half of the table.There can be few responsibilities greater for a party of government than to ensure a country's children receive the best possible education, to provide the next generation with the best chances to succeed in life.Tony Blair swept to power in 1997 promising to make "education, education, education" his top priorities in office; the Scottish education system appears to be suffering the effects of having an SNP government in power with "independence, independence, independence" as theirs.Young Scots emerging from education with reduced life-chances are the ones paying the price for the SNP's failings today. The question is, will the SNP start paying the price at the ballot box tomorrow?Source: Judging the SNP on Their Education RecordSource: Police Scotland criticised over leadership and diversity trainingPolice Scotland has been strongly criticised for not providing leadership training since it was created in 2013.As a result, HM chief inspector of constabulary found that senior officers "lack emotional intelligence, self-awareness and strategic perspective".Gill Imery's report also highlights a gap in the provision of diversity training.Police Scotland said it was a "learning organisation" and was committed to staff improvement.Seven years ago it replaced the old eight-force model and became the second largest force in the UK after the Met.But since then, Mrs Imery found that many promoted staff who attended a first line managers' course did not receive further dedicated leadership training or development.Source: https://reformscotland.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/The-Thinning-Blue-Line-2015.pdfFindingsThe actual number of crimes being cleared-up has fallen from 198,985 in 2006/7 to 139,306 in 2013/14. This is despite the fact that:Between 2006/7 and 2013/14, recorded crime in Scotland has fallen by 35 per cent.The number of police officers in Scotland have increased from 16,234 in quarter one of 2007 to 17,295 in quarter one of 2015 – in line with the Scottish Government’s commitment to 1,000 additional officers.As a result, the number of crimes cleared up per FTE police officer has fallen from 12 in 2006/7, to eight in 2013/14.The creation of a single police force removed local authorities’ direct role in the funding and governance of the police. There are examples, such as the arming of the police or dealing with prostitution in saunas, which suggest local differences in policing practices have been restricted by the merger.So on Austerity, Education, and Police not good, how about on health?Source: Health of children in Scotland 'among worst in Europe'The health of children in Scotland is among the worst in Europe, according to a major new study.An "alarming" gap between rich and poor is risking the health of the youngest generation, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) report warns.It calls for bold action on smoking, obesity and child poverty.Critics said the report proved that "dramatic action" was needed to safeguard the health of children in Scotland.The key findings of the study include:More than 210,000 children live in poverty in Scotland;28% of children are overweight or obese;Around 400 infants, children and young people die each year - a significant number of deaths were potentially avoidable;More than half (53%) of new mothers in wealthy areas exclusively breastfeed their children for six weeks, but that figure drops to 15.4% in the most deprived areas.Almost 30% of pregnant women in the most deprived areas are smokers, compared to just 4.5% in wealthier parts of the country.The report looks at 25 health rates including asthma, diabetes and epilepsy, as well as obesity, breastfeeding and mortality, to provide a snapshot of health and wellbeing.Source: Scotland A&E waiting times ‘worst ever’ since records beganScotland A&E waiting times ‘worst ever’ since records beganThe percentage of patients seen in Scottish accident and emergency departments within a four-hour waiting time target has reached the lowest level on record.Source: A&E patients had worst November waits in 12 yearsPatients who needed hospital treatment experienced record delays in November, with more than 3,000 people stuck for eight hours or longer, despite falling attendance figures.It was the worst set of November results since records began in 2007.So Austerity, Education, Police, and Health not good.How about the First Minister’s own constituency?Presumably if the SNP can’t manage the entire country well, they can at least manage the constituency of their leader well?Source: Nicola Sturgeon shame: First Minister’s constituency among MOST deprived in ScotlandNicola Sturgeon shame: First Minister’s constituency among MOST deprived in ScotlandNICOLA STURGEON faces further embarrassment today after shock figures revealed Govanhill - an area in her parliamentary constituency - is among the most deprived places to live in Scotland.First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will now be under renewed pressure after Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) revealed hundreds of her constituents in Govanhill – an area in her Glasgow Southside constituency – are among the most poverty-stricken. Shock figures in the report carried out by the Scottish Government showed Govanhill has been ranked in the 10 percent of ‘most deprived areas’ in income, education, housing and crime and second most deprived in employment and health.Source: Sturgeon's EU slum: Squalor, filth and sex crime in constituency branded SHAME OF SCOTLANDSturgeon's EU slum: Squalor, filth and sex crime in constituency branded SHAME OF SCOTLANDFIRST Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon’s very own constituency has become a haven for illegal immigration and organised crime where women cannot walk the streets, it has been claimed.Source: Video shows rat infested bin area in Glasgow as refuse staff hit outShocking video shows rat infested bin area in Glasgow as refuse staff hit outA trade union has slammed Glasgow City Council as it claims the footage in Govanhill highlights the city's "worsening waste crisis".Oh well. But apparently the SNP are Stronger for Scotland, their definition of Stronger seems a little strange but their voters seem to agree that Austerity that is at least twice* as savage as the Savage Tory Austerity, failing on Education, Health, and Policing is “stronger”.*As Scotland has one thirteenth of the population (well less than that), and the SNP cuts are at least twice as much as the Tory cuts in absolute terms, in relative terms their austerity is actually over 26 times greater than the Savage Tory Austerity.Scottish Nationalists are neither Civic nor Joyous.Scottish Nationalists are anti-English, and their frontline elected representatives are quite happy to be pictured with and campaign with them.As an example Sonja CameronPictured with the SNP’s Keith Brown MSP and former Stirling SNP MP Steven Paterson.Who is Sonja Cameron?And also given the ok from ‘SNP Chiefs’Settler Watch extremist with links to tartan terrorist gets nod from SNP chiefsSonja Cameron has passed the SNP's vetting process despite being a convicted anti-English racist and a pal of infamous hoax bomber.A racist Scottish nationalist once linked to a notorious tartan terrorist has passed the SNP’s vetting process for council candidates.Sonja Cameron was suspended from the party for two years – but later let back in – after a court conviction over her role in sinister anti-English group Settler Watch.She was also a friend of terrorist Andrew McIntosh of the so-called Scottish National Liberation Army, who was jailed for 12 years for a hoax bombing campaign.What is Settler Watch?SETTLER WATCH AND THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY - Early Day Motions - UK ParliamentThat this House views with the utmost concern the emergence in Scotland of Settler Watch, a racist organisation intent upon harassing fellow citizens of the United Kingdom who have chosen Scotland as their place of residence; notes that two members of the Scottish National Party, Sonja Vathjunker, vice-convener of Aberdeen South SNP Association, and Lynn Conway were convicted at Kincardine and Deeside District Court on 9th September on charges associated with their membership of Settler Watch; regrets that the National Executive Committee of the Scottish National Party at their meeting on 9th October failed to expel Vathjunker and Conway from membership of the SNP and chose instead the soft option of suspending their membership for only two years; and calls upon the leadership of the SNP to match its anti-racist rhetoric with appropriate action and expel Vathjunker and Conway for life.See that symbol at the bottom right of the banner, which is regularly seem throughout Scotland at these marches supported by the SNP?Thats the symbol for Siol nan GaidhealWhilst ,embers of the group have been banned from membership of the mainstream nationalist Scottish National Party since 1982, elected and former elected SNP representatives are quite happy to be stand with and be pictured with the banner and hence implicitly or otherwise support Siol nan GaidhealAnti-English racists terrorising the No campaign in ScotlandAn anti-English racist group linked to Scotland’s Yes campaign is behind some of the organised intimidation which drove a prominent No supporter off the streets.Siol nan Gaidheal, or “Seed of the Gaels,” coordinated abuse and attacks during at least four street-corner meetings held by Jim Murphy, Labour’s former Scottish secretary, immediately before the growing threats forced him to suspend the events.The group describes itself as an “ultra-nationalist organisation” and attacks English people in Scotland as “white settlers” imposing the “Lebensraum of rapacious Anglo-Saxonry” on “colonised” Scots. It says that “Scottish ethnicity” should “form the basis for Scottish citizenship”.The Telegraph has established that Siol nan Gaidheal has links to the Yes campaign. It provided stewarding and first aid at the last major Yes independence march and rally last year, according to its website.Bruce Ogilvie, one of Siol nan Gaidheal’s leading activists, stated in online postings last week that “we have been following Murphy” for “in-your-face confrontations”, adding: “They hurt us, we hurt them. This is turning bad. We have had Yes supporters’ cars and property damaged. The gloves are now off. We will fight fire with fire.”Wearing an SnG top, he was filmed at Mr Murphy’s meeting on August 27 in Montrose shouting abuse at the politician and members of the audience, one of whom he called a “conceited Tory cow”.Mr Ogilvie, a self-confessed racist, is the former leader of the now-defunct “Settler Watch” group which attacked English-owned property in Scotland and made death threats to English residents in the 1990s.Siol nan Gaidheal was officially expelled from the Scottish National Party in 1982, and described as “proto-fascist” by the party’s then leader, Gordon Wilson.However, Mr Ogilvie appears to have been involved in the SNP until much later. He was active in its Bannockburn branch in 2005 and was pictured with Alex Salmond, the First Minister, and local SNP election candidates in 2009.Mr Murphy said that his speaking tour, involving impromptu open-air meetings in 100 Scottish towns and cities, had suffered no major difficulties until the victory by Alistair Darling, leader of the Better Together campaign, over Mr Salmond in the first televised debate last month.After that, many of his meetings were disrupted by abusive mobs, often waving Yes placards, trying to shout him down and intimidate his supporters. Typical chants included: “Go back to London, go back to your nest of paedophiles.”Yes campaigners have attempted to snatch Mr Murphy’s microphone and abused English people at his meetings. Mr Murphy, a Scotsman, has also been accused of being “English” and a “traitor”. Describing Mr Murphy’s meeting in Banchory on August 26, Mr Ogilvie wrote: “I like the aggressiveness because I can get aggressive back.” On August 27, Mr Ogilvie said on Facebook that his group had “nailed Murphy” in Stonehaven and Montrose.Bruce Ogilvie, a leading activist of Siol nan Gaidheal (“Seed of the Gaels”)On the same day, he orchestrated intimidation of Mr Murphy in Dundee, telling members of his group: “Jim Murphy will be in the centre of Dundee within the hour. Get there Yessers and get him telt [told.]” Footage of the meeting shows Mr Murphy surrounded by a shouting crowd of Yes activists attempting to drown out his speech.Responding to criticism, Mr Ogilvie compared the Labour politician to a Nazi collaborator, saying: “If these quislings come to my area, I’m not going to give them an easy time … I was sending a message out to my group telling them where Murphy was going next.”He said that the group would heckle Mr Murphy “wherever he goes”.Mr Ogilvie then circulated the times of Mr Murphy’s events in Fife the following day, August 28, when the intimidation culminated in the politician being attacked by eggs in Kirkcaldy and temporarily abandoning his tour.Official Yes Scotland social media accounts have also circulated the times of the events. Writing on the Yes Kirkcaldy Facebook page, Ken Caldwell, the campaign’s central Fife organiser, advertised the time of Mr Murphy’s talk in the town and said: “Let’s give a warm YES welcome.”Similar messages have appeared on local Yes Scotland media accounts in other places where there has been trouble. Siol nan Gaidheal provided stewarding and first aid at the Yes independence march and rally in Edinburgh on September 21 last year. The event, addressed by Mr Salmond, was organised by the Scottish Independence Convention, a key part of the Yes campaign and many of whose senior officers are SNP activists.The convention’s vice-convener, Kevin Williamson, was pictured with Mr Salmond at the launch of the Yes campaign. Mr Williamson has spoken at Siol nan Gaidheal events, is “friends” with the group on his Facebook page and appears to post regularly on the SnG forum, most recently in July.In 2012, Mr Williamson said that an independent Scotland should conduct a “social audit” of public employees to find out their “demographic” and “who they speak for”.Bruce OgilvieOther disruption has been organised by far-Left groups allied to Yes Scotland. Videos showing disruption at many of Mr Murphy’s meetings in central Scotland appear on the same account run by a far-Left organiser for the Yes campaign in Glasgow.Mr Murphy said: “What we have discovered is that there is a dark corner in Scotland in which lurks a kind of noisy, intolerant nationalism that has now been brought to life and coordinated in Facebook postings and elsewhere through Yes Scotland.”Blair McDougall, director of the Better Together campaign, said that there was “substantial evidence of official Yes Scotland local groups organising the disruption of these events, especially through official Yes Scotland social media platforms”. Mr Murphy has resumed his campaign tour and the hostility has vanished. Mr McDougall said that the disruption had been “switched on and off”.Thankfully a majority of Scots are welcoming and are not anti-English, and are not otherwise narrow minded nationalists.Thankfully in 2014 at a “Once in a Lifetime” vote, we chose to remain part of a country that stands for freedom, justice and upholding the United Nations Charter. The people for example in the Falklands had freedom and justice and self-determination. They now have it once again. We stand for upholding international law, that means that you must honour the borders of other people's countries, otherwise there is no international law, there is only international anarchy. We stand for self-determination. There was a referendum in 2014 and of course it was won overwhelmingly by those who wished to stay with the United Kingdom. The fact is that the majority of the people in Scotland wish to stay a part of the United Kingdom—that is our right to self-determination. It is a right under the United Nations Charter, it is a right which we enjoy as part of the UK, it is a right which is enjoyed in all democratic countries.Just in case anyone still thinks that the SNP and wider Scottish Independence movement is “Joyous & Civic”.Is it surprising that these nationalists who are in the main socialist will stoop to any level to subvert the natural will of the people of Scotland and create grievances where there are none?Is it any wonder that a majority of Scots do not back these nationalists?

Strategic: adding Greece to the EU was not a merit or a necessity for Greece, but a NATO effort not to let Russia reach the Mediterranean Sea.Economic: for Europe, Greece provides a special economic link, historically speaking, with the Middle East, in a similar position, but within Islam and the Middle East is Turkey.Historic:Part 1 - Greek questionThe "Greek question" comes from the historical desire of the Russian empire to open up to the Mediterranean Sea. To have a complete color and the whole picture of a historical moment we have to trace the money, we will discover the people behind the facts.The First Attempt - Balkan LeagueThe "Greek question" has its beginnings in the formation of the Balkan League, an alliance between Serbia, Montenegro, Greece and Bulgaria against the Ottoman Empire.The Great Powers saw the Balkan League in 1912 as a plan of the Russian Empire to impose its domination in the Balkans.The reality was relevant at the outbreak of the Second Balkan War in 1913 between Bulgaria, supported by Russia, on the one hand, and mainly Greece and Serbia on the other, supported by the Great Powers. Supported by the urgent request of the Great Powers to King Charles I of Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen to cross the Danube to attack the Bulgarian troops of King Ferdinand I (Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry).In short, during the First Balkan War, the Balkan League (Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, and Bulgaria) initially conquered the Ottoman territories of Macedonia and most of Thrace, but the Allies had divergences in dividing the conquered territories. The Russian Arbitration progressed very slowly. The Russians did not want to lose any of the two allies in the Balkans (Serbia and Bulgaria) and forcibly kept the exit to the Mediterranean Sea.The first Balkan war ended with the Treaty of London signed on May 30, 1913 that did not give satisfaction to the Russian Empire. Consequence, the Second Balkan War began in a few weeks.Finally, a general truce was signed on July 18, 1913, where Macedonia was represented by Titu Maiorescu and the Treaty of Constantinople (1913) was divided into Macedonia in three: the largest part, Vardar Macedonia, went to Serbia; the smallest part, Pirin Macedonia, to Bulgaria; and the coastal part, Aegean Macedonia, to Greece, and the territorial changes were regulated in the treaties of Bucharest and Constantinople. Bulgaria lost most of the territories gained in the first Balkan war, including southern Dobrogea, most of Macedonia, Thrace and the Aegean coast, except for the Dedeagach port. Serbia became the dominant power in the Balkans, and Greece gained Thessaloniki and its surroundings, plus most of the coast of Western Thrace. It was just a temporary deal. Ten months later the battles resumed with World War I.The Second Attempt - World War IRival military coalitions in 1914; Triple Entente in green; Triple Alliance in brown. Only the Triple Alliance was a formal "alliance"; the others listed were informal patterns of support.The small Balkan game of the Russian EmpireBulgaria and Serbia looked at the Russian Empire as the big brother of the Slav states.Bulgaria signed a treaty of alliance with Germany, and a few days later mobilized against Serbia. The Serbs requested Greek assistance under the terms of the treaty of the alliance, as a Bulgarian entry into the war on the side of the Central Powers loomed.Austro-German forces under August von Mackensen began their decisive offensive against Serbia, followed by a Bulgarian attack on 14 October, without prior declaration of war. The Bulgarian attack cut off the Serbian retreat south to Greece, forcing the Serbian army to retreat via Albania.In March 1917, demonstrations in Petrograd culminated in the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II and Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known by the alias Lenin, was ushered by train from Switzerland into Russia 16 April 1917, Lenin demanded an immediate end to the war. The small Balkan game of the Russian Empire ended abruptly.The Macedonian Front remained largely stable throughout the war. In May 1918, Greek forces attacked the Bulgarian forces and defeated them at the Battle of Skra-di-Legen on 30 May 1918.As Greece emerged victorious from World War I, it was rewarded with territorial acquisitions, specifically Western Thrace (Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine) and Eastern Thrace and the Smyrna area. Greek gains were largely undone by the subsequent Greco-Turkish War of 1919 to 1922.The Third Attempt - Cold WarAfter World War II begin Cold War for the West civilization, in fact, it was a Hot War for the communists.Now it is a new era, with an old policy, the Russians' exit to the Mediterranean Sea.Founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labor Party of Greece, it is the oldest active party in the Greek political scene. The party played a significant role in the Greek resistance and peaked in terms of membership figures during the mid-1940s.At the Second Congress of the SEKE in April 1920, the party decided to affiliate with the Comintern, an international communist organization founded in Moscow in 1919.At the Third Extraordinary Congress of the SEKE-K in November 1924, the party was renamed the Communist Party of Greece - KKE.It was finally time for the USSR to go for the dream. The Greek Civil War was fought in Greece from 1946 to 1949 between the United Kingdom and the United States-and the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE) -the military branch of the Greek Communist Party (KKE) backed by Yugoslavia and Albania as well as by Bulgaria. It is considered the first proxy war of the Cold War.The fighting resulted in the defeat of the Communist insurgents by the government forcesThe Fourth Attempt - Former KGB last action in the Greek fieldUSSR is split, the communist economy goes in new hands, hands who are learning the capitalist way. West civilization is united in EU, and EU love the Russian's money to teach them the capitalist way.We are approaching Greece crisis. The Russian healthy oligarchy (from Greek ὀλιγαρχία (oligarkhía), meaning 'to rule or to command'), hungry for adventures, and full of a lot of economical stupid scheme, former KGB jump in the economic life of UK, France, Italy, Spain, ... and Greece. They buy all, no matter what, little business, governmental and bank papers, hot blonde girls, big houses, .... finally, 35% of the Greek economy goes to Russian hands, the day of Russian way to Meditteran See is close.But, the Greek economy is part of EU economy, and Euro is the newest currency of the world, it must go on for many years from now. The UK, the old friend of Greece, open the eyes, there are too many investments in EU economy, the UK begin to investigate and first ask for help from Moscow.The Fifth Attempt - Greece crisisMoscow sens the danger, he wants the Mediterranean beaches of Greece, go to rise the steak to 50% of the Greek economy, EU limits the foreign investor movement inside EU.The Greek crisis started in late 2009, triggered by the turmoil of the Great Recession, structural weaknesses in the Greek economy, and revelations that previous data on government debt levels and deficits had been underreported by the Greek government.In May 2010, the Greek government deficit was again revised and estimated to be 13.6%, the second highest in the world relative to GDP behind Iceland at 15.7% and Great Britainthird at 12.6%. Causes found by others included excess government spending, current account deficits and tax avoidance (similar to Romania in 2018).At this point, Russian KBG experts act over and Greece's large budget deficit was funded by running a large foreign financial surplus. As the inflow of money stopped during the crisis, reducing the foreign financial surplus, Greece was forced to reduce its budget deficit substantially. Countries facing such a sudden reversal in capital flows typically devalue their currencies to resume the inflow of capital; however, Greece was unable to do this, and so has instead suffered significant income (GDP) reduction, another form of devaluation.Russia has relatively little exposure to Greek banks and government debt, but a Greek exit from the eurozone would limit risk appetite worldwide and Russian assets are seen as risky.To keep within the monetary union guidelines, the government of Greece for many years simply misreported economic statistics (Can you see similarities with Romnia in 2018?).Some Russian experts want Greece to give up on its Western partners, join a Russia-led customs union and sign up for the Moscow-dominated Eurasian Economic Union, intended to challenge the economic power of the EU, China and the United States. “It has one option; leave NATO and then, for company, join us,” said Mikhail Delyagin, a prominent economist. “There are no resources (in our budget to provide money),” Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak told Reuters at the time.Russia has its own economic crisis, worsened by the EU and U.S. sanctions over Ukraine and a fall in the global price of oil, its most important export. Bailing out another country might anger voters facing financial problems themselves.In 2014, the government collected 28% less than was owed to it; this shortfall was about double the average for the EU. The uncollected amount that year was about 4.9 billion euros. Russia drag out the money from Greece, estimates indicated that the amount of evaded taxes stored in Swiss banks was around 80 billion euros, but there are no so large Swiss investments in Greece. Starting in 2018, banks in both Greece and Switzerland will exchange information about the bank accounts of citizens of the other country to minimize the possibility of hiding untaxed income.The 5th.1 Attempt - The new KGB, the SVR using financial derivativesIn July 2011, private creditors agreed to a voluntary haircut of 21 percent on their Greek debt, but Euro zone officials considered this write-down to be insufficient. Especially Mr. Schaeuble, the German finance minister, and Mrs. Merkel, the German chancellor, "pushed private creditors to accept a 50 percent loss on their Greek bonds", while Mr. Trichet of the European Central Bank had long opposed a haircut for private investors, "fearing that it could undermine the vulnerable European banking system". When private investors agreed to accept bigger losses, the Troika launched the second bailout worth €130 billion. Not a good policy for former KGB.Finnaly, most notable was a cross currency swap, where billions worth of Greek debts and loans were converted into yen and dollars at a fictitious exchange rate, thus hiding the true extent of Greek loans. Swaps were not registered as debt because Eurostat statistics did not include financial derivatives.Moscow did not bail out Cyprus when it faced a debt crisis in 2013 and a $3-billion loan to Kiev in December 2013, intended as a sweetener to prevent Ukraine joining mainstream Europe, backfired when President Viktor Yanukovich was toppled two months later following street protests.The government agreed to creditor proposals that Greece raise up to €50 billion through the sale or development of state-owned assets, but receipts were much lower than expected, while the policy was strongly opposed by Syriza. In 2014, only €530m was raised. Some key assets were sold to insiders.The 5th.2 the EU counterattack - The SVR loses on their handsA fourth recession started in Q4-2014. The parliament called snap parliamentary elections in December, leading to a Syriza-led government that rejected the existing bailout terms. The Troika suspended all scheduled remaining aid to Greece until the Greek government convinced the Troika to accept a revised programme. This rift caused a liquidity crisis (both for the Greek government and Greek financial system), plummeting stock prices at the Athens Stock Exchange and a renewed loss of access to private financing.In 2015 facing sovereign default, the government made new proposals in the first and second half of June. Both were rejected, raising the prospect of recessionary capital controls to avoid a collapse of the banking sector – and exit from the Eurozone.Initially, European banks had the largest holdings of Greek debt. However, this shifted as the "troika" (ECB, IMF and a European government-sponsored fund) purchased Greek bonds. As of early 2015, the largest individual contributors to the fund were Germany, France and Italy with roughly €130bn total of the €323bn debt.By the middle of 2017, the yield on Greek government bonds began approaching pre-2010 levels, signalling a potential return to economic normalcy for the country.The END - In a long run, the money maker is the winnerIn 2016 and 2017, the government was encouraging the use of credit card or debit cards to pay for goods and services in order to reduce cash only payments. By January 2017, taxpayers were only granted tax-allowances or deductions when payments were made electronically, with a "paper trail" of the transactions. This was expected to reduce the opportunity by vendors to avoid the payment of VAT (sales) tax and income tax.By 28 July 2017, numerous businesses were required by law to install a point of sale device to enable them to accept payment by credit or debit card. Failure to comply with the electronic payment facility can lead to fines of up to 1,500 euros. The requirement applied to around 400,000 firms or individuals in 85 professions. The greater use of cards was one of the factors that had already achieved significant increases in VAT collection in 2016.Epilogue - Simple people carry the battle of oligarchsIn response to the proposed spending cuts and tax increases, a nationwide strike was called for 5 May 2010, An estimated 100,000 people marched through Athens, with some estimates stretching to 500,000.Protesters set fire to a Marfin Bank branch on Stadiou Street with Molotov cocktails; witnesses said that protestors marching past the bank ignored the employees' cries for help, while others chanted anti-capitalist slogans. Most of the bank's employees managed to escape the burning building, but two employees who jumped from the second-story balcony were injured and two women and a man were found dead after the fire was extinguished. It was reported that fire crews had difficulty reaching the scene because of demonstrations moving through the area. The victims died of asphyxiationfrom toxic fumes when they were unable to escape from a roof exit that was blocked. They had gone to work despite the general strike over fears of losing their jobs. They have been identified as Paraskevi Zoulia, 35, Angeliki Papathanasopoulou, 32 (who was four months pregnant), and Epaminondas Tsakalis, 36.On 23 February 2011, there was a recurrence of violent protests and strikes, involving up to 100,000 people as German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a renewal of the loan programme to Greece that had been conditioned on fiscal tightening. The measures adopted by Greece were considered harsh by the protesters. It was a protest organised without political or trade union affiliations.On 28 June 2011, Greek unions, including those whose members dominate the country's health, transportation, education, and government jobs began a 48-hour strike, in protest of the deteriorating economic situation and suggestions on the part of the government of new austerity measures.A total of about 270 people were injured on 28 June alone, and over 500 visited the Syntagma Square metro station infirmary on 29 June. The Ministry of Health reported that 99 people were sent to hospitals on 29 June. The damage caused to Athens' historic city center is estimated to be over 500,000 euro, as shop fronts were vandalised by hooded youth.Finally, it had been proved that there was no cooperation between Greek police and the extreme Right syndicalists, but in fact, it was a group of anarchists that had attacked the Right syndicalists and the police had to intervene to end the clashes.On 12 February 2012, as many as 500,000 protesters gathered in Athens outside the Parliament House to voice opposition to Lucas Papademos' caretaker cabinet's austerity measures which were being debated in Parliament. Police used large amounts of tear gas and flash grenades, while protesters hurled stones and Molotov cocktails. In total 45 buildings were set ablaze and 25 protesters and 40 officers were injured.On 18 October 2012 another demonstration against austerity measures was held. During the demonstration, clashes broke out and a man died of heart attack outside the parliament.Part 2 - Russian’s adventure on North Africa Mediterranean shoreIt’s about Libya, Egypt, Sudan, and more. Place a question to get an answer about this episode of exporting the revolution without evolution.Part 3 - Syrian questionThe scenarists still work over the script Russia to the Mediterranean Sea - Part 3, the actors still make rehearsals, there are discussions over a genocide or a simple error. In the valley of the dead, there is not enough sorrow, a short Iranian atomic strike could make the end obvious and interesting for the next religious, political and military decades in the Middle Orient region.The drama is not yet accomplished, history is not ready for understanding the way to a victorious Russians' military retreat and a fundamental diminish of Islam ideology.Read more ideas “out of box” in Andriescuus LucianThanks