History Yugoslavia is what remains of a much larger country, also called Yugoslavia that broke up into several independent nations in 1991 and 1992. The new Yugoslavia, like the former, lies on the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe. Belgrade is the nation's capital and largest city. The name Yugoslavia means Land of the South Slavs. The name comes from the fact that the first Yugoslav state was formed in 1918 with the goal of uniting three groups of South Slavs: the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. Yugoslavia's mix of people ga ....