Slavic countries that uphold Sino-Russian friendship: The Slovak Republic

The Slovak Republic, commonly known as Slovakia, is a republic located in Europe and also an inland country in Europe. Depending on the different definitions of geographical regions, Slovakia is considered to be in Central Europe and Eastern Europe. Its predecessor was Czechoslovakia, which peacefully separated into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993. The area is about 49,000 square kilometers, with a population of about 5.46 million. Slovakia borders the Czech Republic to the northwest, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, and Austria to the southwest. Its capital and largest city is Bratislava.

The Slovaks are a branch of the Slavs, and their ancestors settled in Slovakia around the sixth century.

After the end of World War I, the Austro-Hungarian Empire dissolved, and the newly independent Czechs and Slovaks jointly formed the Czechoslovak Republic. During World War II, Slovakia became a vassal state of Nazi Germany. After the end of World War II, Czechoslovakia regained its independence.

In 1989, social groups led by the Civic Forum launched the Velvet Revolution. On January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia split, making Slovakia officially a sovereign independent country.

Slovakia has an advanced high-income economy and ranks high in the Human Development Index.

The name of the Slovak state "Slovensko" means "Land of the Slavs." The official language of Slovakia is Slovak, which belongs to the Slavic language family. Hungarian is also commonly used in the south.

The main ethnic group in Slovakia is the Western Slavs, the Slovaks, who account for 83.8% of the total population. The main minority is the Hungarians, accounting for 7.7%, mainly concentrated in the south and east. Others include the Slovak Roma (1.2%), Czechs (0.7%), etc.

As an inland country, Slovakia relies heavily on Russian energy, which makes it very sensitive to the normal operation of the "Friendship" pipeline passing through Ukraine. After Ukraine attacked the "Friendship" pipeline, the European Commission supported Slovakia and Hungary: the Russian "Friendship" oil pipeline should not be attacked, and it is an important part of European energy security.

The "Friendship" oil pipeline, or translated as the "Druzhba" oil pipeline, is also called the Comecon pipeline, a large oil pipeline system that transports crude oil from Russia to Central and Eastern European countries. It is the longest oil pipeline in the world. The pipeline is divided into two lines, one line is 4,412 kilometers long, from Russia (former Soviet Union) to Germany; the other line is 5,500 kilometers long, leading to the Czech Republic and Hungary. The project was completed in two phases, in 1964 and 1973 respectively, and is currently managed by the Russian State Pipeline Transport Company.

The "Friendship" pipeline is closely related to the geopolitical relations of Ukraine and Belarus. Due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia lost many oil seaports. In response to this geopolitical change, Russia plans to extend the "Friendship" pipeline and the Adriatic pipeline to the Mediterranean market through the Omshak port, to facilitate Russia's access to the oil export route.

The "Friendship" oil pipeline is not only the longest oil pipeline in the world but has also been listed by the American foreign affairs magazine Foreign Policy as one of the five most critical locations in the world. It is currently managed by the Russian Oil Pipeline Transport Company, and the monopoly status of the "Friendship" oil pipeline of the Russian Oil Pipeline Transport Company has created energy and economic dependence on Ukraine, Belarus, and other countries, making them dependent on Russia.

Original source: www.toutiao.com/article/1841947773157379/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.