evidence: The Balkan Peninsula, which is where Yugoslavia was located, weathered many wars throughout history and became known as the ‘Balkan powder keg’. Yugoslavia was trapped between the East and the West following the creation of the Yalta system after World War II. Both the United States and the Soviet Union intended to widen their influence in the region during the Cold War. [...] The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (" Bosnia and Herzegovina ") was one of Yugoslavia’s six republics. Located between Croatia and Serbia, it covers an area of around 51,000 square kilometres and its capital is Sarajevo. Historically, Bosnia and Herzegovina was ruled by the Roman Empire, Serbia, Croatia, Ottoman Turkey, and Austria-Hungary. In 1918, Bosnia and Herzegovina was incorporated into the "Kingdom of Yugoslavia" and in 1945 into the "Socialist Federation of Yugoslavia". Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats were the most powerful ethnic groups, due in part to the region’s proximity to the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Croatia.