#First Serbian Uprising

[ilcontephotography]

The abandoned Petrova Gora Monument, or Monument to the Uprising of the People of Kordun and Banija, by Vojin Bakić and Berislav Šerbetić (1981). It is dedicated to 300 Serbian peasants killed in a desperate attack to the collaborationist Ustaše Militia in 1942.

It stands slowly collapsing among forests and hills and the dystopian effect is increased by the silence surrounding it, just broken by the low buzz of the repeaters put on the top.

Few years after my visit this place was used to shoot some scenes of the first season of the Netflix series "Tribes of Europa" (the second season was cancelled). It triggering many reactions about the use of memorial sites like this for post-apocalyptic fictional products. Anyway, they cleaned up the interior from the tags visibile in my photos before leaving the site.

Petrova Gora National Park, Croatia.

© Roberto Conte (2017)

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[gorskivijenac]

Žena u srpskom, Katarina Ivanović. Gallery of Matica Srpska in Novi Sad.

Anka, the younger sister of Princess Persida Karađorđević, born on September 27, 1820 in Hotin, to father Jevrem J. Nenadović, duke from the First Serbian Uprising and mother Jovanka Joka, daughter of duke Mladen Milovanović. In 1831 they settled in Valjevo, where Jevrem was soon appointed as the district chief.

Anka married Milosav Topalović, a merchant from Kragujevac, the son of Petar Topalović, a participant in the Second Uprising. They had three children; Petar, Leposava and Savka. At the time when Katarina Ivanović painted the portrait, Anka was 17 years old, she probably got married that same year. Anka died together with her newborn daughter Savka in 1843 at the age of 23, after a difficult childbirth.

[roehenstart]

Miloš I Obrenović, Prince of Serbia. By Józef Brandt.

He was the Prince of Serbia twice, from 1815 to 1839, and from 1858 to 1860. He was an eminent figure of the First Serbian uprising, the leader of the Second Serbian uprising, and the founder of the house of Obrenović. Under his rule, Serbia became an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire.

[dakaneeee]

Alr you know what Im gonna ask for. You mentioned her in the srpska post so, Herze hcs?

Herze Head cannons time

Again 2 points:

1. Yes i do know when Tix made her she was probably referring to Herceg Bosna, and not Hercegovina as a whole. I am breaking that rule cause I am biased

2. Once again, I am from Hercegovina myself, and since Hercegovina has no important figure i can’t make the same Milorad Dodik joke in the last post

ANYWAY

1. Design wise nothing too interesting, I do imagine she has a lot of Sunspots tho

2. Also thick ass arms. Idk every woman from Herzegovina is always jacked

3. 166 cm for Herzegovina with Tijana Bošković existing is a spit to the face, she should be 180 cm at least

4. Thick brown hair, possibly wavy, though we barely see her hair down

5. Her “pre-conversion” name was Danica

6. She never converted actually, she remained Christian the entire Ottoman period

7. She read the bible to Ilija every night

8. Probably cut most of her hair off and pretended to be a male poturica (a serbian convert), where she went by the name Idriz

9. She wore mostly Turk-like clothing, probably stolen from a few Poturica-s she’s killed

10. Though she still wore the Herzegovinian hat, so it sent subliminal messaging of who she really was so Ilija and Montenegro didn’t have a hard time recognizing her in disguise

11. Once the Ottomans figured out her gimmick they degradingly called her Idriza, which is where her current name originates from

12. Was forcefully married to Enis afterwards

13. She refused to take his last name, the only reason people think she took it is from superficial assumption

14. I don’t imagine her being related to Croatia, she was nicknamed “Serbian Sparta” after all

15. However I di imagine Herzegovina going to Croatia for help, only for him to take off the Herzegovinian hat off of her. Symbolically representing Croats trying to strip away Herzegovinians of their culture as they came to Dalmatia for help.

16. He also tried to convert her, didn’t work at first but it took a toll on her

17. Best Bonding time with Ilija was the Herzegovinian uprising

18. She will feel the same way later in 1993 when the serbs and croats collaborated against the Muslims one more time

19. Sadly, they probably drifted apart as he grew up and became his own thing

20. Also a tarp carrier, once again easy weapon holding but it’s her holding onto her past

21. Had a meaningful connection with Zeta (Montenegro) at the time of the serbian empire, which is where their strong historical bond started

22. “Hladno krvna” as in cold blooded in serbian. Could actually be about her being very cold, but also about her getting physically cold easily

23. Ambiguously calls herself “Christian” and doesn’t specify if she’s Catholic or Orthodox

24. Celebrates Orthodox Christmas with Srpska, Monte and Serbia every time lmfao

25. Serbian new years with Srpska only though

26. I imagine the house of BiH (as in Bosnia, Herzegovina and Srpska) is somewhere outside of Sarajevo, though she probably has a smaller house in Gacko or Trebinje where she goes to so she can feel reconnected to her rural identity

27. Very specifically she has a house with a chimney, weird preference but ok

28. She kept a relationship with Montenegro for the most time during the Ottoman period, the two kind of depending on each other most of the time.

29. Turkish coffee 4 times a day, she isn’t addicted to caffeine she’s just a mom from the area

30. Goran Bregović fan, probably cause she’s also half Croatian and half Serbian

31. Despite not liking the cold, she’d rather be in a freezing river than a warm sea

32. Probably won the cross on Bogojavljenje at least once

33. Also has a very obnoxious Herzegovinian accent, except she throws in Croatian words and it sounds even worse than whatever alien language Ilija is speaking

34. Knows the whole Gorski Vijenac book by memory

35. She told Enis their marriage reminds her of the Hasanaginica story and he crossed his arms and looked at her disapprovingly for the rest of the evening

36. She has a Red Brojanica, the silver cross on the red rope is kind of a nudge to Zahumlje / Duchy of st. Sava in the past

Anyways Herze doodle to get the idea

[petar1989]

Дан државности Србије / Statehood Day (Serbia)

Statehood Day (Serbian Cyrillic: Дан државности, romanized: Dan državnosti), also known as the Sretenje (Serbian Cyrillic: Сретење), is a holiday celebrated every 15 February in Serbia to commemorate the outbreak of the First Serbian Uprising in 1804, which evolved into the Serbian Revolution against Ottoman rule. On the same day in 1835, the first modern Serbian constitution was known as the "Sretenje Constitution" or "Candlemas Constitution".

Statehood Day is a public national holiday, and official celebrations last for two days, every 15 February.

[odleprsala]

My hero is Karadjordje. He was a Serbian revolutionary who led the struggle for his country's independence from the Ottoman Empire during the First Serbian Uprising. He is also the founder of the Karadjordjevic dynasty.

Just by looking at pictures of him, you clearly can see a tall, handsome man. With his luscious mustaches and sad eyes, it is more than obvious why he was so popular with Serbian people.

Famous and renowned for his commanding skills, he was feared by almost all of the Turkish soldiers. The way he behaved both on the battlefield and in private demanded obedience and loyalty. He was able to give hope to an average Serbian villager to stand up against a way more powerful army.

The main reason why Karadjordje is my hero is that he laid the foundation of free Serbia, therefore, making it possible for me to be born in a free country. It is because of people like him that I can be loud and proud about my heritage.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 11.19 (before 1970)

461 – Libius Severus is declared emperor of the Western Roman Empire. The real power is in the hands of the magister militum Ricimer. 636 – The Rashidun Caliphate defeats the Sasanian Empire at the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah in Iraq. 1493 – Christopher Columbus goes ashore on an island called Borinquen he first saw the day before. He names it San Juan Bautista (later renamed again Puerto Rico). 1794 – The United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain sign Jay's Treaty, which attempts to resolve some of the lingering problems left over from the American Revolutionary War. 1802 – The Garinagu arrive at British Honduras (present-day Belize). 1808 – Finnish War: The Convention of Olkijoki in Raahe ends hostilities in Finland. 1816 – Warsaw University is established. 1847 – The second Canadian railway line, the Montreal and Lachine Railroad, is opened. 1863 – American Civil War: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address at the dedication ceremony for the military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. 1881 – A meteorite lands near the village of Grossliebenthal, southwest of Odesa, Ukraine. 1885 – Serbo-Bulgarian War: Bulgarian victory in the Battle of Slivnitsa solidifies the unification between the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia. 1911 – The Doom Bar in Cornwall claims two ships, Island Maid and Angele, the latter killing the entire crew except the captain. 1912 – First Balkan War: The Serbian Army captures Bitola, ending the five-century-long Ottoman rule of Macedonia. 1916 – Samuel Goldwyn and Edgar Selwyn establish Goldwyn Pictures. 1941 – World War II: Battle between HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran. The two ships sink each other off the coast of Western Australia, with the loss of 645 Australians and about 77 German seamen. 1942 – World War II: Battle of Stalingrad: Soviet Union forces under General Georgy Zhukov launch the Operation Uranus counterattacks at Stalingrad, turning the tide of the battle in the USSR's favor. 1942 – Mutesa II is crowned the 35th and last Kabaka (king) of Buganda, prior to the restoration of the kingdom in 1993. 1943 – Holocaust: Nazis liquidate Janowska concentration camp in Lemberg (Lviv), western Ukraine, murdering at least 6,000 Jews after a failed uprising and mass escape attempt. 1944 – World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt announces the sixth War Loan Drive, aimed at selling US$14 billion in war bonds to help pay for the war effort. 1944 – World War II: Thirty members of the Luxembourgish resistance defend the town of Vianden against a larger Waffen-SS attack in the Battle of Vianden. 1946 – Afghanistan, Iceland and Sweden join the United Nations. 1950 – US General Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes Supreme Commander of NATO-Europe. 1952 – Greek Field Marshal Alexander Papagos becomes the 152nd Prime Minister of Greece. 1954 – Télé Monte Carlo, Europe's oldest private television channel, is launched by Prince Rainier III. 1955 – National Review publishes its first issue. 1967 – The establishment of TVB, the first wireless commercial television station in Hong Kong. 1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 12 astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean land at Oceanus Procellarum (the "Ocean of Storms") and become the third and fourth humans to walk on the Moon. 1969 – Association football player Pelé scores his 1,000th goal.

[straubindeutschland]

Skull Tower - Niš, Serbia

Dec 26, 203

Skull Tower is a stone structure embedded with human skulls. It was constructed by the Ottoman Empire following the Battle of Čegar of May 1809, during the First Serbian Uprising. During the battle, Serbian rebels under the command of Stevan Sinđelić were surrounded by the Ottomans on Čegar Hill, near Niš. Knowing that he and his fighters would be impaled if captured, Sinđelić detonated a powder magazine within the rebel entrenchment, killing himself, his subordinates and the encroaching Ottoman soldiers. The governor of the Rumelia Eyalet, Hurshid Pasha, ordered that a tower be made from the skulls of the fallen rebels. The tower is 4.5 metres (15 ft) high, and originally contained 952 skulls embedded on four sides in 14 rows.

Thank you Wikipedia for the copy/paste.

Close up.

The skull of the leader.

The teeth fascinated me for some reason.

We had a beautiful sunset on the remainder of our drive through Serbia. We then crossed the border into Bulgaria (took 1.5 hrs!). Barclay and I gave each other a high five and let out a sigh of relief. We had made the full Balkans loop!

[rosefest]

The struggle which turned into a National Revolution

The end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century were marked by a decline in the political and economical life in the Ottoman Empire. The successive wars with Russia from 1786 to 1829 led to providing the Tsar’s right of patronizing the Balkan Christians. Despite the aggressive intentions of Russia to lay its hands on the Straits – the Bosporus and the Dardanelles – and gain access to the Aegean Sea, the wars played a positive role for the development of the Bulgarian and the other Balkan national liberation movements. Now the Eastern Question was already regarded in two aspects: the struggle of the peoples enslaved by Turkey for political emancipation and the rivalry among the Great powers for partition of the territorial inheritance coming from the declining Ottoman Empire.

During the first half of the 19th century some Bulgarian refugees left their homeland to form communities in Wallachia, Bessarabia and Southern Russia, and took part in the Russian-Turkish wars. Bulgarian volunteers fought actively in the two successive Serbian uprisings initiated in 1804. Bulgar-ians participated also in the Greek national revolution of 1821-1829. In the 50’s, during the Crimean war, the young Bulgarian revolutionary George Rakovski (1821-1867) – considered as the founder of the organized national liberation movement Holidays Bulgaria – set up a Secret Society in Constantinople whose task was to urge the Bulgarian people to rise in an armed struggle in the course of the military action.

Serbian government

With permission from the Serbian government and with the help of Italian secret societies Rakovski organized the training of a regiment in Belgrade known as the First Bulgarian Legion. Among its soldiers was Vasil Levski (1837-1873) – the future great revolutionary. In 1862 this Legion took part in a clash with the Turks but after a turn in the political relations between Serbia and the Supreme Porte was disbanded. Bitterly disappointed. Rakovski came to believe that liberation should be gained by employing Bulgaria’s own national forces. Later, after the utter defeat of the biggest detachment led by Hadji Dimitar and Stefan Karadja which crossed the Danube to fight the Turks in the summer of 1868, was closed the last page of the detachment tactics’ period of the national liberation movement. The unsuccessful Second Bulgarian Legion formed in the same year proved that too. A new stage in the struggle commenced: an Internal Revolutionary Organization was set up in 1869 under the leadership of the newly established Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee. Ahead of this committee stood Liuben Karavelov (1837— 1879), Levski and Hristo Botev (1848-1876).

[travelsback]

The struggle which turned into a National Revolution

The end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century were marked by a decline in the political and economical life in the Ottoman Empire. The successive wars with Russia from 1786 to 1829 led to providing the Tsar’s right of patronizing the Balkan Christians. Despite the aggressive intentions of Russia to lay its hands on the Straits – the Bosporus and the Dardanelles – and gain access to the Aegean Sea, the wars played a positive role for the development of the Bulgarian and the other Balkan national liberation movements. Now the Eastern Question was already regarded in two aspects: the struggle of the peoples enslaved by Turkey for political emancipation and the rivalry among the Great powers for partition of the territorial inheritance coming from the declining Ottoman Empire.

During the first half of the 19th century some Bulgarian refugees left their homeland to form communities in Wallachia, Bessarabia and Southern Russia, and took part in the Russian-Turkish wars. Bulgarian volunteers fought actively in the two successive Serbian uprisings initiated in 1804. Bulgar-ians participated also in the Greek national revolution of 1821-1829. In the 50’s, during the Crimean war, the young Bulgarian revolutionary George Rakovski (1821-1867) – considered as the founder of the organized national liberation movement Holidays Bulgaria – set up a Secret Society in Constantinople whose task was to urge the Bulgarian people to rise in an armed struggle in the course of the military action.

Serbian government

With permission from the Serbian government and with the help of Italian secret societies Rakovski organized the training of a regiment in Belgrade known as the First Bulgarian Legion. Among its soldiers was Vasil Levski (1837-1873) – the future great revolutionary. In 1862 this Legion took part in a clash with the Turks but after a turn in the political relations between Serbia and the Supreme Porte was disbanded. Bitterly disappointed. Rakovski came to believe that liberation should be gained by employing Bulgaria’s own national forces. Later, after the utter defeat of the biggest detachment led by Hadji Dimitar and Stefan Karadja which crossed the Danube to fight the Turks in the summer of 1868, was closed the last page of the detachment tactics’ period of the national liberation movement. The unsuccessful Second Bulgarian Legion formed in the same year proved that too. A new stage in the struggle commenced: an Internal Revolutionary Organization was set up in 1869 under the leadership of the newly established Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee. Ahead of this committee stood Liuben Karavelov (1837— 1879), Levski and Hristo Botev (1848-1876).

[travelmgznbg]

The struggle which turned into a National Revolution

The end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century were marked by a decline in the political and economical life in the Ottoman Empire. The successive wars with Russia from 1786 to 1829 led to providing the Tsar’s right of patronizing the Balkan Christians. Despite the aggressive intentions of Russia to lay its hands on the Straits – the Bosporus and the Dardanelles – and gain access to the Aegean Sea, the wars played a positive role for the development of the Bulgarian and the other Balkan national liberation movements. Now the Eastern Question was already regarded in two aspects: the struggle of the peoples enslaved by Turkey for political emancipation and the rivalry among the Great powers for partition of the territorial inheritance coming from the declining Ottoman Empire.

During the first half of the 19th century some Bulgarian refugees left their homeland to form communities in Wallachia, Bessarabia and Southern Russia, and took part in the Russian-Turkish wars. Bulgarian volunteers fought actively in the two successive Serbian uprisings initiated in 1804. Bulgar-ians participated also in the Greek national revolution of 1821-1829. In the 50’s, during the Crimean war, the young Bulgarian revolutionary George Rakovski (1821-1867) – considered as the founder of the organized national liberation movement Holidays Bulgaria – set up a Secret Society in Constantinople whose task was to urge the Bulgarian people to rise in an armed struggle in the course of the military action.

Serbian government

With permission from the Serbian government and with the help of Italian secret societies Rakovski organized the training of a regiment in Belgrade known as the First Bulgarian Legion. Among its soldiers was Vasil Levski (1837-1873) – the future great revolutionary. In 1862 this Legion took part in a clash with the Turks but after a turn in the political relations between Serbia and the Supreme Porte was disbanded. Bitterly disappointed. Rakovski came to believe that liberation should be gained by employing Bulgaria’s own national forces. Later, after the utter defeat of the biggest detachment led by Hadji Dimitar and Stefan Karadja which crossed the Danube to fight the Turks in the summer of 1868, was closed the last page of the detachment tactics’ period of the national liberation movement. The unsuccessful Second Bulgarian Legion formed in the same year proved that too. A new stage in the struggle commenced: an Internal Revolutionary Organization was set up in 1869 under the leadership of the newly established Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee. Ahead of this committee stood Liuben Karavelov (1837— 1879), Levski and Hristo Botev (1848-1876).

[hotelwedding]

The struggle which turned into a National Revolution

The end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century were marked by a decline in the political and economical life in the Ottoman Empire. The successive wars with Russia from 1786 to 1829 led to providing the Tsar’s right of patronizing the Balkan Christians. Despite the aggressive intentions of Russia to lay its hands on the Straits – the Bosporus and the Dardanelles – and gain access to the Aegean Sea, the wars played a positive role for the development of the Bulgarian and the other Balkan national liberation movements. Now the Eastern Question was already regarded in two aspects: the struggle of the peoples enslaved by Turkey for political emancipation and the rivalry among the Great powers for partition of the territorial inheritance coming from the declining Ottoman Empire.

During the first half of the 19th century some Bulgarian refugees left their homeland to form communities in Wallachia, Bessarabia and Southern Russia, and took part in the Russian-Turkish wars. Bulgarian volunteers fought actively in the two successive Serbian uprisings initiated in 1804. Bulgar-ians participated also in the Greek national revolution of 1821-1829. In the 50’s, during the Crimean war, the young Bulgarian revolutionary George Rakovski (1821-1867) – considered as the founder of the organized national liberation movement Holidays Bulgaria – set up a Secret Society in Constantinople whose task was to urge the Bulgarian people to rise in an armed struggle in the course of the military action.

Serbian government

With permission from the Serbian government and with the help of Italian secret societies Rakovski organized the training of a regiment in Belgrade known as the First Bulgarian Legion. Among its soldiers was Vasil Levski (1837-1873) – the future great revolutionary. In 1862 this Legion took part in a clash with the Turks but after a turn in the political relations between Serbia and the Supreme Porte was disbanded. Bitterly disappointed. Rakovski came to believe that liberation should be gained by employing Bulgaria’s own national forces. Later, after the utter defeat of the biggest detachment led by Hadji Dimitar and Stefan Karadja which crossed the Danube to fight the Turks in the summer of 1868, was closed the last page of the detachment tactics’ period of the national liberation movement. The unsuccessful Second Bulgarian Legion formed in the same year proved that too. A new stage in the struggle commenced: an Internal Revolutionary Organization was set up in 1869 under the leadership of the newly established Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee. Ahead of this committee stood Liuben Karavelov (1837— 1879), Levski and Hristo Botev (1848-1876).

[travelagentr]

The struggle which turned into a National Revolution

The end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century were marked by a decline in the political and economical life in the Ottoman Empire. The successive wars with Russia from 1786 to 1829 led to providing the Tsar’s right of patronizing the Balkan Christians. Despite the aggressive intentions of Russia to lay its hands on the Straits – the Bosporus and the Dardanelles – and gain access to the Aegean Sea, the wars played a positive role for the development of the Bulgarian and the other Balkan national liberation movements. Now the Eastern Question was already regarded in two aspects: the struggle of the peoples enslaved by Turkey for political emancipation and the rivalry among the Great powers for partition of the territorial inheritance coming from the declining Ottoman Empire.

During the first half of the 19th century some Bulgarian refugees left their homeland to form communities in Wallachia, Bessarabia and Southern Russia, and took part in the Russian-Turkish wars. Bulgarian volunteers fought actively in the two successive Serbian uprisings initiated in 1804. Bulgar-ians participated also in the Greek national revolution of 1821-1829. In the 50’s, during the Crimean war, the young Bulgarian revolutionary George Rakovski (1821-1867) – considered as the founder of the organized national liberation movement Holidays Bulgaria – set up a Secret Society in Constantinople whose task was to urge the Bulgarian people to rise in an armed struggle in the course of the military action.

Serbian government

With permission from the Serbian government and with the help of Italian secret societies Rakovski organized the training of a regiment in Belgrade known as the First Bulgarian Legion. Among its soldiers was Vasil Levski (1837-1873) – the future great revolutionary. In 1862 this Legion took part in a clash with the Turks but after a turn in the political relations between Serbia and the Supreme Porte was disbanded. Bitterly disappointed. Rakovski came to believe that liberation should be gained by employing Bulgaria’s own national forces. Later, after the utter defeat of the biggest detachment led by Hadji Dimitar and Stefan Karadja which crossed the Danube to fight the Turks in the summer of 1868, was closed the last page of the detachment tactics’ period of the national liberation movement. The unsuccessful Second Bulgarian Legion formed in the same year proved that too. A new stage in the struggle commenced: an Internal Revolutionary Organization was set up in 1869 under the leadership of the newly established Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee. Ahead of this committee stood Liuben Karavelov (1837— 1879), Levski and Hristo Botev (1848-1876).

[mariacallous]

The Vucic government has an arsenal of dirty tricks up its sleeve to make sure elections don’t produce any ‘surprises’ – but the capital could still deliver an upset.

The image of Serbia before early parliamentary elections scheduled for December 17 recalls all election years since 2012, when Aleksandar Vucic and the Serbian Progressive Party took power.

Vucic has called the elections when it suited him, the deadlines for the campaign and verification of electoral lists are short, the media is under the control of the government, and lies and fear feel like stale air.

Although everything has been seen before, there are differences compared to the previous elections in April 2022, however.

The popularity of the ruling Progressive Party, which won as many as 120 out of 250 parliamentary seats, is in decline. The opposition got stronger by entering parliament, and it could be said that it became more mature and responsible.

Thanks to live TV broadcasts, members of the opposition have been able to enter the homes of ordinary citizens and attack the regime's corrupt and criminal activities. In this way, Radomir Lazovic, Marinika Tepic, Miroslav Aleksic, Aleksandar Cuta Jovanovic, Srdjan Milivojevic and others became recognizable among voters.

The descending trend of the Serbian Progressive Party is partly down to the unreasonable and harmful attitude taken towards the Serbs in Kosovo, who have been turned into hostages of Belgrade. Also, two tragic events, two mass murders, shook Serbia in May. The first happened in a Belgrade elementary school when a pupil killed eight of his classmates and a guard and injured a teacher and six other children. The second happened only a day later, near Mladenovac, where the killer killed eight people and wounded 14 in two villages.

Both massacres go on the conscience of the regime, which has created an atmosphere of fear, hatred and conflict in society. Citizens in Belgrade and other places took to the streets under the slogan “Serbia against violence”. The protests, held with varying intensity, lasted until the announcement of elections.

Although the authorities ignored them, they shook them up. At one point, on May 26, Vucic tried to pull off an old trick in response – he organised a counter-rally. They brought people from all over Serbia, handed out sandwiches, paid daily wages, but the response was below expectations. Devastating.

The opposition that was with the people at the protests will go to the elections under the same name – “Serbia against violence”. The coalition comprises the Party of Freedom and Justice, SSP, Together, the Democratic Party, DS, the People’s Movement of Serbia, the Green-Left Front, Serbia Center, SRCE, Movement of Free Citizens, PSG, Romanian Party, Ecological Uprising, Movement for Reversal, the Sloga union and the New Face of Serbia movement.

Other opposition parties, mainly from the “patriotic” bloc, will come out in several columns. So far, two coalitions have been registered. One formed by Zavetnici (Oathkeepers) and Dveri (doors), who put Kosovo at the forefront of their campaign, and the other in which are the New Democratic Party of Serbia, NDSS, and the Movement for the Restoration of the Kingdom of Serbia, POKS. Interestingly, these four right-wing parties failed to come together, perhaps because some of them do not find the idea of post-election cooperation with Vucic disgusting.

Three opposition parties, for now, are not in the election race: the Social Democratic Party of former President of Serbia, Boris Tadic; the People’s Party of former minister Vuk Jeremic and “Enough is Enough” (Dosta je bilo) of former Vucic associate Sasa Radulovic. Each of them can hardly cross the electoral threshold of 3 per cent on their own. Their individual performance will only help waste some of the opposition’s votes, just as the 2.86 per cent of the votes from Tadic’s list went to waste in the previous Belgrade elections, which enabled the Progressive Party to remain in power in the city.

In addition to parliamentary elections, on the same day, leaders of 65 municipalities and cities whose leaders have submitted their resignations by directive from the Serbian Progressive Party will also be elected.

Vucic’s power is most threatened in Belgrade, so the question is whether the opposition can win in the capital.

Analysts and public opinion researchers believe it can. Djordje Vukadinovic, editor of New Serbian Political Thought, estimates, based on research from October, that the chances for success are real. According to his assessment, the ruling coalition of the Progressive Party and Socialist Party of Serbia, SPS, could get less than 40 per cent of the votes in the capital.

Belgrade has become less and less suitable for living for some time. Many streets are neglected or dug up, traffic jams are a daily occurrence, public transport does not function well, there are few new trams, trolleys or buses. Air pollution on winter days is often the highest in the world. In the ten years of Vucic’s rule, all these problems have increased and everything is visible to the naked eye; no expert analysis is needed for that.

Many Belgraders’ expectations have been let down due to broken promises. Vucic repeatedly promised citizens living on the left bank of the Danube a sewerage system. Years passed and the settlements of Borca, Ovca, Kotez and Krnjaca, home to more than 100,000 people, still have problems with septic tanks and human waste. The Progressive Party cannot count on their votes as safe now.

Most of what the Progressives have done in ten years in the capital can be summed up in two words – Belgrade Waterfront. They invested everything in this project, relocated railway traffic, demolished buildings, even at night, donated hundreds of hectares of state land in the heart of the city to private investors and equipped it with utilities. The citizens have received no benefit from the project. The money from thousands of built apartments goes elsewhere, and many voters feel that.

The “headquarters” did not ask the authorities in Serbia’s second city, Nis, to resign – for two reasons. The first is that the Progressive Party has little chance to win in this city, and the second is that a number of voters from Nis have been registered on the electoral rolls of other places where power is “shaking”.

Moving voters that way is an established practice of the Progressives that changes the electoral will of domiciled citizens. During the previous elections in Belgrade, there were many cases of “phantom voters” who were never seen by anyone at a specific address, yet even election materials were delivered to them.

One Stamenko Jovicic confirmed to TV N1 in 2022 that there were five such persons in his building. The well-known rock critic Predrag Peca Popovic stated that before every election, mail for a non-existent Marija Djordjevic arrives at his address.

There are indications that “phantom” voters from the interior of the country and from Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity Republika Srpska can be expected to come to Belgrade to change the soul of the capital. This was pointed out by MP Djordje Miketic in whose building a certain phantom voter called “Mrs Radica” is registered.

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic denied Miketic’s claim. But this well-established election set-up also contains a criminal act, because phantoms vote with fake ID cards, and those cannot be obtained without logistics in the police. That is why no one ever was held accountable for it.

While Vucic’s defeat in the capital can be expected, the real question is whether the opposition will be able to take power, even in case of victory.

At the previous elections, in 2022, the opposition in total won thousands more votes than the Progressive Party. But the elections were repeated in many places, the vote count was dragged out, and in the end the Progressive-Socialist coalition had 56 out of 110 council seats. That narrow majority was then strengthened to 57:53 by a “switcher” from the opposition Movement for the Restoration of the Kingdom of Serbia.

The opposition gathered around the “Serbia against violence” coalition is Vucic’s main rival in Belgrade. But, while Vucic has a sure post-election ally in Dacic’s Socialist Party, “Serbia against violence” has no reliable partners. There are those who, like the leader of New Democratic Party of Serbia, Milos Jovanovic, exclude the possibility of cooperation with the Progressive Party, but it is discouraging that the Dveri leader, Bosko Obradovic, avoids speaking out on the subject in public. No doubt, in the event of a close result, enough “switchers” from the “patriotic” opposition will come to the aid of the authorities.

It is a pity that “Serbia against violence” and the Dveri-Zavetnici coalition will not come together in Belgrade. It would be a winning combination. Both have two excellent candidates for mayor. Both are university professors: Vlada Obradovic, from the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, and Ratko Ristic, from the Faculty of Forestry. Both are both people of integrity and experts. Obradovic was also a member of parliament, while Ristic stood out in the fight for environmental protection. There is also no doubt that each will “steal” votes from the other.

“Serbia against violence” has enormous support from non-party-oriented figures who gathered around the ProGlas initiative like the former president of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Vladimir Kostic, the former rector of the University of Belgrade Ivanka Popovic, the actors Svetlana Bojkovic and Dragan Bjelogrlic, judge Miodrag Majic, director Srdan Golubovic and others.

They did not explicitly support the “Serbia against violence” coalition, but their public appearances and calls to citizens to go to the polls have put wind in the sails of the coalition. More than 100,000 citizens signed the ProGlas initiative in a few days.

Vucic’s biggest opponent in these elections will not be on the opposition list. That invisible enemy is inflation, declining living standards and the difficult life of most citizens. No type of propaganda can erase that. Last year, inflation was 15-16 per cent, among the highest in Europe, and food prices, on which the most money is spent, rose by over 30 per cent. Inflation is higher even than in war-torn Ukraine. Many Serbian products are cheaper in neighboring countries than they are in Serbia.

What life looks like for many can be seen in the case of Belgrade pensioner R. F. who says that once he pays the bills for his apartment and phone, he has 5,000 dinars left.  That’s about 42 euros for the month. It’s not enough to live on for five days, which is why he has to work as a taxi driver, even though he is chronically ill.

The government knows this very well, which is why it has promised a one-time payment of 20,000 dinars to each pensioner and 10,000 to each social benefit recipient. The payments will come right before the elections – a typical example of buying votes with state money.

In order to create more optimism among people, the ruling clique announces that by 2027, the average monthly salary in Serbia will be 1,400 euros and the average pension, 650. We just have to survive until then. That is why Finance Minister Sinisa Mali joyfully announced that inflation in October fell to 8.5 per cent, ��much faster than expected”. Whoever does not trust his own pocket should trust the minister.

The authorities are doing everything not to leave voters to chance and vote according to their own will. There is a well-known matrix at work; if the opposition wins, Serbia will collapse. Vucic himself has said that if the Progressive Party loses, he will no longer be President, and will step down: “After that, I can’t do anything for the citizens of Serbia. To pretend so would be nice for me, and bad for the people – I won’t do that.”

At least half of the citizens who vote against the Serbian Progressive Party would be happy with such an outcome, but it probably turns the confused and undecided in the direction of the authorities.

In order to turn voters away from the opposition, the government does not shy away from the dirtiest tricks. So recently, Belgrade was plastered with posters with the image of Pavle Grbovic, leader of Movement of Free Citizens, in the uniform of the Ustasha – the Croatian fascist organisation during World War II. This young man has nothing to do with Nazism or the crimes of World War II, but for the Progressives this is no problem. Recent former minister Aleksandar Martinovic claims the opposition is preparing to take to the streets after the elections, to cause chaos, and perhaps “civil war”. The Prime Minister repeats her claims about causing chaos.

In other words, vote for the Progressive Party if you want to keep the peace. Yet the only side that has hooligans, thugs, armed groups and all state power is the authorities. Only they can cause conflicts if they are dissatisfied with the election results. In case of defeat, according to the Professor Miodrag Jovanovic, a member of the Republic Electoral Commission, they have already formed five judicial panels that will deal only with election complaints.

To all this we should add “safe” votes, that is the votes of blackmailed employees in the state administration and public companies. Many are employed for a certain period only, and in order to keep their jobs they have to secure “a certain numbers of votes”. Also, there is still time to submit electoral lists, and there is no doubt that the authorities will support anyone else who can snatch votes from “Serbia against violence”. Neither money nor staff will be spared for this.

So, it would be a miracle if the opposition wins anywhere in these conditions. But Belgrade remains as a hope.

[banskotravels]

The struggle which turned into a National Revolution

The end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century were marked by a decline in the political and economical life in the Ottoman Empire. The successive wars with Russia from 1786 to 1829 led to providing the Tsar’s right of patronizing the Balkan Christians. Despite the aggressive intentions of Russia to lay its hands on the Straits – the Bosporus and the Dardanelles – and gain access to the Aegean Sea, the wars played a positive role for the development of the Bulgarian and the other Balkan national liberation movements. Now the Eastern Question was already regarded in two aspects: the struggle of the peoples enslaved by Turkey for political emancipation and the rivalry among the Great powers for partition of the territorial inheritance coming from the declining Ottoman Empire.

During the first half of the 19th century some Bulgarian refugees left their homeland to form communities in Wallachia, Bessarabia and Southern Russia, and took part in the Russian-Turkish wars. Bulgarian volunteers fought actively in the two successive Serbian uprisings initiated in 1804. Bulgar-ians participated also in the Greek national revolution of 1821-1829. In the 50’s, during the Crimean war, the young Bulgarian revolutionary George Rakovski (1821-1867) – considered as the founder of the organized national liberation movement Holidays Bulgaria – set up a Secret Society in Constantinople whose task was to urge the Bulgarian people to rise in an armed struggle in the course of the military action.

Serbian government

With permission from the Serbian government and with the help of Italian secret societies Rakovski organized the training of a regiment in Belgrade known as the First Bulgarian Legion. Among its soldiers was Vasil Levski (1837-1873) – the future great revolutionary. In 1862 this Legion took part in a clash with the Turks but after a turn in the political relations between Serbia and the Supreme Porte was disbanded. Bitterly disappointed. Rakovski came to believe that liberation should be gained by employing Bulgaria’s own national forces. Later, after the utter defeat of the biggest detachment led by Hadji Dimitar and Stefan Karadja which crossed the Danube to fight the Turks in the summer of 1868, was closed the last page of the detachment tactics’ period of the national liberation movement. The unsuccessful Second Bulgarian Legion formed in the same year proved that too. A new stage in the struggle commenced: an Internal Revolutionary Organization was set up in 1869 under the leadership of the newly established Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee. Ahead of this committee stood Liuben Karavelov (1837— 1879), Levski and Hristo Botev (1848-1876).

[triptraveltour]

The struggle which turned into a National Revolution

The end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century were marked by a decline in the political and economical life in the Ottoman Empire. The successive wars with Russia from 1786 to 1829 led to providing the Tsar’s right of patronizing the Balkan Christians. Despite the aggressive intentions of Russia to lay its hands on the Straits – the Bosporus and the Dardanelles – and gain access to the Aegean Sea, the wars played a positive role for the development of the Bulgarian and the other Balkan national liberation movements. Now the Eastern Question was already regarded in two aspects: the struggle of the peoples enslaved by Turkey for political emancipation and the rivalry among the Great powers for partition of the territorial inheritance coming from the declining Ottoman Empire.

During the first half of the 19th century some Bulgarian refugees left their homeland to form communities in Wallachia, Bessarabia and Southern Russia, and took part in the Russian-Turkish wars. Bulgarian volunteers fought actively in the two successive Serbian uprisings initiated in 1804. Bulgar-ians participated also in the Greek national revolution of 1821-1829. In the 50’s, during the Crimean war, the young Bulgarian revolutionary George Rakovski (1821-1867) – considered as the founder of the organized national liberation movement Holidays Bulgaria – set up a Secret Society in Constantinople whose task was to urge the Bulgarian people to rise in an armed struggle in the course of the military action.

Serbian government

With permission from the Serbian government and with the help of Italian secret societies Rakovski organized the training of a regiment in Belgrade known as the First Bulgarian Legion. Among its soldiers was Vasil Levski (1837-1873) – the future great revolutionary. In 1862 this Legion took part in a clash with the Turks but after a turn in the political relations between Serbia and the Supreme Porte was disbanded. Bitterly disappointed. Rakovski came to believe that liberation should be gained by employing Bulgaria’s own national forces. Later, after the utter defeat of the biggest detachment led by Hadji Dimitar and Stefan Karadja which crossed the Danube to fight the Turks in the summer of 1868, was closed the last page of the detachment tactics’ period of the national liberation movement. The unsuccessful Second Bulgarian Legion formed in the same year proved that too. A new stage in the struggle commenced: an Internal Revolutionary Organization was set up in 1869 under the leadership of the newly established Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee. Ahead of this committee stood Liuben Karavelov (1837— 1879), Levski and Hristo Botev (1848-1876).