Today, with pain in our hearts, many of us recall the events of a decade ago: on March 24, 1999, the barbaric American aggression against Serbia began. For more than two months, the Merciful Angel hovered over the territory of Yugoslavia, dropping bombs and rockets on cities and villages. Before my eyes are footage of a report from Belgrade on Good Friday: war, bombing, and the Serbs go to kiss the shroud. Then there was Easter, and again bombs flew from "Christian" America to Christian Serbia with the inscriptions " happy easter!».
In the autumn of 2001, between the master classes of the seminar on Byzantine art in Novy Sad, we walked around this university town and often heard such comments: “and these bridges, they were bombed by the Americans”, “children died there, but why was it necessary to kill children ?”…. From Novi Sad I went to Belgrade. As if in a dream, I was climbing from the station to the city center along a broken street, similar to shots from Soviet films about the Great Patriotic War, only everything was in reality. In the same 2001, at a conference on the Middle Ages in Budapest, I could not resist and asked a venerable American professor - “Well, how could you bomb Serbia with bombs with the wishes of “Happy Easter ?!” In response, he laughed, I think from embarrassment: "that's amazing, I have not heard anything about it."
Or maybe, it's true, someone else has not heard that several thousand civilians were killed, more than 6,000 were injured during the 77 days of NATO aggression; about 60 churches and monasteries, 66 bridges, 16 railway stations, 7 airfields were destroyed, several thousand household and residential facilities were destroyed and damaged (for an overview of the civilian consequences of NATO aggression and destruction on the territory of Yugoslavia from 03/24/1999 to 06/08/1999, see http:// www.kosovo.ws/archive/destrlist.htm). However, many will write about the statistics of NATO aggression in these days and weeks. And I would like to talk about something else, namely Serbia's love for Russia, a phenomenon that has no analogues in the history of interethnic relations.
If any of you have already been to Serbia, you will be inspired to talk about the fact that "we, Russians, are nowhere and no one likes us like that." "There are three hundred million of us and the Rus" - the Serbs smile and add,- “and without Rus, half a camion” (i.e., “and without Russians, half a truck”). I remember my first meeting with such an attitude towards us, Russians. In the autumn of 2001, I was to study several Greek manuscripts at the Belgrade National Library. On the day of my arrival in Belgrade, I left my things in the university dormitory and went to visit the family of a Serbian professor. She returned late, the keys to the room were locked at the concierge, who had gone home to spend the night. Outskirts of an unfamiliar city, darkness, cold, no friends (there are professors' phones, but don't call them at such a late hour!). Confused, I wandered down the street. "Hey, what are you thinking about?" I looked up. The girl looked at me smiling. I had to explain in a mixture of Russian, Serbian and English. “Now we can’t go home, because we have a meeting of the harp club, but we will try to finish early today, you are tired.” Long after midnight we got home, to a modest and warm dwelling on the other side of Belgrade. And after three whole days, Mila Kotlaya (by the way, the only girl in Serbia, a gusliar!) took me by the hand around the city - to the library, and to drink coffee ... and all because I was a guest from Russia.
So, Serbia and Russia. Three dialogues about love from radio programs recorded at different times in different places.
The first dialogue with the Slavist, chairman of the Serbian-Russian friendship, member of the Union of Writers of Russia Ilya Mikhailovich Chislov: “We have no greater friends than the Serbs” (Moscow, Russia)
- Ilya Mikhailovich, how can you explain such an incredible, undeserved love of the Serbs for Russia? There doesn't seem to be a logical explanation?
- If we talk about the love of Serbia and Serbs for Russia, then in no other Slavic Orthodox country we will meet such a warm, dear attitude, despite the distances. Actually, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus are a single whole, so we are not talking about parts of a single indivisible Russia. But if we take the fraternal Slavic peoples, then we have no greater friends and brothers than the Orthodox Serbs. And so it has been throughout Serbian history.
The connection between Serbia and Russia begins with St. Sava. The greatest saint of the fraternal Serbian land took monastic vows on Athos in the Russian monastery of St. Panteleimon. Later, two South Slavic influences on Russia were significant, then Russia's support for the Serbian brothers and their joint struggle on the battlefield. In all the wars that Russia waged, the Serbs were its allies. If we take recent history, then not as a contrast and not in order to reproach our other Orthodox brothers - the Bulgarians for something, but for the sake of information, we note that Bulgaria in two world wars found itself in a hostile camp (although, of course, against the Russians the Bulgarians would never have fought, so the Germans did not send them to the Eastern Front either in the First or in the Second World War). Orthodox Romanians fought against us; they were not a cruel enemy, but as a fact they fought. But the Serbs have always been with us, and even during the Russo-Japanese War: Japan was distant from the Serbian borders, but one of the then Serbian states, Montenegro, declared war on Japan. During the Second World War, the Serbs raised an uprising in Herzegovina, and then in other Serbian regions, barely learning about Hitler's attack on the Soviet Union, which they always considered Russia. In their naivety, they thought that the end of the German occupation would also come on the Balkans, because in 3-4 days Russian tanks would appear here. Note that when Hitler attacked Russia on June 22, 1941, all of Serbia rose up to fight the invaders. This is the meaning of the Russian factor in the Serbian mind!
Christ in heaven, Russia on earth
The Serbs have always considered themselves a shield of Russia, including in this last war in 1999. Remember the inscriptions on Serbian houses during the bombing of Belgrade - "Russians, do not be afraid, Serbia is with you!" Here, of course, there was also an element of challenge, what in the Serbian tradition is called "prkos", of the same root with the Russian word "in defiance". The Serbs have always gone "against" the modern world of illusions. It is to them that the words of Christ refer: "Do not be afraid, little flock." Serbs have always been a small herd and defended the true faith, but at the same time, as one Serbian writer said: “We Serbs have always believed in two Gods - in Christ in heaven and Orthodox Russia on earth.”
This quivering, reverent attitude of Serbia towards Russia has existed at all times, even when the Russian authorities turned out to be, to put it mildly, not her best friends.
Even traitors!
– Often talk about betrayal. Perhaps this is true, although it is always necessary to distinguish between politicians and society, the state and the people. During the time of Stalin and Tito, political relations with Yugoslavia (which St. Nicholas (Velimirovich) called the greatest Serbian collective delusion) were very bad, but the Serbs always remembered Russia, even when we forgot about the Serbs, and for us there was only Yugoslavia and the Yugoslavs. And the Serbs even called the Soviet Union Russia. It was then, during the time of Tito, that tens of thousands of Serbs suffered for their loyalty to Russia. Tito called them Stalinists. Indeed, there was a certain percentage of communists among them. The majority were Orthodox Serbs, who never belonged to the Communist Party, and were not for Stalin, but for Russia. Tito, in order to compromise them, indiscriminately wrote everyone down as Stalinists. And they suffered on Goly Island (an analogue of our Gulag, a terrible concentration camp on one of the islands of the Adriatic Sea), where thousands of people died under the scorching sun from overwork and bullying of jailers. Then a campaign was launched in Yugoslavia to combat Greater Serbian hegemonism, and any Serb could become its victim. This was especially evident in Kosovo. Interestingly, for several centuries of the Turkish yoke, the Orthodox Serbian population was still not squeezed out of Kosovo, despite the Turkish and Arnaut terror, and made up the majority back in the 20th century. But over several decades of domination in Yugoslavia by the Titoite atheistic and anti-Slavic regime, the ratio has changed radically. It was then that the foundations of the current Kosovo tragedy were laid. Tito and Mosha Piyade managed to do what even the Turkish rapists could not do.
Russia - the footstool of the Lord's throne
And every time, everywhere and always, the Serbs remembered Russia. The eyes of the Kosovo Serbs were fixed on Russia, and we often did not see or understand this. I have to recall with shame such an episode from my student youth, when we visited Kosovo back in Soviet times. This was already after the death of Tito, but the system has not yet changed much. In Prizren, in the mosque, we saw a man who was trying to say something to the Russians, and he was scourged in every possible way by representatives of the local authorities. Only later, years later, I learned that this mosque was built from gigantic blocks of the destroyed monastery of the Holy Archangels, the great zaduzhby Dushan the Strong, king of the Serbs and Greeks. And this is exactly what the Serb wanted to say to the people from Russia, who at that time did not single out Serbs among other Yugoslavs. And they always remembered Russia, even when the Titov regime for one mention of Russia could have thrown them into the dungeons or exiled them to Naked Island. Here is such a reverent, reverent attitude, I repeat once again.
According to the Serbian writer: "Russia is the foot of the throne of the Lord", she was for them a living earthly embodiment of the heavenly ideal. This is the attitude of the Serbs towards Russia, especially since they have never been dependent on us, have never been part of a single socialist system, have not asked to be part of the Soviet Union. Although, on the other hand, in modern times, when Russia itself was going through and is going through hard times, and many, primarily Eastern European countries (not peoples, but their governments), turned away from it, the Serbs were ready to join allied states together with Russia and Belarus, if one arises. So nothing has changed in Serbia with the change of power. The current democratic Serbia, just like the Serbia of Milosevic, just like Serbia under the rule of the atheistic regime of Tito and Moshi Piyade, looks at its elder Orthodox sister Russia with the blue eyes of Nemanich.
Second dialogue with TV journalist Radmila Voinovich: “Russians shine like angels all over the world” (Novi Sad, Serbia)
For the first time, we met Radmila Voinovich in the Praskvica monastery in Montenegro. Once, on a hot day, my companions and I went into a cool Byzantine temple and asked a Serb woman who was there to tell us about it. She began her story, but quickly switched to the topic of Russia. We met again in Novi Sad, where Radmila leads an Orthodox section on TV Novi Sad, writes journalistic essays.
– You often write about heavenly Russia…
– Russians shine all over the world like angels. Now someone will say: well, what does she say at all? how does she see it, what we do not see? And this is exactly what I see in Russia. All Orthodox Serbs are spiritual citizens of Holy Russia. We all have a spiritual passport of Russia as a spiritual mission for the salvation of mankind. This is how we understand Russia. We call Russia “mother” because she is our spiritual mother (I say what the people think). Now liberal "values" are corrupting people. After all, we know that it is always easier for a person to go down to sin than to strive for the Lord, to ascend along the spiritual path to the Kingdom of Heaven. Russia gives heavenly values to all nations, therefore it is valuable and important for us that Russian people, monks come to us.
Come, spiritually help our long-suffering and sinful people! There are many priests in Russia who educate the people for the Kingdom of Heaven. The Lord gives different obediences in life, but not to forget about God is the most important obedience. Russia is a teacher for the whole world in this sense. People here see in Russia a desire for cleanliness, which is why they love it so much. We are an outpost of Russia, Russian patriots. This is how our ancestors taught us: if a person is Orthodox, serves God, is ready to give his life for Him, he is “Russian”.
Dialogue Three with Metropolitan Amphilochius of Montenegro and Primorsk: “One Church – One Soul” (Cetinje, Montenegro)
The testament (1830) of St. Peter of Tsetinsky says: “Cursed be the one who attempts to turn you away from the loyalty of pious and Christ-loving Russia, and any of you, Montenegrins, who goes against Russia of the same tribe and of the same faith to us.” This is the basis of our unity - common faith!
– You know, Vladyka, probably, every Russian person who comes to Serbia and Montenegro feels they are in some sense a continuation of Russia, because he feels at home here...
– This is the spirit of the Church of God, which we breathe in Serbia, and in Montenegro, and in Russia. The closer we are to this spirit of the Church, the closer we are to each other. The Church awakens love and transforms us, becoming the main cause of good relationships. On the other hand, there are historical ties, genuine, deep, coming from Saints Cyril and Methodius - this special Slavic element that brings us together.
– Vladyka, as a seminarian in Belgrade, did you study with Russian emigrant professors, did you meet with priests and parishioners of the Russian Church of the Holy Trinity? What memories do you have of them?
– I remember with love my dear professors: my father Pavel, the deacon, although we sometimes argued, I felt that he loved me. When I had difficulties (I had already graduated from the faculty), I understood who to turn to for advice. I wrote him a letter. And he answered me right away. Straightaway! Understood my situation. Father Vikenty taught us the history of the Church. So he just lived it: he talked about the First Ecumenical Council, as if he himself was a participant in it! And in Switzerland, I again communicated with the Russians: I remember Father Peter Parfenov, a tsarist officer, Bishop Anthony (Bartoshevich) and his brother Leonty, they studied with us, in Serbia, and then were bishops of the Church Abroad. Vladyka Anthony, when he saw me, always joked, recalling the words of Metropolitan Joseph from Transcarpathia, said between the two wars: “We are fools Serbs, and you are crazy Russians.” Then in Rome I met Alexander Solzhenitsyn, he was expelled from the country at that time, and gave him a cross from Athos with the words: “Athos cross to Alexander the crusader.” Then he told me that this cross had a special power. Our spiritual father Archimandrite Justin (Popovich) confessed to Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky), then to Father Vitaly Tarasyev in the Russian Church of the Holy Trinity. Father Vitaly was the most beloved priest in Belgrade among both Russians and Serbs.
– Vladyka, in your opinion, what are the sources of such strong love between Serbia and Russia?
– One Church, one soul. And suffering only helps us, the Slavs, to get closer, to understand each other. The Church of God, like a furnace, scorching with the fire of God, regenerates and heals souls. And God grant that the pan-Orthodox spirit expands and strengthens.
Photos by A.M. Lidov, L. Gacheva, A. Nikiforova.
Why do Serbs love Russians? The reason for such a rare phenomenon in our days should be sought in the centuries-old history of Russian-Serbian relations, which at its various stages resembled a kind of pendulum. In the most difficult moments, the fraternal peoples, who have many common points of contact in matters of history, religion and culture, have always come to each other's aid.
Serbs have always considered Russia a country that will never leave them in difficult times. “Russia is inside each of us”, “Russians and Serbs are brothers forever”, “Together with the Russians there are three hundred million of us, and without them – half a truck”: these are just a small part of the aphorisms that most clearly demonstrate the attitude of the Serbian people towards the Russians.
From the history of the formation of Serbia
The first mention of the state of the Serbs dates back to the VI century. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the territory of the future Serbia went to Byzantium.
The year 879 was marked by the adoption of Orthodoxy. After 90 years, Serbia gained independence from Byzantium.
The end of the 12th century was the time of the creation on the Serbian lands of the feudal state of Nemanjichi, which was part of the vast Serbo-Greek kingdom, which disintegrated shortly after the death of Tsar Stefan Dusan, who headed it.
In June 1389, a tragic battle for the people of Serbia took place on the Kosovo field, during which a large Turkish army (three times the enemy’s forces) defeated the Serbian militia.
1459 - the time of the enslavement of Serbia and its annexation to the Ottoman Empire. The history of the Turkish yoke has 350 years.
The year 1816, marked by two Serbian uprisings, ended with the formation of the independent Principality of Serbia, with Belgrade as its capital.
In 1878, Serbia achieves full independence as a result of the conclusion of the Berlin Peace Agreement, and after 4 years it acquires the status of a kingdom. The 19th-20th centuries are the reign of two dynasties (Obrenovic and Karageorgievich).
The Balkan wars of 1912-13 ended with the annexation of the lands of Kosovo and Macedonia.
World War I in 1914 claimed the lives of a third of the country's population. After its completion, Serbia became the center of the united kingdom of the three Balkan peoples: Croats, Serbs and Slovenes. For convenience, the state began to be called the "Kingdom of the CXC", and after 9 years it was renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
The main stages of the Russian-Serbian brotherhood
Russian-Serbian relations have a long history. Here is just a small list of historical facts.
Countries on Guard for the Cultural and Religious Values of Christianity
During the period of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, the rulers of Serbia provided patronage to the Russian monastery New Russik (Panteleymonov Monastery), located on Mount Athos.
Serbian religious educators Pakhomiy Logofet and Grigory Tsamblak had a great influence on the formation of the genre of Russian chronicles, edited the most important liturgical books and administered church sacraments. This was of great importance for the formation of the Russian Orthodox Church, which embarked on the path of following the Byzantine canons.
The collapse of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century marked the beginning of rivalry between the Ottoman and Russian empires, which declared themselves its successors. The Ottoman Empire claimed the territorial heritage of the fallen Byzantium, the Russian considered itself its cultural successor.
For two and a half centuries, Russia and Turkey defended their rights during numerous Russian-Turkish wars. During these wars, Russian troops defended the interests of the Orthodox peoples enslaved by the Turks: Serbs, Greeks, Bulgarians, Albanians, Armenians, Macedonians, Georgians, Moldovans. The political mission of Moscow was to protect the Christian world from the infidels and to protect the interests of the Orthodox holy church.
The Serbian clergy and representatives of the nobility are welcome guests at the court of the Moscow tsars (Ivan III, Vasily III, Ivan IV). The year 1556 can be considered the time when the first diplomatic mission of the Serbs was founded on Moscow soil, since it was in this year that Ivan the Terrible presented the pilgrims of the Hilandar Monastery with apartments for their courtyard in the very center of Moscow.
The monastic courtyard at the same time carried out the mission of the Serbian diplomatic mission in ancient Russia. It was there that funds, books, church utensils were collected, intended for shipment to the Balkan Slavs.
The political course towards patronage of the oppressed Balkan peoples remained unchanged in Russia, regardless of which representatives of the ruling dynasty were in power.
Boris Godunov was the initiator of the mass resettlement of Serbian refugees to Russia (the process that had begun, however, was not completed due to the Time of Troubles).
Mikhail Romanov provided regular financial support to the Kosovo Patriarchate, and his son Alexei Mikhailovich hosted the Brankovich brothers, leaders of the Serbian diaspora stationed in Hungary, promising them financial assistance in founding the Christian principality of Illyria.
Fraternal peoples in the struggle for sovereignty and independence
The most faithful helpers of the Russians during the Russian-Turkish wars were precisely the southern Slavs: their partisan detachments actively participated in hostilities against the Turkish troops.
In 1815, during the second Serbian uprising, Serbia achieved independence, becoming an independent (even if vassalized) country. This happened largely due to Russian pressure on the power of the Ottoman Empire.
During the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-78, with the support of Russian weapons, Serbia becomes an independent state.
The First World War clearly showed how important the interests of Serbia were to Russia. It is for her sake that Nicholas II begins hostilities, and a year later encourages the Allied troops to prevent the final defeat of the Serbian army, which was forced to cross the Albanian border during the retreat.
England and France did this only under the threat of breaking the alliance with the Entente and concluding a separate peace between Russia and Germany.
During the Second World War, the uprising of the Serbs that broke out in the fascist rear forced the German command to transfer part of the troops to suppress it, which contributed to the weakening of the onslaught on Moscow. Half a million destroyed fascist soldiers are accounted for by Serbian soldiers.
In the autumn of 1944, the soldiers of the Red Army and the Serbian rebels together liberated the north-east of Yugoslavia and its capital. After the war, the Communist Party came to power in Yugoslavia, which immediately set a course for rapprochement with the Soviet Union.
The Russians provided support to the Serbs during the 1992-95 civil war that broke out in Bosnia.
Historical facts clearly show the closest fraternal bond between peoples.
Relations between states today
In modern Serbia, one might say, there is a cult of Russians (although some people like to speculate about why Russians smile so little). Russian tourists find the most cordial welcome here, and any Russian person in Serbia arouses genuine interest. During the conversation, the Serbs bombard the Russians with a mass of questions about the way of life in Russia, invite them to their homes and consider it their duty to treat them like their dearest guests.
Having made friends with a Serb, a Russian person finds a reliable friend for life. Serbian-Russian friendship societies are organized in every large settlement of modern Serbia. The Russian language is studied in Serbia, and the books of Russian writers are being actively translated into Serbian.
Opinion polls show that Russia is the country with the highest interest among Serbs, and the popularity of its President Putin is several times higher than that of local political leaders.
The history of Serbia is the history of the struggle for freedom and independence. During its history, Belgrade was conquered by 40 armies and rebuilt 38 times. The Serbs have never hoped for anyone but Russia. No wonder they say that Russians and Serbs are brothers forever.
Why Serbs?
There is still no unequivocal opinion on the origin of the ethnonym "Serbs", but there are many versions. Slavist Pavel Shafarik raised the word "Serbs" to the Proto-Slavic forms *srb and * srb, which, in turn, came from the Indo-European word with the meaning "sow, give birth, produce."
Max Vasmer interpreted the word "Serbs" as "belonging to the same genus, the same tribe." A similar meaning was also supported by philologists Ilyinsky and Kovalev. In their opinion, "Serb" is "a person, a member of a tribal union."
Also interesting, but unproven, is the version of the Slavist Moshchinsky, who connected the origin of the word “Serb” with the Indo-European root *ser-v-, which means “to guard, protect livestock”.
In 1985, the researcher Shuster-Shevts suggested that the word "Serbs" is related to the Russian dialect verb "Serbat" (slurp). This version is interesting, because in all Slavic languages there are words with the root stem "s-r", the meaning of which is "to separate, highlight, squeeze out."
This root stem is a metathesis of the Indo-European *res>*ser, which means "cut, cut, separate". In the Old Slavic language, the predominant meaning of the root stem *ser became “separate, highlight, squeeze out”. This meaning is preserved, for example, in the Russian glavgol "to scoop", which comes from the same verb "Serbat". The word "sulfur" is of the same origin. This is nothing more than the resinous secretions of a tree.
Thus, we can say that the word "Serbs" most likely means "separated, separated on some basis." If we take into account that the Wends were considered the ancestors of the Slavs in European historiography, then, most likely, the Serbs were named that way during the separation, separation from the Wends.
There is also a version that those who dislike Serbs adhere to. Harvatian nationalists, following Ante Starcevic, believe that the ethnonym "Serbs" comes from the Latin word servus - slave. In this version, it is believed that the Croats are the heirs of the Germans, who switched to the Slavic language in order to better cope with the Serbian slaves. As they say, comments are superfluous.
Brothers forever
The Serbs themselves admit that nowhere do they like Russians so much as in Serbia. The history of relations between our peoples has deep roots and begins at least from the time of the baptism of Russia. Until now, it is Orthodoxy that is one of the "spiritual bonds" connecting Russians and Serbs.
During the Mongol-Tatar yoke, the Serbs supported the monastery of St. Panteleimon on Mount Athos, since the time of Ivan III, Serbian monasteries have been actively supported. In 1550, Ivan the Terrible, after communicating with the Serbian hierarchs, sent a letter to the Turkish Sultan Suleiman II, urging him to honor the shrines of Hilandar and other Serbian monasteries.
Six years later, the Russian tsar even gave the monks of the Hilandar Monastery a room for a monastery compound in the center of Moscow, which immediately became a Serbian diplomatic center, where funds were collected for sending to Serbia. During the years of Boris Godunov's rule, Serbian migrants were already receiving serious support from Russia.
Russian-Serbian relations were especially developed under Peter I. During the reign of the emperor, Serbs were accepted into the Russian army, close ties were established in the cultural environment. Separately, it must be said about Savva Vladislavlich-Raguzinsky, a Russian diplomat of Serbian origin. It was he who signed the Treaty of Kyakhta, served as the Russian ambassador to Constantinople and Rome, and also translated Mavro Orbini's book The Slavic Kingdom.
In 1723, Peter I allowed Ivan Albanez, a Montenegrin by birth, to create a settlement near the city of Sumy, where more than a hundred Serbian families moved. Two Serbian territorial formations that existed in the Russian Empire originated from here - Slavic Serbia and New Serbia.
In the First World War (which actually began in Serbia), Nicholas II sided with the fraternal state. Unable to help the Serbian army with Russian troops, the Russian emperor organized the delivery of ammunition, military equipment and provisions to Serbia. Several sanitary detachments were also sent to Serbia.
In Serbia, olivier is called Russian salad, sweet kvass is called Russian kvass, and for some reason, black sweet bread, which can be with marmalade, is called Russian.
It is believed that in a foreign country, you will always be an immigrant and you will always be treated as an immigrant, a visitor. This is especially often mentioned in relation to Europe. At the same time, of course, there are the so-called “countries of immigrants”, the process of moving to which is long and laborious, but if you succeed, you feel at home. Well, for example, Canada ... 
As for the Russians, in the dashing 90s, our compatriots worked hard to create a reputation for themselves as savages drinking to death, seizing on money, every second woman of whom is a prostitute. Now they are ashamed of themselves: they choose places of rest “where there are almost no Russians”, and when they hear Russian speech, they rush headlong in the opposite direction, just not to collide with their compatriots. And there are cases when they even prefer to be mistaken for some European, if only not for a Russian ... Today I want to tell you about how Russians are treated here in Serbia.
The fact that you are Russian is more respected here than in your homeland. Here, as nowhere else, they love Russians and Russia. Moreover, this attitude also extends to our first persons. In one of the previous posts, I already published photos of posters that were hung all over Belgrade on the eve of the arrival of our then prime minister.
A few words about what the image on the poster means. In Serbian, it sounds like this: “Putin je Srbin” (“Putin is a Serb”). I think it is not necessary to explain for a long time what this means - here he is respected, loved, and sometimes considered more a Serb than some local politicians (read - making better decisions regarding Serbia). Also, some time ago, I came across stenciled graffiti on the walls of houses in the form of a portrait of our prime minister with the caption “Putin is watching you.” Interesting? Still would!
So, Russia for the Serbs is power and strength. For example, I do not know a single Serb who did not want to attend the Moscow Victory Day parade. The scale of our country and its power truly delight the Serbs. You should have seen the faces of my Serb acquaintances when I talked about the fact that my friend served in the army and the time difference between his place of residence and Moscow was (!) 2 time zones.
Here you can often hear: “Majka Rusija” (“Mother Russia”), “Brotherly Rusija” (“fraternal Russia”). Once, on the wall of one of the houses, I even came across the inscription "Russians and Serbs are brothers." And here is one of the interesting Serbian sayings about the Russian-Serbian brotherhood: “We and Rus are three hundred million, and without Rus, half a camion” (translated into Russian, of course, the rhyme is lost, but the meaning remains - “We and Russians are 300 million, and without Russian half-truck). Impressive? Not that word!
Now imagine that I encounter such a special attitude towards Russians here almost every day. When we go somewhere to visit, I get such a crazy dose of listening that I can then, without a twinge of conscience, spend several days at home alone with myself to recover :)) So I can safely say that any Russian in this country will be comfortable and calm , here you will feel at home and be more than ever proud that you are from Russia.
And finally. Such an attitude towards Russians is, of course, incredibly flattering, and sometimes even embarrassing. But for some reason, the feeling that we did not deserve this does not leave me .. We are not as good as they like to think here ... Although who knows ...
Serbs greet Russia and Vladimir Putin at the Marakani stadium in Belgrade
“Russians and Serbs are brothers forever!” - almost any Serb will confirm this to you. Yes, and we rarely question this assertion. We love the Serbs both because they are Orthodox, and because we helped them get rid of the Ottoman yoke at the end of the 19th century, and for the sporting successes of many football players, basketball players, volleyball players and tennis players from the Balkans (by the way, often not Serbs at all). - but that doesn't matter anymore.) In general, the truth is brothers forever.
Many of us, in the old fashioned way, call everyone “Yugoslavs” one size fits all: the Soviet past affects here, when the Yugoslavs came to study and work in the USSR and no one made much difference: what difference does it make, a Croat, a Serb, a Slovene ... In principle, here, in Russia , and in any country in the world there is still really no difference. So, at the Frankfurt airport, a German woman with a completely non-German surname Ruzic admitted to us that her husband is a Croat, not a Serb, as we thought. But in Germany, she says, it doesn't matter. Unlike the Balkans themselves, where both religion and nationality still mean a lot!
Serbs love art, in all its manifestations Let's get to know each other better. What are they, our brothers, the Serbs?
The first thing that strikes any Russian who comes to Serbia is Serbian hospitality. Any guest, even in an official institution, will immediately be offered to drink water, coffee, juice. You should not refuse, even out of politeness: it is pleasant for the owners to treat guests, there is no need to offend them.
Serbs love to treat guests Serbs always shake hands when they meet. And both men and women. In Russia, this is not very common - our women usually just say hello. In the same place, a female person also always needs to lend a hand. By the way, according to personal feelings, this is very conducive to further communication, somehow blurs the boundaries.
Just a Serb Serbs drink more coffee than tea. And they actually drink a lot of coffee - as much as we drink tea. But for some reason, it does not cause any discomfort there: from the fifth mug in a day, it is very rare when a head hurts. And one more thing: if you came to visit for lunch, do not be surprised that you will be offered coffee before the main dishes. Then eat. Then drink coffee again. This is normal, quite in the spirit of the place.
Serbs do not skimp on the manifestation of feelings Serbs eat hearty, heavy meals. Serbian cuisine has a lot of meat dishes and pastries. A young Serb's favorite thing to do after a night of disco is to eat something at one of the local 24-hour bakeries that are on almost every corner here. But at the same time, there are very few full people on the streets. Such is the magical Balkan genotype. Or maybe the point is that the Serbs are a very athletic nation. What is one Belgrade Marathon worth, which is attended by at least half of the city!
In general, it often seems that the Serbs make some kind of cult out of food. Not eating at a party means offending the host. Therefore, be patient, do not jump on numerous snacks at once - there is still the main dish ahead of you, and probably more than one, and dessert - often a home-made cake.
A road sign near the maternity hospital: "Children are born. We ask for silence." Serbs love to talk about politics. There are a lot of jokes about the fact that the best Serbian political scientists are taxi drivers. Moreover, discussions about politics go, as they say, "from Adam to Potsdam." But everything comes, as a rule, to one thing: now everything is very bad, but “biћe more” (Serbian: “it will be better”). In general, the Serbs are quite politically active. There are a lot of graffiti on the walls like “Kosovo je Srbija”, many leaflets are hung for or against something.
Serbs like to spend time in cafes and discos. At the same time, the economic situation in the country is really not the best - but everyone has enough money to “hang out”. Most likely, because the prices in Serbia are quite low.
Collection of signatures on Knez Mikhailova street Serbs are proud to be Serbs. And its history. And their famous ancestors and contemporaries - starting with St. Sava, the founder of the autocephalous Orthodox Serbian Church and the Serbian king Stefan Dusan, under whom Serbia reached its peak in the Middle Ages, and ending with the great inventor Nikola Tesla and the famous tennis player Novak Djokovic .. Many Serbs leave to live and work abroad - but everyone misses their homeland, is nostalgic, considers everything Serbian to be the best, observe national and religious traditions - and it doesn’t matter where they currently live - whether in Russia, Australia or Canada
Serbs also have an amazing love of children. One can only wonder how Serbs love both their own and other people's children. And not only women, but also, first of all, men! A completely ordinary situation in Serbia, when two-meter strong fathers are busy with their crumbs of children. Causes endless tenderness, by the way.
dad and child This is how they are, our Serb brothers: open, impulsive, militant, sincere, preserving traditions and culture. Perhaps they will seem to you somehow different, which is completely normal - each person develops his own ideas about a particular nation. To us, people who have visited the Balkans, and in Serbia in particular, the Serbs seem to be exactly like that several dozen times. We hope that you will not be disappointed either in Serbs or in Serbia, because this is one of the very few countries in the world where guests from Russia are always sincerely and truly welcome!
