Warm attitude of Serbs to Russians

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 except 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 "guard, protect livestock".

In 1985, the researcher Shuster-Shevts suggested that the word "Serbs" is related to the Russian dialectal 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 "scoop", which comes from the same verb "Serbat". The word "sulphur" 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 "singled out, 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 so when separating, separating 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.

Fight for freedom

Serbs were first mentioned by Herodotus and Ptolemy as early as the 2nd century AD, while Serbia as a territorial entity dates back to the 6th century, in the 8th century Serbian proto-state formations already arose. In the XIII century, the Nemanjić dynasty came to power in the Serbian state, at the same time the country was freed from the power of Byzantium.

Serbia reached great heights and developed into a large state, which began to occupy almost the entire south-west of the Balkan Peninsula. The Serbian state reached its greatest dawn during the reign of Stefan Dusan (1331-1355), but after the death of the monarch, the history of Serbia changed dramatically. The Ottoman Empire in the middle of the 14th century was rapidly conquering territories. The Serbian prince Lazar Khrebelyanovich sought to unite the Serbian lands in order to more successfully resist Turkish aggression, but he did not have enough time for this.

In 1382, Murad took the fortress of Tsatelitsa. The Serbs did not have the strength to resist the powerful Osana army, and Lazar made a difficult decision to conclude a truce on onerous terms. Under the terms of the agreement, he undertook to give the Sultan 1000 of his soldiers in case of war.
This state of affairs did not suit either side: the Turks sought to develop expansion, and the Serbs were unhappy with the dubious terms of the truce.

The military aggression of the Turks continued, and in 1386 Murad I took the city of Nis, after which the Serbs announced the beginning of a popular uprising. On June 15, 1389, the powerful army of the Ottoman Empire defeated the army of Serbian princes in the Battle of Kosovo. This led to Serbia's recognition of the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. Serbia was finally conquered by the Turks in 1459.

Since that time, Serbia has been under the rule of the Ottoman Empire for almost 400 years. However, throughout the Ottoman rule in Serbia, the liberation movement did not stop. Every now and then, uprisings broke out, which were supervised by the Patriarchate of Pec, who managed to establish ties with Spain, Hungary and Spain. The greatest success was achieved by the uprisings in the 19th century (the first and second Serbian uprisings). However, it was not until 1878 that Serbia gained its long-awaited independence.

Brothers forever

The Serbs themselves admit that nowhere do they like Russians as 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 building for a monastery courtyard 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 received special development under Peter the Great. 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 the book by Mavro Orbini "The Slavic Kingdom".

In 1723, Peter the Great 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.

Ice Golgotha

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. At the very beginning of the war, the Serbian army was able to withstand several frontal offensives of the Austrian army, and twice cleared its territory from the invaders.

However, in October 1915, Bulgaria stabbed the Serbs in the back. Serbia found itself in a difficult situation. Belgrade fell on October 9, the very next day the Bulgarians joined the Austrians in Nis.

Winter battles with superior enemy forces did not bode well, so in order to avoid capture, the Serbian military decided to retreat the 300,000th army south to the Adriatic Sea. However, in order to get there, the Serbs had to go through the Albanian mountains. Together with the soldiers and ordinary people who were forced to leave their lands so as not to fall under the draft (recruits were sent to the Galician front, where they had to fight the Russians), the elderly Serbian king Petar also went to the mountains.

This retreat of the Serbs went down in history under the name of "icy Golgotha". One in three died. Later, the Serbs began to say: "They ask us why we call children non-Christmas names? Every third boy froze on Ice Golgotha, so since then we have all the names of saints."

Chetniks

The Serbs are characterized by a high degree of people's self-organization, especially on the basis of the national liberation movement. Such a phenomenon in the history of Serbia as "Chetnism" deserves special mention.

Its creation can be attributed to 1903, when the so-called Serbian Committee was created in Belgrade, which, in addition to external activities, was engaged in the creation of armed Chetnitsky formations to further fight the Turkish authorities in the Balkans.

Detachments were convened as needed and took part in both the Balkan and the First World Wars. In the interwar period, after Serbia gained independence, Chetnism "educated" the youth - it was a veteran organization that conducted ideological propaganda, and also supported the invalids of military operations and the families of the dead.

The negative connotation of the term "Chetnik" has its roots in the events of the Second World War. On the territory of Yugoslavia, it developed into an internal armed confrontation. Part of the Yugoslav army, led by Colonel Dragoljub Mikhailovich (a veteran of the Balkan and World War I), refused to recognize the surrender of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Mihailović himself did not rely directly on previous Chetnik organizations, considering himself still an integral part of the Army of the Kingdom, and called the forces under his control the Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland. The people have already called them Chetniks. The nationalist monarchists initially tried to fight the Axis together with the partisans of Joseph Broz-Tito, but after a few months, the alliance between the nationalists and the communists fell apart.

Separate Chetnik groups began to openly cooperate with the occupying authorities against the Red partisans. Mikhailovich to the last maneuvered between the rejection of the communist ideology (despite the respectful attitude towards the armed forces of the Soviet Union), and unwillingness to cooperate with the occupation authorities.

In the end, who was already in the rank of General Mikhailovich, was removed by the émigré government from all commanding posts. Despite this, he continued the armed struggle until March 1946, when his detachment was defeated by the forces of Broz-Tito after the occupation of Yugoslavia by the Red Army. Dragoljub Mihailović was executed on July 15, 1946 after a trial that did not take into account the testimony of American Air Force pilots rescued by the Chetniks (there were about 500 people in total).

Birthplace of the Roman emperors

Serbia is the birthplace of many Roman emperors. The city of Sremska Mitrovica, in ancient times was called Sirmium and was part of the Roman Empire. This city is considered the birthplace of sixteen Roman emperors. Serbia was also the birthplace of Constantine the Great.

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.

Serbia is a real "raspberry country". A third of the world's raspberries are grown here.

To answer this question succinctly, we can note several very similar components between Russia and Serbia. This is a linguistic culture, a common religion (Orthodoxy) and a similar attitude to life, the same intolerance towards enemies among the Serbs, as well as among the inhabitants of Russia. By the way, Russia and Serbia have never fought each other!

Origins of Serbian-Russian friendship

Serbia for the first time felt significant military and diplomatic support from the Russian Empire during the "First Serbian uprising of 1804-1813." Then, thanks to the support of his older brother, it was possible to create the Serbian principality. However, in 1813, Russia was seriously occupied with the war with Napoleon, taking advantage of this, the Ottoman Empire managed to suppress the uprising and restore its control over the Serbian people.

The "second Serbian uprising" that began in 1815 was more successful. Again, the Serbs were helped by diplomatic support organized by the Russian Empire. But it received final independence in 1878 under the terms of the "Berlin Peace"

Serbia received a lot of help from Russia before the First World War. Then Serbian-Russian ties were significantly strengthened.

Why Serbia loves Russia

How can one not love our country for the military and diplomatic services rendered to it by the Russian Empire, the USSR and the Russian Federation.

If we take the Second World War, then, like the USSR, they fought stubbornly against Nazi Germany and its allies. Remember how many divisions of the Wehrmacht, units and formations of European countries fought with partisans in Yugoslavia. By the way, in the Republic of Yugoslavia, the Serbs played the same cementing role as the RFSSR played in the USSR!

Therefore, the Serbian people fell in love with Russia, as a younger sister loves an older big and strong brother! Agree that no one else has provided so many invaluable services to Serbia as Russia. Even during the collapse of Yugoslavia, the Russian Federation was the only country that was unconditionally for peace and prosperity in the Serbian Republic. Although, it should be noted, Russia itself was far from in the best position then. Such help is not forgotten. Serbs remember the march through the snow-covered passes of Russian paratroopers. They remember how Primakov turned the plane on its way to!

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 the 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 train 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 “no one loves us Russians anywhere”. "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 - a gusliar in Serbia!) 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 company 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 throw them in the dungeons or exile 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 column 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”.

Third Dialogue with Metropolitan Amphilochius of Montenegro and Primorsk: “One Church – One Soul” (Cetinje, Montenegro)

The will (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 will go 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 them, in a 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 fondly remember my dear professors: my father Pavel, a 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 Parfyonov, 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.

“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, basketball, volleyball 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 is affecting 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 courses. 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!