Country in a Box:

Republic of Serbia
Republika Srbija

Cathedral of Saint Sava in Belgrade, Serbia

A Teachers Guide
Compiled by the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
http://ceres.georgetown.edu
1

Serbia in a Box: Table of Contents

Facts at a Glance

3-7

History of Serbia

8-11

Timeline of Major Events in Serbian History

12

Culture of Serbia

13-15

Folklore: The Goats Ears of the Emperor Trojan

16-17

Additional Resources

18

The Danube River near the Iron Gate gorge

Serbia: Facts at a Glance

_______
Text and map taken directly from Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook: Serbia
Available at: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ti.html
Country Name: Serbia
Capital: Belgrade
Background: The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats,
and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name
was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929.
Communist Partisans resisted the Axis
occupation and division of Yugoslavia from
1941 to 1945 and fought nationalist opponents
and collaborators as well. The military and
political movement headed by Josip Broz
"Tito" (Partisans) took full control of
Yugoslavia when their domestic rivals and the
occupiers were defeated in 1945. Although
communists, Tito and his successors (Tito died
in 1980) managed to steer their own path
between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West
for the next four and a half decades. In 1989,
Slobodan Milosevic became president of the
Republic of Serbia and his ultranationalist calls for Serbian domination led to the violent breakup
of Yugoslavia along ethnic lines. In 1991, Croatia, Slovenia, and Macedonia declared
independence, followed by Bosnia in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro
declared a new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) in April 1992 and under Milosevics
leadership, Serbia led various military campaigns to unite ethnic Serbs in neighboring republics
into a "Greater Serbia." These actions were ultimately unsuccessful and, after international
intervention, led to the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995. Milosevic retained control
over Serbia and eventually became president of the FRY in 1997. In 1998, an ethnic Albanian
insurgency in the formerly autonomous Serbian province of Kosovo provoked a Serbian
counterinsurgency campaign that resulted in massacres and massive expulsions of ethnic
Albanians living in Kosovo. The Milosevic government's rejection of a proposed international
settlement led to NATO's bombing of Serbia in the spring of 1999. Serbian military and police
forces withdrew from Kosovo in June 1999, and the UN Security Council authorized an interim
UN administration and a NATO-led security force in Kosovo. FRY elections in late 2000 led to
the ouster of Milosevic and the installation of democratic government. In 2003, the FRY became
the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, a loose federation of the two republics. Widespread
violence predominantly targeting ethnic Serbs in Kosovo in March 2004 let to more intense calls
to address Kosovo's status, and the UN began facilitating status talks in 2006. In June 2006,
Montenegro seceded from the federation and declared itself an independent nation. Serbia
subsequently gave notice that it was the successor state to the union of Serbia and Montenegro.
In February 2008, after nearly two years of inconclusive negotiations, Kosovo declared itself
3

independent of Serbia - an action Serbia refuses to recognize. At Serbia's request, the UN

General Assembly (UNGA) in October 2008 sought an advisory opinion from the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) on whether Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence was in
accordance with international law. In a ruling considered unfavorable to Serbia, the ICJ issued an
advisory opinion in July 2010 stating that international law did not prohibit declarations of
independence. In late 2010, Serbia agreed to an EU-drafted UNGA Resolution acknowledging
the ICJ's decision and calling for a new round of talks between Serbia and Kosovo, this time on
practical issues rather than Kosovo's status. The EU-moderated Belgrade-Pristina dialogue began
in March 2011 and was raised to the level of prime ministers in October 2012. Serbia and
Kosovo signed the first agreement of principles governing the normalization of relations between
the two countries in April 2013 and are in the process of implementing its provisions.
Location: Southeastern Europe, between Macedonia and Hungary
Area: Total: 77,474 sq km, Country comparison to the world: 117
Land: 77,474 sq km
Water: 0 sq km
Area - Comparative: Slightly smaller than South Carolina
Terrain: Extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and
basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills
Elevation extremes: Lowest point: Danube and Timok Rivers 35 m
Highest point: Midzor 2,169 m
Natural Resources: Oil, gas, coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, chromite, gold, silver,
magnesium, pyrite, limestone, marble, salt, arable land
Environment - Current Issues: Air pollution around Belgrade and other industrial cities; water
pollution from industrial wastes dumped into the Sava which flows into the Danube
Population: 7,209,764 (July 2014 est.); Country comparison to the world: 101
Urbanization: Urban population: 56.4% of total population (2011)
Life Expectancy at Birth: Total population: 75.02 years; Country comparison to the world: 101
Male: 72.17 years
Female: 78.07 years (2014 est.)
Ethnic Groups: Serb 83.3%, Hungarian 3.5%, Romany 2.1%, Bosniak 2%, other 5.7%,
undeclared or unknown 3.4% (2011 est.)

Religions: Serbian Orthodox 84.6%, Catholic 5%, Muslim 3.1%, Protestant 1%, atheist 1.1%,
other 0.8%, undeclared or unknown 4.5% (2011
est.)
Education Expenditures: 4.8% of GDP (2011)
Country comparison to the world: 82
Government Type: Republic
Independence: 5 June 2006 (from Serbia and
Montenegro)
The Flag of Serbia
Three equal horizontal stripes of red (top), blue, and white
- the Pan-Slav colors representing freedom and
revolutionary ideals; charged with the coat of arms of
Serbia shifted slightly to the hoist side; the principal field
of the coat of arms represents the Serbian state and
displays a white two-headed eagle on a red shield; a
smaller red shield on the eagle represents the Serbian
nation, and is divided into four quarters by a white cross; a
white Cyrillic "C" in each quarter stands for the phrase
"Only Unity Saves the Serbs"; a royal crown surmounts
the coat of arms. (note: the Pan-Slav colors were inspired
by the 19th-century flag of Russia)

Legal System: Civil law system

Executive Branch: Chief of state: President
Tomislav Nikolic (since 31 May 2012); Head of
government: Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic
(since 22 April 2014)
Legislative Branch: Unicameral National
Assembly (250 seats; deputies elected according
to party lists to serve four-year terms)

Judicial Branch: Courts of general jurisdiction

(municipal courts, district courts, Appellate
Courts, the Supreme Court of Cassation); courts of special jurisdiction (commercial courts, the
High Commercial Court, the High Magistrates Court, the Administrative Court)
Political Parties and Leaders: Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians or SVM [Istvan Pasztor];
Boris Tadic Coalition [Boris Tadic]; Democratic Party of Serbia or DSS [Aleksandar Popovic];
Enough of That [Sasa Radulovic]; Party for Democratic Action or PDD [Riza Halimi]; Party of
Democratic Action of the Sandzak or SDA [Sulejman Ugljanin]; Serbian Radical Party or SRS
[Vojislav Seselj]; SNS-led Coalition/A Future We Believe In [Aleksandar Vucic]; United
Regions of Serbia [Mladan Dinkic]; With Democratic Party for Democratic Serbia/Democratic
Party or DS [Dragan Djilas]; SPS/PUPS/JS [Ivica Dacic] LDP-led Coalition [Cedomir
Jovanovic]
National Anthem: Name: "Boze pravde" (God of Justice)
lyrics/music: Jovan Dordevic/Davorin Jenko
note: adopted 1904; the song was originally written as part of a play in 1872 and has been used
as an anthem by the Serbian people throughout the 20th and 21st centuries

Economy - Overview: Serbia has a transitional economy largely dominated by market forces,
but the state sector remains significant in certain areas and many institutional reforms are
needed. The economy relies on manufacturing and exports, driven largely by foreign investment.
MILOSEVIC-era mismanagement of the
economy, an extended period of
international economic sanctions, civil
war, and the damage to Yugoslavia's
infrastructure and industry during the
NATO airstrikes in 1999 left the economy
only half the size it was in 1990. After the
ousting of former Federal Yugoslav
President MILOSEVIC in September
2000, the Democratic Opposition of
Serbia (DOS) coalition government
implemented stabilization measures and
embarked on a market reform program.
After renewing its membership in the IMF
in December 2000, Serbia continued to
reintegrate into the international
The Dinar
10-dinar
Banknote:
Front
-Portrait of Vuk Stefanovic
community by rejoining the World Bank
Karadic,
the
creator
of
contemporary
Serbian alphabet.
(IBRD) and the European Bank for
Back - In the background you can see the members of the
Reconstruction and Development
First Slavic Congress held in Prague in 1848
(EBRD). Serbia has made progress in
100-dinar Banknote: Front - Portrait of Nikola Tesla,
trade liberalization and enterprise
prominent scientist and inventor in the field of electric
energy. Back - a detail from the Tesla electro-magnetic
restructuring and privatization, but many
induction engine.
large enterprises - including the power
5000-dinar Banknote: Front - Portrait of Slobodan
utilities, telecommunications company,
Jovanovic. Back - Images of Slobodan Jovanovic,
natural gas company, and others - remain
sillhouette of the Federal Parliament and a detail from the
in state hands. Serbia has made some
interior of the Parliament building.
(http://www.nbs.rs/internet/english/75/75_1/index.html)
progress towards EU membership, signing
a Stabilization and Association Agreement
with Brussels in May 2008, and with full
implementation of the Interim Trade Agreement with the EU in February 2010, gained candidate
status in March 2012. In January 2014, Serbia's EU accession talks officially opened. Serbia's
negotiations with the World Trade Organization are advanced, with the country's complete ban
on the trade and cultivation of agricultural biotechnology products representing the primary
remaining obstacle to accession. Serbia's program with the IMF was frozen in early 2012
because the 2012 budget approved by parliament deviated from the program parameters; the
arrangement is now void. However, an IMF mission visited Serbia in February 2014 to initiate
discussions with Serbian authorities on a possible new IMF arrangement and these talks will
continue following the formation of the new government. High unemployment and stagnant
household incomes are ongoing political and economic problems. Structural economic reforms
needed to ensure the country's long-term prosperity have largely stalled since the onset of the
global financial crisis. Growing budget deficits constrain the use of stimulus efforts to revive the
economy and contribute to growing concern of a public debt crisis, given that Serbia's total
public debt as a share of GDP doubled between 2008 and 2013. Serbia's concerns about inflation
6

and exchange-rate stability may preclude the use of expansionary monetary policy. During the
recent election campaign, the victorious SNS party promised comprehensive economic reform
during the first half of 2014 to address issues with the fiscal deficit, state-owned enterprises, the
labor market, construction permits, bankruptcy and privatization, and other areas. Major
challenges ahead include: high unemployment rates and the need for job creation; high
government expenditures for salaries, pensions, healthcare, and unemployment benefits; a
growing need for new government borrowing; rising public and private foreign debt; attracting
new foreign direct investment; and getting the IMF program back on track. Other serious longerterm challenges include an inefficient judicial system, high levels of corruption, and an aging
population. Factors favorable to Serbia's economic growth include its strategic location, a
relatively inexpensive and skilled labor force, and free trade agreements with the EU, Russia,
Turkey, and countries that are members of the Central European Free Trade Agreement
(CEFTA).
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $80.47 billion (2013 est.); Country comparison to the world:
81
GDP - Real Growth Rate: 2% (2013 est.); Country comparison to the world: 141
GDP - Per Capita (PPP): $11,100 (2013 est.); Country comparison to the world: 111
GDP - Composition by Sector: Agriculture: 7.9%, Industry: 31.8%, Services: 60.3% (2013 est.)
Labor Force: 1.703 million (2013 est.); Country comparison to the world: 125
Agriculture - Products: Wheat, maize, sugar beets, sunflower, raspberries; beef, pork, milk
Industries: base metals, furniture, food processing, machinery, chemicals, sugar, tires, clothes,
pharmaceuticals
Current Account Balance: -$1.807 billion (2013 est.); Country comparison to the world: 137
Exports - Commodities: iron and steel, rubber, clothes, wheat, fruit and vegetables, nonferrous
metals, electric appliances, metal products, weapons and ammunition
Exports - Partners: Italy 11.5%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 11.2%, Germany 10.5%,
Montenegro 8.4%, Romania 6.3%, Russia 5.4%, Macedonia 4.9%, Slovenia 4.4% (2010 est.)
Imports Partners: Russia 12.8%, Germany 10.6%, Italy 8.5%, China 7.2%, Hungary 4.9%
Debt - External: $33.6 billion (31 December 2013 est.); Country comparison to the world: 71
Exchange Rates: Serbian dinars (RSD) per US dollar -79.979 (2010)
Military Service Age and Obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory military service; 2-year
conscript service obligation (2009)
7

History of Serbia
_______
Text taken directly from:
(http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/654691/Serbia/43570/
The-Golden-Age?anchor=ref477220)

Before the Slavs

Although there is scattered evidence of
human occupation in the central Balkan
Peninsula reaching back some 35,000 years,
dense settlement does not appear to have
taken place until about 70003500 bc, during
the Neolithic Period. After 3500 bc the region
was infiltrated by seminomadic pastoral
peoples, who were believed to be speakers of
Indo-European languages, migrating
southward from the Russian steppes.
These people were divided into several
loose tribal groups, including the Illyrians,
who established themselves throughout the
western part of the peninsula. By the 7th
century bc the Illyrians had acquired the skills
needed to work with iron, which became the
basis of trade with the emerging Greek citystates and of power among the native
aristocracies.
In the late 3rd century bc, the Romans
began to expand into the Balkan Peninsula in
search of iron, copper, precious metals,
slaves, and crops. The Roman struggle for
domination, against the fierce resistance of
the native peoples, lasted three centuries. The
Illyrians were finally subdued in ad 9, and
their land became the province of Illyricum.
The area that is now eastern Serbia was
conquered in 29 bc and incorporated into the
province of Moesia. Roads, arenas,
aqueducts, bridges, and fortifications attest to
Roman occupation, and the names of several
modern towns reveal Roman origins,
including Sremska Mitrovica (Sirmium) and
Ni (Naissus).
The division of the Roman Empire and
the emergence of Byzantium as an
independent power enabled Greek culture to
penetrate deep into the Balkans, particularly
following the defeat of a combined AvarPersian army in 626 by the Byzantines.

Early Period:
The earliest information on the Serbs dates from the
late 6th century, when they were vassals of the Avars and
later clients of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius. Under
Byzantine patronage, Slavs settled widely in the Balkans,
reaching as far south as the Aegean Sea and even settling
in parts of Asia Minor.
The first state to which Serbs trace a political identity
was created by Vlastimir in about 850. This state was
centred on an area in eastern Montenegro and southern
Serbia known as Raka.
The significance of the early Serb proto-states lies in
their legacy of an enduring link between the Serb people
and the Slavonic liturgical tradition of Orthodox
Christianity. the Byzantine emperor Michael III
commissioned two brothers from Thessalonica, Cyril
(Constantine) and Methodius, to evangelize the Slavs.
Michael encouraged Cyril and Methodius to preach in the
vernacular, and to facilitate this task they invented a
script using the phonetic peculiarities of the Slavic
tongue. Initially known as Glagolitic, the script was
subsequently revised to employ characters resembling
those of the Greek and became known as Cyrillic.
The rise of the Nemanji dynasty was facilitated by
the collapse of the Byzantine Empire, under the impact of
the Fourth Crusade (1204). Under the reign of Stefan
Duan (133155), the Nemanji state reached its greatest
extent, incorporating Thessaly, Epirus, Macedonia, all of
modern Albania and Montenegro, a substantial part of
eastern Bosnia, and modern Serbia as far north as the
Danube. In 1375 the archbishop of Pe was raised to the
status of patriarch, in spite of the anathema of
Constantinople.
Conquest by the Turks
The glories of the Nemanji empire were short-lived.
However, the Ottoman conquest of the Balkan Peninsula
was not a smooth progression. Slav leaders retained a
nominal independence for some years in return for a
variety of forms of vassalage. On St. Vituss Day
(Vidovdan), June 28 1389, on the Kosovo Polje, the
8

Serbs and their allies suffered a defeat that has become

hallowed in several great heroic ballads. Kosovo became
(especially during the 19th century) the Jerusalem of the
Serbs.
The Ottoman authorities ruled through local knezes,
who were Christian princes or headmen. It was even
possible for subject peoples to rise within the system,
provided that they converted, and there were several
notable grand viziers of Slavic origin.
The French Revolution and the Napoleonic era
signaled the beginning of the transformation of the feudal
order throughout the Balkans. In many respects the most
vigorous developments in Serbian national consciousness
received their strongest impulse from outside the borders
of Serbia. Ilija Garaanin, in a document known as the
Naertanije, argued that the primary solution to the
impediments to Serbian growth was to create a new outlet
to the Adriatic. This plea for a thrust to the southwest set
Serbian foreign policy on a momentous course, the
consequences of which have continued to be felt to this
day. Vuk Stefanovi Karadi produced a standardized
literary language. Both Garaanin and Karadi derived
their intellectual framework from their education within a
primarily Germanic tradition and from their exposure to
ways of looking at the world that were fundamentally
foreign to Serbia itself.

Stefan Nemanja, (1168 - 1196)

He was born in Podgor. The state
institutions and subsequent spiritual legacy
established by him and his sons marked a
break with earlier practices and marked him
as the founder of a brand new dynasty indeed, one that was to become virtually
synonymous with the glory of medieval
Serbia.
Nemanja's rise to power comes
sometime during 1166-8, first from the
appanage of Dubocica (city of Leskovac), in
the shadow of his elder brother Tihomir - a
Byzantine appointee - and together with the
two other brethren, Stracimir and Miroslav.
This led to the decisive battle of Pantino in
Kosovo, where Tihomir perished. He was
thenceforth to reign supreme as Grand
Zupan, having secured pledges of allegiance
from his two surviving brothers.
His policies eventually led him on a
collision course with his nominal overlord,
Byzantine emperor Manuel. Abandoned by
Western allies and facing a superior
Byzantine force, he surrender to Manuel in
1172. Nevertheless, he ultimately returned
and consolidated power and stability in an
autonomous Raska for another eight years.
(http://www.srpskoblago.org/serbianmedieval-rulers/stefan-nemanja-grandzupan-of-raska-1168-1196)

Independence
In 1877, following the defeat of the Turks by Russia,
Serbia formally became an independent state. As a result
of the two Balkan Wars (1912-1913), Ottoman possessions
in Europe were confined to a small area of eastern Thrace.
Since independence, Serbia competed with AustriaHungary for former Ottoman lands. On June 28, 1914, the
Austrian archduke Francis Ferdinand attended a military
review in Sarajevoa rather pointed provocation on
Vidovdan, Serbias national day. His assassination sparked
the first World War.
In July 1917. the Corfu Declaration, called for a single
democratic South-Slav state to be governed by a
constitutional monarchy. The particular form that
unification took in 1918 was not part of the original war aims of any of the South Slav peoples.

Slobodan Miloevi (1941-2006)

Politician and administrator, pursued
Serbian nationalist policies that contributed
to the breakup of the socialist Yugoslav
federation. He subsequently embroiled
Serbia in a series of conflicts with the
successor Balkan states.
Miloevi soon introduced a new
populist political style to Serbia, he emerged
as a leading defender of the socialist
tradition of state economic intervention,
attacking economic reform for its social
costs.
In 1991, Miloevi backed Serbian
militias who were fighting to unite Bosnia
and Croatia with Serbia. In the early spring
of 1999 the Serbs launched a major
offensive aimed at defeating Kosovar
insurgents. NATO forces retaliated by
initiating a massive aerial bombing
campaign against Yugoslavia, Milosevich
ordered a program of ethnic cleansing of the
Kosovar Albanians that drove hundreds of
thousands of them into neighbouring
countries as refugees. By June, however,
Miloevi had agreed to a peace accord with
NATO that obliged him to withdraw
Serbian forces from Kosovo.
Unrest under Miloevis rule and a
faltering economy grew in 2000, and in the
September presidential elections he was
defeated by opposition leader Vojislav
Kotunica. Miloevi was arrested by the
Yugoslav government in 2001 and turned
over to the ICTY for trial on charges of
genocide, crimes against humanity, and war
crimes. The trial began in February 2002 but
experienced numerous delays because of the
poor health of Miloevi, who served as his
own defense lawyer. On March 11, 2006, he
was found dead in his prison cell.

On March 27, 1941 the country was invaded by

Germany and its allies. On April 14 the King and
government fled to Athens. Some loyal Serb units of the
Yugoslav army set up a resistance movement under a former
officer and others joined the communist leader Josip Broz,
who came to be better known during the war under his code
name, Tito.
Despite their adoption of this Soviet-style dictatorship
of the proletariat, Yugoslav communists had never had an
easy relationship with the Soviet Union. In the decade after
World War II, the communist regime considered its
acknowledgment of ethnicity to be just a way-stage on the
route to the eventual creation of a broader Yugoslav
identity. As the most dispersed among the peoples of
Yugoslavia, the Serbs tended to fear that multiparty
democracy might challenge their rights of citizenship in the
other republics.
During the break up of Yugoslavia, the wars of the
1990s hovered uneasily between a need to protect the
specific interests of the Serbian republic and a desire to
defend the wider Serb diaspora. The devastating wars led to
ethnic cleansing, massacres on both sides (especially
Kosovo), the involvement of NATO forces and UN
peacekeepers. Battered by continuous war and with the
economy faltering, Miloevi was defeated by Vojislav
Kotunica in the Yugoslav presidential election in 2000,
after which international sanctions against the country were
lifted. Miloevi was soon arrested and extradited to The
Hague to be prosecuted for war crimes.
During the breakup, the contentious matter of Kosovos
future remained at the forefront of Serbian politics. Talks
begun in 2005 resulted in a planproposed by the UN
envoy Martti Ahtisaari in 2007 and supported by the United
States and most members of the EUthat called for
independence for Kosovo, albeit under international
supervision. With the support the United States, Kosovo
declared independence in February 2008. Serbia, backed by
Russia, refused to recognize Kosovo as a sovereign country.
Nonetheless, for a European Serbia, a pro-EU bloc won
nearly 40 percent of the vote in the May 2008 parliamentary
elections. Accordingly, in December 2009 the Serbian
government officially applied for EU membership.

(http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/383076/S
lobodan-Milosevic)

10

Recent Developments
The newly formed Serbian Progressive Party (Srpska Napredna Stranka; SNS), which
had split off from the Radicals in 2008, had by 2010 joined the DS in supporting Serbias
accession to the EU. In March 2010 the Serbian parliament voted to condemn the
1995 Srebrenica massacre of Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims). It stopped short of calling the killings
an act of genocide, but the vote helped to advance Serbias EU candidacy. Domestic support for
EU accession rose following the lifting of the Schengen visa restrictions on travel to EU member
countries in December 2009. This rise in support coincided with the beginning of the ratification
process of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the EU and Serbia. After EUmediated talks in December 2011, Serbia and Kosovo agreed to jointly manage the border
crossings. Citing this as proof of Serbias commitment to regional stability, the European
Council granted Serbia status as a candidate country on March 1, 2012.
Continued high unemployment, accusations of corruption, and a sluggish economy
sparked a wave of general dissatisfaction with the DS government, as the euro-zone debt
crisis hampered the return of foreign investment. In legislative elections held in May 2012, the
populist SNS won the largest share of votes, but a DS-led coalition finished close behind, leaving
the third-place SPS in the role of kingmaker. Two weeks later, SNS leader Tomislav Nikoli
defeated two-term incumbent Tadi in the second round of presidential balloting. Observers
initially worried that Nikoli, who had previously advocated an anti-Western form of Serb
nationalism, would divert Serbia from its pro-EU course. Nikoli was quick to clarify that he
believed that closer integration with Europe was the key to Serbias future. Nikoli was
inaugurated in late May 2012, but negotiations on the formation of a new government stretched
into July. Ultimately, the SNS entered into a coalition with the SPS and the United Regions of
Serbia party to form a government, with SPS leader Ivica Dai at its head. In April 2013 Serbia
and Kosovo agreed to normalize relations, although Serbia stopped short of recognizing
Kosovos independence. The Kosovar government vowed to grant limited autonomy to ethnic
Serbs in northern Kosovo, and both countries stated that they would not work to hinder the
others progress toward accession to the EU. The European Commission responded to the
development by recommending that the EU begin membership talks with Serbia, and accession
negotiations formally opened in January 2014.
Wishing to capitalize on the popular support for this milestone, the SNS called for a snap
election in the hopes of solidifying its mandate. The move was successful, and in March 2014 the
SNS captured a clear parliamentary majority, winning more than 150 of the legislatures 250
seats. The leader of the SNS, Aleksandar Vui, was a one-time ally of Slobodan Miloevi, but
his campaign focused on economic reform and anticorruption measures rather than nationalism.
He promised to continue to follow a pro-European path by privatizing inefficient state businesses
and liberalizing the economy, a goal made all the more challenging by an unemployment rate
that continued to hover around 20 percent.

11

Timeline of Major Events in Serbian History

_______
Text taken directly from BBC News. Timeline: Serbia. Available at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/5055726.stm

1389 - Serb nobility decimated in battle of Kosovo Polje as Ottoman Empire expands.
15th - 18th centuries - Serbia absorbed by Ottoman Empire.
1817 - Serbia becomes autonomous principality.
1878 - Serbian independence recognised by international treaties.
1929 - Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes renamed Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
1945 - Together with Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro, Serbia becomes
one of republics in new Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia under Josip Broz Tito.
1980 - Tito dies.
1989 - Slobodan Milosevic becomes President of Serbia.
1991 - Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia and Bosnia break away from Yugoslavia.
1992 - Rising nationalist and independence aspirations bring bloody conflict with Croats and
Bosnian Muslims.
1998 - Kosovo Liberation Army rebels against Serbian rule. Serb forces launch brutal
crackdown. Hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians flee.
1999 - Defiance by Milosevic over Kosovo sparks Nato air strikes against Serbian targets.
Milosevic agrees to withdraw forces from Kosovo.
2001 - Serbian PM Djindjic overrules Constitutional Court and authorises extradition of
Milosevic to Hague war crimes tribunal.
2004 - Democratic Party leader Boris Tadic elected Serbian president, defeating nationalist
Tomislav Nikolic in run-off. Mr Tadic pledges to steer Serbia towards the EU.
2008 - UN-administered Kosovo declares itself independent. Serbia says declaration illegal.
2009 - Visa-free travel within EU's Schengen area comes into effect for Serbian citizens. Serbia
submits formal application to join EU.

12

The Culture of Serbia

Serbian Cuisine
http://www.vegeta.com/articles/serbia
Definitely the most dominant influence on Serbian cuisine is that of the Turkish cuisine. Most of
the specialties of Serbian cuisine today are inspired by modified Turkish specialties, whereas the
influence of the Austro-Hungarian cuisine is especially felt in Vojvodina.
Like other national cuisines, Serbian cuisine is not homogenous either. Pies, baklavas, tulumbe
(traditional cakes), lamb and sheep meat dishes are characteristic of Kosovo. The Vojvodina
region cuisine has, for example, taken on the features of Austro-Hungarian cuisine with a lot of
dough and pastry, noodles, soft buns with various fillings (buhtle) and dumplings. People living
in the Srijem region also have different culinary habits than the people living in the Banat or
Backa regions.
Only two meals were traditionally eaten in medieval
Serbia. Breakfast was introduced later under the
influence of the west. Until the end of the 20th century
people ate mainly stews: soups, thick broths, pepper
stews, goulashes. It is not surprising then that for a long
time the spoon was the only eating utensil.
Slatko: is a distinct specialty of Serbian cuisine. It
represents a way of conserving fruit most similar to the
way western jams are made. The finest slatko delicacies
are made from wild fruit, plums and apricots.
Slatko
Karadjordje Steak: Karadjordje's steak is a Serbian
dish named after the Serbian Prince Karadjordje. It is a
rolled veal or pork steak, stuffed with kajmak, breaded and baked (or fried). It is served with
roasted potatoes and tartar sauce.1
Kajmak (cream) is one of the rare authentic
Serbian specialties. Kajmak has a thick, creamy
consistency and a rich, mildly sour taste.
Kaymak is traditionally eaten in Serbia as
starter with smoked ham, pastries, preserves or
honey or as a filling in pancakes. Kaymak is
almost always produced in traditional way in
households and can be bought only on open
markets.2
Music
(http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/vie
Karadjordje steak (donesi.com)
1
2

http://serbianfoodrecipe.blogspot.com/
http://www.panacomp.net/serbia?s=srpska_kuhinja

13

w/page.basic/country/content.country/serbia___montenegro_879)
By and large, it was that Ottoman/Gypsy duality that had the most profound effect on the
development of Serbian music in the ensuing centuries. The Ottomans brought Islam to Serbia in
their 400-plus years of rule, accounting for the wailing, Arabic-inflected edge discernible in
much Serbian music.
More important, they brought the Turkish brass sound that began as military
accompaniment but by the 19th century found a home in the pleasures of everyday Balkan life.
One of the most instantly engaging and unforgettable facets of Balkan music is the brass bands,
another product of convergence. Large brass bands are today a staple of the music scene in
Serbia, so much so that the idea of a celebration (particularly a wedding) without one is a thought
best not entertained. Often played at breakneck tempos but sometimes dropping into passages
that are slower and more emotive, close listening to Balkan brass reveals intricacies that
obviously take considerable discipline and expertise to play. Nonetheless, the music frequently
has an untamed, off-the-cuff quality
The Roma contributions to Serbian music are undeniable. While Gypsies comprise many
of Serbia's brass bands, their utilizing of guitar, violin, cimbalom (hammered dulcimer), Arabic
percussion and other instruments has established pop and traditional realms that bypass brass and
have made their music adaptable to fusions with jazz, rock and techno in the last few decades.
Gusle:
A stringed musical instrument of the Balkans, with a round wooden back, a
skin belly, and one horsehair string (or, rarely, two) secured at the top of
the neck by a rear tuning peg. It is played in a vertical position, with a
deeply curved bow. It has no fingerboard,
the string being stopped by the sideways
pressure of the players fingers. It is related
to the medieval rebec and the Greek lira and
is used in the Balkans to accompany the
performance of the guslari, or epic singers.
Gajde:
The Gajde is classified as a(n) Bagpipe
instrument. The Gajde is constructed with
the following material(s): conical wooden
Serbian Gusle
or bone tube, goat or sheep hide bag.3 It has
many variations throughout Europe and the
middle east and is also known as Gaida, Duda, Gajda, Guda and
Gaita.

Gajde (serbian bagpipe)

http://musical-instruments.findthebest.com/question/156/1722/What-is-the-Gaida-made-out-of

14

Literature:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/535385/Serbian-literature

Serbian literature developed primarily from the 12th

century, producing such religious works as the illuminated
Miroslav Gospel, biblical stories, and hagiographies. The
founder of the independent Serbian church and a figure
customarily taken as the originator of national literature, Saint
Sava (11751235) started this literary tradition by writing a
biography of his own father, the Serbian ruler Stefan Nemanja.
Revival of Serbian culture and literature occurred until the
18th century. The most important representative of the
Enlightenment period was Dositej Obradovi, whose writings
greatly influenced Serbian literary development. A man of
Andric, Ivo (1892-1975)
great learning and a polyglot who spent most of his life
Writer of novels and short stories
traveling through Europe and Asia Minor, Obradovi wrote a
in the Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian
captivating autobiography, ivot i prikljuenija Dimitrija
language, who was awarded the Nobel
Prize for Literature in 1961.
Obradovia (1783; The Life and Adventures of Dimitrije
His reputation was established with
Obradovi).
Ex Ponto (1918), a contemplative,
The greatest writer of the 19th century was Montenegrin
lyrical prose work written during his
ruler Petar II Petrovi Njego, whose epic poem Gorski
internment by Austro-Hungarian
vijenac (1847; The Mountain Wreath, Eng. trans. The Sabre
authorities for nationalistic political
activities during World War I.
and the Song) presented in chiseled verse an event from
Following World War I, he entered
Montenegrin history, giving a unique picture of Montenegrin
the Yugoslavian diplomatic service. Of
society and reflecting Njegos philosophy of the eternal
his three novels, written during the
struggle between good and evil. The lyric verses of Branko
Second World War, twoTravnika
Radievi contributed to the break with earlier didactichronika (1945; Bosnian Story) and Na
Drini uprija (1945; The Bridge on the
objective poetry.
Drina)are concerned with the history
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Serbian literature
of Bosnia.
was influenced by European currents, particularly French
Writing during periods when
Symbolism and the psychological novel. The most important
Serbo-Croatian was officially
writers of the turn of the century were poets Jovan Dui,
considered one language in Yugoslavia,
Andri first used its Croatian form and
Aleksa anti, and Milan Raki; prose writer Borisav
later its Serbian form. He is claimed as
Stankovi, whose outstanding novel Neista krv (1910; The
part of Croatian literature, Serbian
Impure Blood) depicted tragic clashes in provincial Serbia of
literature, and Bosnian literature. His
tradition and modernity and of eastern and western cultures.
works are written soberly, in language
Serbian writers between World Wars I and II continued to
of great beauty and purity. The Nobel
Prize committee commented
follow major European literary movements. The Belgrade
particularly on the epic force with
Surrealist group introduced a note of radical, left-wing
which he handled his material,
politics, and some of its members later turned to the style of
especially in The Bridge on the Drina.
Socialist Realism. The literature of the 1930s was shaped by
the focus on political and social themes. Among the major
(http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked
/topic/24035/Ivo-Andric)
writers of the period was Ivo Andri, whose novel Na Drini
uprija (1945; The Bridge on the Drina) reflects the history of
his homeland of Bosnia. Andri was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1961.

15

Folklore: The Goats Ears of the Emperor Trojan

_______
From: http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/078.htm
Once upon a time there lived an emperor whose name was Trojan, and he had ears like a
goat. Every morning, when he was shaved, he asked if the man saw anything odd about him, and
as each fresh barber always replied that the emperor had goat's ears, he was at once ordered to be
put to death.
Now after this state of things had lasted a good while, there was hardly a barber left in the
town that could shave the emperor, and it came to be the turn of the Master of the Company of
Barbers to go up to the palace. But, unluckily, at the very moment that he should have set out,
the master fell suddenly ill, and told one of his apprentices that he must go in his stead.
When the youth was taken to the emperor's bedroom, he was asked why he had come and
not his master. The young man replied that the master was ill, and there was no one but himself
who could be trusted with the honor. The emperor was satisfied with the answer, and sat down,
and let a sheet of fine linen be put round him. Directly the young barber began his work, he, like
the rest, remarked the goat's ears of the emperor, but when he had finished and the emperor
asked his usual question as to whether the youth had noticed anything odd about him, the young
man replied calmly, 'No, nothing at all.' This pleased the emperor so much that he gave him
twelve ducats, and said, 'Henceforth you shall come every day to shave me.'
So when the apprentice returned home, and the master inquired how he had got on with
the emperor, the young man answered, 'Oh, very well, and he says I am to shave him every day,
and he has given me these twelve ducats'; but he said nothing about the goat's ears of the
emperor.
From this time the apprentice went regularly up to the palace, receiving each morning
twelve ducats in payment. But after a while, his secret, which he had carefully kept, burnt within
him, and he longed to tell it to somebody. His master saw there was something on his mind, and
asked what it was. The youth replied that he had been tormenting himself for some months, and
should never feel easy until someone shared his secret.
'Well, trust me,' said the master, 'I will keep it to myself; or, if you do not like to do that,
confess it to your pastor, or go into some field outside the town and dig a hole, and, after you
have dug it, kneel down and whisper your secret three times into the hole. Then put back the
earth and come away.'
The apprentice thought that this seemed the best plan, and that very afternoon went to a
meadow outside the town, dug a deep hole, then knelt and whispered to it three times over, 'The
Emperor Trojan has goat's ears.' And as he said so a great burden seemed to roll off him, and he
shovelled the earth carefully back and ran lightly home.
Weeks passed away, and there sprang up in the hole an elder tree which had three stems,
all as straight as poplars. Some shepherds, tending their flocks near by, noticed the tree growing
16

there, and one of them cut down a stem to make flutes of; but, as he began to play, the flute
would do nothing but sing: 'The Emperor Trojan has goat's ears.' Of course, it was not long
before the whole town knew of this wonderful flute and what it said; and, at last, the news
reached the emperor in his palace. He instantly sent for the apprentice and said to him:
'What have you been saying about me to all my people?'
The culprit tried to defend himself by saying that he had never told anyone what he had
noticed; but the emperor, instead of listening, only drew his sword from its sheath, which so
frightened the poor fellow that he confessed exactly what he had done, and how he had
whispered the truth three times to the earth, and how in that very place an elder tree had sprung
up, and flutes had been cut from it, which would only repeat the words he had said. Then the
emperor commanded his coach to be made ready, and he took the youth with him, and they
drove to the spot, for he wished to see for himself whether the young man's confession was true;
but when they reached the place only one stem was left. So the emperor desired his attendants to
cut him a flute from the remaining stem, and, when it was ready, he ordered his chamberlain to
play on it. But no tune could the chamberlain play, though he was the best flute player about the
court--nothing came but the words, 'The Emperor Trojan has goat's ears.' Then the emperor knew
that even the earth gave up its secrets, and he granted the young man his life, but he never
allowed him to be his barber any more.

17

Select Bibliography of Sources on Serbia

Balmer, Jesmond Dene. The Sarajevo incident with special reference to Serbian secret societies.
Washington, D.C., 1959
Clark, Janine N. Serbia in the shadow of Miloevi : the legacy of conflict in the Balkans.
London ; New York : Tauris Academic Studies ; New York : In the United States and Canada
distributed by Palgrave Macmillan, 2008
Cox, John K. The History of Serbia. Westport, CT : Greenwood Press, 2002
Deliso, Christopher. Culture and customs of Serbia and Montenegro. Westport, Conn. :
Greenwood Press, 2009
Donna A. Buchanan (ed.). Balkan popular culture and the Ottoman ecumene : music, image, and
regional political discourse. Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2007
Dragnich, Alex N. Serbia through the ages. Boulder, CO : East European Monographs ; New
York : Distributed by Columbia University Press, 2004
Emmert, Thomas Allan. Serbian Golgatha : Kosovo, 1389. [Boulder] : East European
Monographs ; New York : Distributed by Columbia University Press, 1990
Golemovi, Dimitrije O. Balkan refrain : form and tradition in European folk song. Lanham,
Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2010.
Holton, Milne. Serbian poetry from the beginnings to the present. New Haven: Yale Center for
International and Area Studies; Columbus, OH : Distributed by Slavica Publishers, 1988
Mihailovich, Vasa D. & Branko Mikasinovich (Eds). An anthology of Serbian literature.
Bloomington, Ind. : Slavica Publishers, 2007
Milutinovi, Zoran. Getting over Europe : the construction of Europe in Serbian culture.
Amsterdam; New York, NY: Rodopi, 2011
Ramet, Sabrina P. Balkan babel : the disintegration of Yugoslavia from the death of Tito to the
fall of Miloevi. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 2002
Stojanovi, Svetozar. Serbia : the democratic revolution. Amherst, N.Y. : Humanity Books,
c2003
Zlatar, Zdenko. The poetics of Slavdom : the mythopoeic foundations of Yugoslavia. New York:
Peter Lang, c2007

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