For a number of reasons, ordinary Russians do not know much about Serbs and the Republika Srpska. The editorial team decided to fill this gap and asked Elena Guskova, Doctor of Historical Sciences, leading scientist at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, foreign member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Academy of Sciences and Arts of the Republika Srpska, to give us a crash course.
It just so happened that I have been studying the history of the Balkan peoples all my life. All the countries of the former Yugoslavia have their own characteristics and unique features. But Serbia stands out among all of them. First of all, the Serbs are the most numerous people in the Balkans, always thinking more about those around them than about themselves. For many, Serbia has become synonymous with independence, pride, and defiance, and I would add: kindness, generosity, naivety, and simplicity.
Serbs and Russians are bound by centuries of friendship. We consider the Serbs to be our brotherly people, and they consider us their older brother. You will not find such love for Russians anywhere else except in Serbia and Montenegro (Montenegrins are the same as the Serbs). No one worded it better than the Russian writer Leonid Andreyev at the beginning of the 20th century during the First World War: “In Serbia, they love us with a passionate, sincere, almost tender love. Try, whoever you are, to drive through its bloodstained fields and cities now… and you would feel yourself like a powerful prince, a prophet, an angel of the Lord — because of the love and respect these tormented people will surround you with!
They will lay the last carpet under your Russian feet, take the last piece of bread out of their hungry mouths, and with the divine generosity of the poor, they will treat you, their most precious guest from beloved Russia. When praying to the Lord, whom do they mention in their prayers before they pray for their children? It’s Russia… We are so little loved and so little respected… And the more we must cherish this tender and trusting love: it holds the key not only to Serbian revival, but to ours as well.”
Since the beginning of the 18th century, Russia has patronized Serbia, helped it break free from Turkish rule, represented its interests in high European diplomatic circles, provided it with weapons and food, supported the church, trained officers, and hosted refugees and migrants on its land. And this is what the Serbs remember, being confident of our destinies to be one whole and our spirits to be kindred.
Serbia is an amazing country: it loves progress, but has always kept to its historical traditions and customs. In Serbia, it is still possible to talk about traditional family relationships, respect the Orthodox holidays, and the rituals of weddings, baptisms, and army send-offs. The country has many well-maintained and revered medieval monasteries. Not far from Belgrade there is the Fruška Gora hill, called the Holy Land because of the sacred sites located there, including fifty monasteries built at different times. Fruška Gora “has a memory” of civilizations dating almost 100,000 years back. Serbian monasteries are a unique treasure of the people’s history and culture.
Visiting the monasteries of Studenica, Žiča, and Sopočani (12th–13th centuries) is always a treat for the heart and soul. Serbia also has many mountain resorts with mineral springs, healing air, and unique preserved nature. You will be amazed by the pristine oak and pine forests, mountain slopes with flowers, waterfalls, and caves. Recently, many tourists tend to visit the village built by the famous film maker Emir Kusturica for one of his films, which has become a place of pilgrimage for lovers of antiquity and rural life.
There is one inexplicable phenomenon associated with this country: Russians who come to Serbia always get overwhelmed by the sense of belonging to what is happening here, a sense of kinship and mutual understanding. Language similarity makes communication easy and joyful. Serbs have a great sense of humor, they love to treat their friends well, they are open and hospitable. In Serbia, they love national dances and songs, without these no holiday or feast is complete. Here, they celebrate wine and rakia, baked meat and sausages, and the harvest of plums and grapes with great joy. I recommend trying rural tourism: it is in Serbian villages that you will feel the spirit of the local people, their culture and traditions, and try natural and cooked meat and dairy products that have already disappeared from the European markets.
My special love is hospitable Belgrade. Like any capital city, this city invites specialists to visit its libraries, archives, and museums, and tourists to visit its galleries, theaters, and concert halls, as well as for excursions along the Danube and Sava rivers, to the medieval Kalemegdan Fortress, and to temples and cathedrals. However, the city has another feature—a feeling of everyday feast on weekdays, weekends, and in any weather. Perhaps it is because of the always crowded street cafes, or perhaps because of the smiles on the passers-by faces, or maybe because of the bright sun and eyes full of joy.
I cannot fail to mention another amazing feature of Serbian culture and everyday life. Throughout the centuries, the Serbs have maintained a special culture of cafes and restaurants. Being a waiter or restaurateur is prestigious here, and it is usually men who do this job. They always behave like hospitable hosts welcoming their most cherished guests. You will be greeted and shown to your table with a smile, even if you only order a glass of water or a cup of coffee. That is why in Belgrade you will definitely be offered a tour of the famous Skadarlija Street, where there are many old restaurants that have been open since the 19th century. Artists and musicians, writers and poets, gourmets and wine lovers have always gathered here. The restaurants retain their old names and attract guests with their authenticity – “Three Hats” (1864), “Two Deer”, “Two White Doves”, “Those Were the Days”…
In recent years, Belgrade, like other cities and villages in the country, has suffered a lot of grief, has not had time to heal all its wounds or paint over the facades of its houses, but ordinary people with their optimism and joyful feeling of life will not allow any visitor to feel any discomfort, discouragement, disappointment, or sadness.
Today, it is a calm and peaceful place. Come and discover the world of good friends and sincere hospitality.
