Serbian Tragedy

Abstract

The small country of Serbia, with almost a thousand and a half-year history, turned out to be an area of great human grief. Since ancient times, strong and aggressive neighbors have sought to conquer its territory, and the memory of the people in folklore, literature, and fine art has preserved traces of a foreign presence and influence on culture. Three and a half centuries of Ottoman rule brought the Serbs many troubles, but the First World War, which killed about a third of the country’s population, turned out to be the most terrible blow. Having become a kingdom from the end of the 19th century, Serbia remained until the beginning of World War II, and in 1945 it was Sovietized and became part of the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia (later SFRY), first as the People’s Republic of Serbia, and then, since 1963, as Socialist. However, the collapse of the USSR brought about the collapse of the entire European socialist camp, and nationalism, which raised its head in the former Soviet republics, did not pass Yugoslavia. Serbia’s acquisition of independent statehood, for the time being still socialist, again cost a lot of blood. The bombing of NATO (2000) put an end to socialism in the country. Now Serbia is again a republic. But the main thing is not the territory or the political system, but people. The history of prominent Serbs is almost unknown in Russia: from the media, Russians know about the unbroken “Balkan conflicts” or, in a milder version, “contradictions,” and as a rule, it all ends. Meanwhile, any political event responds to human fate, whether it be an ordinary citizen or a leader of a higher rank. Who are the Karageorgievichs? What can I say about Nikolai Genrikhovich Gartvig, Russian after the beginning of the First World War, or about Fedor Evdokimovich Makhin?.. The destinies of people in a philosophical context must be considered both as a field of interethnic dialogue, and as its implementation, and as a result: this is a human phenomenon. By the will of the common Slavic fates connected with Russia by tight ties, Serbia reveals its historical secrets to modern Russian people.