Serbia famous personalities. Why do Russian women like Serbian men? Pros and cons of living in Serbia

Serbs, a South Slavic people from both distant and close country. Close, because all Slavic languages ​​are similar, and between their speakers, willy-nilly, there is something in common. Distant, because not much is known about Serbia and the Serbs. The history of the country itself deserves a separate article, and in this one we will try to reveal what the appearance and character of the Serbs are like.

Imprint of history

Determination, perseverance, belligerence and unshakable will have long been imprinted on both their character and appearance. History itself instilled these traits. All the wars that have ever taken place in the European part of the continent have always affected this small state to one degree or another. For example, Switzerland has not been at war with anyone for 600 years. As for Serbia, it is the only state in Europe to which armed foreign aggression was applied after the end of World War II. Moreover, they were subjected not to simple military intervention, but to radioactive bombing.

But after all this, the Serbs were able not to run away wherever they could to calm countries, but to remain in their own and defend it. Having united, they gradually created a new state. They respect their culture, traditions, strive to realize national self-sufficiency and proudly declare everywhere that they are Serbs. Their appearance, however, always speaks about this better than any words.

The country's history has made them all nationalists, but not those who, like adherents of Nietzsche's theories, seek to exterminate other nations. They are proud of themselves and try in every possible way not to tarnish the reputation of their nation.

Serbs: appearance of men

Serbian men are warlike. Typical high growth- short people are less common - broad shoulders, straight posture. The nose deserves special attention; it is at the same time thin, straight and at the same time aquiline, which is what Serbs are mainly famous for.

The appearance of a man with such characteristic features His stateliness greatly attracts Russian women. On the one hand, such a person is still a Slav, with a similar Russian mentality and the same Orthodox religion. On the other hand, this is a southern dark-haired man, like from oriental fairy tales.

By the way, Serbs have dark hair, not black; in the northern parts of the country they also have light brown hair. The stately appearance is complemented by a large Adam's apple, slightly protruding cheekbones and a proud posture.

Serbs: women's appearance

Serbian women are famous for their correctness. Everything in their faces is harmonious, located exactly as it should be. Like men, they are tall. When it comes to talking about which people in Europe are the tallest, one answer is always heard - the Serbs. The appearance of a Serbian woman is Slavic, but with a southern bias - brown eyes, dark hair.

They have a trait that today has even become a reason for jokes - a love for everything sexual. Aggressive and bright makeup, excessively revealing clothes. They often fail to find a balance between sexuality and vulgarity, and as a result, even the most decent woman can be mistaken for a depraved person.

People famous for their beauty

Among each nation it is customary to distinguish especially beautiful people. Looking at them, people of a different ethnic group can get an idea of ​​the characteristic appearance of the nation. The list of "most beautiful Serbs" includes worldwide famous athletes:

1. - a football player who plays for the national team in the position of an attacking midfielder. The twenty-seven-year-old young man has a typical militant Serbian appearance. Height - 181 cm, straight prominent nose and symmetrical facial features.
2. - professional tennis player. By looking at it carefully, you can understand what the Serbs look like. Dark hair, soft brown eyes and at the same time a strong-willed figure.

Character

But the characteristic appearance for Serbs is one thing, their character is completely different. The main feature present in the majority of the population is the desire for equality. When Turkish rule loomed over them at one time, all the nobility disappeared. they left for other countries, defected to the Islamists, and died in military battles. As a result, the country was left with a population completely equal in origin.

But, by the way, despite their love of freedom, they never forget about their blood ties - even individual kinship is valued here. There is also the so-called twinning.

Serbs are born insightful psychologists. They only need to look at clothes, hairstyle, accessories and hear the timbre of their voice to understand who is in front of them. But they can only use these skills in relation to their own people.

It so happens that each social layer here has its own obvious distinctive features. Bosses speak a little louder, allow themselves to gesticulate rather wildly, and wear extremely presentable clothes. expensive clothes. Of course, this is not a mandatory rule, but nevertheless everyone adheres to it, which allows you to identify who is in front of you.

Serbs by nature are hardy, courageous and not afraid of anything. This is not due to recklessness, but to the fact that a difficult history taught them to be fearless. Now this quality is passed on from parents to children. Like all southern nationalities, they are hospitable, they will generously welcome guests with a table set with the best dishes, they will joke and even sing songs. But in case of danger, even children will not be afraid to defend their home and country.

Traditions

According to tradition, everything significant days accompanied by music. Often people sing them themselves, gathered around a large table. They do this at weddings, birthdays and even funerals.

When a person is accepted into a circle of close people, it is simply impossible not to understand. Meetings in this case will be accompanied not by a handshake, but by a kiss on the cheek, always three times. In general, all Serbs are quite normal when it comes to kissing when meeting. These traditions do not imply anything obscene, even if two men kiss.

Serbs keep oldest tradition fees. People gather in churches public places oh and discuss something. Honor Orthodox traditions for them it is as important as national ones. Serbs go to church, celebrate all church holidays, honor wedding rites and observe fasts.

By the way, it is not customary for Serbs to take off their shoes. Even if you come to visit in winter or from a dirty street, you can safely enter the house without a twinge of conscience.

It is also interesting that the first person to visit a Serb on Christmas morning is considered by custom to be a divine guest. Depending on who exactly comes to the house, he can understand what the year will be like. Serbs sincerely believe that if no one comes to visit on this day, it is a bad sign.

It is customary here to bring new people in person and introduce them to the team. If a new person is brought in by someone whom everyone respects and trusts, then he automatically begins to enjoy the same goodwill.

Attitude to clothing

Serbs prefer to treat their clothing informally. IN Everyday life walk around in free clothes European clothes in casual style. However, the appearance in some places in sportswear may cause not only misunderstanding, but also become a reason for refusal to visit certain public places. In particular, this applies to restaurants, cafes, and official events. They also react in the country to excessive open clothes, beach Such outfits are considered inappropriate.

Evening dresses deserve special attention. When choosing them, the Serbs start from national costume. In general, he is treated with special awe and respect. Men's suit consists of a shirt with a traditional pattern and pants with a wide leg. Festive outfits are decorated with silver cords and buttons. Women's attire is represented by a loose white shirt, richly decorated with all kinds of embroidery (in different parts countries, the ornament on clothing may differ), over which they wear an equally richly decorated sleeveless vest.

Popular bad habit

The Serbian people have one common negative addiction - smoking. In Serbia there is no division into smoking areas and areas where it is prohibited - all places, by definition, are smoking. For a long time this was allowed to be done both in train compartments and in shops. Therefore, you should not be surprised if someone suddenly lights a cigarette next to you on the bus.

But in defense of the Serbs, we can say that they drink extremely rarely, and if they do drink, they do not get rowdy, as happens in Russia. Serbs are extremely surprised when they hear that Russians, having gotten drunk, start brawls, and do not understand at all where this came from for the latter.

Youth is something to be proud of

As mentioned earlier, Serbs honor both their people and their history. And even the youngest. Young people can easily take a tour of their country and tell about its history just as well as a professional guide.

Young people, in general, all feel their responsibility to the country. They try to study well, achieve success in sports, defend the honor of their country and raise its position in the eyes of the world community. Sports grounds Cities and villages are packed from early morning until late evening.

Taboo topics

Upon arrival in Serbia, you need to learn that they don’t like to remember the war. In Russia, they often like to raise this topic for general discussion, to remember for a long time about fallen heroes and victories won. Perhaps this is due to the fact that everything is long behind us and there are practically no people left who personally remember the war times.

In Serbia, the events of the Yugoslav conflict are still fresh in memory. For this reason fraternal peoples former Yugoslavia still cannot reconcile (Bosnians, Macedonians, Slovenians, Montenegrins, Croats, Serbs). The appearance of the Serbs in such cases will say without any words that the memories of the war have not yet sunk into oblivion. It is better to choose sports or, for example, agricultural topics for conversation, without forcing these people to relive recently occurring events.

Located in Eastern Europe The country of Serbia is historically connected with Russia by strong ties. Even the Serbian and Russian languages ​​are similar to a certain extent, and other similarities can be traced in the culture, national cuisine and architecture. This is a very friendly region, which since the end of the conflict in the Balkans has become very attractive and prosperous.

Facts about Serbia

• After the collapse of Yugoslavia, it was part of the Union of Serbia and Montenegro until 2006.
• Kosovo is de jure part of Serbia, but de facto it is a partially recognized state and is not controlled by the Serbian authorities.
• Most Serbs speak Serbo-Croatian, various dialects of which are also common in Montenegro and Croatia ().
• The capital of Serbia, Belgrade, is one of the oldest in Europe. It was founded about 2300 years ago.
• Lives in Belgrade 10 times less people than in Moscow. However, in all of Serbia the population is 2 times less than in the capital of Russia.
• Primitive people lived on the territory of modern Serbia back in Paleolithic times, as evidenced by what archaeologists discovered here stone tools labor().
• The most popular drink among Serbs is coffee. But he hardly drinks tea at all. Some Serbs sincerely believe that this is some kind of medicine at all.
• Some of the baths for which Serbia is famous were built here during the Roman Empire, and they are still functioning.
• About 30% of all raspberries in the world are grown in Serbia.
• For a long time, Serbian territories were part of Ottoman Empire.
• The Serbian flag looks like the Russian tricolor turned upside down ().
• Serbian obscene language is very similar to Russian.
• The vast majority of Serbs have a very warm attitude towards Russians, considering Russia a fraternal country.
• In Serbia, it is not customary to take off your shoes when visiting, even if it is wet and dirty outside.
• There are two unofficial alphabets in use here - Cyrillic and Latin. IN Lately The Latin alphabet is becoming more popular, but the official alphabet is Cyrillic.
• Most Serbs live with their parents for an average of 30 years.
• Many drinking establishments in Serbia do not have a kitchen. And where you can eat delicious food, there may easily be no alcohol.
• Despite the similarity of the Serbian language with Russian, it lacks the “y” sound, and Serbs do not have it at all.
• The total length of the borders of Serbia is 2364 km, which is 1000 km less than the distance from Moscow to Novosibirsk ().
• More than a dozen Roman emperors were born in Serbia at one time.
• Red wine in Serbia is called black.
• About a third of all Serbian territories are occupied by forests. Half of them belong to the state, the other half to private individuals.
• The birth rate in Serbia is one of the lowest in the world.
• Almost ordinary black bread is called Russian bread in Serbia. Almost, because it's sweet.
• Serbian railways are notable for the fact that trains here are almost always late.
• The most famous ethnic Serb is the inventor Nikola Tesla, who is still highly revered here ().
• In many regions of Serbia, Hungarian, Slovak and Romanian also have official status.
• Serbia is very concerned about the environment. Excessive deforestation was banned here back in the 14th century.
• Serbs make up about 83% of Serbia's population. The rest are Hungarians, Albanians, Roma, Montenegrins, Bulgarians, Romanians and representatives of other nationalities.
• Almost everywhere in Serbia you can safely drink water straight from the tap. If this is not possible, a warning sign will be posted.
• The Serbian region of Sjenica is the coldest continuously inhabited place in Europe. One day it was -39 degrees here.
• A unique Serbian spruce grows in Serbia, which is not found anywhere else in the world (interesting facts about spruce).
• Serbian drivers almost never use turn signals when changing lanes.
• Theft is extremely rare in Serbia. In supermarkets, instead of lockers where you can leave your bags, there are simply hooks on which you can hang your bag.
• The word “vampire,” which has become common to a number of world languages, comes precisely from the Serbian language.

Serbia cannot be classified as a rich country by EU standards, but you can’t call her backward either.

The bulk of cars scurrying along the country's roads consists of old Vehicle. Many of them are 20 or even 30 years old.

And here Serbian villages can be compared with elite villages in Russia. Serbs are great specialists and masters in construction. They can be seen at many construction sites around the world.

Serbia is the only country in the world where Russians can meet sincere love.

With the change of generation it decreases, but manifestations of the good attitude of Serbs towards Russians can be found in this amazing country everywhere.

The Serbian people are one of the most cultural and educated in the EU. Serbs have two alphabets - Latin and Cyrillic, both of them are taught in schools.

Official papers are drawn up in the country in Cyrillic. The Latin alphabet is often used in everyday life.

Interesting fact: the main rule in Serbian spelling is “write as you hear.” Serbs cannot pronounce the sound “Y”.

The Turks had a great influence on their culture. For more than 5 centuries the state was under their yoke.

She is the only one European country, which bombed with radioactive shells after World War II.

The country has two tricolor flags. The location of the stripes on them changed in different historical periods. On one national flag the country's coat of arms is present, but the other does not.

Serbia - the country of raspberries. Amazingly tasting berries are grown here. Almost 30% of raspberries supplied to world markets are produced from here.

Serbia is the only country in Europe that has signed a free trade agreement with Russia.

16 Roman emperors were born on the territory of the state. One of them is Constantine the Great. He ruled the Roman Empire for 30 years.

The country is landlocked, but its Silver Lake is recognized as the most beautiful in Europe.

Coffee capital Belgrade

The capital Belgrade throughout the history of its existence conquered 38 times by 40 armies various countries . Each time after the next conquest it was rebuilt.

The most popular area among partygoers in the capital has been nicknamed “Silicon Valley” by witty Belgrade residents.

The first coffee shop in Europe was opened in Belgrade. Everyone drinks coffee in the capital. Belgrade residents are real coffee lovers.

The capital was built on ruins ancient city. It flows two rivers - Danube and Save.

Belgrade pedestrian Prince Michael Street is recognized as the most beautiful in Europe.

Temple of Saint Sava considered one of the largest European cathedrals. The height of its dome reaches 70 meters.

The largest sports and concert complex in Europe - Belgrade Arena.

Located within the city limits Kalemegdan fortress and park, which not only tourists love to visit, but also local residents. Belgrade residents go around this fortress on the right side.

This is due to the fact that on the left side of this building there is a zoo. Residents of the capital do not like to see animals languishing in cages.

A large number of buildings in Belgrade were built according to the designs of Russian architects.

Who doesn't love to eat delicious food?

Like many residents southern countries, Serbs don't drink tea. Their favorite drink is Turkish coffee. They brew and drink it everywhere and always.

Local food establishments are divided into those that serve food and those that only serve drinks.

Weakest local alcoholic drink - Šlivovitsa. It is a brandy made with plums.

Only produced here Pelinkovac is a special type of herbal liqueur. The food here is traditional Bermet - sweet strong wine.

Very often among Serbs you can find dishes with the prefix “Russian”. Russian salad is a regular Olivier salad.

Traditional Serbian salad is called “shopski”. It is very reminiscent in taste and method of preparation to a traditional Bulgarian dish.

Dairy products occupy a large share in the Serbian diet. Traditionally Corba is prepared in Serbia- fish soup with lots of hot red pepper.

Fried minced sausages got their name in these places “chevapi”, and soft cheese was called “kaimak”.

Serbs are very fond of eating various vegetable snacks. One of them is called “ayvar”.

Emotional beauties and beauties

Serbs are very beautiful people : men are tall and the vast majority have lush tar hair, and women have brown eyes and black eyebrows.

Enough a large number of one of them speaks Russian perfectly, but even without knowledge of languages, a Russian person will be able to understand a Serb. The great similarity of languages ​​helps in this.

In terms of emotionality, Serbs are inferior to Italians, but they gesticulate no less than them. We can say with confidence that they are the friendliest people of all those living in the Balkans.

Their help is always selfless. When helping someone, they do not expect gratitude.

It is not customary here to take off your shoes when visiting. Serbs are big smokers. They smoke here like locomotives, men and women. They don't mind drinking a glass over a cigarette homemade wine or a glass of rakia.

Despite their love for good strong drinks, it is difficult to find people suffering from alcoholism among Serbs.

It's rare for Serbs to get married before the age of 30. Early marriages are not common in the country. It is very difficult to determine the age of Serbian women from the back. Even at 50 years old they have a wonderful figure.

Blondes in Serbia are called “plava braids”. It means "blue hair".

Locals are very fond of sports and big dogs. The local dogs are absolutely not aggressive, just like their owners.

Serbs are very hard to build up, but if they walk, then in full.

Interesting fact: Serbs never swear, they speak it.

Serbian traditions and holidays

One of the main holidays is dedicated to the family saint. He is known as Glory of the Cross. In terms of popularity, it is second only to birthdays, which people like to celebrate here.

This holiday can be called the name day of the family. The canon of celebrating this day exists only in Serbian Orthodoxy.

Another popular holiday is Asshole. This is a memorial day. Together with the Montenegrins Serbs celebrate Bozic. It is celebrated after Christmas Eve.

This number for residents of the country has special meaning. In 1329 on this day The Serbs were defeated by the Ottoman Empire at Kosovo.

On this day in 1991 The first shot was fired in the country during the bombing of Belgrade; in 2001, Serbia extradited Milosevic to the Hague Tribunal.

Serbs have a tradition of welcoming guests with a glass of water and jam. They kiss three times when they meet and three times when they part.

It is customary for them to look into each other's eyes when meeting each other and talking. When entering a store, Serbs always say hello, and when leaving it they say goodbye.

Until recently, Serbia had traditions that were typical of the Middle Ages. These included the right of first wedding night and consanguineous marriages.

Serbian oddities and mysteries

Serbian trains are the slowest in the world and move along routes without a schedule.

The country is very pure water . And if there is no sign on the source prohibiting drinking from it, then it contains absolutely pure water.

Despite the fact that Kosovo separated from Serbia and is under the protection of the UN, it does not recognize its sovereignty. According to the Serbian Constitution, Kosovo is considered part of the country.

Serbs do not like theirs very much famous director Kusturica and Tesla is highly revered. They even like to attribute to the latter things that he did not invent or invent.

The big mystery of Serbia is Mount Rtan. In photographs taken from space, its outlines, having the correct shape, are clearly visible. In its appearance it resembles the Egyptian pyramids.

The Serbs have many myths and legends associated with this place. For many years, scientists have been trying to unravel the mystery of the correct outlines of the mountain, considering it a unique engineering structure.

Rtan has the ability radiate into the world waves with a frequency of 26 kHz. Near the mountain, all electronic devices fail.

According to some scientists, about 15 thousand years ago the mountain served as a powerful cosmic resonator.

There is a lot of talk about girls marrying Italians or Europeans. But for some reason there are not so many representatives of the fair half who have chosen a Serb as their husband, or it is simply not made public. But, nevertheless, they marry Serbs and many want to know what to expect from this marriage, what dangers may lie in wait after the marriage begins family life and in general, what you should be prepared for.

In principle, the Serbs, unlike other peoples, such as Italians, Europeans, Muslims, are closest in their mentality to the Russian people; in fact, they are our blood brothers. True, you should not think that there is no difference between a Russian man and a Serb. Such an opinion would be wrong. On the nature of this small people influenced by the location of the territory in which they live, as well as the numerous conflicts in which the Serbian people were drawn. So, what awaits you if you decide to marry a Serbian?

Among the Serbs special treatment to women. This may be partly explained by the fact that there are several times more men in Serbia than women. The men themselves are somewhat similar to the mountaineers, but do not confuse them with people from the mountains, which are the Caucasians and people close to them, who do not value women at all. Among the Serbs it will be difficult to find a soft-spoken guy; rather, most of them are slightly rude men with a tough character. And Serbia itself is a country where patriarchy reigns, but at the same time women are very revered and respected, which is already much better than that patriarchy that rules in the East. It is quite difficult to meet a Serb who abuses alcohol. They are very restrained in their alcohol consumption.

When living with a Serb, be prepared for the blood feud that is practiced in the area. Serbs hold each other very tightly, and family is sacred to them. Therefore, if someone encroached on this shrine, then one can only sympathize with this unfortunate person. The whole village or city will take up arms against him.

You don't have to worry about how you will be received by your family. Today in Serbia there are a lot of girls from Ukraine, Russia and the CIS countries who married a Serb, so sometimes a snobbish desire to preserve the purity of the family and survive as a foreigner will not be a threat to your family. As a rule, the son's wife is welcomed into the house, showing her every honor. But at the same time, I will expect from you respect and obedience to your elders. The husband's family, and especially his mother, will occupy one of the most important places in your new family. The ideal wife for a Serb is a calm and not hot-tempered girl, because men have a hot-tempered and explosive character, and you will have to somehow extinguish the passions in his soul. It will be more problematic for a girl with character to get along with a Serb, but the main thing here is desire and love, then you will be able to tame this highlander. You shouldn’t expect wild romance in a relationship, but you will feel like you’re behind a stone wall with him. Despite the fact that Serbs are a little rude and can make jokes about women, they protect their women and do not give offense. And the Serbs have a special attitude towards Russian and Slavic girls; they idolize them, since Slavic girls, in the understanding of the Serbs, personify the perfect wife: beautiful, sexy, homely, loving family and comfort, unlike European girls who bet on a career, and only then think about starting a family.

The Serbian people are very welcoming and hospitable, and holidays are celebrated on a grand scale. The festivities are especially beautiful in villages where the breath of Europe has not yet penetrated. In this, the Serbs are also very similar to the Russian people, who, if they walk, do so in a way that can be heard at the other end of the village.

Of course, it was not without its drawbacks. Most Serbs are very self-confident and consider themselves to be irresistible male seducers. Often such confidence is not based on anything and at heart it turns out to be either a simple guy who will the best option, or a complex and boorish type, hiding behind this guise in order to attract women.

One should not expect highly educated Serbs to talk about the influence of the avant-garde on modern painting, classics on raising children and similar topics. As a rule, these men are very down-to-earth in their judgments and desires. They cannot be called stupid or uneducated, they just have a completely different outlook on life. They may not understand why they need to distinguish the paintings of Shishkin from Sokolov, or how Bosch differs from Bach. But they can tell you many wonderful legends of their region, and will be well versed in agriculture and agriculture, which is more important, in their opinion, in order to live a normal life. Therefore, if you were hoping to get an intellectual as a husband with whom you could have small talk, then the choice of Serbian husbands will not be the most ideal.

Serbs, as already mentioned, are very hot-tempered. Therefore, try in advance to get used to the fact that you will be jealous of all the men who will be in your environment if you move to Serbia. It is very important to get to know your husband better before the wedding, because almost all Serbs can be divided into two groups. The first one is very respectful of Russian girls; in a marriage with such a man, you will have to obey the harsh to a man's word, but in return you will receive love and affection. But the second type, on the contrary, considers girls from Russia to be persons of easy virtue who do not deserve respect. These people will not even stop before raising their hand to a woman. Fortunately, the latter are in the minority.

But the Serbs love children very much, and here the attitude towards them is rather closer to the East. During a divorce, not a single Serb will give his children to his mother, but will insist and fight for the children to stay with him. Of course, you will be allowed to visit them, but they are unlikely to give you up for foster care.

It is best in relations with the Serbs to adhere to the tactics that the Serbs themselves have chosen. They obey their husband in everything. They will not make trouble or shout at their husband if they disagree with him on something. But they know how to make their husband do what they want. By the way, there is a Russian proverb about this: The husband is the head, the wife is the neck. Wherever I want, I turn there. Therefore, you need to achieve something from the Serbs not with shouts and scandals, but with your intelligence and cunning. In general, among marriages with Serbs there is much less divorce than, for example, with Eastern men. The main thing is to constantly learn to be a woman and a wife, then your Serbian husband will simply idolize you.

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 never relied on anyone other than Russia. It’s not for nothing that they say that Russians and Serbs are brothers forever.

Why "Serbs"?

There is still no clear opinion on where the ethnonym “Serbs” came from, but there are many versions. Slavist Pavel Safarik traced the word “Serbs” to the proto-Slavic forms *srb and *sarb, which, in turn, came from an Indo-European word meaning “sow, give birth, produce.”

Max Vasmer interpreted the word "Serbs" as "belonging to the same clan, the same tribe." Similar meaning philologists Ilyinsky and Kovalev also supported. In their opinion, a “Serb” is “a person, a member of a clan union.”

Also interesting, but unproven, is the version of the Slavist Moszczyński, who connected the origin of the word “Serb” with Indo-European root*ser-v-, meaning “to guard, protect livestock.”

In 1985, researcher Shuster-Shevts suggested that the word “Serbs” is related to the Russian dialect verb “serbat” (to slurp). This version is interesting, since all Slavic languages ​​have words with the root “s-r”, the meaning of which is “to separate, highlight, squeeze out”.

This root stem is a metathesis of Indo-European *res>*ser, which means “to cut, cut, separate.” In the Old Slavic language, the predominant meaning of the root stem *ser became “to separate, highlight, squeeze out.” This meaning has been preserved, for example, in the Russian glavgol “scoop”, which comes from the same verb “serbat”. The word "sulphur" has 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 “selected, 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 when they separated from the Wends.

There is also a version that is followed by those who do not like Serbs. Harvat nationalists, following Ante Starčević, believe that the ethnonym “Serbs” comes from Latin word servus - slave Within 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 Serbian slaves. As they say, comments are unnecessary.

Fight for freedom

The Serbs were first mentioned by Herodotus and Ptolemy back in the 2nd century AD, but Serbia as a territorial entity dates back to the 6th century; in the 8th century, Serbian proto-state formations already emerged. In the 13th century, the Nemanjic dynasty came to power in the Serbian state, at the same time the country was freed from the rule of Byzantium.

Serbia reached great heights and developed into a large state, which began to occupy almost the entire southwest of the Balkan Peninsula. The Serbian state reached its greatest peak during the reign of Stefan Dušan (1331-1355), but after the death of the monarch, the history of Serbia changed dramatically. In the mid-14th century, the Ottoman Empire rapidly conquered territories. The Serbian prince Lazar Hrebelianovich 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 Tsatelitsa fortress. The Serbs did not have the strength to resist the powerful Osan army, and Lazar made the difficult decision to conclude a truce on enslaving conditions. According to 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 dissatisfied with the dubious terms of the truce.

The military aggression of the Turks continued, and in 1386 Murad I took the city of Niš, 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 the Serbian princes in the Battle of Kosovo. This led to Serbia recognizing the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. Serbia was finally conquered by the Turks in 1459.

From that time on, Serbia was 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 Pecs, which managed to establish ties with Spain, Hungary and Spain. Best of luck reached an uprising in the 19th century (first and second Serbian uprisings). However, only in 1878 did Serbia gain its long-awaited independence.

Brothers forever

The Serbs themselves admit that nowhere do they love 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 Rus'. Until now, Orthodoxy 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, there has been active support for Serbian monasteries. 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 premises for a monastic courtyard in the center of Moscow, which immediately became a Serbian diplomatic center in which funds were collected to be sent to Serbia. During the reign of Boris Godunov, Serbian migrants already received 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 cultural environment. Separately, it is necessary to say about Savva Vladislavlich-Raguzinsky, a Russian diplomat of Serbian origin. It was he who signed the Treaty of Kyakhta, served as Russia’s ambassador to Constantinople and Rome, and also translated Mavro Orbini’s book “The Slavic Kingdom.”

In 1723, Peter the Great allowed Ivan Albanez, a Montenegrin by origin, to create a settlement in the area of ​​the city of Sumy, where more than a hundred Serbian families moved. From here two Serbian territorial entities that existed in Russian Empire– Slavyanoserbia and New Serbia.

Ice Calvary

First world war(which actually began in Serbia) Nicholas II took the side of the fraternal state. Unable to help the Serbian army with Russian troops, Russian Emperor organized the delivery of ammunition, military equipment and provisions to Serbia. Several sanitary units were also sent to Serbia. At the very beginning of the war, the Serbian army was able to withstand several frontal attacks by the Austrian army, and twice cleared its territory of invaders.

However, in October 1915, Bulgaria dealt a blow to the Serbs in the back. Serbia found itself in a difficult situation. On October 9, Belgrade fell, and the very next day the Bulgarians united with 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 300,000-strong army to the 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 in order not to be drafted (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 as the “ice Golgotha.” Every third died. Later, the Serbs began to say: “People ask us why we call our children non-holy names? Every third boy froze on Ice Golgotha, so since then we have all holy names.”

Chetniks

Serbs tend to high degree popular self-organization, especially on the basis of the national liberation movement. Special Mention deserves such a phenomenon in the history of Serbia as “Chetnicism”.

Its creation can be dated back 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 Chetnik formations for the further fight against Turkish rule 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, Chetnicism “educated” young people - it was a veteran’s organization that conducted ideological propaganda, and also supported disabled combat veterans and the families of those killed.

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

Mikhailovich himself did not rely directly on previous Chetnik organizations, considering himself still integral part Army of the Kingdom, and called the forces under his control the Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland. People already called them Chetniks. Nationalist monarchists initially tried to fight the Axis powers together with Joseph Brosa-Tito's partisans, but after a few months, the alliance between nationalists and communists fell apart.

Certain Chetnik groups began to openly collaborate with the occupation authorities against the Red partisans. Until the very end, Mikhailovich maneuvered between rejection of communist ideology (despite his respectful attitude towards the armed forces Soviet Union), and unwillingness to cooperate with the occupation authorities.

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

Home of the Roman Emperors

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

In Serbia, Olivier is called Russian salad, sweet kvass is called Russian kvass, and for some reason black kvass is called Russian sweet bread, which can be with marmalade.

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