BELGRADE

  It is a city with a vibrant atmosphere, perhaps because of all these sudden and dramatic changes. Investment is arriving in Belgrade, infrastructure is being improved, and foreign visitors are returning in large numbers. It has festivals of music, film and theatre throughout the year and a lively artistic life of its own. Literary circles organize readings and discussions between writers and critics. It gives the impression of a place that is not waiting for all problems to be settled before taking the bit between its teeth and setting off again, thinking of the future and what can still be accomplished rather than what has gone before.

  CITY OF CONTRASTS

  Belgrade has experienced many drastic transformations of such a nature that they have barely allowed the town and its inhabitants to define their own identity before another disruption brings new challenges and new identities. It seems to possess holes and lacunae in its history that hinder those who seek a pattern of development to explain its evolution from one period to the next.

  Belgrade was taken by Karađorđe and given its first taste of urban development by Miloš Obrenović. It was visited by the European Enlightenment in the shape of Dositej Obradović and given its language by Vuk Karadžić. The city’s political culture has been formed at the meeting point of different civilizations. It lies in a border region between East and West, the Balkans and Europe. It is situated at the point where two rivers meet below the fortress that has sheltered Roman, Byzantine, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Ottoman and Serbian troops. Taken over by the Partisans in the 1940s and subjected to communist ideology, it was over time restored to something approaching normalcy. In the 1990s Belgrade succumbed again to an alien force, one which applied its criminal rules to the life of the city.

  It has been severely damaged in the two world wars of the twentieth century, only on each occasion to rise again and become successful at the head of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and Tito’s Yugoslavia. Its urban contours give a visual reminder of these meeting points. It has two large Orthodox churches, one of them wrapped in a western architectural design, the other topped by a more characteristic cupola. The centre of the old town is a complex jigsaw of traditional Balkan style, the classical monumentalism of European architecture, Modernist fusions and Postmodernist experiment. New Belgrade contains all possible examples of contemporary urban design and planning.

  Extremes of history, geography, politics and culture have combined to form the city and its image. Constantly moving, never quite settled, the Belgrade of the imagination is imbued with a ghostly presence, a spectral form real but difficult to pin down. It is made up of doubled and redoubled identities, reflections of the discontinuous lines of its past and the memories of its many origins. It is a city that gives its artists the opportunity to fill in the gaps, to repair the holes left by accidents of history and geography. The story of Belgrade is a dramatic narrative, and its storytellers offer a glimpse of its elusive unity.

  Appendix

  SERBIAN LANGUAGE

  Serbian is no more or less difficult than any other foreign language for speakers of English to learn. It is one of the members of the Slavonic family of languages which can be found across much of Eastern Europe. They are sub-divided into three groups: the East Slavonic group (Byelorussian, Russian, Ukrainian), the West Slavonic (Czech, Polish, Slovak, Sorbian) and the South Slavonic (Bulgarian, Croatian, Macedonian, Serbian, Slovene). Some would add Bosnian and Montenegrin to this list of South Slavonic languages but these terms have not yet acquired the greater currency of the others. Until recently the languages spoken across Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro were considered one, called Serbo-Croatian. Nowadays, many native speakers regard them as quite separate linguistic units, like badges of different nationalities and cultural traditions. They remain very close and are mutually comprehensible; Serbs, Croats and Bosnians have no need for an interpreter to speak to one another. Language or dialect differences, as in the United Kingdom, identify where people are from rather than their ethnic group.

  There is one factor which distinguishes Serbian from the other Slavonic languages. Walking down the streets of Belgrade, or any other Serbian town, the visitor will immediately see examples of writing in both Latin and Cyrillic letters all around. The Latin alphabet is like the one used in English and the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet is similar to the one in Russian. Of the two alphabets Cyrillic was developed for writing first, with the Latin script introduced as Serbian culture moved closer to the West. There is no strict rule to say which alphabet should be used on which occasion, while for individual use it is a matter of personal choice. Some newspapers are printed in Cyrillic and some in the Latin alphabet, billboards, labels on goods in shops, even graffiti may be in one or the other script. Of course, they are not mixed in the same word or text. In order to find your way around town and read street signs and other information you need to be able to recognise both alphabets. However, it is quite straightforward to convert from one to the other using the table given below. Both the Latin and the Cyrillic alphabets contain 30 letters to represent the same 30 sounds. The Latin alphabet is given in the first row with its Cyrillic equivalent underneath:

  Spelling and pronunciation are very easy in Serbian since words are written according to phonetic principles. Each letter represents one sound and each word is spelt as it is pronounced.

  The following notes are intended to help provide a basic guide to pronunciation by dividing the letters of the Latin alphabet which differ in their sounds from English into three groups.

  I Vowels tend to be shorter than in English:

  a as in cat

  e as in fell

  i as the ea in lean

  o as in knot

  u as the oo in moon

  II These letters have only one distinct sound:

  c pronounced like the ts at the end of cats (never like a k or s)

  g pronounced like the g at the beginning of goat (never as in large)

  h pronounced in the throat like the sound at the end of Scottish loch

  j pronounced like the y at the beginning of you

  lj pronounced like the ll in the middle of million

  nj pronounced like the ni in the middle of onion

  r pronounced with a trill, not in the throat as in French

  III The last group of letters is formed with the help of accents above the letter but they represent sounds which are similar to ones in English:

  č pronounced like the ch in child

  ć pronounced like the t in tune

  dž pronounced like the j in judge

  đ pronounced like the d in dew

  š pronounced like the sh in shoe

  ž pronounced like the s in the middle of pleasure

  The letters Đ and đ in the Latin alphabet are sometimes written as Dj and dj respectively.

  Names of Streets

  In order to make it easier to identify street names when walking in town I append here a list of those featured in the book with their Serbian form in both Latin and Cyrillic script:

  Further Reading

  The sections below contain the titles of the more important sources used in writing this book. All quotations from Serbian/Croatian original sources have been translated by the author, except where a translation is given below in which case quotations have been taken from the published translation.

  BELGRADE (IN SERBIAN)

  Antonić, Zdravko et al (eds), Istorija Beograda. Belgrade: Balkanološki institut SANU, Izdavačka kuća Draganić, 1995

  Bogunović, Slobodan-Giša, Arbitektonska enciklopedija Beograda XIX i XX veka, 3 volumes. Belgrade: Beogradska knjiga, 2005

  Crnjanski, Miloš, Beograd. Belgrade: Narodna knjiga, 1999 (Translation of French publication Belgrade. Belgrade: Bureau central de presse, 1936)

  Čubrilović, Vasa et al (eds), Istorija Beograda, 3 volumes. Belrgade: Prosveta, 1974

  Glumac, Slobodan, Belgrade. Belgrade: Jugoslovenska revija, 1989

  Nušić, Branislav Đ., “Beogradske kafane”, in S
abrana dela Branislava Nušića, vol XXII. Belgrade: Geca Kon, 1935, pp.125–183

  Prodanović, Mileta, Stariji i lepši Beograd. Belgrade: Stubovi kulture, 2001

  Radulović, Jovan et al (eds), Ulice i trgovi Beograda, 2 volumes. Belgrade: Biblioteka grada Beograda, 2004

  Vujović, Branko, Beograd u prošlosti i sadašnjosti. Belgrade: Draganić, 1994

  Vujović, Sreten, Grad u senci rata: Ogeldi o gradu, siromaštvu i sukobima.Novi Sad: Prometej; Belgrade: Institut za sociologiju Filozofskog fakulteta, 1997

  TRAVELLETS AND OBSERVERS (IN SERBIAN)

  Crnjanski, Miloš, “Posleratna književnost: literarna sećanja”, in Izabrana dela, vol XII. Belgrade: Nolit, 1983, pp.63–92

  Damjanović, Ratomir et al (eds), Serbia: Srpski narod, srpska zemlja, srpska duhovnost u delima stranih autora. Belgrade: Itaka, 1996

  Lamartin, Alfons de, Spisi o Srbima (Lamartine, Alphonse de, Les écrits sur les Serbes). Belgrade: Utopija, 2006 (Bilingual edition of Lamartine’s writings on Serbia)

  Lukić, Sveta, Bivši Beograd. Belgrade: Draganić, 1995

  Makavejev, Dušan, “Memorandum Kosančićevog venca 7”, in Predrag Palavestra (ed), Spomenica Slobodana Selenića: Povodom sedamdesetogodišnjice rođenja. Belgrade: Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, 2004, pp.29–32

  Pavlović, Mihailo (ed), Du regarde au texte: Anthologie de textes français sur le pays et les peuples Yougoslaves (Od pogleda do teksta: Antologija francuskih tekstova o jugoslovenskim krajevima i narodima). Belgrade: Narodna knjiga, 1983 (Bilingual extracts by French travel writers to the region)

  Ribnikar, Jara, Muzej 4. jul 1941. Belgrade: Muzej grada Beograda, 1977

  Savić, Pavle et al (eds), Beograd u sećanjima 1900–1918. Belgrade: Srpska književna zadruga, 1977

  Savić, Pavle et al (eds), Beograd u sećanjima 1919–1929. Belgrade: Srpska književna zadruga, 1980

  Sekulić, Isidora, Zapisi o mome narodu, in Sabrana dela Isidore Sekulić, vol III. Belgrade: Vuk Karadžić, 1977

  HISTORY OF SERBIA AND REGION (IN SERBIAN)

  Knežević, Aleksandar and Tufegdžić, Vojislav, Kriminal koji je izmenio Srbiju. Belgrade: Radio B–92, 1995

  Marković, Predrag J., Trajnost i promena: Društvena istorija socijalističke i postsocijalističke svakodnevnice u Jugoslaviji i Srbiji. Belgrade: Službeni glasnik, 2007

  Samardžić, Radovan (ed), Istorija srpskog naroda, 3rd edition, 10 volumes. Belgrade: Srpska književna zadruga, 2000

  Stojanović, Dubravka, Srbija i demokratija 1903–1914: Istorijska studija o “zlatnom dobu srpske demokratije”. Belgrade: Čigoja štampa, 2003

  LITERARY AND CRIRICAL HISTORIES (IN SEBIAN /CRIATION)

  Central Committee of the League of Communists of Croatia, Report on cultural production known as Bijela knjiga (The White Book), 1984 (Copy of the original typescript was circulated via the Association of Writers of Serbia)

  Deretić, Jovan, Istorija srpske književnosti. Belgrade: Nolit, 1983

  Palavestra, Predrag, Kritička književnost: Alternativa postmodernizma. Belgrade: Vuk Karadžić, 1983

  Popović, Pavle, Jugoslovenska književnost. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1918

  Skerlić, Jovan, Istorija nove srpske književnosti. Belgrade: S. B. Cvijanović; Zadužbina I. M. Kolarca, 1914

  TRAVELLERS AND OBSERVES (IN ENGLISH)

  Yovitchitch is the anglicized spelling of Lena Jovičić’s surname.

  De Windt, Harry, Through Savage Europe: being the narrative of a Journey (undertaken as special correspondent of the “Westminster Gazette”) throughout the Balkan states and European Russia. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1907

  Durrell, Lawrence, Spirit of Place: Mediterranean Writings. London: Faber and Faber, 1969

  Goldsworthy, Vesna, Chernobyl Strawberries: A Memoir. London: Atlantic Books, 2006

  Le Queux, William Tufnell (published anonymously), An Observer in the Near East. London: Eveleigh Nash, 1907

  Maclean, Fitzroy, Eastern Approaches. London: Penguin, 1991

  Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley, Turkish Embassy Letters. London: William Pickering, 1993

  Reed, John, The War in Eastern Europe: Travels through the Balkans in 1915. London: Orion, 1994

  Tesanović, Jasmina, The Diary of a Political Idiot: Normal Life in Belgrade. San Francisco: Midnight Editions, 2000

  Thompson, Mark, A Paper House: the Ending of Yugoslavia. London: Vintage, 1992

  West, Rebecca, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: the Record of a Journey through Yugoslavia in 1937, 2 volumes. London: Macmillan, 1943

  Yovitchitch, Lena A., Yugoslavia. London: A. & C. Black, 1928

  Yovitchitch, Lena A., Pages from Here and There in Serbia. Belgrade: S. B.Cvijanovich, 1926

  HISTORY OF SERBIA AND REGION (IN ENGLISH)

  Beloff, Nora, Tito’s Flawed Legacy: Yugoslavia and the West: 1939–84. London: Victor Gollanz, 1985

  Djilas, Milovan, Tito: The Story from Inside. London: Weidenfield and Nicolson, 1981

  Djokić, Dejan (ed), Yugoslavism: Histories of a Failed Idea 1918–1992. London: Hurst, 2003

  Dragović–Soso, Jasna, “Saviours of the Nation”: Serbia’s Intellectual Opposition and the Revival of Nationalism. London: Hurst, 2002

  Drulović, Milojko, Self-Management on Trial. Nottingham: Spokesman Books, 1978

  Glenny, Misha, The Balkans 1804–1999: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers.London: Granta Books, 2000

  Jelavich, Barbara, History of the Balkans, 2 volumes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984

  Judah, Tim, The Serbs: History, Myth and the Destruction of Yugoslavia. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1997

  Judah, Tim, Kosovo: War and Revenge. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2000

  Maclean, Fitzroy, Tito: A Pictorial Biography. London: Macmillan, 1980

  Markovich, Slobodan G., British Perceptions of Serbia and the Balkans, 1903–1906. Paris: Dialogue, 2000

  Palairet, Michael, “God’s Property Developer: Francis Mackenzie of Gairloch in Serbia (1876–95)”, in Peter Henry et al (eds), Scotland and the Slavs: Selected Papers from the Glasgow–90 East-West Forum. Nottingham: Astra Press, 1993, pp.87–113

  Pavlowitch, Stevan K., The Improbable Survivor: Yugoslavia and its Problems 1918–1988. London: Hurst, 1988

  Pavlowitch, Stevan K., Serbia: The History of an Idea. New York: New York University Press, 2002

  Popov, Nebojša (ed), The Road to War in Serbia: Trauma and Catharsis Budapest: Central European University Press, 2000

  Selenić, Slobodan, “History and Politics as Fate: A Comment on the Mainstream Contemporary Serbian Novel”, in Predrag Palavestra (ed), Responsibility of Contemporary Science and Intelligentsia. Belgrade: Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1992, pp.227–31

  Singleton, Fred, A Short History of the Yugoslav Peoples. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985

  Škrivanić, Gavro A., “Roman Roads and Settlements in the Balkans”, in Francis W. Carter (ed), An Historical Geography of the Balkans. London: Academic Press, 1977, pp.115–45

  Thomas, Robert, Serbia under Milošević: Politics in the 1990s. London: Hurst, London, 1999

  Todorov, Nikolai, The Balkan City 1400–1900. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1983

  Woodward, Susan L., Balkan Tragedy: Chaos and Dissolution after the Cold War. Washington D. C.: Brookings Institute, 1995

  ON CULTURAL PRODUCTION IN SERBIA AND THE REGION (IN ENGLISH )

  Barac, Antun, A History of Yugoslav Literature. Ann Arbor: Michigan Slavic Publications, 1973

  Blagojević, Ljiljana, Modernism in Serbia: The Elusive Margins of Belgrade Architecture, 1919–1941. Cambridge Mass.: MIT Press, 2003

  Čolović, Ivan, The Politics of Symbol in Serbia: Essays in Political Anthropology London: Hurst, 2002

  Eekman, Thomas, Thirty Years of Yugoslav Literature (1945–1975). Ann Arbor: Michigan Slavic Publications, 1978

  Gocić, Goran, Notes from the Underground: The Cinema of Emir Kusturica London and Ne
w York: Wallflower Press, 2001

  Gordy, Eric D., The Culture of Power in Serbia: Nationalism and the Destruction of Alternatives. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999