Balcanica - Annual of the Institute for Balkan Studies

Municipium Aelianum

Dragana Nikolić — 2023-12-30

The paper focuses on the Upper Moesian municipium Aelianum, whose existence and location have been long debated. Relatively recently, a new epigraphic attestation of the municipium has been discovered and published, which calls for a reconsideration of all existing data and hypotheses about this little-known Roman town, in order to contribute to the study of the urbanisation in the Roman province of Upper Moesia.

The Romani Language in the Linguistic Landscape of Serbia. A (non)visible Minority Language

Svetlana Ćirković — 2023-12-30

According to the Serbian Constitution, aligned laws, and international conventions, the Romani language, along with other minority languages in Serbia, is guaranteed minority linguistic rights. However, Romani continues to be stigmatized and marginalized, resulting in its infrequent public usage and a decreasing intergenerational transmission of the language. The objective of this study is to emphasize the significance of Romani in the public sphere of Serbia. By examining the use of this language in public spaces, it is possible to ascertain its status, usage, and simultaneously identify its vitality or vulnerability. Based on a search by domain of the use of the Romani language, the paper comments on the use of the Romani language at the top-down level – the level of usage guaranteed by institutions and public and local policies, the advantages and disadvantages of its use, and the violation of language rights. In addition, the analysis also includes the bottom-up level of the usage of Romani, which is based on field research and the documentation of the use of the written Romani on sacred monuments and tombstones, initiated by individuals and/or locally organised groups, which indicate its symbolic function within the public space.

The Question of Christian Slavic Refugees and the Russian Occupation of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia (1877–1879)

Krzysztof Popek — 2023-12-30

The modern Bulgarian state was founded as a result of the Russian intervention on the Balkan Peninsula in 1877–1878. Until June 1879, the tsarist army occupied the newly created state, which was divided into the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia pursuant to the decision of the Congress of Berlin. During this period, the Russians made all the most important decisions in the eastern Balkans, including those concerning migrations. As a result of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, about 100,000 Christian Slavs left their homes fleeing the hostilities. After the cease-fire, at the beginning of 1878, most of the refugees came back home; however, the Christians from Macedonia and Thrace, the lands which remained under the Ottoman Empire’s control in accordance with the Treaty of Berlin of July 1878, also started to migrate to Bulgaria. This was a result of unsuccessful uprisings as well as the will to live in a country ruled by the men of the same religion and ethnicity.

Breaking the Isolation. Kingdom of Serbia and the Adriatic Railroad 1906–1908

Miloš Vojinović — 2023-12-30

Between 1906 and 1908, the Kingdom of Serbia undertook a comprehensive diplomatic effort aimed at establishing a rail connection between the Danube and the Adriatic Sea. The article first provides a brief overview of the project’s rationale. Following that, it delves into the positions of individual countries regarding the proposed initiative, covering those who offered financial and political support, as well as those who actively sought to thwart the project. Ultimately, the article points to a particular Balkan infrastructural predicament. The Adriatic Railroad project, despite obvious economic benefits, had international support above all because it had the potential to influence the balance of power in the region. This potential was, at the same time, the reason why the project had powerful opponents and why it eventually failed.

The Outbreak of the First Balkan War and the Italo-Turkish Peace Negotiations in Lausanne in 1912

Milan Videnović — 2023-12-30

Analyzing published and unpublished sources, the paper aims to determine to what extent the crisis in the Balkan Peninsula influenced the dynamics and stages of the negotiations in Lausanne between the Italian and Turkish delegations to end the Italo-Turkish War. The analysis spans from mid-July to the signing of the First Treaty of Lausanne (Treaty of Ouchy) and the entry of Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece in the war against Turkey on 18 October 1912. Italy tried to end its conflict with Turkey and prevent the Balkan countries in their aspiration to disrupt the status quo in the Balkan Peninsula. Italian diplomacy used the friction between the Balkan countries and Turkey to conclude as favorable a treaty as possible, directly pressuring the Turkish delegation at Ouchy and using the great powers’ pressure on Turkey. The practical results of signing the Treaty of Lausanne were the establishment of direct Italian rule in Libya and retaining temporary control of the Aegean islands.

The Promulgation of the 1910 Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina – the Imperial Framework

Anja Nikolić — 2023-12-30

The paper aims to present the promulgation process of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Landesstatut) in the context of the Austro-Hungarian colonial administration of this territory. The passing of the promised constitution, locally known as Zemaljski statut, was an important political issue in the Dual Monarchy and attracted significant attention among contemporaries. The complex internal dynamics of Austria-Hungary and the peculiar legal status of Bosnia and Herzegovina make the process of enacting the supreme legal act of the newly annexed territory an intriguing case study within a colonial regime.

Searching for a Viable Solution. Yugoslav and Czechoslovak Nation-Building Projects in the 1930s

Dušan Fundić — 2023-12-30

This paper examines the policies used by the Yugoslav central government in the Yugoslav nation-building project of the 1930s and draws comparisons with the similar experience of Czechoslovakia. It explores the centralist approaches of both governments, highlighting the rise of Croat and Slovak nationalism during the decade in question by analysing the internal political dynamics of both countries. These two communities were crucial because, unlike numerous national minorities in Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, they were considered part of the ‘state-nation.’ Their integration was essential for the success of the nation-building projects in both countries. External pressure, especially the rise of Nazi Germany, became a crucial factor in the second half of the 1930s and deeply affected the decision-making process in both Belgrade and Prague.

Tribes in Arms. Gjon Marka Gjoni and the Irregular and Paramilitary Volunteer Forces of Northern Albania during the Fascist Occupation (1939–1943)

Markenc Lorenci — 2023-12-30

This paper analyzes the relationship between Gjon Marka Gjoni, head of the Mirdita tribes in North Albania, and the phenomenon of mobilization and recruitment of many men from the hinterland of North Albania in the irregular and paramilitary forces, i.e., in the voluntary bands and the Milicia Fashiste Shqiptare [Albanian Fascist Militia], during the Italian occupation (1939–1943). In addition to his personal role and interpersonal ties, it focuses on the personal motivations of these forces, with an emphasis on both economic ones – wages, benefits, and potential banditry opportunities – and emotional ones, the latter driven by various kinds of fears. Finally, to better understand their local activity and the dynamics that emerged, this paper also addresses the nature and the extent of their violence and the consequent impact on the population.

A Croatian and Catholic State. The Ustasha Regime and Religious Communities in the Independent State of Croatia

Aleksandar Stojanović — 2023-12-30

This paper will analyze the status that various religious communities enjoyed in the Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska; hereafter NDH), focusing on the legal status and relations, both practical and financial, these communities enjoyed with the Ustasha movement and state authorities. The religious question was a key political problem in the NDH: the treatment of different religious communities serves as a paradigm of the character of the NDH as a state. Numerous studies have been written on the participation of Catholic clergy in the atrocities of the Ustasha movement and the NDH with the earliest being published immediately after the end of the war in 1945. The persecution of the Serbian Orthodox Church has been well documented in a number of important studies. Instead, this article will focus on legal and administrative issues and financial exchange between various religious communities and the NDH authorities as well as the state’s program of mass religious conversion since these illustrate the authentic intentions of the Ustasha regime and the Roman Catholic Church in Croatia, as the dominant social and political forces in the state, regarding state religious policy. The article is largely based on primary archival sources drawn from the Croatian and Serbian state archives.

“The Chivu Stoica Plan” (September 1957). A Step on the Road to the “Open Balkans”

Andrey Edemskiy — 2023-12-30

The author unravels the history (from June to September 1957) of the origin, formalization and promotion of the initiative of the Romanian government (“the Chivu Stoica Plan”) to organize multilateral cooperation in the Balkan region. An analysis of the course of events is presented as a result of a study of recently declassified documents from Russian archives (RGANI, AVP RF). The consulting of them allowed the author to supplement significantly previous knowledge of the course of events and their various actors, identify in detail the degree of participation of the Soviet Union in them, clarify and expand the agenda of issues discussed during interactions between Bucharest and Moscow, and clarify the dates and planned options for the development of this initiative. This article supplements and corrects pre-existing opinions of world historiography about the allegedly sharply negative attitude of the Kremlin to this proposal of the Romanian leadership, as well as the perception of this initiative by historians as not only aiming to establish multilateral regional cooperation but also as a result of the Soviet bloc’s desire to establish a nuclear-free zone in the Balkans already in 1957.

“Death to the Slavs!” The Italian-Yugoslav Relations on Mutual Minorities and the Impact of the 1961 Trieste Riots (1954–1964)

Arrigo Bonifacio — 2023-12-30

After the 1954 Memorandum of Understanding of London, Italy and Yugoslavia settled their border dispute by partitioning what was formerly the Free Territory of Trieste. Furthermore, they also agreed to extend to each other’s national minorities living in the two zones of the former Free Territory the protection measures established by the Special Statute, an annex to the Memorandum. Neither of the two countries fully complied with the Special Statute but wanted it to be implemented in the Zone administered by the other side. Italy wanted to negotiate all further implementations and new concessions on the basis of reciprocity, the main rationale for the protection measures stipulated in the Special Statute. In contrast, Yugoslavia wanted Italy to agree to the unilateral implementation of the Special Statute in Trieste and to other concessions. This led to a stalemate in the negotiations and consequently to the poor enforcement of the Special Statute, which caused rising tensions on the local level, even though, in the meantime, the overall diplomatic relations between the two countries continued to improve. Yugoslavia’s increasing requests for unilateral implementation of the Special Statute and the Yugoslav-funded Slovene organisations in Italy resulted in a series of major anti-Yugoslav and anti-Slovene demonstrations in Trieste. After these riots and the ensuing debate on the minority issue, the need to rely on reciprocity also became evident to the Yugoslav diplomacy. Yugoslavia, therefore, dropped its old policy and started to improve the treatment of its Italian minority and agreed to negotiate based on the principle of reciprocity. This led to quick benefits for both minorities, and a new path that led Italy and Yugoslavia to sign new agreements on their mutual minorities, going even beyond the Special Statute.

Dubravka Preradović, ed., Ermil i Stratonik. Sveti ranohrišćanski mučenici beogradski [Hermylos and Stratonikos. Early christian martyrs of Belgrade]

Petar Josipović — 2023-12-30

Review of Dubravka Preradović, ed., Ermil i Stratonik. Sveti ranohrišćanski mučenici beogradski [Hermylos and Stratonikos. Early christian martyrs of Belgrade]. Belgrade: Institute for Balkan Studies SASA, 2022, 216 p.

Roumen Avramov, Aleksandar Fotić, Elias Kolovos & Phokion P. Kotzageorgis, eds., Monastic Economy across Time. Wealth Management, Patterns, and Trends

Ognjen Krešić — 2023-12-30

Review of Roumen Avramov, Aleksandar Fotić, Elias Kolovos & Phokion P. Kotzageorgis, eds., Monastic Economy across Time. Wealth Management, Patterns, and Trends. Sofia: Centre for Advanced Study, 2021, 316 p.

Dušan Spasojević, Ελλάδα. Ο αγώνας για την ανεξαρτησία, η συγκρότηση τ ου κράτους και η παλιγγενεσία του έθνους [Greece. The War of Independence, the Creation of the State and the Rebirth of the Nation]

Radmila Pejić — 2023-12-30

Reviwe of Dušan Spasojević, Ελλάδα. Ο αγώνας για την ανεξαρτησία, η συγκρότηση τ ου κράτους και η παλιγγενεσία του έθνους
[Greece. The War of Independence, the Creation of the State and the Rebirth of the Nation]. Athens: Kastaniotis, 2023, 456 p.

Paschalis M. Kitromilides, ed., The Greek Revolution in the Age of Revolutions (1776–1848). Reappraisals and Comparisons

Dušan Fundić — 2023-12-30

Review of Paschalis M. Kitromilides, ed., The Greek Revolution in the Age of Revolutions (1776–1848). Reappraisals and Comparisons. London and New York: Routledge, 2022, 284 p.

Luciano Monzali, La diplomazia italiana dal Risorgimento alla Prima Repubblica

Bogdan Živković — 2023-12-30

Review of Luciano Monzali, La diplomazia italiana dal Risorgimento alla Prima Repubblica. Milan: Mondadori, 2023, 455 p.

Slobodan G. Markovich, ed., Cultural Transfer Europe-Serbia: Methodological Issues and Challenges

Nemanja Stanimirović — 2023-12-30

Review of Slobodan G. Markovich, ed., Cultural Transfer Europe-Serbia: Methodological Issues and Challenges. Belgrade: Faculty of Political Sciences – Dosije Studio, 2023, 262 p.

Mirjana Mirić & Svetlana Ćirković, Gurbetski romski u kontaktu: analiza balkanizama i pozajmljenica iz srpskog jezika [Gurbet Romani in Contact: The Analysis of Balkanisms and Serbian Loanwords]

Anđela Redžić — 2023-12-30

Review of Mirjana Mirić & Svetlana Ćirković, Gurbetski romski u kontaktu: analiza balkanizama i pozajmljenica iz srpskog jezika [Gurbet Romani in Contact: The Analysis of Balkanisms and Serbian Loanwords]. Belgrade: Institute for Balkan studies SASA, 2022, 229 p.