SERBIA - National review, No 63

Prologue

GALLERY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONTENTS 

Prologue
LULLABY FOR BOILED FROGS
Experimental Zone Serbia

Vitrage
NUMBERS, EVENTS, INTERESTING THINGS

Album
PHOTOGRAPHS OF ZORAN MILUTINOVIĆ
A Somehow Familiar World

Pilgrimages
IN SKETE OF SAINT SAVA IN KARYES, ON THE DAY OF THE NURSING MADONNA
The Path of Exploits and Salvation
Already in his famous Karyes Typikon from 6707 (1199), Saint Sava marked this place as special. He set a very strict monastic rule, but he also excluded those who were leading an ascetic life here from any external authority, even archpriests and abbots. Vigil and prayer are here are endless, day and night, for centuries. According to Holy Mountain accounts, this is one of the most difficult places for monasticism. The struggle with the demonic forces here is literal. Now, here in Orahovica (Karyes), on the forefront of spiritual battle, the beautiful old man Nikodim lives, a great ascetic respected by all

Text and photo: Mišo Vujović

Invitation
ANOTHER RICH TOURIST SEASON IN BELGRADE
Foci of Culture and Cheerfulness
With a particular synergy of culture and tourism, the Serbian capital is constantly enriching its offer and raising its quality. The growing number of foreign and domestic guests is directly related to this. Numerous events have become part of Belgrade’s identity. This year again, there are numerous programs on rivers, in the fortress, in old ambient units, on squares and streets, sites in the outskirts of the city... All this is spiced up with Belgrade’s well-known creativity, musicality and charm

Sailing
”THE DRINA REGATTA 2017”, FROM PERUĆAC TO ROGAČICA
The Day when Serbia Danced
Following the tradition of ancient raftsmen on the Drina, who transported timber from the slopes of the Tara and Zvijezda down the river, a large number of people and vessels set sail every year from the dam in Perućac. It is a real carnival on the water. A rite of joy. The forcing of the novel-river... Everything is clear and elementary like the Drina. Simple and powerful, magnetic. There is a lot of singing and dancing, concerts and parties, cauldrons in which delicacies are simmered, beer cooled in the river. And one giant smile that covers it all

Text and photo: Petar Branov

Record
UNUSUAL SAINT DAY IN THE HILLS ABOVE ZAVOJSKO LAKE
Bells of the Underground Temple
That winter long time ago, by the force of nature or otherwise, the entire hill collapsed and covered the Visočica River. Water grew slowly, but unstoppably. It swallowed houses, stables, barns, fields ... The church, cemetery, memories. The residents of Zavoj on the outskirts of Pirot erected the settlement of Novi Zavoj, but not the church. Their church is still the one under water. And now the older ones sometimes hear its silent bells. And now, on August 2nd every year, on St. Elijah’s Day, these bells bring them together at Selište, near the stone inscription two centuries old. Here they celebrate Zavetine, the village patron saint day, and do not allow the memory of Old Zavoj to fade away

By: Miloš Lazić

Memory
LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF THE RUSSIAN IMPERIAL GENERAL PETER NIKOLAYEVICH WRANGEL (1878–1928)
Black Baron in the White City
Descendant of an old Baltic aristocratic family, he studied to become a mining engineer, but entered the elite St. Petersburg chevalier guard regiment. He remained unconditionally faithful to the vow ”for faith, the emperor and homeland” till his death. He commanded the Southern Russia Armed Forces when everything else had already fallen, until mid-November 1920. Then he came to Belgrade and Sremski Karlovci through Crimea, Constantinople and Boka. He died in Brussels in 1928, suddenly, at the age of fifty. His last wish was to be buried in Serbia. Followed by the sound of all bells in the capital city, a handful of Russian soil was put into his white marble tomb in the Russian Church in Belgrade

By: Petar Milatović

Great People
VESELIN ČAJKANOVIĆ (1881–1946), CLASSICAL PHILOLOGIST AND EXPERT IN ANCIENT SERBIAN RELIGION
To Mythical Heights
He earned his doctorate degree in Munich, on ancient proverbs, was a supreme translator of Greek and Roman authors, gave the most valuable contributions by shedding light on the depths of old Serbian religion and mythology. He showed how they still pulsate in the golden Serbian path of St. Sava. Great scientist and human, awarded with the Legion of Honor and Order of the White Eagle in World War I, wounded in the defense of Belgrade, removed from the University and public life in 1945, after a fabricated indictment of the communist authorities. He ended his life disappointed and hungry, selling his books and household furnishings. In the new age, he got a street in the suburbs, but his house was demolished and his grave devastated. What about us? How far do we expect to go with so much sins against the best sons of this country?

By: Mihajlo Vitezović

Palette
OLJA IVANJICKI (1931–2009), RUSSIAN-SERBIAN ART FAIRY, WITH THE PLAYFULNESS OF RENAISSANCE GENIUSES
A Visionary from the Time of High Modernism
After the shallow media games about her picturesque personality settle, her painting and her poetic and philosophical thought remain, which made her considerably beyond her time. She left an impassable trace in many fields, including architecture, fashion, design, literature. Her imagination created elegant and mystical worlds, she lived in a magic shell, in cosmic and archeo-futuristic settlements. She was in active communication with ancestors and descendants. Her work is a report from that extrasensory journey, a hidden guide through touching utopian realities

By: Dejan Đorić

Departure
DRAGAN LUBARDA (1933–2017), A MAGICAL DRAWER
A Dot on the Horizon
”Drawing a line is when my father on Romanija sharpens his scythe at dawn, turns it towards the sun and runs his thumb over it.” The magic of drawing, he said, often dragged him into the abyss of silence. He drew constantly, until the paw of everyday life scratched the magic mirror in which he perceived the world. He knew that life sometimes hangs on a line. He also knew how to live on the line. Finally, he left down the middle of the line, turning into a dot on the horizon. Until it also disappeared and a drop of blood in the corner of the sky appeared

By: Nebojša Jevrić

Belvederes
MIROSLAV MAKSIMOVIĆ, POET, ABOUT THE FATE OF A WORLD WITHOUT GOD OR POETRY
Searching for One’s Own Language
Every citizen of Europe is a European. Europe is not only the European Union. It’s not politics, but culture, faith, ethics and other common values. The homeland (state) is today the main, and perhaps last, defender of uniqueness of personalities and nations, as well as the defender of culture, which cannot exist without uniqueness. That is why the ”steamroller of globalization” considers culture the main obstacle on its way to the mindless and mass consumer society, which, as we know, hasn’t got spirit or poetry, the supreme expression of authenticity

By: Vesna Kapor

The Winner
DUŠAN DOMOVIĆ BULUT, 3x3 WIZARD, THE BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD
The Look of Understanding
What Falcao and Ricardinho are in futsal, he is in 3xs basketball. Well, more than that. Just watch his actions and moves on YouTube, everything will be clear to you. Such imagination, creation and skill are at the limit of incredible. Born in Novi Sad, he has always longed for the magic of free game. He detested the system that puts you into a pen, washes your brain, reduces you to a number, steals. He took the hard way to arrive where he is now: on the top. Both the Serbian national team and he are the best in the world. It’s not a seasonal thing. We will be convinced, he says, at the Olympics in Tokyo

By: Dejan Bulajić

Recommendation
SRBOBRAN, IN THE MIDDLE OF BAČKA, AND ITS MODERN ASSETS
On the Open Sea of the Plains
With the name acquired in a moat, of course, it had turbulent history. It wove and embroidered in itself several important roads and waterways. Stevan Kaćanski Bard is from here, here rests the woman to whom to the famous poem ”Santa Maria della Salute” was dedicated. ”The Guinness Book of Records” every year mentions the village of Turija in Srbobran for the longest sausage in the world. There are also the Great Bačka Canal, granges, protected area ”Beljanska bara”, a series of cultural and tourist events. If you are still open and curious, there are more than enough reasons not to delay this encounter

Gatherings
THE FIRST RUMA HALF-MARATHON, 26TH OF AUGUST
Long Distance Game
In addition to the Main Race, with 21.1 km long track, the Race of Satisfaction, Children’s Marathon, Business Relay Race will take place. Application deadline is August 25th. The organizer’s approach is thorough and serious, so it is expected that this will quickly become an indispensable point on the Balkan racing map. Full support from the local self-government

Connections
NEW IMPORTANT PROJECT OF ”TELEKOM SRBIJA”
We Create Knowledge
In cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of its establishment, the company will equip 20 IT cabinets in 20 primary schools throughout Serbia. It is a continuation of systematic efforts to raise IT literacy and technological entrepreneurship in that domain

Health
”MERKUR’S” JUBILEE WEEK IN VRNЈAČKA BANЈA
Decades of Care for People
A series of programs reminded us of the development path marked by tradition, continuous improvements and following the latest trends in tourism, from the distant 1947 to the present. At the ceremony under the slogan ”70 Years in the Service of Citizens”, ”Merkur’s” charters of appreciation were handed out to institutions and individuals. Major development projects have been presented which will mark the time ahead of us, such as the exclusive ”Splendor” Medical Center

Bridges
PROJECT ”WORLD IN SERBIA” CONTINUES IN STUDENT RESORTS IN BELGRADE
Web of True Connections
In half a decade, nearly four hundred students from fifty three countries participated in this program and in the program ”Serbia for Serbs from the Region”. This year, there are thirty three students from sixteen countries. They all learn Serbian and graduate from one of the faculties at the University of Belgrade. Then they return to their countries as experts, forever maintaining ties established with Serbia and Serbian culture

Experiment
INFLUENCE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON ”MENTAL WELLBEING”
A Number of Important Benefits
In recent years, psychologists have recognized many positive effects of physical activity on mental health and people’s psychological state. Thus, among other things, it strengthens self-esteem, improves mood, reduces anxiety, prevents depression and dementia, promotes cognitive and creative abilities... Of course, there are also risks, especially if intense physical activity is carried out without consultation with experts