Serbian Uprising Research Articles

The role of the clergy in the creation and work of the state authorities during the first Serbian uprising: Part one

Priests fulfill their mission among the people, and therefore share its fate. They recognize and share its needs, difficulties and aspirations. That was also the case during the First Serbian Uprising. Serbian people and Serbian clergy, therefore, shared the same needs and aspirations to get rid of the Ottoman occupation and to have their own state in which they will live by their own laws. This paper attempts to show how the clergy helped the establishment of Serbian authorities when the Turkish feudal system collapsed in the area of the Pashaluk of Belgrade, and how it participated in their work. This paper tried to show what was immediately done to lead to the establishment of the Serbian state in the making, but also what was done indirectly, through the priestly mission, in order to reach this goal. In particular, it was shown how Stevan Stratimirovic, the Metropolitan of Karlovci, who was the largest and undisputed spiritual authority among the rebels, with his frequent appeals for respect of law and order, often directly addressing rebel leaders, contributed to creating an environment for establishment and work of the new Serbian state authorities. It seems that in the legal and historical literature, as well as in historiography in general, these activities which indirectly lead to the creation of the state after the First Serbian Uprising were not sufficiently analyzed, and in this paper they are at least partially covered.

10.5937/zrpfns48-6743 = Manifestations of corruption in Serbia during Uprisings (1804-1815)

The statehood of the Serbian nation was manifested early (as early as the Middle Ages), but the modern Serbian state was built gradually, starting from the First and Second Serbian Uprising (1804-1815), through the self-governed Principality of Serbia (1830) to the international recognition of the independence of the Principality of Serbia (1878). The young Serbian state in the period of the First Serbian Uprising had all the attributes that constitute a state: the governing apparatus that included both central and local authorities, territory, and population. Having inherited nepotism and corruption (two major evil remnants of the Ottoman rule), the emerging state undertook a number of measures to curb them, so that the centralised administration should be able to strengthen the state apparatus. Instead of qadis and musellims, who had lived mainly on bribe, the developing state had to confront its own officials who tended to abuse their positions in order to achieve economic prestige and separate themselves from the general population of the Pashaluk. They took the best and the largest shares of the spoils won while combating the Turks, arbitrarily appropriated Turkish houses and other property, took over control the ferries and customs checkpoints, held a monopoly in trading and used the 'official toil' the forced labour that Serbian peasants were obliged to do for the spahijas (feudal lords) before the uprising. Manifestations of corruptive practices inherited from the Turkish era still persisted, although with certain new habits emerging at the time of the creation of the Serbian state and reflecting the general belief that money could buy everything.

Half of a century of St. Nikolai's church

The City of Požarevac used to have only one church for more than seven decades within the nineteenth century. In the middle of the aforementioned century, there were a few futile attempts to build another, new church. Nevertheless, the new church was built in 1890, thanks to the financial support of archpriest Petar Šljivić, the then trnjanski parish priest who also happened to be the son of Živko Šljivić, the duke of the First Serbian Uprising. The new church was sanctified on the very day of the temple's celebration in 1890 (may 9th according to the old julian calendar, namely may 22nd, according to the new gregorian calendar). The metropolitan of Serbia, Michael performed the sanctification by the help of Belgrade 'Saint Sava' seminary students choir. Saint Nikolai's church was built in serbian-byzantine style, of steadfast material. There's an isosceles cross in the church s foundation with quadrangle apses on its sides and a dome, the top of which ends in a gilt ball with a cross on it. It took the church several years to acquire the iconostasis and all the necessary church items, as well as to pay off the debts. The priests of the second, the third and the seventh brežanski parish of Požarevac used to perform the religious service in this very church's. Throughout the first half of century, there were 16 of them there, mainly experienced ones. Their biographies have been presented in the latter part of this work.

The development of the penal system in Serbian criminal law

The continuous development of the penal system in Serbia is reflected in significant changes within the criminal legislative solutions. The most important legal document of the medieval Serbia, 'Dušan's Code' was characterized by harsh corporal and death punishments taken from the Byzantine law. During the Ottoman period 'Dušan's Code' was no longer in use, and with the beginning of the First Serbian Uprising, the adoption of individual legislations began. The Criminal Code of the Principality of Serbia, adopted in 1860, introduced a novelty of major and minor penalties, including, most importantly, several types of detention. The Criminal Code of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was adopted in 1929 and it predicted different types of sanctions other than fines. The main feature of the Criminal Code of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was permanent abolition of the corporal punishment. After the Second World War, the newly formed government adopted new criminal codes and new forms of punishment, which remained unchanged from the Novel in 1959 up until the dissolution of the SFRY. Contemporary criminal legislation of the Republic of Serbia is characterized by the abolition of the death penalty, seizure of property and the introduction of new penalties, which should, instead of short prison sentences, serve as an alternative. Throughout its statehood, from the Middle Ages up until today, Serbia has always had a continuity of the penal system development parallel with its development, primarily in Europe.

Russian attempts on constitutional issue of insurgent Serbia (1804-1813), Part one: The so-called 'Paulucci Convention'

Alongside the struggle for independence, the First Serbian Uprising signified the beginning of the formation of the Serbian state and an overthrow of the feudal order. This fact was already remarked by Leopold von Ranke in his book Die serbische Revolution. The key issue was, of course, the organization of power. The leader of the uprising, Karađorđe Petrovic, held the title of 'Vožd' i.e. leader or chief, which endowed him with sweeping powers. In order to limit them, the most prominent military commanders proposed to establish a Praviteljstvujusci sovjet, i. e. council or government. Karađorđe approved on this at an assembly in the village of Borak on August 15, 1805. But owing to the fact that the relations between the 'Vožd' and the council had not been regulated by a legal document, some mutual conflicts arose. Therefore, several attempts to find a solution to the basic constitutional issue were made. The Russians, trying hereby to ensure their influence in Serbia, made the first of these attempts. The result was a convention between a Russian colonel, Marquis Paulucci (an Italian who first served in the French army before moving to the Russian service in 1806), and Serbian representatives headed by Karađorđe, who gathered in the city of Negotin in Eastern Serbia on June 28, 1807. First of all, the convention expressed the desire of the Serbian people to be under the protection of Russian Tsar and to obtain from him as soon as possible a capable zemljeupravitelj (land governer). Thereupon, this governor was supposed to establish order and, in the name of the Tsar, to give a Konstitucija, a constitution, to the people. Furtheremore, according to the convention, the appointing of Serbian officers was to be carried out in the name of the Russian Tsar and Russian military garrisons were to be stationed in Serbian towns. Karađorđe agreed to the convention, thereby hoping to ensure Russian aid for Serbia, but at the precise moment when the document was to be sealed by him, he excused himself for having lost the seal.

Mutual Illuminations: Articulating National Legacies in the Balkans and Eastern Europe around the Turn of the Nineteenth Century

Mutual Illuminations:Articulating National Legacies in the Balkans and Eastern Europe around the Turn of the Nineteenth Century Jelena Milojković-Djurić [Illustrations] The desire for closer collaboration among the neighboring Balkan peoples was the guiding idea for the organization of the First Yugoslav Fine Arts Exhibit in 1904. This event brought together an imposing number of ninety-six participants from Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Bulgaria. The Exhibit took place in Belgrade and presented 458 paintings and sculptures. Most notably, this event strengthened cultural ties among the participating artists and public at large by ushering a renewed interest in respective national legacies. The Exhibit coincided with the First Congress of Yugoslav Youth marking the centennial of the First Serbian uprising. More than a hundred representatives from neighboring Slavic countries attended the Congress. All these manifestations of good will and alliance took place in Belgrade from 2-8 September 1904. The First Yugoslav Exhibit was opened by the venerable monarch King Petar I Karadordević.1 In this paper I will present the exceptional role played by the painter Paja Jovanović and the composer Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac in promoting established national accomplishments. Comparisons will be drawn to the related notable achievements by a number of Czech, Hungarian and Ukrainian artists and composers. In the Serbian section of the First Yugoslav Exhibit, the paintings of Paja Jovanović (1859-1957) received most praise from several art critics. The young painter Nadežda Petrović declared that the canvases of Jovanović represented the crown of Serbian pictorial art. She particularly praised Jovanović's Proclamation of Dušan's Law Codex.2 Jovanović had portrayed this historic event taking place in front of a church, accentuating the importance [End Page 191] of the proclamation of this historic achievement upholding the rule of law. Jovanović envisaged this event as an impressive sunlit image of the young Emperor Dušan with his consort during the very announcement of the proclamation amidst the splendid pageantry of the emerging empire. The painting was showcased at the World Exhibit in Paris in 1900 and was accepted with great acclaim by critics and the public at large. Jovanović was awarded by the highest French authorities the distinguished title of an "Officier d'Academie." In the field of music, the composer Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac (1856-1914) stands out as the leading musical personality. Mokranjac's compositions based on folk idiom helped to establish the national style in Serbian music. His choral compositions were featured in programs highlighting many patriotic events in the turbulent years before World War I. Mokranjac was often invited to conduct concert programs that would invariably include one of his famous choral works, Rukoveti [Handfuls] based on national folk melodies. The musical form of Rukoveti consisted of choral cycles with a selection of folk songs arranged for a mixed choir. With the skill of a fine composer and dramatist, Mokranjac made an excellent choice of the musical material arranging the songs and at times adding his own choral or instrumental interludes to provide contrasts in mood and musical expression. Mokranjac recognized the inherent modal characteristics of the folk tunes and his harmonization of melodies was often based on modal idioms. As a connoisseur of folk music, Mokranjac included ethnically different regions of the former Yugoslavia. In his fifteen Rukoveti and Primorski napevi [Songs from the Coastal Region], Mokranjac used ninety folk songs from Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia, and Croatia.3 Mokranjac did not limit his activities to one professional area alone although his compositional output was remarkable. He also distinguished himself as a choral conductor: under his baton the Belgrade Singers' Society gave many concert appearances at home and abroad, reaching its artistic peak. As a collector of spiritual and secular folk songs, Mokranjac pointed out to future generations the importance of this rich musical tradition. In addition, he was the founder, the administrator, and the teacher at the Serbian Music School Mokranjac in 1899. His intention was to raise the Serbian Music School to the level of a music conservatory. In 1906 Mokranjac was elected a corresponding member of the Royal Serbian Academy of Science. This [End Page 192] nomination presented an important acknowledgement of his numerous contributions. Composers were...

A Balkan-style French revolution?: The 1804 Serbian Uprising in European perspective

The Serbian uprising of 1804-13, initially a peasant rebellion against abuses of power by local janissaries, turned into a national and social revolution from 1806. During its second phase (late 1806 - early 1807), Serbian insurgents openly proclaimed their demand for independence. Encouraged by their military achievements, the insurgent leaders began to seek wider Balkan support for their struggle against Ottoman domination. Although its political claims were a mixture of modern national and romantic historic rights, the uprising gave hope to all Balkan Christians that the Ottoman defeat was an achievable goal. For the Balkan nations it was a French Revolution adapted to local conditions: the principle of popular sovereignty was opposed to the principle of legitimism; a new peasant-dominated society was created in which, due to the lack of the aristocracy and well-established middle classes, agrarian egalitarianism was combined with the rising aspirations of a modern nation. Its long-term effects on the political and social landscape of the whole region justified the assessment of the eminent German historian Leopold von Ranke who described the uprising, by analogy with the French example, as the Serbian Revolution.

Dva veka građanskog prava u obnovljenoj Srbiji 1804-2004

Ever since the renewal of the Serbian national sovereignty in the first decade of the 19th century until today there have been several attempts to completely regulate the field of the civil law through the unique codification, which would, by the virtue of its normative solutions, comply with the tradition, existing social environment and realistic evolutional possibilities. At the beginning there was a plan to partially take over the French Civil Code but this idea was abandoned due to the different level of social development. The conclusion was that the provisions that were drafted for one of the most progressive European states could not be applied in the culturally undeveloped and poor Serbia and that a unique codification should be made, which would be suitable for the Serbian society of that time. Following that idea, they began to work on the codification in the mid thirties of the 19th century. However, the Civil Code of the Principality of Serbia, which was adopted in 1844, was not unique. It basically represented a short and partially revised version of the Austrian Civil Code. In addition to that, some of its provisions were against the tradition of the Serbian people and against the requirements of the existing legal practice. Therefore, there was a proposal to start drafting the new codification. A Commission was established at the beginning of the 20th century, which carried out the work on the new codification until the First World War. This project was abandoned after the war. However, soon after the unification and establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians, they started working on the harmonization of the legislation. The draft for the Civil Code of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was finished in 1934. This legal project was never officially adopted either. After the Second World War the new socialist system was introduced. The legal continuance with the legal system of the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia has been broken and the civil legislation from before the war ceased to apply. In order to avoid the entire legal vacuum the courts were allowed to apply the "old legal provisions" that were in compliance with the new political system. That solution introduced legal uncertainty. Therefore the preparatory work on the new civil code was intensified in the mid fifties of the 20th century. The authorities of that time decided to apply the method of partial codification. The idea was to adopt a systematic law for each branch of the civil law and to later join all the provisions in one legal act. The work on codification came to an end at the beginning of the seventies. But the normative competences were then divided between the federal state and the member states. Since there was no more constitutional base for adoption of the single civil code, they continued with a partial codification. The federation adopted laws that belonged to its competence. On the other hand the member states have never adopted the laws in the field of property law and law on contracts and torts. That is a reason why there are number of legal vacuums in this field, which are very often filled up by application of some old legal provisions that are constituent part of the laws of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Today, there are no constitutional obstacles to entirely regulate the substance of the civil law, but there is no clear idea and strategy on how to develop this branch of the legal system. Two hundred years after the First Serbian Uprising, Serbia is again at the beginning.

Pravosuđe u Srbiji u prvoj polovini devetnaestog veka

The author shows that four periods may be identified within the history of development of Serbia judiciary in the early XIX century: period of the First Serbian Uprising (1804-1813); time of Turkish reoccupation (1813-1815) period of Duke Miloš Obrenović's first reign (1815-1839); and the period between 1840-1850. With full obedience of historical facts, the article identifies the first magistrates and their competences, legal resources evidences used in criminal and civil procedure, kinds of criminal acts and penalties, civil and property rights and certainty.

The principle of self-determination in the family law through history and today

In the jubilee year 2004, Serbia marks the 200th anniversary of The First Serbian Uprising, structuring of modern Serbian state and its legal system comparatively speaking, France marks the 200th anniversary of passing the French Civil Code, one of the most significant civil codifications in the 19th century. It was an occasion to study certain institutions of family law through history and today. The used approach is modern, we studied the ways how the principle of self-determination influenced the family-legal solutions today, and we investigated if one could talk about the effect of this principle in the historical sense, too. The principle of self-determination implies the possibility for the subjects of family-legal relations to arrange their own relations themselves ? both the partner and parent relations. However, this principle undergoes significant limitations in the family law because the family relations are personal relations by character, as well as because of the need to protect the weaker participant, both the weaker partner or a child who needs protection stemming from his/her very status. Within marriage law, the principle of self-determination of the spouses (extramarital partners) is, among other things, made concrete through the possibility for an agreement about the effects of marriage (extramarital union), then through the possibility of agreed divorce, while the procedure of mediation in the marriage litigation contributes to the realization of the mentioned principle. As for the effects of marriage (extramarital union), the paper particularly discusses property relations, that is the marriage property contract, because it is at the moment a current issue in our domestic law. Within the relations between parents and children, the concretization of the principle of self-determination in parental care is significant, particularly in the situations when the relations between the parents were disturbed and resulted in a separation or a divorce with the joint parental care (application of the parental right). All institutions are analyzed in the positive law, in the historical context (solutions from the Serbian Civil Code the former Hungarian Law), and viewed comparatively in the European legal systems of the east and west European countries.

From the history of Serbian question in Macedonia: Culturological aspect

Contemporary Serbian Question in Macedonia is most closely related to major political events in the Balkans in 19th and 20th centuries. Starting from the social and historical processes in this region of the Balkans, the author examines this question through several fundamental periods, wishing to look into the status of Serbian population in Macedonia of the time against this background. The first period began with the First Serbian Uprising (1804) heralding the creation of the first free Serbian state in the Balkans, and ended with the conclusion of Liberation Wars (1878) leaving considerable Serbian territories liberated. The second period started at the time of conclusion of liberation wars and lasted till the beginning of the Balkan Wars in 1912. The third period was the one from the conclusion of Balkan Wars till the end of World War II (1945). The fourth period commenced at the end of World War II and lasted till the disintegration of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. The last, fifth period refers to the contemporary state of affairs in the Republic of Macedonia since the disintegration of the SFRY, i.e. the independence of the Republic of Macedonia in 1991. The analysis of the status of Serbian Question here is predominantly related to the culturological aspect through examining the circumstances in education literature, and in culture in general. It shows that the status of Serbian ethnic minority in Macedonia was closely related to social, historical and political setting in these areas of the Balkans. In the new social and political environment, the status of the remaining Serbian ethnic minority in Macedonia is uncertain. In the recent decades, unstable political circumstances in this area have had adverse effects on the presence of Serbian ethnic element in Macedonian territories, even more so since it fails to receive sufficient national support from both sides.

Rape: Past and present legal regulation

Rape was identified as a criminal act in the earliest known legal writings, Hamurabi's legal code (cir. 2000 BC). In the Balkans, in the Middle Ages, rape was always punished in one way or another, in the statutes of the Adriatic maritime towns, which were under the rule of the Nemanjić state or the West. All categories of women, even prostitutes and slaves, were protected by law from sexual violence in many statutes. Also in Dušan's legal code the regulation is found, severely punishing rapists. Laws following the Second Serbian Uprising, also provide severe punishment for sexual violence, especially towards women but also male minors. Legal and court practice, following the Second World War, indicate that the protection of women from sexual violence is completely inadequate and this at a time when women had achieved equal rights with men in many spheres of life. World events at the end of the 20th century: collapse of the Soviet Union: as well as the happenings in this region,: war, ethnic and religious conflicts resulted in massive rape of women, opening of brothels, trading women and family violence. Non state organizations, mainly women in expert associations, invest great effort to rectify this very unsatisfactory situation. They exert pressure for change in the law and in court practice, by which women would have more effective defense against sexual violence, as well as organized assistance for women victims of traffic, and warning of the possible danger.

The Roles of Jovan Skerlić, Steven Mokranjac, and Paja Jovanović in Serbian Cultural History, 1900-1914

The beginning of the twentieth century brought new outlooks and aspirations into the cultural life of Serbia, but the mainstream of spiritual and creative development had already been marked by the affirmation of established national values. After 1903 important political changes, accompanying the return of constitutional government, stimulated a spiritual and national revival. In his History of the New Serbian Literature, Jovan Skerlić described the general improvement in social and political life. Skerlić, a contemporary who actively participated in the cultural and political events at the beginning of this century, pointed out that the consequences of these changes influenced the awakening of the national spirit and offered numerous solutions to questions of national importance. In 1904 Skerlić took part in the organization of the First Congress of Southern Slav Youth and of the First Yugoslav Fine Arts Exhibit marking the centennial of the first Serbian uprising. These events strengthened friendly cultural collaboration between Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, and Bulgarians. Even the Austro-Hungarian annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908 could not halt this growth. Further proof of national strength was furnished by the victories in the Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913. After five hundred years the liberation of the Serbian people from Turkish occupation was finally accomplished.

The First Serbian Uprising, 1804-1813. Wayne S. Vucinich

<i>The First Serbian Uprising, 1804-1813</i>. Wayne S. Vucinich

The First Serbian Uprising, 1804-1813

The First Serbian Uprising, 1804-1813

The First Serbian Uprising: 1804–1813. Edited by Wayne S. Vucinich. War and Society in East Central Europe, vol. 8. East European Monographs, no. 107. Brooklyn College Studies on Society in Change, no. 17. Boulder, Colo.: East European Quarterly, 1982. xi, 389 pp. Illustrations. $27.50. Distributed by Columbia University Press, New York.

The First Serbian Uprising: 1804–1813. Edited by Wayne S. Vucinich. War and Society in East Central Europe, vol. 8. East European Monographs, no. 107. Brooklyn College Studies on Society in Change, no. 17. Boulder, Colo.: East European Quarterly, 1982. xi, 389 pp. Illustrations. $27.50. Distributed by Columbia University Press, New York.

The First Serbian Uprising (1804-1813) and the Nineteenth-Century Origins of the Eastern Question

Throughout the nineteenth century a major international issue facing the Great Powers of Europe was the volatile “Eastern Question.” As the Ottoman Empire grew steadily weaker, the question of the future disposition of its extensive territories (some 238,000 square miles in Europe alone in 1800) provoked an intense and prolonged rivalry among those European states with vested political and economic interests in the Near East. With its military power in decline and its frontiers menaced by powerful neighbors, the Ottoman Empire seemed on the verge of collapse at the beginning of the nineteenth century despite its imposing imperial edifice.

The Illyrian Provinces: A Step Towards Yugoslavism

AbstractThe history of the Illyrian Provinces belongs not only to the history of the Napoleonic Era in Europe, but also to that of the development of Yugoslav history in the early part of the nineteenth century. The Provinces can be studied from several aspects: political, social, economic and cultural. This paper will emphasize only one of the offered aspects-namely the impact of the Illyrian Provinces on the concept of Yugoslavism. Three features are of singular importance: first, the effects of the ideas of the French Revolution on the Yugoslavs (development of modern nationalism, use of the vernacular, secularism, abolition of feudalism); second, the effects of the political unification of Dalmatia, Slovenia and part of Croatia under French rule, which brought Croats, Slovenes and Serbs under one political and administrative unit; third, the correlation between French rule in the Western Balkans with the national-revolutionary movements of that period, such as the Serbian uprising of 1804 and its effect upon other Yugoslavs.1