Serbs of Montenegro (Serbian: Срби у Црној Гори / Srbi u Crnoj Gori) or Montenegrin Serbs (Serbian: Црногорcки Cрби / Crnogorski Srbi),[b] compose native and the second largest ethnic group in Montenegro (32.93% of country's population),[4] after the ethnic Montenegrins. Additional 0.47% of the population is made up of Serbs-Montenegrins (Срби-Црногорци / Srbi-Crnogorci) and Montenegrins-Serbs (Црногорци-Cрби / Crnogorci-Srbi).
  | |
  Flags of the Serb community in Montenegro | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Serbs in Montenegro: 205,370 (2023 census)[1] Serbs-Montenegrins: 1,701 (2023 census)[1] Montenegrins-Serbs: 1,268 (2023 census)[1] | |
| Languages | |
| Serbian | |
| Religion | |
Majority:  Eastern Orthodoxy | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other South Slavs, Serbs, especially Montenegrins[a] |
History
editDuring the Slavic migrations of the 6th and 7th centuries, most of the territory of modern-day Montenegro was settled by Serbs (which are the ancestors of modern Montenegrins) who they created several Serb principalities in the region;[5] In southern parts of modern Montenegro, Principality of Duklja was formed, while western parts belonged to the Principality of Travunija. Northern parts of modern Montenegro belonged to the inner Principality of Serbia. All of those early polities were described in historiographical works of Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenetos (944–959).[6]
In 1018, all of Serbian principalities came under the supreme rule of the Byzantine Empire.[7] The Serb regions of Duklja and Travunija broke away from Byzantine rule c. 1034–1042, under prince Stefan Vojislav, founder of the Vojislavljević dynasty. His son Mihailo I Vojislavljević (d. 1081) liberated Zahumlje and inner Serbia, creating a united Serbian polity and taking the title of king (c. 1077).[8] The reign of his son, King Constantine Bodin (d. 1100), was followed by a period of regional fragmentation, lasting throughout much of the 12th century.[7]
After 1180, all of what is today Montenegro came under the rule of Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja, the founder of the Nemanjić dynasty. The region of Zeta, formerly known as Duklja, became a crown land of the united Serbian state.[9] It was given to Vukan Nemanjić (d. 1208), the oldest son of Stefan Nemanja, and later to crown prince Stefan Radoslav, son of King Stefan Nemanjić, who succeeded his father as Serbian King in 1228. Thus it became a custom to grant the region to the heir of the throne or some other member of the royal family. In 1219, two dioceses of the Serbian Orthodox Church were created on the territory of modern-day Montenegro, Eparchy of Zeta centered in the Monastery of Holy Archangel Michael on Prevlaka, and Eparchy of Budimlja centered in the Monastery of Đurđevi Stupovi. Several other monasteries also date to this period, such as: Morača, Praskvica, Vranjina, and others.[10] Serbian Despotate is the last independent medieval Serb state and it included most of modern-day Montenegro.
Montenegro saw independence under the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty, at first as a principality and then as a kingdom. Both the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Montenegro fought together as independent states in the Balkan Wars and in the First World War. At the end of the war in 1918 tensions arose between the two states as the Montenegrin Whites with Serbian support deposed Nicholas I of Montenegro and proclaimed Montenegro's unification with Serbia as part of Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed into Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929), while the Montenegrin Greens opposed it. The conflict led to the Christmas Uprising, in which the Whites with support from the Serbian army defeated the Greens.[11] During the period of the monarchic Yugoslavia, ruled by the Serbian Karađorđević dynasty, the tensions between Serbs and Croats were increasing and most of the Montenegrin politicians supported the Serbian proposed centralised state.[citation needed]
During the Second World War both Serbs and Montenegrins were very active in both resistance movements, the Yugoslav Partisans and the Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland known as the Chetniks. At the end of the war the socialist Yugoslavia was created and the two became republics within the Yugoslav federation.
Yugoslav Partisan Milovan Đilas described himself as a Montenegrin Serb and described Montenegro as the spiritual homeland of Serbs, saying "I am not a Montenegrin because I am a Serb, but a Serb because I am a Montenegrin. We Montenegrins are the salt of the Serbs. All the strength of the Serbs is not here [in Montenegro] but their soul is."[12] Đilas also has said "The Montenegrins are, despite provincial and historical differences, quintessentially Serbs, and Montenegro the cradle of Serbian myths and of aspirations for the unification of Serbs.".[12]
After the separation of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia in 1991 and 1992, SR Montenegro held the Montenegrin referendum in 1992 which ended with a 95.96% of votes in favour for a state union with Serbia and with the changing of the socialist political system towards a multi-party one. The country was renamed Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In this period between 1990 and 1998 Montenegro was ruled by Momir Bulatović who had close relations with the Serbian president Slobodan Milošević and who was very supportive to keep close ties between the two republics within the state union. Montenegro was also included by the economic sanctions imposed on Serbia during the 1990s. During the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia both Serbia and Montenegro suffered the attacks of the NATO forces and several targets inside Montenegro were also bombarded. All this contributed to the rise in power in Montenegro of Milo Đukanović who was known to be much less sympathetic towards the Serbo-Montenegrin ties and would become an open supporter of the independence of Montenegro. In 2003, three years after the fall of Milošević in 2000, and after insisting on international diplomacy, the former Yugoslavia became known as the state union of Serbia and Montenegro. The process of becoming a single state union ironically lead to the separation of the two states - a change which was officiated by the referendum on Montenegrin independence on 21 May 2006. A total of 419,240 votes were cast, representing 86.5% of the total electorate. Of them, 230,661 votes or 55.5% were in favour of independence and 185,002 votes or 44.5% were against.[13]
Since independence, the Montenegrin society has been divided among many issues. The independence supporters are advocating for the creation of a separate Montenegrin language, regarded before as a dialect of the Serbian language, including the creation of a new Montenegrin Cyrillic alphabet which shares the same letters with the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet except for the addition of two new letters. The Serb population of Montenegro is opposed to the idea of a linguistic separation, just as they are opposed to the separation of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church from the jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Montenegrin language eventually gained international recognition and was assigned the ISO 639-2 and -3 code [cnr] in December 2017.[14] However, the Montenegrin Orthodox Church is canonically unrecognized as of 2021.
In 2006, the NGO Serbian People's Council of Montenegro was created, headed by Momčilo Vuksanović, and in 2008 an official representative electoral body of Serbs in Montenegro was formed as the Serbian National Council of Montenegro, with Momčilo Vuksanović as president.[15]
The links between the two nations remain strong, and the fact that for the last two centuries a great number of Montenegrins had emigrated to Serbia further strengthens the ties. The Montenegrin littoral is still the main tourist destination for citizens of Serbia, and a large population of Serbians own property in Montenegro. Many of these properties consist of summer homes, and contribute to a seasonal influx of Serbs in Montenegro, during the summers. Despite the geopolitical separation, the economic balance and relationship shared between the two countries continues to be strong.[citation needed]
Culture
editLanguage
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The national language of Montenegro has historically and traditionally been called Serbian.[16] According to Pavle Ivić, two sub-dialects of the Shtokavian dialect (of the Serbian language) were spoken in Montenegro: the Eastern Herzegovinian dialect and Zeta-South Sanjak dialect. The Eastern Herzegovinian dialect is spoken in Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. Today, the national standard is based on the Zeta-South Sanjak dialect.
Some 42.9% of the population of the country speak Serbian as their mother tongue, including 37% of the declared Montenegrins. Serbian was the official language of Montenegro until 2007 when the new Constitution of Montenegro replaced the Constitution of 1992. Amid opposition from pro-Serbian parties,[17]
Montenegrin language was made the sole official language of the country and Serbian was given the status of a recognised minority language along with Bosnian, Albanian, and Croatian.[18] Since 2006, both in linguistic and other aspects of cultural life, ethnic Serbs of Montenegro have been exposed to gradual "non-coercive" "Montenegrinisation".[19]
Religion
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The Serbs are adherents of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the strongest religious institution of Montenegro (with a total of 460,383 followers or 74%).[20] One of the largest places of worship is the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Podgorica.
The future of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro has been threatened by the newly formed Montenegrin Orthodox Church which has claimed Serbian Orthodox churches in Montenegro, and is backed by a small percentage of the Orthodox Christians in Montenegro. The government has recognized the church, however none of the Eastern Orthodox churches have. The leader is the controversial Miraš Dedeić, a former Serbian Orthodox clergyman with Serbian nationalist views who, after being suspended from the Serbian Church, went to Rome and became a Greek Orthodox clergyman.[21]
Folk attire
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The Montenegrin cap is a traditional cap worn by Montenegrins and Montenegrin Serbs, originally in the shape of a flat cylinder, having a red upper surface (called tepeluk) not dissimilar to the Herzegovina and Lika caps. It was wholly red until Prince-Bishop Petar II Petrović Njegoš surrounded it with a black rim (called derevija),[22] and the definition given was as a sign of grief of occupied Kosovo. The Kosovo Myth was very popular in the Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro. The enforcement of the cap upon the Montenegrin chieftains by Peter II was a mark of expression of then's dominating Serbian national identity.[23] The national telling recorded the most often version of the cap as following: the black wrapper was a sign of grief for the once big Empire, the red the bloody defeat at the Battle of Kosovo[24] and the five small stripes on the top represent the remaining remains of the once greater Serbian realm,[25] which became increasingly popular amongst the common folk during the reign of Prince Danilo I Petrović-Njegoš. Within the stripes is angled a six star, representing the last free part, Montenegro, shining upon the fallen and conquered.[26] Worn by the rulers and chieftains, the version with the Four Ocil symbol in the star's place had become across the years with growth of nationalism excessively popular amongst the ordinary people, the symbol of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which effectively worked on maintaining and raising the national identity.
Demographics
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According to the 2023 census, Serbs are the second largest ethnic group and constitute 32.93% of the population of Montenegro. They are absolute majority in five and relative majority in another four municipalities, and constitute less than 20% of population in only seven out of total 25 municipalities in the country. The percentage of Serbs in municipalities of Montenegro is as follows:
- Andrijevica (67.52%)
- Bar (26.12%)
- Berane (59.82%)
- Bijelo Polje (43.13%) (relative majority)
- Budva (35.79%) (relative majority)
- Cetinje (4.82%)
- Danilovgrad (35.39%)
- Gusinje (2.77%)
- Herceg Novi (48.34%) (relative majority)
- Kolašin (42.1%)
- Kotor (35.12%)
- Mojkovac (41.68%)
- Nikšić (33.89%)
- Petnjica (0.95%)
- Plav (17.08%)
- Pljevlja (66.41%)
- Plužine (74.46%)
- Podgorica (30.84%)
- Rožaje (2.56%)
- Šavnik (46.85%)
- Tivat (34.47%) (relative majority)
- Tuzi (1.99%)
- Ulcinj (5%)
- Žabljak (52.64%)
- Zeta (43.22%)
Notable people
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See also
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Notes
edit- ^ See: Controversy over ethnic and linguistic identity in Montenegro
- ^ The correct political terms are Serbian: црногорcки Cрби / crnogorski Srbi, meaning "Montenegrin Serbs", and Cрби Црногорци / Srbi Crnogorci meaning "Serbs Montenegrins". Specifically, Their regional autonym is simply Црногорци / Crnogorci, literal meaning "Montenegrins",[2][3] the same as the ethnic group of Montenegrins). In the early modern times, before the Kingdom of Montenegro, people [living within present-day borders] were divided by the identities of Brđani (Брђани; Brda), Hercegovci (Херцеговци; Old Herzegovina), Bokelji (Бокељи; Boka Kotorska) and Crnogorci (Црногорци; Old Montenegro). Срби у Црној Гори / Srbi u Crnoj Gori, meaning "Serbs in Montenegro".
References
edit- ^ a b c "Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in Montenegro 2023" (PDF). Monstat. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
- ^ Charles Seignobos, Political History of Europe, since 1814, ed. S. M. Macvane, H. Holt and Company, New York, 1900, pp. 663–664; excerpt from chapter XXI The Christian Nations of The Balkans, subchapter Servia and Montenegro, passages Montenegro
- ^ "Projekat Rastko Cetinje – Slavenko Terzic – Ideoloski korijeni crnogorske nacije i crnogorskog separatizma". Rastko.rs. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
- ^ [1] (in Serbian)
- ^ Ćirković 2004, p. 11-12.
- ^ Moravcsik 1967.
- ^ a b Fine 1991.
- ^ Ćirković 2004, p. 26-27.
- ^ David Luscombe; Jonathan Riley-Smith (14 October 2004). The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 4, C.1024-c.1198. Cambridge University Press. pp. 266–270. ISBN 978-0-521-41411-1.
- ^ Ćirković 2004.
- ^ Banac 1992, p. 285.
- ^ a b Elizabeth Roberts. Realm of the Black Mountain: A History of Montenegro. London, England, UK: Cornell University Press, 2007. Pp. 1.
- ^ "Montenegro vote result confirmed". BBC News. 23 May 2006. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
- ^ "Montenegrin language ISO code [cnr] assigned • SENAT.me - MeP". 11 December 2017.
- ^ NARS (2010): Fourteenth Sitting of the Committee on Relations with Serbs Living Outside Serbia
- ^ cf. Roland Sussex, Paul Cubberly, The Slavic Languages, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2006; esp. v. pp. 73: "Serbia had used Serbian as an official language since 1814, and Montenegro even earlier.".
- ^ "Pro-Serbian parties oppose Montenegro constitution". Setimes.com. 26 October 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
- ^ "Ustav Crne Gore". Snp.co.me. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
- ^ Financial Times (2007): Neil MacDonald, Montenegro's ethnicity debate intensifies
- ^ see: Religion in Montenegro
- ^ Kostic, Stevan. "Rat i Miraš, ko je i šta priča prvi čovek nepriznate CPC" [War and Mirash, who is and what is the story of the first man of the unrecognized CPC]. Radio Television of Serbia (in Bosnian). Retrieved 2021-04-14 – via www.rts.rs.
- ^ "Crna Gora i Crnogorci" by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić
- ^ "O najstarijoj kapi kod Jugoslovena..." by Miodrag Vlahović
- ^ Crna Gora... Narodni život i običaji" by Andrija Jovićević
- ^ "Crnogorska muška kapa" by Zorica Radulović
- ^ "Fizicki lik i izgled Njegosa" by Jovan Vukmanović
Sources
edit- Primary sources
- Moravcsik, Gyula, ed. (1967) [1949]. Constantine Porphyrogenitus: De Administrando Imperio (2nd revised ed.). Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies. ISBN 9780884020219.
- Pertz, Georg Heinrich, ed. (1845). Einhardi Annales. Hanover.
- Scholz, Bernhard Walter, ed. (1970). Carolingian Chronicles: Royal Frankish Annals and Nithard's Histories. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0472061860.
- Thurn, Hans, ed. (1973). Ioannis Scylitzae Synopsis historiarum. Berlin-New York: De Gruyter. ISBN 9783110022858.
- Шишић, Фердо, ed. (1928). Летопис Попа Дукљанина (Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja). Београд-Загреб: Српска краљевска академија.
- Кунчер, Драгана (2009). Gesta Regum Sclavorum. Vol. 1. Београд-Никшић: Историјски институт, Манастир Острог.
- Живковић, Тибор (2009). Gesta Regum Sclavorum. Vol. 2. Београд-Никшић: Историјски институт, Манастир Острог.
- Anna Comnena, The Alexiad, translated by Elizabeth A. Dawes in 1928
- John Kinnamos, The Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus, trans. C.M. Brand (New York, 1976). ISBN 0-231-04080-6
- Secondary sources
- Banac, Ivo (1992) [1984]. The National Question in Yugoslavia: Origins, History, Politics (2. printing of the 2. ed.). Ithaca, N.Y: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801494931.
- Bataković, Dušan T., ed. (2005). Histoire du peuple serbe [History of the Serbian People] (in French). Lausanne: L’Age d’Homme. ISBN 9782825119587.
- Cattaruzza, Amaël; Michels, Patrick (2005). "Dualité orthodoxe au Monténégro". Balkanologie: Revue d'études pluridisciplinaires. 9 (1–2): 235–253.
- Ćirković, Sima (2004). The Serbs. Malden: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 9781405142915.
- Curta, Florin (2006). Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521815390.
- Denton, William (1877). Montenegro, its people and their history. London: Daldy, Isbister & Company.
- Džankić, Jelena (2016). "Religion and Identity in Montenegro". Monasticism in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Republics. London-New York: Routledge. pp. 110–129. ISBN 9781317391050.
- Džomić, Velibor V. (2006). Pravoslavlje u Crnoj Gori [Orthodoxy in Montenegro]. Svetigora. ISBN 9788676600311.
- Fine, John Van Antwerp Jr. (1991) [1983]. The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0472081497.
- Fine, John Van Antwerp Jr. (1994) [1987]. The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0472082604.
- Fleming, Thomas (2002). Montenegro: The Divided Land. Rockford, Illinois: Chronicles Press. ISBN 9780961936495.
- Jelavich, Barbara (1983a). History of the Balkans: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521252492.
- Jelavich, Barbara (1983b). History of the Balkans: Twentieth Century. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521274593.
- Jovanović, Batrić (1989a). Peta kolona antisrpske koalicije : odgovori autorima Etnogenezofobije i drugih pamfleta.
- Jovanović, Batrić (1989b). Crnogorci o sebi: (od vladike Danila do 1941). Sloboda. ISBN 9788642100913.
- Jovanović, Batrić (2003). Rasrbljivanje Crnogoraca: Staljinov i Titov zločin. Srpska školska knj.
- Morrison, Kenneth (2009). Montenegro: A Modern History. London-New York: I.B.Tauris.
- Morrison, Kenneth; Čagorović, Nebojša (2014). "The Political Dynamics of Intra-Orthodox Conflict in Montenegro". Politicization of Religion, the Power of State, Nation, and Faith: The Case of Former Yugoslavia and its Successor States. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 151–170. doi:10.1057/9781137477866_7. ISBN 978-1-349-50339-1.
- Obolensky, Dimitri (1974) [1971]. The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Europe, 500-1453. London: Cardinal. ISBN 9780351176449.
- Ostrogorsky, George (1956). History of the Byzantine State. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
- Samardžić, Radovan; Duškov, Milan, eds. (1993). Serbs in European Civilization. Belgrade: Nova, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute for Balkan Studies. ISBN 9788675830153.
- Stefanović-Karadžić, Vuk (1837). Montenegro und die Montenegriner: Ein Beitrag zur Kenntniss der europäischen Türkei und des serbischen Volkes. Stuttgart und Tübingen: Verlag der J. G. Cotta'schen Buchhandlung.
- Stephenson, Paul (2000). Byzantium's Balkan Frontier: A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900–1204. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521770170.
- Stephenson, Paul (2003a). The Legend of Basil the Bulgar-Slayer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521815307.
- Stephenson, Paul (2003b). "The Balkan Frontier in the Year 1000". Byzantium in the Year 1000. BRILL. pp. 109–134. ISBN 9004120971.
- Wachtel, Andrew B. (2004). "How to Use a Classic: Petar Petrović-Njegoš in the Twentieth Century". Ideologies and National Identities: The Case of Twentieth-Century Southeastern Europe. Budapest: Central European University Press. pp. 131–153. ISBN 9789639241824.
- Živković, Tibor (2008). Forging unity: The South Slavs between East and West 550-1150. Belgrade: The Institute of History, Čigoja štampa. ISBN 9788675585732.
- Živković, Tibor (2013b). "The Urban Landcape [sic] of Early Medieval Slavic Principalities in the Territories of the Former Praefectura Illyricum and in the Province of Dalmatia (ca. 610-950)". The World of the Slavs: Studies of the East, West and South Slavs: Civitas, Oppidas, Villas and Archeological Evidence (7th to 11th Centuries AD). Belgrade: The Institute for History. pp. 15–36. ISBN 9788677431044.
