Serbs of Croatia
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| Serbs of Croatia | |||||||||||||||
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Serbs living in Croatia: 201 631 [1] Serbs that originate from Croatia 700,000 [2](including those of ancestral descent) |
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| Serbian | |||||||||||||||
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| Serbian Orthodox Christian[3] |
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Serbs of Croatia are the largest national minority in the Republic of Croatia. The majority of the Serbs trace their roots in territory of present day Croatia for over 400 years.[4] There are approximately 201,631 Serbs in the country, according to the 2001 Croatian population census. For various political reasons, primarily the mass-flight during Operation Storm,[5] only a fraction of Croatian Serbs still actually live in Croatia. They currently comprise 4.5% of the total population. The Croatian electoral commission recorded 274,968 eligible voters of Serb ethnicity on the 2007 national minority council elections.
By far the most famous Croatian Serb is the 19th century scientist, Nikola Tesla.
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[edit] Population
The largest concentration of Serbs in the Republic of Croatia is probably in the capital, Zagreb.[citation needed] Elsewhere, most Croatian Serbs were, and still are concentrated in Banija, Kordun, Lika, Northern Dalmatia, Slavonia, western Srijem and Baranja.[citation needed] Smaller numbers can be found in southern Dalmatia, Bilogora, Moslavina, Gorski kotar, and Istria.[citation needed]
There were 16 municipalities with a Serb majority:
- Dvor, and Gvozd in the Sisak-Moslavina county;
- Krnjak in the Karlovac county;
- Donji Lapac and Vrhovine in the Lika-Senj county;
- Erdut, Jagodnjak, and Šodolovci in the Osijek-Baranja county;
- Biskupija, Civljane, Ervenik, and Kistanje in the Šibenik-Knin county;
- Borovo, Markušica, Negoslavci, and Trpinja in the Vukovar-Srijem county.
In 2001 there were four counties where Serbs numbered over 10% of the population: Vukovar-Srijem county, Sisak-Moslavina county, Karlovac county, and the Lika-Senj county.[citation needed]
The number of Serbs in Croatia was much larger in 1991, when they numbered at 581,663[6] constituting around 12,2% of the total population of the country. The largest precisely recorded number of Serbs by census was in 1971 when there were 626,789 Serbs in SR Croatia (over 14% of the total at the time).[7]
The loss of the heavily Serb populated Eastern Srijem region, the incorporation of Istria and Dalmatia, and the non-inclusion of Croat dominated regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina into the People's Republic of Croatia (as had been done in the Banovina of Croatia), are examples of territorial changes that either increased or reduced the relative percentage of the Serb population of Croatia.
[edit] Changes during the Yugoslav wars
The largest decrease in the number of Serbs in Croatia occurred during the Croatian War of Independence (part of the Yugoslav wars). The majority of the population continues to live in exile in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro, where, as of 2005, there were still 200,000 refugees.[8]
The census of 1991 was the last one held before the war in Croatia, marked by ethnic conflict between the Orthodox Serbs and the Catholic Croats. Around 580,000 citizens declared themselves as Serbs. In the ethnic and religious makeup of population of Croatia of that time, those two sets of numbers are quoted as important:
- Croats 78.1%, Catholic 76.5%
- Serbs 12.2%, Orthodox 11.1%
Two major sets of population changes occurred during this period - the first one during the earlier stage of the war, around 1991, and the second one during the later stage of the war, around 1995.
After the Yugoslav wars, the numbers are:
- Croats 89.6%, Catholics 87.8%
- Serbs 4.5%, Orthodox Christians 4.4%
In the earlier stages of the war, most of the Croats of eastern Slavonia, Baranja, Banija, Kordun, eastern Lika, northern Dalmatian Zagora and Konavle fled those areas as they were under Serbian military control[citation needed]. Most of the Serbs from Bilogora and northwestern Slavonia fled those areas as they were under Croatian military control[citation needed]. In later stages of the war, most of the Serbs of western Slavonia, Banija, Kordun, eastern Lika and northern Dalmatian Zagora fled those areas as they came under Croatian military control.
[edit] Prominent individuals
Many famed ethnic Serbs were born in what is today's Croatia, including:
- Nikola Tesla, famous scientist, best known for his many revolutionary contributions in the field of electricity and magnetism in the late 19th and early 20th century.
- Milutin Milanković, geophysicist, co-founder of the Ice Age theory.
- Jovan Karamata, mathematician.
- Svetozar Boroević, Austro-Hungarian general.
- Rade Serbedzija, a famous actor
- Josif Runjanin, musical composer of the Croatian national anthem Lijepa naša domovino ("Our Beautiful Homeland").
- Josif Pančić, botanist.
- Dejan Medaković, writer (whose father was a member of the Croatian Parliament).
- Vladan Desnica, writer (whose ancestor, Ivan Desnica, was a a noble family member and leader of the Military Frontier).
- Simo Matavulj.
- Sava Mrkalj.
- Božidar Petranović, founder of the first Serbian literal and scientific paper in Dalmatia (Zadar), the 19th century "Serbian-Dalmatian Magazine" (Srpsko-Dalmatinski magazin).
- Svetozar Pribićević, main Serbian representative in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, later a politician in the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
- Jovo Stanisavljević Čaruga, a Slavonian outlaw (hajduk) during the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, famous for stealing from the rich and giving to the poor in the likelihood of Robin Hood.
- Jovanka Broz, wife of Josip Broz Tito (long-time president of SFR Yugoslavia).
- Jovan Rašković, initiator of a movement for Serbian autonomy within Croatia.
- Count Medo Pucić, one of the most prominent citizens of 19th century Dubrovnik.
- Baltazar Bogišić, creator of the first constitution of Montenegro.
- Mihailo Merćep, famous bicyclist and flight pioneer.
- Milan Rešetar, writer.
- Pero Budmani, writer.
- Predrag Stojakovic, famous basketball player.
- Petar Preradović, famous Croatian writer.
- Milka Dudundić, wife of the Croatian President, Stjepan Mesić.
- Football player Dado Pršo.[9]
- Milorad Pupovac, President of Serbian National Council.
[edit] Language
Most Croatian Serbs use a neo-shtokavian dialect of the Serbian language with ijekavian pronunciation, while those in eastern Slavonia and Baranja mostly use Ekavian pronunciation (As in Serbia). For references, see the following dialect maps: [1] [2]
Serb children receive their education in standard Serbian language and Serbian Cyrillic script in eastern Slavonia, as defined by the Erdut Agreement.[10]
[edit] Religion
The Serbs of Croatia are predominantly Serbian Orthodox. There is one Metropolitanate that is divided in four dioceses:
- Metropolitanate of Zagreb, Ljubljana and the whole of Italy, with a see in Zagreb
- Eparchy of upper Karlovac, in Karlovac
- Eparchy of Dalmatia], in Šibenik
- Eparchy of Osječko polje and Baranja, in Dalj
- Eparchy of Slavonia, in Daruvar.
There are many Orthodox monasteries across Croatia, built since the 12th century. Most notable are the Krka Monastery, Krupa Monastery, Dragović Monastery, Lepavina Monastery and Gomirje Monastery. Many Orthodox churches were demolished during recent war, while some were rebuilt by the Croatian government[citation needed] with money partially donated by the Serbian diaspora.[citation needed]
[edit] History
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[edit] Early Middle Ages
[edit] Toponyms and early appearances
According to Serbian linguists the first mention of Serbs is a toponym - the ancient stronghold of Srb on the river Una as early as the 9th century, citing the resemblance of the terms "Serb", and "Srb". Croatian linguists reject this, citing the noun "Srb" derived from the old Croatian verb "serbati" and denoting the spring of the river Una.
According to the Royal Frankish Annals of the Frankish historian Einhard, Prince Ljudevit of Pannonia (continental Croatia) fled to the Serbs in 822, tricked the Serbian ruler by killing him and taking the rule of the Serbs for himself. At this time, Serbs controlled the greater part of Dalmatia[citation needed] (referring to the ex Roman province).
[edit] Pattern of Serb Settlement In Illyricum
According to De Administrando Imperio (chapters 32-36) from 950, written by Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos, the following lands in the south of the Roman province of Dalmatia were settled by the Serbs:
Of these areas, Pagania/Narenta bordered on the Kingdom of Croatia, and it was inhabited by what are described as "unbaptized Serbs". The other regions did not directly border Croatia (although the description of the high country is unclear in the document), and were Christian.
Most of Pagania/Narenta and small southern parts of Zahumlje and Travunia and Konavli are today part of Croatia, and the rest is mostly part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Raška is located in Serbia, and Duklja for the most part in Montenegro.
[edit] Late Middle Ages
During the Hungarian civil war in August 1292, the titular King of Hungary, Charles Martel of Anjou nominated Vladislav, (son of Dragutin Nemanjić, Ban of Slavonia, which was then controlled by forces loyal to Andrew III of Hungary, and Andrew refused to cede Slavonia to Vladislav. Slavonia eventually came under the control of the Babonići nobles.[11]
There are three major Serbian Orthodox monasteries in northern Dalmatia from that period: Krupa monastery, which was financed by King Stephen Uroš II Milutin in 1317. It was finished only with the financial assistance of Emperor Stefan Uroš IV Dušan in 1346. Krka monastery was built in 1346 by Jelena, sister of Stefan Dušan and wife of Ban Mladen Šubić of the Šubić noble family. The third, Dragović monastery, was also built in the 14th century, and was later moved stone by stone during the construction of the artificial Peruča lake by the Yugoslav federal government.
Serbian Despots have gained numerous vestiges in the Slavonia region throughout the 15th century, where they held the title of baron of the Kingdom of Hungary, because this territory is part of the Croatian land of the Crown of Saint Stephen. After the Ottoman Turks expelled the entity with the conquest of Smederevo in 1459, the titular Serbs rulers continued to claim the Baronial title and territory on Hungarian soil until 1530.[citation needed].
[edit] Early Modern Period
During the period of the Habsburg-Ottoman wars there have been constant population migrations in the territory of modern-day Croatia. Ottoman invasion instigated a partial change in the ethnic aspect of Vojna Krajina. Large numbers of Croats abandoned their homes and moved northward seeking safety, some even going out of Croatia altogether into Austria (see Burgenland Croats).[12] The Ottomans, on the other hand were settling, first orthodox Vlachs, and then Serbs in the area. During the following centuries, the Vlachs were assimilated by the Serbs but evidence of their existence is the 1630 document, the Statuta Wallachorum. The Habsburgs created the Military Frontier out of territory of the Croatian Crown as a defense against the Turks, and greatly expanded it further upon reconquering large territories the Ottomans conquered from Croatia. The Frontier (i.e. the "Vojna Krajina") was mostly inhabited by Serbs and Vlachs the Turks had settled there.
In 1578 the area was populated largely by Orthodox Serbs and Vlachs.[citation needed] The Serbs were fleeing the Ottoman side of the border due to Turkish persecution, and became frontiersmen for the Habsburgs in exchange for land and liberty. In addition, this was the only requirement for their permanent stay in the region. These inhabitants were required to serve a certain amount of years in the Habsburg army, after which they would be granted land, becoming free peasants. Serbs were thus regarded as some kind of military class. The tradition lasted up to the breakup of SFR Yugoslavia, where Serbs were disproportionately represented in the Croatian and Yugoslav military and law enforcement (60 % of of the army officer corps [4]).
The area of the Military Frontier was reunited with the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia in the year 1881 after Bosnia and Herzegovina had been occupied by Austro-Hungary.[13] Until the unification with Croatia, the Military Frontier Vice-Ban was always of Serb nationality. During the last two decades of the 19th century Croatian Ban (Viceroy) Khuen Hedervary (a Hungarian), relied on Serb parties in the Croatian parliament to maintain a governing majority. Because of this the Serbs came to occupy a disproportionate share of civil service posts in Croatia, causing resentment on the part of the majority Croatian population.
Croatia encompassed three historical provinces: Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia, but it was, nevertheless, organised on a unitary principle. Dubrovnik, for instance, was never part of the Croatian lands - it was the independent Republic of Dubrovnik for centuries, and at the beginning of the 19th century it became an integral part of the Austrian province of Dalmatia. The Military Frontier was a separate political unit created from the territory of the Habsburg Kingdom of Croatia for the protection of Habsburg lands against constant Ottoman raids and attacks. At the beginning of the 1880s it was returned to civilian Croatia. Serbian frontiersmen defended the Habsburg provinces from the Turks. In the territory that was part of the Military Frontier, the Serbs constituted an ethnic majority; this remained so until the Croatian War of Independence.
Serbs constituted a majority in the following counties: Donji Lapac (91.79%), Gračac (72.33%), Korenica (73.48%), Udbina (73.13%), Slunj (53.19%), Vojnić (72.18%), Dvor (87.49%), Glina (65.19%), Kostajnica (64.16%), Topusko (85.41%), Pakrac (50.96%). A high percentage of the Serbs also lived in the following counties: Gospić (47.54%), Otočac (48.65%), Ogulin (47.54%), Petrinja (49.06%), Grubišno polje (46.87%), Daruvar (32.36%), Slatina (40.79%), Ilok (43.12%), Vukovar (36.19%). [14]
[edit] World War II
World War II was a dark time for Serbs in Croatia. The Axis powers occupied Yugoslavia, partially partitioning it and creating the Independent State of Croatia, with the Ustaše movement installed at its head. The Ustaše enacted racial laws aimed primarily against the Serbs. Catholic monks and priests, including Archbishop Sarić of Sarajevo (who was nicknamed the "Hangman of Serbs"),[15] supported forcible conversions and were largely silent about the killings. The regime set about a policy of "racial purification" against Serbs, Jews and Gypsies. It was declared that by the Ustaše authorities that one-third of the Serbian population would be deported, one-third converted to Roman Catholicism, and one third killed. Ustaše bands actively terrorized the countryside. In addition, the regime organized extermination camps, the most notorious of which is the Jasenovac concentration camp, where Serbs, Jews, Gypsies, and anti-fascist Croats were massacred in large numbers. Between 330,000[16] and 500,000[17] of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia were killed by the Ustaše during the war.
In the words of the new Srpska banka in creation "The Srpska Banka company was founded by a Croatian Serb family in Zagreb in 1895. It was the life's work of Saskijević family that had their property robbed first in the name of Croatian statehood by Ante Pavelic in World War II by Ante Pavelić, and after him in the name of creating socialism by Josip Broz (Tito). During the Yugoslav Wars Tudjman and Milosevic gave remaining property of the banks to their associates".[18]
[edit] Recent history
[edit] Yugoslav wars
[edit] After the war
The war ended with a military success of the Croatian government in 1995 and subsequent peaceful reintegration of the remaining renegade territory in eastern Slavonia in 1998. The exodus of the Krajina Serbs in 1995 was prompted by the advance of the Croatian troops, but was mostly self-organized rather than forced.[19][20] All Serbs were officially called upon to stay in Croatia shortly before the operation,[21]
At the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia at The Hague, Milan Babić was indicted, pleaded guilty and was convicted for "persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds, a crime against humanity".[citation needed]
Milan Babić stated during his trial that "during the events, and in particular at the beginning of his political career, he was strongly influenced and misled by Serbian propaganda".[22]
[edit] Social and judicial problems
During the final years of Croatia's "Tuđman era" (1990–1999), tensions between Croats and Serbs have been reduced, with significant problems remaining. The two pressing issues are high levels of official and societal discrimination against Serbs and the indeterminate position of hundreds of thousands of Serb refugees (some of whom have returned) who have not had their property restored or been compensated for their losses. New laws continue to be introduced to combat discrimination, demonstrating an effort on the part of authorities, but it will take time to assess their implementation and efficacy. Recent court decisions also suggest progress on property restoration and allocation of reconstruction funds to Serbs but, again, these are small advances relative to the size of the challenge.[23][24] Lengthy and in some cases unfair proceedings, particularly in lower level courts, remain a major problem for returnees pursuing their rights in court. Croatian Serbs continue to be discriminated against in access to employment and in realizing other economic and social rights. Some cases of violence and harassment against Croatian Serbs continue to be reported.[25]
The current reasons why many Serb refugees still have not returned vary:
- Integration at the current place of displacement.
- Appalling economic conditions in areas they fled from, by and large rural ones.
- Fear of prosecution for war crimes. The Croatian legal system, like the ICTY, has secret lists of war crimes suspects, and many returnees were caught by surprise when the authorities arrested them upon re-entering the country.
- Fear of retribution.
- Ethnic discrimination.
- Unfavorable property laws.
In 2004/2005, the government of Serbia had about 140,000 refugees of unsolved status from Croatia registered on its territory. About 13,000 house repair demands were pending with the Croatian authorities.[26]
The property laws allegedly favor Croats who immigrated into the previously Serb-dominant areas after having been forced out of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Serbs. Under the current law, a person who occupies someone else's previously vacated house and does not have alternative accommodation (such as their own home or a place in a refugee camp), is allowed to stay in someone else's private property as a refugee, without being charged for squatting. The number of such individuals and families has dropped significantly in the 2000s, and a certain amount of property was returned to its previous owners. However, at the same time not all of the former refugees actually left the same houses, and instead remained in the occupied houses illegally. In 2004, the authorities noted around 1,400 houses still occupied by former refugees, and in 2005, this number was reduced to 385 housing units.[citation needed]
With regard to reparation of war damages, the plight of the Serbs is similar to the plight of the Croats - the money and/or resources offered by the government often amount to only a small fraction of the value of the people's properties prior to the war. In a recent public protest, a group of Serbs from Vukovar who had worked in the Borovo shoe factory demanded that their pre-war employment was honoured as it was for the Croatian employees which has stayed loyal to Croatia during war. Because during Krajina period Serb workers has made payment outside Croatia pension funds (in Krajina pension funds) state position is that they have lost this and many others workers rights. [5]
Successive peactime governments have worked with local Serb representatives to attempt to rectify war-related problems with the support of the international community and under the watch of the independent media. At the same time, cooperation on the lower levels has been lacking.[citation needed] The participation of the largest Serbian party SDSS in the Croatian Government of Ivo Sanader has eased tensions to an extent, but the refugee situation is still politically sensitive. In 2005 and 2006, the presidents Mesić of Croatia and Tadić of Serbia exchanged official visits and met with the respective national minorities of their respective countries.
In the 2007 local national council elections, there were 274,968 eligible Croatian voters of Serb ethnicity for the County national councils. Only 23,325 voted or 8.48%. For the civic national councils there were 131,717 registered Serb voters, 8,413 or 6.39% voted. In the municipal Serb national councils with 76,697 eligible voters, 11,161 or 14.55% voted.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
- Croatia
- Croatian War of Independence
- List of Serbs
- Republic of Serbian Krajina
- Serbs
- Serbs of Croatia Timeline
- Independent State of Croatia
[edit] External links
- The Serbs in the Former SR of Croatia
- Prosvjeta - Serb Cultural Society
- Reference to etymology of the name Srb
- Reference to Istarski Razvod - related to etymology of Srb
- Tradition chest adornment worn in Kninska Krajina
- [http://www.dzs.hr/default_e.htm Croatian census 2001 - see under "Crostat Database:
"Censuses"]
[edit] References
- ^ census 2001
- ^ Estimated current population of Serbs originating from Croatia
- ^ Orthodox Religion
- ^ FACTBOX - Brief history of Croatia's rebel Serb Krajina region | World | Reuters
- ^ FACTBOX - Brief history of Croatia's rebel Serb Krajina region | World | Reuters
- ^ Population of Croatia 1931-2001
- ^ Yugoslavia Census
- ^ Croatia: Operation "Storm" - still no justice ten years on | Amnesty International
- ^ Soccerphile :: Croatia | Rangers Dado Prso
- ^ The Erdut Agreement
- ^ Stranica Društva Hrvatskih Srednjoškolskih Profesora
- ^ The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Edition 1986 Reference: EB, Edition 1986, Macropedia, Vol 29, page 1061 Entry: Yugoslavia, Croatia, History
- ^ The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Edition 1986 Reference: EB, Edition 1986, Macropedia, Vol. 29, page 1061 Entry: Yugoslavia, Croatia, History
- ^ [Projekat Rastko] Slavenko Terzic - The Right to self-determination and the Serbian Question
- ^ Manfred and Anne Lehmann Foundation
- ^ Jasenovac
- ^ http://www1.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%205930.pdf
- ^ A bank for the new Serbian elite in Croatia (English edition) – NACIONAL
- ^ FACTBOX - Brief history of Croatia's rebel Serb Krajina region | World | Reuters
- ^ Croatia
- ^ http://www.hrt.hr/arhiv/oluja/950804/I040895141858.html<ref> and invited to return after the hostilities were concluded, with varying but increasing degrees of guarantees from the Croatian government. Everyone that participated in the rebellion but committed no crimes was pardoned by the government in 1997.{{Fact|date=April 2008}} [[Image:Martic-order1995.jpg|200px|thumb|right|August 4th order by the Serb Supreme Defence Council ordering evacuation of civilians from the main areas of RSK.]]<br> Two thirds of the Serbs remain in exile. The other third either returned or had remained in Zagreb and other parts of Croatia not directly influenced by the war. Most Croat refugees returned to the territories formerly held by the Serbs. Many moved to homes abandoned by Serbs during Operation Storm, ostensibly because their homes were destroyed by the Serbs.<ref>[http://www.hrw.org/reports/1996/Croatia.htm#P495_133211 Croatia<!-- Bot generated title -->]</li> <li id="cite_note-21">'''[[#cite_ref-21|^]]''' http://www.un.org/icty/babic/trialc/judgement/index.htm Sentencing judgement for [[Milan Babić]]</li> <li id="cite_note-22">'''[[#cite_ref-22|^]]''' Human Rights Watch World Report: Croatia 2001-2003.</li> <li id="cite_note-23">'''[[#cite_ref-23|^]]''' [http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/mar/assessment.asp?groupId=34401 MAR | Data | Assessment for Serbs in Croatia<!-- Bot generated title -->]</li> <li id="cite_note-24">'''[[#cite_ref-24|^]]''' [http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=ENGEUR640032005 Croatia: European Court of Human Rights to consider important case for refugee returns<!-- Bot generated title -->]</li> <li id="cite_note-25">'''[[#cite_ref-25|^]]''' [http://www.mfa.gov.yu/Bilteni/Engleski/b210606_e.html Daily Survey]</li></ol></ref>
[edit] Other sources
- Development of Astronomy among Serbs II, Publications of the Astronomical Observatory of Belgrade,, Belgrade: M. S. Dimitrijević, 2002.
- Vladimir Ćorović. Illustrated History of Serbs, Books 1 - 6. Belgrade: Politika and Narodna Knjiga, 2005
- Nicholas J. Miller. Between Nation and State: Serbian Politics in Croatia before the First World War, Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997.
- OSCE Report on Croatian treatment of Serbs [6]
- ^ In an interview on Fokus (30 September 2005), Croat academic Petar Simunovic explained that the name of Srb originates from an old Croatian verb serbati, srebati meaning "to sip", from which the noun "srb" has been derived. Thus "srb" denotes the spring of river Una, where the village lies. Compare this with the villages of Srbani (near Pula), and Srbinjak, both in Istria, which clearly have nothing to do with the Serbian name. The Istarski razvod from 13th century mentions the name of srbar, meaning a water spring.
