Serbia

From Ottoman Rule

Serbia, like many other Balkan countries, was perceived as a society with a strong patriarchal tradition. Serbs had long lived under their tribal chiefs—knezes—between the political spheres of power of Byzantium and Bulgaria. Byzantium nominated a Serbian sovereign whose son, Stefan Nemanjic, became the first Serbian king in 1217. In 1389, Serbs lost an important battle at Kosovo Polje (blackbird field) against the Ottomans, who continued to rule the territory of today's Serbia for the following 500 years. During this rule, the family came to represent the smallest and the most important social unit, and the notion of brotherhood represented the strongest connection between individuals. The dominant religion among Serbs is Orthodox Christianity, and numerous churches and temples were places where people would gather and have a social exchange, even during the difficult times.

The whole Balkan region is often referred to as the geographical borderline that divides the East from the West—so the mentality of the Balkans is neither purely Oriental nor European. Throughout history, it is a territory that has often been shaken by political conflicts and wars.

After World War II, the communist regime in former Yugoslavia implemented important social changes; being a member of the bourgeoisie gained a pejorative connotation. Appellations, which referred to the existence of a class hierarchy, were to be avoided, and social gatherings that might lead to class and political equality were encouraged. Work camps are an example of such mandatory gatherings; since the public infrastructure and railways had been destroyed by bombing in World War II, large numbers of people, especially youth, volunteered to work on rebuilding these sites.

During the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, a different kind of brotherhood was encouraged in the local print and broadcast media. The notion of patriotism became blurred and indivisible from the nationalistic propaganda of Slobodan Milošević's regime in the 1990s. In addition, the embargo on Serbia and severe travel visa restrictions prevented young people from traveling; therefore, several generations grew up unable to experience different models of life apart from their own. In a country exhausted by uncertainty, inflation, and poverty, the role models became rich war criminals and frivolous folk singers. 1993 was a particularly difficult year, when hyperinflation radically destabilized the monetary value of the dinar. It was not unusual for a worker to receive a salary in the morning and for that salary to have lost its value by the end of the day. In this time, the social network between friends and family became a crucial factor—and an individual depended on it for survival.

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