Serbianisation
Encyclopedia
Serbianisation or Serbification or Serbisation is the spread of Serbian culture
, people
, or politics, either by integration or assimilation
.
, Bosnians
, Montenegrins and Macedonians
, should consider themselves, in their essential being, as Serbs
.
Croats in modern-day Serbia suffered serbianization for centuries.
in Kosovo. This process has been strongest in the period from 1912 (the occupation of Kosovo by Serbia), to 1966 when the Serbian nationalist minister of interior of Yugoslavia, Aleksandar Rankovic, was removed from power. This process saw a resumption in the 1990s, when Serbia usurped Kosovo's autonomy and all Albanians were fired from any public institutions, including schools, universities and hospitals.
In the region of Sandzak, which at the time of its annexation by Serbia (1912) was part of Kosovo, the Albanian population switched from speaking Albanian to Serbian between the two world wars.
of Vardar Macedonia
to the Kingdom of Serbia
, the Macedonian Slavs were faced with the policy of forced serbianisation. Those who declare as the Bulgarians
were torture
d, imprisoned or deported to Bulgaria. Many high clergy of Bulgarian Orthodox Church
were expelled: Cosmas of Debar
(Bishop), Axentius of Bitola
(Archbishop), Neophytus of Skopje
, Meletius of Veles
, Boris of Ohrid
and others. The population of Macedonia was forced to declare as Serbs. Those who refused were beaten and tortured. prominent people and teachers from Skopje
who refused to declare as Serbs were deported to Bulgaria. International Commission concluded that the Serbian state started in Macedonia wide sociological experiment of "assimilation
through terror
."
During the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the government of the Kingdom pursued a linguistic Serbisation policy towards the Bulgarians in Macedonia
, then called "Southern Serbia" (unofficially) or "Vardar Banovina" (officially). The dialect
s spoken in this region were referred to as dialects of Serbo-Croatian
.
Either way, those southern dialects were suppressed with regards education, military and other national activities, and their usage was punishable. The Serbianisation of the Bulgarian language and population in Republic of Macedonia increased after WWII. Persons declaring their Bulgarian identity were imprisoned or went into exile, and in this way Vardar Macedonia was effectively de-Bulgarised.
The Albanian population of Macedonia was also subjected to policies of Serbianisation, especially from 1912 until the establishment of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, when the Slavic Macedonian language became prominent and was imposed upon the Albanian population.
and Vlachs, since the 19th century.
occurred under Ottoman rule, starting from the 15th century to the 19th century, meaning that some Christian Serbs were persecuted and forcefully converted to Islam
, thus also becoming Turks
in the process of changing names and culture. Turks often chose Christian wives, either buying them from their parents or took them by force.
, who fought a guerilla war with the Ottoman Empire
were ethnic Serbs (Serbian Orthodox Christian) who fled from Ottoman Turkish rule and settled in Bela Krajina and Zumberak
.
Serbs
in the Roman Catholic Croatian Military Frontier were out of the jurisdiction of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć
and in 1611, after demands from the community, the Pope establishes the Eparchy of Marča (Vratanija) with seat at the Serbian-built Marča Monastery and instates a Byzantine
vicar
as bishop sub-ordinate to the Roman Catholic bishop of Zagreb, working to bring Serbian Orthodox Christians into communion with Rome which caused struggle of power between the Catholics and the Serbs over the region. In 1695 Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Lika
-Krbava
and Zrinopolje is established by metropolitan Atanasije Ljubojevic and certified by Emperor Josef I in 1707. In 1735 the Serbian Orthodox protested in the Marča Monastery and becomes part of the Serbian Orthodox Church
until 1753 when the Pope restores the Roman Catholic clergy. On June 17, 1777 the Eparchy of Križevci
is permanently established by Pope Pius VI
with see at Križevci, near Zagreb
, thus forming the Croatian Greek Catholic Church which would after the World War I include other people; Rusyns and Ukrainians of Yugoslavia
. Catholic Croats of Turopolje
and Gornja Stubica
celebrate the Đurđevdan (Jurjevo), a Serbian tradition maintained by Uskoks descendants (adjacent to White Carniola
, where Serbs formed communities
in 1528).
. The Serbs were referred to and viewed as "Croats of Eastern faith". The Ustaše aimed at an ethnically "pure" Croatia, and saw the Serbs
that lived in Croatia, Bosnia
and Herzegovina
as the their biggest obstacle. Thus, Ustaše ministers Mile Budak
, Mirko Puk, and Milovan Žanić declared in May 1941 that the goal of the new Ustaše policy was an ethnically clean Croatia. They also publicly announced the strategy to achieve their goal:
who were thought to have converted to Islam
and went through a process of Albanisation
. This supposed process is opposed by Albanian scholars and there is no consensus among Western scholars on the issue.
recorded that the Serb poturice (converts to Islam) of Orahovac
began talking Albanian and marrying Albanian women.
When Dr Jovan Hadži Vasiljević (l. 1866-1948) visited Orahovac in World War I
, he could not distinguish Orthodox from Islamicized and Albanized Serbs. They spoke Serbian
, wore the same costumes, but claimed Serbian
, Albanian
or Turk
ethnicity. The Albanian starosedeoci (old urban families) were Slavophone
; they did not speak Albanian but a Slavic dialect (naš govor, Our language) at home.
In the 1921 census the majority of Muslim Albanians of Orahovac were registered under the category "Serbs and Croats". This is contrary to the belief that Islamisation led to Albanisation. This suggests that claims of Islamisation has led to Albanisation of Serbs are difficult to prove. Also, there has been a continuous and considerable presence of a Slavic Muslim population in Kosovo.
Mark Krasniqi
, the Kosovo Albanian ethnographer, recalled in 1957: "During my own research, some of them told me that their tongue is similar to Macedonian
rather than Serbian (it is clear that they want to dissociate themselves from everything Serbian). It is likely they are the last remnants of what is now known in Serbian sources as 'Arnautaši', Islamicised and half-way Albanianised Slavs."
) by Serbs. Marshall Tito formed SR Macedonia out of the 1929-1941 Vardar Banovina
, and encouraged the forming of the Macedonian identity, a Macedonian dialect, and subsequently the separation of Serbian Orthodox monasteries in Macedonia.
when Josip Broz Tito
came to power in Yugoslavia
. Prior to the 20th century the name Montenegrin was used as a regional/national affiliation.
In the 1921-census results, Serbs composed 92.96%, numbering 231,686 in Montenegro.
From 1948 to 1991, the percentage of Serbs never exceeded 10% (ranging from 3-10% every 10 years) as a result of the Montenegrin national awakening.
In 2003, Serbs composed 31.99%, numbering 198,414, as to the percentage in 1948 was 1.78%, a third of previously declared Montenegrins now re-declared as Serbs. (see Demographic history of Montenegro
)
Serbian culture
Serbian culture refers to the culture of Serbia and of ethnic Serbs.The Serbian culture starts with that of the South Slavic peoples that lived in the Balkans. Early on, Serbs may have been influenced by the Paleo-Balkan peoples...
, people
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
, or politics, either by integration or assimilation
Assimilation
Assimilation may refer to:*Assimilation , a linguistic process by which a sound becomes similar to an adjacent sound...
.
Serbianisation
According to Stephen Schwartz, the term is used to its belief that all South Slavs, comprising Slovenes, CroatsCroats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
, Bosnians
Bosnians
Bosnians are people who reside in, or come from, Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the modern state definition a Bosnian can be anyone who holds citizenship of the state. This includes, but is not limited to, members of the constituent ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs and...
, Montenegrins and Macedonians
Macedonians (ethnic group)
The Macedonians also referred to as Macedonian Slavs: "... the term Slavomacedonian was introduced and was accepted by the community itself, which at the time had a much more widespread non-Greek Macedonian ethnic consciousness...
, should consider themselves, in their essential being, as Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
.
Serbianisation of Croats
Croats were victims of serbianization through history because of political and religious problems.Croats in modern-day Serbia suffered serbianization for centuries.
In Kosovo
Serbianisation has been attributed to AlbaniansAlbanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
in Kosovo. This process has been strongest in the period from 1912 (the occupation of Kosovo by Serbia), to 1966 when the Serbian nationalist minister of interior of Yugoslavia, Aleksandar Rankovic, was removed from power. This process saw a resumption in the 1990s, when Serbia usurped Kosovo's autonomy and all Albanians were fired from any public institutions, including schools, universities and hospitals.
In the region of Sandzak, which at the time of its annexation by Serbia (1912) was part of Kosovo, the Albanian population switched from speaking Albanian to Serbian between the two world wars.
In Macedonia
Immediately after annexationAnnexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
of Vardar Macedonia
Vardar Macedonia
Vardar Macedonia is an area in the north of the Macedonia . The borders of the area are those of the Republic of Macedonia. It covers an area of...
to the Kingdom of Serbia
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...
, the Macedonian Slavs were faced with the policy of forced serbianisation. Those who declare as the Bulgarians
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
were torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d, imprisoned or deported to Bulgaria. Many high clergy of Bulgarian Orthodox Church
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6.5 million members in the Republic of Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2.0 million members in a number of European countries, the Americas and Australia...
were expelled: Cosmas of Debar
Debar
Debar is a city in the western part of the Republic of Macedonia, near the border with Albania, on the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality.-Geography:...
(Bishop), Axentius of Bitola
Bitola
Bitola is a city in the southwestern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba and Nidže mountains, 14 km north of the...
(Archbishop), Neophytus of Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
, Meletius of Veles
Veles (city)
Veles is a city in the center of the Republic of Macedonia on the Vardar river. The city of Veles is the seat of Veles Municipality.-Name:The city's name was Vylosa in Ancient Greek and before the Balkan Wars, it was a township with the name Köprülü in the Üsküp sandjak, Ottoman empire for 600...
, Boris of Ohrid
Ohrid
Ohrid is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. It has about 42,000 inhabitants, making it the seventh largest city in the country. The city is the seat of Ohrid Municipality. Ohrid is notable for having once had 365 churches, one for each day of the year and has...
and others. The population of Macedonia was forced to declare as Serbs. Those who refused were beaten and tortured. prominent people and teachers from Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
who refused to declare as Serbs were deported to Bulgaria. International Commission concluded that the Serbian state started in Macedonia wide sociological experiment of "assimilation
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
through terror
Terror
Terror may refer to:*Fear, an emotional response to threats and danger*Terror, a political strategy of the asymmetrical use of threats and violence against enemies using means that fall outside the routine forms of political struggle operating within some current regime*Terrorism, the fact of...
."
During the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the government of the Kingdom pursued a linguistic Serbisation policy towards the Bulgarians in Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
, then called "Southern Serbia" (unofficially) or "Vardar Banovina" (officially). The dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
s spoken in this region were referred to as dialects of Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian language
Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
.
Either way, those southern dialects were suppressed with regards education, military and other national activities, and their usage was punishable. The Serbianisation of the Bulgarian language and population in Republic of Macedonia increased after WWII. Persons declaring their Bulgarian identity were imprisoned or went into exile, and in this way Vardar Macedonia was effectively de-Bulgarised.
The Albanian population of Macedonia was also subjected to policies of Serbianisation, especially from 1912 until the establishment of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, when the Slavic Macedonian language became prominent and was imposed upon the Albanian population.
Romanians and Vlachs
Serbianisation has been attributed to RomaniansRomanians of Serbia
Romanians are a recognised national minority in Serbia. The total number of declared Romanians in the 2002 Serbian census was 34,576, while 40,054 people declared themselves Vlachs; there are differing views among some of the Vlachs over they should be regarded as Romanians or as members of a...
and Vlachs, since the 19th century.
De-Serbianisation
Islamisation and TurkificationTurkification
Turkification is a term used to describe a process of cultural or political change in which something or someone who is not a Turk becomes one, voluntarily or involuntarily...
occurred under Ottoman rule, starting from the 15th century to the 19th century, meaning that some Christian Serbs were persecuted and forcefully converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, thus also becoming Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
in the process of changing names and culture. Turks often chose Christian wives, either buying them from their parents or took them by force.
In the Military Frontier (1500-1800)
A large part of the Habsburg unit of UskoksUskoks
The Uskoks were Croatian Habsburg soldiers that inhabited the areas of the eastern Adriatic and the surrounding territories during the Ottoman wars in Europe. Etymologically, the word uskoci itself means "the ones who jumped in" in Croatian...
, who fought a guerilla war with the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
were ethnic Serbs (Serbian Orthodox Christian) who fled from Ottoman Turkish rule and settled in Bela Krajina and Zumberak
Žumberak
Žumberak or Gorjanci is a range of mountains or hills between Croatia and Slovenia. The highest peak is Sveta Gera on the border between Croatia and Slovenia, being tall....
.
Serbs
Serbs of Croatia
Višeslav of Serbia, a contemporary of Charlemagne , ruled the Županias of Neretva, Tara, Piva, Lim, his ancestral lands. According to the Royal Frankish Annals , Duke of Pannonia Ljudevit Posavski fled, during the Frankish invasion, from his seat in Sisak to the Serbs in western Bosnia, who...
in the Roman Catholic Croatian Military Frontier were out of the jurisdiction of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć
Patriarchate of Pec
The Patriarchate of Peć is a Serbian Orthodox monastery located near Peć. The complex of churches is the spiritual seat and mausoleum of the Serbian archbishops and patriarchs....
and in 1611, after demands from the community, the Pope establishes the Eparchy of Marča (Vratanija) with seat at the Serbian-built Marča Monastery and instates a Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
as bishop sub-ordinate to the Roman Catholic bishop of Zagreb, working to bring Serbian Orthodox Christians into communion with Rome which caused struggle of power between the Catholics and the Serbs over the region. In 1695 Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Lika
Lika
Lika is a mountainous region in central Croatia, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by the Malovan pass...
-Krbava
Krbava
Krbava is a region of mountainous Croatia. It can be considered either located east of Lika, or indeed as the eastern part of Lika. The town of Udbina is the central settlement of the Krbava karst field....
and Zrinopolje is established by metropolitan Atanasije Ljubojevic and certified by Emperor Josef I in 1707. In 1735 the Serbian Orthodox protested in the Marča Monastery and becomes part of the Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
until 1753 when the Pope restores the Roman Catholic clergy. On June 17, 1777 the Eparchy of Križevci
Eparchy of Križevci
The Eparchy of Križevci, sometimes referred to as the Croatian Greek Catholic Church or the Croatian Byzantine Catholic Church, is a recognized sui iuris Catholic Church listed in the Annuario Pontificio among the Eastern Catholic Churches of Constantinopolitan or Byzantine tradition as the Church...
is permanently established by Pope Pius VI
Pope Pius VI
Pope Pius VI , born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, was Pope from 1775 to 1799.-Early years:Braschi was born in Cesena...
with see at Križevci, near Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, thus forming the Croatian Greek Catholic Church which would after the World War I include other people; Rusyns and Ukrainians of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. Catholic Croats of Turopolje
Turopolje
Turopolje is a region in Croatia situated between the capital city Zagreb and Sisak. The administrative center of the region Turopolje is the town of Velika Gorica.-Overview:...
and Gornja Stubica
Gornja Stubica
Gornja Stubica is in the Krapina-Zagorje county in Croatia. According to the 2001 census, there are 5,726 inhabitants in the area. An absolute majority of them which are Croats....
celebrate the Đurđevdan (Jurjevo), a Serbian tradition maintained by Uskoks descendants (adjacent to White Carniola
White Carniola
White Carniola is a traditional region in southeastern Slovenia on the border with Croatia and is the most southern part of the historical and traditional region of Lower Carniola. Its major towns are Metlika, Črnomelj, and Semič, and the principal river is the Kolpa, which also forms part of the...
, where Serbs formed communities
Serbs in Slovenia
The Serbs in Slovenia are an ethnic group living in Slovenia. In the 2002 census, 38,964 people of Slovenia declared themselves of Serb ethnicity, which corresponds to 1.98% of the total population of Slovenia, making them the second largest ethnic group in the country, after the Slovenes.-...
in 1528).
Second World War
The Ustasha forcefully converted SerbsSerbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
. The Serbs were referred to and viewed as "Croats of Eastern faith". The Ustaše aimed at an ethnically "pure" Croatia, and saw the Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
that lived in Croatia, Bosnia
Bosnia (region)
Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...
and Herzegovina
Herzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
as the their biggest obstacle. Thus, Ustaše ministers Mile Budak
Mile Budak
Mile Budak was a Croatian Ustaše and writer, best known as one of the chief ideologists of the Croatian clerofascist Ustaše movement, which ruled the Independent State of Croatia, or NDH, from 1941-45 and waged a genocidal campaign against its Serb, Roma and Jewish minorities, and against Croatian...
, Mirko Puk, and Milovan Žanić declared in May 1941 that the goal of the new Ustaše policy was an ethnically clean Croatia. They also publicly announced the strategy to achieve their goal:
- One third of the Serbs (in the Independent State of Croatia) were to be forcibly converted to Catholicism.
- One third of the Serbs were to be expelled (ethnically cleansed).
- One third of the Serbs were to be killed.
Kosovo
The term Arnauti or Arnautaši was coined by Serbian ethnographers for "Albanized Serbs"; SerbsSerbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
who were thought to have converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and went through a process of Albanisation
Albanisation
Albanisation is a term used to describe a linguistic or cultural assimilation to the Albanian language and Albanian culture.- In Kosovo :The term is used in reference to Kosovo....
. This supposed process is opposed by Albanian scholars and there is no consensus among Western scholars on the issue.
In Orahovac
At the end of the 19th century, writer Branislav NušićBranislav Nušic
Branislav Nušić was a Serbian novelist of Aromanian descent, playwright, satirist, essayist and founder of modern rhetoric in Serbia. He also worked as a journalist and a civil servant.- Biography :...
recorded that the Serb poturice (converts to Islam) of Orahovac
Orahovac
Orahovac is a town and municipality in western Kosovo, in the District of Đakovica.-Name:Its Serbian name stems from the Serbian word orah , meaning "walnut"....
began talking Albanian and marrying Albanian women.
When Dr Jovan Hadži Vasiljević (l. 1866-1948) visited Orahovac in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he could not distinguish Orthodox from Islamicized and Albanized Serbs. They spoke Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
, wore the same costumes, but claimed Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
, Albanian
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
or Turk
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
ethnicity. The Albanian starosedeoci (old urban families) were Slavophone
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
; they did not speak Albanian but a Slavic dialect (naš govor, Our language) at home.
In the 1921 census the majority of Muslim Albanians of Orahovac were registered under the category "Serbs and Croats". This is contrary to the belief that Islamisation led to Albanisation. This suggests that claims of Islamisation has led to Albanisation of Serbs are difficult to prove. Also, there has been a continuous and considerable presence of a Slavic Muslim population in Kosovo.
Mark Krasniqi
Mark Krasniqi
Mark Krasniqi was born on October 19, 1920 in Glavičica , near Peć, in the Kongdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes . He finished his elementary school in Peć and attended high school in Prizren, finishing it in 1941...
, the Kosovo Albanian ethnographer, recalled in 1957: "During my own research, some of them told me that their tongue is similar to Macedonian
Macedonian language
Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...
rather than Serbian (it is clear that they want to dissociate themselves from everything Serbian). It is likely they are the last remnants of what is now known in Serbian sources as 'Arnautaši', Islamicised and half-way Albanianised Slavs."
Macedonia
The region of present-day Macedonia is sometimes called southern Serbia (part of Old SerbiaOld Serbia
Old Serbia is a modern name for the territory which was the core of medieval Serbia. It included Raška , Kosovo and Metohija and the Macedonia...
) by Serbs. Marshall Tito formed SR Macedonia out of the 1929-1941 Vardar Banovina
Vardar Banovina
The Vardar Banovina or Vardar Banate or Vardarska Banovina was a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. It was located in the southernmost part of the country, encompassing the whole of today's Republic of Macedonia, southern parts of Central Serbia and southeastern parts of...
, and encouraged the forming of the Macedonian identity, a Macedonian dialect, and subsequently the separation of Serbian Orthodox monasteries in Macedonia.
Montenegro
De-serbisation occurred in MontenegroMontenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
when Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
came to power in Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. Prior to the 20th century the name Montenegrin was used as a regional/national affiliation.
In the 1921-census results, Serbs composed 92.96%, numbering 231,686 in Montenegro.
From 1948 to 1991, the percentage of Serbs never exceeded 10% (ranging from 3-10% every 10 years) as a result of the Montenegrin national awakening.
In 2003, Serbs composed 31.99%, numbering 198,414, as to the percentage in 1948 was 1.78%, a third of previously declared Montenegrins now re-declared as Serbs. (see Demographic history of Montenegro
Demographic History of Montenegro
This article presents the demographic history of Montenegro through census results and official documents which mention demographic composition...
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Notable individuals of non-Serb origin who declare as Serbs
- General Pavle Jurišić ŠturmPavle Jurišic ŠturmPavle Jurišić Šturm was a Serbian general of Sorbian origin who commanded the Serbian 3rd Army in the First World War....
(Paulus Sturm), World War I hero, of SorbianSorbsSorbs are a Western Slavic people of Central Europe living predominantly in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland. In Germany they live in the states of Brandenburg and Saxony. They speak the Sorbian languages - closely related to Polish and Czech - officially recognized and...
origin - Branislav NušićBranislav NušicBranislav Nušić was a Serbian novelist of Aromanian descent, playwright, satirist, essayist and founder of modern rhetoric in Serbia. He also worked as a journalist and a civil servant.- Biography :...
, writer, of Aromanian origin - Nikola PašićNikola PašicNikola P. Pašić was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and diplomat, the most important Serbian political figure for almost 40 years, leader of the People's Radical Party who, among other posts, was twice a mayor of Belgrade...
, politician, of BulgarianBulgariansThe Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
origin - Josif PančićJosif PancicJosif Pančić OSS was a Serbian botanist. He was a famous lecturer at the Great School in Belgrade and the first president of the Serbian Royal Academy. Pančić is credited for discovering the new species of coniferthe Serbian Spruce.-Biography:...
, botanist and first president of SANU, of Croatian origin - Frenki Simatović, war criminal, of Croat origin
- Emir KusturicaEmir KusturicaEmir Nemanja Kusturica , is a Serbian filmmaker, actor and musician, recognized for several internationally acclaimed feature films...
, film director, producer, of MuslimMuslims by nationalityMuslims by nationality was a term used in Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as an official designation of nationality of Slavic Muslims. They were one of the constitutive groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
origin (Islamized Serb origin)