Political Antiquity in the Post-Yugoslav Space

Affiliation: Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University) of the Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Russian Federation
Address: Russian Federation, Moscow

Journal name

Novaia i noveishaia istoriia

Edition

Issue 4

Pages

120-134

Abstract

The problem of the formation and development of state and social structures in the countries that emerged after the collapse of SFR Yugoslavia is closely related to the issue of the formation of their new national identities. An important role in this process is played by the image of a hostile “other” in the ordinary consciousness of the people, which has become one of the main means of internal consolidation of the new Balkan states. The tragic events of the 1991–1995 Yugoslav War and the 1998–1999 Kosovo Crisis brought a variety of myths and concepts about their national identities to the fore, resulting in new searches for their ethnic identities. In the context of the polysemous notion of “us and them”, images of empires from the distant past have become an important tool in the formation of ethnic identities of post-Yugoslav countries, designed to form a distinctive, different from neighbouring nations, perception of “homeland” in society, to emphasise its uniqueness and antiquity, especially as in the historical development of the Western Balkans it proved impossible to combine state borders with ethnic boundaries, as well as to correlate the concepts of identity and territory. Here too, the images of antiquity are not subject to scholarly inquiry or debate, but are presented to society as an “indisputable” historical argument and a fait accompli in territorial disputes with its neighbours. Thus, the ancient past of the Balkan region becomes an important instrument in a kind of memory war aimed at destroying any reference to the “strange” people who once lived on this territory and to the time of their forced neighbourhood, as well as “incontrovertible” proof that the small people belonged to the West and its values – the legacy of that same antiquity.

Keywords

primordialism, breakup of Yugoslavia, Illyrism, Illyrian movement, collective memory, history politics, countries of former Yugoslavia, Albanians, Macedonians

Received

16.05.2022

Publication date

01.09.2022

Number of characters

41611

Cite

GOST	Vishnyakov Y. “Political Antiquity” in the Post-Yugoslav Space // Novaia i noveishaia istoriia – 2022. – Issue 4 C. 120-134 [Electronic resource]. URL: https://nni.jes.su/S013038640021035-6-1 (circulation date: 27.04.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S013038640021035-6
MLA	Vishnyakov, Yaroslav "“Political Antiquity” in the Post-Yugoslav Space." Novaia i noveishaia istoriia 4 (2022):120-134. DOI: 10.31857/S013038640021035-6
APA	Vishnyakov Y. (2022). “Political Antiquity” in the Post-Yugoslav Space. Novaia i noveishaia istoriia (4), pp.120-134 DOI: 10.31857/S013038640021035-6

100 rub.

When subscribing to an article or issue, the user can download PDF, evaluate the publication or contact the author. Need to register.

Number of purchasers: 0, views: 236

Readers community rating: votes 0

1. Amelin V.V., Bevan Ya., Vetter E. i dr. Svoi i chuzhie. Metamorfozy identichnosti na vostoke i zapade Evropy [Own and others. Metamorphoses of identity in Eastern and Western Europe] / pod red. E.I. Filippovoi, K. Le Torrivelleka. Moskva, 2018. (In Russ.)

2. Assman A. Dlinnaya ten' proshlogo. Memorial'naya kul'tura i istoricheskaya politika [The Long Shadow of the Past. Memorial Culture and Historical Politics]. Moskva, 2014. (In Russ.)

3. Batakovich D. Kosovo i Metokhiya. Istoriya i ideologiya [Kosovo and Metohija. History and ideology]. Ekaterinburg, 2014. (In Russ.)

4. Belov M.V. U istokov serbskoi natsional'noi ideologii: mekhanizmy formirovaniya i specifika razvitiya (konec XVIII – seredina 30-kh gg. XIX veka) [At the Origins of Serbian National Ideology: Mechanisms of Formation and Specificity of Development (late 18th – mid-19th)]. Sankt-Peterburg, 2007. (In Russ.)

5. Belov M.V. Manifest serbskoj nacional'noj byurokratii (istoriograficheskie zametki o “Nachertanii” I. Garashanina 1844 g.) [Manifesto of the Serbian national bureaucracy (historiographical notes on the “Inscription” by I. Garashanin, 1844)] // Vestnik Nizhegorodskogo universiteta im. N.I. Lobachevskogo [Vestnik of Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod]. 2007. № 1. S. 205–212. (In Russ.)

6. Churkina I.V. Russkie i slovency. Nauchnye svyazi konca XVIII v. – 1914 g. [Russians and Slovenes. Scientific connections of the end of the 18th century – 1914]. Moskva, 1986. (In Russ.)

7. Churkina I.V. Rossiya i slavyane v ideologii slovenskikh natsional'nykh deyatelei XVI v. – 1914 [Russia and the Slavs in the Ideology of Slovenian National Figures of the 16th – 1914]. Moskva, 2017. (In Russ.)

8. Gurevich P.S. Social'naya mifologiya [Social mythology]. Moskva, 1983. (In Russ.)

9. Dronov A.M. Ot illirizma k khorvatizmu v Avstriiskoi imperii pervoi poloviny XIX veka [From Illyrianism to Croatianism in the Austrian Empire in the first half of the 19th century] // Slavyanovedenie. 2018. № 1. S. 55–69. (In Russ.)

10. Istoriya Chernogorii s drevnejshih vremen do 2006 g. [History of Montenegro from ancient times to 2006]. Moskva, 2010. (In Russ.)

11. Istoricheskaya politika v 21 veke [Historical politics in the 21st century]. Moskva, 2002. (In Russ.)

12. Kirilina L.A. Idei trializma (yugoslavyanskii variant) v Avstro-Vengrii nakanune Pervoi mirovoi voiny [Ideas of trialism (Yugoslav version) in Austria-Hungary on the eve of the First World War] // Slavyanovedenie [Slavic Studies]. 2016. № 5. S. 18–30. (In Russ.)

13. Klimenko Z.V. Albanskii vopros v Makedonii [Albanian question in Macedonia] // Vestnik Nizhegorodskogo universiteta im. N.I. Lobachevskogo [Vestnik of Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod]. 2015. № 4. S. 38–47. (In Russ.)

14. Khachaturyan V.M. “Vtoraya zhizn'” arkhaiki. Arhaiziruyushchie tendencii v civilizatsionnom processe [The “second life” of the archaic. Archaizing tendencies in the civilization process]. Moskva, 2009. (In Russ.)

15. Koloskov E.A. Ot Bukharesta do Prespy: greko-makedonskij spor o gosudarstvennom naimenovanii Makedonii v 2008–2018 gg. [From Bucharest to Prespa: Greek-Macedonian dispute over the state name of Macedonia in 2008–2018] // Slavyanskii al'manah [Slavic Al‘manac]. 2021. № 1–2. S. 207–232. (In Russ.)

16. Koloskov E.A. Strana bez nazvaniya: vneshnepoliticheskii aspekt stanovleniya makedonskogo gosudarstva (1991–2001) [Untitled Country: Foreign Policy Aspect of the Macedonian State (1991–2001)]. Moskva, 2013. (In Russ.)

17. Koloskov E.A. Obraz Srednevekov'ya v shkol'nom obrazovanii stran Zapadnykh Balkan v nachale XXI veka [The image of the Middle Ages in school education in the Western Balkans at the beginning of the 21st century] // Vox medii aevi. 2019. Vol. 2 (5). S. 88–101. URL: http://voxmediiaevi. com/2019-2-koloskov (access date: 01.05.2022). (In Russ.)

18. Koz'menko I.V. Dnevnik F.V. Chizhova “Puteshestvie po slavyanskim zemlyam” kak istochnik [Diary of F.V. Chizhov “Journey through the Slavic lands” as a source] // Slavyanskii arhiv. Sbornik statej i materialov [Slavic archive. Collection of articles and materials]. Moskva, 1958. S. 127–260. (In Russ.)

19. Kulakovskij P.A. Illirizm. Issledovanie po istorii horvatskoi literatury perioda vozrozhdeniya [Illyrianism. A study of the history of Croatian literature of the Renaissance]. Varshava, 1894. (In Russ.)

20. Kuz'micheva L.V. Serbo-horvatskie sblizheniya i konflikty v XIX – nachale XXI v. [Serbo-Croatian rapprochements and conflicts in the 19th – early 21st century] // Konflikty i kompromissy v istorii mirovykh tsivilizatsii [Conflicts and compromises in history of world civilizations]. Moskva, 2009. (In Russ.)

21. Kupriyanov P.S. Predstavleniya o narodakh u rossiiskikh puteshestvennikov nachala XIX v. [Representations of the peoples of Russian travelers in the early 19th century] // Etnograficheskoe obozrenie [Epigraphic Review]. 2004. № 2. S. 21–37. (In Russ.)

22. Leshchilovskaya I.I. Illirizm. K istorii horvatskogo natsional'nogo Vozrozhdeniya [Illyrianism. On the History of the Croatian National Revival]. Moskva, 1968. (In Russ.)

23. Leshchilovskaya I.I. Horvatiya v XVII–XIX vekakh: kul'turnye aspekty istoricheskogo razvitiya [Croatia in the 17th–19th centuries: cultural aspects of historical development]. Moskva, 2013. (In Russ.)

24. Lomonosov M.Yu. Illirijskij mif v interpretacii slavyanskikh intellektualov Zapadnykh Balkan (XV–XXI vv.) [Illyrian myth in the interpretation of Slavic intellectuals in the Western Balkans (15th–21th centuries)] // Vestnik Slavyanskih kul'tur [Bulletin of Slavic Cultures]. 2011. № 4 (22). S. 44–53. (In Russ.)

25. Lomonosov M.Yu. Albano-slavyanskie kontakty: konflikty, istoricheskie mify i proizvodstvo krizisov [Albanian-Slavic Contacts: Conflicts, Historical Myths and the Production of Crisis Owls] // Vestnik Permskogo universiteta [Perm University Herald]. Ser. “Istoriya”. 2011. Vyp. 1 (15). S. 156–162. (In Russ.)

26. Lomonosov M.Yu. Vozrozhdennaya Dardaniya: istoriya novoprovozglashennogo gosudarstva v expoziеtsii muzeya Kosovo [Revived Dardania: the history of the newly proclaimed state in the exposition of the Museum of Kosovo] // Etnograficheskoe obozrenie [Ethnographic Review]. 2010. № 4. S. 59–68. (In Russ.)

27. Martynova M.Yu. Balkanskii krizis: narody i politika [The Balkan crisis: peoples and politics]. Moskva, 1998. (In Russ.)

28. Myl'nikov A.S. Kartina slavyanskogo mira: vzglyad iz Vostochnoi Evropy. Predstavleniya ob etnicheskoi nominatsii i etnichnosti XVI – nachala XVIII veka [The picture of the Slavic world: a view from Eastern Europe. Representations of ethnic nomination and ethnicity of the 16 th – early 18th century]. Sankt-Peterburg, 1991. (In Russ.)

29. Nikiforov K.V. “Nachertanie” Ilii Garashanina i vneshnyaya politika Serbii v 1842–1853 gg. [Elijah Garasanin's “Outline” and Serbian Foreign Policy in 1842–1853]. Moskva, 2015. (In Russ.)

30. Nikovskij R. SShA i nezavisimaya Makedoniya (1991–2013) [United States and Independent Macedonia (1991–2013)]. Moskva, 2017. (In Russ.)

31. Otkrytie “brat'ev slavyan”: russkie puteshestvenniki na Balkanakh v pervoi polovine XIX veka. [Discovery of the “brothers of the Slavs”: Russian travelers in the Balkans in the first half of the 19th century] / sost, predislovie biograficheskie spravki, kommentarii i zaklyuchitel'naya stat'ya M.V. Belova. Sankt-Peterburg, 2018. (In Russ.)

32. Ponomareva E.G. Aktual'nyi diskurs o tipah i tendenciyah razvitiya nacional'nogo gosudarstva [Current discourse on the types and tendencies of development of the national state] // Vestnik MGIMO-Universiteta [MGIMO Review of International Relations]. 2013. № 4. S. 195–203. (In Russ.)

33. Rid D. Vdol' fronta [Along the front] Moskva; Leningrad, 1928. (In Russ.)

34. Shnirel'man V.A. Natsional'nyi mif: osnovnye harakteristiki (na primere etnogeneticheskikh versii vostochnoslavyanskikh narodov) [National myth: main characteristics. (on the example of ethnogenetic versions of the East Slavic peoples)] // Slavyanovedenie [Slavic Studies]. 1995. № 6. S. 3–13. (In Russ.)

35. Terzich S. Staraya Serbiya (XIX–XX vv.). Drama odnoj evropeiskoi civilizacii [Old Serbia (19th–20th centuries). A drama of a European civilization]. Moskva, 2015. (In Russ.)

36. Timofeev A.Yu. Krest, kinzhal i kniga. Staraya Serbiya v politike Belgrada 1878–1912 gg. [Cross, dagger and book. Old Serbia in the politics of Belgrade 1878–1912]. Sankt-Peterburg, 2007. (In Russ.)

37. Tret'yakova M. Makedoniya 2001. Novyi vitok krizisa: Istoricheskie predposylki i politicheskie posledstviya [Macedonia 2001. A new round of the crisis: Historical background and political consequences]. Moskva, 2021. (In Russ.)

38. Ulunyan A.A. Balkany i “arhaichno-antichnoe” prostranstvo: istoricheskie otrazheniya v ideologicheskoi srede nacional'nykh diskursov [The Balkans and the archaic-ancient space: historical reflections in the ideological environment of national discourses] // Konstruirovanie istorii. Kto my? [Institutionalization of History. Who are we?] Sankt-Peterburg, 2019. S. 205–236. (In Russ.)

39. Vishnyakov Y.V. Serbskij socium v nachale XX veka. Militarizaciya povsednevnosti [Serbian society at the beginning of the 20th century. Militarization of everyday life] // Vestnik MGIMO-Universiteta [MGIMO Review of International Relations]. 2019. № 6. S. 28–45. (In Russ.)

40. Vishnyakov Y.V. Serbiya v nachale pervoi mirovoi voiny: 1914–1915 gody [Serbia at the beginning of the First World War: 1914–1915] // Novaya i novejshaya istoriya [Modern and Contemporary History]. 2013. № 2. S. 53–65. (In Russ.)

41. Vmeste v stoletii konfliktov. Rossiya i Serbiya v XX veke [Together in a century of conflict. Russia and Serbia in the 20th century] Moskva, 2016. (In Russ.)

42. Yugoslaviya v XX veke. Ocherki politicheskoj istorii [Yugoslavia in the 20th century. Essays on political history]. Moskva, 2011. (In Russ.)

43. Chubriloviћ V. Istorija politichke misli u Srbije XIX v. [History of political thought in Serbia in the 19th century]. Beograd, 1958. (In Serbian)

44. Historija naroda Jugoslavije [History of the people of Yugoslavia]. Zagreb, 1953. (In Serbian)

45. Istoriјa Јugoslaviјe [History of Yugoslavia]. Beograd, 1972. (In Serbian)

46. Rustich D. Mitovi srpske istorie [Myths of Serbian History]. Beograd, 2019. (In Serbian)

47. Љushich R. Kњiga o Nachertaniju [A book about Nacertani]. Beograd, 1993. (In Serbian)

48. Ћoroviћ V. Istoriјa Јugoslaviјe [History of Yugoslavia]. Beograd, 1933. (In Serbian)