MetaFilter posts tagged with Yugoslavia

Strange Medicine

reenum — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:04:54 -0800

Radovan Karadzic was a war criminal who was able to escape prosecution for his war crimes during the genocide in Bosnia. In a particularly strange twist, Karadzic assumed the name Dragan Dabic and rose in the ranks of the alternative healing community in Belgrade. “Across from Dabic’s apartment in New Belgrade, there lived a woman who worked at Interpol,” Vekaric of the I.C.T.Y. told me. “Every morning this woman switched on her computer and there was a picture of Radovan Karadzic and Osama bin Laden. And each morning she would say good morning to Dragan Dabic.” She never suspected who her neighbor was."

1989, revolution in Eastern Europe

Kattullus — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:49:20 -0800

The BBC World Service has put together a special report on the 1989 revolutions in Eastern Europe (they also have a simpler portal). There is a wealth of material, including TV reports on key events from the BBC archives, interviews, a map timeline, a report on Catholicism's role in the 1989 revolutions, a first-hand report of what it was like to gather news in East Germany during that time and much more.

Vidovdan

adricv — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 09:20:09 -0800

Today is June 28th, June 15th on the Julian Calendar, and it holds a great historical significance to Serbia. 619 years ago today, the Battle of Kosovo was fought between the Ottoman Empire and the Tsardom of Serbia, which ended as a victory for the Ottomans after an epic stand to the end, resulting in the deaths of both the Serbian king and the Ottoman Sultan. 94 years ago today, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand organisation, ultimately triggering the First World War. 5 years later, the Treaty of Versailles was signed in Paris, marking an end to the Great War (The Six Months That Changed The World video lecture by John V. Denson). In 1921, King Alexander I of Yugoslavia (what was then the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes) signed the Constitution for the country. In 1948, the Cominform condemned the Yugoslav Communist leaders in a "Resolution on the State of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia), formally splitting the Yugoslav partisans and the Soviet Union under Stalin. In 1989, Slobodan Milosevic delivered a speech in Kosovo, against a backdrop of tensions between an exploding Albanian population and the existing Serbian population, paradoxically advocating unity and brotherhood between the peoples of Kosovo and simultaneously fanning nationalist rhetoric, breaking from Tito's anti-nationalistic line. In 2001, Milosevic was deported to the International Criminal Courts of Justice in The Hague to stand trial for a slew of charges weighed against him, finally dying before any ruling could be served. And finally, in 2006, Montenegro became the 192nd member of the United Nations. All of these events, on June 28th, Saint Vitus' Day.

Commie Kids Telly

fearfulsymmetry — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 04:07:16 -0800

One rather strange minor cultural phenomena you experienced as a kid growing up in 60s and 70s Britain was a number of television programs that originated from beyond the Iron Curtain. Most infamous was the downright scary The Singing Ringing Tree from East Germany (Radio4 doc), later spoofed by the Fast Show but there were several others... including The Little Mermaid from Czechoslovakia, The White Horses from Yugoslavia (with its beautiful and much loved theme tune) and The Mole, also from Czechoslovakia, by acclaimed animator Zdeněk Miler … of which there are many many examples on Youtube. I doubt it the BBC at the time were really trying to further world revolution (MI5 put a stop to that) the documentary explains that is was just trying to fill up the schedule with cheap imports. And apparently The Singing Ringing tree was criticised by the powers that be in it’s own country for being too bourgeois with its princesses and princes and certainly The Mole was pretty subversive in its own way: "Mr. Miler said he steered clear of politics, but as Krtek became his life's work, the films did not shut out the real world, before or after the fall of Communism. Bureaucrats were poked fun at. He lamented the destruction of the environment. He showed a rabbit graphically giving birth. One film had Krtek travelling the world, stunned at an American mole's superior burrowing technology."

Hoppaa!

hoskala — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 09:39:01 -0800

In a small town in Central Serbia called Guca, the "Festival of Brass Music" takes place since 1961. The main event is an epic trumpet competition which Boban Markovic has won 5 times. (You might have heard his playing in several films by Emir Kusturica, most notably The Underground.) Now there is also a film about the festival , which begins this year on the 30th of August.

The festival is an insane mixture of Oktoberfest, Carnival of Rio and folklore show with a Serbian twist.

Some examples of the music to be heard on the festival. And if you like those, you'd better check out Fanfare Ciocarlia and Taraf de Haidouks too.

Football is war.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 09:36:43 -0800

Please, do mention the war. Really, it's hard not to. After all, in a sense football is war, as the General famously joked. Sometimes it's peace. Same goes for that other football, by the way.

Videoletters from the former Yugoslavia

Ljubljana — Fri, 29 Apr 2005 02:29:33 -0800

Hello to the Krilcic family. Ten years after we last saw you we are alive and well. And I hope you are. We would like to hear from you and see you. Goodbye.
In each episode of Videoletters, two former neighbors, friends or colleagues separated by the Bosnian war exchange video messages. Since 1999, two filmmakers have been helping people from across the former Yugoslavia find and reconnect with one another in this way, often with heart-breaking results. Watch a sample episode here about two young men, Vlada (a Serb) and Ivica (a Croat), whose families were close friends when the war began. [Bit more inside]

Bosnia's horrific war memories

Postroad — Sun, 30 Jan 2005 09:54:57 -0800

Bosnia's horrific war memories There were countless horrors in the wars which led to the break-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. A Serbian army general has now surrendered to the authorities and will go to the United Nations tribunal in The Hague to answer war crimes charges dating back to 1999. But what happens once camp guards have served their sentences? Dragan Kolundzija (Kole) stood trial in The Hague in Holland in 1999 Dragan Kolundzija, Kole to his friends, is sitting at the bar of the Hotel Prijedor when we enter....

Yu-Mex

mr_roboto — Thu, 23 Dec 2004 18:32:17 -0800

This is a small homage to hundreds of performers who covered themselves with sombreros to become Slavic Mexicans. (via memepool)

The Case Against Miloševic

Ljubljana — Tue, 02 Dec 2003 17:15:13 -0800

The Case Against Milosevic (flash)

History repeating...

tomcosgrave — Wed, 12 Mar 2003 06:18:56 -0800

Serbian premier assasinated
He was shot in front of government offices at around 1300 local time, (1200 GMT). I know some people are going to cry Newsfilter, but I believe this is worth posting.

We hardly knew Yu

apostasy — Wed, 05 Feb 2003 01:27:03 -0800

Yugoslavia chapter closed: The Archduke, the Maverick Communist, and the War Criminal. After a storied, and often violent, 20th century, the (nearly) all-encompassing Balkan federation is no more, and what remains may not survive. Even in the shadow of a violent breakup, though, some former republics are moving on, though others remain a concern.

The roots of the region, of course, lie much deeper.

languagehat — Thu, 31 Oct 2002 13:15:59 -0800

The Devil's Bridge. For Halloween, tales of bridges where the devil took a hand in the building: "If I help you, I'll have the soul of the first who crosses the bridge!" But the devil gets fooled... [more]

Doozer — Fri, 23 Aug 2002 07:19:04 -0800

In the midst of all the talk of possible terrorist deployments of Weapons of Mass-Destruction, this seems like a somewhat dramatic, if effective, approach to pre-empting the threat of blackmarket nuclear proliferation. The co-operative approach adopted by the U.S and Russia - and presumably the Yugoslav Government itself - also seems encouraging. Should this 'surprise-attack' approach now be used to negate the threat posed as nuclear facilities are decommissioned worldwide??

skwm — Fri, 15 Mar 2002 11:57:11 -0800

~~Yugoslavia~~. Serbia-and-Montonegro.

owillis — Mon, 17 Sep 2001 20:04:45 -0800

Apologies from the Left. Journalist Matt Welch compiles a few and opines: "Which "dictator" were we supporting when bombing Yugoslavia? Oh yeah, none. In fact, last I remember, Yugoslavia's dictator is now facing a trial for War Crimes, and tentative democracy is gaining a foothold in Belgrade and Zagreb." (via Ken Layne)

Postroad — Sat, 14 Apr 2001 04:41:19 -0800

Taliban, take note A silly charge for vengeance or a global desire for ethical and moral justice?

TNLNYC — Thu, 05 Oct 2000 13:22:55 -0800

Wow! Got to give it to the people in Yougoslavia... This is damn impressive and it looks like the end of Milosevic. Europe is almost completely democratic now!

holgate — Thu, 05 Oct 2000 09:37:37 -0800

Not with a whimper, but a bang... The Belgrade parliament is in flames. The State television building is broadcasting for Free Serbia. If you can get a stream, FreeB92 is the place to be listening. The revolution may not be televised, but this it has its own weblog

johnb — Mon, 25 Sep 2000 12:19:43 -0800

West steps up threats against Yugoslavia -- "The Democratic Opposition of Serbia has signed up to the platform of the G17, a think-tank of market economists again funded by National Endowment for Democracy [an adjunct to the CIA]. This economic blueprint calls for the adoption of the German mark as the main currency for all of FRY, following in the footsteps of the Montenegrin republic last year. Other proposals include reduction of public spending, ending subsidies on food and other forms of social protection. The continuation of US and European economic sanctions on the FRY is being cynically exploited to bludgeon the population into accepting these terms as the condition for ending their economic isolation...." [more...]