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Serbs
*** Shopping-Tip: Serbs
{{Ethnic group|
|group=Serbs
|image=
Image:NSrbs.JPG 325px|
|poptime=9.0 - 9.5 million (est.)
|popplace=
Serbia and Montenegro:
6,550,000
Bosnia and Herzegovina:
1,479,930
Croatia:
202,365 (2004)
Slovenia:
38,964
[StatistiÄ?ni urad Republike Slovenije: [http://www.stat.si/popis2002/si/rezultati/rezultati_red.asp?ter=SLO&st=7 7. Prebivalstvo po narodni pripadnosti, Slovenija, popisi 1953, 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991 in 2002]] (2002)
Republic of Macedonia:
35,939
[Државен завод за Ñ?татиÑ?тика: [http://www.stat.gov.mk/pdf/kniga_13.pdf ПопиÑ? на наÑ?елението, домаќинÑ?твата и Ñ?тановите во Република Македонија, 2002: Дефинитивни податоци] (PDF)] (2002)
Albania{{ref|statistic}}:
40,000
[Politika, December 19 2005, pg. 7: ЧаÑ?ови на матерњем]
Romania:
22,518
[Agenţia Naţionala pentru Intreprinderi Mici si Mijlocii: [http://mimmc.ro/info_util/formulare_1294/ Recensamânt România 2002]] (2002)
Hungary:
3,816
[Hungarian Central Statistical Office: [http://www.nepszamlalas.hu/eng/volumes/18/tables/load1_28.html 1.28 Population by mother tongue, nationality and sex, 1900–2001]]
Germany{{ref|statistic}}:
Lower est. 125,000-250,000
[Federal Statistical Office Germany: [http://www.destatis.de/basis/e/bevoe/bevoetab10.htm Foreign population on 31.12.2004 by country of origin]]
Higher est. 700,000
[Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH [http://www2.gtz.de/migration-and-development/konferenz-2/english/serbs.htm Serbs in Germany]][Mathis Winkler, Deutsche Welle: [http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1644313,00.html Can Serbia Face the Past?]][Tatsachen über Deutschland - Presse- und Informationsamt der Bundesregierung]
Austria{{ref|statistic}}:
177,320
[Statistik Austria (page 75): [ftp://www.statistik.at/pub/neuerscheinungen/vzaustriaweb.pdf Volkszählung 2001 Hauptergebnisse I - Österreich] (PDF)]
Switzerland:
45,303
[Office fédéral de la statistique: [http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/fr/index/themen/bevoelkerung/sprachen__religionen/blank/medienmitteilungen.Document.24786.html Recensement fédéral de la population 2000] (PDF)] (2000)
United States USA:
United States Census Bureau Census est. 174,562
[2002 American Community Survey Summary Tables [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=D&-ds_name=D&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-mt_name=ACS_2002_EST_G2000_PCT026 Ancestry (Total Categories Tallied) for People With One or More Ancestry Categories Reported]] (2002)
Canada:
55,540
[List of Canadians by ethnicity] (2001 lower est.)
80,000
[Dr. Vladimir Grecic, Marko Lopusina: Svi Srbi sveta: [http://www.suc.org/culture/library/Lopusina1/text/s51.html Srbi u Kanadi]] (1987 est.)
Australia:
97,315
[The Community Relations Commission For a multicultural New South Wales NSW: [http://www.crc.nsw.gov.au/statistics/Sect1/Table1p08Aust.pdf Ancestry by Birthplace of Parent(s) - Australia : 2001 Census] (PDF)] (2001)
New Zealand:
753
[New Zealand's official statistics agency: [http://www.stats.govt.nz/domino/external/web/CensusTables.nsf/htmldocs/Ethnic+Group+-+Up+to+Three+Responses/$file/Table%204.xls Ethnic Group - Up to Three Responses] (XLS)]
United Kingdom{{ref|statistic}}:
70,000
[[http://www.serbiancouncil.org.uk/ The Serbian Council of Great Britain]] (2005 est.)
Sweden:
35,000
[Dr. Vladimir Grecic, Marko Lopusina: Svi Srbi sveta: [http://www.suc.org/culture/library/Lopusina1/text/s66.html#s11 Svedska]] (1992 est.)
Denmark:
12,000
Norway:
6,000
France{{ref.html">Ministry of Foreign Affairs (France)
Ministère des Affaires étrangères: [http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/pays-zones-geo_833/serbie-et-montenegro_443/presentation-communaute-etatique-serbie-et-montenegro_952/ Présentation de la Communauté étatique de Serbie-et-Monténégro]
Italy:
25,000
Netherlands:
6,000
Luxembourg:
4,000
South Africa:
7,000
Botswana:
1,000
Zimbabwe:
800
Greece:
5,500
Russia:
4,156
[ФедеральнаÑ? Ñ?лужба гоÑ?ударÑ?твенной Ñ?татиÑ?тики: [http://www.perepis2002.ru/ct.html/TOM_14_24.htm 4.1. Ð?ациональный Ñ?оÑ?тав наÑ?елениÑ?]] (2002)
Brazil:
2,000
Chile:
2,000
Czech Republic:
1,801 (2001)
Slovakia:
434 (2001)
|langs=
Serbian language Serbian (also
Croatian language Croatian,
Bosnian language Bosnian,
Serbo-Croatian language Serbo-Croatian)
|rels= Dominantly
Serb Orthodox Church Serbian Orthodox |related=
Indo-Europeans
Slavs
South Slavs
}}
'''Serbs''' (in the
Serbian language ''Срби'', ''Srbi'') are a south
Slavic people living chiefly in
Serbia and Montenegro and
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Population
Most Serbs live in the traditional Serbian heartland of
Serbia and Montenegro. Large Serb populations also live in
Croatia (where they were a constitutive nation up to 1990) and
Bosnia and Herzegovina (where they are a
Nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina constitutive nation), principally in the
Republika Srpska, one of the country's two entities. Much smaller Serb
minority minorities also exist in the
Republic of Macedonia Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Slovenia,
Romania,
Albania and
Hungary. A lot of Serbs also live in the
Serbian diaspora diaspora, notably in
Germany,
Austria,
Switzerland,
USA,
Canada and
Australia.
The largest urban populations of Serbs in the former
Yugoslavia are to be found in
Belgrade (over 1,500,000),
Novi Sad about (250,000),
Nis Niš (200,000) and
Banja Luka in Bosnia (200,000). Abroad,
Vienna is said to be home to the largest Serb population followed by
Chicago, Illinois (and its
Chicagoland surrounding area) with
Toronto and Southern
Ontario coming in third. Serbs constitute about 70% of the population of
Serbia and Montenegro, 6.6 million. Another 1.6 million live in neighbouring countries of the
Balkans, totalling 8.2 million Serbs in
Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia former Yugoslavia. The number of Serbs in the diaspora is not known but is estimated to be between 1 and 1.5 million, including people of Serbian descent. The maximum number of Serbs thus ranges anywhere around 9 to 10 million, depending on the estimation used for the
Serbian diaspora diaspora.
Culture
{{main|Serbian culture}}
Contribution to humanity
Serbs have played a significant role in the development of the
arts and
sciences. Prominent individuals include the scientists
Nikola Tesla,
Mihajlo Pupin,
Jovan Cvijić,
Milutin Milankovitch Milutin Milanković, and
Rudjer Boscovich; the renowned mathematicians
Jovan Karamata,
Mihailo Petrović, and
Ä?uro Kurepa; the famous composers
Stevan Mokranjac and
Stevan Hristić; the celebrated authors
Ivo Andric,
Borislav Pekić, and
Miloš Crnjanski; the prolific inventor
Ogneslav Kostović Stepanović; the polymath
Ä?ura JakÅ¡ić; the famous sports stars
Vlade Divac and
Peja Stojakovic Peđa Stojaković; actor
Karl Malden (Mladen Sekulovich) and the actress
Milla Jovovich Mila Jovović (half Serbian). The Serb ruler during the middle ages (see
List of Serbian rulers)
Stefan Nemanja Stephen Nemanja and his son,
Saint Sava founded the monastery of
Hilandar for the
Serbian Orthodox Church, one of the greatest and oldest Orthodox Christian monuments in the world.
The mother of the last (Eastern)
Roman Emperor Constantine XI Constantine XI Paleologos Dragases was Serbian princess
Helene Dragas Helena Dragash (''Jelena Dragaš''), and she liked to be known by her Serbian surname of Dragaš.
According to the
National Enquirer, author
Ian Fleming patterned
James Bond after
Dusko Popov, a Serbian double agent nicknamed Tricycle.
Gavrilo Princip became one of the most influential laymen of modern history after his assassination of Archduke
Franz Ferdinand on
June 28,
1914.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed
Slavonic March (Marche Slavée) in 1876 known at first as the “Serbo-Russian March� based on Serbian folk melody “''Come, my Dearest, why So Sad this Morning?''�.
For more famous Serbs, see
List of Serbs.
Language
Most Serbs speak the
Serbian language, a member of the
Slavic languages South Slavic group of languages. While the Serbian identity is to some extent linguistic, apart from the
Cyrillic alphabet which they use along with Latin alphabet, the language is very similar to the standard
Croatian language Croatian and
Bosnian language Bosnian (see
Differences in standard Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian) and some linguists still consider it part of the common
Serbo-Croatian language.
There are several variants of Serbian language. The older forms of Serbian are Old Serbian and Russo-Serbian, a version of the
Church Slavonic language.
Some members of the
Serbian diaspora do not speak the language (mostly in the US, Canada and UK) but are still considered Serbs by ethnic origin or descent.
Non-Serbs who studied the Serbian language include such prominent individuals as
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and
J. R. R. Tolkien; see
List of Serbs#Serbian language speakers.2C learners.2C etc. list of Serbian language speakers, learners, etc.
Surnames
Most Serbian surnames have the
family name affix surname suffix -ić (
International Phonetic Alphabet IPA: /it
j/, Cyrillic: -ић). This is often
Transcription (linguistics) transcribed as -ic. In history, Serbian names have often been transcribed with a phonetic ending, -ich or -itch. This form is often associated with Serbs from before the early 20th century: hence Milutin Milanković is usually referred to, for historical reasons, as
Milutin Milankovitch.
The -ić suffix is a
Slavic languages Slavic diminutive, originally functioning to create
patronymics. Thus the surname Petrić signifies ''little Petar'', as does, for example, a common prefix
Surnames#Ireland Mac ("son of") in Scottish and O' in Irish names. It is estimated that some two thirds of all Serbian surnames end in -ić but that some 80% of Serbs carry such a surname with many common names being spread out among tens and even hundreds of non-related extended families.
Other common surname suffixes are -ov or -in which is the Slavic
possessive case suffix, thus Nikola's son becomes ''Nikolin,'' Petar's son ''Petrov,'' and Jovan's son ''Jovanov''. The two suffixes are often combined.
The most common surnames are Nikolić, Petrović, and Jovanović.
Religion
Orthodox Christianity and the
Serbian Orthodox Church have played a significant role in formation of Serbian identity. Conversion of south
Slavs from paganism to Christianity took place before the
East-West Schism Great Schism, the split between the
Byzantine Empire Byzantine East and the
Roman Catholic West. After the Schism, those who lived under the Orthodox
sphere of influence became Orthodox and those who lived under the Catholic sphere of influence became
Catholic. Later, with the arrival of the
Ottoman Empire, many Slavs, especially in
Bosnia Province, Ottoman Empire Bosnia converted to
Islam. Some
ethnologists consider that the distinct Serb,
Croats Croatian and
Bosniak identities are drawn from religion rather than ethnicity. Others (among with many nationalists) disagree, stating that the three nations have distinct ethnic roots and that the religion was a result rather than the cause of distinct ethnic identities.{{fact}}
Symbols
{| align=right
||
Image:NewSerbianFlag.gif|Serbian flag
Image:Grbsr.gif|Serbian coat of arms
|}
The
Serbian flag is a red-blue-white
tricolour. It is often combined with one or both of the other Serb symbols.
*The white
two-headed eagle was the
coat of arms of the
House of Nemanjic House of Nemanjić.
*The
Serbian cross. If displayed on a field, traditionally it is on red field, but could be used with no field at all.
Both the eagle and the cross, besides being the basis for various Serbian
coat of arms coats of arms through history, are bases for the symbols of various Serbian organisations, political parties, institutions and companies. The cross, being easy to draw, is often
graffiti spraypainted, carrying an obvious political signature.
Serbian folk attire varies, mostly because of the very diverse
geography and
climate of the territory inhabited by the Serbs. Some parts of it are, however, common:
*A traditional shoe that is called the ''
opanak''. It is recognisable by its distinctive tips that spiral backward. Each region of Serbia has a different kind of tips.
*A traditional hat that is called the ''
sajkaca Å¡ajkaÄ?a''. It is easily recognisable by its top part that looks like the letter V or like the bottom of a boat (viewed from above), after which it got its name. It gained wide popularity in the early
20th century as it was the hat of the Serbian army in the
World War I First World War. It is still worn everyday by some villagers today, and it was a common item of headgear among
Republika Srpska Bosnian Serb military commanders during the
Bosnian War in the
1990s. However, "Å¡ajkaÄ?a" is common mostly for the Serbian population living in the region of
Central Serbia (
Å umadija), while Serbs living in
Vojvodina,
Montenegro,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, and
Croatia had different types of traditional hats, which are not similar to "Å¡ajkaÄ?a". Different types of traditional hats could be also found in eastern and southern parts of Central Serbia.
Customs
Image:Serbian bagpiper.jpg bagpipes thumb|right|Serbian [[bagpipes|bagpiper in traditional attire wearing opanci and Å¡ajkaÄ?a..html" title="Meaning of bagpiper.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|Serbian [[bagpipes|bagpiper">thumb|right|Serbian [[bagpipes|bagpiper in traditional attire wearing opanci and Å¡ajkaÄ?a.">bagpiper.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|Serbian [[bagpipes|bagpiper">thumb|right|Serbian [[bagpipes|bagpiper in traditional attire wearing opanci and Å¡ajkaÄ?a.
The Serbs are a highly family-oriented society. A peek into a Serbian dictionary and the richness of
Serbian kinship their terminology related to kinship speaks volumes.
Of all
Slavic peoples Slavs and
Orthodox Christians, only Serbs have the custom of ''
slava''. The custom could also be found among some
Russians and
Albanians of Serbian origin although it has often been lost in the last century. ''Slava'' is celebration of a saint; unlike most customs that are common for the whole people, each family separately celebrates its own saint (of course, there is a lot of overlap) who is considered its protector. A ''slava'' is inherited from father to son and each household may only have one celebration which means that the occasion brings all of the family together.
Though a lot of old customs are now no longer practised, many of the customs that surround
Serbian wedding still are.
The traditional Serbian dance is a
circle dance called ''
kolo (dance) kolo''. It is a collective dance, where a group of people (usually several dozen, at the very least three) hold each other by the hands or around the waist dancing, forming a
circle (hence the name), semicircle or
spiral. The same dance, with the same name, is also traditional among the Croats. Similar circle dances also exist in other cultures of the region.
Serbs have their own customs regarding
Christmas. The
Serbian Orthodox Church uses the
Julian calendar, so Christmas currently falls on
January 7 of the
Gregorian calendar. Early in the morning of Christmas Eve, the head of the family would go to a forest in order to cut ''badnjak'', a young
oak, the oaktree would then be brought into the church to be blessed by the priest. Then the oaktree would be stripped of its branches with combined with wheat and other grain products would be burned in the fireplace. The burning of the ''badnjak'' is a ritual which is most certainly of pagan origin and it is considered a sacrifice to God (or the old pagan gods) so that the coming year may bring plenty of food, happiness, love, luck and riches. Nowadays, with most Serbs living in towns, most simply go to their church service to be given a small parcel of oak, wheat and other branches tied together to be taken home and set afire. The house floor and church is covered with
hay, reminding worshippers of the
stable in which
Jesus was born.
Christmas Day itself is celebrated with a feast, necessarily featuring
roasted piglet as the main meal. Another Christmas meal is a deliciously sweet cake made of wheat, called ''
koljivo'' whose consumption is more for ritual than nourishment. One crosses oneself first, then takes a spoonful of the cake and savours it. But the most important Christmas meal is ''
cesnica Ä?esnica'', a special kind of bread. The bread contains a coin; during the
lunch, the family breaks up the bread and the one who finds the coin is said to be assured of an especially happy year.
Christmas is not associated with presents like in the
Western world West, although it is the day of
St Nicolas, the protector saint of children, to whom presents are given. However, most Serbian families give presents on New Year's Day. Santa Claus (''Deda Mraz'' (literally meaning ''grandpa frost'')) and the Christmas tree (but rather associated with
New Year's Day) are also used in Serbia as result of
globalization. Serbs also celebrate the Orthodox New Year (currently on
January 14th of the
Gregorian Calendar).
Religious Serbs also celebrate other religious holidays and even non-religious people often celebrate
Easter (on the Orthodox date).
For Serbian meals, see
Serbian cuisine.
Name
The
etymology of the word "Serb" (root: ''Srb'') is not known. Numerous theories exist, but none can be said to be certain or even probable:
#Some say that the name comes from ''saborac'', meaning "co-fighter." This could make sense but the words are too dissimilar. It is possible that ''saborac'' comes from ''sebar'' (that ''sebar'' sometimes meant "co-fighter"), which would make this theory more interesting, but there is not much basis for this claim either.
#Some believe that the name is of
Sarmats Sarmatian/
Iranian languages Iranian origin. From which particular word it derives is unclear. However, one theory suggests it derives from the word "Sarv" which means "cypress" tree.
#Some [http://www.rastko.org.yu/rastko-lu/jezik/hsuster-srbin.html] believe that the name comes from ''srkati'', meaning "to suck in", referring to people so closely united as if they share mother's milk.
#Also, others argue that all
Slavs originally called themselves Serbs, and that Serbs (and
Sorbs) are simply the last Slavs who retained the name. If this is true, it still fails to explain the origin of the Slavic name (most of the above may apply).
#There is also theory that name Serbs derived from the
Caucasian languages Caucasian word "ser", which means "man".
However, one thing is certain: the name is very old. It is clearly a self-identification and not a given name as its root cannot be found in western European languages.
It is interesting that the etymology of the name of the
Croats (root: ''Hrv'') is also unknown. Some suggest that the names actually originate from the same root: indeed, the roots are distinctly similar (Srb/Hrv). However, it is not known whether this is merely coincidental or indicative of a common origin.
Regardless of the origin, the age and rarity of the name allows for certain historical conclusions based partly on it (for example, see ''
Gordoservon'').
History
{{main|History of Serbs}}
:''See also:
Origin of Serbs,
History and culture of Serbs in Vojvodina,
History of Croatian Serbs,
History of Bosnian Serbs,
History of Serbia''
The tribal designation ''Serboi'' first appears in the
1st century in the works of the
Tacitus (ca. 50 AD) and
Pliny the Elder Pliny (69-75 AD), and also in the
2nd century in the ''Geography'' of
Ptolemy (book 5, 9.21) to designate a tribe dwelling in
Sarmatia, probably on the Lower
Volga River.
The Slavs (including Serbs) came to the Balkans from a broad region in central and eastern Europe, which extended from the rivers
Elbe in the west to the
Dnieper in the east and from a point which touched the
Carpathian mountains in the south and the river
Niemen in the north. Different tribes settled in different parts of the Balkan peninsula, subsequently developing their distinct identities after displacing the Romanized Vlach population which already was in the area. The Balkan
Vlachs were descendants of Romanized
Thracians,
Dacians and the
Illyrians, and during the history these Vlachs mixed with Slavic tribes, thus present-day Slavic nations of the Balkans, including Serbs, have both, Slavic and Vlach (Illyrian, Thracian, ect.) ancestors.
Image:Serb lands04.png De Administrando Imperio.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|250px|Serb-reigned lands during the 9th century, mostly according to [[De Administrando Imperio.html" title="Meaning of 250px|Serb-reigned lands during the 9th century, mostly according to [[De Administrando Imperio">thumb|250px|Serb-reigned lands during the 9th century, mostly according to [[De Administrando Imperio">250px|Serb-reigned lands during the 9th century, mostly according to [[De Administrando Imperio">thumb|250px|Serb-reigned lands during the 9th century, mostly according to [[De Administrando Imperio
The Serb settlement in the Balkans appears to have taken place between
610 and
640. The first certain data on the state of the Serboi, Serbia, dates to the
9th century. The Serbs were
Christianized in several waves between the
7th century 7th and
9th century with the last wave taking place between
867 and
874.
During and after that period, Serbs struggled to gain independence from the
Byzantine Empire Byzantine. The first Serb states were
Rascia or ''Raška'' and
Zeta (state) Zeta. Their rulers had a varying degree of autonomy, until virtual independence was achieved under
Saint Sava, who became the first head of the
Serb Orthodox Church and his brother
Stefan PrvovenÄ?ani, who became the first Serb
monarch king. Serbia did not exist as a state of that name but was, rather, the region inhabited by the Serbs; its kings and tsars were called the "King of the Serbs" or "Tsar of the Serbs", not "King of Serbia" or "Tsar of Serbia". The medieval Serbian state is nonetheless often (if anachronistically) referred to as "Serbia".
Serbia reached its
golden age under the
House of Nemanjić, with the Serbian state reaching its apogee of power in the reign of
Stefan Dusan Tsar Stefan Uroš Dušan. Serbia's power subsequently dwindled amid interminable conflict between the nobility, rendering the country unable to resist the steady incursion of the
Ottoman Empire into south-eastern
Europe. The
Battle of Kosovo in
1389 is commonly regarded in Serbian national mythology as the key event in the country's defeat by the Turks, although in fact Ottoman rule was not fully imposed until some time later. After Serbia fell, Tvrtko Kotromanić the king of Bosnia used the title of "King of Bosnia, the Serbs, the West-ends and the Primorje" from 1389 to 1390.
As Christians, the Serbs were regarded as a "
Dhimmi protected people" under Ottoman law but in practice were treated as second-class citizens and often harshly treated. They were subjected to considerable pressure to convert to
Islam; some did, while others
migration migrated to the north and west, to seek refuge in
Habsburg Monarchy.
At the beginning of the
19th century, the
First Serbian Uprising succeeded in liberating at least some Serbs, for a limited time. The
Second Serbian Uprising was much more successful, resulting in Ottoman recognition of Serbia as autonomous
principality within the Empire. Serbia acquired international recognition as an independent
Monarchy kingdom on
Congress of Berlin in
1878. However, many Serbs remained under foreign rule – that of the Ottomans in the south and of the Habsburgs in the north and west. The southern Serbs were liberated in the
First Balkan War of
1912, while the question of Habsburg Serbs' independence was the spark that lit the
World War I two years later. During the war, the Serbian army fought fiercely, eventually retreated through
Albania to regroup in
Greece and launched a counter-offensive through
Macedonia (region) Macedonia. Though they were eventually victorious, the war devastated Serbia and killed a huge proportion of its population – by some estimates, over the half of the male Serbian population died in the conflict, influencing the region's
demographics to this day.
After the war, the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later called
Yugoslavia) was created. Almost all Serbs now finally lived in one state. The new state had its capital in
Belgrade and was ruled by a Serbian king; it was, however, unstable and prone to ethnic tensions.
During
Second World War, the
Axis Powers occupied Yugoslavia, dismembering the country. Serbia was occupied by the Germans, while in Bosnia and Croatia Serbs were put under the rule of the
Italians and the fascist
Ustaša regime in the
Independent State of Croatia. Under Ustaša rule in particular, Serbs and other non-Croats were subjected to systematic
genocide in which hundreds of thousands were killed. The Hungarian, Bulgarian, and Albanian fascists, who occupied northern and southern parts of the country also performed persecutions and genocide against the Serb population from these regions.
After the war, the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was formed. As with the pre-war Yugoslavia, the country's capital was at Belgrade.
Serbia was the largest republic. There were also two established autonomous provinces within Serbia -
Kosovo (with Albanian majority) and
Vojvodina (with Serb majority and large number of different minorities). Besides Serbia, the large Serb populations were concentrated in
Bosnia and Herzegovina (where they were largest ethnic group until 1971), and
Croatia.
Communist Yugoslavia collapsed in the early
1990s, with four of its six republics becoming independent states. This led to several bloody
Yugoslav Wars civil wars as the large Serbian communities in
Croatia and Bosnia attempted to remain within Yugoslavia, which now consisted of only
Serbia and
Montenegro. Serbs in Croatia formed their state of
Republika Srpska Krajina, but after they were military defeated, most of them fled from this region. Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina formed their state of
Republika Srpska, which is currently one of the two political entities that form the country of
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Another war broke out in
Kosovo (see
Kosovo War) after years of tensions between Serbs and
Albanians. Up to 250,000 Serbs left
Croatia during the "
Operation Storm" in
1995 and 300,000 left up to
1993, and another 200,000 left Kosovo after the Kosovo War, and settled mostly in
Central Serbia and
Vojvodina as refugees.
Image:Srbi_u_Jugoslaviji.jpg|The territorial placement of Serbs in Yugoslavia according to the 1981 census data
Image:Serbia ethnic02.png|Serbs in Serbia as per 2002 census data for Central Serbia and Vojvodina, and 1991 census data for Kosovo
Image:Montenegro ethnic02.png|Serbs in Montenegro as per 2003 census data
Image:Ethnic_Composition_of_BiH_in_2005.GIF|Serbs (red) in Bosnia and Herzegovina as per 2005 data
Subgroups
The subgroups of Serbs are commonly based on regional affiliation. Some of the major subgroups of Serbs include:
Å umadija Å umadinci,
Vojvodina Vojvođani,
BaÄ?ka BaÄ?vani,
Banat Banaćani,
Srem/Srijem Sremci,
Bokelji,
Semberija Semberci,
Bosanska Krajina Krajišnici,
Montenegro Crnogorci,
Herzegovina Hercegovci, etc.
'''N.B.:''' These terms can be also used to refer to any native inhabitants of the regions in question, regardless of ethnicity. i.e. to Hungarian Vojvođani or Croat Hercegovci. The term "Montenegrins" (Crnogorci) can either be used to refer to Montenegrins as a Serbian subgroup, or to an entirely separate Montenegrin nation - as well as to any inhabitant of Montengro (Montenegrin Serb, Montenegrin, Bosniak, Muslim, Albanian, etc).
Some Serbs, mostly living in
Montenegro and
Herzegovina are organised in
clans. See:
list of Serbian tribes.
Cognate peoples
These peoples are the closest relatives of Serbs:
*
Montenegrins (
Serbia and Montenegro, mostly in
Montenegro)
*
Yugoslavs (today mostly in
Serbia and Montenegro)
*
Muslims by nationality (
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Serbia and Montenegro)
*
Bosniaks (
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Serbia and Montenegro)
*
Croats (
Croatia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Serbia and Montenegro)
*
Bunjevci (
Serbia and Montenegro)
*
Å okci (
Serbia and Montenegro)
*
Krasovani Krašovani (
Romania)
*
Gorani (Kosovo) Goranci (
Serbia and Montenegro)
*
Janjevci (
Serbia and Montenegro)
*
Slovenians (
Slovenia)
*
Macedonians (ethnic group) Macedonians (
Republic of Macedonia)
*
Bulgarians (
Bulgaria)
See also
*
List of Serbs
*
Serbophobia
*
Serbs of Croatia
*
Bosnian Serbs
*
History and culture of Serbs in Vojvodina
External links
-
Serbs in Phoenix (United States)
-
"You know you are a Serb when ... " list from the LASerbs.com site (USA)
-
The Origin of the South Slavs
-
Serbia Blog
-
Rastko-Boka Foundation
{{portal}}
Notes
*{{note|statistic}}These population numbers have the potential to include
Albanian Kosovars,
Montenegrins, and other non-Serbs, such as
Vojvodina Hungarians in Vojvodina Hungarians or
Bosniaks, because the select countries are deriving their foreign population numbers from the nation
Serbia & Montenegro as a total entity.
References
General references
* Gonen, Amiram, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of the Peoples of the World''. New York: Holt. 1993. ISBN 0805022562. p. 525, gives the following statistics for Serb population in the former Yugoslavia
:{|
| Serbia || 6.2 million
|-
| Montenegro || 0.5 million
|-
| Bosnia-Herzegovina || 1.5 million
|-
| Croatia || 0.6 million
|}
Category:Ethnic groups in Europe
Category:Ethnic groups in Kosovo
Category:Ethnic groups in Montenegro
Category:Ethnic groups in Serbia
Category:Ethnic groups in Vojvodina
Category:People from Bosnia and Herzegovina *
Category:Serbian people
Category:Slavic nations Serbs
Category:Ethnic groups in Croatia
ar:صرب
bs:Srbi
de:Serben
es:Serbio
fi:Serbit
hr:Srbi
ja:セルビア人
ko:세르비아�
mk:Срби
pl:Serbowie
pt:Sérvios
ru:Сербы
sl:Srbi
sr:Срби
{| style="border:1px solid #aaaaaa; margin-right:8px; margin-left:8px;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" class="plainlinks"
| style="border-top:solid 1px #aaaaaa; style="font: 115% Verdana; height:30px" align="center" bgcolor="darkblue" cellpadding="0" | '''Serbs'''
|-
|style="border-top:1px solid #aaaaaa;" bgcolor="#f9f9ff" |Image:NewSerbianFlag.gif 125px|left|Flag of Serbia Image:Grbsr.gif 80px|right|Serb Coat of Arms '''Serbs''' (in the Serbian language ''Срби'', ''Srbi'') are a south Slavic people living chiefly in Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Most Serbs live in the traditional Serbian heartland of Serbia and Montenegro. Large Serb populations also live in Croatia (largely in the entity that during the 1990s constituted the internationally unrecognized Republic of Serbian Krajina) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (where they are a Nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina constituent nation), principally in the Republika Srpska, one of the country's two entities. Much smaller Serb minority minorities also exist in the Republic of Macedonia Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Slovenia, Romania, Albania and Hungary. A lot of Serbs also live in the Serbian diaspora diaspora, notably in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, USA, Canada and Australia.
The largest urban populations of Serbs in the former Yugoslavia are to be found in Belgrade (over 1,500,000), Novi Sad about (250,000), Nis Niš (200,000) and Banja Luka in Bosnia (200,000). Abroad, Vienna is said to be home to the largest Serb population followed by Chicago, Illinois (and its Chicagoland surrounding area) with Toronto and Southern Ontario coming in third. Serbs constitute about 70% of the population of Serbia and Montenegro, 6.6 million. Another 1.6 million live in neighbouring countries of the Balkans, totalling 8.2 million Serbs in Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia former Yugoslavia. The number of Serbs in the diaspora is not known but is estimated to be between 1 and 1.5 million, including people of Serbian descent. The maximum number of Serbs thus ranges anywhere around 9 to 10 million, depending on the estimation used for the Serbian_diaspora diaspora.
Favorite websites
- Glas Javnosti One of the most popular newspapers - Online
- B92 Most visited news poral in Serbia
- Burek Forum The biggest forum in Serbia
- Serbian Genealogical Society & White Eagle
- Foundation Rastko
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| style="border-top:solid 1px #aaaaaa; style="font: 115% Verdana; height:30px" align="center" bgcolor="#efefef" cellpadding="0" | '''WP:FA Featured Article''' {{ed|Serbia portal/Featured article| }}
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|style="border-top:1px solid #aaaaaa;" bgcolor="#f9f9ff" |{{Serbia portal/Featured article}}
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| style="border-top:solid 1px #aaaaaa; style="font: 115% Verdana; height:30px" align="center" bgcolor="#efefef" cellpadding="0" | '''Featured Person''' {{ed|Serb portal/Featured person| }}
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|style="border-top:1px solid #aaaaaa;" bgcolor="#f9f9ff" |{{Serb portal/Featured person}}
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| style="border-top:solid 1px #aaaaaa; style="font: 115% Verdana; height:30px" align="center" bgcolor="#efefef" cellpadding="0" |''' :Featured picture Featured Picture''' {{ed|Serbia portal/Featured picture| }}
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|style="border-top:1px solid #aaaaaa;" bgcolor="#f9f9ff" |{{Serbia portal/Featured picture}}
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| style="border-top:solid 1px #aaaaaa; style="font: 115% Verdana; height:30px" align="center" bgcolor="#efefef" cellpadding="0" |''':Template:Did you know Did you know...''' {{ed|Serbia portal/Did you know| }}
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{{Serbia portal/Did you know}}
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| style="border-top:solid 1px #aaaaaa; style="font: 115% Verdana; height:30px" align="center" bgcolor="#efefef" cellpadding="0" | '''Serbian Culture/Religion''' {{ed|Serbia portal/RCOTW| }}
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|style="border-top:1px solid #aaaaaa;" bgcolor="#f9f9ff" |
{{Serbia portal/RCOTW}}
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| style="border-top:solid 1px #aaaaaa; style="font: 115% Verdana; height:30px" align="center" bgcolor="#efefef" cellpadding="0" | '''Serbian Proverbs''' {{ed|Serbia portal/Proverbs| }}
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|style="border-top:1px solid #aaaaaa;" bgcolor="#f9f9ff" |
{{Serbia portal/Proverbs}}
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| style="border-top:solid 1px #aaaaaa; style="font: 115% Verdana; height:30px" align="center" bgcolor="#efefef" cellpadding="0" |'''Portal Information''' {{ed|Serbia portal/Info| }}
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{{Serbia_portal/Info}}
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{| style="border:1px solid #aaaaaa;" height=100% cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" class="plainlinks"
| style="border-top:solid 1px #aaaaaa; style="font: 115% Verdana; height:30px" align="center" bgcolor="#efefef" cellpadding="0" | '''Serb Music''' {{ed|Serb portal/Serb Music|}}
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|style="border-top:1px solid #aaaaaa;" bgcolor="#f9f9ff" |{{Serb portal/Serb Music}}
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| style="border-top:solid 1px #aaaaaa; style="font: 115% Verdana; height:30px" align="center" bgcolor="#efefef" cellpadding="0" | '''Where do Serbs live?''' {{ed|Serbs portal/Live| }}
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|style="border-top:1px solid #aaaaaa;" bgcolor="#f9f9ff" |{{Serbs portal/Live}}
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| style="border-top:solid 1px #aaaaaa; style="font: 115% Verdana; height:30px" align="center" bgcolor="#efefef" cellpadding="0" | '''Cities''' {{ed|Serb portal/Cities| }}
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|style="border-top:1px solid #aaaaaa;" bgcolor="#f9f9ff" |{{Serb portal/Cities}}
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| style="border-top:solid 1px #aaaaaa; style="font: 115% Verdana; height:30px" align="center" bgcolor="#efefef" cellpadding="0" | '''Things to do''' {{ed|Serbia portal/Things you can do| }}
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|style="border-top:1px solid #aaaaaa;" bgcolor="#f9f9ff" |{{Serbia portal/Things you can do}}
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| style="border-top:solid 1px #aaaaaa; style="font: 115% Verdana; height:30px" align="center" bgcolor="#efefef" cellpadding="0" | ''' :Categorization Categories''' {{ed|Serbia portal/Categories| }}
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|style="border-top:1px solid #aaaaaa;" bgcolor="#f9f9ff" |{{Serbia portal/Categories}}
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|style="border-top:solid 1px #aaaaaa; style="font: 115% Verdana; height:30px" align="center" bgcolor="#efefef" cellpadding="0" | '''People''' {{ed|Serbia portal/People| }}
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|style="border-top:1px solid #aaaaaa;" bgcolor="#f9f9ff" |{{Serbia portal/People}}
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Category:Portal:Europe Serbs
*** Shopping-Tip: Serbs
