serbia

"With the status of an imperial lavra, Hilandar – independent and wealthy – was Serbia’s best diplomatic ‘envoy’ in Byzantium. Moreover, without the mediating agency of Hilandar, medieval Serbia would not have embraced Byzantine culture and civilization and adopted its ancient heritage so comprehensively. Everything that was best in Serbia, its ecclesiastical, political, and cultural elite, all passed through Hilandar, whose radiance cast its light and marked out the country – economically, politically, and culturally – as one of the great powers of medieval Europe."

"I've got a serious problem with the boy whose father got wealthy during the '90s – nothing against making money, but I know how money was made [in Serbia] during the '90s – and then pays for his son's education abroad and eventually the kid comes back to Serbia to film his view of the country using his dad's money... [I]n Serbia we're seeing every segment of society continually being taken apart..."

"[N]othing against making money, but I know how money was made [in Serbia] during the '90s..."

"Nova metla dobro mete."

"Dela govore, a ne reči."

"Cyrillic: Што можеш данас, не остављај за сутра. - Latin: Što možeš danas, ne ostavljaj za sutra."

"Cyrillic: Уздај се у се и у своје кљусе! - Latin: Uzdaj se u se i u svoje kljuse!"

"Cyrillic: Трипут мери, једном сеци. - Latin: Triput meri, jednom seci."

"Cyrillic: Ругала се шерпа лонцу, широка му уста. - Latin: Rugala se šerpa loncu, široka mu usta."

"Cyrillic: Бог је прво себи браду створио. - Latin: Bog je prvo sebi bradu stvorio."

"Cyrillic: Где ти много обећавају, малу торбу понеси. - Latin: Gde ti mnogo obećavaju, malu torbu ponesi."

"Cyrillic: Где je много бабица, килава cу деца. - Latin: Gde je mnogo babica, kilava su deca."

"Cyrillic: Јутро је паметније од вечери. - Latin: "Jutro je pametnije od večeri.""

"Cyrillic: Ко другоме јаму копа сам у њу пада. - Latin: Ko drugome jamu kopa sam u nju pada."

"Cyrillic: Ко рано рани, две среће граби. - Latin: Ko rano rani, dve sreće grabi."

"Cyrillic: Нема ватре без дима. - Latin: Nema vatre bez dima."

"Cyrillic: Пас који лаје не уједа. - Latin: Pas koji laje ne ujeda."

"Cyrillic: Иcпeци пa peци. - Latin: Ispeci pa reci."

"Cyrillic: Прво скочи па реци хоп. - Latin: Prvo skoči pa reci hop."

"Sve se vraća, sve se plaća"

"Ne videti šumu od drveta."

"Serbia is on its European path, but Serbia has to live, and has friends in the U.S. but it also has friends and it is not ashamed of them in Moscow and in Beijing."

"We don't have children to throw away, we have to protect Serbia. If only we hadn't participated in all the wars of the 20th century, we would be bigger than the Netherlands. We have to try to preserve peace, but not give away what is ours."

"Rumania, Serbia, and Montenegro should be evacuated; occupied territories restored; Serbia accorded free and secure access to the sea; and the relations of the several Balkan states to one another determined by friendly counsel along historically established lines of allegiance and nationality; and international guarantees of the political and economic independence and territorial integrity of the several Balkan states should be entered into."

"Serbia are a world-class team but in Davis Cup tennis the crowd are such an important factor."

"I think that Serbia is not a country in which it is important what nationality you are and where you come from."

"In the late nineteenth century other peoples sought to follow the Italian and German example. Some - notably the Irish and the Poles, to say nothing of Bengalis and other Indians - saw nationhood as an alternative to subjugation by unsympathetic empires. A few, like the Czechs, were content to pursue greater autonomy within an existing imperial structure, keeping hold of the Habsburg nurse for fear of meeting something worse. The situation of the Serbs was different. At the Congress of Berlin (1878), along with the Montenegrins, they had recovered their independence from Ottoman rule. By 1900 their ambitions were to follow the Piedmontese and Prussian examples by expanding in the name of South Slav (Yugoslav) national unity. But how were they to achieve this? One obvious possibility was through war, the Italian and German method. But the odds against Serbia were steep. It was one thing to win a war against the crumbling Ottoman Empire (as happened when Serbia joined forces with Montenegro, Bulgaria and Greece in 1912) or against rival Balkan states (when the confederates quarrelled over the spoils of victory the following year). It was an altogether bigger challenge to take on Austria-Hungary, which was not only a more formidable military opponent, but also happened to be the principal market for Serbia's exports."

"The Greek and Serb peoples will remain united until Doomsday."

"It should be clear to all, after the past ten years, that NATO isn't attacking Serbia because of Milošević; it is attacking Milošević because of Serbia."

"Kosovo is not a part of Serbia. It is the very heart of Serbia."

"In the past quite difficult years, Greece and its citizens have proved their original motives and their belief in the expression that 'you will know who your friends are, when you need them'. Huge amounts of humanitarian aid coming from Greece to Serbia and Montenegro, innumerous efforts to collect funds for rebuilding our country, hospitality extended to our children – mainly children of refugees – for a short or a long period of time in Greek families, all this is just a token of the Greek moves of true friendship and solidarity that we will never forget. Even today, as we speak, Greece realizes, being a true friend of ours, our goals and priorities and is helping us to achieve them. [...] The strong, historic and friendly relation between Serbia-Montenegro and Greece constitutes the most important foundation to improve any form of cooperation in the field of politics, economy, culture, sports or education..."

"The Greek and the Serb people are united like a fist."

"Greece and Serbia are two countries linked by ancient and inextricable bonds. Our relationship is lost in the depths of time. Serbian culture and religion were greatly influenced by our common roots in the great civilisation of Byzantium."

"Why four great powers should fight over Serbia no fellow can understand."

"In Serbia a lot of people hate me because they want to westernise, not understanding that the western world is bipolar, with very good things and very bad things. Since they don't have experience of the west, they even believe that a western pile of shit is actually pie."

"The Serbs are our true friends [...]"

"Setting his goal as the creation of a ‘Greater Serbia’, Milošević deployed the Yugoslav National Army (JNA) — then the fourth largest army in Europe — against would-be secessionist republics. Meanwhile, Serb separatist forces within such republics were encouraged to rise up. Lacking a large Serb population, Slovenia was allowed by Milosevic, after a ‘ten-day war’, to go its own way after declaring independence in June 1991. Not so with Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina: he was determined that their sizeable Serb minority populations would remain within Yugoslavia. Milosevic loyalists helped carve out Serb autonomous enclaves in each: first Milan Babic in the Serb-dominated Krajina region of Croatia, and then General Ratko Mladić and the psychiatrist-turned-demagogue Radovan Karadžić, within Bosnia. Paramilitary gangs bearing outlandish names — Arkan’s Tigers, the White Eagles, the Chetniks — rampaged through Serb-run Croatia and Bosnia, bringing death and destruction wherever they went. In the process they endowed the lexicon of conflict with a new term, ethnicko cis cenje terena — literally the ‘ethnic cleansing of the earth’, or simply ethnic cleansing."

"As a Greek I swear eternal friendship with the Serb people."

"As Hellenic Nationalists, we express complete support with our Serb brothers, which was genuinely expressed in the past and we declare our solidarity in the common struggle for National Dignity and Sovereignty. Kosovo is Serbia!"

"It is very important to send a new signal of confidence and hope that this (Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo) accession (into the European Union) process is wanted by the EU (European Union) with great seriousness, and that it also has a realistic chance if everyone makes an effort."

"In general, I am an opponent of Pan-Slavism. I do not think that we should be doing anything either in the Balkans or with the Slavs. But the West has now tipped the balance very heavily against Serbia, as if she is to blame for everything. But it's not the Serbs or Croats or Bosnians who are guilty. In Yugoslavia the problems began for the same reason as in the U.S.S.R. The communists--they had Tito, we had Lenin and Stalin--charted out arbitrary, ethnically nonsensical and historically unjustifiable internal administrative boundaries, and for years moved inhabitants from one region to another. And when--also in the period of a few days--Yugoslavia began to fall apart, the leading powers of the West, with inexplicable haste and irresponsibility, rushed to recognize these states within their artificial borders. Therefore, for the exhausting, bloody war which is today convulsing the unfortunate peoples of the former Yugoslavia, the leaders of the Western powers must share the blame with Tito.."

"I am among friends. And this friendship of ours [between Greeks and Serbs] has been proved in practice. And we shall do this in the future as well with words and with deeds."

"We have more in common than differences. The Greek people stood by our side more than any other nation. Up there we do not say the Greeks, we say our brothers. Whatever happens here – let's hope the time will never come – they will be by your side in no time. They are yours. You have won their brotherhood. They are so proud for my Greek origin both mine and my husband's. For the fact that he chose a Greek woman too, like his grandfather did."

"I believe in Serbia that moves forward - towards the European Union. There will be no going back for Serbia, only forwards."

"From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and, in many cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow."

"City break- Belgrade: If you've seen Budapest and Kraków, consider heading somewhere new in Eastern Europe. Belgrade is a fast-paced modern European capital, successfully banishing the shadows of war. The city's history has deprived it of the richness of historical buildings of other capitals, but it still boasts plenty of impressive leftovers from the Austro-Hungarian empire and a fascinating citadel with architectural influences from its many occupiers. A visit here is all about enjoying the modern architecture, dynamic atmosphere and excellent nightlife. Belgrade is best seen from the water - the city has a beautiful setting at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers. If that's not enough to tempt you, the tourist office literature explains that Belgrade is a city of about two million people. More than half of them are women, renowned for their beauty, cleverness and unpredictability."

"Mist, not smoke, rose from the water at the confluence of the Danube and the Sava rivers. This is the point where the biggest city in the Balkans began. Belgrade's origins lie in a Celtic settlement on a bluff with superb views across the plains. Today, the horizon is scarred with chimneys and tower blocks, but the drama of the location remains. Beneath the ridge, skeletal trees accompany the Sava to the point where it merges into, and amplifies, the artery of eastern Europe. As the Danube continues its stately progress towards the Black Sea, you can understand why the Romans, Slavs, Turks and Austrians took turns to command these heights. Nowadays, the gently decaying stratum of history known as Belgrade fortress, draped upon the high ground, is the preserve of tourists."

"Once located at the border between the Turkish and Austro-Hungarian empires, it combines Central European with more Oriental influences, and adds a style and spirit of its own. I can only put it one way: Belgrade is cool."

"Because the Russians, thanks to the second world war, have quite simply annexed the three Baltic States, taken a piece of Finland, a piece of Rumania, a piece of Poland, a piece of Germany and, thanks to a well thought-out policy composed of internal subversion and external pressure, have established Governments justifiably styled as Satellites, in Warsaw, Prague, Budapest, Sofia, Bucharest, Tirana and East Berlin - I except Belgrade where the regime is unique thanks to the energy and courage of Marshal Tito."

"Remember the developments in Yugoslavia. Before that Yeltsin was lavished with praise, as soon as the developments in Yugoslavia started, he raised his voice in support of Serbs, and we couldn't but raise our voices for Serbs in their defense. I understand that there were complex processes underway there, I do. But Russia could not help raising its voice in support of Serbs, because Serbs are also a special and close to us nation, with Orthodox culture and so on. It's a nation that has suffered so much for generations. Well, regardless, what is important is that Yeltsin expressed his support. What did the United States do? In violation of international law and the UN Charter it started bombing Belgrade. It was the United States that let the genie out of the bottle. Moreover, when Russia protested and expressed its resentment, what was said? The UN Charter and international law have become obsolete. Now everyone invokes international law, but at that time they started saying that everything is outdated, everything has to be changed."