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Jevrem Grujić and Milovan Janković: South Slavs, or the Serbian nation with the Croats and the Bulgarians
- Central European University Press
- Chapter
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JEVREM GRUJIĆ AND MILOVAN JANKOVIĆ: SOUTH SLAVS, OR THE SERBIAN NATION WITH THE CROATS AND THE BULGARIANS Title: Slaves du Sud ou le peuple Serbe avec les Croates et les Bulgares (South Slavs, or the Serbian nation with the Croats and the Bulgarians) Originally published: Paris, Lacourte et c., 1853 Language: French Excerpts used are from the modern edition: Nikola F. Pavković, ed., Etnografski zapisi Jevrema Grujića (Belgrade: Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti , 1992), pp. 155–165. About the authors Jevrem Grujić [1826, Darosava (near Kragujevac) – 1895, Belgrade]: politician . His background is indicative of the social profile of the incipient political class in Serbia in the first half of the nineteenth century: his grandfather took part in the First and the Second Serbian Uprisings, his father was a merchant and highranking state official, while Jevrem himself belonged to the first generation of native Serbian intelligentsia with foreign university diplomas. His elementary schooling was irregular due to the duties he had to perform in his family household. Later, in his writings, memories from childhood came to have an important place. In 1841 he enrolled in the Gymnasium in Belgrade and in 1846 in the Lyceum. As a student in Belgrade, he actively participated in the foundation—in 1847—of the youth organization Družina mladeži srpske (Association of Serbian Youth). In 1849 he obtained a scholarship from the Serbian government and went to Heidelberg to study law. A year later he moved to Paris to continue his studies. There, together with another law student form Serbia, Milovan Janković, he published a book, Slaves du Sud, that so enraged the Serbian authorities that they eventually cancelled his stipend. He nevertheless finished law school in 1854 and returned to Belgrade. In 1858 Grujić entered politics as a secretary of the so-called ‘St. Andrew ’s National Assembly’ (Svetoandrejska skup-ština), which later overthrew Prince Alexander Karađorđević. Grujić led the liberal wing of deputies, which promulgated a new law whereby the National Assembly would be held regularly and elected by popular vote. During the rule of the Obrenović dynasty he held several important official positions, such as Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs (1859) and Minister of Justice (1860). His outspoken liberalism, however, brought him harassment and also imprisonment. Grujić was one of the founders in 1867 and first president of the ‘United Serbian Youth’ (Ujedinjena Omladina Srpska). He JEVREM GRUJIĆ AND MILOVAN JANKOVIĆ: SOUTH SLAVS 155 also featured among the founders of the Liberal party and served as its leader between 1868 and 1878. During the Serbo-Turkish war (1876–1878) he held the post of Prime Minister. He ended his political career as the Serbian ambassador to Paris in 1892. He is considered as one of the most important representatives of liberalism , parliamentarism and constitutionalism in Serbia. Main works: Slaves du Sud ou le peuple Serbe avec les Croates et les Bulgares (1853); Uspomene [Memories] (1864); Zapisi [Writings] 3 vols., (1922–1923). Milovan Janković [1828, Vlaška – 1899, Belgrade]: politician. Janković, who had been studying philosophy and political science in Germany and France met Jevrem Grujić in Paris. There in 1853 they together published Slaves de Sud. In 1854 Janković started working as a state employee and in 1856 obtained a position as a teacher of economics. In 1858, together with Grujić, Janković entered politics, actively participating in the so-called St. Andrew’s National Assembly which overthrew Prince Alexander Karađorđević. Janković supported Grujić, who led the liberal wing of deputies. Under the regime of Prince Miloš Obrenović (r. 1817–1839, 1858–1860), he worked initially as Miloš’s secretary, but eventually fell into disgrace and decided to leave the country. He came back to Serbia only after the death of Mihajlo Obrenović (r. 1860–1868), Miloš’s successor. Janković once again entered government service, rising to the position of Minister of Finances which he held for a few months in 1875. He continued to hold various positions until 1889, when he retired. Main works: Srbski car – Stjepane [Stephen – the Serbian tsar] (1868); Hoće l’ “biti il’ nebiti” srpstva? [The ‘to be or not to be’ of the Serbians] (1891); Šta je čije? [What is whose?] (1891). Context Jevrem Grujić was among the first Serbian students who were sent on state grants to study at West European universities during the 1840s and 1850s. The members of this generation of students liked to differentiate themselves from the Serbian intelligentsia and state functionaries ‘imported’ from neighboring Austria and...