Pčinja (river)
The Pčinja is a 135 km long river in Serbia and North Macedonia, a left tributary of the Vardar river. The Pčinja originates from several streams on the western slopes of the Dukat mountain which meet at the village of Radovnica and continue to the west under the name of the Tripušnica; the river creates a micro-region of Pčinja, with center being the municipal seat of Trgovište where Tripušnica meets the left tributary of Lesnička reka from the south and continues to the west under the name of Pčinja. The region represents one of the fastest depopulating and economically least developed parts of Serbia (population of 12,556 in 1971 and 6,372 in 2002. After the Pčinja passes next to the northern side of the mountain of Široka planina and the village of Šajince where it receives the right tributary of Koćurica from the north, it is prevented to continue to the west by the eastern side of the Rujen mountain and turns south, into the narrow valley between the Rujen and Kozjak mountains; the small village and monastery of Prohor Pčinjski are located in the valley.
Just after the river passes next to the monastery, after 52 km of flow in Serbia, the Pčinja crosses the Macedonian border. For the remaining 83 km, the river bends to the southwest, it passes next to the villages of Karlovce, Strnovac, Klechevce, Pčinja, Studena Bara, Gorno Konjare, Dolno Konjare and the small town of Katlanovo, with the neighboring Katlanovska Banja, the most popular spa in North Macedonia. The upper course in North Macedonia creates a micro-region of Sredorek, the lower a micro-region of Kotorci, with the gorge of Bader in between. In the lower course, the Pčinja follows the western side of the mountain Gradištanska and flows into the Vardar river, on the gorge of Taor section of the Vardar's course, halfway between the cities of Skopje and Veles. Katlanovo is located on the highway Skopje-Thessaloniki, though some 25 km away from Skopje, a string of Skopje's fast growing suburbs is located along the highway, if the city continues to grow, in some future it will reach Katlanovo and the banks of Pčinja.
The Pčinja belongs to the Aegean sea drainage basin. Its own drainage area covers 3.140 km², of that 1.247 km² in Serbia and 1.893 km² in North Macedonia. The average discharge on the river's mouth into the Vardar is 14 m³/s, it is not navigable. All the major tributaries of the Pčinja are in North Macedonia: Bistrica and Kriva Reka from the left. Mala Prosvetina Enciklopedija, Third edition. Marković: Enciklopedijski geografski leksikon Jugoslavije.
Serbian Cyrillic alphabet
The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet is an adaptation of the Cyrillic script for Serbo-Croatian, developed in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian and Montenegrin, the other being Latin. In Croatian and Bosnian, only the Latin alphabet is used. Karadžić based his alphabet on the previous "Slavonic-Serbian" script, following the principle of "write as you speak and read as it is written", removing obsolete letters and letters representing iotified vowels, introducing ⟨J⟩ from the Latin alphabet instead, adding several consonant letters for sounds specific to Serbian phonology. During the same period, Croatian linguists led by Ljudevit Gaj adapted the Latin alphabet, in use in western South Slavic areas, using the same principles; as a result of this joint effort and Latin alphabets for Serbo-Croatian have a complete one-to-one congruence, with the Latin digraphs Lj, Nj, Dž counting as single letters. Vuk's Cyrillic alphabet was adopted in Serbia in 1868, was in exclusive use in the country up to the inter-war period.
Both alphabets were co-official in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Due to the shared cultural area, Gaj's Latin alphabet saw a gradual adoption in Serbia since, both scripts are used to write modern standard Serbian and Bosnian. In Serbia, Cyrillic is seen as being more traditional, has the official status, it is an official script in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro, along with Latin. The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet was used as a basis for the Macedonian alphabet with the work of Krste Misirkov and Venko Markovski. Cyrillic is in official use in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although the Bosnian language "officially accept both alphabets", the Latin script is always used in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, whereas Cyrillic is in everyday use in Republika Srpska; the Serbian language in Croatia is recognized as a minority language, the use of Cyrillic in bilingual signs has sparked protests and vandalism. Cyrillic is an important symbol of Serbian identity.
In Serbia, official documents are printed in Cyrillic only though, according to a 2014 survey, 47% of the Serbian population write in the Latin alphabet whereas 36% write in Cyrillic. The following table provides the upper and lower case forms of the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, along with the equivalent forms in the Serbian Latin alphabet and the International Phonetic Alphabet value for each letter: According to tradition, Glagolitic was invented by the Byzantine Christian missionaries and brothers Cyril and Methodius in the 860s, amid the Christianization of the Slavs. Glagolitic appears to be older, predating the introduction of Christianity, only formalized by Cyril and expanded to cover non-Greek sounds. Cyrillic was created by the orders of Boris I of Bulgaria by Cyril's disciples at the Preslav Literary School in the 890s; the earliest form of Cyrillic was the ustav, based on Greek uncial script, augmented by ligatures and letters from the Glagolitic alphabet for consonants not found in Greek.
There was no distinction between lowercase letters. The literary Slavic language was based on the Bulgarian dialect of Thessaloniki. Part of the Serbian literary heritage of the Middle Ages are works such as Vukan Gospels, St. Sava's Nomocanon, Dušan's Code, Munich Serbian Psalter, others; the first printed book in Serbian was the Cetinje Octoechos. Vuk Stefanović Karadžić fled Serbia during the Serbian Revolution to Vienna. There he met a linguist with interest in slavistics. Kopitar and Sava Mrkalj helped Vuk to reform its orthography, he finalized the alphabet in 1818 with the Serbian Dictionary. Karadžić reformed the Serbian literary language and standardised the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet by following strict phonemic principles on the Johann Christoph Adelung' model and Jan Hus' Czech alphabet. Karadžić's reforms of the Serbian literary language modernised it and distanced it from Serbian and Russian Church Slavonic, instead bringing it closer to common folk speech to the dialect of Eastern Herzegovina which he spoke.
Karadžić was, together with Đuro Daničić, the main Serbian signatory to the Vienna Literary Agreement of 1850 which, encouraged by Austrian authorities, laid the foundation for the Serbian language, various forms of which are used by Serbs in Serbia, Montenegro and Herzegovina and Croatia today. Karadžić translated the New Testament into Serbian, published in 1868, he wrote several books. In his letters from 1815-1818 he used: Ю, Я, Ы and Ѳ. In his 1815 song book he dropped the Ѣ; the alphabet was adopted in 1868, four years after his death. From the Old Slavic script Vuk retained these 24 letters: He added one Latin letter: And 5 new ones: He removed: Orders issued on the 3 and 13 October 1914 banned the use of Serbian Cyrillic in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, limiting it for use in religious instruction. A decree was passed on January 3, 1915, that banned Serbian Cyrillic from public use. An imperial order in October 25, 1915, banned the use of Serbian Cyrillic in the Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, except "within the scope of Serb Orthodox Church
Krsta Kovačević
Krsta Kovačević, known as Krsta Trgoviški, was a Serbian Chetnik commander, active in Old Serbia and Macedonia during the Macedonian Struggle participated in the Balkan Wars and World War I. Kovačević was born in the village of Trgovište in the Pčinja region, which at the time was administratively part of the Preševo kaza of the Kosovo Vilayet in the Ottoman Empire, he was a blacksmith in his birth village until 1900, when he murdered an Ottoman soldier who beat up his younger brother Spiro. He fled to the Principality of Bulgaria. Kovačević was soon noticed by the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, which recruited him into the organization, he was part of the četa of general Ivan Tsonchev, where he became best friends with Krsto Lazarov Konjushki, the IMRO commander of Kumanovo. At the time of the Ilinden Uprising he was part of the band of IMRO commander of Skopje, Nikola Pushkarov, at which time he used his experience as a railway worker to blow up the rail near the village of Novačani.
After Pushkarov's withdrawal, Kovačević joined the band of Todor Panitsa whose band after several unsuccessful skirmishes was forced to take shelter in Vranje, in the Kingdom of Serbia. There, Kovačević befriended Živojin Rafajlović, determined to join the newly self-organized Serbian Chetnik Organization, thus he left the Bulgarian organization which had up until had many Serbian fighters in its ranks. In 1904, Kovačević was awarded the title of vojvoda, he commanded several notable fighters who became commanders themselves, such as Vojislav Tankosić and Vojin Popović-Vuk. After the Young Turk Revolution, he lived a peaceful life in Preševo until 1909, when he discovered just in time that the Turks sought to murder him, which made him leave for the woods. In the First Balkan War he participated as a vojvoda in the Chetnik detachment of vojvoda Vojin Popović-Vuk, his old friend, he participated in the battles of Kumanovo and Bakarna Gumna. Kovačević participated in World War I as well, alongside six of his cousins.
He independently led his band through Albania in 1915–16, participated in the breakthrough of the Salonika Front. In 1924 he led a band that pursued bands of Albanian kachaks. During the German occupation of Serbia he lived secretly in Leskovac, he died in Preševo. Trbić, Vasilije. Memoari: 1898-1912. Kultura
Administrative divisions of Serbia
The administrative divisions of Serbia are regulated by the Government of Serbia Enactment of 29 January 1992, by the Law on Territorial Organization adopted by the National Assembly of Serbia on 29 December 2007. Serbia is divided into 29 districts by the Enactment of 29 January 1992, while the units of the territorial organization are: municipalities and cities and autonomous provinces, by the Law on Territorial Organization. Autonomous provincesSerbia has two autonomous provinces: Vojvodina in the north and Kosovo and Metohija in the south; the province of Vojvodina has government. It enjoys autonomy on certain matters, such as infrastructure, science and culture; the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija has been transferred to the administration of UNMIK since June 1999, following the Kosovo War. In February 2008, the Government of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia, a move recognized by 113 countries but not recognized by Serbia, China, Spain, Georgia, Indonesia or the United Nations.
Statistical regionsThe five statistical regions of Serbia are: Vojvodina Belgrade Šumadija and Western Serbia Southern and Eastern Serbia Kosovo and Metohija Districts are the first level administrative subdivisions of the country and largest entities, constituted of municipalities and cities. Districts have no assemblies of their own. Districts are not defined by the Law on Territorial Organisation, but are organised under the Government's Enactment of 29 January 1992. Serbia is divided into 29 districts. MunicipalitiesSerbia is divided into 145 municipalities and 29 cities, which form the basic units of local government; each municipality has a municipal president, public service property and a budget. Municipalities have more than 10,000 inhabitants. Municipalities comprise local communities, which correspond to settlements in the rural areas. Urban areas are divided into local communities, their roles include communication of elected municipal representatives with citizens, organization of citizen initiatives related with public service and communal issues.
They are presided over by councils, elected in semi-formal elections, whose members are volunteers. The role of local communities is far more important in rural areas. Cities Cities are another type of local self-government. Territories with the status of "city" have more than 100,000 inhabitants, but are otherwise similar to municipalities. There are each having an assembly and budget of its own. Only cities have mayors, although the presidents of the municipalities are referred to as "mayors" in everyday usage; the city may or may not be divided into "city municipalities". Six cities, Novi Sad, Niš, Požarevac, Užice and Vranje comprise several municipalities, divided into urban and suburban areas. Competences of cities and their municipalities are divided. Of those, only Novi Sad did not undergo the full transformation, as the newly formed municipality of Petrovaradin exists only formally. Although the Serbian laws treat Kosovo as every other part of Serbia, divide it into 5 districts, 28 municipalities and 1 city, the UNMIK administration adopted new territorial organisation of Kosovo in 2000.
This move is recognized by the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. According to the new subdivision, Kosovo is divided into 37 municipalities; the "Serb" districts function in the areas where Kosovo Serbs live, but are only recognized by Serbs, while the "UNMIK" districts, which function in all of Kosovo, are recognized only by Kosovo Albanians. Historical administrative divisions of Serbia Statistical regions of Serbia Districts of Serbia Municipalities and cities of Serbia Cities and towns in Serbia Cities and villages in Vojvodina Populated places in SerbiaISO 3166-2:RS Balinovac, Zoran M.. Miklič, Peter, ed. "The government and state administration system in the Republic of Serbia – compilation of laws and explanatory articles". Translated by Čavoški, Aleksandra. Belgrade: Dial, Grafolik. ISBN 86-902823-3-5
Vehicle registration plates of Serbia
Vehicle registration plates of Serbia are issued using a two-letter region code, followed by three or four-digit numeric and a two-letter alpha license code, separated by a hyphen. The regional code and the license code are separated by the Serbian shield and a Cyrillic letter combination for the region below. A blue field is placed along the left side edge, as in European Union countries, bearing the ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code for Serbia. License numeric code contains combination of three digits, while two letter alpha code is made of combination of letters using Serbian Latin alphabet order, with addition of letters X, Y and W; the standard dimensions of a Serbian license plates are 520.5 × 112.9 mm. Issuance of current license plates started on January 1, 2011 and they will be used alongside the old ones during the transitional period until the end of 2011. Following are the license plate codes by region in Serbian Cyrillic alphabetical order: Serbia has numerous special license plates.
Agriculture plates consist of regional code, Serbian shield, two numbers and three serial letters on lower side. Moped plates have two-letter regional code, Serbian shield, numbers. Trailer plates have a reversed format of the civilian license plates with serial letter first, Serbian shield and numbers and regional code at the end. Taxi plates have identical format of the civilian license plates with regional code first, Serbian shield and numbers and TX as serial letters. Military plates have one letter, an emblem of Serbian armed forces, four numbers. Police and fire service plates have letter П, Serbian shield, six numbers. Vehicles operated by foreign embassies, consulates and diplomatic staff and various international organizations have been given plates with a distinguishing format of two numbers, one letter, three numbers, e.g. 12-L-456. Vehicle owned by a diplomat or by accredited non-diplomatic staff carry a plate with characters printed in yellow on a black background while the vehicle owned by a foreign press agency, a foreign cultural representative or by an office of a foreign company and/or its staff, has plates with characters printed in black on a yellow background The first group of three numbers identifies the country or organization to which the plate has been issued, the second group of three numbers is a serial number.
The letter in the middle is denoting the status of the owner. Additionally, plates have vertically orientated two-letter initials in small letters on the left side indicating the city in which they were issued and two numbers on the right side indicating the year for which they are valid. Portal posvećen registraciji vozila Registracija vozila "Nove tablice od 2011, cena 40 evra". B92. Beta, Blic. 2010-09-30. Retrieved 2010-11-10. Pravilnik o registraciji motornih i priključnih vozila Car Transport in Serbia
Stojan Koruba
Stojan Simonović, known by his nom de guerre Koruba, was a Serbian Chetnik Simonović was born into a poor family in Šaprance, at the time part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1878 the Preševo kaza, a frontier district on the Ottoman-Serbian border, was established, which included his village, he did not go to school, worked as a shepherd. When he got older, the guerilla movement began in the region. Stojan crossed the border in night-time and entered the frontier villages, went to the Monastery of St. Panteleimon in Lepčince where he contacted the Central Board of Vranje swore oath, he was a jatak and was entrusted with delivering important letters escorted bands in groups of ten across the border into the Preševo kaza and into Macedonia, none of which died. His knowledge of the geography made him a pillar of the organization, he delivered armament and participated in many events and fights against Ottoman askeri and frontier soldiers; the Chetnik band heading for Poreč, numbering 27 men, descended at dawn on March 27 into the village of Tabanovce.
They carried a load of 30,000 rounds. It was commanded by sergeant Vladimir Kovačević, the vojvoda, the nephew of Herzegovinian revolutionary Stojan Kovačević; the band included, among others, sergeant Veselin Veselinović, lieutenant Dragomir Protić, sublieutenant Dragomir Vasiljević, Stojan Ristić-Giljanac. The unit's most experienced were Veselinović, Giljanac. Upon arriving, Kovačević divided the band, sending a group of six under Veselinović to a house at the opposite end of the village, while the others were placed in two neighbouring houses. A Turkish informant saw Veselinović's group and informed the Kumanovo garrison, who in early afternoon began searching the houses. Vasiljević was wounded, while Vitko Vranjanac was shot dead; the askeri surrounded Veselinović's house, reformed Ottoman officer Turić informed the besieged that they had been abandoned by their comrades, who had fled before the army, that he guaranteed them their lives if they surrendered. Around 15:00 Kovačević's groups and the Ottoman army clashed.
Protić and Vasiljević were killed right away. The Chetniks fought bravely and stopped the onslaught, which lasted until late at night, with the army retreating; the Ottomans had c. 60 dead and wounded, while the Chetniks had 11 dead and two wounded. The most notable commanders appreciated the boldness, lively intelligence and physical stamina of Stojan Koruba; when he appeared, the Chief of the Head Staff, the supreme commander, would walk with him. He became respected in the Preševo kaza in the Pčinja region; the Ottoman frontier units organized many ambushes and pursuits. However, he once fell into the trap, he had no idea. He dropped to the ground and swallowed the letter, unseen to the soldiers, who stripped and beat him with sticks. In a pool of blood, he saw his house set on fire, heard the cries of his wife and father, was taken to prison in Skopje, they did not find the golden coins. Arriving at Šaprance, his family was alive, he took them across the border to Vranjska Banja, he re-joined the Chetniks, who henceforth nicknamed him "the Fox".
Since 1911 he lived with his family in Vranjska Banja. In 1912, with Serbian soldiers and Chetniks, he participated in breaking the Ottoman border post on the Staračka Kula, descending into Pčinja and the Monastery of Prohor Pčinjski. From there, he went to the Battle of Kumanovo. In World War I he crossed Albania and across Greece and the Salonica Front, Vardar valley and Morava valley, in the offensive that liberated Serb lands, he was buried in Vranjska Banja. His son Vlada, a teacher, had two daughters who moved from Vranjska Banja. Stojan Koruba was regarded to have been the most skillful and daring of the Chetnik escorters during the organization's 8 years of operations. Milosav Jelić wrote a poem in the work Srbijanski venac. Đorđević, D.. "Lisica među vojvodama". Vesti Online. Антонијевић, Синиша. "Стара Србока моли за помоћ". Vranje: Vranjske. Антонијевић, Синиша. "Задојен српским предањима". Vranje: Vranjske. Антонијевић, Синиша. "КОРУБА - СЛОБОДА ИЛИ СМРТ - СПОМЕНИЦА". Vranje: Vranjske. Антонијевић, Синиша.
"Вучији синови Пчиње". Vranje: Vranjske. Krakov, Stanislav. Plamen četništva. Belgrade: Hipnos. Narodni muzej u Vranju. Vranjski glasnik. 24-28. Narodni muzej u Vranju. P. 177. Стојан Симоновић Коруба Trifunović, Ilija Ž.. Trnovitim stazama. Belgrade: GSSZZ. Pp. 42–50
Romani people in Serbia
Romani people or Roma are the third largest ethnic group in Serbia, numbering 147,604 according to the 2011 census. However, due to a legacy of poor birth registration, as well as a fear of discrimination when reporting their identity to the census, this number is underestimated. Another name used for the community with a negative connotation, is Cigani. Several migrational waves of Romani people to Serbia are recorded from Romania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, they are divided into numerous subgroups, with different, although related, Romani dialects and history. The community has produced several notable musicians. Adding to a large indigenous Roma population in Serbia which counts among the largest in the Balkans, anywhere between 46,000 to 97,000 Roma are internally displaced from Kosovo after 1999. Main sub-groups include "Turkish Gypsies", "White Gypsies", "Wallachian Gypsies" and "Hungarian Gypsies", as studied by scholar Tihomir Đorđević. Wallachian Roma. Migrated from Romania, through Banat.
They have converted to Eastern Orthodoxy and speak Serbian fluently. They are assumed to be the largest Romani group in the country, they are related to the Turkish Roma. T. Đorđević noted several sub-groups. Turkish Roma known as Arlia. Migrated from Turkey. At the beginning of the 19th century the Turkish Roma lived in southeastern Serbia, in what was the Sanjak of Niš; the Serbian government attempted to force Orthodoxy on them after the conquest of the sanjak, but without particular success. They are Muslims. T. Đorđević noted an internal division between old settlers and new settlers, who had differing traditions, family organization and occupations."White Gypsies", arrived than other Romani groups, at the end of the 19th century, from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Permanently settled in towns. Serbian-speakers. Sub-group of Turkish Roma. T. Đorđević noted them as living in Podrinje and Mačva, being Muslim, that they had lost their language. Hungarian Roma. Romani, or "gypsies", arrived in Serbia in several waves.
The first reference to gypsies in Serbia is found in a 1348 document, by which Serbian emperor Stefan Dušan donated some gypsy slaves to a monastery in Prizren. In the 15th century, Romani migrations from Hungary are mentioned. In 1927, a Serbian-Romani humanitarian organization was founded. In 1928, a Romani singing society was founded in Niš. In 1932, a Romani football club was founded. In 1935, a Belgrade student established the first Romani magazine, Romani Lil, in the same year a Belgrade Romani association was founded. In 1938, an educational organization of Yugoslav Romani was founded; the Romani people in Central Serbia are predominantly Eastern Orthodox but a minority of Muslim Romani exists in the southern Serbia. Romani people in multi-ethnic Vojvodina are integrated with other ethnic groups with Serbs and Hungarians. For this reason, depending of the group with which they are integrated, Romani are referred to as Serbian Romani, Romanian Romani, Hungarian Romani, etc; the majority of Romani people are Christian and a minority are Muslim.
They speak Romani and Serbian. Some speak the language of other people they have been influenced by: Romanian, Hungarian or Albanian. Đurđevdan is a traditional feast day of Romani in Serbia. In October 2005 the first text on the grammar of the Romani language in Serbia was published by linguist Rajko Đurić, titled Gramatika e Rromane čhibaki - Граматика ромског језика. There are 147,604 Romani people in Serbia, but unofficial estimates put the figure up to 450,000-550,000. Between 23,000-100,000 Serbian Roma are internally displaced persons from Kosovo. According to the 2011 Census, most Roma in Serbia are Christians. A majority belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church, followed by Catholics and various Protestant churches. There is a significant Muslim Roma community living in Serbia, with 24.8% of all Roma being Muslim. A large part of the Roma people did not declare their religion. Roma Union of Serbia Roma Party Vlahović, Petar. Serbia: the country, life, customs. Ethnographic Museum. ISBN 978-86-7891-031-9.
IFDT. Umetnost preživljavanja: gde i kako žive Romi u Srbiji. IFDT. ISBN 978-86-17-13148-5. Rajko Đurić. Istorija Roma:. Politika. ISBN 978-86-7607-084-8. Biljana Sikimić. Banjaši na Balkanu: identitet etničke zajednice. Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, Balkanološki Institut. Dragoljub Acković. Romi u Beogradu: istorija, kultura i tradicija Roma u Beogradu od naseljavanja do kraja XX veka. Rominterpres. ISBN 978-86-7561-095-3. Zlata Vuksanović-Macura. Stanovanje i naselja Roma u jugoistočnoj Evropi: prikaz stanja i napretka u Srbiji. Društvo za Unapređivanje Romskih Naselja. ISBN 978-86-904327-2-1. Roma in Serbia. Fond za humanitarno pravo. 2003. ISBN 978-86-82599-45-6. Romani people in Vojvodina Participation of Romani in the government in Vojvodina
Serbia
