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One. The Young Milosevic and the Yugoslavia He Destroyed

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Slobodan Milosevic and the Destruction of Yugoslavia
This chapter is in the book Slobodan Milosevic and the Destruction of Yugoslavia
ONEThe Young Milosevic and theYugoslavia He DestroyedSlobodan Milosevic was born on20August1941in the central Ser-bian town of Pozarevac, about seventy-five miles south of Belgrade,where his family hadfled at the beginning of theSecond World War.He comes from Montenegrin stock that traces its roots back to the time ofthe1389battle of Kosovo Polje, where the Ottoman Turks crushed the me-dieval Serbian Empire. One of Milosevic’s later ancestors was Milos Mar-kov, a noted Chetnik commander in the early eighteenth century who in-spired a song about a hero killed by traitors and whose grave is said to betended even today. Milosevic’s paternal grandfather was an officer in theMontenegrin army. His father graduated from the Orthodox seminary inthe ancient Montenegrin capital of Cetinje and served before the SecondWorld War as a professor of Russian at the Theological Academy of theSerbian Orthodox Church in Belgrade. Both of Milosevic’s parents weresaid to be Partisan sympathizers, although neither were apparently Parti-sanfighters. His mother, called by her uncle the most beautiful Montene-grin woman of her generation, was also said to be a devoted believer inCommunism.1Pozarevac is situated in Sumadija, an area of gently rolling hills andrichfarms that is often described as the Serbian heartland. In1804, a swarthy,illiterate pig dealer named Djordje Petrovic, later known as Karadjordjefrom the Turkish word for black, began thefirst Serbian uprising against theTurks in Sumadija. The thick oak forests that once covered Sumadija (thewordsumameans forest in Serbo-Croatian) also served for centuries as a ha-ven for thehaidjuks—forest outlaws who combined banditry with resis-tance to the Turkish overlords who ruled Serbia for almostfive hundred
© 2020 Duke University Press, Durham, USA

ONEThe Young Milosevic and theYugoslavia He DestroyedSlobodan Milosevic was born on20August1941in the central Ser-bian town of Pozarevac, about seventy-five miles south of Belgrade,where his family hadfled at the beginning of theSecond World War.He comes from Montenegrin stock that traces its roots back to the time ofthe1389battle of Kosovo Polje, where the Ottoman Turks crushed the me-dieval Serbian Empire. One of Milosevic’s later ancestors was Milos Mar-kov, a noted Chetnik commander in the early eighteenth century who in-spired a song about a hero killed by traitors and whose grave is said to betended even today. Milosevic’s paternal grandfather was an officer in theMontenegrin army. His father graduated from the Orthodox seminary inthe ancient Montenegrin capital of Cetinje and served before the SecondWorld War as a professor of Russian at the Theological Academy of theSerbian Orthodox Church in Belgrade. Both of Milosevic’s parents weresaid to be Partisan sympathizers, although neither were apparently Parti-sanfighters. His mother, called by her uncle the most beautiful Montene-grin woman of her generation, was also said to be a devoted believer inCommunism.1Pozarevac is situated in Sumadija, an area of gently rolling hills andrichfarms that is often described as the Serbian heartland. In1804, a swarthy,illiterate pig dealer named Djordje Petrovic, later known as Karadjordjefrom the Turkish word for black, began thefirst Serbian uprising against theTurks in Sumadija. The thick oak forests that once covered Sumadija (thewordsumameans forest in Serbo-Croatian) also served for centuries as a ha-ven for thehaidjuks—forest outlaws who combined banditry with resis-tance to the Turkish overlords who ruled Serbia for almostfive hundred
© 2020 Duke University Press, Durham, USA

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Abbreviations vii
  4. Chronology ix
  5. Preface xv
  6. Introduction 1
  7. One. The Young Milosevic and the Yugoslavia He Destroyed 11
  8. Two. The Rise of Milosevic 39
  9. Three. Milosevic Takes Kosovo 65
  10. Four. A New Tito? 95
  11. Five. All Serbs in One State 108
  12. Six. Milosevic at War 140
  13. Seven. Milosevic and the Politics of Power 169
  14. Eight. Man of Peace 195
  15. Nine. Dayton 223
  16. Ten. Milosevic Loses Kosovo 262
  17. Eleven. War Criminal 318
  18. Twelve. The End 329
  19. Afterword 363
  20. Notes 379
  21. Bibliography 413
  22. Index 423
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822385257-005

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Abbreviations vii
  4. Chronology ix
  5. Preface xv
  6. Introduction 1
  7. One. The Young Milosevic and the Yugoslavia He Destroyed 11
  8. Two. The Rise of Milosevic 39
  9. Three. Milosevic Takes Kosovo 65
  10. Four. A New Tito? 95
  11. Five. All Serbs in One State 108
  12. Six. Milosevic at War 140
  13. Seven. Milosevic and the Politics of Power 169
  14. Eight. Man of Peace 195
  15. Nine. Dayton 223
  16. Ten. Milosevic Loses Kosovo 262
  17. Eleven. War Criminal 318
  18. Twelve. The End 329
  19. Afterword 363
  20. Notes 379
  21. Bibliography 413
  22. Index 423
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