Serbs in Russia

There is a community of Serbs in Russia (Russian: Сербы в России; Serbian: Срби у Русији, romanized: Srbi u Rusiji), also known as Russian Serbs (Russian: Российские сербы; Serbian: Руски Срби, romanized: Ruski Srbi), which includes Russian citizens of ethnic Serb descent or Serbian-born people residing in the country.

Serbs in Russia
Serbian cross
Total population
  • 3,510 Russian citizens (2010)[1]
  • 29,499 Serbian citizens (2015)[2]
Regions with significant populations
mainly Moscow, Stavropol Krai
Languages
Russian and Serbian
Religion
Eastern Orthodox Church
Related ethnic groups
Serbs in Ukraine

History

Sava Vladislavich, 18th-century adventurer and diplomat

Middle Ages

After the Ottoman invasion of Serbia in the 14th century, Serbian refugees found refuge in Russia.[3] Lazar the Serb (built the first mechanical public clock in Russia) and Pachomius the Serb (hagiographer and translator) were some of the notable Serbs in Russian medieval history.[4] Elena Glinskaya (1510–1538), the mother of Russian emperor Ivan the Terrible (r. 1547–84), was maternally Serbian.[5] The Orthodox worship of Saint Sava was established in Russia in the 16th century.[3]

Russian Empire

In the 1750s, in a re-settlement initiated by Austrian Colonel Ivan Horvat, a vast number of Orthodox Serbs, mostly from territories controlled by the Habsburg Monarchy (the Serbian Grenzers), settled in Russia's military frontier region of New Serbia (with the centre in Novomirgorod, mainly in the territory of present-day Kirovohrad Oblast of Ukraine), as well as in Slavo-Serbia (now mainly the territory of the Luhansk Oblast of Ukraine). In 1764, both territorial entities were incorporated in Russia's Novorossiya Governorate. Serbs continued to settle in Russian lands, and many, such as Sava Vladislavich, Nikolay Depreradovich, and Peter Tekeli, became high ranking generals and imperial nobility.

During the Napoleonic Wars, many Russian generals were either Serbian-born or of Serbian descent, including Georgi Emmanuel, Peter Ivelich, Nikolay Vuich, Ivan Shevich, and multiple others. The most esteemed Serb in the service of the Russian Empire at the time of the Napoleonic Wars was Count Mikhail Miloradovich, a leading commander during the French invasion of Russia and governor-general of Saint Petersburg.

Soviet Union

Throughout the existence of the Soviet Union, many Serbs in Russia continued to play prominent roles in society. Notable figures at the time include Admiral of the Fleet and Hero of the Soviet Union Nikolai Kuznetsov and renowned sculptor and Hero of Socialist Labour Yevgeny Vuchetich, responsible for The Motherland Calls, which was the largest statue in the world at the time of its construction.

Notable people

Nobility and military personnel

  • Ivan the Terrible, Tsar of All-Russia from 1547 to 1584.
  • Elena Glinskaya, Grand Princess consort of Moscow and Regent of Russia in the 16th century
  • Sava Vladislavich, Serbian diplomat, count, and merchant-adventurer in the employ of Peter the Great who conducted important diplomatic negotiations in Constantinople, Rome, and Beijing
Peter Tekeli, General-in-Chief of the Imperial Russian Army

Clergy

Sportspeople

Silver 2-ruble coin celebrating Yevgeny Vuchetich, Soviet sculptor

Admirals

Other

See also

References

Sources

  • Atnagulov, R.E.I., 2017. Demographic characteristics of the Serbs in Russia. Nasleđe, Kragujevac, 14(37-1), pp.27-31.
  • Kostić, Mita; Lalić, Sredoje; Gavrilović, Slavko (2001). Nova Srbija i Slavenosrbija. Srpsko-ukrajinsko društvo. ISBN 978-86-902499-1-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Branković, Zoran (1995). Srbi u Ruskoj Imperiji. Dunaj.
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