The Serbian Government Building. Photo: wikipedia.org
A presentation of a book about the exploits of Russian and Soviet soldiers in Serbia will take place at the international fair of intellectual literature Non/fiction on April 10.
Russians participated in conflicts on the side of the Serbs since the 19th century: in the Russo-Turkish War, the Belgrade Operation of the Red Army in World War II. Serbia still has many monuments to Russian and Soviet soldiers, who have been cared for by the Serbs themselves for many years.
«In 2026, we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the RGS Center in Serbia,» said Anastasia Timofeeva, Adviser of the Expert Analytics and International Affairs Department of the RGS. «During this time, we have jointly organized a number of educational and cultural programs. In my opinion, expeditions for young people and summer schools for students from both countries are of particular value. Another important result is the publication of the book 'Russian Cultural Heritage in Serbia’. The publication was published first in Serbian, and then in an expanded version in Russian. It helps people to learn about the shared experiences and trials that our peoples have overcome together. By the way, during the summer trips, participants visit many of the places described in the book.»
Monuments in Serbia preserve beautiful and tragic stories, such as the story of the grandson of the hero of the Battle of Borodino, General Nikolai Rayevsky. He died defending the Serbian town of Gornji Adrovac from the Turkish army. This is described in the memorial book, which is now located in the small church of the Holy Trinity. And on the central square of the small village of Donya Kamenitsa there is a monument to a Soviet soldier. His name and patronymic, Timofey Ivanovich, are the only things known about him. It was installed immediately after the war, in 1946, near the Church of the Holy Virgin of the 14th century. The fifth generation of villagers has been carefully caring for the grave of the Soviet soldier.
Many of these objects are included in the new book «Russian Cultural Heritage in Serbia», published by the publishing house «Nauka». The presentation of the publication will be attended by experts in the field of geography and geopolitics, public figures: Ilya Gurov, First Deputy Executive Director of the RGS, Vladimir Kolosov, First Vice-President of the International Geographical Union and Head of the Laboratory of Geopolitical Studies at the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Miroljub Milinčić, Head of the Center of the Russian Geographical Society in Serbia, Mikhail Fomin, head of the publishing house «Nauka». The presentation will be moderated by Oksana Tolstykh, Candidate of Geographical Sciences. To get to the event, you need to purchase tickets via the link.