The book Greece: War for Independence, Creation of the State and Rebirth of the Nation by the Ambassador of Serbia to Athens, Dušan Spasojević, was presented in Belgrade.

This is the first book in Serbian which deals with the topic of contemporary Greece, the foundations on which the modern Greek state was established and the national identity of modern Greeks was created.

Ambassador Spasojević’s book places special emphasis on the suffering of Serbs from the Republic of Srpska under the Ottoman yoke, who shared the same fate as the Greeks, and especially on the comparisons of Crete, Herzegovina and Montenegro, as the strongest and most rebellious insurgent strongholds against Turkish occupation in the Balkan Peninsula.

It originated as a result of many years of dedicated work, which included researching extensive archival material and literature, also in Greek, the language spoken by the author.

The book, reviewed by three eminent historians, Belgrade and Thessaloniki university professors, Milan Ristović and Spyridon Sfetas, and director of the Institute for Recent History, Dr Mile Bjelajac, comes out on the 200th anniversary of the beginning of Greek struggle for liberation from Turkish occupation.

In a joint preface to the book, prof. Milan Ristović and prof. Spyridon Sfetas state that ‘carefully unraveling the tangle of events, influences, personalities, Spasojević introduces the reader to a complex web of conflicted relations of great European powers regarding the policy towards the Ottoman Empire, the course and concepts of the uprising, the role in supporting Greek insurgents and their long-lasting influences that fueled internal divisions and conflicts since the early days of the young Hellenic Kingdom.’

The authors of the preface emphasize that the author ‘convincingly depicts the struggle, insurgent victories and defeats, the conflicts of its leaders and authorities, drawing the characters of key figures with biographic accuracy,’ and ‘indicates the connection between the Serbian and Greek movements, mutual ties and influences, but also their different paths and features and dynamics,’ ‘This is a book of encyclopedic inspiration,’ is the opinion of journalist and author Radivoj Cvetićanin, who points out that Spasojević ‘like his great role model Slobodan Jovanović, perceives history as a perfect, great story,’ and that ‘he told one such story
here.’

Politika’s columnist Boško Jakšić estimates that Spasojević mastered the abundance of material ‘with historian’s attention to detail and clarity and ease of an author’ and gave ‘a valuable contribution to the histories of Greece, Serbia, the Balkans and Europe.’ Historian Dr Mile Bjelajac believes that ‘with his beautifully written book, Ambassador Spasojević brings every part of Greece closer to every Serb chance visitor, tourist or journalist, in a special way, and that the history of the great uprising and beginnings of independence unobtrusively creates before the readers a picture of our own history of suffering under Turkish rule.’

– Serbs love, but do not know Greeks – says prof. Dr Darko Tanasković in his review of the book, and it will certainly contribute to overcoming that circumstance. According to him, Spasojević ‘has given us much more than a reliable guide through the period in which the Greek state and modern nation were created, he has given us a valuable epistemological starting point for the serious characterology of the Greeks.’

The author of the book Greece: War for Independence, Creation of the State and Rebirth of the Nation, Dušan Spasojević, graduated from the Faculty of Law in Belgrade, and holds a master’s degree in international relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Between 2000 and 2013, he served as Chief of Staff to the Federal Minister of the Interior, Foreign Policy Adviser to the President of the Republic, Assistant Minister and Secretary of Defense, and Ambassador of Serbia to Turkey.

Since 2016, he has been the Ambassador of Serbia to Greece.

The book about Greece has 416 pages, it is equipped with a rich scientific apparatus, most exclusive illustrations and extremely useful purpose-made geographical maps, which faithfully reflect historical processes. It is a special edition in a joint venture of the publishing house Čigoja Štampa, the Institute for Recent History, the Institute of European Studies and Šaper Foundation.

The book will be available in all well-stocked bookstores in Serbia, Montenegro and Republic of Srpska.

Source: RTRS