Promotion of the Book "Serbs – as Russian Military Commanders from the Era of Peter the Great until the October Revolution"

Yet another book of the “Odbrana” Media Centre entitled Serbs – as Russian Military Commanders from the Era of Peter the Great until the October Revolution written by Mr Dušan Babac was presented to the public at the atrium of the former House of Warriors, present Serbian Armed Forces Club. In addition to numerous guests and book lovers, the promotion was also attended by the Serbian Government Minister of Culture and Information Vlada Vukosavljević.
 
In their very much enthusiastic and inspired addresses, the publisher’s representative Director of the “Odbrana” Media Centre Colonel Stevica Karapandžin, the editor of the publication Ms Dragana Marković, the reviewer Dr Aleksej Timofejef, and author of the book Dr Dušan Babac spoke of the book with an unusually long title Serbs – as Russian Military Commanders from the Era of Peter the Great until the October Revolution.   

Having greeted the audience, Colonel Stevica Karapandžin used the quotations from the magnificent book “Seobe” (Migrations) by Miloš Crnjanski to recall the continued migrations of the Serbian people whose most courageous and warrior moments ensued upon leaving the militaries of Austria and Hungary, seeking for their own freedom and free fatherland, striving towards the Orthodoxy and the Holy Russia.           .
 
- Numerous Serbian toponyms, the names of many places where Serbs from the Krajina (the Military Frontier) lived, as well as those from Herzegovina, Dalmatia and Montenegro may still be found in the names of some Russian cities. These are a living proof of the enduring Serbian presence in Russia, the country which many notable Serbs wearing the uniforms of Russian generals and admirals even died for. This book is yet another testimony to the unbreakable communion between the Serbian and Russian peoples, the communion demonstrated though joint warfare as well, said Colonel Krapandžin inter alia.

Highlighting the perennial fruitful cooperation between military publishers and Mr Dušan Babac, the author of the edition Ms Dragana Marković said that his latest book filled in one of those historical blanks inevitable in historiography. 
 
- It covers the process of Serbian people’s immigration into Russia and offers the biographies of more than 60 Serbian officers whose fighting in the period between the Imperial Russia of Peter the Great and the October Revolution marked the Russian military history. In his latest book, which is his fourth book published by the Media Centre, the author pays special attention to the generals and admirals of Serbian origin that helped towards making the Russian Military famous throughout the period from Peter I to Alexander I which was the time of the Russian blazing military glory. The fact that Serbian officers held senior commanding positions in the Russian Imperial Military, from their participation in the battles for the final settlement of the issue regarding the Russian borders with China until the victorious entry of the Russian Military into Paris has always been a matter of interest not only for Russian but for Serbian historians as well. However, this is the fist time that a diligent researcher focuses his attention on almost each one of them trying to prevent even those that are less renowned from sliding into oblivion, thereby providing the opportunity for book lovers in Serbia to familiarise themselves with the lives of a large number of Serbs – glorious Russian military leaders. With the renewal of the Serbian statehood at the beginning of 19^th century, the number of Serbian immigrants into Russia decreased, but certain individuals and their descendants continued to engage in important events of the Russian military history up until the end of the Romanov dynasty.

Talking about the book he had evaluated as its reviewer, Dr Aleksej Timofejev underlined its documentary value in particular.  
 
- Dr Dušan Babac’s book introduces us to a bygone era, to some other living circumstances and conditions, and some different mutual relations among the people – the relations of honour, ultimate devotion, and patriotism. Each page of the said book is a throwback to the past allowing us to see people that the book deals with, and to understand their motives and the power of perseverance they possessed – said Dr Timofejev inter alia.    
 
Finally, the author emphasised that the book Serbs – as Russian Military Commanders from the Era of Peter the Great until the October Revolution is the fruit of the perennial research work on exploring one interesting topic significant both for the Russian and the Serbian historiography.