Serbs of Croatia

Serbs of Croatia
Srbi u Hrvatskoj
Срби у Хрватској

Total population
~ 369,000
Regions with significant populations
Croatia	186,633 (2011)[1]
Serbia and  Bosnia and Herzegovina (and some other countries):	183,000[2]
Languages
Serbo-Croatian (Croatian and Serbian)
Religion
Serbian Orthodox Church

The Serbs of Croatia (Serbian: Срби у Хрватској / Srbi u Hrvatskoj) or Croatian Serbs (Serbian: Хрватски Срби / Hrvatski Srbi) constitute the largest national minority in Croatia. There has been a substantial Serb population in Croatia since the Middle Ages, although the population has been declining.

Overview

Part of a series of articles on
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Related people South Slavs

Traditional elements of identity are the Orthodox faith, Cyrillic script and military history, while modern elements are language and literature, civic, social and political values, concern for ethnic status and national organisation, and celebration of the Liberation of Yugoslavia.^[3]

According to the 2011 census there were 186,633 ethnic Serbs living in Croatia, 4.4% of the total population. Their number was reduced by more than two thirds in the aftermath of the 1991–95 War in Croatia as the 1991 pre-war census had reported 581,663 Serbs living in Croatia, 12.2% of the total population.

History

Middle Ages

According to De Administrando Imperio (960s), the Serbs settled in parts of modern-day Croatia during the rule of Heraclius (610–626) and soon formed a Serbian state which stretched across parts of modern-day Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia. The lands of Pagania, Zachumlia and Travunia (which encompassed Dalmatia, roughly south of modern Split) were inhabited by Serbs.^[4] According to the Royal Frankish Annals (821–822), Duke of Pannonia Ljudevit Posavski fled, during the Frankish invasion, from his seat in Sisak to the Serbs in western Bosnia, who controlled a great part of Dalmatia ("Sorabos, quae natio magnam Dalmatiae partem obtinere dicitur").^[5][6] The event would have taken place during the rule of either Radoslav or his son, Prosigoj.^[7] In the 880s, the Serb Prince Mutimir exiled his two brothers due to treachery, but kept his nephew Petar at the court. Petar later fled to the Croatian principality.^[8] When Mutimir's son Pribislav had ruled for a year, Petar returned and defeated him, making him flee with his brothers Bran and Stefan to Croatia.^[8] In 894 Bran returned but was defeated and blinded.^[9] Pavle, the son of Bran, later returned and defeated Pavle with Bulgarian aid.^[9]

King Mihailo I (1050–1081) built the St. Michael's Church in Ston, which has a fresco depicting him.^[10]

Beloš Vukanović, a member of the Serb Vukanović dynasty, was given the title of Ban of Croatia by the Kingdom of Hungary and ruled 1142-1158 and briefly in 1163.^[11]

In 1222, the King of Serbia Stefan Prvovenčani gifted Mljet, Babino Polje, the Saint Vid church on Korčula, Janin and Popova Luka and churches of St. Stephen and St. George, to a Benedictine monastery on Mljet.^[12]

The first Serbian Orthodox monastery in Croatia, Krupa, was built in 1317 by Stephen Uroš II Milutin of Serbia, other medieval monuments include Krka (before 1345) and Dragović (late 14th century). Many monasteries and churches were damaged in the War in Croatia.^[13] In 1333 the Republic of Ragusa bought the Pelješac peninsula and the coast land between Ston and Dubrovnik from Serbian King Stefan Dušan, the Ragusans promised freedom of religion to the Orthodox Serbs.^[14]

Members of the Orlović Serb clan settled in Lika and Senj in 1432, they later joined the Uskoks.^[15] On 22 November 1447, the Hungarian King Ladislaus V wrote a letter which mentioned "Rascians, who live in our cities of Medvedgrad, Rakovac, both Kalinik and in Koprivnica".^[16]

Ottoman conquest and Habsburg Empire

As many former inhabitants of the Austrian-Ottoman borderland fled northwards or were captured by the Ottoman invaders, they left unpopulated areas.^[17] The Austrian Empire encouraged people from the Ottoman Empire to settle as free peasant soldiers, establishing the Military Frontiers (Militärgrenze) in 1522 (hence they were known as Grenzers, Krajišnici).^[18] They were mostly, not only of Orthodox faith, Serbs and Vlachs.^[17] The militarized frontier would serve as a buffer against Ottoman incursions.^[18] The Military frontiers had territory of modern Croatia, Serbia, Romania and Hungary. The colonists were granted small tracts of land, exempted from some obligations, and were to retain a share of all war booty.^[18] The Grenzers elected their own captains (vojvode) and magistrates (knezovi). All Orthodox settlers were promised freedom of worship.^[17][19] By 1538, the Croatian and Slavonian Military Frontier were established.^[18] Serbs acted as the cordon sanitaire against Turkish incursions from the Ottoman Empire.^[20] The Military frontiers are virtually identical to the present Serbian settlements (war-time Republic of Serbian Krajina).^[21]

According to Croatian writer Branimir Anzulovic, native Vlachs of Croatia adopted the Croatian language prior to the Ottoman conquest, but still identified themselves as Vlachs,^[22] and the places with Vlach majority enjoyed privileges under the Statuta Valachorum.^[22] Catholic Vlachs were assimilated into Croats, while the Orthodox, under the Serbian Orthodox Church, identified with Serbs.^[22][23][24] Anzulovic claims that the serbianized Vlachs became the bulk of the Serbian population in Croatia.^[22] According to David Kideckeln, majority of the population of the Croatian Military Frontier were Orthodox Vlachs, originating from Southern and Central Balkans, who, under assimilation, spoke South Slavic language.^[25]

In 1593, Provveditore Generale Cristoforo Valier, mentions three nations constituting the Uskoks; "natives of Senj, Croatians, and Morlachs from the Turkish parts".^[26] Many of the Uskoks, who fought a guerrilla war with the Ottoman Empire were Serbs (Orthodox Christians), who fled from Ottoman Turkish rule and settled in White Carniola and Zumberak.^{[27][28][29][30]} A letter of Emperor Ferdinand, sent on November 6, 1538, to Croatian ban Petar Keglević, in which he wrote "Captains and dukes of the Rasians, or the Serbs, or the Vlachs, who are commonly called the Serbs".^[31] Tihomir Đorđević points to the already known fact that the name 'Vlach' didn't only refer to genuine Vlachs or Serbs but also to cattle breeders in general.^[31]

In the Venetian documents from late 16th and 17th century, was used name "Morlachs" (another term of Vlachs, first mentioned in the 14th century) for immigrants from conquested territory previously of Croatian and Bosnian kingdoms by Ottoman Empire. They were of both Orthodox and Catholic faith, settled in inland of the coastal cities of Dalmatia, and enterted the military service of both Venice and Ottoman Empire.^[32]

The Military Border was returned in 1881 to the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. In 1918, it became part of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, which immediately joined the Kingdom of Serbia to form the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

World War II

Following the Invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941 Axis powers occupied the entire territory of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. On the territory of the present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia a puppet state called the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) was created, led by the Ustaše, a fascist Croatian movement.

The Ustaše government saw Serbs as "disrupting element" and immediately embarked on program of ethnic clensing and genocide. They went on to create concentration camps in which Serbs, Jews, Gypsies, anti-fascist Croats and homosexuals perished in large numbers, the most notorious of which was the Jasenovac concentration camp. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum between 320,000 and 340,000 Serbs were killed by the Ustaše or their allies during WWII.

The main paramilitary force Serbs of Croatia were involved with was the Chetniks. In March 1942 the Chetniks formed the Dinara Division, led by Orthodox priest Momčilo Đujić. This unit had a program to create Greater Serbia with a corridor between Herzegovina, northern Dalmatia and Bosnia, Lika to Slavonia.^[33] During the war, this division was involved in ethnic cleansing of this area.^[33] Chetniks in Croatia collaborated with fascist Italy to achieve their goals.^[33]

Socialist Yugoslavia

During the Second World War, at the Second and Third sessions of the National Anti-Fascist Council of the Peoples Liberation of Croatia (ZAVNOH) held in October 1943 and May 1944 respectively, the equality of the Serbian and Croatian nations, as constituent nations of the federal unit of Croatia, was recognized in every aspect.^[34] Later, in 1963, the Croatian Constitution did not mention the Serbs in Croatia as constituent nation of SR Croatia, but with the Constitutional amendments of 1971 this was now explicitly done in order to guarantee the rights of the Serbs in Croatia. This formulation implied that Croatia was not the national state of the Croats, but stated that Croatia was the land of Croats and Serbs.^[35] Then, on 22 December 1990, HDZ government of Franjo Tuđman promulgated a new Croatian constitution that changed the wording with regard to Serbs of Croatia. In the first paragraph of the Article 12, Croatian was specified as the official language and alphabet, and dual-language road signs were torn down even in Serb majority areas.^[36] Furthermore, a number of Serbs were removed from the bureaucracies and the police and replaced by ethnic Croats.^[36] Many Serbs in government lost their jobs, and HDZ made themselves target of Serbian propaganda by having party members attempting to rehabilitate the WWII Croatian fascist movement Ustaše, or by saying that the numbers of people killed in Jasenovac concentration camp were inflated.^[37] The party representing the interests of Serbs in Croatia, the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS), which rejected the new constitution,^[36] began building its own national governmental entity in order to preserve rights that Serbs saw as being stripped away and to enhance the sovereignty of the Croatian Serbs.^[38]

War in Croatia

Amid political changes during the breakup of Yugoslavia and following the Croatian Democratic Union's victory in the 1990 general election, the Croatian Parliament ratified a new constitution in December 1990 where Serbs were listed with other nations and minorities.^{[39][40][41][42][43]} On a practical level, it became obvious that jobs, property rights, and even residence status depended on having Croatian citizenship, which was not an automatic right for non-Croats.^[44]

The percentage of those declaring themselves as Serbs, according to the 1991 census, was 12.2% (78.1% of the population declared itself to be Croat). Although today Serbs are able to return to Croatia, in reality a majority of Serbs who left during organized evacuation^[45] (citing:^[46][47][48] see section "Literature")^[49] in 1995 choose to remain citizens of other countries in which they gained citizenship. Consequently, today Serbs constitute 4% of Croatian population, down from the prewar population of 12%.

Before the Croatian War of Independence, part of the Croatian Serbs rebelled ("balvan revolucija") and led a military campaign against the Croatian state, creating an unrecognized state called Republic of Serbian Krajina in hopes of achieving independence, international recognition, and complete self-governance from the government of Croatia. The rebellion was incited from Serbia. As the popularity of the unification of Serbian people into a Greater Serbia with Serbia proper increased, the rebellion against the Croatian rule also increased. While some Serb politicians from Croatia sought a peaceful solution, others organized Serb parties in the Croatian government-controlled areas, like Milan Đukić; some of them (Veljko Džakula) unsuccessfully tried to organize the parties in the rebelled areas, but their work was prevented by Serb warmongers.^[50]

The Republic of Krajina had de facto control over one third of Croatian territory during its existence between 1991 to 1995 but failed to gain international recognition.

The war ended with a military success in Operation Storm in 1995 and subsequent peaceful reintegration of the remaining renegade territory in eastern Slavonia in 1998 as a result of the signed Erdut Agreement from 1995. Local Serbs are, on the ground that Agreement, established the Serb National Council and gained the right to establish the Joint Council of Municipalities.

The exodus of Serbs in 1995 was prompted by the advance of the Croatian troops, but was mostly self-organized rather than forced.^[51][52] All Serbs were officially called upon to stay in Croatia shortly before the operation. Many Croat refugees moved to homes abandoned by Serbs during Operation Storm, ostensibly because their homes were destroyed by the Serbs.^[52] At the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia at The Hague, Milan Babić was indicted, pleaded guilty and was convicted for "persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds, a crime against humanity".^[53][54] Babić stated during his trial that "during the events, and in particular at the beginning of his political career, he was strongly influenced and misled by Serbian propaganda".^[55]

A small minoriry of pre-war Serb population have returned to Croatia. Today, the majority of the pre-war Serb population from Croatia settled in Serbia and Republika Srpska.^[56]

Modern Croatia

Tension and violence between Serbs and Croats has reduced since 2000 and has remained low to this day, however, significant problems remain.^[57] The participation of the largest Serb party SDSS in the Croatian Government of Ivo Sanader eased tensions to an extent, but the refugee situation is still politically sensitive. The main issue is high-level official and social discrimination against the Serbs.^[58] At the height levels of the government, new laws are continuously being introduced in order to combat this discrimination, thus, demonstrating an effort on the part of government.^[57] For example, lengthy and in some cases unfair proceedings,^[57] particularly in lower level courts, remain a major problem for Serbian returnees pursuing their rights in court.^[57] In addition, Serbs continue to be discriminated against in access to employment and in realizing other economic and social rights.^[59] Also some cases of violence and harassment against Croatian Serbs continue to be reported.^[57]

The property laws allegedly favor Bosnian Croats refugees who took residence in houses that were left unoccupied and unguarded by Serbs after Operation Storm.^[57] Amnesty International's 2005 report considers one of the greatest obstacles to the return of thousands of Croatian Serbs has been the failure of the Croatian authorities to provide adequate housing solutions to Croatian Serbs who were stripped of their occupancy rights, including where possible by reinstating occupancy rights to those who had been affected by their discriminatory termination.^[57]

The European Court of Human Rights decided against Croatian Serb Kristina Blečić, stripped her of occupancy rights after leaving her house in 1991 in Zadar.^[60] In 2009, the UN Human Rights Committee found a wartime termination of occupancy rights of a Serbian family to violate ICCPR.^[61] In 2010, the European Committee on Social Rights found the treatment of Serbs in Croatia in respect of housing to be discriminatory and too slow, thus in violation of Croatia's obligations under the European Social Charter.^[62]

In 2015 Amnesty International report that Croatian Serbs continued to face discrimination in public sector employment and the restitution of tenancy rights to social housing vacated during the war.^[63]

Demographics

According to the 2011 census there were 186,633 ethnic Serbs living in Croatia, 4.4% of the total population. Their number was reduced by more than two thirds in the aftermath of the 1991–95 War in Croatia as the 1991 pre-war census had reported 581,663 Serbs living in Croatia, 12.2% of the total population.

Year	Serbs	%
1900[65]	548,302	17.35%
1910[65]	564,214	16.60%
1921[65]	584,058	16.94%
1931[65]	636,518	16.81%
1948[66]	543,795	14.47%
1953[67]	588,411	15.01%
1961[68]	624,956	15.02%
1971[65]	626,789	14.16%
1981[65]	531,502	11.55%
1991[65]	581,663	12.16%
2001	201,631	4.54%
2011	186,633	4.36%

Counties

Counties with significant Serb minority (10% or more):^[69]

County	Serbs	%
Vukovar-Srijem County	27,824	15.50%
Lika-Senj County	6,949	13.65%
Sisak-Moslavina County	21,002	12.18%
Šibenik-Knin County	11,518	10.53%
Karlovac County	13,408	10.40%

Cities

Cities with significant Serb minority (10% or more):

Municipalities

Municipalities with significant Serb population (10% or more):

Culture

Serbs in Croatia have cultural traditions ranging from kolo dances and singing, which are kept alive today by performances by various folklore groups. Notable traditions include gusle, Ojkanje singing, Čuvari Hristovog groba.

Religion

Serbs of Croatia are Serbian Orthodox. There are many Orthodox monasteries across Croatia, built since the 14th century. Most notable and historically significant are the Krka monastery, Krupa monastery, Dragović monastery, Lepavina Monastery and Gomirje monastery. Many Orthodox churches were demolished during World War II and Yugoslav war, while some were rebuilt by the EU funding, Croatian government and Serbian diaspora donations.^[70]

In the 1560s a Serbian Orthodox bishop was installed in the Metropolitanate of Požega, seated in the monastery of Remeta.^[71] In the 17th century, the Eparchy of Marča was founded at Marča, in the Croatian frontier.^[71] These were part of the Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate of Peć, which was reestablished in 1557, and lasted under Ottoman governance until 1766.^[71] Other bishoprics were founded, although their approval by the Habsburgs hinged on the belief that they would facilitate the union of these Orthodox Christians with the Catholic Church, and in fact, many, including some Orthodox bishops, did unify with Rome.^[71]

Serbs in the Croatian Military Frontier were out of the jurisdiction of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć and in 1611, and after demands from the community, the Pope established the Eparchy of Marča (Vratanija) with seat at the Serbian-built Marča Monastery, with a Byzantine vicar instated as bishop sub-ordinate to the Roman Catholic bishop of Zagreb - working to bring Serbian Orthodox Christians into communion with Rome, which caused struggle of power between the Catholics and the Serbs over the region.^[29][30]

In 1695 Orthodox Eparchy of Lika-Krbava and Zrinopolje was established by metropolitan Atanasije Ljubojević and certified by Emperor Josef I in 1707. In 1735 the Serbian Orthodox protested in the Marča Monastery and became part of the Serbian Orthodox Church until 1753 when the Pope restored the Roman Catholic clergy. On June 17, 1777 the Eparchy of Križevci was permanently established by Pope Pius VI with its Episcopal see at Križevci, near Zagreb, thus forming the Croatian Greek Catholic Church which would after World War I include other people; the Rusyns and ethnic Ukrainians of Yugoslavia.^[29][30]

Jovan, the Metropolitan of Zagreb and Ljubljana, stated that c. 30,000 Serbs had converted to Catholicism since the Operation Oluja (1995).^[72] In the 2011 census, regarding religious affiliation, c. 40,000 declared as "Serbs of the Orthodox faith", while 160,000 declared as "Orthodox".^[72]

Language

Serbian language is officially used in 23 cities and municipalities in Croatia.^[73]

In April 2015 United Nations Human Rights Committee has urged Croatia to ensure the right of minorities to use their language and alphabet.^[74] Committee report stated that particularly concerns the use of Serbian Cyrillic in the town of Vukovar and municipalities concerned.^[74] Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić said that his country welcomes the UN Human Rights Committee's report.^[75]

Politics

Serbs are officially recognized as an autochthonous national minority, and as such, they elect three representatives to the Croatian Parliament.^[76]

The major Serb party in Croatia is the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS). In the elections of 2007 and 2011, the SDSS has won all 3 Serbian seats in the parliament. In the Cabinet of Ivo Sanader II, the party was part of the ruling coalition led by the conservative Croatian Democratic Union, and SDSS member Slobodan Uzelac held the post of Deputy Prime Minister.

There are also ethnic Serb politicians who are members of mainstream political parties, such as the centre-left Social Democratic Party's MPs and Milanović cabinet members Željko Jovanović, Branko Grčić and Milanka Opačić.

Community in Serbia

Some 350,000 Serbs were resettled in Serbia during and after the Croatian War, of which the larger part took Serbian citizenship.^[77] In 2002, there were 284.334 Serbs from Croatia living in Serbia (without Kosovo). The majority lived in Vojvodina (127.884), then in Central and South Serbia (114.434). The largest part of the community stated that they wanted integration (60,6%), while only 4,3% wanted to return, while there were 27,4% who were undecided.^[78] In 2013, ca. 45,000 from Croatia still had refugee status in Serbia.^[77][79]

Notable people

Jelena Nemanjić Šubić

Stojan Janković

Zaharije Orfelin

Patriarch Josif

Nikodim Milaš

Patriarch Pavle

Nikola Tesla

Milutin Milanković

Simo Matavulj

Matija Ban

Svetozar Pribićević

Dejan Medaković

Vojin Bakić

Jovanka Broz

Rade Šerbedžija

Arsen Dedić

Petar Kralj

Božidar Maljković

Bogdan Diklić

Milorad Pupovac

Milan Mladenović

Vladimir Beara

Peja Stojaković

Jasna Šekarić

Siniša Mihajlović

Artists

• Medo Pucic (1821-1882) - writer and politician
• Vladan Desnica (1905–1967) - writer
• Vojin Jelić (1921–2004) - poet
• Simo Matavulj (1852–1908) - novelist
• Lukijan Mušicki (1777–1837) - notable Baroque poet, writer and polyglot^[80]
• Zaharije Orfelin (1726–1785) - 18th-century polymath^[81]
• Božidar Petranović (1809–1874) - author, scholar, and journalist^[82]
• Petar Preradović (1818–1872) - poet and Austrian general^[83]
• Josif Runjanin (1821–1878) - composer of the Croatian national anthem^[84]
• Rade Šerbedžija (born 1946) - film actor^[85]
• Petar Kralj (1941–2011), Serbian actor
• Bogdan Diklić (born 1953), Serbian actor
• Nives Celsius (born 1981) - Croatian socialite, model, singer and writer
• Konstantin Vojnović (1832–1903) politician, university professor and rector of the University of Zagreb
• Ivo Vojnović (1857–1929) - writer^[86]
• Toma Rosandić (1878–1958) - prominent sculptor
• Matija Ban (1818-1903) - poet, playwright

Scientists

• Nikodim Milaš (1845–1915) - bishop and perhaps the greatest Serbian expert on church law
• Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) - inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer
• Milutin Milanković (1879–1958) - geophysicist and civil engineer, best known for his theory of ice ages
• Jovan Karamata (1902–1967) - mathematician
• Mihailo Merćep (1864–1937) - notable cyclist and aviation pioneer
• Sima Ćirković (1929–2009) - historian
• Dejan Medaković (1922–2008) - historian and writer winner of the Herder Prize
• Sava Mrkalj (1783–1833) - linguist and poet
• Gajo Petrović (1927–1993) - philosopher
• Nikola Hajdin (1923) - construction engineer and President of SANU

Athletes

• Siniša Mihajlović (born 1969) - Serbian football manager and former player
• Vladimir Beara (1928-2014) - football player and manager
• Ilija Petković (bron 1945) - football player and manager
• Danijel Ljuboja (born 1978) - Serbian football player
• Ivan Ergić (born 1981) - Serbian football player
• Predrag Stojaković (born 1977) - Serbian basketball player^[87]
• Duško Savanović (born 1983) - Serbian basketball player
• Zoran Erceg (born 1985) - Serbian basketball player
• Milan Mačvan (born 1989) - Serbian basketball player
• Kosta Perović, Serbian basketballer player
• Aleks Marić (born 1984) - Australian basketball player
• Božidar Maljković, Serbian basketball coach, former player
• Nenad Čanak - Serbian basketball player and manager
• Jasna Šekarić (born 1965) - Serbian sports shooter, five-time Olympic medalist, World and European champion^[88]
• Damir Mikec, Serbian sports shooter
• Miloš Milošević, former Croatian swimmer
• Andrija Prlainović (born 1987) - Serbian water polo player, two-time Olympic medalist, World and European champion
• Jelena Dokic (born 1983) - tennis player, former World No.4
• Tanja Dragić (born 1991) - Serbian Paralympian athlete
• Ljubomir Vračarević, Serbian martial artist and founder of Real Aikido

Other

• Beloš Vukanović (1110–1198) - Serbian prince, Ban of Croatia between 1142 and 1163
• Gerasim Zelić (1752–1838)- Serbian Orthodox archimandrite, traveler, and writer
• Svetozar Boroević (1856–1920) - Austro-Hungarian Field Marshal
• Momčilo Đujić (1907–1999) - Commander in the WWII Chetnik movement
• Stevan Šupljikac (1786–1848) was a voivode (military commander) and the first Duke of the Serbian Vojvodina
• Stjepan Jovanović (1828–1885) - notable military commander of Austrian Empire
• Rade Končar (1911–1942) - communist leader and legendary WWII resistance fighter
• Boško Buha (1926–1943) - WWII resistance fighter
• Patriarch Pavle of Serbia (1914–2009) (born Gojko Stojčević) - former Patriarch of Serbia^[89]
• Svetozar Pribićević (1875–1936) - early 20th-century politician in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia^[90]
• Jovan Rašković (1929–1992) - politician who first called for a Serbian autonomy within Croatia in the 1990s
• Slavko Ćuruvija (1949–1999) - a journalist and newspaper publisher
• Josif Rajačić (1785–1861) - metropolitan of Sremski Karlovci, Serbian patriarch, administrator of Serbian Vojvodina and baron^[91]
• Jovo Stanisavljević Čaruga (1897–1925) - legendary outlaw in early 20th-century Slavonia
• Mirko Marjanović (1937–2006) - a former Prime Minister of Serbia and a high-ranking official in Slobodan Milošević's Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS)
• Nada Dimić (1923-1942) - a Yugoslav communist and People's Hero of Yugoslavia
• Milan Babić (1956–2006) - former first president of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina, convicted of war crimes, sentenced to 13 years in prison, committed suicide in his prison cell
• Vlado Georgiev (born 1976) - a Serbian pop singer, composer, and lyrics writer

See also

• Serbs
• Serb National Council, elected body acting as a form of self-government and institution of cultural autonomy
• Joint Council of Municipalities
• Independent Democratic Serb Party
• Republic of Serbian Krajina
• Prosvjeta, Croatian Serb Cultural Society
• Serbian Orthodox Secondary School in Zagreb
• Novosti (Croatia)
• Radio Borovo

References

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  • Drugi Period, IV: Pokrštavanje Južnih Slovena
  • Istorija Srpskog Naroda, Srbi između Vizantije, Hrvatske i Bugarske
• UNHCR document, The Status of the Croatian Serb Population in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Tomasevich, Jozo (1975). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945: The Chetniks 1. San Francisco: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-0857-6. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Serbs of Croatia.

• D. Roksandić, Srbi u Hrvatskoj — od 15. stoljeća do današnjih dana, Vjesnik, Zagreb 1991.
• The Serbs in the Former SR of Croatia
• Tradition chest adornment worn in Kninska Krajina
• Croatian census 2001 (see "Censuses" at Crostat Database)
• Post war life

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Serbs of Croatia Cultural identity Serbian language in Croatia Flag of Serbs of Croatia National coordination Serb National Council Sui generis body Joint Council of Municipalities NGOs Association for Serbian language and literature in Croatia Privrednik Prosvjeta Serb Democratic Forum Media Bijela pčela Identitet Novosti magazine Radio Borovo Radio Television of Serbia Education Primary education 17 primary schools Vukovar-Srijem County Ilača-Banovci Vinkovački Banovci Bobota Borovo Bršadin Dragutin Tadijanović Klisa Ludvinci Markušica Gaboš Ostrovo Nikola Tesla Negoslavci Nikola Antić Pačetin Siniša Glavašević Srijemske Laze Stari Jankovci Trpinja Vera Osijek-Baranja County Bijelo Brdo Bolman Dalj Dr. Franjo Tuđman Jagodnjak Tenja Uglješ Secondary education 7 schools Dalj High School Kantakuzina Katarina Branković Serbian Orthodox Secondary School Second High School Beli Manastir Technical School-Nikola Tesla, Borovo Naselje Vukovar Gymnasium Vukovar Vocational School Other Seminary of Three Holy Hierarchs (Krka monastery) Cultural and Scientific Center "Milutin Milanković" (Dalj) Prosvjeta Summer School Peroj (since 1996) Prosvjeta Winter School Drežnica (since 1996) Religion Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana Eparchy of Osječko polje and Baranja Eparchy of Gornji Karlovac Eparchy of Slavonia Eparchy of Dalmatia Eparchy of Srem Eparchy of Zahumlje and Herzegovina List of Serbian Orthodox Churches and Monasteries in Croatia Political parties Democratic Party of Serbs Independent Democratic Serb Party New Serbian Party Our Party Party of Danube Serbs Serb People's Party Symbols Order of Kantakuzina Katarina Branković History Historical organizations and institutions Croat-Serb Coalition Museum of Serbs of Croatia Serbian Chancellery in Dubrovnik Serb Independent Party Serb People's Radical Party Historical events 1991 riot in Zadar Anti-Cyrillic protests in Croatia Historical documents Varaždin Apostol (1454) Statuta Valachorum (1608–30) Open Letter on the Position and Status of Serbs in Croatia (2008) World War II General Persecution of Serbs Yugoslav Partisans Croatian Orthodox Church Catholic clergy involvement with the Ustaše Srb uprising Concentration camps Jadovno concentration camp Jasenovac concentration camp Jastrebarsko concentration camp Sisak children's concentration camp Stara Gradiška concentration camp Massacres Glina massacres Gudovac massacre Prebilovci massacre Veljun massacre War in Croatia Origins Log Revolution (1990) Military offensives Operation Flash (May 1995) Operation Storm (August 1995) Serbian regions Republic of Serbian Krajina SAO Krajina SAO Western Slavonia SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia Krajina dinar Flag Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia (1995–98) UNTAES Serbian forces Army of the Republic of Serb Krajina Scorpions Serb Volunteer Guard White Eagles Atrocities by Serbian forces Siege of Kijevo (1991) Bučje camp Baćin massacre Vukovar massacre Bruška massacre Dalj massacre Erdut killings Joševica massacre Knin camp Lovas killings Saborsko massacre Široka Kula massacre Škabrnja massacre Velepromet camp Voćin massacre Zagreb rocket attacks Atrocities against Serbs Paulin Dvor massacre Murder of the Zec family Gospić massacre Lora prison camp Varivode massacre Diplomacy Vance plan (1991) Daruvar Agreement (1993) Z-4 Plan (1995) Erdut Agreement (1995)