Čigoja Press, the Institute for Recent History of Serbia, the Institute of European Studies and the Šaper Foundation have published
A book by Ambassador Dušan Spasojević
GREECE
The war of Independence, the Creation of the State and the Rebirth of the Nation
The book “Grčka. Rat za nezavisnost, stvaranje države i preporod nacije”, by Serbian Ambassador to Athens Dušan Spasojević is the first book in Serbian language dealing with the topic of today’s Greece, the foundations on which the modern Greek state was established, and the national identity of modern Greeks was created. It was created as a result of many years of dedicated work, which included research of extensive archival material and literature, including Greek, the language the author speaks. It is a special edition in a joint venture of the publishing house Čigoja Press, the Institute for Recent History of Serbia, the Institute of European Studies and the Šaper Foundation. The book, whose reviewers are three eminent historians, professors Milan Ristović and Spyridon Sfetas from the Universities of Belgrade and Thessaloniki, and the director of the Institute for Recent History, Dr. Mile Bjelajac, comes on the 200th anniversary of the struggle for the liberation of Greeks from the Turkish occupation.
In the joint preface to the book by Prof. Milan Ristović and Prof. Spyridon Sfetas states that “Spasojević, while carefully unraveling the tangle of events, influences, personalities, introduces the reader to a complex web of opposing relations of the 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 from the first days of the existence 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 over the championship and power, giving biographically accurately drawn characters of key figures”, and that he “points to the connection between the Serbian and Greek movements, mutual ties and influences. and their different paths and features and dynamics. “
“This is a book of encyclopedic inspiration”, is the opinion of journalist and writer Radivoj Cvetićanin, who points out that Spasojević “like his great role model Slobodan Jovanović perceives history as a perfect, great story”, and that “he actually told it here”. Politician’s columnist Boško Jakšić estimates that Spasojević mastered the abundance of material “historically in detail and in writing clearly and easily”, and gave “a valuable contribution to the histories of Greece, Serbia, the Balkans and Europe”. Historian Dr. Mile Bjelajac believes that “Ambassador Spasojević with his beautifully written book brings every part of Greece in a special way, to any Serb traveller, tourist or journalist, and that the history of the great uprising and the beginnings of the independence unobtrusively creates a picture of Serbian own history of suffering under the 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 gave us much more than a reliable guide through the period in which the Greek state and modern nation were created, he gave us a valuable epistemological starting point for the serious characterology of the Greeks.”
The author of the book “Grčka. Rat za nezavisnost, stvaranje države i preporod nacije” Dušan Spasojević has graduated from the Faculty of Law in Belgrade, and has a master’s degree in international relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Between 2000 and in 2013 he performed the duties of the Chief of the Cabinet of the Federal Minister of the Interior, Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of the Republic, Assistant Minister and State Secretary of Defense, as well as the Ambassador of Serbia to Turkey. Since 2016, he has been the Serbian ambassador to Greece. In earlier political science studies and essays, mostly on international relations, including the book “Between Turkey and Europe” [“Između Turske i Evrope”], Spasojević showed scientific passion and thoroughness in studying the material, and, at the same time, a talent to express it in a modern way, combining reliability with interesting presentations. He achieved such an approach in this latest book of his, which we are pleased to publish.
The book has 416 pages, is equipped with a rich critical apparatus, the most selected illustrations and extremely useful, specially made, geographical maps, which faithfully reflect historical processes. The book will be available in all better bookstores in Serbia, Montenegro and Republika Srpska.