Statues — And Their Sources

 More statues!

Hence the flowers

Taras Shevchenko (1814-1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public, and political figure, folklorist and ethnographer. According to Wikipedia, "he wrote poetry in Ukrainian and prose in Russian ... making him one of many iconic figures which belong to several Slavic language cultures." In addition, Wikipedia reports, "his literary heritage, in particular the poetry collection Kobzar, is regarded to be the foundation of modern Ukrainian literature and to some degree, the modern Ukrainian language."

A self-portrait, from 1841

Shows the sort of pan-Slavic identity Montenegro celebrates.

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Jovan Tomašević (1892-1924)

Jovan was apparently a lawyer and organizer of the Communist Party in Montenegro. According to Wikipedia, "in the years after his death, communists in Montenegro gathered at his grave, [and] after World War II, his birthplace was converted into a memorial museum." In addition, it appears several schools in Montenegro are named after him, and one of the streets near this monument is named after him.

How bizarre. To continue to honor a man who lived his life with the goal of making life better for his countrymen and eliminating inequality and oppression — a Communist!

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Ivan Milutinović (1901 – 1944)

Ivan was a Yugoslav Partisan general and military commander who in 1940 was elected as a member of Politburo and then became during WWII became commander of the Partisan forces in Montenegro. 

He died on October 23, 1944, when a small boat which was transporting him to Belgrade hit a naval mine in the Danube. He was decorated with the Order of the People's Hero, and his remains were buried in the Tomb of People's Heroes in Belgrade.

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Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš (1841–1921) 

Nikola — who shared my birthday! — was the last monarch of Montenegro, reigning as prince from 1860 to 1910 and as the country's first and only king from 1910 to 1918. His grandsons included kings Alexander I of Yugoslavia, Umberto II of Italy, and Sergei Georgievich.

Interesting, it seems to me, that we have monarchical statues in such close proximity to those of various Communist leaders. Prominence is prominence, I guess!

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Let's finish strong.

Josip Broz (Tito) (1892-1980)

I mean, if you don't know who Tito was, you're either very young, or not much interested in global politics (or history). Here's Wikipedia's introduction:

Josip Broz, commonly known as Tito, was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 until his death in 1980. During World War II, he led the Yugoslav Partisans, often regarded as the most effective resistance movement in German-occupied Europe. Following Yugoslavia's liberation in 1945, he served as its prime minister from 1945 to 1963, and president from 1953 until his death in 1980. 

It also turns out that Podgorica was known as Titograd from 1946 to 1992, which I should definitely remember, but ... don't. Turns out that's why Podgorica's international airport is still identified by the code TGD.

Tito in 1962, showing his whimsical side

It's not completely fair to blame Tito for the Balkan Wars that arose in the decades following his death, it seems to me. He was not responsible for tying the countries of Yugoslavia (Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Slovenia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina) together in the first place, after all — the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was former in 1918 — and he was long gone by the time they started pulling apart, in the 1990s. But to the extent he was the one responsible for holding all these disparate entities together, the eventual dissolution of Yugoslavia following the fall of Communism was almost inevitable, and it's not likely he would have been much more generous or tolerant of that dissolution than those far-less-charismatic leaders who followed him were.

Still, the fact that his statue remains up suggests he continues to hold a place of some regard in at least this republic, if not others. I'll need to explore.