Your Own Belgrade. The White Emigration in Serbia in the Wake of the Russian Revolution
Life of Russian anti-bolshevik refugees in Serbia
PRIVATE TOUR
After the Bolshevik revolution, between 1 to 2 million people left Russia over three years. Up to a hundred thousand ended up in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. This influx of people certainly wasn't trivial for a country of this size. Russian emigration certainly left a very notable mark in the capital city of Belgrade. Was it a good or bad mark? Let's walk around, observe and figure it out for ourselves.
Why did so many Russian emigrants settle here? What are Nansen passports and why are they being mentioned again today? How did the Kingdom dare to do what even stronger countries never would - to host a fully-trained and even partially-weaponised army of another country? Let's find out! And while we do, let's try to solve a challenging question - how would you organise such an army in exile in a way that it would not:
But, above all else, we will be talking about people. People of different political and social backgrounds, education, and age. Together, we will try to view Belgrade through the eyes of people who were forced to leave their homeland and found themselves in a completely foreign country. What surprised them? How did they earn a living? How did they entertain themselves, how did they dress, what did they eat and drink? What did they argue with each other about? Why did they have conflicts with locals? And how did each individual answer an impossible moral question on the eve of the Second World War: who was worse - the Nazis or the Communists? Of course, we will also examine all this from the other perspective - through the eyes of the locals. Finally, we will find out why Russian emigrants disappeared from Serbia and when this happened.
Why did so many Russian emigrants settle here? What are Nansen passports and why are they being mentioned again today? How did the Kingdom dare to do what even stronger countries never would - to host a fully-trained and even partially-weaponised army of another country? Let's find out! And while we do, let's try to solve a challenging question - how would you organise such an army in exile in a way that it would not:
- overthrow anyone,
- conquer parts of the country,
- or starve to death
But, above all else, we will be talking about people. People of different political and social backgrounds, education, and age. Together, we will try to view Belgrade through the eyes of people who were forced to leave their homeland and found themselves in a completely foreign country. What surprised them? How did they earn a living? How did they entertain themselves, how did they dress, what did they eat and drink? What did they argue with each other about? Why did they have conflicts with locals? And how did each individual answer an impossible moral question on the eve of the Second World War: who was worse - the Nazis or the Communists? Of course, we will also examine all this from the other perspective - through the eyes of the locals. Finally, we will find out why Russian emigrants disappeared from Serbia and when this happened.
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Time:
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On a day convenient for you
At a time convenient for you
3,5 hours
private
English/Russian
€182 for a group of 1-4 people
At a time convenient for you
3,5 hours
private
English/Russian
€182 for a group of 1-4 people
(for a larger group € 45 per each additional participant)
Read more about the tour
This tour takes you through Belgrade's most beautiful sites. We will meet you at St. Mark's Cathedral. From there, we will walk to the Russian church where Baron Wrangel is buried. While walking through a picturesque, formerly royal park, we will look for a "Russian footprint" in the city's architecture: we will see the Serbian Parliament and the buildings of the post office, the General Staff and ministries. We will talk about the contribution of Russian architects to Belgrade's current appearance and why this is not acknowledged quite so straightforwardly. We will pass by the Royal Palaces and the monument to Nicholas II. And this is a wonderful opportunity to talk about the special relationship between these two dynasties.
We'll take a walk down a street that used to be filled with craft workshops and is now taken over by designers. In the luxurious interiors of the "Moskva" Hotel, we'll have a coffee and try the "Moskva" and "Aurora" cakes, prepared according to a half-century-old recipe. And while we're there, why not take a peek at Belgrade's beau monde?!
We will walk to the National Theatre, where Russian ballerinas performed and scenic designers, choreographers, and directors worked. We will learn about "street songs" and find out who is worth remembering with kind words whenever you hear a choir singing in Serbia. We will see Belgrade University and the Academy of Sciences and Arts, and we will talk about the fate of emigrant scientists. We will visit the Gavrilo Princip square and talk about the role of the First World War and this incident's role in world history. And, of course, we will visit many places that Russian emigrants would visit a century ago. Places that still stand today and are open for us to visit!
This is a very informative tour. But we will definitely find time to have fun, eat delicious food and have a good laugh because you can't visit Serbia without all that. That's what makes it such a wonderful country! Join us!
We'll take a walk down a street that used to be filled with craft workshops and is now taken over by designers. In the luxurious interiors of the "Moskva" Hotel, we'll have a coffee and try the "Moskva" and "Aurora" cakes, prepared according to a half-century-old recipe. And while we're there, why not take a peek at Belgrade's beau monde?!
We will walk to the National Theatre, where Russian ballerinas performed and scenic designers, choreographers, and directors worked. We will learn about "street songs" and find out who is worth remembering with kind words whenever you hear a choir singing in Serbia. We will see Belgrade University and the Academy of Sciences and Arts, and we will talk about the fate of emigrant scientists. We will visit the Gavrilo Princip square and talk about the role of the First World War and this incident's role in world history. And, of course, we will visit many places that Russian emigrants would visit a century ago. Places that still stand today and are open for us to visit!
This is a very informative tour. But we will definitely find time to have fun, eat delicious food and have a good laugh because you can't visit Serbia without all that. That's what makes it such a wonderful country! Join us!
It's advisable to decide on tours you would like to take as early as possible, ideally to book them right after buying your airplane tickets. That way we will make sure we have a guide for you and our meeting will definitely take place :) If you make a last-minute decision to take a tour, do not hesitate to contact us either. We will do our best to arrange a guide for you to show you the country.
We will definitely agree on it well in advance! Then, two days before the tour date, a reminding email with the name and the phone number of your guide, the exact location of the meeting point and its photo will be sent to you. Please do not miss this letter. Thanks! :)
Sure. We love to plan individual programs more than anything else. In addition to our existing tours, a boat or a yacht trip could be included; a hot air balloon flight, designer shops and art gallery tours, various workshops, tastings, university tours, castle visiting and much, much more. In addition, we adore arranging multi-day bicycle trip programs around the country. Arranging an individual program is a paid service. Let us know your personal wishes and we will do our best to make it happen!
Perhaps, you still have some questions. This is what we get asked about most of the time.
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We have many tours
in the Netherlands, Morocco,
Serbia, Hungary, and Belgium.
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+31645728768
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in the Netherlands, Morocco,
Serbia, Hungary, and Belgium.
You can also book a Tailored Travel Itinerary.
+31645728768
hi@snurk.travel
For Agencies
See you soon!
Photos by Anastasia Afonina, Diana Tamarova, Sergey Rozanov, Olga Tolstova, Oleksander Vladimirov, Maria Kuzmicheva, Irina Miftakhova, Yulia Bogdanova, Mihael Zholubovskiy, Irina Novichkova, Anna Dyerjabina, Elias Ouaghrib Fosset.
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