Ancestors And Descendants

A hundred years ago, a magnificent celebration was mounted for the 400th anniversary of the Crnojevic Printing Works in Cetinje, ``in a patriotic euphoria'' and with a wish for the ``descendants to be like their forebears.'' At the time no one could have dreamed of the way in which the 500th anniversary would be marked by the descendants.

One hundred years ago, it was not just the Montenegrin dignitaries who attended the ceremony, a part of Europe's cultural elite was also presentthose who knew how to appreciate the fact that only 40 years after Gutenberg had invented the printing press, the first Slav printing works with Cyrillic letters had been opened in the land of the south Slavs. This was the second printing works among the Slavs, but the first state printing works in the world.

After Montenegro's recognition at the Berlin Congress, this jubilee caught the attention of the world and resulted in a general celebration. One hundred and forty guests from 17 European countries, universities and academies of arts and sciences visited Cetinje, the capital of Montenegro at the time. The celebration was held in July and lasted five days. Montenegro's Prince Nikola Petrovic hosted a lunch for 800 guests. Domestic cultural figures and guests exchanged toasts.

The guests came from France, England, Russia, the Kingdom of Serbia, Vojvodina, Croatia, Istria, Trieste, Galicia, the Czech lands, Dalmatia, Dubrovnik, BosniaHerzegovina, Boka, Old Serbia, Albania... Chroniclers recorded the ovations which followed Tsar Alexander III of Russia's message to Prince Nikola, and a book commemorating the occasion carried the toasts and speeches made by important figures and those representing Europe's cultural institutions at the time.

At the 400th celebration of the first printing works in Montenegro, Europe opened its doors to the small princedom. Montenegro entered a period of renaissance which lasted several years. Schools, cultural institutions, sports grounds were built. Printing and journalism expanded. Thanks to Europe's aid and goodwill, Montenegro's development culminated with it being declared a kingdom.

Even Montenegrin President Momir Bulatovic could not avoid this fact. In his speech during the celebration marking the 500th anniversary of the printing works, Bulatovic said: ``Montenegro was treated as an equal by the leading European cultural and scientific elite of the time.''

However, Cetinje never looked as depressing as it did that January 17, while Bulatovic held his speech. The approaches to Cetinje were guarded by heavy police forces, while the city streets were full of special police armed to the teeth. There were no citizens on the streets, and Cetinje resembled an occupied city. Numerous guests were invited to the celebration, but only some representatives of countries which had had their embassies in the once sovereign and independent Montenegro (England, Russia, Italy and Greece) came. The President of Yugoslavia, Zoran Lilic did not come, nor did Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.

The celebration resembled a wedding ceremony without the wedding entourage, in fact it had nothing in common with the celebration of one hundred years ago. At the time, Montenegro could be reached from any place in the world. Today, Montenegro is condemned to life in quarantine. The celebration lacked joy. President Bulatovic was not toasted. The universities of Oxford, Petrograd, Warsaw remained mum. None of them proclaimed President Bulatovic an honorary member. President Yeltsin did not send a congratulatory telegram. Many scientists distanced themselves from the celebration. The polemic over the name of the jubilee lasted too long, and ended in a compromise: ``500 years since the first printed book in the cyrillic alphabet in the Slav south.'' Belgrade did not like this, and announced it in the media as a jubilee of Serbian printing works. An insistence on the word ``Serbian'' and avoiding to mention the state of Montenegro, helped cut down the number of Montenegro's Academy of Arts and Sciences members who were prepared to attend the celebration. President Bulatovic did his best to explain what it was that made Montenegro stand out in the world's spiritual heritage for the past 500 years.

``The citizens of Montenegro have decided that modern day Montenegro will remain faithful to the values on which it has been based for centuries. In the spiritual sense this is the Orthodox faith, and as far as the state is concerned, it is the MontenegrinSerbianYugoslavSlav line, and universal human values.''

Who of the Montenegrin rulers will be mentioned at Cetinje in centuries to come, remains to be seen. One thing is certain, the current Montenegrin President cannot stroll through Cetinje freely. Several months ago, on a similar occasion the citizens of Cetinje expressed their disapproval of Bulatovic by throwing stones at him. This time his presence in Cetinje was ignored, the citizens stayed at home.