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Internal Affairs of the Kingdom of Serbia
Topic Started: Aug 3 2014, 04:37 PM (264 Views)
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June 1900

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King Alexander and his fiancee, Madame Draga Mašin

A great scandal has erupted in Belgrade following the latest announcement that King Aleksandar had become engaged to Madame Draga Mašin.

Madame Mašin, who was a lady-in-waiting of Dowager Queen Natalija, is a widow of late Czech engineer Svetozar Mašin, and 12 years older than Alexander.

As news of the engagement spread, both the public and public figures became enraged.

Former King Milan, commander-in-chief of the Army and Aleksandar's father, was at the time of the announcement in Karlovy Vary - among other reasons for his visit to the KuK Monarchy, he was attempting to secure the hand of German princess Alexandra zu Schaumburg-Lippe for his son. As the news of the engagement spread, enraged Milan resigned his commission in the Army and left for Belgrade.

In addition, Aleksandar's political ally, Prime Minister Vladan Đorđević, also resigned his position over the matter.

The wedding is to be held on August 5, 1900.
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August 1900

The wedding ceremony of King Aleksandar and Madame Mašin was held on August 5, 1900, with Tsar Nicholas II acting as the principal witness of the King.

Despite the Tsar's endorsement, the union is still largely unpopular with the Serbian people. The public now views Aleksandar as a besotted young fool in the power of a wicked seductress. In defense of his marriage, Aleksandar has went even so far to exhile his mother, Dowager Queen Natalija, from the Kingdom for refusing to support the union.

The Army is growing restless, especially with the resignation of the popular commander-in-chief Milan Obrenović. In addition, rumours are spreading that the elder brother of Queen Draga, an unpopular officer in the Army, is to be named heir to the throne - these rumors have destabilised the King's position in the eyes of the officers even more.
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September 1900

With the wedding of King Alexander still causing great mayhem in Serbian politics, the King found it hard to appoint a new Prime Minister due to the fact that no politician wanted to compromise himself by supporting the King's marriage.

The crisis ended on September 12, when the famous judge and former Minister of Justice Aleksa Jovanović received the mandate from the King to form a new Government, which is already called the Wedding Government (svadbeno ministarstvo).

One of the first measures of the Government, allegedly forced through by the King, was to deny former King Milan the right to return to Serbia, on the basis of his opposition to the marriage. This has caused great outrage among the Army officers, among whom the former King is very popular.
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January 1901

As part of the New Year celebrations, King Aleksandar has seen fit to grant amnesty to several members of the People's Radical Party, including Nikola Pašić, one of the most distinguished members of the Party.

Nikola Pašić was imprisoned in 1899 following a controversial trial in the aftermath of the Ivanjdan assassination attempt on former King Milan. Despite no official connection being made between the assassin, Đura Knežević, and Mr Pašić, Mr Pašić was nonetheless imprisoned for his apparent role in the assassination attempt - presumably under the pressure of Milan Obrenović, leading to a great rise in discontent from the people.

Mr Pašić has announced that he will in due time continue with his political activities, but that he wishes to dedicate himself to personal affairs for the time being.
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February 1901

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Milan Obrenović (Marasesti, 22 August 1854 - Vienna, 11 February 1901)


The Royal Court has issued an announcement that former King Milan died unexpectedly in Vienna on February 11 at the age of 46.

Despite being banished from Serbia and his unpopularity with the Serbian people, King Milan will be remembered in the history of Serbia as a modern ruler and the first King of Serbia. His work on the modernisation of the Army has brought the Serbian Army into the 20th century, in line with the modern armies of Europe.
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June 1901

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Mihailo Vujić

Following the release of Nikola Pašić and other champions of the People's Radical Party, King Aleksandar has gone further in his attempt to appease the people by asking Mihailo Vujić, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the administration of Aleksa Jovanović, to form a new Government which would include the Radicals.

Mr Vujić is a recognised expert on economic matters, and one of the masterminds of the tax reforms of 1884, which enacted one of the most modern and fair tax systems in eastern Europe.

While being more popular than his predecessor, the cooperation with the King's men has caused a rift in the Radical Party, with the more extreme politicians seceding to form the Independent Radical Party. Many speculate that this was a deliberate move by the King, who is aware that any action against the Radicals would strengthen his own position. Nonetheless, the political situation in Belgrade grows more tense with each passing day, as the King still refuses to pass any meaningful political reforms.
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December 1901

The Royal Court is abuzz with joy as Queen Draga is considered to be pregnant with King Aleksandar.

Despite these news, the feelings of the wider populace towards the couple still remain hostile. To counter this, Aleksandar has announced that he is preparing a new constitution which would bring more freedoms and rights to the people, who are wary of this measure.
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March 1902

A series of new scandals has struck the Serbian Court, causing an even great rift between the Serbian people and King Alexander.

The first scandal erupted as news spread that Queen Draga was not pregnant, causing shock in the royal family. Rumours began to spread among the people that Queen Draga was in fact infertile, and hand in hand with that rumour, the people began gossiping that the King would name Queen Draga's brother, Nikodije Lunjevica, as his heir apparent should the royal couple fail to produce an heir on their own.

The second scandal erupted mere weeks later. With growing unpopularity of the King and Serbia's international reputation tarnished by instability and the Queen's false pregnancy, Tsar Nicholas refused to accept the King and Queen at St. Petersburg for bilateral talks. The people saw this as a sign that ever the Tsar - the traditional protector of the Serbian people - no longer stood by the Serbian King. The King, however, accused the Radicals of acting against him, forcing Prime Minister Vujić to step down and installing General Dimitrije Cincar-Marković as the new Head of Government.

Finally, the King caused another scandal by writing an octroyed constitution on his own and forcing the Government and the National Assembly to accept it. While this has officially turned Serbia into a constitutional monarchy, the political status quo has de facto remained. The Serbian people have noticed that, and all opposition parties have refused to participate in the National Assembly, whom they now see as the puppet organisation of the Serbian King.

Rumours have begun to spread of several Army officers moving against Alexander; he, however, remains convinced that no such threat exists.
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The March Demonstrations
March 1903

A series of large scale demonstrations erupted in Belgrade on March 23 in one of the most vigorous moves against the reign of King Alexander so far.

The demonstrations were organised by socialist students Dimitrije Tucović and Triša Kaclerović. The protests attracted around 5,000 workers and students, and were held to protest against the King's absolutism.

The protest was held in Kalemegdan Park in central Belgrade, and quickly attracted the attention of both the Gendarmes and the Army, which soon clashed with the protesters. In the resulting assault by government forces, 5 protesters were killed, and 6 were wounded.

This incident lowered the King's popularity to its lowest levels. Knowing that he now had almost no real supporters in the National Assembly, the King made two coups in less than half an hour on the night of March 25. The first coup was in fact the King's suspension of the existing constitutional order in the country, and the second coup was the installation of new MPs loyal to the King on the basis of extraordinary powers the King received after suspending the constitution.

New elections are to be held on May 31.
Edited by Serbia, Sep 18 2014, 10:38 AM.
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MAY OVERTHROW - THE ASSASSINATION OF KING ALEKSANDAR AND QUEEN DRAGA

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June 1903

News are arriving from Belgrade that the royal couple, as well as several important political leaders, were killed on the night of 10-11 June (28-29 May, Julian calendar) by a small group of conspirators centered around several army officers.

While not many details behind the plot are known, the course of the events are, up to a certain point, well established. After midnight on 10 June, several army officers infiltrated the Royal Palace in Belgrade. At the same time, soldiers from infantry regiments stationed in Belgrade, led by the conspirators, surrounded the houses of Prime Minister Dimitrije Cincar-Marković, Minister of War Milovan Pavlović and various officers loyal to King Aleksandar.

Around 2:00 AM, when the conspirators entered the palace, the electric lighting was switched off, and the Royal Guardsmen who were not part of the plot could not mount an effective defense. The doors to the King’s bedroom were shattered with dynamite, but no one was in the bed. The search was not going well, and the conspirators began to lose hope. They had soldiers bring the King's first aide-de-camp, General Lazar Petrović, who had been captured as soon as the conspirators entered the courtyard. He was ordered to reveal whether there was a secret room or passageway, threatening to kill him within ten minutes if he failed to comply with their demands. Petrović peacefully waited for the expiration of the deadline. The subsequent course of events is not precisely known.

According to one version, the officers again entered the Royal bed chamber where one of the conspirators observed a recess in the wall which appeared to be the keyhole of a secret door. The King and Queen were hidden there. According to another version, the King and Queen were hiding behind the mirror in the Royal bedroom where there was a small room used for the Queen's wardrobe. Cupboards covered a hole in the floor which was the entrance to the secret passage (which allegedly led to the Russian Embassy located opposite the palace).

Upon the conspirators calling for him to come out, Alexander demanded from his hiding place that the officers confirm their oath of loyalty. According to one version of events they did so. According to another, they threatened to bomb the palace if Alexander did not open the passage. After Alexander and Draga, who were only partially dressed, came out, several conspirators emptied their weapons into the royal couple. The King fell dead from the first shot. The Queen tried to save his life by blocking his body with her own. General Petrović was killed immediately afterwards and the bodies of the King and Queen were thrown from a window.

Other high government officials whose houses were surrounded during the night were killed as well.

The assassination of King Alexander coincided with the 35th anniversary of the assassination of his predecessor Prince Mihajlo, and the remains of the Royal couple are to be buried in St. Mark's Church.

Members of the new interim government soon gathered under the Presidency of Jovan Avakumović. Aleksandar Mašin was appointed Minister of Civil Engineering, Jovan Atanacković was appointed Minister of the Army, while Đorđe Genčić became Minister of the Economy. Other members of the new government are: Radical Stojan Protić, Liberal Vojislav Veljković, leaders of the Serbian Independent Radical Party Ljubomir Stojanović and Ljubomir Živković and progressivist Ljubomir Kaljević. Nikola Pašić, Stojan Ribarac and Jovan Žujović were also considered to be members of the new government but were absent from Belgrade at the time of the overthrow.

The National Assembly held a special session on 17 June 1903, and voted Petar Karađorđević as King of Serbia and elected the mission which went to Geneva to bring him back to Serbia. Petar Karađorđević accepted the throne of Serbia, and has taken up the regal name of Petar I. Despite the fact that the assassination brought his family back to power, King Petar has already condemned the way the transition of power occurred, and has stated that a thorough investigation into the matter will be held.

King Petar has also announced that he and his Government will uphold all the treaties signed by the late King Aleksandar.
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German Arbitration

Early 1906

The fledgling union between Serbia and Montenegro has faced her first major foreign policy crisis in her existence, at stake the district of Shkoder promised to Montenegro by Serbia and Italy as part of the final Balkans settlement.

What was to be arbitration to determine minor border disputes has turned into a total reversal of the consensus reached. Should the German mediation go forward, Montenegro will lose much of her promised stature in the Yugoslav Union. Something that King Nicholas of Montenegro has stated he is unwilling to accept. While the opinion in Belgrade might be to disengage, allow the Italian protectorate to form, and gain influence in the new Albanian State. It is an option that is not politically viable given the requirement to defend Montenegro's interests to maintain her support for the union.

At present, the current policy appears to be to take no aggressive action, but to appeal to the European powers - especially Russia - for support. Additionally, the Albanian Republic (Tirana) is to continue to be assisted by the Serbian Kingdom.
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January 1907

Following the break-up of previously warm relations with the Kingdom of Italy, Belgrade was abuzz with rumours of King Peter's growing discontent with the policies of Prime and Foreign Minister, Nikola Pašić.

King Peter was dissatisfied with the way the union between Serbia and Montenegro was organised, especially after it was declared in November 1906 that King Nikola of Montenegro was no longer willing to support the treaty as it became obvious that Montenegrin claims to Albania could not be upheld. King Peter felt that his own honor was tarnished by a promise given by PM Pašić.

Stories have spread that the King unleashed his full fury on the PM at their latest meeting in the Royal Palace at Dedinje, Belgrade, warning him to moderate his policies in order to avoid the diplomatic isolation of the Kingdom. The King, however, refused to accept an offer of resignation by the PM, in order to allow for a peaceful transition of power in the newly-acquired territories of the Kingdom of Serbia.

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The Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Montenegro have peacefully went apart on January 1, 1907.

In late November 1906, King Nikola of Montenegro arrived to Belgrade to inform King Peter that, due to the fact that the Kingdom of Serbia would not be able to fulfill its promises from the Treaty of the Union, the Kingdom of Montenegro would be withdrawing from the Union effective January 1, 1907.

The two Kings agreed, however, to maintain close ties and a defensive alliance between the two Serbian states. Several military trainers have been dispatched from Belgrade to help model the Montenegrin Army after the Serbian model.
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