Historians on the Great Eastern Crisis

Scientific Conference titled “Serbs in the Great Eastern Crisis (1875-1878) – 150 years since the beginning of wars for liberation and uniting” organized by the Republic of Srpska Association of Historians “Milorad Ekmečić” was held at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Banja Luka on 29 May 2025.

”The Herzegovina uprising that started 150 years ago, is one of the turning point events in the history of Serbs, not only for its faith but for the whole Balkans peninsula,” said the Director of the Belgrade Institute of History, Aleksandar Rastović, PhD.

He clarified that this uprising started a process in the Great Eastern Crisis, which led to a series of events with political, diplomatic, and military character.

“The Great Eastern Crisis and Herzegovina uprising were a benchmark event not only for the faith and history of the Serb people, but also for the faith of the Balkans, as the decisions of the Berlin congress defined the relations in the Balkans that were in force in the next several decades, until the World War 1,” said Rastović.

The President of the Republic of Srpska Association of Historians “Milorad Ekmečić”, prof. Borivoje Milošević, PhD, said that it was an event labeled in history as one of the highest European, political, and diplomatic importance in the 19th century.

He added that all the conference papers will be published in two themed issues of the “Srpski istorijski časopis” magazine of the Associations of Historians.

The conference gathered renowned historians of the Republic of Srpska and Serbia to scientifically consider the historical circumstances, course, and significance of the wars that marked the beginning of the process of liberation and uniting Serbs within the Great Eastern Crisis.

The conference was held under the auspices of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Srpska.

Photo: N. Malešević