Ruske kafane i muzičari međuratnog Beograda
Russian Taverns and Musicians of Interwar Belgrade

Summary/Abstract: Belgrade has a long tradition of tavern life, dating back to 16th century and the Turkish conquest. In 19th and 20th centuries, the tavern became an important institution for the development of society, and remained so in the interwar period. Therefore, the Yugoslav capital was a fertile ground for tavern activity. After the Civil War, Russian emigrants arrived in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Their greatest community was in Belgrade. Soon after their arrival, they started opening restaurants and taverns, and some of them became so popular that foreigners who visited Belgrade also wrote about them. The study of Russian taverns is an almost unknown field of national historiography, so we cannot be sure about their exact number, but there is information that in the early 1930s there were three large Russian restaurants/taverns and various canteens and buffets. Among them, the “Russian family” / “Russian Lyre” and “Kazbek” were especially famous. In addition to opening taverns in Belgrade, the Russians enriched the tavern life with the types of entertainment they cultivated in the pre-revolutionary Russia. Choirs of balalaikas and Russian old songs and gypsy romances have deeply influenced our society. According to some researchers, Russian songs and musicians have influenced the current practice of oldtown music in Belgrade. Among them, Olga Petrovna Jančevecka, who stayed in Belgrade after the Second World War and continued to delight the audience with her performances, should be singled out.

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