#Ученичество

| #Ученичество. 2026. Вып. 1 | #Apprenticeship. 2026. Issue 1 35 IV. Cultural Life and the Russian Church In the period of 1941–1944 in Serbia, a considerable number of Russian periodicals were published, some of which remained active during wartime. One of these was the Russian Bulletin , which printed texts preparing Russians for return and the renewal of Russia, as well as the newspapers Borba and Rusko delo , which published propaganda articles and short pieces from the everyday lives of civilian émigrés. It should also be noted that the Russian Orthodox Church had its own periodical that was published during the war. Many newspapers, although supported by the Germans, were short-lived due to financial difficulties. Given the articles and news they published, in political terms the Russian émigré press functioned as an organ of German propaganda. One of the most important factors in preserving the identity of the Russian émigré community were their libraries, which existed in many cities across Serbia. Even wartime conditions did not prevent reading or socializing in rooms filled with books. Lectures on various topics were organized, including news from the homeland, as well as tea parties, informal socializing and public tea drinking, and concerts held for charitable purposes. To bring Russians together, radio broadcasts in the Russian language were introduced and first aired on Radio Belgrade in the summer of 1941. 28 The programs included stories from everyday life, Russian news, and Russian songs, music from records, and live performances by popular Russian singers. A lack of radio receivers posed a problem, so listening to broadcasts was organized in the theatre hall of the Russian House. Among Russians, as well as among the Belgrade public, exhibitions of Russian painters were well known and were mostly organized at the Cvijeta Zuzorić Pavilion. Some of these exhibitions had a sales component, which enabled Russian painters to secure a better livelihood. The Russian House in Belgrade also hosted theatrical performances - drama, opera, and ballet - in which professionals and amateurs participated, as well as members of the National Theatre. An amateur group from the Russian - Serbian Grammar School also performed, with productions of a humanitarian character aimed at raising funds for poor students. Ballet art in Belgrade was founded on the work of Russian artists who, in the interwar period, contributed to the establishment of Belgrade ballet and the creation of an original domestic scene. The Acting and Ballet School, founded by Russian émigrés, operated from October 1921 to 1927, and during the occupation ballet performances and rehearsals of the private school of Jelena Polyakova were held at the National Theatre in Belgrade. 29 Likewise, the renowned ballet dancer and successful teacher Nina Kirsanova organized a private ballet studio in her apartment from 1940 to 1948. 30 The Russian Orthodox Church played one of the key roles in the Russian émigré community. Gathered around the church at Tašmajdan, they were anti-Bolshevik and anti-communist in orientation and ready to participate in the defense of their new homeland. By the end of the war, most of the clergy had organized their relocation to Germany; many were killed during the war, and others were later executed by the communists. After the arrival of the Red Army in Serbia, Russians were removed as a social group and cultural factor. At the end of the war, a process of emigration began. Those who wished to leave Belgrade took only the most essential belongings and departed from the railway station in Zemun for a new life in exile. 31 Clergy and students of Russian secondary schools were evacuated with them. Those who remained in the country burned 28 Timofeev A. Unstoppable Russian… P. 268. 29 Petričević M. Russian Ballet Art in Belgrade. Belgrade: Gramatik, 2020. P. 61. 30 Ibid. P. 61. 31 Živanović M. The Fate of the Russian Émigré Heritage in Yugoslavia, 1944–1945 // Istorija 20. veka . 2021. Vol. 39, no. 1. P. 79.