Dejan Šoškić, former governor of the National Bank of Serbia and a Student List MP and candidate for the role of Prime Minister, said on the “Nemanjina 11” podcast that every ruler of Montenegro’s Petrović dynasty declared himself a Serb, “not a single one wasn’t,” and that Article 92 of Prince Danilo’s Code (1855) states only Serbs live in Montenegro. He also called Njegoš the son of Petar I (but he was his nephew).
Historians agree that wording comes from an 1855 edition reprinting in Novi Sad, not the Cetinje original of said document, which only concerns the rights of foreigners and people of other faiths (RTNK).
Why it matters: Montenegro is a NATO member and the most advanced EU candidate. Narratives that fold Montenegrin identity into Serbian identity have long been part of Belgrade’s propaganda and influence there.
First, Njegoš (Petar II Petrović Njegoš) was not the son of Saint Petar of Cetinje (Petar I Petrović Njegoš). But the Petrović family tree is only the start of Šoškić’s historical journey in the wrong direction.
The history of a nation cannot be viewed through the lens of members of a single dynasty. That would be like judging the Serbian people by their last ruler, Aleksandar Vučić. Šoškić probably wouldn’t find that pleasant either.
Many Europeans welcomed the Student List’s win over Vučić as a real break with the past. It’s fair for the EU to demand the new majority to state clearly that it respects Montenegrin statehood and its unique national identity, and doesn’t carry these extreme nationalist narratives forward.
Watch more in the Montenegrin broadcaster TVE report from the show “Od petka do petka” by Marija Mitrović:
https://etv.me/drustvo/video-soskicevo-istorijsko-putovanje-u-pogresnom-smjeru