Marking the Republic of Serbia Statehood Day
Tuesday, 15.2.2022 | Culture and traditions
Today, the Statehood Day of the Republic of Serbia was marked by a series of manifestations with the highest state and military honors.
Today, on the occasion of the Statehood Day, the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces and the President of the Republic, Aleksandar Vučić, presented decorations to deserving individuals and institutions. By the decree of the President of the Republic, the 250th Air Defence Missile Brigade was awarded the Order of the White Eagle with swords of the third degree, and 129 members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces are among the decorated.
Envoy of the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces and President of the Republic Aleksandar Vučić, Secretary General of the President of the Republic Suzana Paunović, laid a wreath at the Monument to the Unknown Hero on Avala with the highest military honors, the anthem of the Republic of Serbia and the ceremonial formation of the Guard. The envoy of the President of the Republic was accompanied by the Serbian Armed Forces Chief of the General Staff, General Milan Mojsilović, and the Commander of the Air Force and Air Defence, Lieutenant General Duško Žarković.
After laying the wreath, Ms. Paunović wrote the following in the guest book:
„In memory of the unknown hero, all unknown and famous heroes who gave their lives for the freedom of Serbia, as a sign of eternal gratitude and respect. By your sacrifice, you have made the foundations of our freedom and independence indestructible. To you in eternal memory, to us and to your descendants in eternal memorableness.“
The central state ceremony on the occasion of the celebration of Sretenje – Serbia Statehood Day, in the memorial complex in Orašac was led by the Prime Minister Ana Brnabić. The ceremony was attended by MPs, ministers in the Government of Serbia, representatives of the institutions of the Republika Srpska, clergy and the diplomatic corps, and the delegation of the Serbian Armed Forces was led by Deputy Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, Lieutenant General Petar Cvetković.
As part of the celebration of today's holiday, the delegation of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces laid a wreath in the church of St. George in Oplenac.
Today's activities marking the Statehood Day of the Republic of Serbia were preceded by a ten-gun salute from six artillery weapons from the Sava Terrace on Kalemegdan, carried out by the Serbian Armed Forces Guard in accordance with the order of the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces and President, Aleksandar Vučić.
Republic of Serbia Statehood Day – Sretenje is a national holiday that marks two significant historical dates important for the cultural, historical and national identity of Serbs. On that day in 1804, Serbian insurgents led by Karadjordje decided to raise the First Serbian Uprising at a meeting in Orašac. On the same date in 1835, the Sretenje Constitution, the first constitution of Serbia, was adopted in Kragujevac.
