31 July, 2018 - On Tuesday, July 31st, at 12 PM, the first interdisciplinary project of the National Museum of Montenegro, entitled "Osmice" (English: The Eights) was launched, with the participation of all four museum units: Archaeological, Historical, Ethnographic and Artistic Museum. The entire project will consist of a series of lectures and projections that will be held each month until the end of the year. “Osmice” will mark the important dates from Montenegrin and world history related to the years with the number eight as the last digit.
The project beginning has marked the official opening of the History Museum with a lecture by Dr Boban Batricević, who talked about Montenegro and the Berlin Congress in the Art Gallery.
Berlin Congress is one of the most important events of the XIX century. Its decisions were reflected in the later period, since the great powers of that time partially solved the problems that disturbed their mutual relations and interests. Summoned primarily because of the revision of the decisions of the San Stefano Peace Treaty after the war between the Russian and Ottoman Empire, in which Russia gained enormous influence in the Balkans, the Berlin Congress also addressed the situation that arose due to the so-called "The Great Eastern Crisis”, when Montenegro and Serbia waged war with the Ottoman Empire. The Congress lasted from June 13 to July 13, 1878, and was preceded by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Many historians believe that the Berlin Peace Treaty merely postponed the conflicts that took place in the early 20th century, as the “appetites” of most of its signatories were unhappy.
Boban Batrićević was born in Cetinje in 1988. He works at the Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature and he recently published a monograph "The God of Our Nationalism" in which he deals with the reception, reinterpretation and use of Njegoš's character and acts in propaganda and political discourse of power in Montenegro from 1851 to 2013.
The project coordinators for “Osmice” project are Filip Kuzman and Vukan Ražnatović.
