POEM ABOUT THE SERBIAN GREAT SAVA VLADISLAVIĆ PUBLISHED

BILEĆA, FEBRUARY 25 /SRNA/ - The hometown club Osvit from Bileća has published the poem "Our Count Sava" about the Serbian diplomat Sava Vladislavić, authored by Miodrag Hrnjez.

Hrnjez told SRNA that the poem about the life of Vladislavić, one of the greatest Serbian historical figures, is written in decasyllabic verse and woven from around 8,000 lines. The author traces Vladislavić's life from his birth in the village of Jasenik near Gacko to his death in Saint Petersburg and his burial at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. "Vladislavić was born on Saint Sava's Day, and he was baptized by Saint Basil of Ostrog. He was a timeless man who walked through life upright and righteous. He connected the peoples and nations, empires, cultures, and civilizations," Hrnjez emphasized. Sava Vladislavić was the greatest and most widely recognized diplomat of his era, and competent Serbian career diplomats regard him as the most significant diplomat ever produced by the Serbian people. According to Hrnjez, Sava Vladislavić was responsible for securing the rear of the Russian Army in the war against Sweden and was among the most deserving of the magnificent victory at the Battle of Poltava. He was also a creator of the Treaty of the Pruth, a founder of Russia’s foreign and domestic security services, as well as a travel writer, translator, and polyglot. "Vladislavić established peace and a 6,000-kilometer-long border between the two greatest empires in the world, Russia and China, a border that is still respected today," Hrnjez said. He was the first to raise the Balkan question at the Russian court and is the only Serb who founded a Russian city, namely, Troitsko Savsk, established in honor of Saint Sava. "He was a patron and friend of the composer Antonio Vivaldi, who dedicated the opera `Truth Put to the Test` to him," Hrnjez said, adding that Vladislavić was also a benefactor to many Serbian monasteries and churches. Sava Vladislavić enriched the then Petrograd, today’s Saint Petersburg, with more than 150 sculptures and busts, and he also held four noble titles. Hrnjez added that, drawing on all of this from the life of Sava Vladislavić, Count of Illyria, as he signed himself in documents in Russia, the poem "Our Count Sava" was woven, permeated with numerous historical events, dates, and figures. Representatives of Osvit emphasized that the poem is not only about Sava Vladislavić, but also about hope, love, faith, and perseverance. They noted that this Serbian nobleman was a bridge between Jasenik and Dubrovnik, Venice and Constantinople, Moscow and Beijing, as well as between Herzegovina, the Balkans, the East, and the West. The editor-in-chief of the publication is Gordana Mihajlov, while Mihajlo Samardžić represents the publisher. The poem was published within the monograph "Count Sava Vladislavić – 300 Years of Troitsko Savsk, the Capital of the Great Tea Route /1727–2027/," which was printed in Serbian, Russian, Chinese, and English.