Holidays in Serbia - Statehood Day (Day of the First Serbian Uprising)

Statehood Day is celebrated in Serbia on February 15th The basis for the holiday was the national liberation uprising of the Serbs in the early 19th century against Turkish Ottoman rule The first stage of the uprising occurred in 1804 The reason was the atrocities committed by the Turkish Janissaries, who were an uncontrollable burden for the Ottoman Empire itself Rebel troops everywhere began to raid the Janissaries, undermining their confidence in their own invincibility But on February 15, 1804, the Serbian leaders decided to start a joint uprising The main goal of the rebels was to eliminate the Janissary threat and restore self-government to the population of Serbia The combined troops attacked large cities, including Belgrade As a result, the Janissary troops were defeated, but the threat from the well-trained military was still present Despite the fact that at this stage the Sultan's government supported the Serbian leaders, the latter decided to ask Russia for help in gaining an independent status of political autonomy Having found a strong patron in the Russian Empire, supporters of Serbian independence began to act more boldly, refused to accept the Sultan’s protege and put up fierce resistance to the Turkish authorities The Sultan's reaction was to declare a holy war on all Serbs Despite the threats, the rebels won new victories, after which their demands changed to complete independence of Serbia In 1807, a truce was established between Turkey and Russia, which was perceived extremely negatively by the Serbian side As a result of further battles and negotiations, the First Serbian Uprising was defeated, but, despite this, it had its positive results The main ones were the consent of the Ottoman Empire to Serbian autonomy and the course towards reviving the institution of statehood in Serbia A few years later, the first Serbian democratic constitution was adopted on February 15, and in the 20th century this date became Serbian Army Day