Jovan "Jovo" Stanisavljević ( sr-cyr, Јовaн "Јово" Станисављевић; 1897–27 February 1925), known by his nickname ''Čaruga'' (Чаруга), was a Serbian outlaw (''

hajduk A hajduk ( hu, hajdúk, plural of ) is a type of irregular infantry found in Central and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries. They have reputations ranging from bandits to freedom fighters depending on time, p ...

'') in

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baran ...

in the early 20th century.

Early life

Stanisavljević was born in 1897, into a

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

family in the village of Slavonske Bare (part of Zdenci) in the

Virovitica County Virovitica County ( hr, Virovitička županija; hu, Verőce vármegye) was a historic administrative subdivision ('' županija'') of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Lands of the Crown of ...

, autonomous Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia,

Austro-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. He was named after his paternal grandfather Jovan, who went by the family nickname of ''Čaruga'' ("troublemaker"). His father Prokopija was a peasant, and his mother Ika died when he was ten. His father remarried, and he had a tough upbringing, later running away from home to Osijek, where he went to a locksmith school.

Criminal career

When

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

broke out, he stopped his studies and enrolled in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

. However, he posed as an officer and deserted the front lines. Shortly afterwards, he killed a man who was courting his girlfriend, and after a local nobleman threatened to arrest him, he killed him too. He was eventually apprehended, tried, and convicted, and started serving his sentence in the Sremska Mitrovica penitentiary. He managed to escape from prison and had a warrant for his capture, returning home where he was unwelcome. Čaruga left for the woods, where he befriended a gang, ''Kolo gorskih tića'' ("Band of Mountain Birds"), composed mostly of deserters, who all detested the rich Slavonian peasants and robbed them mercilessly, and were not afraid of killing people. He used the false names Nikola Drezgić and Mile Barić. The war was long over, but Čaruga and the gang were still pillaging the countryside, and became hunted by the Yugoslav gendarmerie. Eventually in 1922 he decided to leave for

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

, where he posed as a rich gentleman from

Vinkovci Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city's registered population was 28,247 in the 2021 census, the total population of the city was 31,057, making it the largest town of the county. Surround ...

and also continued his life of thievery. He would later return to Slavonia to continue stealing together with his group members. On 14 October 1923, however, they attempted to rob the

Eltz The House of Eltz was a noted German noble family of the ''Uradel''. The Rhenish dynasty has had close ties to the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia since 1736. History Though older sources mentioned one Eberhard zu Eltz, a Frankish citizen of Trier ...

family estate in Ivankovo near Vinkovci. They killed a man on site, while another snuck out and called the gendarmerie. After the skirmish that ensued they managed to escape but without their loot. More importantly, the police got on their trail and soon captured them. By February 1925, Čaruga's trial at the court in Osijek was finished, and he was subsequently hanged in front of a crowd of 3,000. Čaruga's demise attracted a lot of popular attention at the time, and numerous popular books. In 1991 the movie '' Čaruga'' was directed by

Rajko Grlić Rajko Grlić (born 2 September 1947) is a Croatian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is a professor of film theory at Ohio University and artistic director of the Motovun Film Festival in Motovun, Croatia. Biography Rajko Grlić w ...

. He remains a well-known historic figure in the Balkans.

References

Sources

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External links

*''Najzagonetnije jugoslovenske ubice''
Jugoslovenski Robin Hud
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanisavljević Čaruga, Jovo 1897 births 1925 deaths 20th-century Croatian people Yugoslav criminals Yugoslav people convicted of murder Croatian outlaws People from Zdenci Serbs of Croatia Austro-Hungarian people of World War I Burials at Saint Anne Cemetery