( sr-Cyrl, Србија до Токија), meaning "

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

", is a

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan, political slogan, political, Advertising slogan, commercial, religious, and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the publi ...

and catchphrase dating back to the early 1990s. In 1991,

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also

* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...

(then- Yugoslav) football club

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...

won the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

and the worldwide title in Tokyo, Japan, winning the Intercontinental Cup. This was the greatest success of any football club ever in Yugoslavia, and was much envied by the other nations at the time of increased ethnic tensions. The phrase has been used by Serbian

football fans Association football culture, or football culture refers to the cultural aspects surrounding the game of association football. As the sport is global, the culture of the game is diverse, with varying degrees of overlap and distinctiveness in ...

to taunt fans from rival ethnic groups in the beginning of the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...

of the 1990s. The phrase is evoked by both

Serbian nationalists Serbian nationalism asserts that Serbs are a nation and promotes the cultural and political unity of Serbs. It is an ethnic nationalism, originally arising in the context of the general rise of nationalism in the Balkans under Ottoman rule, und ...

, and

Serbs 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 ...

jokingly mocking Serb

exceptionalism Exceptionalism is the perception or belief that a species, country, society, institution, movement, individual, or time period is " exceptional" (i.e., unusual or extraordinary). The term carries the implication, whether or not specified, that the ...

alike.

Origin of the phrase

On 29 May 1991, as inter-ethnic relations in Yugoslavia were growing tenser, Red Star defeated French team

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...

to win the European Cup – the first Yugoslav team to do so, and the second Eastern European. As the winners of the European Cup, Red Star Belgrade earned a place in the Intercontinental Cup, which was held at the Tokyo National Stadium. Exultant fans coined the phrase to glorify their team's upcoming adventure. On 8 December 1991, Red Star won the Intercontinental Cup, defeating Chilean team Colo-Colo. By that time, the tension that had underlain the European Cup match had ignited into the Yugoslav Wars, with a short-lived

war in Slovenia The Ten-Day War ( sl, desetdnevna vojna), or the Slovenian War of Independence (), was a brief armed conflict that followed Slovenia's declaration of independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991. It was fought between the separatists of the ...

, and a full-scale war in Croatia. In this context, the phrase's associations with Serbian victory made it particularly appealing to nationalists and

militarists Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

Occurrences

Graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

containing the message are present in

, as well in

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Feder ...

and other parts of

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

.Anti-Minority Incidents Continue in Vojvodina

/ref>
Such graffiti was also seen in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

during the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

.In Ruined Village, a Mother Lives With Her Son's Blood
/ref> In the Kosovo village of Lozica in the

Mališevo Malisheva, ) is a town and municipality in Kosovo. According to the Kosovo Agency of Statistics (KAS) estimate from the 2011 census, there were 54,613 people residing in Malisheva Municipality, with Kosovo Albanians constituting the majority of th ...

municipality, the local

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

population was claiming that the graffiti "" was written by Serbian military forces during the destruction of the village. During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the phrase was expanded. "", meaning "Serbia to Tokyo, but over

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

", in order to show disagreement with United States' role during the bombing. After the bombing ended, phrase extension was abandoned.Srbija do Tokija al preko Milvokija
/ref>

References in popular culture

* Serbian

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Goribor Goribor ( sr-Cyrl, Горибор; trans. '' Burning bor'') is a Serbian alternative rock band from Bor. Having performed as a teenage band called Projekat ( sr-Cyrl, Пројекат; trans. ''The Project'') from 1988 until 1992, after a four-ye ...

released a

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

album ''

Stondom do Tokija Goribor ( sr-Cyrl, Горибор; trans. '' Burning bor'') is a Serbian alternative rock band from Bor. Having performed as a teenage band called Projekat ( sr-Cyrl, Пројекат; trans. ''The Project'') from 1988 until 1992, after a four-ye ...

'' (''Stoned to Tokyo'') as a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

for the slogan.

References

{{reflist

External links

Article on the 2006 secession of Montenegro from Serbia, exploring how "Srbija do Tokija" is no longer applicable
at the

International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France for international English-speaking readers. It had the aim of becoming "the world's first global newspaper" and could fairly be said ...

Article on Serbian/Albanian conflicts in 1999, including the use of "Serbia to Tokyo" as a graffito
at the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

Review of Melanie Friend's ''No Place Like Home: Echoes from Kosovo''
in which "Serbia to Tokyo" is compared to threats of rape and murder. Graffiti and unauthorised signage Serbian nationalism Serbian political phrases Slogans Association football fandom Yugoslav culture