Krsto Popović (; 13 September 1881 – 14 March 1947) was an officer of the Montenegrin Army who fought in the Balkan Wars and in the

First World War 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 ...

. Dissatisfied with the

Podgorica Assembly The Great National Assembly of the Serb People in Montenegro ( sr, Велика народна скупштина српског народа у Црној Гори, Velika narodna skupština srpskog naroda u Crnoj Gori), commonly known as the Po ...

of 1918 which merged

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

and

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

into what would become

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, he became one of the leaders of the 1919 Christmas Uprising on the side of the Greens who supported the newly dethroned

King Nikola Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš ( sr-cyr, Никола I Петровић-Његош; – 1 March 1921) was the last monarch of Montenegro from 1860 to 1918, reigning as prince from 1860 to 1910 and as the country's first and only king from 1910 to 19 ...

of the

Petrović-Njegoš dynasty Petrović-Njegoš (Serbian Cyrillic: , / ) is the Serbian family that ruled Montenegro from 1697 to 1916. Montenegro was ruled from its inception by '' vladikas'' ( prince-bishops) since 1516, who had a dual temporal and spiritual role. In 169 ...

and who favored a confederation of Yugoslavia that still gave Montenegro a form of independence in skirmishes against the

Whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...

who favored King Alexander of the

Karađorđević dynasty The Karađorđević dynasty ( sr-Cyrl, Динасија Карађорђевић, Dinasija Karađorđević, Карађорђевићи / Karađorđevići, ) or House of Karađorđević ( sr-Cyrl, Кућа Карађорђевић, Kuća Karađ ...

and complete annexation of Montenegro into Yugoslavia. After the uprising failed, Popović emigrated to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, but returned in June 1919 to start guerrilla warfare. He eventually laid down arms after the death of King Nikola in 1921 and he was eventually pardoned by King Alexander after proclaiming allegiance to him. He lived out his remaining years in Yugoslavia relatively peacefully until the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

when he formed the Lovćen Brigade. For this, he was labelled a collaborator by the new Communist government and in 1947 he was killed in an ambush by agents of the OZNA.

Life

Born in a Montenegrin Serb family to father Todor "Zrno" Popović and mother Ćetna (née Krivokapić), he fought in the Balkan Wars and

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 ...

in the Montenegrin army forces until being captured by Austro-Hungarian army in 1916. He was also one of the prominent heroes of the

Battle of Mojkovac The Battle of Mojkovac was a World War I battle fought between 6 January and 7 January 1916 near Mojkovac, in today's Montenegro, between the armies of Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Montenegro. It ended with a decisive Montenegrin victory ...

, where

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

helped the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, its close ally, to retreat in face of the Austro-Hungarian attacks. After spending two years in the Austro-Hungarian prisoner camp, he returned to

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

to become the leader of the Christmas Uprising on 7 January 1919 and ''Saint Petar's Day Uprising'' in July of same year, fighting against the decision of the

to unite the

Kingdom of Montenegro The Kingdom of Montenegro ( sr, Краљевина Црна Горa, Kraljevina Crna Gora) was a monarchy in southeastern Europe, present-day Montenegro, during the tumultuous period of time on the Balkan Peninsula leading up to and during World ...

with the Kingdom of Serbia under the

House of Karađorđević A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...

. Between 1919 and 1922, he was a leader of Montenegrin ''komite'', fighters for the federalisation of the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

. In 1922, he emigrated to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and later to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

in 1929. The Greens voted against the unification of the

with the Kingdom of Serbia

, while the majority Whites (''Bjelaši'') supported it. Meanwhile, only several months after his arrival to Montenegro, Krsto Popović returned to Italy, where he served in the army of Montenegrin government in exile, advancing to level of commander, and later to level of brigadier. In 1929, from Belgium he sent a letter to King

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

, in which he asked the King to pardon him from responsibility for the civil war in Montenegro from December 1918 until

's death. In this letter, he also proclaimed his loyalty to King Aleksandar Karađorđević. On 18 October 1929, in the province of Liege, Belgium, the immigration police issued him a passport under number 9121, with visa number 94 in which he identified his nationality as

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 ...

. King Alexander subsequently pardoned him and he returned to the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...

, receiving a pension and living in retirement until World War II broke out and Popović organized his collaboration militia called the Lovćen Brigade. This militia was under the control or influence of the fascist Italian occupation force, and it waged war against the Partisans and the

Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nation ...

(Chetniks). The official symbol of the paramilitary force was a green flag with the Petrović coat of arms. Popović's vision was gaining Montenegrin independence through cooperation with Fascist Italy, which led to his conflicts with both Montenegrin Partisans and Chetniks. During the war his militia split; one group joined the Partisans, and others joined the Chetniks. Popović did not join either side. He was ambushed and killed in a shootout by OZNA agents ,

Veljko Milatović Veljko Milatović ( Serbo-Croat Cyrillic: Вељко Милатовић; 5 December 1921 – 19 October 2004) was a Montenegrin Communist partisan, politician, statesman serving once as the Speaker and once as President.Battle of Neretva while his son Nikola would later become a general in the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska ar ...

and a recipient of the

Order of the People's Hero The Order of the People's Hero or the Order of the National Hero ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Orden narodnog heroja, Oрден народног хероја; sl, Red narodnega heroja, mk, Oрден на народен херој, Orden na ...

References

Literature

External links

Krsto Zrnov Popovic
at www.njegos.org

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popovic, Krsto 1881 births 1947 deaths Military personnel from Cetinje Cuce People of the Principality of Montenegro People of the Kingdom of Montenegro People of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia 19th-century Montenegrin people 20th-century Montenegrin people Montenegrin soldiers Montenegrin military personnel of the Balkan Wars Montenegrin military personnel of World War I World War I prisoners of war held by Austria-Hungary Montenegrin nationalists Montenegrin Federalist Party politicians Montenegrin collaborators with Fascist Italy Montenegrin collaborators with Nazi Germany Recipients of Yugoslav royal pardons People executed by Yugoslavia Serbs of Montenegro Zelenaši Montenegrin independence activists