Krsto Popović (

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

: Крсто Поповић; 13 September 1881 – 14 March 1947) was an officer of the Montenegrin Army who fought in the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

and in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Dissatisfied with the

Podgorica Assembly The Great People's Assembly of the Serb People in Montenegro (), commonly known as the Podgorica Assembly (, ), was an ''ad hoc'' popular assembly convened in November 1918, after the end of World War I in the Kingdom of Montenegro. The commit ...

of 1918 which merged

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

and

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

into what would become

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

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

Petrović-Njegoš dynasty The House of Petrović-Njegoš (Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: , / ) is an old Serbian medieval nobility, Serbian noble family that ruled Montenegro from 1697 to 1918. History Origin "Bogut" or "Boguta" is believed to be the olde ...

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

Whites White is a racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly European ancestry. It is also a skin color specifier, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, ethnicity and point of view. De ...

who favored King Alexander of the Karađorđević dynasty and complete annexation of Montenegro into Yugoslavia. After the uprising failed, Popović emigrated to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, but returned in June 1919 to start

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...

. 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 The Department for Protection of the People, commonly known under its Serbo-Croatian acronym as OZNA, was the secret police of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Communist Yugoslavia that existed between 1944 and 1946. Founding The OZNA w ...

Life

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

and

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in the Montenegrin army forces until being captured by

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

army in 1916. He was also one of the prominent heroes of the Battle of Mojkovac, where

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

helped the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

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

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

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 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 War I. Officially it was a constitutional monarchy, but absolu ...

with the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

under the

House of Karađorđević The House of Karađorđević or Karađorđević dynasty ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Династија Карађорђевић, Dinastija Karađorđević, ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Карађорђевићи, Karađorđevići, label=none) was the former ruling Kin ...

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

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

. In 1922, he emigrated to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and later to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

in 1929. The Greens voted against the unification of the

with the

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

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. 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 ar ...

, in which he asked the King to pardon him from responsibility for the civil war in Montenegro from December 1918 until King Nikola's death. In this letter, he also proclaimed his loyalty to King Aleksandar Karađorđević. On 18 October 1929, in the province of Liege, Belgium, 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 a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

. King Alexander subsequently pardoned him and he returned to the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

, 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 (Chetniks). Popović's vision was Montenegrin independence through cooperation with

Fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...

, 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

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 twice 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 (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

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; , ), was a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav gallantry medal, the ...

References

Literature

External links

Krsto Zrnov Popovic
at www.njegos.org

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popovic, Krsto 1881 births 1947 deaths Military personnel from Cetinje Cuce People from the Principality of Montenegro People of the Kingdom of Montenegro People from 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 Serbs of Montenegro Zelenaši Montenegrin independence activists People shot dead by law enforcement officers in Yugoslavia