Vladimir Gaćinović ( sr-cyr, Владимир Владо Гаћиновић; 25 May 1890 – 11 August 1917) was a

Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби Босне и Херцеговине, Srbi Bosne i Hercegovine), often referred to as Bosnian Serbs ( sr-cyrl, босански Срби, bosanski Srbi) or Herzegovinian Serbs ( sr-cyrl, � ...

essayist and revolutionary in

Austria-Hungary 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#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. He was one of the leaders and organizers of the secret cells of the revolutionary movement

Young Bosnia Young Bosnia ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Млада Босна, Mlada Bosna) refers to a loosely organised grouping of separatist and revolutionary cells active in the early 20th century, that sought to end the Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovin ...

Early life

Gaćinović was born in 1890 in the village of Kačanj within

Bileća Bileća ( sr-cyrl, Билећа) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 7,476 inhabitants, while the municipality has 10,807 inhabitants. History The first traces of ci ...

municipality, which was then administered by the Austro-Hungarian Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina (another source has his birthplace as Rudina village, also in Bileća). Gaćinović was the son of a

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...

priest, who was also a

hajduk A hajduk (, plural of ) is a type of Irregular military, irregular infantry found in Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries, especially from Hajdú–Bihar Count ...

. He completed elementary school in

in 1901 and finished six grades of high school in

Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...

between 1901 and 1907. The high school had been home to two secret societies since 1905, one of which, "Matica", was led by Dimitrije Mitrinović. When he was seventeen years old, Gaćinović was a member of the literary society which served as a front for "Matica", and published a critically noted essay about the raconteur

Petar Kočić Petar Kočić ( sr-Cyrl, Петар Кочић; 29 June 1877 – 27 August 1916) was a Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian Serb writer, activist and politician. Born in rural northwestern Bosnia (region), Bosnia in the final days of Ot ...

Young Bosnia and Kosovo tyrannicide

Austria-Hungary's complete annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908 angered young revolutionaries active in that region. They rejected the conciliatory ideas of

Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Tomáš () is a Czech name, Czech and Slovak name, Slovak given name, equivalent to the name Thomas (name), Thomas. Tomáš is also a surname (feminine: Tomášová). Notable people with the name include: Given name Sport *Tomáš Berdych (born 198 ...

and his cultural struggle within the Austrian monarchy; instead, they embraced the notion of "Kosovo

tyrannicide Tyrannicide is the killing or assassination of a tyrant or unjust ruler, purportedly for the common good, and usually by one of the tyrant's subjects. Tyrannicide was legally permitted and encouraged in Classical Athens. Often, the term "tyrant ...

", à la

Miloš Obilić Miloš Obilić ( sr-Cyrl, Милош Обилић, ) is a Legend, legendary Serbian knight traditionally said to have served Prince Lazar during the Ottoman Serbia, Ottoman invasion of Serbia in the late 14th century. Although absent from conte ...

, as a method of political struggle. Gaćinović was the actual ideologue of the revolutionary movement

, and was thus responsible for introducing the cult of tyrannicide. Bogdan Žerajić was the first to pursue this method in practice. When

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

visited Bosnia and Herzegovina on 3 June 1910, Žerajić had intended to attempt his assassination during his passage through Mostar, but eventually gave up his plan for unknown reasons. Žerajić attempted to assassinate Austro-Hungarian governor Marijan Varešanin in Sarajevo a week later, but killed himself when the plot failed. Gaćinović, who was personal friends with European socialists such as

Victor Serge Victor Serge (; born Viktor Lvovich Kibalchich, ; 30 December 1890 – 17 November 1947) was a Belgian-born Russian revolutionary, novelist, poet, historian, journalist, and translator. Originally an anarchist, he joined the Bolsheviks in Janu ...

and

Julius Martov Yuliy Osipovich Tsederbaum (24 November 1873 – 4 April 1923), better known as Julius Martov, was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and a leader of the Mensheviks, a faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP). A close ...

, met

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

by chance in Paris. His revolutionary zeal impressed Trotsky. From autumn 1910 to the summer of 1912, Gaćinović was a student at

Vienna University The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

. In his late teens, after visiting 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 ...

, Gaćinović organized underground cells, ''kruzoks'', amongst Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina,

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, and western

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

. In 1911, he became the only Young Bosnia leader to join Unification or Death,

Dragutin Dimitrijević Dragutin Dimitrijević ( sr-Cyrl, Драгутин Димитријевић; 17 August 1876 – 26 June 1917), better known by his nickname Apis (Апис), was a Kingdom of Serbia, Serbian army officer and chief of the military intelligence sec ...

's secret society. In the same year, the term ''Mlada Bosna'' (Young Bosnia) was popularized in an article by Gaćinović, and modeled by him after Young Italy and Young Russia. In 1912, Gaćinović publicized a letter by one of his associates, with whom he fully agreed. Titled "Cry of a Desperate One" (), it attacked the younger generations, in particular students at foreign universities, for lack of idealism and opportunism, petty individualism, and conformity. During the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

, Gaćinović fought as a volunteer in the Montenegrin army. Upon his return to Bosnia, he instigated a plot to kill Oskar Potiorek, the Austrian Governor, in January 1914, but did not follow through with his own plan. Nevertheless, Gaćinović publicly condemned in his letters the subsequent assassination of Franz Ferdinand. According to some sources, this was merely an attempt to avoid prosecution for his involvement; however, other authors have it that Gaćinović was sincerely opposed to the assassination. During

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 ...

, Gaćinović spent time as a volunteer in the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

, after which he traveled to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to seek aid and volunteers for Serbia. He was poisoned with

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol As and atomic number 33. It is a metalloid and one of the pnictogens, and therefore shares many properties with its group 15 neighbors phosphorus and antimony. Arsenic is not ...

in August 1917 in Fribourg, Switzerland, by either the Austrians, the French, the Serbian police, or by one of Serbia's rival political factions.

Early life

Young Bosnia and Kosovo tyrannicide

See also

References

Further reading