Red Njegoš, a New Ideological Reading of the Montenegrin Metropolitan in the First Years of Communist Government

Abstract

The paper analyses the attitude of communist authorities in Montenegro towards the Montenegrin metropolitan and one of the most important South Slavic writers of the 19^th century, Petar II Petrović Njegoš. His work, primarily the book Gorski vijenac, is said to be the cornerstone of Montenegrin spirituality. Unlike other writers of that period, the Communist Party could not dismiss Njegoš’s work. On the contrary, the work of the poet was interpreted in a new way by the Party, which used it in its efforts to build a new socialist society. Through the analysis of archival material, periodicals, and other sources, the author explains the new relationship of communist authorities towards the works of Petar II Petrović Njegoš. A special focus is placed on two events, the centenary of the publication of Gorski vijenac in 1947, and the centenary of Njegoš’s death in 1951, when the intentions of the Communist authorities to recognize and point out that the literary opus of Njegoš fits into a new, ideological context of a socialist state became clear.