Serbian soldier and politician
Milivoje Petrovi? Blaznavac
(
Serbian Cyrillic
:
Миливо?е Петрови? Блазнавац
; 16 May 1824 ? 5 April 1873) was Serbian general and politician who served as regent from 1868 to 1872, as well as head of government from 1872 to 1873.
[1]
Initially a police officer under the leadership of local governor
Jovan Obrenovi?
, he began his political career in 1842 during the rebellion led by
Toma Vu?i? Peri?i?
. Between 1842 and 1855, Blaznavac served as a confidant of
Stevan Kni?anin
in multiple capacities, during which time he climbed the ranks of the army. He would continue his ascent with the help of
Ilija Gara?anin
after Kni?anin's death in 1855.
[1]
Having played a key role in proclaiming the underage
Prince Milan Obrenovi?
prince after the assassination of
Prince Mihailo
in 1868, Blaznavac became part of the prince's three-man regency.
[1]
His heavy-handed approach to politics led to Blaznavac being outmaneuvered by another member of the regency, the moderate liberal
Jovan Risti?
, and his staunchly pro-Austrian foreign policy was somewhat curbed as a result.
[2]
After Prince Milan came of age in August 1872, Blaznavac shortly served as head of government before his sudden death in April 1873.
[2]
Early life
[
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Milivoje Petrovi? Blaznavac was born on 16 May 1824 in
Blaznava
. His father, Petar, was a rural merchant and shopkeeper, and his mother served in the
residence of Prince Milo? Obrenovi?
. At the time, a rumor circulated that he was an illegitimate son of the prince, who married off one of his concubines to a struggling village storekeeper with a generous
dowry
after she became pregnant. Blaznavac used this rumor to his advantage, however its veracity is unknown.
[1]
Blaznavac finished elementary school in his native village of Blaznava, after which he learned the dyer's trade. Rather than staying in the trade for long, he soon joined the standing army, from which he transferred to the police force. There, he served under the command of
Jovan Obrenovi?
, governor of the
Rudnik
district.
[1]
Service under Prince Alexander
[
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During
Vu?i?'s Rebellion
in 1842, Blaznavac sided with
Toma Vu?i? Peri?i?
against the Obrenovi? dynasty. He intercepted and destroyed a written order sent out from
Belgrade
to the governors of the districts of
?a?ak
and
U?ice
to come to the aid of
Prince Mihailo
. Having learned of this, Jovan Obrenovi? sentenced Blaznavac to 50
strokes of the cane
.
[1]
After Vu?i?'s victory, Blaznavac was awarded a transfer to Belgrade where he started to work for the
Ministry of Internal Affairs
. He stayed in police work until 1845, leaving from the position of secretary of the command. Blaznavac transferred to the army and in 1848, he became
adjutant
to
Prince Alexander Karađorđevi?
. During this time, Blaznavac was a confidant of
Stevan Kni?anin
, who was in charge of the security of Prince Alexander.
[1]
After a falling out with the prince for personal reasons, Blaznavac remained loyal to Kni?anin. He was dispatched to
Vienna
to follow the deposed Prince
Milo? Obrenovi?
. He gained the prince's trust and reported on his plans to take advantage of the
revolutions of 1848
to cross into Serbia and stage a coup. Blaznavac lured the prince to
Zagreb
, and with the help of
Ljudevit Gaj
, arranged his arrest under the pretense of him being a Hungarian agent. Unaware of their betrayal, the prince handed a large sum of money to the two, leaving him in a precarious position. He learned of Blaznavac's role in his arrest after his release and the two never reconciled.
[1]
In 1848, Blazanavac arrived in the newly proclaimed
Serbian Vojvodina
where he fought in the Serbian volunteer squads commanded by Stevan Kni?anin. There, he served as Kni?anin's adjutant and participated in several battles. After his return to Serbia, Blaznavac decided to pursue formal education. He studied chemistry in Vienna and
Paris
, after which he spent some time at the military academy in
Metz
. Despite never having graduated, he received an award for his research from
Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
. During the
Crimean War
, Blaznavac took part in several diplomatic missions in Vienna, meeting with ministers
Buol
and
Bach
, as well as Russian ambassador
Alexander Gorchakov
.
[1]
In late 1854, Stevan Kni?anin became Interior Minister and made Blaznavac commander of the military department, putting him in charge of military affairs in Serbia. Kni?anin died soon after, leaving Blaznavac in search of new patrons. He gained the trust of
Ilija Gara?anin
and started using the power struggle between Gara?anin and Prince Alexander to his advantage. He communicated with several foreign consulates, including both the Austrians who were supportive of the prince, as well as the Russians and French who were opposed to him. During the mission of
Ibrahim Edhem Pasha
in Belgrade in 1858, Blaznavac crucially sided with the prince. In 1858, he was promoted to the rank of
colonel
, at the time the highest title in the Serbian army.
[1]
Service under Prince Mihailo
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When the Assembly voted Prince Milo? Obrenovi? back into power in 1858, Blaznavac was in favor of staging a coup to protect the Karađorđevi? dynasty. However,
Ilija Gara?anin
hesitated, and soon after Blaznavac was arrested and expelled to his native village of
Blaznava
and deprived of all titles. From there, he wrote to the
governor of the Belgrade fortress
Sherif Topal Osman Pasha
in 1859 detailing his plans on how the
Porte
could depose the Obrenovi? dynasty and restore Serbia as a loyal province of the
Ottoman Empire
.
[1]
After Prince Milo?'s death in 1860, Blaznavac returned to public life and was installed as the steward of the smelter in
Kragujevac
. Still, knowing of his message to Osman Pasha,
Prince Mihailo
hesitated to allow Blaznavac to take up a higher post. It was then that Blaznavac befriended
Anka Konstantinovi?
, the prince's first cousin with whose daughter the prince became infatuated. Together, Ilija Gara?anin and Anka Konstantinovi? successfully lobbied for Blaznavac to be named
Minister of War
in April 1865.
[3]
[1]
Prince Mihailo's plans to marry
Katarina Konstantinovi?
, his first cousin once removed, soon turned into a public scandal. Blaznavac exploited the power struggle that emerged between her mother Anka and Ilija Gara?anin, relaying information from both sides as a double agent, as well as to the prince himself. Blaznavac had in fact himself proposed to Katarina not long before the prince had done so, in the hopes of marrying into the royal family. Crucially, he revealed Gara?anin's final plan of legal action against the prince's marriage and took Anka's side in the hopes of staying in power due to her influence on the prince, especially since his work in the ministry was evaluated negatively by a Russian commission in 1867.
[1]
Regent of Prince Milan
[
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]
Blaznavac with the remaining two regents
Jovan Risti?
and
Jovan Gavrilovi?
After the assassination of
Prince Mihailo
on 29 May 1868, the government planned that the Grand National Assembly should elect a new ruler. However, Blaznavac staged a
coup d'etat
with the help of the Belgrade garrison and proclaimed
Milan Obrenovi?
, the fourteen-year-old grandson of Prince Milo?'s brother
Jevrem
, the new prince.
[1]
[2]
As Milan was a minor, Blaznavac served as his regent together with
Jovan Gavrilovi?
and the moderately liberal
Jovan Risti?
.
[4]
Taking advantage of the regency, Risti? promulgated a new constitution in 1869 which gave greater power to the National Assembly. This way, he outmaneuvered Blaznavac and minimized the influence of the officer corps who were loyal to him. Risti? was also successful in curbing Blaznavac's staunchly pro-Austrian foreign policy and creating deeper ties to Russia, with the goal of balancing between the two.
[2]
Premiership and death
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After Prince Milan came of age in 1872, he was unhappy with Risti? for his role in promulgating the new constitution. He made Blaznavac the first-ever General in the Serbian army,
[5]
as well as his Prime Minister in late 1872, which however turned out to be short-lived.
[2]
Blaznavac died suddenly of a heart attack on 5 April 1873. However,
Slobodan Jovanovi?
records his cause of death as
Ludwig's angina
, a curable condition which was probably left untreated by his insufficiently educated doctor.
[2]
He was buried in the family tomb of
Jevrem Obrenovi?
in
Rakovica
.
[6]
Personal life
[
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]
Blaznavac was married to
Katarina Konstantinovi?
, former
fiancee
of Prince
Mihailo Obrenovi?
. Blaznavac was a suitor for Katarina's hand even before Prince Mihailo began to show an interest in her. The two had a son named Vojislav Blaznavac, a cavalry Colonel.
[7]
In popular culture
[
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]
In
Svetozar Markovi?
, a 1980 feature film and 1981 miniseries directed by Eduard Gali? depicting the life of early Serbian socialist thinker
Svetozar Markovi?
, Blaznavac is portrayed by
Du?an Jani?ijevi?
.
In
Because My Thoughts Are Struggling
(2023), a historical drama film directed by
Milorad Milinkovi?
, Blaznavac is portrayed by
Neboj?a Dugali?
.
[8]
See also
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References
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External links
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