I changed my mind about Ukrainian refugees

[Varda]

Serbs accept fellow slavic people and assimilate them pretty well into their society. Of course being from a neighbouring country can sometimes create problems due to ethnic rivalries from the past.

White Russians who arrived in Yugoslavia after WW2 and stayed there after the 1944-45 when Red Army was present are mostly assimilated in Serbs. Part of them escaped from Yugoslavian when Red Army army came in the end of WW2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catego..._to_Yugoslavia
Among white Russians emigrants in Yugoslavia there was large part of small Russians (Ukrainians).
White Russian emigrants in Yugoslavia were most numerous in Belgrade and Vojvodina. In Belgrade between WW1 and WW2 Russian language was heard on every corner. Influence of white Russian emigrants on Serbian culture, architecture, church, education science etc. was significant.

Some examples of people from Serbia with white Russian roots:
- Olja Ivanjicki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olja_Ivanjicki
- Konstantin Samofalov https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Samofalov
- Viktor Troicki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Troicki

[Dušan]

Of course but still, I'm pretty sure a Serb would rather marry a Catholic Romanian than an Orthodox Croat. In the case of muslims that's another issue. Once you marry a muslim you suddenly become one yourself etc.

Catholic Romanian and Orthodox Croat are very rare species.

Average Serb would rather give his daughter to marry with Orthodox Greek than to Slav Catholic Croat.
Especialy after all bloodshed and wars we had with them in 20th century.

[Russki]

[Dušan]

Some examples of people from Serbia with white Russian roots:
- Olja Ivanjicki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olja_Ivanjicki
- Konstantin Samofalov https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Samofalov
- Viktor Troicki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Troicki

The most famous Belgrader white Russian is architect Nikolay Krasnov.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola...ov_(architect)

His architectural works in Belgrade:

[Varda]

The most famous Belgrader white Russian is architect Nikolay Krasnov.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola...ov_(architect)

Among notable Belgradian white Russians is also George Ostrogorsky https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Ostrogorsky

Teacher of my great-grandmother in the village in Dalmatian hinterland was Russian. According to my great-grandmother his name was Sergej Suhoruho. She obvious little modified, and he was probably Sergej Suhorov.

[TheMaestro]

I just could never live in a suburb. To me they combine worst of urban and rural living without too many advantages. Village near a city is ideal
IMO

Why not, there are for sure many suburbs that look incredible and some you wouldn't even know if it's a village or not. Budapest for sure has those and also many beautifull districts. You don't live in HU anymore?

[Varda]

Religion also plays a role.

100 years ago, in Banat region, where Serbs were in contact with non-Slavic Romanians, mixed marriages were quite common.
In same time, in Lika region or in Bosnia, where Serbs were in contact Slavic Croats and Slavic Muslims, mixed marriages with them were very rare.

Mixed marriages to a somewhat greater extent in BiH started after WW1 and especially after WW2. Earlier in the past were very rare.

"Mixed marriages in Bosnia and Herzegovina" (Nada Perišić) https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bue...jevo/09259.pdf

[Varda]

Mixed marriages to a somewhat greater extent in BiH started after WW1 and especially after WW2. Earlier in the past were very rare.

"Mixed marriages in Bosnia and Herzegovina" (Nada Perišić) https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bue...jevo/09259.pdf

First marriage between White Carniola Serbs and Slovenians is recorded in 1930s, when a Serb married Slovenian woman. After WW2 marriages between Serbs of White Carniola and Slovenians have become common and today these Serbs are in vast majority assimilated in Slovenian nation.
Serbs settled in White Carniola 500 years ago https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbs_of_White_Carniola

[Dušan]

First marriage between White Carniola Serbs and Slovenians is recorded in 1930s, when a Serb married Slovenian woman. After WW2 marriages between Serbs of White Carniola and Slovenians have become common and today these Serbs are in vast majority assimilated in Slovenian nation.
Serbs settled in White Carniola 500 years ago https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbs_of_White_Carniola

From settling of Serbs in that part of Slovenia in cca 1530s until first mixed marriage with Slovenians in 1930s, passed 400 years.
Four centuries of two separated societies next to each other.

[Jana]

I really hope you're right, and that some people will revive those depressed areas.
You can live from rural tourism and craftsmanship if relatively few people do that compared to the number of tourists. Alpine rural areas do have agritourism but there are lots of people from Milan going to the mountain valleys. In winter they go skiing, in warm periods they go trekking and eating local food. Those municipalities also have some food and mechanical industries so their economy doesn't depend exclusively on tourism. And still they are the poorest municipalities and some are depopulating. So I think you can live in a Lika village making cheese and renting a house but that's not a solution for everyone because the market will soon be saturated. If you don't start manufacturing those places will not be populated like 100 years ago because no one will accept to live from subsistance agriculture.

We have to develop everything: primary, secondary, tertiary sectors. But without high technology manufacturing and/or software industry you'll always risk depopulation.

Why would the market be saturated? Dinaric Alps have low population density since antiquity and it will stay this way. It's not area suited for lot of people.
Only Panonnian part of Croatia can bear massive population.

I see absolutely no need for population increase, no, I want this to be small and very exclusive country. Only thing needed is to make age pyramid better, but not more people.
they aren't needed.

And I have really no idea why you think manufacturing doesn't exist there. It absolutely does, but these are small family factories that employ few people.
In Lika you have local beer industry and stuff like that in Dalmatian Hinterland.

OPG system is a very good one. It means you produce your own food (and wine or rakija etc) which you can offer to tourists, but you are not depenent on them because you can live from food production alone. And well, food quality from Zagora or Lika can't compare to GMO shit from polluted western European soils.

Most of it goes into export if OPG farm has extra.

Software industry is booming in Dalmatia btw, especially in Split. Not a village but you get my point. Good thing about it is that it can be located even into the biggest backwater

Another plus point: rural living increases the birth rate guaranteed while urbanisation kills it. Family with a big property and own food can have 3-4 kids without trouble.

I see Croatia as decentralised small town and rural paradise in the future, with biggest cities more and more losing importance.