WAR HERO AND BENEFACTOR: Đoka Gave Everything for Serbia, and Until the End of His Life He Shouted: “Down with the Ruler!”

Belgrade, Serbia – In our country, short memory has a long tradition. He shouted against the authorities, but he preserved a good name, because – Đorđe didn’t love Serbian rulers, but he loved Serbia.

Đorđe “Đoka” Vlajković was born in 1831 in Belgrade. At 8, he lost his father. At 14, he lost his mother. After the death of his parents, he went to Russia for military school. During the 1848 revolution, he returned to Serbia and showed unprecedented heroism at Sentomas, which has since been called Srbobran. At 17, he received his first medal for bravery.

When the Crimean War broke out in 1853, he rushed to help the Russians. In the Battle of Sevastopol, he lost a leg. His great bravery amazed the Russians, and he received their highest decoration – the Order of Saint George, the rank of captain, and a very high pension. With this, they probably wanted to repay him, thinking that without a leg, he would no longer be able to be an officer.

The Hero with a Wooden Leg

In Belgrade, Đorđe bought an estate and grew flowers. Rulers changed, but “down with the ruler” echoed through the capital.

The event at Čukur-česma in 1862 rekindled his fighting spirit. He had no leg, but he bravely faced danger whenever someone attacked his homeland. After the murder of a Serbian boy, the Turks fled to Kalemegdan. From there, they bombarded Terazije.

“Down with the ruler, they killed our child,” Đorđe gathered soldiers and wanted to kill all the Turks in the fortress.

Prince Mihailo barely dissuaded him from attacking Kalemegdan. Angry, Đorđe returned home, saying: “Ruler, that’s a child!” The Serbian ruler, through brilliant diplomacy, managed to permanently drive the Turks out of Belgrade due to this shelling of an undefended city.

Serbs from Pančevo recognized the chivalry of the hero Đorđe; they came and presented him with an ornate saber with an inscription.

“Down with the Ruler!”

No one dared to say that Princess Julija was spending enormous amounts of money on clothes. That is, no one but one man!

“Is that what 30,000 ducats are spent on?! Down with the ruler!” shouted Đorđe, alone in the street.

With a crutch, he hurried in 1875 to Herzegovina, where the “Nevesinje rifle” rebellion had erupted. In battles, he was living fire.

In the Serbian-Turkish war of 1876, he was at the head of the army, receiving the rank of major, and due to his displayed bravery, soon the rank of lieutenant colonel. In the new war of 1877, he commanded volunteers, plunged into terrible battles, and liberated Pirot.

He was a fierce warrior, a true hothead, but a good husband and a caring father. Đorđe received the rank of colonel, and in return, Prince Milan was reminded by him that “heated rulers do not have their consciences burned.” What Đorđe thought, Domanović soon wrote – whoever wants to lead the people must first turn their back on them.

After the Congress of Berlin and gaining independence and 4 districts, Đorđe led the Ibar Division.

How the Homeland “Repaid” Him?

Đoka Vlajković died in 1883 at the age of 52. He left with a clear conscience. It was one of the largest funerals in Serbia in the 19th century.

He left an immense fortune to Serbian education.

“We need educated people,” he wrote in his will.

Đorđe gave all his money to Serbia, believing that she would take care of his family. Soon, his son died of tuberculosis, and then his wife.

His daughter Marija was left alone, poor, and had to beg. There is no harder wood than a beggar’s staff. Humiliated and hungry, Marija died in 1911.

“The people will gild it all,” Laza wrote. It was only in 1939 that the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) arranged Đorđe’s endowment, and it remains one of the most beautiful buildings in the Serbian capital today. He also has a street named after him in the center of Belgrade. But the story of the colonel with the wooden leg was forgotten – by both the people and the rulers.