Brutalism and the Renaissance*

New Belgrade and its construction are an excellent example of how politics needs to be embodied in space, leaving certain messages for future generations. Created as an idea back in the days of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, this part of Belgrade became a mirror of a new society and a new man under socialism.

It was realized as a "dream in concrete", created to show the citizens what a better future "for which we fought" looks like, it is a sociological melting pot, or a consequence of the unbreakable brotherhood and unity of peoples and nationalities, hardened in the anti-fascist struggle. This project also sent a message to the world about the single road, self-governance and the Non-Aligned Movement, so the boulevards were named after Nehru, Gandhi, but also Agostino Neto or Lazar Cárdenas. The road to space is marked by Yuri Gagarin's main road. It was a politically acceptable balance because we also had John Kennedy Street.

Recently, in a relatively short period of time, we were given the opportunity to watch on television the completion of works and the opening of two large and important buildings whose history follows the development and destiny of first socialist Yugoslavia and then post-socialist Serbia. The first one is not geographically located in New Belgrade, but it also represented a multi-decade project, which was hanging in the air, too ambitiously conceived, long unfinished, used several times for political campaigns before the elections, you guessed it - the Prokop railway station. Today, the station is called Belgrade Centar, and to be honest, it has been operational for several years. The platforms are located underground, so the impression of an eternal building was given by the unfinished station building, which is actually a waiting room with a shopping center. The opening was used for political propaganda, the top government spent hours there, all with hamburgers for a snack. Speeches were given, figures were measured, kilometers of roads or in this case railways, renovated stations. It is certainly good when the work started several decades ago is finally completed, I hope without serious cost overruns and with private-public cooperation of investors, contractors and the state.

If no one cheated in the execution of the works, if the investor did not run into political issues with the authorities and if everything was carried out according to plans, we can all be happy together. The only problem is that today in Serbia, and this is not just my impression, we do not have an independent body, a supervisory body, an audit house, a state auditor to review and approve what has been done. We may have individuals who are reputable and professional, but unfortunately we do not have an institution or institutions that would be able to carry out such a routine control. I am aware that there are no ideal conditions, ideal division and control of power anywhere in the world, but we have already experienced that governments fell in neighboring countries, that former presidents were put on trial precisely because of financial malfeasance.

On the other hand, the private company Delta Holding, whose president, Miroslav Mišković, was arrested by the current government at the beginning of his first term of office, and then released to defend himself with a bail of millions, opened the renovated Sava Center, one of the symbols not only of Belgrade but of the whole of Yugoslavia. . On that occasion, RTS made a special show where the parallel fate of this temple of socialism was excellently shown. It was built at the end of the 1970s in record time and was a sign that Yugoslavia is part of the West. It brought cultural events of the highest level to the other bank of the Sava, to a part of the city that was considered the dormitory of the proletarians.

If the solitaire of the Central Committee was made from the membership fees of comrades from KPJ, the Sava Center was built from loans of socialist abundance in the era of peaceful coexistence. FEST moved into that building, where concerts and gala premieres, OSCE meetings, congresses of economists and communists were held. In that hall, the KPJ fell apart, and with it Yugoslavia, but the Non-Aligned Movement also faltered. This is where the last bond between Serbia and Montenegro broke during the Eurovision Song Contest. It failed to such an extent that Boža Đelić begged the security guards to tame the mouse that appeared in delicate meetings with representatives of the World Bank and the IMF. However, unlike Prokop, the government somehow sourly follows or ignores the fact that it delayed the sale to Delta for a long time, and that this company paid the price, and then invested more than 100 million euros, that is, twice more than the contractual obligation, and gave new life to this object.

You see, I'm looking forward to the fact that the hall where I first saw the premiere in 1984 will be open again in the Sava Center Amadeus Miloš Forman. I remember that there was a mini-concert of Mozart's hits before the screening. I wonder if there will still be a wider space in the 13th row for those a little taller and leggier. What I'm not worried about is the possibility that someone stole money from the budget or that someone will return the favor by financing a politician. Their money, their account. Thus, the Sava Center, a true symbol of Yugoslavia, which was a serious and desirable candidate for EU membership, with a serious social gross product and a compatible economy, was reopened. In the hall, there were and still are clocks with the times in metropolises around the world, so somehow I hope that this may be a sign that we still want to get out of our mental self-isolation.