Alija Sirotanovic was Yugoslav miner- a brigadier from Breza who set a world record in coal mining with his brigade in 1949. During eight hours, they dug up 152 tons of coal and broke the record previously held by Alexei Stakhanov with 102 tons of coal. Because of his feat, Alija was awarded several times and his image was on the 20.000 dinar banknote from 1987. By the way, the 10-dinar banknote, which some of us remember, is mistakenly associated with Alija Sirotanović and shows the Zenica foundryman Arif Heralić. Alija Sirotanović was very humble and dedicated to progress, a hardworking miner and as such he symbolizes the current situation in which Serbia is in. That situation is characterized by scarcity, mining and the hope that the situation will change for the better.
Scarcity in Serbia is best described by the at-risk-of-poverty rate, which is 19,6 percent, which means that such a percentage of Serbian residents had incomes less than the at-risk-of-poverty threshold, which is 82.213 dinars per month of income for a family of three. Such a high poverty rate is not accidental and the comparative analysis of the official economic data of Serbia and Montenegro for the year 2025 well illustrates the attitude of the Serbian ruling elite towards its citizens and their quality of life. According to Eurostat data, in 2025, Serbia achieved a GDP per capita of 13.540 euros, slightly more than Montenegro, where this value is 13.110 euros per capita. When you compare the incomes of citizens of Serbia and Montenegro, you get a completely different picture. The average salary in Serbia in 2025 is 932 euros, while in Montenegro that amount is 1012 euros. The values of average pensions show an even greater difference and in Serbia in 2025 the average pension was 430 euros, while Montenegrin pensioners received an average of 535 euros. So, with a slightly smaller GDP, Montenegro pays its pensioners about 20 percent higher pensions and employees in Montenegro have higher salaries. This kind of redistribution indicates that in Serbia there is an intention to keep the population in a subordinate economic position so that it can be more easily manipulated by distributing money to the loyal and buying the favor of voters in the elections. This especially applies to one and a half million Serbian pensioners.
Mining has become the most important branch of the economy and the current level of GDP is maintained thanks to this sector. According to official GDP data for 2025, real growth of 2 percent was achieved with annual inflation of 2,4 percent. The sectors of service activities and mining have a dominant share of GDP, while the sectors of construction and agriculture recorded a decline. There is also a problem with gross investments in fixed assets, which grew by a minimum of 0,9 percent, while the inflow of foreign direct investments slowed down compared to previous years. When the structure of GDP is analyzed, it can be seen that the growth of the mining sector of 4 percent (mining is also the most profitable sector) significantly contributes to the growth of the total GDP, except for sectors that are based on consumption.
Unlike other sectors, mining has the characteristic that resources are limited and the same ore can only be sold once. With very low rates of mineral rents, there is no restriction in Serbia that ore cannot be exported and must be processed in the country. While such restrictions exist in developing countries, Serbia allows the export of raw materials, so Chinese gold and copper are produced from Serbian ore. Thus, a significant share in the creation of new value is irreversibly lost. The reasons why some countries allow the export of ore as a raw material are environmental in nature. The ecological situation in municipalities where mines are present shows that this cannot be the reason in Serbia. The uncontrolled export of mineral resources, which are by their nature limited, represents a permanent sale of property that belongs to all citizens of Serbia.
That the situation in Serbia can be changed for the better and the optimism that the appearance of the Student Movement on the political map instills prevents a greater exodus of citizens. Alija Sirotanović made history when Tito asked him what he personally needed at the awards ceremony. Alija then replied: "Give me a bigger shovel." Technology has changed and probably today that answer would be: "Give us honest and fair elections".
The author is a professor of economics at the Faculty of Technical Sciences in Novi Sad
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