Guardians

Everyone guards someone and something, we are all guardians of something, at least our own memory. We are all (unpaid) guardians of what is important to us.

Being the guardian of power is somewhat different, it carries different meanings, in unfinished societies, as a rule, some privileges go along with it. Apparently, we live in a country where politicians are better kept than the most personal memories.

The news that we could read the other day that there is a lack of bodyguards for Montenegrin politicians is interesting in many ways.

For example, we were all convinced that there are too many policemen in Montenegro, but now it turns out that this is not the case. We are in the red with the policemen, definitely. After all, if they are the guards of the politicians, who will secure the cafes?

In other words, we have so many politicians who, on various grounds, need to be protected, that one gets the impression that there is no more dangerous profession than being a politician in Montenegro. And is it really so?

Imagine how difficult it is to be their guardian only then. Since it is a dangerous job, it must be well-paid, because some of those policemen who are involved in guarding public figures, sooner or later open luxurious restaurants, hotels, and engage in serious construction. They sacrifice themselves, take care of others, but it seems to be worth it.

Again, that mysterious world of policemen-guards is revealed through the famous correspondence, an epistolary novel, of a policeman who talks to a prominent criminal about "his people" and their jobs. What kind of guards they are is clear after only a few episodes of this series.

Having police guards has become a kind of status symbol among local politicians.

Probably, nowhere did such a beautiful word for the guardians of power arise as among the Montenegrins - penjanik. The post-communist transition turned that profession into a guard class. Although, it seems, under all governments, Montenegrins had the talent for exactly that job.

I found an interesting detail in an extensive book Simon Sibag Montefiore "Jerusalem: A Biography". One of the chapters in the history of the miraculous city was the influx of Russian pilgrims in the second half of the XNUMXth century. In fact, at the time of the weakening of the Ottoman Empire, Russia had its eye on Constantinople as well as on Jerusalem. Grand Duke Sergei Romanov and his princess Ela they made a whole Russian city in Jerusalem. "The Russian complex consisted of a consulate, a hospital, a three-domed church of the Holy Trinity with four bell towers, an archimandrite's court, quarters for aristocrats and accommodation for over 3.000 pilgrims. The buildings of that complex resemble huge but modern fortifications, and during the British Mandate they served as military fortifications." This is how Sibag Montefiore describes that Russian city in Jerusalem, built in the 60s. British journalist Stephen Graham he traveled with Russian pilgrims, disguised as a Russian, and describes his arrival as follows: "In Jerusalem, a Montenegrin guide met us in the perfect uniform of the Russian Palestinian Society - a crimson-light yellow cloak and riding pants - and led us through the city streets." .

So, even then, the guard job was the best for us. So much so that we exported them. You will find an explanation in this interesting book. Russian aristocrats brought Montenegrins en masse as bodyguards, i.e. guards. I have to admit that I find it unusual that we don't have a story about these people here, isn't that - Montenegrins in Jerusalem - an interesting framework for some kind of literary saga or film story?

Let's go back from the Jerusalem guards to these Podgorica ones.

As far as I understand, the current as well as recent ministers and other heads must have guards. Imagine if this government didn't last either, and if a new one came, only then would there be a shortage of guards.

Maybe this is the way to solve the issue of unemployment in Montenegro. That we have some politicians, and all the rest are guards. Who doesn't find himself in those two professions - and we don't need them.