Uros Ruzicic, founder and first head of the University Children's Clinic in Belgrade, long-time professor at the Belgrade Faculty of Medicine, academician of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, received a mural in Pljevlja, his hometown.
On the street that bears his name, on one of the buildings in the Jalija neighborhood, young academic artists Aleksandar Ostojić, Aleksandra Aranitović i Vukašin Tanjević They realistically depicted his image, thus paying tribute to the man who left a deep mark on the development of pediatric medicine in the former Yugoslavia.
"The mural was not created out of a desire to decorate a wall, but out of a need to preserve the memory of a great figure in our city. This work is the result of a process that included conversations, research, and reflection on what we are missing today and what should remain visible in public space. The street where the mural was painted bears his name, and it was from all these assumptions that we came to a personality that we ourselves did not know much about. We knew that that city street bore the name of this man, and nothing more. On that trail, we came to know about Dr. Ružičić and decided to at least partially repay him," Vukašin Tanjević told "Vijesti".
The sketch for the mural was designed by Aleksandar Ostojić, MA, and Tanjević and Aleksandra Aranitović contributed to completing the whole story into one monumental painting that adorns the wider city center.
"We tried to make the mural harmonize with the space and other murals we have done in the city, but also to have something that would make passersby stop, look, and perhaps ask themselves the same question as we did: Who was Uroš Ružičić," said Tanjević.
The portrait, he adds, is a story about values that are slowly disappearing from view, especially among young people.
"We should not forget the fact that Dr. Ružičić is the holder of the greatest awards from the beginning of the 20th century, which were only given to those who put their knowledge and lives at the disposal of their homeland, and among these awards are the medal of Consecrated Kosovo and the Cross of Mercy. What was very interesting for us was the knowledge that together with the patriarch Varnav Rosić as a doctor in the Serbian army, he overcame the Albanian barbarians and thus showed that freedom and humanity were the basic guiding ideas throughout the life of Dr. Ružičić. Even as a young doctor, he asked the then Ministry of Health for a transfer to Pljevlja, and only a few years later he was the most deserving Pljevlja for the construction of the National Health Center in 1928, investing a huge amount of effort to have the Rockefeller Foundation help and finance the construction of the first hospital in the city. Uroš Ružičić is a symbol of something that is missing today, and a symbol of something that young people today need and must be a guide to,” said Tanjević.
An impressive life path
Ružičić was born in Pljevlja in 1891. His father died early, so his mother took over the care of the children, who, by working in the homes of wealthier Pljevlja residents, managed to educate the children.
After primary school in his hometown, he continued his education in Thessaloniki, where he showed an exceptional talent for languages, literature and the humanities. He wrote poetry for which he received praise, so everyone believed that literature would one day be his main profession. After spending one semester studying literature, Ružičić enrolled in medical studies in Istanbul. After the Balkan Wars, he continued his studies in Bordeaux, which he completed in 1919 after an interruption due to World War I. After completing his studies, he worked for a short time in an orthopedic hospital in Zagreb, and from 1920 to 1922 he worked as a district doctor in Pljevlja.
With his work, he gained a great reputation and trust among the people of Pljevlja, especially among the rural population, whom he selflessly helped. A few years after his departure from Pljevlja, the population felt his absence, because they missed both his expertise and humanity. The then newspaper “Pravda” (from September 7, 1931) noted: “In Pljevlja, since the departure of the well-known, sympathetic and sadly departed doctor, Dr. Uroš Ružičić, the rural and urban community has lost trust in doctors and has increasingly begun to turn to witch doctors and quacks for help.”
He moved to Belgrade in 1922 to the Anglo-Serbian Children's Hospital, and in 1924, as a Rockefeller Foundation scholarship holder, he was sent abroad to specialize in pediatrics. Upon his return to Belgrade in 1926, he continued working at the Children's Clinic.
During his scientific and research work in the field of pediatrics, he wrote over 250 professional and popular works. He was mostly concerned with the issue of nutrition, care, physiology and pathophysiology of infants, in which field he wrote several textbooks. In addition to his overall scientific work, he was also a great health educator of the people. He also went to America for advanced training.
Despite the lack of equipment and difficult working conditions, he managed to significantly reduce infant mortality. His book “You and Your Infant” became one of the most important works in the field of pediatrics and parenting in the region, went through 21 editions and remains highly regarded among experts and parents.
He was also known for his humanity. He often wrote his mother's name on donation plaques instead of his own. Militia, expressing gratitude for her sacrifice and support during his education. He received several awards. He spoke four languages, English, Greek, French and Turkish. Music was also his great love. He played the violin and the cello.
His apartment where he lived with his wife, a doctor Radmila, he was always ready to help children. He had no children of his own.
Dr. Uroš Ružičić died on October 7, 1966 in Belgrade.
By decision of the Pljevlja Assembly, dated June 6, 2008, the street from Milet Bašta to Jalija bears his name.
Announcing new works
Tanjević said that this summer he will work on painting several more murals in the city, at important locations.
“A mural dedicated to Tanasi (Atanasij) Pejatović, a professor, geographer and associate of Jovan Cvijić, a man from Pljevlja who left a deep mark on science, is being prepared, and today he is rarely remembered, except when the day of the Pljevlja Gymnasium that bears his name is celebrated. Two years ago, we painted a monumental mural to his brother Risto Pejatović, the first academically educated sculptor in today's Montenegro, and a man who, together with his brother Atanasi, is a pioneer of caricature in this region, which is in a way a continuation of the story of two significant Pljevlja residents, brothers in arms, finding themselves facing each other in the very center of the city. We are not doing all this to just fill the walls, but to permanently and carefully select cultural content to return to the collective consciousness. The city should be filled with artistic content in public space, and as a part of urban culture, murals are something that is taken for granted.”
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