Who is Miroslav Lazanski

Miroslav Lazanski was one of the best-known Serbian journalists of the second half of the twentieth and early twenty-first century, recognized for his decades-long focus on military and geopolitical topics. He built his career as a journalist, columnist, and writer, and in the final decade of his life also as a politician and diplomat. His writings on weapons, military alliances, and international relations shaped, for decades, the way part of the public in the region understood security and geopolitical issues.

Early Life and Childhood

Miroslav Lazanski was born on September 18, 1950, in Karlovac, in what was then the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. His father, Vladimir Lazanski, was an officer in the Yugoslav People's Army, of Slovenian origin, while his mother, Velinka, née Živković, was a Serb originally from Visoko, near Sarajevo. According to some sources, the Lazanski family originally came from Poland, settling over generations in the territory of the former Yugoslavia.The family's history was marked by tragedy during the Second World War. Miroslav Lazanski's grandfather, Mihael Lazanski, and his uncle, Miroslav "Mirko" Lazanski, after whom he was named, were killed at the Ustasha-run Jasenovac camp. His father, Vladimir, then a member of the Royal Yugoslav Army, spent part of the war as a prisoner of war at the German camp in Osnabrück.Because of his father's military service, the family moved often. The family spent one period of their life in Trebinje, where his father, Vladimir, took part in building the "Čilipi" airport near Dubrovnik. It was in Trebinje that young Miroslav spent part of his childhood and formed the basic interests that would later shape his professional career.

Education

Miroslav Lazanski completed elementary school in his native Karlovac, while attending the "Jovan Dučić" Gymnasium in Trebinje. When his father retired at the age of forty-four, the family moved to Zagreb, where Lazanski enrolled at the Faculty of Law. He later completed his legal studies, graduating from the Faculty of Law in Zagreb.His interest in military subjects, weapons, and military tactics developed, according to his later statements in interviews, already during his high school years, through reading specialized literature and following the daily press. This early fascination later became the foundation of his entire journalistic career.Lazanski served his compulsory military service in 1977 in Bitola, in what was then the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. In one later interview, he noted that he considered that period of service one of the best years of his life.

Beginning of His Career

Miroslav Lazanski began his journalistic career already in his second year of studies, writing for the Zagreb youth publication Polet. His first published piece dealt with the topic of the French Foreign Legion. Following that article, he became a regular contributor, and later a full member of the editorial staff at Polet, a publication that at the time had a significant circulation and influence among younger readers.In 1980, he moved to the daily newspaper Vjesnik, and the following year, together with a group of colleagues, moved to the editorial staff of the political weekly Danas, whose circulation at the time stood at around 180,000 copies a week. Alongside this, he occasionally also wrote for the biweekly Start, a publication known for combining entertainment content with serious analysis and interviews with relevant figures in world politics and the military.

Rise to Fame

Through the 1980s, Miroslav Lazanski built a reputation as a journalist with access to senior military and political officials around the world. During this period, he interviewed numerous Soviet marshals, NATO alliance force commanders, defense ministers of European countries, and other statesmen.He visited American military bases and spoke with commanders of the United States' Atlantic and Pacific fleets, as well as with the leadership of the West Point Military Academy. Among those he interviewed was James Alan Abrahamson, one of the key figures responsible for the Strategic Defense Initiative program, better known as "Star Wars."Lazanski also spoke with NATO force commander General Bernard Rogers in 1982, as well as with General John Galvin in 1990. On the Soviet side, his interviewees included Marshal of the Soviet Union Sergei Akhromeyev, Warsaw Pact forces commander Viktor Kulikov, and Soviet Defense Minister Marshal Dmitry Yazov. Later, as a correspondent based in Belgrade, he also spoke with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2016, as well as with dozens of other defense ministers and chiefs of general staff from around the world.He remained at Danas until 1991, while continuing, in the meantime, his collaboration with the publications Start and Politika.

Greatest Successes

In February 1991, Lazanski moved from Zagreb to Belgrade, where he began working as a journalist and military commentator for the daily newspaper Politika. This move marked a turning point in his career — over the following decades at Politika, he built a reputation as one of the most influential military-political columnists in Serbia, regularly writing about weapons, military alliances, conflicts, and geopolitical relations.Alongside this, he also collaborated with other media outlets, including Politika ekspres, NIN, Večernje novosti, the Zagreb-based Start, the Greek Kathimerini, as well as the publications Diamond Weekly and Securitarian.As a war correspondent, Lazanski reported from numerous crisis hotspots — from Afghanistan, Beirut, Chechnya, Zaire, Lebanon, the Iran-Iraq front, during Operation Desert Storm, as well as during the wars in the former Yugoslavia — in Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo and Metohija — and during the conflict in Libya.As a writer, he published several books on military, intelligence, and historical topics. His first book, Jutarnja patrola, was published in 1999. This was followed by Uvek postoji sutra (2000), Istina o Srpskoj (2001), Bin Laden protiv Amerike (2001), Borbeni avioni (2002), Komandosi (2002), Hitler je pobedio (2003), and Vreme izdaje (2008). According to some sources, the total number of his books reaches as many as ten titles. He was also the author of around ten television series dedicated to military and historical subjects.Lazanski's political career began in 2016, when, as a non-party figure, he appeared on the electoral list for the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia led by the Serbian Progressive Party under Aleksandar Vučić. He was elected to parliament on June 22, 2016, and in the Assembly was a member of the Committee on Defense and Internal Affairs and the Committee on Kosovo and Metohija. He served as a member of parliament until 2019.The pinnacle of his diplomatic career came with his appointment as Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to the Russian Federation in mid-2019. He remained in this post until his death in 2021, and during his term, with the support of Serbian businesspeople and Russian partners, he oversaw a thorough renovation of the building of the Serbian embassy in Moscow.

Private Life

Relatively little is publicly known about Miroslav Lazanski's private life, since most public attention was directed at his professional and media role. It is known that his father, officer Vladimir Lazanski, died in 2005. A family connection often mentioned publicly is his kinship with Biljana Plavšić, former President of Republika Srpska — his grandmother's brother was Biljana Plavšić's father, making her his aunt.Details about his marital status and any children are not publicly available in reliable sources, and this information is therefore noted as not publicly known.Miroslav Lazanski died on August 3, 2021, at his home in Belgrade, from a heart attack. According to available sources, he was buried a few days later, in early August 2021, in Belgrade. News of his death drew reactions in journalistic and political circles in Serbia, given that he had served as Serbia's ambassador to Russia right up until the last moment.

Trivia

The first piece he ever published, while still a student, dealt with the topic of the French Foreign Legion. In media interviews, he often noted that his love of military subjects and weaponry developed already during his high school years, through reading literature and the daily press. He described the military service he completed in Bitola in 1977 as one of the best years of his life. Over the course of his career, he spoke with dozens of military and political officials from opposing Cold War blocs — from Soviet marshals to NATO force commanders. His family suffered greatly during the Second World War — his grandfather and uncle were killed at the Jasenovac camp. He was related to Biljana Plavšić, former President of Republika Srpska.

Awards and Recognition

For his journalistic work, Miroslav Lazanski received the City of Belgrade Award for Journalism in 2019, in recognition of his decades-long contribution to Serbian journalism, particularly in the field of military-political analysis.

Legacy and Influence

Miroslav Lazanski left a deep mark on Serbian journalism as one of the rare authors whose writing shaped public opinion on matters of the military, weapons, and geopolitics for decades. His columns in Politika were followed by generations of readers, and his approach, based on direct contacts with military and political officials around the world, set him apart from most of his colleagues in the region.His move from journalism into politics and diplomacy, including his term as a member of parliament and later as Serbia's ambassador to Russia under President Aleksandar Vučić, further extended his influence beyond the media space, into the sphere of Serbian foreign policy. The combination of decades of journalistic experience and his later diplomatic role makes him one of the more recognizable figures of the Serbian public scene at the turn of the twenty-first century.

Biography — Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Miroslav Lazanski? Miroslav Lazanski was a Serbian journalist, military analyst, writer, politician, and diplomat, best known for his decades of journalistic work at Politika and his term as Serbia's ambassador to the Russian Federation.When and where was Miroslav Lazanski born? He was born on September 18, 1950, in Karlovac, in what was then Yugoslavia.When and where did Miroslav Lazanski die? He died on August 3, 2021, at his home in Belgrade, from a heart attack.Where is Miroslav Lazanski buried? According to available sources, he was buried in Belgrade a few days after his death, in early August 2021.Where did Miroslav Lazanski study? He completed elementary school in Karlovac and gymnasium in Trebinje, and graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb.Which media outlets did Miroslav Lazanski write for? He wrote for Polet, Vjesnik, and Danas in Zagreb, and from 1991 for the Belgrade-based Politika, alongside collaborations with Politika ekspres, NIN, Večernje novosti, and other publications.What books did Miroslav Lazanski write? He wrote several books, among them Jutarnja patrola, Uvek postoji sutra, Istina o Srpskoj, Bin Laden protiv Amerike, Borbeni avioni, Komandosi, Hitler je pobedio, and Vreme izdaje.Was Miroslav Lazanski a politician? Yes, from 2016 to 2019 he was a member of parliament in the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, elected as a non-party figure on the list of the Serbian Progressive Party led by Aleksandar Vučić.What diplomatic position did Miroslav Lazanski hold? From 2019 until his death in 2021, he was Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to the Russian Federation.Who was Miroslav Lazanski related to? He was related to Biljana Plavšić, former President of Republika Srpska, who was his aunt.

Conclusion

Miroslav Lazanski is remembered as one of the most recognizable Serbian journalists and military-political analysts of his time. From his first pieces in the Zagreb publication Polet, through decades of work at the Belgrade newspaper Politika, to his term as a member of parliament and, finally, Serbia's ambassador to Russia, his career reflects a blend of journalistic dedication to military subjects and later engagement in Serbia's public and diplomatic life. He died in August 2021 in Belgrade, leaving behind a rich journalistic and literary body of work that left its mark on Serbian writing on military and geopolitical issues.