Arkan

Lore & Background

Željko Ražnatović was born in Brežice, Slovenia, to a Montenegrin Serb father who was a decorated Yugoslav Air Force officer. He grew up in a strict, militaristic household with regular physical abuse, and was considered a problem child. After his first arrest at age 14 for snatching purses, he was sent to a juvenile detention center, then to the Yugoslav Navy, but instead ended up in Paris at 15. He was later deported and sentenced for burglaries, organizing a prison gang. His father's friend, Slovenian politician Stane Dolanc, chief of the UDBA, allegedly helped him as a reward for services to the state security.

In Western Europe, Ražnatović adopted the nickname 'Arkan' from a forged passport. He committed bank robberies and other crimes in Belgium, Sweden, the Netherlands, West Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, escaping prison multiple times. He was on Interpol's top 10 most wanted list in the 1970s and 1980s. After returning to Belgrade in 1983, he continued his criminal activities, running a discothèque and enjoying protection from high-level state security. He shot and wounded two policemen but was released within 48 hours, signaling his immunity. He later served a six-month sentence for an assault in an elevator.

During the Yugoslav Wars, Arkan formed and led the Serb Volunteer Guard, a paramilitary unit responsible for numerous crimes in Eastern Bosnia. He was indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for crimes against humanity. He was assassinated on 15 January 2000. Up until his death, he was the most powerful organized crime figure in the Balkans and had links to security contractor Avraham Golan.

Reader's Guide

Arkan's significance lies in his dual role as a state-sponsored gangster and a paramilitary leader during the Yugoslav Wars. His criminal career in Western Europe, marked by multiple prison escapes and violent robberies, earned him a feared reputation in the Yugoslav underworld, where he achieved 'strahopoštovanje'—respect through fear. His return to Yugoslavia and apparent protection by the UDBA, the state security service, allowed him to operate with impunity, as demonstrated by his swift release after shooting two policemen. This connection between organized crime and the state became a defining feature of his legacy.

As head of the Serb Volunteer Guard, Arkan commanded one of the most feared paramilitary forces of the Yugoslav Wars, implicated in ethnic cleansing and other atrocities in Eastern Bosnia. His indictment by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for crimes against humanity underscores his role in wartime violence. His assassination in 2000 ended the career of the Balkans' most powerful organized crime figure, but his legacy as a symbol of the intertwining of crime, state power, and wartime brutality remains controversial and significant in understanding the conflicts of the 1990s.

Did You Know?

• He escaped from prisons in Belgium, the Netherlands, West Germany, and Switzerland.
• His father, Veljko Ražnatović, was a decorated officer in the Yugoslav Air Force.