Drugs, Hellish hairstyles and Communism: The Nightlife of 80's Belgrade

It is not surprising that the 1980s are remembered with special nostalgia by Serbs, because less than a decade later, Yugoslavia was mired in a series of terrible wars that killed hundreds of thousands of lives and forced millions of people to leave their homes. 

It was a time when elements of Western culture — punk, new wave, big ridiculous hairstyles and the Rubik's Cube-gradually began to push the usual communist way of life out of consciousness more and more. It seems that in the 1980s, parties and get-togethers were held literally on every corner of Belgrade. According to Belgrade photographer Miladin "Djela" Djelicic, " The 80s were not the golden age of Belgrade, but they were definitely the silver age." 

Miladin and his wife Nadia took an active part in the nightlife of Belgrade in the 80s. Between 1982 and 1988, Jela constantly took a camera with him to parties and filmed this quintessential exuberant Balkan fun. In his photos, people dance, hug, sing, try to take a sexual pose, or just show their fatigue. Many of the characters in these pictures are already dead — most of them were victims of excessive alcohol and drug use.