Zoran Milanović: Slobodan Šnajder’s death is an irreplaceable loss for Croatian literature and culture

President Zoran Milanović called the death of writer Slobodan Šnajder “an irreplaceable loss for Croatian literature and our national culture as a whole.”

Milanović issued his condolences on social media, describing Šnajder as a writer and engaged intellectual who brought his extensive knowledge and talent to texts and plays that shaped Croatia’s literary and public life.

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I received with sadness the news of the death of Slobodan Šnajder, a writer and engaged intellectual who wove his extensive knowledge and talent into texts and dramas that strongly influenced the Croatian literary and public scene.

He highlighted Šnajder’s biographical dramas and novels, including “The Croatian Faust” and “The Age of Brass,” saying they represented his greatest achievements. Milanović said the works reflected individual and family lives against historical upheavals and the lost time of different national and human destinies.

Šnajder’s writing also reached audiences in different settings, Milanović said, because the author understood that art could emerge from a national identity while also transcending it. Šnajder, a writer, dramatist, prose author and essayist, died on Monday at the age of 79.

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His departure represents an irreplaceable loss for Croatian literature and our national culture as a whole.