The Leader is a satirical story written by Serbian satirist Radoje Domanović, first published in 1901 in Belgrade. Plot summary In the beginning of the story, we see a group of people from an impoverished region discussing to leave the barren area they live, but they are unable to reach a consensus nor do they trust each other enough to elect a leader among themselves. In the end, they decide upon a silent stranger who came to the village the day before. The old man agrees to lead them but remains entirely impassive, and they come to believe that he is so silent because he is pensive and extremely wise, and everybody finds in his silence and demeanour some proof of his excellent wisdom. Two hundred families set off the next day, and immediately encounter difficulties. The leader leads them directly into the fence, and then stops dead in his track and starts hitting it with his cane, without saying a word. Despite the children pointing out the door in the fence nearby, men follow the leader blindly, and break the fence down so that they could continue the journey on the leader's path. Similar obstacles follow, but they push on. Days pass, some children and old people die on the road, and all are exhausted and wounded but still hopeful that this difficult road will lead them into a better land. One day they reach a large ravine, and the leader walks straight on and falls in. Some people run away, but the majority follows the leader into the abyss. Survivors keep following the leader, who survives the fall intact, but the party slowly diminishes until just three other men remain alive after falling into a second ravine. Only then do they confront the leader, who is again unharmed, and find out that he had been born blind. The story ends in ominous cawing of the ravens above. Historical background The story was published in the opposition-leaning literary magazine Zvezda (Star), whose chief editor was Janko Veselinović. When he first became involved in politics, Radoje Domanović joined the People's Radical Party. The Party's program was initially inspired by French Radicalism and ideas of Svetozar Marković, and Nikola Pašić was elected as the president of the central committee at the Party's first conference. In September 1883, the Timok Rebellion broke out in eastern Serbia when King Milan Obrenović declared that