Državni posao

Synopsis

The show has the format of a three-character chamber play with each episode depicting another work day at the archive department of an unnamed state-owned company in Novi Sad. Torbica, Boškić and Čvarkov are fellow employees sharing the same office.

They are often talking and discussing the current events in the country including sports, entertainment, films, TV series, and politics. The show also features a variety of unseen characters that are only referenced in the conversations between the three characters.

Đorđe Čvarkov

Đorđe Čvarkov is the chief archivist in the office. With only four years left before becoming eligible for retirement, he spent most of his career at the company, though prior to working at the archive department, he used to be the company's chief financial officer under the CEO term of his good friend Marjanović. However, both got removed from their posts and demoted in 1988 in the midst of the so-called Yogurt Revolution. Still embittered about this all these years later, Čvarkov feels he was the victim of a political witch hunt while some others in the company seem to feel that he more-or-less got what he deserved since he and CEO Marjanović were apparently known to engage in nontransparent business practices such as nepotism in the hiring process or signing damaging contracts on company's behalf. In the years since their removal, Čvarkov's and Marjanović's friendship soured and they're currently not on speaking terms due to Čvarkov apparently not being discreet about Marjanović's womanizing in front of Marjanović's wife. Čvarkov detests the current CEO Dobrosavljev.

Apparently quite a ladies man himself in his youth, Čvarkov frequently brags about his conquests that include Boškić's mother and her sister. He possibly has a son in Pečuj. Čvarkov's marital history is not entirely clear though it is undeniably connected to a woman with last name Bugarski whom he either married and then divorced or was about to marry before their passionate relationship broke apart at the last minute. He lives with his grandmother at Pejićevi Salaši, a suburban hamlet on the outer city limits of Novi Sad, where they run a poultry farming operation, raising and selling small roosters. Being a good source of supplemental income, Čvarkov's private rooster operation often overlaps with his work at the company since he frequently uses company's time and resources when setting up deals with potential customers. Also living with them at the house is grandmother's close friend Frau Šilovička, a very old, Vienna-educated lady who remembers the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Čvarkov moved her there from her centrally-located Novi Sad apartment, which he now leases out and collects the rent.

Born in Titel and a proud local booster of Bačka and Vojvodina, Čvarkov is often complaining about the contemporary times. Considering himself and those like him to be a culturally autochthonous part in the fabric of Vojvodina, he frequently displays disdain for "dođoši", first and second generation newcomers. Furthermore, he dislikes Belgrade and isn't too keen even on other parts of Vojvodina outside of Bačka, such as Banat. In addition to being an admirer of the k. und k. and Mitteleuropa cultural values, he is known as a devotee of Josip Broz Tito and communist period in Yugoslavia. He often brings up Živan Berisavljević and Boško Krunić, top communist politicians from the Vojvodina provincial leadership who got removed during Yogurt Revolution, in positive light, considering them to be exemplary leaders and individuals. Feeling cultural superiority over the people from other parts of former Yugoslavia, Čvarkov only sometimes makes an exception to praise Slovenians, albeit not hesitating at other times to express his dislike of them, allegedly on the grounds of an unpleasant encounter with an olm - a species endemic to Southern Slovenia - which actually serves as a running gag throughout the show.

Many of his stories revolve around his grandmother, Frau Šilovička, and his drunken friend Žika who hails from Majdanpek, all of whom are unseen characters.

Dragan Torbica

Dragan Torbica, a Bosnian Serb from an unnamed village in Krajina region, is Čvarkov's deputy.

Growing up in rural surroundings somewhere between Šipovo and Mrkonjić Grad near the Janj river, he left his home to go to Sarajevo for high school studies. He also spent time at various youth work actions such as 1971's Užice-Sevojno stage of the Belgrade–Bar railway. His pursuits after high school are somewhat unclear. He either commenced security management studies at the University of Sarajevo or he immediately entered the workforce, spending time in a series of low-skilled labour jobs. The specifics of his possible time as labourer are also sketchy as details change frequently depending on what effect he's going for in a given discussion since he mostly brings up personal past when arguing a point. He thus may have been employed at the Pobeda metallurgical plant in Novi Sad, spent two years in SR Slovenia doing road construction, or even worked as carpenter in West Germany where his uncle brought him as part of the gastarbeiter program.

Torbica eventually ended up in Novi Sad sometime during the early 1980s where he got a driver job at the company, often acting as personal chauffeur to the upper management which at the time consisted of Čvarkov and Marjanović. In time he moved up to the desk job as Čvarkov's second-in-command at the archive department. Though on surface he and Čvarkov share an antagonistic business and personal relationship with digs and borderline insults flying back and forth, they also have a bit of a friendship and are known to socialize outside of work. At first glance, Čvarkov considers Torbica to be an uncultured and boorish peasant from Bosnia, completely incompatible with the Vojvodina cultural model the way Čvarkov sees that model to be while Torbica sees Čvarkov as an irrelevant and pompous wannabe covering up his own insecurities by hiding behind someone else's culture. Most of the time, though, they manage to find enough common ground either via being from the same generation or through mutual financial interest.

Torbica participated in the Yugoslav Wars during the 1990s. He was an ardent supporter of the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) political party and its leader Vuk Drašković and an active participant in the 9 March 1991 protests in Belgrade.

Currently, he is living with his wife Smiljka and their three children — sons Miloš and Milan and daughter Milica — in a studio apartment in Novi Sad his father-in-law bought them, which makes Torbica feel emasculated. He's also paying off an unspecified bank loan, which he frequently whines and complains about. During the show, he is showing his love for his homeland. He has a love–hate relationship with his longtime friend Čvarkov.

Boškić

Boškić, a recent hire without much work experience, came to the archive department courtesy of his older brother who is well-placed in Serbia's particracy. Before coming to the company, Boškić worked as an entry level employee (pripravnik) in another state-owned enterprise, Zavod za izgradnju grada (ZIG), where his brother held a management position. Following the 2012 Serbian parliamentary elections where the coalition led by the Democratic Party (DS) lost power to the new ruling coalition formed by the Progressive Party (SNS), Boškić's older brother who was closely associated with DS often has to cover his tracks and come up with alibis in regards to previous work. However, he possesses enough skills, contacts, and connections, allowing him to smoothly overcome this power handover at the top. With a father who was also a long time politically-appointed functionary under various authorities throughout the decades, the entire Boškić family is well-off as they continue to successfully navigate through various political changes in Serbia.

Despite his affluent background in the Serbian societal context, young Boškić is mostly withdrawn, shy, and awkward around people, which older and more experienced Čvarkov and Torbica skilfully use against him.

Frau Šilovička

An extremely old, yet still vivacious woman, Frau Šilovička is best friends with Čvarkov's grandmother. Exuding old Viennese splendor from the Habsburg-Lorraine times, she is greatly revered by Čvarkov. She's been married at least six times, outliving all of her husbands, one of whom was Marijan Varešanin, the early 20th century governor of the Bosnia-Herzegovina condominium within Austria-Hungary.

Marjanović

The company's former longtime politically-appointed CEO, Marjanović got pushed out in October 1988 during the Anti-Bureaucratic Revolution. Unlike Marjanović who got removed from the company altogether, Čvarkov — the company's CFO under Marjanović's tenure — comparably made off better, only getting demoted as a result of the political coup. By all accounts, the two ran the company as private property, with nepotism and misuse of company funds the norm. Despite the fact that their friendship deteriorated in the years since due to Čvarkov not being discreet about Marjanović's womanizing in front of Marjanović's wife, Čvarkov remembers his former boss and close friend fondly, often bringing up anecdotes from their business trips to places such as Chad.