The period between the World wars I and II, in Serbian and Yugoslav culture was marked by the interweaving of influences coming from strongly developed cultural centers — Vienna, then Paris and St. Petersburg.

Although, along the lines of the military-political alliance, the new center of education for the young generation became France, replacing the German influence that had been dominant until 1914, the influx of Russian emigration to the Balkans would have the strongest impact on the formation of architectural and urban culture.

Although a small but significant circle of builders formed in Belgrade at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, who built public buildings across Serbia and increased the capital's residential architecture, the city's needs after the Great War, at a time when Belgrade had quadrupled in size, exceeded the capabilities of the local profession.

The arrival of hundreds of engineers and already established builders, some of whom had experience in teaching, urban planning, and even the high-sounding titles of court and imperial architects, led the government of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, called Yugoslavia in 1929, to accept these experts into service. King Aleksandar personally influenced their engagement in the construction of public buildings in the capital.

Numerous public buildings that are today considered anthological architectural achievements were erected in the period 1924–1934 during the domination of Russian engineers, which ended with the assassination of King Alexander in 1934. The role that the older generation of artists played in this period opened the way for the intensive participation of young Russians, most of whom were educated in Belgrade, to participate in the urban development of Belgrade until 1941, when the outbreak of World War II directed many of the newcomers to further and safer areas outside Europe.