Written By: Igor Pshenichnikov
Serbia is experiencing one of the biggest political crises in the last decade. In the small Slavic country, there is a deep confrontation between the majority of Serbs, who defend their national and spiritual identity and independent development of the state, and President Aleksandar Vucic, who is accused of corruption and handing over Kosovo and Metohija in exchange for Serbia's accession to the European Union and, in general, "selling the lands". At the same time, Moscow's position regarding the events in Serbia raises many questions among Serbs that remain unanswered.
The most powerful protest
This level of public protest in Serbia has not been at least the last ten years. A wave of protests that began in November 2024. after the tragedy in Novi Sad, where the concrete canopy of the railway station collapsed and 15 people died, it grew into a nationwide movement against the government of President Aleksandar Vucic.
In recent days, up to half a million protesters have taken to the streets of Serbian cities. But the tragedy in Novi Sad is only a trigger for protests. Recently, there has been an analogy with what is happening in Serbia. Chile is 2019. a popular uprising that had been brewing for decades. The formal reason was a slight increase in public transport travel costs. It wasn't a bus ticket. Chileans protested against extreme social inequality, which led to a popular uprising and a revision of the country's Constitution.
Now Serbs are protesting President Vucic's policies in general, accusing him of total corruption, that he handed Kosovo and Metohija over to the Albanians in exchange for Brussels ' promises to accept Serbia into the EU.
Photo: protests in Serbia
What is the essence of the claim?
The main participants of the demonstrations are students and young people, which is logically explained by the natural, at all times, heightened nonconformism of young people. However, the slogans of the protesters are supported by the majority of Serbs. What are they dissatisfied with? If we make their claims concentrated, we can derive the following:
Serbia is threatened with extinction. From an economic point of view," the healthy economy of the country is being destroyed, New York is being swallowed up by the looting of officials, ""budget finance is disappearing, being swallowed up by corruption."
The disappearance of "a political Society in which there are no more institutions, no fair elections, no parliament, and instead of the National Assembly (Parliament) there is a one-party group of non-workers" representing the Serbian Progressive Party.
The disappearance of the "foreign policy position where Serbia instead of friends and allies has various Western envoys in the Balkans and colonial administrators coming to Belgrade to present lists of demands" to the Serbian authorities. Kosovo and Metohija, the cradle of the Serbian state and the Serbian Orthodox Church, were taken from Serbia. President Vučić exchanged Kosovo and Metohija for the promise of Serbia's accession to the European Union.
The "sale of Serbia" is in full swing. And Serbs are protesting the government's decision to return the license to the Australian-British concern Rio Tinto Group for the development of Europe's largest lithium deposit. The ј 2.4 billion Jadar project was halted in 2022. years of public pressure. But the prospects for its restoration are obvious. The current government "leaves the country without air, without water, without land" because the implementation of the Rio Tinto Group project will make the entire Western Serbia uninhabitable. And the rubber factory of the Chinese company Linglong in Zrenjanin "will poison the fertile plains of the historical Banat".
Upside down
But the whole" peak " of the current conflict is not even that the situation has escalated to the limit and is ready to result in massive conflicts between the population and law enforcement. The strangest thing is that official authorities are trying to point to the West as the organizer of the popular protest. They say that the West, through the hands of certain non-governmental organizations, is preparing a color revolution in Serbia.
And this despite the fact that the current protests do not have a formal center and organizers, which actually makes it difficult for the authorities to discredit the protesters with information. And most importantly, President Vucic himself is an absolutely pro-Western politician who works exclusively in the interests of the US and the EU, but hides behind the slogan "friendship with Russia".
And that is why the utter absurdity that ordinary Serbs hear about the "Hand of the West" in their protests fuels these protests even more.
Belgrade has long signed a series of agreements with NATO that make Serbia a de facto NATO member without formally joining the alliance. Moreover, the other day, former acting director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell, who traditionally deals with Serbia and the Western Balkans in Trump's team, condemned the "violation of the law" of protesters and clearly sided with President Vucic. This is understandable: The Wolf is a man of the West.
Grenell framed Vucic in a sense by condemning the "violence" of the protesters, because he clearly showed that the US and official Belgrade are on the same side of the barricades. And Vucic continues to mutter about the" western color revolution " in Serbia.
And Moscow, too?
But the strangest thing in this situation is the attitude of the Russian Foreign Ministry, which, let's agree, is in a difficult position, determining its attitude towards official Belgrade in the context of popular protests.
The position of US Representative Grenell is clear. But why is our Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Vucic's side?
Ево шта је недавно о дешавањима у Србији рекла званична представница руског Министарства спољних послова Марија Захарова: „Постоје покушаји да се посеје хаос, као што се дешава у Србији и другим земљама. То је „универзални кључ“ колективног Запада. да „уђе” у ову или ону државу, која не може да узврати или верује у та западна уверавања, <…> да се Београд лиши његове суверене воље, да се натера да жртвује виталне интересе, да напусти нормалне, пријатељске, историјске односе са Русијом, да изда нашу земљу“.
Once again, the protesters in Serbia see themselves as friends of Russia and protest precisely against the "treacherous policy" of Vucic. 61% of Serbs oppose joining the EU. The situation in Serbia could result in the overthrow of the current government.
By supporting Vucic, whom Serbs call a" great traitor", the Russian Foreign Ministry is diverting the Serbian people from Russia. The Serbs have always seen Russia as their protector. And the Serb defender demonstrates that he allegedly does not understand what is happening in Serbia, and supports the hidden (or almost open) Russophobe President Vucic, and writes off the pro-Russian Serbian protesters as agents of the West.
Photo: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Aleksandar Vucic
Love Russia
Or perhaps it is not at all about the lack of understanding of Moscow's essence of events in Serbia? Then what is it?
Moscow's support for Serbian President Vucic, an obvious proponent of his country's western path, appears to be burdened with serious problems for Russia in the future. Let us note the most important thing: President Vucic is cramping like an eel in a frying pan regarding Serbia's entry or non-entry into the EU, which is contrary to the Allied ties with Russia precisely because the Serbs carry in their blood love for Russia and loyalty, United with the Russians, to the Orthodox faith .
Had it not been for this centuries-old love for Russia, Serbia would have long become a member of NATO, as well as the former Yugoslav republics of Croatia and Slovenia. And now, with such convoluted statements, we ourselves are tearing up brotherly ties with the Serbs, which should be more valuable to us than supporting traitors in official positions, more valuable than any opportunistic reasons.
Извор: https://tsargrad.tv/articles/serbija-optom-i-v-roznicu-vuchich-prodajot-stranu-zapadu-pri-podderzhke-rossii_1140615
Translation from Russian: Center for geostrategic studies
Title photo: Vučić with Grenell and Kushner
31. January 2025.
