The first Serbian-Russian diplomatic cooperation was recorded during St. Sava in 1184. a year ago, he was associated with the Russian clergy. In the twelfth century, Rastko Nemanjic became a monk in the Russian Monastery of St. Panteleimon on Mount Athos, and Serbian rulers provided assistance to Russia during the Mongol invasion. However, the event that opened a new page in diplomatic relations between Serbia and Russia, happened on the 23rd. February 1838. the year when Milos Obrenovic received the Russian consul Gerasim Vasilyevich Waschenko at the residence in Kragujevac. Assistance to Russia, which included the formation of a constitutional base, the creation of a combat-ready army, was very important at a crucial moment in the formation of Serbian Statehood. The opening of the Russian consulate coincided with this event. In addition, the nuclear treaty that ended the Russo-Turkish War provided for autonomy for the countries liberated during the first Serbian Uprising (1804-1813).
In the eighteenth century, during the time of Peter The Great and Elizaveta Petrovna, Russia received many Serbian emigrants who left their mark in the history of Russia and the war with Napoleon, and who served the Empire faithfully and truthfully. Also, during the time of Aleksandar I Karadjordjevic, after the revolution in Russia in 1917, Serbia received tens of thousands of Russian emigrants who significantly contributed to the development of the economy, art and culture. A special contribution was made by Russian emigration to the development of theatre art. Tsar Nicholas II Romanov, who resolutely defended the Serbian people, occupies an important place in the memory of the Serbian people. The Serbian state also expresses special gratitude and honor to all Russian soldiers and friends killed during World War II for the liberation of Belgrade and Yugoslavia.
Today, officially, by analyzing international agreements, relations between our countries have been raised to a new level, the level of strategic partnership, which is confirmed by the bilateral declaration on strategic partnership signed by the presidents of Serbia and Russia in May 2013 in Sochi. Additional analysis should define the realization and implementation of such a "strategic" partnership in practice.
Cultural diplomacy occupies an important place in the foreign policy of modern Russia. The Russian Federation is committed to filling the information and cultural space of Serbia and promoting content based on the preservation of the family, Orthodox values and traditions that are very close to Serbian culture. In this context, Serbia continues diplomatic cooperation in the field of culture with the Russian Federation, as evidenced by international cultural exchange.
A significant place in the life of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes is occupied by the "Russian home" in Belgrade, which was then called the "Russian House of Tsar Nicholas II". This institution was the residence of Russian emigration, cultural and scientific elite, which greatly contributed to the development of education and art under King Alexander Karadjordjevic in the 1920s.
When we talk about international agreements, they make a significant contribution to international cooperation between the Republic of Serbia and the Russian Federation. We can allocate an agreement between the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Government of the Russian Federation on cooperation in the field of Culture, Education, Science and sports, which was signed in 1995. Also, a protocol was signed in 1996 between the Federal Ministry of foreign affairs of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Ministry of foreign affairs of the Russian Federation. The protocol includes the expansion of bilateral cooperation and the implementation of bilateral agreements. The agreement between the Diplomatic Academy of the Republic of Serbia and the Russian Federation on mutual cooperation was signed in 2001. The purpose of the agreement is to create conditions for cooperation in the field of Education. However, this collaboration has no commercial character. The programme in the field of cultural cooperation, education, science, sports and youth policy was implemented in 2009. The agreement on cooperation in the field of tourism was signed in 2011 between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Russian Federation, and in 2012 a protocol was signed between the Ministry of foreign affairs of the Republic of Serbia and the Russian Federation on the participation of the Russian Federation in the renovation of the interior of the St. Sava Temple in Belgrade. The programme of cooperation in the field of Culture, Education, Science and sports and youth policy was also in force between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Russian Federation for the period 2019-2021. The agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Russian Federation on the return of the page of the Miroslav Gospel to the Republic of Serbia and the painting of Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich to the Russian Federation was signed on 19. October 2019 and ratified 24. January 2020. The Russian Duma also ratified the treaty with Serbia, according to which 166. a page of Miroslav's Gospel can be returned to Serbia as a replacement for seven paintings by the famous Nicholas Roerich, which were kept in the National Museum in Belgrade. The Miroslav Gospel was transferred to the Russian National Library in 1883. thanks to Bishop porphyry.
If the cultural center of Serbia in Moscow were operating, more precisely said that it exists physically and at the level of formal activities, we could say that the agreement that included the realization of this idea is a good example of rapprochement between the peoples of Russia and Serbia. The main goal of the agreement is defined, which is the realization of bilateral programs related to cultural and scientific technical cooperation. However, to this day we do not have a cultural center of Serbia in the Russian Federation, although we are witnessing the efforts of Serbian artists, who are also carriers of cultural diplomacy, who are trying to implement projects related to Serbian-Russian relations. They are not currently receiving approval and support in Serbia, and are turning to support from the Russian Federation. Therefore, the author of this article can personally testify that the Serbian-Russian Cultural Exchange is conducted within certain frameworks, i.e. structures of close authority and that any other individual work of cultural diplomacy bearers, which are not part of the ruling system, is doomed to collapse before it even began.
We can note that the current Serbian-Russian International Cultural Cooperation has been reduced to" Bells and Bells " without interfering in serious issues of identity of our peoples whose connection is far stronger than football matches can present and describe, although sports diplomacy also has a place in international relations.
Official statistical data on the international cultural exchange of the Republic of Serbia with the Russian Federation are not available, although the author of the text sent a request to the Ministry of foreign affairs of the Republic of Serbia for insight into the documentation, but even then, as a scientific researcher, PhD, she did not receive any answer. The Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia did not conduct such a survey.
To quote Dr. Dragana Trifkovic, " some pillars of Serbia's foreign policy are longer, some shorter....“ I totally agree and I would add that they are shortened and extended at the personal discretion of the number one.
22. April 2024.