Report from the most pro-Putin country in Europe: the majority of Serbs support Russia, although they condemn the idea of ​​war in general

Serbia is called the most pro-Putin country in Europe, and at the same time, an active anti-war movement has developed here, which arose on the wave of new emigration from Russia. However, it is extremely rare to see Ukrainian flags on Belgrade buildings, unlike other cities in Europe. At the same time, in the city center, in the most touristic places, caps with the letter Z and portraits of Putin are invariably present among traditional Serbian souvenirs. We tried to find out why the Serbs are so supportive of the Russian leader who unleashed a bloody war in Europe, despite the fact that they themselves know firsthand the horrors of wars.

Photo: Ksenia Kirillova

"Godless world" and Serbian radicals

«Of course, it's terrible when people die. It's a tragedy", - sighs Марко, already a middle-aged Serb, a churched Orthodox. Marco considers himself a Russophile, and is convinced that the "elder brother" must be supported in any situation.

«War is bad, but a godless world is sometimes even worse", he is sure. Attempts to convince Marco that it was impossible to impose Christianity by force, and that bombs would rather turn people away from the church than bring them closer to it, were unsuccessful. However, Marko is far from the most radical representative of Serbian nationalists, and at least he himself never participated in hostilities. What can not be said about some of his other like-minded people.

Recently the President of Serbia Alexander Vucic sharply condemned PMC "Wagner" for recruiting Serbs for the war in Ukraine, recalling that this is "against our rules." Vučić's reaction was prompted by the words of a State Department adviser Derek Chollet, which previously expressed concern the fact that Prigozhin's organization is trying to recruit fighters in Serbia and other countries of the world. However, it is clearly overdue, given that since 2014 there have been many cases of active involvement of Serbs in Russian aggression in Ukraine. Back in the summer of 2015, residents of Gorlovka, occupied by pro-Russian militants, in the Donbass toldthat the occupying authorities attracted the Serbs to massacre dissenters.

In 2016 a Serbian activist Vencislav Bujic, who previously worked closely with Serbian radicals and their Moscow friends, provided a video in which the head of the radical organization "Serbian Wolves" Alexander Sindzhelich admits to having close ties with the Russian Defense Ministry. In particular, Sindzhelich saysthat it was he who helped the Russian military select Serbian "Chetniks" to participate in the occupation of Crimea.

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Shortly thereafter, information about participation pro-Russian Serb radicals in the attempted coup d'état planned by Moscow in Montenegro and evidence of their links with Russian diplomats. Today, the so-called Russian-Serbian Center for Friendship and Cooperation "Orly" (in Serbian - "Orlovi") is openly publishes in their social networks, video interviews with “Serbian volunteers fighting for Russia” in Ukraine, despite the fact that under Serbian laws, mercenarism is punishable by a criminal sentence.

Harassment for Ukrainian citizenship

Nevertheless, representatives of the anti-war Russian emigration claim that they do not experience serious pressure from Serbian radicals.

«Sometimes several provocateurs came to our actions, and the person who painted over the pro-war mural was once hit in the face. Sometimes they can draw the letter Z on the apartment door. But there is no serious physical aggression on their part', say the activists.

Sometimes unpleasant incidents arise in cooperation with the police. Journalist Katya Kobenok published an interview with a young couple: a Russian Yuri and his girlfriend from Ukraine Maria. Having learned where Masha came from, the pro-Russian Serbs began to draw the letters Z on the doors of their entrance. Then, under the pretext of a domestic quarrel, the young people were beaten by neighbors. When the victims called the police, they, seeing Mashin's Ukrainian passport, took her to the police station, where they kept her all night. The next morning, the girl was fined. Having learned about this story, the activists of the Russian Democratic Society (RDS) decided to help Masha. With the help of a Serbian lawyer Chedomir Stojkovich and RDO, the case was remanded for retrial.

Anti-war activists

Sometimes new emigrants receive threats of physical violence from their compatriots, for example, from the already mentioned Orly organization. It is headed by a Russian Alexander Lysov, proclaimed its purpose"opposition to liberals from Russia”, who arrived in Serbia after the start of the invasion of Ukraine.

Photo: Ksenia Kirillova

In its Telegram channel "Evil Eagles" propagandists regularly engage in harassment and insults Russian dissidents, which became especially strong after the émigrés founded in Serbia RDO. At the same time, the activity of the society itself is very extensive. Activists not only hold actions in support of Ukraine and help refugees, but also organize a varied cultural program.

The new wave of emigration regularly holds lectures introducing newcomers to Serbian history and culture, and for the Serbs, in turn, educational meetings are organized on Russian-Ukrainian relations. Together with Serbian like-minded people, Russians carry out anti-war actions, cooperate in the field of human rights protection and at the same time try to treat Serbian history and traditions very correctly.

In particular, on the 24th anniversary of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, in their Telegram channel “Anti-war Serbia”, activists described in a balanced way the history of the conflict between Belgrade and Kosovo, equally mentioning the excessive use of force against Kosovo demonstrators by the Serbian authorities, and that "NATO intervention was not authorized by the UN Security Council, and therefore, according to the norms of international law, it constituted aggression". At the end, the authors of the post expressed their condolences to all those who lost loved ones in the Yugoslav wars and NATO bombings.

Photo: Ksenia Kirillova

Reasons for loving Putin

Many activists tend to think that the majority of Serbs support the actions of the Kremlin, although there are not so many aggressive radicals among them. In general, support is expressed rather passively, and even "pro-Putin" Serbs often treat new migrants favorably simply because they came from Russia. Interestingly, anti-war Serbs also agree with their opinion.

«Most of our people do not approve of the war as a war, which is quite understandable - we ourselves have experienced terrible wars. But the majority does support Putin. How does one fit in with the other? It is very difficult for Serbs to believe that it was Putin who started the war, they believe that the United States and NATO became its main instigators", - explains the Serbian Katharina.

There are many reasons for such an attitude. This includes the Russian propaganda actively working in Serbia, primarily RT, and the closest cultural and historical ties. Many Serbs consider the Russians to be their brothers and protectors, who have come to the rescue more than once in wars, including the First World War. A large wave of White Guard emigration also had a serious impact on Serbia, including economic. Serbs admit that almost all of their mechanical engineering was founded by Russians.

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In addition, many Serbs themselves did not get rid of the imperial complexes, keeping dreams of "restoring their former greatness." The cults of "Great Serbia" and "Russian World" are very similar, and some Serbs see the Russian-Ukrainian war as a reflection of their own war with the Croats of the early 1990s. In addition, when the autonomous province of Kosovo declared independence in February 2008, Russia strongly opposed the change of borders, supporting the position of Serbia. This brought Belgrade and Moscow even closer. In the same year, Russian energy giant Gazprom received a 51% stake in the Serbian oil and gas company NIS.

Photo: Ksenia Kirillova

Memories of the bombing

On the other hand, it is easy for Serbs to believe that the United States is responsible for the Russian-Ukrainian war, at least because of the already mentioned NATO bombings. They were carried out from March 24 to June 10, 1999, and as a result, according to various estimates, from 500 to 1500 civilians died. These figures are incomparable with the number of deaths in Ukraine, but the Serbs still keep the memory of what they experienced.

The building of the Belgrade television center has become a living monument to the bombing. That part of it, which was hit by the main bombing strike, has not yet been restored by Belgrade residents, and a reminder of the tragedy rises in the very center of the city. The memorial stone with the names of the dead and the hopeless question: “For what?”, located next to the television, does not let us forget about what happened. At the same time, as is often the case in conflicts, Serbs do not like to remember the Kosovo Albanians who died as a result of the brutality of the Yugoslav military and police.

Photo: Ksenia Kirillova

Russian emigrants are not sure that they can easily convince the Serbs and explain to them what is really happening in Ukraine, but they do not give up their attempts. At the same time, Russians are actively studying the Serbian language and culture and assure that despite all the difficulties, they have already fallen in love with the new country. It remains to be hoped that local residents, seeing such an attitude, will begin to listen to the newcomers and understand that truly loving Russia and supporting a war criminal are not just different, but, in fact, incompatible things.

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