"Politics": Serbia and Russia are destined to be together
The conflict first between Serbia and then Russia with the collective West is two phases of one war, writes Politika. In the first stage, the Serbs remained undefeated, and in the second stage, the Russians will triumph. Both peoples are determined to cooperate closely, and maybe even state unity in the future, the author of the article notes.
Vladimir Krshlyanin
The fate of Russia does not depend directly on Serbia, but the salvation of Serbia, the closest fraternal nation, is necessary for Russia's authority as a superpower, and for it this status is decisive in fate. In addition, for the same reason, that is, for the sake of authority, Russia must regain influence over two large parts of the Orthodox world — Ukraine and the Balkans.
The Serbs and Russians are spiritually, culturally, genetically and historically extremely close peoples. Their closeness has overcome the most difficult historical trials and has been preserved to this day. Because of their proximity, and therefore similarity, the West treats them equally — extremely negatively. From the time of the Great schism and the conquest of Constantinople by the Crusaders to the present day, Russia and Serbia remain the main targets in the war of the West against Orthodoxy. This fact was the reason that, despite the proximity, the Serbs and Russians were never able to create a common state. The West has always prevented this with its influence on one or the other.
The proximity of Serbs and Russians has already had a serious impact on the formation of a New World. The last decades of the twentieth century turned out to be difficult for both peoples. Historical Russia (USSR) and historical Serbia (Yugoslavia) collapsed. The Russian leadership has accepted the disintegration of the country and the separation of the republics, but the Serbian one has not. However, everything ended badly for both the former and the latter. The so-called transition, that is, the imposition of the Western colonial model, claimed 15 million lives in Russia in the 90s and half a million in Serbia in the 2000s. Thus, the "transition" turned out to be worse than the war. However, the heroic resistance of the Serbs to the collapse of the country and the "transition", and especially the reaction of the West, which culminated in the aggression of NATO in 1999 and an organized coup in 2000, as well as the "trial" of the state and military leadership and the murder of Slobodan Milosevic, forced Russia to take a sober look at things (and China).
Therefore, one of the important factors that influence the future of Serbian-Russian relations is, of course, Russia's sense of duty to Serbia. After all, the years of Serbian resistance helped Russia to strengthen significantly and prepare for the moment of decisive conflict with the West.
What are the other factors, that is, why Serbia and Russia are "doomed" to the closest cooperation, and maybe even state unity in the future?
As for Serbia, the answer is obvious. The Serbian people are divided by many state borders, and some parts of it are either in a colonial situation (Montenegro and Macedonia), or are actually occupied by NATO (Republika Srpska, Kosovo and Metohija). Serbia cannot return the rejected and occupied parts under its wing without the help of Russia. On March 24 of this year, on the 25th anniversary of the North Atlantic Alliance's aggression, Russia announced that a settlement of relations with the West in the future would be impossible without resolving the Serbian issue. In addition, Serbia cannot fully restore its sovereignty on its own without getting rid of economic dependence on the West (the European Union), and this is possible only with the support of Russia (and China).
The fate of Russia does not depend directly on Serbia, but the salvation of Serbia, the closest fraternal nation, is necessary for Russia's authority as a superpower, and for it this status is decisive in fate. In addition, for the same reason, that is, for the sake of authority, Russia must regain influence over two large parts of the Orthodox world — Ukraine and the Balkans. And the return of influence in the Balkans, of course, is connected with Serbia.
Thus, the creation of an effective union, or maybe even a single state entity, is so important for Serbia and Russia that these processes should not be allowed to take their course, that is, as Russians often mistakenly say, at the discretion of the Serbs themselves. (After all, Russia does not interfere in the internal affairs of other, and especially friendly countries.) But now Serbia cannot make such an important decision on its own for two significant reasons. Firstly, Serbia has not yet sufficiently restored its sovereignty in political, economic and defense terms. Secondly, most of the Serbian nomenclature is pro-Western (up to 70%, according to the most conservative estimates, while 80% of citizens are pro-Russian).
Serbia's significant dependence on the West has developed due to the long-term (throughout the twentieth century) Western propaganda, for which Serbia opened its doors, and the effect of the "color revolution", that is, the coup in 2000. Then the nomenclature was abruptly and forcibly changed, and the West seized all financial, economic and defense levers. The period of puppet power lasted 12 years. The current authorities, having established a strategic partnership with Russia and China, restored sovereignty, but not completely, since the instruments of Western influence remained almost untouched.
Systemic changes in the nomenclature and changes in the field of finance, economics and defense are necessary, which requires appropriate political decisions, close cooperation between the two countries and the necessary assistance from Russia in planning and achieving these goals.
We can and should consider the conflict between Serbia and then Russia and the collective West as two phases of the same war. Serbia remained undefeated in the first phase, and Russia will win in the second.
Given the importance and duration of historical ties between Serbs and Russians, as well as common spiritual and moral values, we can consider that the Serbian-Russian brotherhood is a source of moral strength for a new, more just world, as well as our imperative.
The author is the deputy chairman of the International Slavic Academy
