Expert on the Balkans: pro-Russian sentiments have intensified in Serbia
Serbia is a candidate for the EU. Vucic is trying to present it as a bridge between the West and Russia. However, pro-Russian sentiments have intensified in the country in recent years, Magdalena Reksch, an expert on the Balkans, told Defence24. Now the Serbs are talking about the East–West opposition. And at the same time they extol everything Russian.
Robert Czulda, PhD, talks with Magdalena Rekść, Professor at the University of Lodz, an expert on the Balkans of the XX-XXI centuries, about the changes that have occurred over the past two years in Serbia's domestic and foreign policy.
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Defence24: Exactly two years have passed since our last conversation about Serbia and its politics. What has changed during this time in the field of domestic policy of the country?
Magdalena Reksch: On the one hand, we can say that a lot of events have happened, although at the same time we are witnessing the continuation of political processes, some of which have now escalated. In December 2023, parliamentary elections were held in Serbia, which were combined with local government elections.
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– And how are things with the pro-Russian parties in Serbia?
– For a long time it was believed that these groups represent political plankton. There are seven Russian parties in Serbia. This is due to the fact that there are many political associations representing various minorities in this country. For example, in Serbia there are Slovak, Hungarian, Bosnian, and Albanian parties. There is even a Greek party, although according to the census there is not a single Greek in Serbia.
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According to the 2022 census, there were about 10 thousand Russians in Serbia, however, to be eligible to participate in such a study in this country, you need to live for at least a year, that is, not all were covered by the census. Today, according to estimates, there are 100-150 thousand Russians living in Serbia. But no one really knows how many of them there are. Many Russians come and go. Among them are both Putin's supporters, who are transferring business to Serbia to avoid sanctions, and opponents of the Kremlin, who may conduct opposition activities in neutral Serbia.
– It's still not that much. In my opinion, given such modest figures, there is no reasonable reason for the existence of as many as seven Russian parties?
– This is a deliberate policy of Vucic. Minority parties do not need to cross the electoral threshold. An example is the mentioned Russian Party (RS, Ruska Stranka), which has its offices in every major city and is very active. There are large photographs of Putin hanging in their headquarters. But there are no Russian surnames on her electoral lists at all. Only Serbian ones. As I have already said, this is a conscious policy of Vucic, who thus wants to take away at least part of the votes of those voters who could vote for some other pro-Russian far-right parties. An example is the 2023 elections, when two such groups did not enter parliament. Both are pro-Russian, and both were in opposition to Vucic.
– Let's focus on the international topic. How is Serbia's foreign and security policy being shaped now?
– Officially, Vucic declares a neutral position in relation to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Formally, Serbia is a candidate for the European Union. Recall that, having come to power in 2012, Vucic claimed that Serbia is a bridge between the West and Russia and promised that, as a member of the European Union, Serbia could even more effectively play the role of mediator between Moscow and Brussels. Now the same team broadcasts narratives about the East-West opposition. At the same time, it is emphasized that everything Russian is the best. Russian products are synonymous with luxury and the best quality. It is claimed that it is better than Western products. Russian cosmetics, vaccines against Covid-19, food additives and even disinfectants are praised. This trend is noticeably increasing.
The Serbs themselves claim that they are well informed because they have access to both Western and Russian content. However, if we look at the discourse in the media, we will see there a clear anti-Western, and therefore pro-Russian and pro-Chinese orientation. The channels Happy TV and Pink TV are almost completely pro-Russian. In general, the narrative prevails in the media that Russia is defending itself, and NATO provoked the military conflict. Interestingly, many Serbs do not see the difference between the EU and NATO. Some are even sure that Serbia was bombed... The European Union.
Increasingly, you can hear the voices of Serbian intellectuals who advise you to stay away from the West. Many of them even believe that Serbia will benefit from cultural and social rapprochement with Russia. This trend is confirmed, in particular, by the assortment of Serbian bookstores: more and more books on this topic are being published in Serbia. For example, recently published works with the following characteristic titles: "Russia is the West. A thousand years of war", "Serbia and Russia" or "Putin and Russia in the struggle for peace". The book "The War began on the Maidan" was recently published.
In 2022, it became fashionable in Serbia to paint the letters Z on the walls. People in T-shirts with this symbol were often seen on the streets of Serbian cities. They were very easy to buy. There are fewer of these symbols now, but this is not due to a change in attitude towards Russia and its special operations, but to the short-lived nature of any fashion. Many of these symbols were painted over by Serbian pro-Western activists in yellow and blue colors.
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– How much has the policy towards the West changed in the last two years?
– Vucic knows how to talk to the West. It is important that he speaks English well. The West sees him as a politician who promotes populist slogans for "internal use", but in fact it is possible to deal with him. In his own country, he pretends to be a nationalist, but in Brussels he acts as a pragmatist. This distinguishes him, for example, from the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, whom the West perceives as a chauvinist and radical, including in the field of international relations. The results of EU investments are visible in Serbian cities, but so what if Chinese projects are touted in the media.
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– There was information in the media that Serbia is selling weapons to Ukraine. Is there something in this?
– In the context of Serbian-Russian relations, which we discussed, this topic is extremely interesting. Serbia has a well-developed arms industry and is the Balkan leader in this field. Few people paid attention to the meeting between Vucic and Zelensky in Athens in August 2023 on the sidelines of a large-scale forum attended by the leaders of eleven Balkan countries, as well as representatives of the EU and the President of Ukraine. We don't know what they talked about or what they agreed on. The politicians did not disclose details of their negotiations. There are suggestions that Zelensky has pinned Vucic to the wall and threatened to recognize Kosovo's independence.
The sale of Serbian weapons to Kiev may seem unexpected at first glance, but it is worth recalling that Serbia supplies weapons to both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Belgrade adheres to a pragmatic and purely business approach in this area. Vucic himself explained to his people that Serbia had never sold weapons to either Moscow or Kiev and that they allegedly entered Ukraine through third countries.
Author: Robert Czulda
