Speaking the Kremlin Language: Who Spoke Out After the Serbian Elections

The Russian narrative about Maidan – the events in Ukraine from 2013/2014, which Russians portray as a foreign-orchestrated coup, while Ukrainians see it as a revolution of dignity that freed Ukraine from decades-long Kremlin influence – seems to have resonated well in public discourse in Serbia. Just as protests against violence due to two massacres in May last year were depicted as invoking Maidan, officials from the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, as well as media close to them and pro-Russian analysts, have used this metaphor for opposition protests over electoral irregularities and vote manipulation in the December 2023 elections.

Just a day after the elections, Branimir Nestorović, leader of the electoral list “We – Voice of the People,” told Sputnik that the coalition “Serbia against violence” was creating a Maidan-like atmosphere. The next day, Prime Minister Ana Brnabić stated on TV Pink that the opposition had planned chaos and a Maidan in Belgrade from the start, aiming to come to power through revolution. A day later, the same claim was echoed by Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova.

 

Zakharova –  the top news

 

Zakharova said that the West has a “strong desire” to instigate a Maidan in the Balkans, claiming that protests in Serbia are not mere demonstrations but mobilizations aimed at advancing Western interests through unconstitutional means. Her statement became a major news item on national television and in the press. The Večernje novosti subsequently accused the pro-Western opposition on their front page of undermining the state’s sovereignty, emphasizing that they invite foreign interference in our elections.

Zakharova’s assertion that the West desires a ‘Maidan scenario’ or coup in Serbia gained significant media attention following the opposition’s attempt to enter the Belgrade City Assembly on December 24th. Aleksandar Šapić, President of the Interim Authority of the City of Belgrade, remarked that day: “That’s how Maidan 2014 started, just with more people. And look where they are now”. President Aleksandar Vučić expressed a similar view. When asked by Novosti if he agreed with Branimir Nestorović and Maria Zakharova that the West is attempting a new Maidan, the President of Serbia responded that he “couldn’t think of any other goal besides Maidan”.

 

Thanking the Russian security services

 

The pro-Russian narrative in the media was further reinforced by Ana Brnabić’s statement that Russian security services had information about preparations for unrest in Serbia.

“It probably won’t be popular with those in the West, but tonight I feel it’s important to defend Serbia and thank the Russian security services who had this information and shared it with us”, Brnabić said on the TV Pink show Hit Tvit, commenting on tomorrow’s meeting between President Vučić and Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko.

The Kremlin’s perspective on the protests by citizens and parties from the “Serbia against Violence” coalition in front of the Republic Electoral Commission was particularly evident in newspaper headlines from December 26th. The Politika wrote about how Moscow exposed the West’s plans for a Maidan in Belgrade. The tabloid Alo! quoted Russian Ambassador Botsan-Kharchenko saying that the West supports protests akin to Maidan, while the Večernje novosti had an analysis titled “Even the Russians pointed out Germany’s influence in the Serbian Maidan; Moscow: Third parties are trying to provoke unrest”. These headlines were preceded by President Vučić’s statement that a country had interfered in our elections and that he would “show the whole world how such interference in processes belonging to an independent country is done”.

 

Witch hunt against Serbia

 

Alongside the pro-Russian narrative discrediting the pro-European opposition and likening events to Maidan, there was a concerted campaign to discredit Western observers who raised concerns about electoral irregularities.

“Observers from Austria in a tirade against Serbia”, wrote Novosti about Stefan Schennach and Andreas Schieder, whom the acting Prime Minister accused of directly destabilizing the country. Vučić simultaneously accused the head of the ODIHR delegation of knowing in advance that the opposition would not recognize the election results and would “create chaos”, asking him, “Who ordered you to remain silent?”

An anti-Western tone prevailed in the media even when the European Parliament adopted a Resolution on Serbia calling for an investigation into the elections. Most media outlets viewed this event through the perspective of Prime Minister Brnabić, who characterized the resolution as calling for the abolition of Serbia’s sovereignty, allegedly supported by the pro-Western opposition. The Resolution was portrayed in the media as shameful and anti-Serbian, part of a general witch hunt against Serbia aimed at overthrowing Vučić. In contrast to negative reporting on the West, messages about Serbian-Russian friendship echoed in the media, emphasized by President Vučić’s statement from the Russian House: “We demonstrate friendship in difficult times”.

 

The Russian ambassador on “the truth about which there is silence”

 

All these messages were also broadcast on nationally televised stations, which, according to a December survey by CRTA hold precedence among citizens for information. In the TV show “Ćirilica” titled “Will Russians or Americans Sacrifice Us – Can Russia and the USA Agree on Serbia”, former Serbian Ambassador to Moscow Slavenko Terzić highlighted that Russia consistently supports Serbia’s territorial integrity, contrasting it with what he described as current anti-Serbian US policies. He also mentioned American influence over Germany and criticized what he perceived as Europe’s indifference towards violence against Serbs in Kosovo, highlighting what he called “the complete collapse of all illusions about Europe as a democratic, free state”.

In the same show, Nikola Vrzić, the editor-in-chief of Russia Today Balkan, asserted that all attempts at colored revolutions share a commonality – they are never ‘in favor of the people or the country where they are implemented, but rather to implement American interests’.

“I think this is actually a game between the Germans, or a joint game between Germans and Americans, with Germans playing the role of the harsh cop and Americans appearing ostensibly milder but more insidiously”, Vrzić commented. He then suggested that Albert Jonson, the head of ODIHR accused by Vučić of prior knowledge about “unrest” in Belgrade, is perceived as an American figure. Vrzić also expressed the view that Western election observers “have previously shown dissatisfaction with Serbia’s state policies”.

It’s interesting that Vrzić appeared on the press review segment on TV Prva, where among other things, he denied allegations of electoral fraud. He mentioned that Russia Today Balkan analyzed records from 1,177 polling stations in Belgrade and concluded that “there is absolutely nothing”, noting that fewer than 10 stations had minor issues that could be considered objections.

“These international observers from the European Parliament used this as evidence that someone tried to steal, or rather not just someone, but that the government tried to steal the elections in Serbia, and then this joint action of these MEPs, pro-Western opposition, and media belonging to the United Group started”, Vrzić said.

The assertion that the elections in Serbia were fair was also made by the Russian Ambassador in the show “Ćirilica”, titled “Russian Ambassador Botsan-Kharchenko Reveals the Truth That is Silent – Attempted Maidan in Serbia”, The Russian Ambassador reiterated the claim that protests by the pro-Western opposition resemble the Maidan that occurred in Kyiv, and that, as he stated, only the West benefits from this.

“Let’s look and try to assess who has the primary interest in demonstrations, changing the government, changing the balance at the top of Serbia. Primarily the West, because it is clear to them, almost every day someone from them demands from Vučić to recognize Kosovo in a way that suits them – de jure, de facto, it doesn’t matter – and to support sanctions against Russia. And so, for two years they’ve been demanding this, and recognition of Kosovo even longer. The President’s position is firm, it doesn’t change, so they have probably lost patience, and for them, this is a strategic task”, Ambassador Botsan-Kharchenko said.

Nikola Vrzić followed up on his statement, asserting that the West needs to break Serbia.

“Breaking Serbia also means imposing sanctions on Russia and recognizing Kosovo and Metohija, and destroying the Republic of Srpska. (…) By breaking Serbia, America indeed gains, as they say, a stable Balkans. When they say stable, they mean stable under their control, because we must be aware that every NATO member, or one that has been in that process, is a state deprived of sovereignty”, Vrzić said.

 

“The West wants the return of the puppet regime”

 

We’ve heard the same narrative from the President of Serbia during a press conference where he discussed Western pressures. President Vučić stated that the West expects three things from Serbia: to recognize Kosovo and Metohija, to impose sanctions on Russia, and to introduce a puppet regime in Serbia. Regarding the first demand, he emphasized that the key requirement is to renounce the Republic of Srpska. According to him, various synchronized groups are pressuring Serbia, aiming to restore the old puppet regime that they can control.

“In essence, they want to bring back the old regime, a puppet regime where they managed it like poodles or like puppets in a theater, where they can say anything and they will accept everything”, Vučić said.

Ljubinka Milinčić, the Editor-in-Chief of Sputnik, referred to his words in the morning program on TV Prva.

“These are issues that have been dragging on for so long, especially Kosovo. But these other escalations now are so intensified that it seems they have decided to resolve them by the end of the year, or by March, April, or some other constantly shifting dates, but most likely by all the elections that await Europe in various countries and, of course, America, which is the main player there. And now it is really necessary for us to somehow, in every way, fight for what we consider to be the interests of our state”, Milinčić stated.

We heard the same pattern from Milica Đurđević Stamenkovski, the pro-Russian president of the Serbian Oathkeepers Party, who ran in the December elections as part of the opposition and is speculated in the media to be part of Serbia’s new government.

“At play are the agents of the Western factor, and there is no doubt that everything they have been doing in recent days best confirms their goal. To establish a government that will recognize Kosovo’s independence, impose sanctions on the Russian Federation, challenge the Republic of Srpska’s right to existence, and implement Serbian disintegration in the Balkans”, Đurđević Stamenkovski stated on the news program of TV Pink.

 

Spies, scum, lackeys, flies

 

After stating to Russian media that his dismissal was a precursor to an attempted colored revolution, former BIA director Aleksandar Vulin appeared on TV Pink. When asked to comment on the leaders of the “Serbia against Violence” coalition going to Strasbourg and their call for a European Parliament mission to investigate allegations of electoral fraud, Vulin – who received the Order of Friendship from the President of Russia in late January for cooperation between the two countries intelligence services – responded as follows:

“Wait, are these the ones accusing me of being a Russian spy just because I received an award, while they aren’t British, German, or whoever else spies who go and beg for sanctions against their own country, to punish Serbian citizens for voting for President Vučić? They’re yellow scum. That’s the October 5th scum, those are the October 5th coup plotters who believe that elections aren’t as important as the opinions of foreign embassies”.

Prime Minister Brnabić stood out in labeling the pro-European opposition, after the European Parliament Resolution on elections, as lackeys and flies.

“We have these sycophant flies, that servile opposition, who will go there and applaud because someone is calling for an international investigation”, Brnabić said on TV Happy, a nationally broadcast television.

In addition to derogatory terms like lackeys, puppets, scum, spies, and coup plotters used against leaders of the pro-Western opposition, the “Serbia against Violence” coalition was accused in the media of being anti-Serbian, seeking to undermine Serbia’s sovereignty by inviting foreigners to investigate election fraud allegations, and supporting Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.