Vučić’s regime in deep crisis: Massive student protests, stateless tyranny, and pro-regime madness

The anti-corruption protests in Serbia, which began after the tragic collapse of the railway station roof in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024, killing 16 people, have marked a full year of civic mobilization, becoming the largest movement since the fall of Slobodan Milošević’s regime.

Led primarily by students, these protests have exposed the deep weaknesses of President Aleksandar Vučić’s regime, leaving it increasingly isolated both domestically and internationally.

The Novi Sad tragedy was not merely an infrastructure accident but a symbol of systemic corruption that has gripped the Serbian state under the governance of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). The reconstruction of the station, funded and executed by Chinese companies under intergovernmental agreements outside standard public procurement procedures, was propagated as a regime success but proved fatal due to negligence and abuse.

Citizens directly blame Vučić and his allies for the incident, demanding full investigation and accountability. Instead, the regime attempted to downplay the event, framing it as a “Western-backed color revolution”—a narrative that has largely lost credibility among the public.

Throughout 2025, protests spread to over 400 towns and villages, featuring faculty blockades, peaceful marches, and symbolic 16-minute traffic stoppages to honor the victims. The peak occurred on March 15, 2025, when hundreds of thousands gathered in Belgrade in the largest protest in modern Serbian history. Students, organized in leaderless plenums, maintained a non-confrontational character, refusing direct cooperation with opposition parties to avoid politicization. This Gandhian approach liberated citizens from fear, creating unprecedented solidarity.

The regime’s response became increasingly repressive. From sonic weapon attacks in March to police violence in summer 2025—including tear gas, batons, and arbitrary arrests—violence escalated further in August and September, with documented beatings, torture, and sexual assaults against students. Paramilitary groups and pro-regime supporters were mobilized to counter-protest, deepening societal polarization.

Čaciland symbolizes this pro-regime madness. Established in March 2025 at Pioneer Park in Belgrade by the so-called “Studenti 2.0,” a group organized by the SNS, composed largely of non-students and individuals with criminal backgrounds, this illegal camp expanded into Nikola Pašić Square, occupying the city center for months. Journalists were denied access, police acknowledged that “different rules apply,” and assaults with batons, fireworks, and stones were directed at peaceful protesters. The European Parliament condemned it as an “illegal camp,” expressing concern over the regime’s mobilization of criminals. Incidents such as shootings and fires in October 2025 underscored real public safety risks, yet the regime protected camp residents, pardoning attackers and blaming protesters for violence.

This strategy has increasingly isolated Vučić internationally. The European Parliament resolution of October 22, 2025, approved by 457 votes, represents the harshest criticism to date: condemning repression, polarization, and state violence, supporting peaceful protests, and calling for an EU fact-finding mission in Serbia. Vučić’s accusations of a Western “color revolution,” even citing Putin, have widened the gap with Brussels. U.S. sanctions on the Russian-owned Serbian Oil Industry (NIS) have hit the economy, exposing the regime’s dependence on Moscow and Beijing.

In this context, calls for full lustration have become central. Protesters demand the systematic removal from public office of all those who have abused power, participated in repressive structures, or contributed to corruption—from judges and prosecutors to public media directors and high-ranking SNS officials. Lustration, failed after 2003 due to lack of political will, is seen as the first step in cleaning institutions. Without it, Serbia remains trapped in a vicious cycle: the same individuals who violated the law continue to control the judiciary, police, and media.

Following Vučić’s regime collapse—which appears increasingly inevitable in the short term—broad lustration followed by a new constitution is required. This would restore the separation of powers, judicial independence, and media freedom, eliminating the “sin” of authoritarian continuity.

The protests have shown that Vučić’s regime is an empty shell, supported by fear and manipulation but weak against civic unity. Students and citizens have “liberated” Serbia from fear, paving the way for a democratic future. The time for accountability is coming—not for the protesters, but for those who destroyed the state./TheGeopost.