Russian influence in the region increased during 2021

We have just left behind the year 2021, which will be remembered for many events, but also for the activities of the Russian authorities, which left their mark in the past year. The year 2021 in Russia ended with a series of events that have worried many observers, as they saw the destabilizing intentions of President Vladimir Putin and his government.

During 2021, Russia was very active in terms of its destabilizing goals, without choosing means and methods. Promoting their vaccines, blackmailing citizens to be vaccinated exclusively with the Russian vaccine, was not at all ethical. After blackmailing its citizens with the vaccine, Russia did not stop there, it turned to its neighbors, blackmailing them with gas if they did not respect their positions. There were also threats on the issue of Ukraine if it were to join the NATO alliance, which caused reactions from the West.

Events that marked the year 2021:

Russian army on the border with Ukraine

Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin, has steadily deployed thousands of troops and armored vehicles along the border with Ukraine, where Kremlin-backed rebels have been fighting the Kiev government. Tensions between Russia on the one hand and Ukraine and the West on the other have escalated over the year, raising fears of a new armed conflict.

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied accusations that it is planning an invasion of Ukraine and reiterates that the deployment of troops on the border with Ukraine is purely defensive in nature. Moreover, Russia is said to be afraid of Ukraine's intentions and is seeking guarantees that Kiev will not use force to retake territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

Russia expels American diplomats

At the end of April, Russia declared ten employees of the US embassy in Moscow persona non grata, in response to the expulsion of ten Russian diplomats from Washington.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on April 21 that the deputy head of the American diplomatic mission at the US Embassy in Russia, Bart Gorman, had been handed a note notifying that embassy employees must leave Moscow by May 21.

Russia was also interested in Jarinje

The presence of Russian officials, accompanied by Serbian officials, at Serbian Army facilities right on the border between Serbia and Kosovo was a confusing message from Belgrade, which has been condemned by Western countries. Russia sent its representative during high tensions between Serbia and Kosovo to "assert itself on the current situation."

The Russian ambassador also used the visit to comment on the stance of Western countries, which he called "strange" and "harmful."

Putin and Vucic meeting

The meeting between Putin and Vučić in Sochi was among the most important news for the Serbian public at that time, Vučić was looking forward to meeting with Putin and collecting a few more points for the upcoming elections. Praise for Russian gas, the price of which, according to the Serbian president, is the lowest in Europe, turned out to be just a lie told by the Serbian president.

The meeting had a lot of meaning for the Serbian president, he had been preparing for it for a long time, he was even nervous before the meeting, so he introduced it only a few days before leaving for Russia. On the other hand, the Russian public was very little familiar with the famous Vučić-Putin meeting.

Russian media have not been sitting idly by.

The Kosovo Institute for Policy Research and Development (KIPRED) presented a report where in less than two months Russian media published over 100 fake news. Kosovo Observer: Russia’s diplomatic war and disinformation in the media – is a quarterly report that analyzes public statements and publications of Russian foreign policy institutions, as well as news about Kosovo, which contain disinformation.

Finally, analyses of newspaper discourses containing malicious disinformation and disinformation of selected media outlets, distributed by Moscow, show that they generally follow the narratives of the Russian foreign policy establishment, while Sputnik Serbia, Russia Today and TASS are at the forefront of these anti-Kosovo intelligence mischief-makers.

Russia is sending destabilizing messages at a time of tensions between Kosovo and Serbia

After Kosovo established reciprocity for license plates with Serbia, the decision was met with anger by Serbs in the north, who blocked the border crossings at Jarinje and Brnjak for several days. Russia enthusiastically welcomed the news, sending its words of support to Serbia and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. The Russian authorities used this unpleasant event to present themselves as Serbia's greatest friends, turning Serbia towards themselves and their policies.

Instead of a message of peace, Russia sent messages that could have further escalated the situation.

"If Serbia is militarily threatened in Kosovo and decides to intervene, it can count on Russia's support," Vladimir Putin said in a message to the Serbian president through Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

BiH 2021: Russia sets its model of action in BiH

Russia in Bosnia and Herzegovina is using Milorad Dodik to lay the groundwork for future actions there, and it is doing so with haste, knowing that the lack of EU and US support for Dodik, due to his acquiescence policies, could weaken his influence. The “Russian Humanitarian Center” from Niš (Serbia) was moved to Republika Srpska (BiH), because Russia took over its military representation in the Serbian Ministry of Defense, and the infrastructure construction projects started in Republika Srpska for Russia are intensifying. There are several infrastructure projects that could serve as the basis for the formation of a Russian military base in Republika Srpska in the future. In a number of locations in Republika Srpska, the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) is creating its own infrastructure, which in many segments resembles war, and the works are directly led by the Russian ambassador to BiH, Igor Kalabukhov.

Russia has long used Dodik to create an intelligence structure independent of Serbia. The presence of Russian intelligence in Republika Srpska has been recorded and monitored, and their task is to prepare the ground for the separation of Republika Srpska from Bosnia and Herzegovina.