Putin – For the world, war criminal, in Serbia the most popular politician

The public opinion of Serbian citizens is dominated by the opinion of Russians as the people closest to Serbs. Russia is seen as the state of the people closest to Serbia and as the country’s most important foreign policy partner, and Russian President Vladimir Putin is the leader of whom the citizens of Serbia have the best opinion, i.e. 45 percent of respondents voted for Putin, according to the latest Demostat survey (Research- publishing center).

That Putin is the most popular politician in Serbia has been emphasized before, starting from the very top of Serbia and all the way to the people. Let us remind you that after Russia invaded the neighboring Ukraine, pro-Russian protests were often organized in Serbia and in the capital Belgrade, where a person who is considered a war criminal in the world was glorified as a hero in Serbia.

It is followed by Xi Jinping (12 percent) and Emmanuel Macron (11 percent).

Serbia, led by President Aleksandar Vucic, has often been unrealistic and ambiguous in its statements regarding Russia. Vucic “condemned” the Russian invasion but did not introduce sanctions. He talks to the Russian president, but he didn’t dare to talk to the Ukrainian one. The works of Vucic and his allies are skillful, but the presiding Serbian member of the BiH Presidency, Milorad Dodik, is not far behind.

Demostat research shows that good opinion about Dodik and Orban dominates. The leaders of the countries of the region about whom the citizens of Serbia have the best opinion are Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in first place with (37 %) of respondents, while in second place is the Serbian member of the BiH Presidency, Milorad Dodik (28%).

The good opinion about Orban stems from the good relations between Serbia and Hungary and especially because of Hungary’s willingness to help Serbia with the energy crisis, but also because of Orban’s attitudes towards the European Union, but above all because of his pro-Russian orientation.

In response to the question of who is responsible for the current situation in Ukraine, 7% of respondents named Russia, 3 % believe that Russia is more responsible than Ukraine, 17 % believe that NATO is more responsible for the situation, and 54 % that NATO is solely responsible.

The survey was conducted between June 13 and 22, and 1,203 citizens participated in it. /The Geopost