RUSSIA IS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BARRICADES AT THE PROTESTS IN SERBIA

Boris Varga’s editorial for The Geopost

Russia is slowly returning to the Western Balkans with the help of “soft power” and its strongest lever – the Serbian Church

On the eve of the 80th anniversary of the victory over fascism, Patriarch Porfirije of the Serbian Orthodox Church visited Moscow. The Serbian Patriarch met the President of Russia and, in the presence of Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church, complained to Vladimir Putin about the protests against the authorities in Serbia. Patriarch Porfirije described the protests as an attempt at a “colour revolution”, which he blamed on Serbian students and the West.

The Serbian Patriarch praised Putin and said that in the new geopolitical divisions, Serbia has its place in the “Russian world”.

Two weeks later, Aleksandar Vučić, who was the only president of an EU candidate country there, attended a military parade in Moscow. The Serbian President also met Russian President Vladimir Putin and praised Chinese leader Xi Jinping for successfully fighting the “colour revolutions”.

The Serbian Orthodox Church in Belgrade has launched a podcast on YouTube, the first episode of which is entitled “The Colour Revolution or Media Attacks on the Church”.

In opinion polls, the Serbian Orthodox Church has long been among the three institutions most trusted by Serbian citizens, often more than politicians. New opinion polls in Montenegro show that citizens trust the Serbian Orthodox Church most of all institutions.

With these positions, the Church has not only supported Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and his authoritarian attitude towards Serbian youth and dissenters, but has also made a civilisational choice – on the side of Russia. On the side of the country that has carried out the greatest aggression in Europe since the end of the Second World War. The war in Ukraine was blessed by the Russian Patriarch Kirill.

At the same time, student protests in Serbia have become less urban, liberal and leftist, and more conservative, traditional and rightist. There are no EU flags at the protests, but there are flags of the Russian Federation and the popular Orthodox Russian red flags with the image of Jesus used by Russian mercenaries in their war campaign against Ukraine.

Those who carried EU and Ukrainian flags at the protests in Serbia have been verbally and physically attacked by the protesters themselves in recent months.

The general conclusion is that Russia may have been geopolitically pushed out of Serbia and the Western Balkans as an energy monopolist, arms supplier and strategic partner, but it is slowly making a comeback with the help of ‘soft power’ and its most powerful lever – the Serbian Church.

Russia is thus increasingly present on both sides of the barricades at the protests in Serbia – it is visible among the young protesters and is known for its support for the autocratic government of Aleksandar Vucic./The Geopost/