“Maidan won’t happen in Serbia” – this is one of the first reactions of the authorities to the opposition protests and citizen unrest that occurred during the protest held on Sunday.
While citizens and the opposition demand the annulment of the elections due to serious irregularities pointed out by both domestic and foreign observers, the government and pro-government tabloids once again compare the protests to the Kyiv Maidan, accusing them of attempted state coup, inciting civil war, and labeling citizens and opposition leaders as traitors.
The term “colored revolution” and the new Maidan have been applied for years to any protests, as well as the actions of the opposition and critics of the government in general. This interpretation aims to delegitimize the demands expressed in these protests, attributing everything to a conspiracy against Serbia organized from abroad.
Even the most massive protests after the May mass shootings were described in pro-government media and statements by top state officials as a “colored revolution.”
After the elections on December 17, during the first day of protests, pro-government tabloids accused Germany of meddling in the Serbian elections, labeling the young participants in the protest outside the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) as German agents. As previously reported by EWB, German Deutsche Welle denied the Serbian tabloids’ claims about organizing the protests.
President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić also spoke about the protests being organized from abroad. Although he did not specify which country he was referring to, he stated that Serbian state authorities are preparing an “important letter about the influence and interference of an important country in the electoral process of Serbia in the most brutal way.”
“It will be completed by New Year, and then we will send it to the whole world to see how this kind of interference is carried out in processes that belong sovereignly to an independent country,” Vučić said on December 21. The public in Serbia is not yet informed about this letter and which country the president is referring to.
On Sunday, while the protests were ongoing, the Prime Minister of Serbia, in an appearance on the “Hit tweet” show, thanked Russian services for providing information to the authorities about the protest. “Above all, data was also provided to us by the Russian security service. When I personally shared this with some ambassadors, they accused us of spreading disinformation, lies, of believing the Russian service, and that it’s all nonsense.”
Warnings from Russia about a “new Maidan”
In discrediting the protests and the narrative that the West is destabilizing Serbia, state officials received support from Russian officials. Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that activists “mobilized from various structures, funded and controlled from abroad,” played a role as instigators of the protests.
“They commit violence against the state of Serbia, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and other state authorities who are simply protecting citizens. They cynically hide behind the fight for justice and human rights, but their behavior shows their true attitude toward these values,” Zakharova said, adding that in the recent elections in Serbia, the majority of citizens expressed their opinion.
“Serbs convincingly confirmed their support for the current leadership of the country, led by President Aleksandar Vučić,” she added.
The Russian Ambassador to Belgrade, Alexander Bocan Harčenko, also stated that the Maidan would not succeed and praised the Serbian service for responding “very efficiently” to attempts of such scenarios.
The Belgrade newspaper Politika writes that “Moscow has exposed the West’s plans for Maidan in Belgrade.” The article states that the “Western centers of power” do not like the international position and attitudes of Serbia confirmed on December 17, “which is that there is no recognition of the so-called Kosovo, no change in policy towards friendly countries, towards Russia, China, the collective South.”
What does “Maidan” actually signify?
The term “Maidan” is used to describe events in Ukraine in 2013 and 2014. Ukrainians also call Maidan the Revolution of Dignity.
The dissatisfaction of Ukrainian citizens at that time was triggered by the decision of the then Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych, close to Moscow and under sanctions from Serbia and other European countries, not to sign the Association Agreement with the EU. Unlike Yanukovych, who wanted closer ties with Moscow, all participants in Maidan advocated close cooperation with Europe and against Ukraine joining the customs union with Russia.
Citizens led by opposition leaders rebelled at Independence Square (Maidan), and the protests lasted day and night. The special police of Ukraine responded to the protests by mass arrests and beating of citizens. Such a reaction from the authorities caused even more massive protests and further escalation. The epilogue of the protests that began in November occurred in February when Yanukovych yielded and signed an agreement with opposition parties to form a national unity government that would hold elections.
However, Yanukovych fled to Russia, which soon annexed Crimea. Eight years later, Russia invaded Ukraine, and the conflict continued.
While Maidan means liberation for Ukrainians, for the Kremlin, Maidan is an event in which the West overthrew pro-Russian authorities in this country. Such a Kremlin view of this event is present in statements by high-ranking officials from Russia and Serbia, as well as pro-government tabloids and right-wing and pro-Russian parties in Serbia, such as the “Zavetnici” and the movement of Branimir Nestorović, which will be crucial for forming the government in Belgrade. By claiming that the protests are organized “from abroad,” the government is trying to discredit the protests of citizens and opposition parties.