One of the numerous conspiracy theories that have emerged since the beginning of the current mass protests in Serbia says that the student blockades are externally orchestrated – either from the West or from Moscow.
The mantra that the political West has been trying to dismantle the regime led by Vučić has been used by the pro-government tabloids and TV stations, as well as by the President himself. On several occasions ,Vučić accused foreign intelligence services of trying to overthrow him and posted a video message on Instagram saying that: “I will never serve foreigners, those who seek to defeat, humiliate and destroy Serbia”.
According to Aleksandar Vučić: “All of this is being done by foreign instructors, coming from several Western countries”.
Those who tend to label the nationwide gatherings, trigged by the Novi Sad tragedy, as “pro-Russian”, claim that Serbia has been moving away from Russia, both politically and economically, and, as a result, Kremlin wants President Aleksandar Vučić toppled “by force”.
The argument which is often used to support the theory about the Russian involvement in the protests is the fact that the EU flags are banned from public rallies, triggered by the tragic death of 15 people in Novi Sad, after a canopy of the newly-reconstructed railway station collapsed unexpectedly on 1 November 2024. Many people blame the collapse on widespread corruption and demand accountability and justice for the victims.
The students are demanding full documentation of the reconstruction of the railway station to be released, prosecution of the individuals responsible for the tragedy, criminal charges against the people who attacked students, professors, and citizens at earlier commemorative gatherings, as well as the dismissal of charges against all those arrested and detained at these protests.
Students: “The blockades have no ideological agenda. We do not support any form of separatism or polarisation in society”
The incident which raised the issue of the symbols used by the protests, occurred on 22 December, during a mass rally in Slavija Square in Belgrade. On this occasion, the banners of different ideological orientations, including the ultranationalist ones, could be seen, as well as the EU flag. The latter caused an incident when a group of young men hijacked the flag with shouts that: “You cannot wave it”. There was also a brief physical confrontation between the two groups.
Students who organised the protest issued a statement in which they distanced themselves “from all the extremist organizations and nationalist features that have emerged during our protests”.
“The blockades have no ideological agenda. We do not support any form of separatism or polarisation in society. Our only goal is to meet the specific requirements for which we entered the blockades”, it was stated.
On the other hand, the national flag of Serbia, as well as the banners with the bloody red handprint, which depicts the government’s alleged culpability in the Novi Sad tragedy, became the main symbols of the student movement.
“The flag of Serbia is a symbol of our country and also what we are fighting for. “It is a message that we do not want to leave this country and, ultimately, that this fight is an act of patriotism”, protester Emilija Milenković, a student at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, told RFE/RL.
Similarly, Anja Stanisavljević, a student from the Novi Sad Philosophy Faculty, said for Guardian that the students “just really want to have a lawful country to live in and a peaceful society”.
What does Moscow say?
Reacting to the protests, Moscow warned that there was a risk of “chaos” in Serbia.
“It is extremely important that the demonstrators show reason and do not follow the lead of those who stir up emotions. Chaos must be avoided in Serbia…”, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
According to Zakharova, “the authorities (in Serbia) are listening to criticism and are willing to engage in direct dialogue with everyone within the framework of the political process”.
“We believe this is the only real way to achieve universal agreement in the interests of protecting sovereignty, national dignity and traditional values and maintaining internal stability”, she underlined.
However, the rhetoric of Zakharova is seen as “too mild” by some observers, and as an additional argument that Serbia, led by Vučić, has been drifted away from Russia. In this context, the fact that the Serbian President turned down his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin’s invitation to the BRICS summit in October is mentioned. Vučić said that he had not met with Putin since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine because he believed “it is not the right time”.
What is more, there have been widespread reports by the Western media, including the Financial Times, that Serbia indirectly, through other countries, exported ammunition worth 800 million euros to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
Jelica Minić: Students demand the rule of law, foreign policy issues are not the topic of protests
According to Jelica Minić, Member of the Executive Board of the European Movement in Serbia, “the categorical claim that the current protests and student blockades are pro-Russian cannot be accepted”.
“However, it could be accepted that the pro-Russian influence is present in the part of the rebellious student population in the form of sincere beliefs that the right solutions for Serbia are coming from this side, either as a deep-rooted and media-incited resistance to the ‘West’, with which Serbia has sorely diverged at the end of the last century, or through the always present and widely spread provocative activities of various Russian services. Appropriate research should be done so that accurate estimates can be made. But this topic is not crucial at the moment”, Jelica Minić says for EWB.
Minić stresses that students have “their own four requirements that they strictly adhere to, around which there is a full consensus and which is a very effective strategy”.
“The bottom line is that they demand a rule of law, with functioning institutions and where criminals receive punishment. Moreover, they demanded that the state devote more funds to the University, which was then added to the already long-lasting protests of educators and expanded as a comprehensive and solidarity demand of all those who work in education from the lowest to the highest educational institutions to finally improve the material, social and security status of educational workers. Education should be the most important thing in any society. And it turns out that teachers, students and parents agree on it and support each other. Even if there are no other results of these protests, it deserves the deepest respect”, she states.
Igor Novaković: This is a “grassroots” movement, not initiated or systematically supported by foreign actors
Similarly, Igor Novaković, Research Director of the International and Security Affairs Centre (ISAC Fund) states for EWB that in spite of the fact that “there is no doubt that some foreign countries could find their interest in what is happening in Serbia, I do not believe that these protests were initiated or systematically supported by anyone”.
“The very nature of the protest is such that it is not directed by any actor, not even a domestic one. Here, in principle, we have what is called the ‘grassroots’ movement – which is very decentralized, which is without any grand plan, and which, in fact, is shaking the foundations of society itself. So, I do not think it can be classified as an attempt which is political to such an extent that it pursues someone’s interests”, Igor Novaković says.
Novaković claims that the current protests cannot be compared with any previous ones, “except, it seems to me, the part of the student protests of 1996/1997, which focused on the dismissal of the rector, as well as the protests of 1968, which also had concrete demands”.
“Anyway, I think that there is no foreign component at all, or, at least, no dominant foreign component, in these protests”, he stresses.