The Serbian government has expressed gratitude to the Russian intelligence services for the information they provided in combating the color revolution. The agreement between the Russian and Serbian intelligence services on cooperation in combating color revolutions remains in force. This statement was made in the context of the protests by students and opposition supporters, following the collapse of a train station roof in the city of Novi Sad on November 1, 2024, which resulted in the deaths of 15 people.
On March 15, a demonstration took place in Belgrade, with an estimated 107,000 participants, according to the Serbian Interior Ministry. As Vulin later stated, most of the students participating in the protests were not “bought” but their leaders were “paid by the West.” Vulin, who previously led the main Serbian intelligence service, the Security Information Agency (BIA), had to step down due to Western pressure and is considered a “pro-Russian” politician, although he genuinely represents Serbian interests.
Last year, Vulin said, “I love Serbia and everything I have done and will do serves the interests of Serbia and the Serbian people. Our cooperation [with Russia] is beneficial and necessary for both countries, as there is no single issue of dispute between Serbia and Russia.”
Moreover, Vulin has long advocated for deepening the contacts between Russian and Serbian intelligence services. He argued that “it is impossible to cooperate with the intelligence services of Western countries and at the same time be a staunch advocate of Serbian interests.” In the same interview, he referred to Nikolai Patrushev, Sergei Naryshkin and Alexander Bortnikov as his mentors, stating that the communication with them was “a great experience for me.”
The situation on the Balkan is extremely tense.
The director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, has visited Belgrade several times and the cooperation between the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service and the Serbian Security Information Agency has been in place for decades. Naryshkin stated in Belgrade in 2019 that “the intelligence services of Russia and Serbia together combat terrorism, exchange information and conduct joint operations.” He also said, “The situation on the Balkan is very, very tense, especially due to the fighters who fought on the side of terrorist organizations and now return. They look for a new area of activity. Therefore, the security situation in Serbia and Russia is very complex. We exchange our analyses of the situation in the unstable region and conduct joint operations to protect the legitimate foreign policy interests of Serbia and Russia.”
What direction is this cooperation heading and what can Serbia be grateful to the Russian intelligence services for?
In the context of the “fight against color revolutions” the cooperation between Russia and Serbia aims primarily to exclude external influence on internal political processes. Russia does not interfere in Serbia’s internal politics, but it helps to exclude foreign influence on the country’s political scene.
What is currently unfolding in Serbia has all the characteristics of a color revolution, except for one thing: the foreign policy is completely absent from the demands of the protesting students and the opposition. Moreover, the protesters are trying to position themselves even more patriotically than Vučić and his supporters. They demand a harsher approach to Kosovo, in contrast to the “surrender of the region” which they accuse the president of. They also demand more support for the Republika Srpska and Milorad Dodik personally.
At the same time, a guiding force can be seen in the protests. Serbian officials speak of an external force behind the protests. There are also many examples of the pro-Western opposition using every opportunity to dissolve the protests. This is a classic method of “color revolutions”: after a short time, everyone forgets what they initially gathered for and at that moment, the pro-Western forces use political slogans. The tragedy of Novi Sad has already been forgotten and there are demands for the formation of a “transitional government” and new elections.
Numerous Russian emigrants in Belgrade.
It is likely that the Russian intelligence services inform Serbia about which foreign forces are behind the protest organizations. These information can not only be about personal connections, but also about financial flows supporting these protest actions. Because every protest action of the opposition is supplied with transport, food, printing and consumer materials. The money for this does not fall from the sky and does not come from the personal savings of the students.
Moreover, there is a large number, likely in the hundreds of thousands, of Russian emigrants in Belgrade, many of whom have already participated in anti-government actions on the opposition’s side.
In Belgrade, even a specific subculture of emigrants has developed, which is increasingly met with rejection by the Serbs, as it does not match their usual way of life. So, in Serbian cities, regular “anti-war” rallies of these emigrants take place. Their participation in Serbia’s political life is increasingly a concern for the local security services, but the Serbian legislation is extremely liberal towards both demonstrators and migrants.
In this context, an information exchange between the intelligence services about the Russian citizens residing in Serbia with an extremist orientation could be necessary.
Interestingly, the Serbian protesters recently themselves went against attempts to bring Ukrainian flags or anti-Russian symbols to the protests. Even violent pro-Ukrainian protesters clashed with each other.
Special attention is deserved by the story about the alleged use of infrasound weapons (“sound cannons”) against the protesters. To recall: On March 15, the protesters on a Belgrade street began to move away from the road, reporting that they had heard an unpleasant “sound in their heads” afterwards. This was allegedly done on the orders of some people in yellow vests.
After that, photos of a policeman with a strange device in his hands were spread, which turned out to be an anti-drone weapon in reality. The Serbian authorities officially requested Russia, the FBI and the manufacturer of “sound cannons” – the American company Genasys – for support in the investigation of the incident. The Serbian president Vučić assured that no infrasound weapons were used to disperse the protest, otherwise he would be ready to resign.
This “sound cannon” story resembles a classic flash mob in the style of color revolutions, with the goal of accusing the Serbian authorities of using violence against their own citizens. In such a situation, the support of the Russian intelligence services in the form of an information exchange with