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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has mostly been condemned in Europe and beyond. However, there are a handful of exception, and Moscow’s main ally in the Balkans, Serbia, is one of them. Officially Belgrade spoke in favor of Ukraine’s integrity, but sanctions or even a harsh condemnation of Moscow are out of the question. Moreover, the media – which is mostly under some sort of government control or influence – is unabashedly showing its support for Putin.
The official stand: support for Ukraine’s integrity, but not at the expense of Serbia’s relation with Russia
The war in Ukraine started last week. That is the only news we can see in the media. Although early parliamentary and presidential elections are being held in Serbia in a month, no one mentions the elections anymore.
The President of Serbia stated that Serbia unequivocally respects the territorial integrity of Ukraine, and that what Russia has done is wrong. Belgrade even voted for the UN General Assembly resolution that asked Russia to pull his troops out of Ukraine. However, Serbia cannot impose sanctions on Russia because that would not only disrupt the friendly relations between the two countries, but would also leave great economic consequences, since Serbia is completely dependent on Russian gas. Russians and Ukrainians are the fraternal peoples of Serbia, said President Vučić. But, if you look at the front pages of the Serbian tabloids that are under the control of the government, then you will see that only the Russians are Serbs’ brothers, while the Ukrainians are neo-fascists who should be expelled.
In the Serbian media, Putin is the hero
The front pages of Serbian tabloids are flooded with pictures of Vladimir Putin, Russian weapons and the war in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin's warlike actions and his intention to overrun Kiev are praised on a daily basis. Those who do not follow the daily newspapers in Serbia could be shocked by such cover pages, but this is just a continuity of propaganda that has been created in Serbia for years. Only two dailies (Nova and Danas) are not under government control, while all others are under the direct or indirect influence of the ruling party.
These are just some of the headlines that could be read in the Serbian daily press these days: "Russia will not stop until we defeat the neo-fascist (Sergei Shoigu, Vecernje Novosti), Putin attacks Moldova (Serbian Telegraph), Russian Offensive (Kurir), 5 days of hell (Alo), Campaign against Serbia (News), Putin will trample Kiev (Informer), Putin does not give up even a pedal (Informer), You will get a Maidan in Serbia if you do not impose sanctions on Putin (Serbian Telegraph), Putin's three conditions for peace in Ukraine (Politics), Putin ready for nuclear war (Informer), Russian leader furious over NATO threats (Informer), Kremlin took additional threats from the West most seriously (Vecernje Novosti).
The media in Serbia are mostly trying to either glorify Vladimir Putin's moves or relativize the whole situation by creating a narrative that Ukraine is to blame for what is happening to it today. The situation in Serbia is quite specific, so that there is no empathy for the suffering of the Ukrainian people in the reporting of the pro-regime media. There is no condemnation for the Russian attack on Ukraine, while the editors of those media glorify the Russian invasion. Televisions ask citizens on the street every day what they think about the Russian invasion, and so far none of them condemned the invasion. This should not be surprising, considering that this mood of the citizens is a consequence of many years of pro-Russian propaganda that is being created in the Serbian media without a critical review of Russian-Serbian relations.
Frustration over NATO’s 1999 bombing of Serbia translates in today’s indifference to Ukraine’s plight
The impression is that the frustration of the public and the tabloids over the bombing of Serbia in 1999 is still greater than any empathy for what is happening in Ukraine today. There is a strong belief that Serbia is a victim of Western policy in the Balkans and that what is happening in Ukraine is the same thing that the West has done to Serbia. That is one of the narratives created in the Serbian media regarding the Ukrainian crisis. In this way, the wartime past that Serbia went through in the 1990s and the injustices it felt it endured are being revived. The issue of Kosovo is one of the biggest traumas related to the Serbian identity. The tabloids in Serbia are rejoicing over the war in Ukraine, reasoning that the time has come for the West to feel on its skin what Serbia felt in 1999. However, Serbian tabloids do not take into account the respect for the territorial integrity of Ukraine, which is contradictory to the position they take when it comes to the need to respect the territorial integrity of Serbia. Russia has been pictured for years as a defender of Serbian interests in front of the Western powers, and that is why a pro-Russian narrative of defending Russian interests is being created.
This is best illustrated by the data of Radio Free Europe that in 2017, as many as 895 articles were dedicated to Russia in five dailies (Informer, Alo, Kurir, Blic, Večernje novosti), while Vladimir Putin appeared on the front page of Informer more than 90 times. At a time when Serbia is at least publicly proclaiming towards the European Union, the question arises as to why tabloids close to the authorities are creating such a pro-Russian narrative.
If Serbia belongs to Europe in every sense and European countries are closer to it, the question arises why Russia is so attractive to the citizens of Serbia, many of whom have never been to Russia, and know very little about it. Although not definitive, the answer to this question lies in the conclusions of a study according to which countries with a majority Orthodox population, or countries belonging to the Slavic language group, have a better chance of building a positive image in Serbia. The research also showed that the military power and perception of the leader of that country is very important for the citizens of Serbia, and not so much its economic power. In accordance with these answers, it is possible to fit the profile of Russia and its president, along with all the historical and cultural ties between the two nations.
The pro-Russian narrative, a creation of the Serbian media
What is immediately noticeable when analyzing the content of the domestic daily press is the superficiality in approach and reporting. This is also the case when reporting on Russia and Serbian-Russian relations, where there is no deeper analysis or critical review, while mostly official statements of politicians are transmitted with the creation of sensational headlines and stories. It is interesting that none of the articles that can be read in the tabloids these days has a negative attitude towards Serbian-Russian relations, even towards Russia, while the West never appears in a positive context.
One gets the impression that with this approach, the editors and journalists of daily newspapers in Serbia are creating a pro-Russian narrative, i.e. that this narrative is being created in Serbia and it does not come from Russia. By comparing the reporting on Russia in the Serbian press and on the Sputnik portal, it becomes apparent that the domestic press reports more sensationally, biased and emotionally on Russia and Serbian-Russian relations than the Sputnik portal does.
If it is true that such an editorial policy is being created in Serbia – we have no evidence that Russians directly pay for some media, although I do not rule out that possibility – then the question arises as to what influence the government has in creating a pro-Russian narrative over the war in Ukraine. Experienced journalists in Serbia believe that Russia could not bring up a topic even for money if the topic opposes the stand of the government. As the government in Serbia controls all tabloids and TV stations with national frequency, it is hard to believe that there is a foreign influence in the media.
Independent journalists with whom I had the opportunity to talk also believe that the story about Russian influence in the Serbian media is overestimated and that it is more about putinophilia (glorification of Putin) in the daily press. In Serbia, one can almost never read news criticizing Vladimir Putin's government and current Russian politics, while many media in their editorial policies are guided by the attitude that Vladimir Putin is the most popular politician in Serbia, even though he is the president of a foreign country.
As a reason for the pronounced uncritical attitude towards Russia, the daily press often points out that such stories and headlines with Vladimir Putin sell newspapers, considering that the public opinion in Serbia is already pro-Russian. What is interesting is that the reporting of the largest number of print media does not refer to Russia, but to its President Putin. In addition, the positive reporting of daily newspapers on Russia can be related to the dissatisfaction and frustration of a part of the public with the West's policy towards Serbia.
Unreciprocated love? The Russian media does not seem to care much about Serbia
The public in Serbia knows much less about how Serbia is represented in Russia, according to a former correspondent from Moscow who claims that Serbia is in the Russian media only when Russian interests are involved, which is normal for a world power like Russia. Russian media do not even report as well on Serbian-Russian relations as is the case in Serbia. This is more of a situation where pro-Russian Serbs are convincing themselves of Serbia's love for Russia, while Russia is acting as a great power and looking after its own interests.
Having in mind that the elections will be held in Serbia in a month, the government will certainly tolerate or create a pro-Russian narrative even more, so that their rating among voters would not fall. The government in Serbia is creating a patriotic-nationalist charge, while the attitude of the press towards Russia is tolerated on the basis of what the majority attitude of the population is.
Perhaps the most important factor for understanding the existence of the pro-Russian narrative in the daily press is the need of the current government to rely on the part of the population that has pro-Russian views in its maintenance.
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