In a context where historical facts and the events of the past century are being distorted in certain countries and international forums, the fight against the falsification of history has taken on particular importance. The need to resist such trends, particularly those of a purely political nature, at the state level by upholding historical truth and preserving historical memory has become fundamental for the Russian Federation and the Republic of Serbia. Therefore, the two states act almost as a united front in combating the politicisation of memory.
Currently, issues of historical memory occupy a significant place in Russian-Serbian relations. Although in the past century, the official narratives of Belgrade and Moscow regarding certain historical events, particularly during World War II, did not always coincide, today they are almost completely convergent. This is reflected at the official level – in documents, at high-level negotiations, and at various international forums.
The Declaration on Strategic Partnership between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Serbia of May 24, 2013, pledged to preserve the memory of the shared struggle against fascism during World War II. Based on the desire to “ensure the dignified repose and perpetuation of the memory of military personnel and civilians who perished and died as a result of the First and Second World Wars and other military campaigns, and the preservation of their burial sites,” the governments of the two countries signed an Agreement on the Status of Russian War Memorials in the Republic of Serbia and Serbian War Memorials in the Russian Federation.
Issues of historical memory are being actively discussed at meetings between representatives of the two countries. In 2020, at the opening of the fifth meeting of the Commission on Cooperation between the Russian State Duma and the National Assembly of Serbia, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin proposed creating an institute for the protection of historical memory, based on the need to protect the memory of the fallen, as well as the enormous losses suffered by citizens of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, as well as the Russian and Serbian peoples, in World War II. Volodin’s idea was supported by the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament. She noted its significance for the Serbian people and state, as representatives of this nation have recently been accused of unleashing World War I. The fact that the two peoples fought together during World War II remains a constant theme at meetings of heads of state. In 2020, at a meeting in Moscow to mark the 75th anniversary of Victory Day, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić emphasised his pride in “our shared Victory,” promising that Serbia would assist Russia in preserving the historical memory of World War II. On the 80th anniversary of Germany’s defeat, Russian President Vladimir Putin, meeting with his Serbian counterpart, called the “friendship of our fraternal peoples” forged during the war a “solid foundation for the strategic partnership” between the two countries.
Representatives of the two countries are also raising issues of combating the politicisation of memory at international forums. On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Victory Day, at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Bratislava in 2019, the foreign ministers of 11 countries (including Russia and Serbia) spoke out against attempts to falsify the results of World War II, adopting a joint statement noting that “our sacred duty is to preserve the historical truth.”
Voting in United Nations institutions also reflects the two countries’ similar positions on historical memory. In 2015, the Russian Federation’s Permanent Representative to the UN vetoed a resolution on Srebrenica in the UN Security Council, thereby blocking a draft that would have declared the events of Srebrenica in 1995 a genocide. For the Russian side, the very fact that this document placed blame for the past on only one people was unacceptable, regardless of the fact that Serbia’s leadership had appealed to the Russian authorities to vote against its adoption. Nine years later, in 2024, Russia (along with Serbia and 17 other countries) again voted against another resolution on Srebrenica, this time in the UN General Assembly. The Russian side did not support the draft resolution titled “International Day of Reflection and Remembrance of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica,” which condemned “any denial of the Srebrenica genocide as a historical event,” because, in its opinion, the adoption of the document had nothing to do with perpetuating the memory of the victims of the events of those days. In response to the introduction of this resolution on the UN agenda, the Serbian president stated that Serbia would co-sponsor a resolution by Russia and Belarus on the genocide of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War.
On the other hand, Serbia supports the resolutions introduced by Russia in the UN General Assembly on combating the glorification of Nazism, which condemned incidents related to the glorification and propaganda of Nazism, welcomed efforts to preserve historical truth, and recommended measures to prevent the falsification of the history and results of World War II.
In the context of Russian-Serbian relations, the issue of historical memory of another event of the recent past, namely, NATO’s aggression against Yugoslavia, also occupies an important place. In March 2024, in connection with the 25th anniversary of the start of the North Atlantic bloc’s aggression against Yugoslavia, the chambers of the Federal Assembly of Russia appealed to the United Nations, international parliamentary organisations, and the parliaments of foreign states to condemn the NATO military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to counter attempts to distort the historical truth “about the tragic events of 1999 in the interests of the collective West,” and to take measures to hold the alliance’s member states accountable under international law for their aggression against Yugoslavia. The appeal assessed the incident as “a gross violation of international law, which led to the destabilisation of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe”. The chambers of the Federal Assembly expressed deep alarm over the “ongoing attempts by the collective West to present the act of aggression” against Yugoslavia to the international community “as a peacekeeping operation, to consign to oblivion the victims of NATO bombings, and to blame the Serbs for unleashing wars in the Balkans”. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement emphasising that “Russia, together with its partners in Belgrade, will continue to counter attempts to distort the history of the Yugoslav crisis, shift the focus to demonising the Serbs, and justifying the aggression of 1999”, describing the insult to the memory of innocent victims as unacceptable. Moreover, in March 2024, the Russian Federation twice requested a UN Security Council meeting to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the North Atlantic Alliance’s aggression against Yugoslavia, but the meeting was never held due to the reaction of Western countries.
Given the shared historical past, the similarity of official narratives at the state level regarding the major events of the past century, and global trends and tendencies, it is not surprising that in the current stage of Russian-Serbian relations, issues of historical memory are receiving special attention at various levels. Both countries perceive this issue not only as a tribute to the memory of the fallen, but also as a task and responsibility to protect historical truth and combat the politicisation of memory.
The Valdai Discussion Club was established in 2004. It is named after Lake Valdai, which is located close to Veliky Novgorod, where the Club’s first meeting took place.
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