Serbia, Russia: “What About the Russians?”
Written byVeronica Khokhlova
Jasmina Tešanović guest-blogs at Boing Boing about what may appear as Serbia's misguided trust in Russia: “Back in 1999, Russians didn’t veto the bombing of Serbia. The Russians are using the Kosovo issue in order to reclaim ex-Soviet territories with Russian populations. Serbs know that the Russians have their own great-power motives in exploiting Serbian troubles, but the myth does not allow them to say that.”
Written byVeronica Khokhlova
2 comments
Russia’s interests are theirs to pursue – but the same goes for Serbia. Everyone is well aware of the fact that Russia’s primary concerns are her own interests (economic, security, political…). This time, however, the interests of Moscow and Belgrade are mutual: Russia is looking for a way back into the Balkans, and Serbia is trying to keep its ancient province. The reason _why_ Russia is behind Serbia is quite irrelevant.
What Tesanovic is trying to set up as a central debate is, again, plain irrelevant because Serbia is well aware of the fact that what Russia is doing is first and foremost out of their own self-interest.
Both Russia and Serbia have some interest in this case. Serbia its interest in keeping its ancient province and Russia keeping Serbia in one peace and having Serbia as a traditional trusted ally on it’s side, since the rest of the eastern block is turning towards the west, along with the closest Russia’s neighbor Ukraine, the ancient Russia’s province.
The trust on Russia between Serbs has been partially lost, but it is only because of big unrealistic myth kept between Serbs about Russia as a big protector of Serbia and Serbs in the Balkan (something as a big second motherland). Politics that country leads does not always show what ordinary people thing and feel about some specific subject.