Russia in Global Affairs

The events of 2022 drew a line under Vladimir Putin’s attempts to preserve or assert by means of political and historical polemics a narrative about the European past that would suit Russia. Putin’s extensive speech made on February 21, 2022, which became a foreword to the special military operation in Ukraine, heralded a transition from disputes about history to practical action to change its course.

World War I is rightly called the suicide of Europe. It would be even more appropriate to consider it the suicide of empires. WWI graphically demonstrated that the major threat to any empire was not domestic nationalism, but another empire.

In the current situation, a multi-vector policy—smart balancing between three centers (EU-NATO, Russia, and China)—may open up opportunities for Serbia to exert political agency on the international stage in the near term.