Serbia facing ‘color revolution’ – deputy PM

Serbia is confronting the threat of a “color revolution,” Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin has said. He accused Western security services of orchestrating unrest to instigate an overthrow of the government similar to Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan coup.

Student-led demonstrations against alleged corruption and government negligence have been ongoing in Serbia for months. The protests, sparked by the deadly collapse of a concrete canopy at the railway station in the city of Novy Sad in November 2024, culminated in a massive rally in Belgrade on March 15, which was followed by clashes between dozens of protesters and the police.

“A color revolution is taking place in Belgrade,” Vulin said on Saturday, during a meeting in Moscow with the secretary of the Russian National Security Council, Sergey Shoigu. “Western security services are behind the color revolution as they want to put a new government in power,” he said, adding that the Serbian authorities “would not allow it.”

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has previously accused foreign actors of fueling unrest in order to destabilize the country, claiming that opposition forces were collaborating with Western, Croatian, and Albanian intelligence agencies to overthrow his government.

According to Vulin, the West seeks to “destroy Serbia.” He also said he believes the pressure exerted against his nation is linked to Belgrade’s position on relations with Russia. Serbia has not joined the Western sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine conflict and “never will,” according to the deputy prime minister.

The forces behind the unrest could instigate further “radicalization” of the protests “soon,” Vulin warned. “Those who organized [the March 15 rally] would like to see a ‘Maidan’ and are working on making that happen,” he told Shoigu. The 2013-2014 Maidan protests in Kiev led to the ousting of Ukraine’s democratically elected president, Viktor Yanukovich, and ultimately paved the way for the current conflict.

Shoigu, a former Russian defense minister, expressed concern over the developments in Serbia. Russia “cherishes” its relations with Belgrade, he said, adding that the two countries maintain an “open dialogue” and particularly cooperate in the field of countering “color revolutions.”

Vulin thanked the Russian security services for their intelligence sharing operations. “They know the danger Serbia is facing. We have very good communication and I am very grateful for that,” he said. Shoigu, in turn, said that Belgrade can “always rely on Russia’s aid in any issues.”