Delfina ERTANOWSKA
Abstract. The article presents the use of propaganda tools by Russia in the context of unfreezing the conflict in the Balkans on the example of Serbia – Kosovo. The role and influence of Russian media propaganda as well as cyber propaganda and cyber terrorism in both countries was determined. Boris Varga and Arian Kadriu were asked for their opinion on the use of these methods.
Keywords: Russian propaganda, media, cyber propaganda, Balkans, Russian influence, Serbia Kosovo conflict
Dozens of books, articles and publications have been written about the Russian propaganda machine. Millions of dollars pumped into tools of hybrid war directed against Ukraine, the country of the former USSR, members of the former Eastern bloc or libertarian and pro-Western values. The events of recent months, but especially the days, bring to mind attempts to unfreeze the conflict between Serbia and Kosovo.
After the end of the War in the Balkans (1991-2001), one of the bloodiest wars in the history of modern Europe (until February 24, 2022), consisting of four interrelated armed conflicts, it seemed that there would be relative peace in Europe. However, recent events prove otherwise. Tensions between Belgrade and Pristina have been growing steadily since last year what has been initiated the mandatory replacement of license plates in Kosovo. A wave of riots swept through the border regions, resulting in both shootings and burnings of buildings. After several months of dispute and difficult negotiations, a relative agreement was reached – however, it turned out to be fleeting. Since August 2022, conflicts on the border of the two countries have not subsided, riots, exchange of fire1, barricades erected by the Serbian minority living in Kosovo. From 9-11 December take place shootings and roadblocks in the north of the country where ethnic Serbs make up the majority of the population. Accusations from Serbian politicians that Kosovo police forces violated the Serbian border2. Causes the most concern information provided by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, about plans to apply to NATO and NATO forces KFOR for the possibility of introducing Serbian troops and police to the territory of the independent state of the Republic of Kosovo3. Kosovo President Albin Kurti’s response was unequivocal “We will respond to aggression with all the power we have.”
11 December, at night when I finished this article information appeared after the meeting of the National Security Council of Serbia, and keeping the Serbian army in combat readiness; and Vucic himself claims that it was his most difficult night in his political career4.
The scenario seems familiar? Similarly, Russia justifies its aggression against eastern Ukraine in 2014, and used similar rhetoric to attack Ukraine in 2022. The close relations between Vučić and Putin, and Russia’s huge financial investments in Serbia are no secret. A few days ago, the world media circulated the news that the Wagner group, already recognized in the EU as a terrorist organization, opened in Belgrade a „center of friendship and cooperation” – Petar Nikitin, a Russian anti-war activist who lives in Belgrade believes it is fake news, but there is no shortage of opinions that his denials are part of Russian strategy. Aleksandar Radić told that more than 140,000 Russians requested temporary residence in Serbia by November and that this „of course attracts political attention” and „implies some reactions of the Russian security system”5. Boris Varga in the same article said „Every message of this type, like the news about the Wagner group, should be treated as an action initiated by the Putin regime with the aim of studying and shaping public opinion in Serbia”.
Russia has built a propaganda machine in every country, has its followers, its „propaganda soldiers” and paid various kinds of politicians and media people. Will it use the Wagner cultural center to sip its propaganda in Serbia on an even larger scale? – undoubtedly yes, it can also be used to intimidate the public opinion and the discrediting of Western values. I asked Boris Varga6, a well-known political scientist and journalist of Ukrainian origin, from Vojvodina, about the scale of Russian influence and propaganda.
D.E.: How strong is Russian propaganda in the media / how strong is the influence on society in the topic of strained relations between Serbia and Kosovo? (this building of antagonisms is direct or more of a subliminal message / activity)?
B.V.: Serbia is probably the only country where in February some newspapers published the headline on the front pages – „Ukraine attacked Russia!”. It would be a bad joke, if it weren’t for the war, on which a large part of the Serbs have their own, as you heard, but still mostly pro-Russian point of view.
Since 2014, the Russian propaganda portal Sputnik has been an influential source in Serbia. Russia is trying to strengthen its influence, and in the near future the TV channel „Russia Today” will start broadcasting in Serbian.
Russia itself, through its propaganda, has the greatest influence on the tension between Serbia and Kosovo. Moscow expects the opening of a „second front” in Europe, in Kosovo, as well as in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Russian propaganda emphasizes that the past and tradition are more important than the future and the EU. And indeed, there is a lot of talk here about the historical and traditional connections between Serbia and Russia. But in practice, Serbs go to work not in Russia, but in the countries of the European Union, and young people are not interested in Russian, but in Western universities.
D.E.: Is there a noticeable Russian influence in social networks in the context of the development of social antagonisms? And also the support of radical public / social groups?
B.V.: Since 2014, Serbia has been under the strong political influence of Russia. In particular, Moscow supports the so-called „Serbian world”, like the „Russian world”, which restores revanchist sentiments with the aim of uniting all territories inhabited by ethnic Serbs in the former Yugoslavia.
Analysts here mostly attribute this sentiment to what Serbs see as a „loss” in the 1990s conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, as well as the declaration of Kosovo’s independence. Such an atmosphere in Serbian society contributed to the rise to power of former radicals, whose traditional electorate is Russophile and anti-Western. This is the Serbian Progressive Party, headed by President Aleksandar Vučić.
It is also a fact that the Russian president is an honorary citizen in 13 cities and munici-palities of Serbia, including my city – Novi Sad, which, by the way, is located the central office of the Oil Industry of Serbia, whose owner is Russia.
Therefore, since the beginning of the aggression in Serbian cities, on the streets you can see people wearing T-shirts with symbols of the Russian occupation. Portraits of Putin can be seen here at rallies in support of Russia. The Serbian right on billboards congratulated the Russian president on his birthday, and I will tell you something from my own experience: I recently personally erased the letter „Z” from the lift of the building in which I live. All this is the result of pro-Russian propaganda in the Balkans.
In addition to open propaganda presented in traditional media, Russia also operates through digital media, including social media. Hate speech, trolling, deep fake or finally groups recruiting radical activists and potential terrorists. I asked Arian Kadriu7, a security specialist from Kosovo, about the other darker side of Russian cyber propaganda and cybercrime in the Balkans.
A.K.: When it comes to propaganda and disinformation against another country, Serbia mimics superbly the Russian regime and its mastery of using those tools as asymmetric weapons to destabilize the National Security of Kosovo. On many digital platforms and social networks Serbian propaganda is turned into a threat against the state of Kosovo and Albanians everywhere in the world. Such disinformation is damaging the image of the Albanian people and the state of Kosovo worldwide. Their propaganda includes that Kosovo Albanians came from other parts of the World and occupied this “Holly Serbian Land” and this illusion is unfortunately backed not only by their Pro-Russian regime but also by their Orthodox Church clerics and even Academic institutions. One of their targets is also the reputation of KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) which fought during the 1999 war to protect Kosovo people from the genocide of the Serbian Army ruled under their Dictator Slobodan Milosevic. They spread articles and video footages of wars and massacres from different parts of the world and put the blame in the name of KLA, also by falsely accusing them of human trafficking, drug smuggling and other criminal activities.
Besides Serbia also Russian regime is always an active cyber threat not just with cyber-attacks against NATO Balkan countries and Kosovo, but also with their spread of social media propaganda against Kosovo, and according to the “KIPRED” (a NGO in Kosovo) in Kosovo Russian media for less than three months have published 500 news reports directly or indirectly related to Kosovo.
This was said in the report „Kosovo Observer – Russian Diplomatic War and Medial Disin-formation, 1 November 2021 – 15 January 2022”, presented by the Kosovo Institute for Policy Research and Developments (KIPRED), adding that every fifth published news had content with disinformation.
Recently Serbian media report that Kosovo is supposedly preparing for a war on Serbia, and against the Serbian minority living here until it stresses that it could mislead the public in Serbia. Kosovo must be attentive to the information that comes from abroad and is having the subject of the Kosovo issue. Serious measures should be taken such as creating specialists groups of IT experts, social media experts, intellectuals and academics to create a guard against such threats. Facebook and other social media platform should be contacted to ban or suspend suspicious activities regarding the Anti-Kosovo propaganda. Manipulation of masses through digital propaganda should be considered as a National Security threat for Kosovo.
CONCLUSIONS
The impact and scale of Russian influence and propaganda on destabilizing the Balkans and stimulating antagonisms between the former Yugoslavia countries is shown in the article. A situation of concern, the tension is increasing hour by hour. Let’s hope it ends with threats as it did in the previous cases, otherwise we will have to deal with the opening of a military second front what will reduce the help for Ukraine in the fight against the Russian occupier, and that is what does discredited Russia care about.
References
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MBA. (2022). Rośnie napięcie w Kosowie. W akcji polscy żołnierze i policjanci. Onet. Online: https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/swiat/rosnie-napiecie-w-kosowie-w-akcji-polscy-zolnierze-i-policjanci/tcnh58p
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MBA. (2022). Strzały i eksplozje na granicy Serbii i Kosowa. Wniosek Belgradu o wprowadzenie wojsk. Onet. Online: https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/swiat/serbia-chce-wkroczyc-do-kosowa-zwrocila-sie-do-nato/tf5jjgx
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Popović, V. (2022). Nakon objave Vagnera da je registrovao udruženje u Srbiji, ruski antiratni aktivisti negiraju, eksperti upozoravaju. VOA. Online: https://www.glasamerike.net/a/balkan-srbija-rat-u-ukrajini-ukrajina-rusija-grupa-vagner-delovanje-analiticari-nikitin-varga-radic/6 868391.html?fbclid=IwAR3Z85RHNDxVQv6vCE7knZhraDvY3LLv-R0ZpEhNByXtiG-ioU-32VP4iGo
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Serbia utrzymuje wojsko w gotowości. Vucić: przede mną najtrudniejsza noc w moim życiu. (2022). Onet. Online: https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/swiat/serbia-utrzymuje-wojsko-w-gotowosci-prezydent-vucic-to-najtrudniejsza-noc/pq36j2k Serbia utrzymuje wojsko w gotowości. Vucić: przede mną najtrudniejsza noc w moim życiu
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Wysocki, A. (2022). Widmo wojny tuż obok turystycznego raju Polaków. Czy to bezpiecznie jechać do Chorwacji? Na temat. Online: https://natemat.pl/428680,mozliwa-wojna-serbia-kosowo-a-bezpieczenstwo-w-chorwacji 1-08-22
Master of Journalism and Social Communication, University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow, Poland, independent journalist, Poland, del_fina@onet.eu
1 Wysocki, A. (2022). Widmo wojny tuż obok turystycznego raju Polaków. Czy to bezpiecznie jechać do Chorwacji? Na temat. Online: https://natemat.pl/428680,mozliwa-wojna-serbia-kosowo-a-bezpieczenstwo-w-chorwacji 1-08-22
2 MBA. (2022). Rośnie napięcie w Kosowie. W akcji polscy żołnierze i policjanci. Onet. Online: https:// wiadomosci.onet.pl/swiat/rosnie-napiecie-w-kosowie-w-akcji-polscy-zolnierze-i-policjanci/tcnh58p
3 MBA. (2022). Strzały i eksplozje na granicy Serbii i Kosowa. Wniosek Belgradu o wprowadzenie wojsk. Onet. Online: https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/swiat/serbia-chce-wkroczyc-do-kosowa-zwrocila-sie-do-nato/tf5jjgx
4 Serbia utrzymuje wojsko w gotowości. Vucić: przede mną najtrudniejsza noc w moim życiu. (2022). Onet. Online: https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/swiat/serbia-utrzymuje-wojsko-w-gotowosci-prezydent-vucic-to-najtrudniejsza-noc/pq36j2k Serbia utrzymuje wojsko w gotowości. Vucić: przede mną najtrudniejsza noc w moim życiu
5 Popović, V.(2022). Nakon objave Vagnera da je registrovao udruženje u Srbiji, ruski antiratni aktivisti negiraju, eksperti upozoravaju. VOA. Online: https://www.glasamerike.net/a/balkan-srbija-rat-u-ukrajini-ukrajina-rusija-grupa-vagner-delovanje-analiticari-nikitin-varga-radic/6868391.html?fbclid=IwAR3Z8 5RHNDxVQv6vCE7knZhraDvY3LLv-R0ZpEhNByXtiG-ioU-32VP4iGo
6 Boris Varga – political scientist and journalist. Doctor, i.e. candidate of political sciences, PhD dissertation defended in Belgrade, Serbia
7 Arian Besnik Kadriu – National Security PhD Professor at University for Business and Technology Pristina, Kosovo
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