Article by Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov and Foreign Minister of Serbia Ivica Dacic, Russia and Serbia: 180 Years of Friendship, Trust and Cooperation, published by Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Serbian daily Politika on February 21, 2018
This year, Russia and Serbia will celebrate a landmark date: 180 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations. On February 23, 1838, Serbian Prince Milos Obrenovic received Gerasim Vashchenko, Russia’s first consul, in his residence in the city of Kragujevac.
That event opened a new page in the centuries-long relations between the two fraternal nations, which share cultural, civilisational and spiritual roots. Relations between Russia and Serbia go far beyond the framework of interstate relations.
Back in the 12th century, Rastko Nemanjic (St Sava), the future founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church, became a monk in the St Panteleimon Monastery, a Russian Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos. In the worst periods of the Mongol invasion, the Serbian rulers provided support to this and many other Orthodox monasteries.
The Russian consulate opened in a vital period of the development of Serbian state. The Treaty of Adrianople, which concluded the Russo-Turkish War of 1828−1829, provided for giving autonomy to the territories liberated during the First Serbian Uprising of 1804−1813. The policy of Russian Emperor Nicholas I created conditions for practical implementation of this provision. Russia’s contribution to the development of Serbia as a state, its constitutional foundations and a combat-ready army facilitated the eventual liberation of Serbian lands.
People in Serbia and Russia alike will never forget the thousands of Russian volunteers who fought selflessly alongside their Slav brothers in the Serbian-Turkish War of 1876−1877. The names of General Mikhail Chernyayev, who commanded the Serbian army in that trying period, Colonel Nikolai Rayevsky, who died fighting at the village of Gornji Adrovac, as well as other heroes, are inscribed in gold in the history of Russian-Serbian relations. A year later, Serbia gained the long-awaited independence.
The 20th century was not easy for our countries and tested the Russian-Serbian friendship many times. The age of global shocks and radical change left its imprint on both countries. We have been through a lot, and our bilateral relations were no exception. However, even when we took different sides for ideological reasons, we never denied each other assistance and have always maintained feelings of mutual respect and sympathy based on the legacy of our forefathers.
Back in the 18th century, during the reign of Peter the Great and Elizabeth Petrovna, we opened the door to Serbian migrants, many of whom left their imprint on the Russian history, such as generals Mikhail Miloradovich, Georgy Emmanuel, Ivan Shevich, Nikolai Depreradovich, Ilya Douka and other outstanding military leaders prominent during the Napoleonic Wars.
After the 1917 revolution and the subsequent tragedy of the Civil War, Alexander I, prince regent of the Kingdom of Serbia, took in tens of thousands of Russian émigrés who were forced to leave their homeland. Serbia became a second home to many of them, the land where they realised their intellectual and creative potential. Russians were allowed to open schools, hospitals, cultural and research facilities. They also had the right to enter civil and military service, and many of them used this right. The Russian community made a big contribution to the development of Serbia’s economy, science, culture and arts. Architect Nikolai Krasnov is well known in Belgrade, whose modern image he helped create. There are many other Russians who are well remembered in Serbia, including Metropolitan Antony (Khrapovitsky), historian and Byzantinist Georgy Ostrogorsky, doctor Alexander Ignatovsky and ballet dancer Nina Kirsanova.
The two world wars, in which our nations sustained heavy losses, also produced inspiring examples of military comradeship and selfless fight for Victory. Serbians still cherish the memory of Emperor Nicholas II, who raised Russia in defence of Serbia. Russians are grateful to their Serbian friends for safeguarding the memory of Russian soldiers who died in battles for the liberation of Belgrade and the rest of Yugoslavia during WWII. The heroism of our fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers, who gave their lives for the freedom of Europe, will forever remain the symbol of courage, valour and selfless service to their homeland.
In 1999, Russian-Serbian relations were again put to the test. Our concerted efforts helped stop the NATO aggression against the Union Republic of Yugoslavia and launch a political settlement of the conflict in Kosovo, which led to the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 that formalised Serbian sovereignty over the province. We continue to uphold Serbia’s legitimate rights to Kosovo based on international law.
Relations between our countries have moved forward to the level of strategic partnership, which has been sealed in the Declaration on Strategic Partnership, signed by the presidents of Russia and Serbia in Sochi in May 2013. Our political dialogue is developing in the spirit of trust and mutual understanding both at the working and summit levels, as evidenced by the December 2017 visit by President Aleksandar Vucic to Russia. Relations between our parliaments have been boosted by visits to Serbia of Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko in November 2017 and State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin in June 2017. Close coordination between our foreign ministries is growing stronger as well.
We are greatly satisfied with the positive development of our ties concerning the economy, trade and military technology and with the successful implementation of joint projects in the spheres of energy, transport and culture. Russian-Serbian relations are based on a solid legal framework, which we continue to expand.
Our countries pursue an independent and balanced foreign policy based on national interests. At the same time, we consistently advocate unconditional compliance with the basic principles of international relations sealed in the UN Charter, such as the sovereign equality of states, non-interference in their internal affairs and a peaceful settlement of disputes. We also stand firmly in favour of tackling the main challenges and threats exclusively on the basis of international law.
A salient feature of our cooperation is respect for each other’s choices and interests. Moscow and Belgrade do not accept the flawed “us or them” philosophy, which has strengthened mistrust and instability in Europe.
Today we are facing the challenge of making broader use of the truly inexhaustible potential of the Russian-Serbian partnership. We believe that we have all the necessary conditions for doing this. The most important condition is the friendship and trust that have existed between our nations for centuries. We will continue to strengthen them to the benefit of the current and future generations of our people.
Sergey Lavrov Ivica Dacic
