Consolidation of the Russian-Serbian agenda

 

In Montenegro, historical revisionism manifests itself through the systematic rehabilitation of the Chetnik movement, which is presented as anti-fascist in pro-Russian and pro-Serbian narratives, despite documented collaboration with the Axis powers and participation in crimes against civilians. The goal of such a reinterpretation of history is to relativize Montenegro's anti-fascist heritage and its narrative subordination to the Russian discourse on the denazification of Ukraine.

 

Examples of such a narrative include the statement of Metropolitan Joanikije of the Serbian Orthodox Church of 4 May 2025, in which he describes Pavle Đurišić as a great hero of invincible character, immediately before the Victory Day over Fascism. Such statements testify to an attempt to harmonize local identity narratives with the official ideology of the Kremlin.

 

The pro-Russian narrative of sovereignty promotes the idea of Montenegro's upright and dignified entry into the EU, where the emphasis is placed on preserving traditional values, history and identity. Such a position serves as an ideological platform for challenging sanctions against Russia and weakening Montenegro's Euro-Atlantic obligations. These narratives, often articulated through the Serbian Orthodox Church, political structures, media and far-right organizations, act synergistically with revisionist rhetoric and enable the ideological positioning of Montenegro within the orbit of Putin's Russia and Vučić's Serbia. These structures use every opportunity to portray Montenegro as an indispensable element of Russian-Serbian spiritual, historical, and security interests, promoting narratives that deny the secular and civic character of the Montenegrin state.

 

The Serbian Orthodox Church, through events, public appearances and the promotion of narratives, is once again actively participating in the narrative delegitimization of Montenegro's anti-fascist heritage, glorifying Chetnik ideology and strengthening the ethno-nationalist narrative in Montenegro. This indicates its politically motivated actions that are contrary to the values of a civil, modern and anti-fascist Montenegro.

An example of this is the announcement of a memorial liturgy and memorial service for the fighters of the first and second Durmitor Chetnik brigades and victims of communist terror to be held on June 7, 2025. According to the announcements, the liturgy will be served by Bishop Metodije of Budimlje-Niksic. The announcement of such an event is part of a broader revisionist discourse that presents the Chetnik brigades in a positive light and testifies to attempts to reinterpret the events of World War II, where the Chetnik movement is portrayed as a victim, and not as a collaborationist and ultra-nationalist formation.

 

The poster announcing the event features a photo of a uniformed Chetnik with a rifle, which further visually affirms the movement. The prominence of the church institution and its priest gives the event legitimacy and spiritual weight. Such statements by the Serbian Orthodox Church build on their years-long attempts to rehabilitate the Chetnik movement not only as a military formation but also as part of an identity and national ideology.

 

The constant glorification of Russia by the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro and its close political and social actors is also evidenced by the activities at the procession celebrating Saint Basil of Ostrog, which was held on May 12, 2025 in Nikšić. On that occasion, Orthodox brotherhoods close to the SPC carried the banner Pray to God and stick to Russia, which had previously been seen at rallies in support of Russia in Podgorica after the start of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, but also at religious gatherings.

 

The Digital Forensic Center has continuously pointed out the activities and role of far-right pro-Serbian organizations and individuals in the socio-political life of Montenegro. The activities of these actors were particularly visible during important events and processes such as marches, elections, protests, government formation, and voting for the Resolution on the Genocide in Srebrenica. However, the ideological matrices and political messages of these actors are not limited to the local context, but are linked to broader regional and geopolitical narratives. The reason for the activation of far-right organizations from Montenegro was the celebration of Victory Day on May 9 in Moscow, which confirms intensive cooperation with Russian right-wing and Cossack structures.

 

The Victory Parade in Moscow was attended by Zdravko Nišavić, president of the St. Michael's Choir, an organization close to the Serbian Orthodox Church, one of the founders of which is Mijajlo Backović, a former member of the 63rd Parachute Brigade of the Yugoslav Army and secretary of Metodije Ostojić, bishop of the Budimlje-Niksic Serbian Orthodox Church. The St. Michael's Corps presents itself on social media as a humanitarian organization, but when their positions and activities are examined and contextualized, an agenda based on right-wing ideology, militaristic spirit, and loyalty to Serbia and Russia is evident. The Digital Forensic Center has previously pointed to the activities of the St. Michael's Corps and its members in its materials. After the armed attack in northern Kosovo in September 2023, a video of Zdravko Nišavić appeared on social media in which he called for the mobilization of the population and veterans, urging them to go to Kosovo if necessary.

 

Zdravko Nišavić was in Moscow with members of the Serbian and Don Cossacks Union "Sobrat". The president of that Union, Bratislav Todorović from Čačak, announced that he would lead the delegation of Serbia, Republika Srpska and Montenegro, and that the delegation would also consist of the Orthodox brotherhood Stupovi and the personal envoy of the President of Republika Srpska (entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina) Milorad Dodik, Milan Novitović. The Orthodox brotherhood Stupovi from Montenegro was represented by Neđeljko Neno Grandov, who was the administrator of the Viber group Odbrana elektornoe volo, which in August 2023 called for protests and blockades after the announcement by the then Prime Minister-designate Milojko Spajić that the coalition For the Future of Montenegro (ZBCG) would not be part of the new government. Grandov was also one of the organizers of the rally in support of Russia in Bijelo Polje in March 2022.

 

The trip and attendance at the parade was organized at the invitation of the Rostov Oblast administration, and the unregistered pro-Russian portal IN4S reported that during the visit, agreements on cooperation and twinning were signed between several municipalities from Serbian countries and Russian cities. The St. Michael's Choir said that they proudly emphasize the fact that the Russian people have not forgotten the anti-fascist struggle and the sacrifices made by the Serbian people in World War II, and that is why we celebrate May 9th, Victory Day over Nazism, and not the fictional Europe Day on May 8th. Such statements indicate an attempt to delegitimize European values and distance themselves from the contemporary political and civilizational trends that Montenegro, as a candidate country for EU membership, aspires to.

The rhetoric serves to strengthen the pro-Russian agenda and present the European Union as a hostile structure.

 

In one of the posts during their stay in Russia, Todorović and Grandov announced that they would receive permission to go to Donbas. During their stay in Donbas, Bratislav Todorović allegedly decorated, as it is said, a Hero of Russia, the commander of an assault detachment, the hero of the Battle of Bakhmut, who was personally decorated by President Putin with the Star of the Hero of Russia. The unnamed hero returned gifts and awards, including a flag with the inscription Морячок 169 and Бригада Сибирякова. They also state that they were in Novocherkassk, that they were hosted by a certain ataman, without specifying his name, and that they received blessings from priests of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Serbian Orthodox Church for the organization of an all-Serbian patriotic congress of organizations and associations of all Serbian countries and Russian patriots.

 

In November 2024, the Serbian and Don Cossack Union "Sobrat" organized a conference of Serbian-Russian organizations in the Čačak City Assembly under the slogan "No one is forgotten, nothing is forgotten." Messages against Ukraine and glorification of the Russian invasion of that country could be heard at that gathering.

 

Members of the Serbian and Don Cossack Union "Sobrat" also attended the commemoration of the 26th anniversary of the NATO intervention in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on March 23, 2025 in Tivat, organized by the St. Michael's Choir and the Veterans' Association of the 63rd Parachute Brigade. The program consisted of a liturgy in the monastery of St. Archangel Michael on St. Michael's Prevlaka, a memorial to the victims at the Brdište cemetery, and the unveiling of a monument to Russian-Serbian-Montenegrin friendship at the Church of the Holy Savior in Krtoli. The memorial was donated by a Russian who asked that his name remain a secret as long as, as is reported, Montenegro is ruled by Russophobia. The events were also attended by representatives of the embassies of Russia and Serbia in Montenegro.

 

Serbian Orthodox Church priest and former member of the 63rd Parachute Brigade of the Yugoslav Army Mijajlo Backović held a memorial service and promoted anti-Western and anti-NATO narratives, emphasizing that NATO criminally and cowardly attacked those who defended their country. Backović uses religion, mythology and emotional narratives as an instrument of mobilization against the hostile West. He also uses the phrase Merciful Angel, which is often tendentiously used as a name for the NATO intervention, although the official name of the NATO air operation was Operation Allied Force. The author of the coinage Merciful Angel remains unknown, but it is assumed that the term was coined in Serbia to facilitate the mobilization of people to fight against NATO.

 

During the unveiling of the monument of Russian-Serbian-Montenegrin friendship, a presentation on what are said to be ten key years in the common history of Montenegro and Russia was given by Igor Damjanović, a correspondent for the unregistered pro-Russian and pro-Serbian portal IN4S and various Serbian and Russian publications, a key figure in the placement of Russian propaganda who reports directly from the Ukrainian front and cooperates with Russian military structures.

 

Damjanović referred to several important dates and years in the history of relations between Montenegro and Russia. He states: On May 9, 1945, together we defeated fascism and Nazism, the greatest evil of the 20th century, an evil whose servants, the quislings, are today celebrated in Montenegro and Ukraine as national heroes of the first order. Unfortunately, on May 9, the merits of the first army that rose up against Hitler and Mussolini in occupied Europe were not only not verified, but their members were killed without trial on the Zidan Most, and decades later slandered and disgraced. The example of how Russian President Vladimir Putin reconciled the red and white today should also serve us in Serbia and Montenegro, Damjanović says. His reference to May 9th and the victory over fascism contains a revisionist tone and a narrative that romanticizes the Russian model of national reconciliation. At the same time, Damjanović's reference to the suffering of members of the Chetnik movement is part of a broader narrative that has been built and marketed to the public in the region for years, which is a narrative about the need to equalize the partisan and Chetnik movements under the auspices of national reconciliation. Referring to Vladimir Putin as a role model in this process further problematizes the message, because the Russian model of reconciliation is based on the selective use of history in the function of state ideology.

 

 

In order to promote anti-Western and anti-Ukrainian narratives, as well as narratives that glorify Russia, certain portals in Montenegro also play a significant role. Shaping public perception and behavior through media constructs is one of the key elements of influence operations.

 

On the occasion of the announcement in the Montenegrin media that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Montenegro where he will meet with the Montenegrin President and Prime Minister, the unregistered pro-Russian portal IN4S published five texts that represent an example of the placement of manipulative, anti-Western and anti-Ukrainian narratives, with calls for public resistance and social mobilization against the Ukrainian President and state institutions.

 

In the articles titled “Will Podgorica Silently Observe the Nazi Festival?” and “Zelensky’s Visit and (Anti)Fascism: Will Podgorica Follow in the Footsteps of the Aggressive Minority from Cetinje?”, “Does the Memory of the Victory over Fascism End in Podgorica on May 14th, and a New Neo-Nazi History is Already Written on the 15th?”, “Dogs of War Are Coming to Montenegro: Why Is Neo-Nazi Zelensky Welcomed in Podgorica?” and “Podgorica or Istanbul: Where Will Zelensky Show His Face?”, a matrix of multi-layered information influence is recognizable with the aim of delegitimizing state institutions, demonizing Montenegro’s international partners, and undermining public support for the country’s official foreign policy and Euro-Atlantic course. In the aforementioned texts, Zelensky is described as a man who has turned Ukraine into a “tomb of freedom and Orthodoxy,” as someone who is pursuing “sick ambitions” with the support of the West, which “ends the spiritual life of millions of people,” while Podgorica is called upon not to be a “city of dead voices,” but a “symbol of civil resistance.” Montenegro is portrayed as a victim of Western hegemony, while Russia and Orthodoxy are presented as guardians of true values.

 

The narratives promoted through the aforementioned texts of the unregistered pro-Russian portal IN4S clearly rely on patterns characteristic of the Russian propaganda ecosystem, which dehumanizes the Ukrainian people and portrays them as Nazis. Such rhetoric is an example of manipulative and inflammatory speech that can further incite social tensions and threaten public order and peace, especially in the context of the announced state visit.

 

DFC recalls that the unregistered pro-Russian and pro-Serbian portal IN4S has been operating outside the framework of professional and ethical journalism for years, promoting content that is often marked by open animosity towards Montenegro's partners in the West and support for actors who oppose its strategic orientations and sovereign foreign policy decisions.

 

The portal Aloneline.me, whose activities the DFC previously pointed out, also published a text regarding the announcement that Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Montenegro. The text entitled A comedian is coming before whom Montenegro will capitulate and humiliate itself is a propaganda pamphlet aimed at discrediting Montenegro's pro-Western orientation, delegitimizing Ukraine and its president, and affirming the idea of a natural and historical connection between Montenegro and Russia. The main narrative of the text is the thesis that the visit of Ukrainian President Zelensky represents an act of betrayal, capitulation, and humiliation for Montenegro. This claim is expanded with narratives that the Montenegrin state leadership is acting against the will of the people, in the service of Western centers of power, ignoring historical, spiritual, and cultural ties with Russia. Zelensky is portrayed as a comedian, an instrument of Western engineering, and a symbol of anti-Russian hysteria.

 

The aim of such texts is to delegitimize Montenegro's political course, strengthen its identity-based resistance to the West, and preserve Moscow's influence through the emotional mobilization of citizens around the themes of tradition, faith, and brotherhood.

 

The unregistered portal IN4S published an article titled IN4S in Hilandar: Brotherhood that not even a visa can separate, which describes the journey of a group of pilgrims to the Hilandar monastery on Mount Athos. The article was written by IN4S journalist and editor-in-chief of the Bar portal Milenko Miško Jovanović, who in his previous articles denies the genocide in Srebrenica and promotes narratives that glorify Serbia, stating that without Serbia, most Montenegrin municipalities would not be able to survive a single tourist season. Jovanović also states that the 2006 referendum was stolen, that Njegoš's chapel on Lovćen should be returned to lift the curse from Montenegro, and that Montenegro needs to return to the East and to Russia as its centuries-old protector. It is indicative that the Montenegrin Ambassador to Serbia, Nebojša Đoković, was traveling with Jovanović. The organizers of the pilgrimage were Taras Stojković and Balša Vojvodić. On May 7, 2025, the two of them attended a ceremonial reception at the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Belgrade on the occasion of Victory Day, where they were hosted by Ambassador Aleksandar Bocan-Herčenko. Balša Vojvodić is from Sutomore and is currently a student at the Faculty of Diplomacy and Security in Belgrade. He said that he carries a sense of historical weight, honor and shame within him. Weight because he knows what Russia has done for the freedom of the world, honor because he stands by the truth even when it is unpopular, and shame because he sees how his homeland, Montenegro, is today, shamefully, introducing sanctions against Russia, its historical protector.

 

Ambassador Djokovic's participation in this trip, organized and documented by people and portals with such a reputation, may raise public concerns. Such cooperation may be perceived as support for revisionist narratives and may undermine the credibility of Montenegrin diplomacy.

 

The activities of the Serbian Orthodox Church, pro-Serbian political structures, media and far-right organizations in Montenegro indicate a synchronized attempt to narratively and ideologically reshape Montenegrin society in a direction that is aligned with the Russian-Serbian agenda. The rehabilitation of the Chetnik movement, the denial of the anti-fascist legacy, the promotion of pro-Russian ideas and the delegitimization of European values are key tools in the hybrid strategy. Such an agenda directly threatens the civic, secular and European identity of Montenegro, slows down its path towards membership in the European Union and opens up space for the destabilization of the wider Western Balkans region.