The Russian House in the Serbian capital boasts to being the oldest Russian culture center outside the country, claiming to be investing effort to strengthen ties between the two kindred countries but producing pro-Moscow propaganda.

The Russian House remained open during the 1999 NATO air campaign and after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Those two historical events are the backbone of the institution’s declared propaganda activities to strengthen the friendly, cultural and international ties between Serbia and Russia. The Russian House (Ruski Dom in Serbian) is an outpost of the Rossotrudnichestvo federal agency which is involved with the Russian diaspora, does humanitarian work and operates under the auspices of the Foreign Ministry. It is also registered as a representative office in Serbia with its Director Yevgeni Baranov enjoying full diplomatic status just like embassy staff.

Russian anti-war activist Peter Nikitin, who is resident in Serbia, said that he knows what the Russian House is and does not follow their activities. Nikitin and the thousands of others who left Russia for ideological reasons or to avoid going to war can’t be expected to seek refuge in the Russian House.

Who goes to the Russian House

Its Instagram page shows that the Belgrade Russian House offers language courses, study trips, cultural exchanges, promotes less well know areas of Russia as well as activities that have nothing to do with that country.

Most recently, applications were invited for a competition to take part in and international conference titled The Long-term Consequences of the Bombing of Yugoslavia on Contemporary Serbian Society and the Formation of a Multi-polar World. That conference is being organized by the Gorchakov Foundation which is close to the Kremlin, and the target group are young journalists and bloggers, as well as experts in international politics and rights under the age of 35. The Moscow-based Alexander Gorchakov Fund for Public Diplomacy, based in Moscow is one of the Russian organizations under European Union sanctions. It was founded in 2010 by then President Dmitry Medvedev as an NGO but is funded by the Foreign Ministry just like a number of other organizations in Russia and abroad.

The Russian House Instagram post said that brainstorming is the key part of the conference to see how young people create an image of the future, while preserving historical memory. In other words, young journalists and bloggers who may not remember 1999, not only from Serbia but also from other European countries and the Middle East, will be offered a historical memory that they need to develop and pass on.

Nikitin said that events like this conference have nothing to do with Russia, adding that he does not see why a Russian institution would deal with the issue. “It is clear that this is interference and propaganda to get Serbia as close as possible to the Russian authorities,“ he said. According to Nikitin, events at the Russian House include completely unknown performers for Serbians who continue spreading Russian propaganda.

Family values between NATO and Ukraine

The Russian propaganda narrative is that Russia had no choice but to invade Ukraine because genocide was underway against Russians in that country, so that if the US can wage wars all over the world, why can’t Russia do the same. The 1999 NATO air campaign in what was FR Yugoslavia is one of those American/Western wars which the Russian House keeps recalling.

Late in August, its Instagram page announced the screening of a documentary titled The Silent Killer about the consequences of radioactive munitions used by NATO. The film was produced by RT Doc, and is broadcast on the YouTube channel that Russian House promotes – Balkan Trip TV.

„During the 78 days of the NATO aggression, 15 tons of depleted uranium, which is extremely carcinogenic even in the smallest quantities, were dumped on the soil of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. People who participated in the cleanup died or are still being treated for oncology ailments. 25 years later, the consequences of the ecological disaster of 1999 are still present in these areas,“ the post said. Russian House Director Baranov is himself a former TV reporter and war correspondent from Yugoslavia since 1998.

Welcome guests in Russian House Belgrade include Danica Crnogorcevic who sings so-called patriotic songs. She was presented a Russian award for families with several children as the mother of 5 married to an ethnic Serb priest in Montenegro. The award was presented by Russian Ambassador Alexander Bocan Harchenko and the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irinej. Crnogorcevic was invited to the southern city of Nis for a celebration where she sang the Russian patriotic song Katyusha.

Crnogorcevic is the nicer side of the propaganda coming out of Russian House while the Serbian branch of the Russian Night Wolves Motorcycle Club and a war reporter convicted in Serbia for taking part in combat operations in Ukraine are the uglier side but both are part of efforts to win over the public in Serbia. Unsurprisingly, a video was released in August showing a wounded Russian soldier in hospital wearing a T-shirt with the slogan – Serbs and Russians brothers forever. T-shirts with that slogan were supplied by Serbian organizations through Russian House which said that wounded Russian soldiers are gratefully accepting the gesture from the Serbian people.

Diplomat says Russian House activities unprecedented

Srecko Djukic, a retired Serbian diplomat who served in the country’s embassies in Moscow and Minsk told N1 that the Russian House and other institutions such as the Serbian-Russian Humanitarian Center, the Serbian-Russian Friendship Society as well as individuals have unlimited access to all of Serbian society which, according to him, is not unusual since Russia is a top priority in Serbian foreign policy.

He said that Serbia has been flooded by Russian propaganda without the slightest critical note. “Russia’s position is unprecedented in the history of its relations with Serbia. It can have short- and medium-term effects, but the madness for Russia and Putin will pass,“ Djukic told the N1 portal.

He recalled periods of intense Russian influence and infatuation in Serbia but added that Serbians realized that they create their own destiny in the end. „This will take some time and things will settle down and Russia will take its rightful place,“ said the former diplomat.

He said that even if Russia wins in Ukraine, it will no longer have the same place in international affairs which means that on one hand, the international situation is not good for Russia and on the other it does not have influence on issues important to Serbia such as Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina. According to him, those issues will be resolved without Russia or as part of a deal with Moscow which will be based solely on Russian interests.