Serbia and Hungary mass protests: ‘The spectre of Russia is in the background’
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Serbia and Hungary have seen large numbers of citizens take to the streets to protest government corruption.
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In brief:
- Major anti-government protests are occurring in Serbia and Hungary, two of Europe's most pro-Russia countries, with demonstrators rallying against corruption and authoritarian leadership.
- Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s government is characterizing the protests as "Western backed", although there is no evidence that this is the case.
- The News Agents say that while these movements aren't primarily about Russia, Moscow's influence looms in the background as both countries are in "Russia's sphere of influence" - a concerning development for the EU, which worries about Serbia potentially becoming another disruptive force like Hungary under Orban.
What’s the story?
While all eyes are locked on Russia and Ukraine as world leaders continue to attempt to bring the deadly three year war to a close, protests are brewing elsewhere in Europe as thousands are taking to their countries capital cities to protest pro-Russia governments.
More than 300,000 people have taken part in a major anti-government rally in the Serbian capital Belgrade on Saturday, following weeks of anti-corruption protests led initially by students.
The protests started in response to the collapse of the Novi Sad railway station roof in November that killed 15 people, with citizens blaming President Aleksandar Vucic for allegedly covering up unsafe construction.
Vucic’s decade-long rule of Serbia, first as Prime Minister and since 2017 as President, has seen him lead a Russian-friendly government, refusing to impose sanctions on the country after its illegal invasion of Ukraine.
Elsewhere, in Budapest, Hungarians gathered in crowds reportedly reaching over 50,000 people to protest against their leader Viktor Orban’s 15-year rule.
Orban, often referred to as “Europe’s dictator,” Lewis Goodall points out, is considered Putin’s closest ally amongst European leaders.
The leader of Hungary’s opposition party, the Tisza Party, was in attendance at the protest.
Peter Magyar, who is pro-Europe, told the crowd; “Those who cheat on their own nation should end up in the dustbin of history.”
What’s The News Agents’ take?
“These are protests about states that have grown remote, they’re too powerful, they have too much corruption in them,” Jon Sopel explains.
It’s led people to say “‘something needs to be done’.”
Whilst the huge protests in Belgrade started because of government corruption, and not because of the government's pro-Russia stance, Serbia and Hungary are “some of the most pro-Russia countries in Europe,” Lewis says.
They have the hallmarks of the kind of politics that have also played out in Ukraine and Georgia, he adds.
“The protests are being portrayed by the Vucic government as being Western backed, Western manipulated,” Lewis says - even though there is no evidence for this.
“Russia is very much keeping an eye on it, and saying that they're concerned about it.”
It’s reminiscent of the protests that happened in Minsk, Belarus in 2020-2021, Jon says.
“They looked like they could topple the regime there - suddenly, Russia lends reinforcements and helps to suppress any protests.”
“We're not at that stage yet, but you would almost say that Hungary and Serbia are in Moscow’s sphere of influence,” Jon says.
Lewis adds that the protests should be viewed as “part of a wider picture” - that Serbia, an EU candidate country, is moving further away from EU membership because of how close Vucic has been getting to Russia.
“The last thing that the EU would want is another Viktor Orban type figure, disrupting things from within,” he says.
“That's not to say these things are just about Russia. But certainly the spectre of Russia is in the background to all of these things at the moment.”
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