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"Alliance of Memory" about the events of 1999 in the context of modern RussianSerbian relations

Entina E.G.,

HSE University; Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia , e.entina@hse.ru

elibrary_id: 802154 | ORCID: 0000-0003-4198-4870 | RESEARCHER_ID: M-6192-2015

Stepanov N.,

HSE University, Moscow, Russia, n.stepanov@hse.ru

Article received: 2025.02.12 21:04. Accepted: 2025.07.02 21:04


DOI: 10.17976/jpps/2025.05.10
EDN: OYZGQV

Rubric: History recent and remote

For citation:

Entina E.G., Stepanov N. "Alliance of Memory" about the events of 1999 in the context of modern RussianSerbian relations. – Polis. Political Studies. 2025. No. 5. https://doi.org/10.17976/jpps/2025.05.10. EDN: OYZGQV (In Russ.)

Abstract

The “politics of memory” itself is becoming an increasingly relevant instrument of interaction between government and society. In addition, it is increasingly being used in interstate relations not only as a tool of confrontation, but also as a means of interaction. One such example is the Russian-Serbian “alliance of memory” for the events of the bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, founded through the development of tools of “mnemonic diplomacy”. The study examines the reasons for its emergence, reveals the process of formation and formulates conclusions about its stability. The study is based on rich empirical materials obtained through a discourse analysis of the speeches of Serbian and Russian political leaders between 1999 and 2024, as well as by presenting the results of a sociological study on the individual experience of bombing among Serbian citizens, which was conducted by the research team in 2024 and partially included in the monograph “The Lasting Echo of 1999”. The team of authors proceeds from the fact that the “memory policy” of the events of 1999 was formed in Russia and Serbia rather autonomously, but the creation of a non-institutionalized “memory alliance” led to a visible rapprochement between Russian and Serbian societies, and also damaged the prospects of creating similar alliances between Serbia and the EU. However, for Serbian society, the strength of the “alliance of memory” with Russia is measured by the potential for its expansion through other historical episodes, as well as the outlook of a gradual decrease in the “political” factor in the dialogue between Russian political and public groups with the Serbian people.

Keywords

Serbia, Russia, politics of memory, historical politics, mnemonic diplomacy, war of memory.

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