Does Russia support the Serbs out of Slavic and Orthodox solidarity?
“Moscow, like St. Petersburg before it, has always based its Balkan policy on calculations of national interest, not on sentimentality or jingoism. Tsarist Russia alternated its support between Belgrade and its rival Sofia as Russian policy makers saw fit at any given moment. In 1948, Stalin expelled Tito from the bloc and sought to isolate Yugoslavia. Since the breakup of the USSR and the weakening of Moscow’s international position, Russia has nonetheless continued to act as a great power in the Balkans. Its support for Serbia is a way of showing the West that Moscow remains a factor to be reckoned with.” Q: Did old ethnic hatreds play a key role in the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and now in Kosovo? A: “The wars in Croatia and Bosnia were about land, money and power. The local people who spread the myth about ‘ancient hatreds’ were generally those who had their eye on that land, money and power. In reality, Serbs, Croats and Bosnian Muslims are of the same ethnic stock and spe
