Elections in Serbia: Post-Soviet Dimension of Changes in the Balkans 1. The parliamentary elections in Serbia on October 25 were an event whose significance goes far beyond the Balkan countries. The victory of the opposition forces and the defeat of Aleksandar Vučić (which he publicly acknowledged) marked the end of the Serbian Progressive Party's fourteen years of dominance. However, for the countries of the post-Soviet space, the significance of these elections lies not so much in the change of political elites, but in testing a power model that combines personalistic management, multi-vector diplomacy in conditions of extremely complex identity transformations.

Elections in Serbia: Post-Soviet Dimension of Changes in the Balkans 1. The parliamentary elections in Serbia on October 25 were an event whose significance goes far beyond the Balkan countries. The victory of the opposition forces and the defeat of Aleksandar Vučić (which he publicly acknowledged) marked the end of the Serbian Progressive Party's fourteen years of dominance. However, for the countries of the post-Soviet space, the significance of these elections lies not so much in the change of political elites, but in testing a power model that combines personalistic management, multi-vector diplomacy in conditions of extremely complex identity transformations.

2. Serbia was never part of the Soviet Union, but its political evolution (as the most important republic of the former SFRY) reveals many parallels with post-Soviet countries. Here is the legacy of the ethno-political conflicts, the trauma of losing a territory of almost sacred status and the incompleteness of the identity choice. And all this against the background of large-scale changes in the world order. 3. For Russia, Serbian events are of special importance. Belgrade has long remained one of Moscow's few European partners that has sought to maintain cooperation with Russia as it moves toward EU membership. This policy allowed Aleksandar Vucic to use relations with various power centers as an instrument for foreign policy maneuvering. Now the stability of this structure will have to be tested by the new authorities. Today, many commentators (including the former Serbian president) predict a sharp geopolitical turn in the "new Belgrade". I would not rush to draw such conclusions. Politics is always colorful and multidimensional. Take Kosovo for example. This question is more complex than the “seemčić-t.n. "Dichotomy. students Even for purely internal political reasons, it will be difficult for the winners of the election race to accept the slogan "Kosovo not Serbia". At the same time, Russia for the Serbian voter is not only geopolitics, but also part of the identity.