The Russian translation of the book “The New World” is currently being prepared for publication. Vladimir Kršljanin is the author, a Serbian scientist, writer, diplomat, and politician, vice president of the International Slavic Academy of Sciences, Education, Arts, and Culture, member of the presidium of the World Union of Free Thinkers, and secretary of the International Committee of S. Milošević. In 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin granted him Russian citizenship for his special merits to the Russian Federation. Our conversation is about the book and much more.
– Vladimir, let’s start with some good news. Your book -“The New World” – is being published as part of the publishing project by the Russian-Balkan Center for Business Cooperation and Culture (headed by Mikhail Yaruiev) and the Russian-Balkan Dialogue Center for International Cooperation (headed by Evgeny Osenkov). Please, tell us, what it is about. What will readers find in it?
– I am very pleased that this book, my tenth one, will be the first to be published in Russian. It is about what is most important for us and for the world, about the triumph of good over evil and about creativity and cooperation that are in every sense more powerful than violence and lies. It is about the New World, which has come to replace the dominance of the Western oligarchy, as well as about the current, yet another war of the West against Orthodoxy, the Serbs held the frontline in the first part of the story, and the Russians did it in the second, victorious part.
The New World is the fulfillment of the New Testament, and the battle that is now being waged is the battle of Armageddon. After that, there will be a thousand years of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.
The essence of the change taking place was most briefly described by Vladimir Putin. For them, people are а means, while for us, they are the highest goal.
For this very reason the global majority, endowed with spiritual and moral values, stands for a multipolar world. We are fighting for peace. And when peace comes, anti-civilization will finally collapse like a house of cards.
My book is an attempt to provide a comprehensive description of the causes and principles of epochal changes in the world, based on their spiritual and moral essence, as well as the laws of social and natural sciences. You will see that all three approaches lead to the same conclusions.
I will quote a few lines here:
“Serbia was the herald of the New World, which is now led by Russia and China.
The New World, that is, a fair multipolar system or community of a shared future for mankind, starts in the 21st century as a qualitatively new era in human history.
It is characterized by ultimate respect and inviolability, human life protection and improvement, human dignity and human community, philanthropy in accordance with the commandments of Christ and Confucian common good, as well as with the advanced practices of socially oriented, moral states.”
– How would You evaluate the development of Russian-Balkan diplomacy in the past and present? What’s Your forecast for the future? How do You feel about the work being done by the Russian House in Belgrade?
– Russia, the Ukraine, and the Balkans are the three largest components of the Orthodox world, which is increasingly and naturally identified with the Russian world. And here, obviously, lies the essence of the matter, and that is why we are being so viciously attacked. Kiev is the birthplace of Orthodox Rus, and the Balkans are the birthplace of Orthodoxy, and also the birthplace of Europe. But Europe turned out to be a prodigal daughter who destroyed the Second Rome during a “crusade(!?)”.The short-lived Serbian Balkan Kingdom arose аrom its ashes, it passed the mantle to the Third Rome. In the 13th century, Saint Savva of Serbia created both the great Serbian state and the everlasting Serbian-Russian brotherhood, and in the 16th century, Ivan the Terrible placed his image in the Assumption Cathedral.
In the 19th century, Serbian uprisings and Russian military and political support brought Serbia independence after several centuries of Turkish yoke. At the same time, the concept of the Balkan union was created, but never fully realized. However, the West constantly tried to ruin our plans by all means possible. In World War I, Serbia lost almost half of its population, and Russia was plunged into revolution as a result of the war. With Russia being distracted, Serbian rulers, founded Yugoslavia with the support of the United States, but it turned out that the intentions of the Serbs were fair, while those of the Westernizes were not. In the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the rulers cherished love for Tsarist Russia and opened their doors wide to White émigrés, who raised the level of Serbian culture, science, and industry, while the real Russia known as the USSR became increasingly popular among the redneck masses. As a result, during World War II, our resistance movement, led by the communists, prevailed over the monarchist movement. At the behest of the British, who influenced both movements, they found themselves in a fratricidal civil war. However, both sides loved Russia. Josip Broz Tito, former president of the SFRY, also at the behest of the British, fell out with Stalin and then established relations with Khrushchev. He headed the SFRY, which was a strategic partner of the US and NATO, and also had developed cooperation with the USSR, but genuine Russophiles were persecuted, and even a concentration camp called “Goly Ostrov” (Naked Island) was built for them in the 1950s . Nevertheless, the anti-fascist struggle was led primarily by the Serbs, also the right people remained in the ruling circles despite all the persecution. This is how Milosevic came to power, he has changed everything for the better for the Serbs, but was forced to lead the resistance to the destruction of Yugoslavia by the West.
Our shared history, the history of our common struggle, has been intermingled to the present day and until the moment, during the war in 1999, when Slobodan Milosevic initiated Serbia’s entry into the Russia and Belarus Union. In my opinion, this is still a promising goal for Russian-Balkan diplomacy – an alliance of Serbia and, through it, eventually, the entire Balkans with Russia. A strong strategic partnership between Serbia and Russia, even now when it is facing the current serious challenges are good grounds for this alliance.
In order to achieve this goal, we need to work hard and, above all, Russia must win, and we, the Serbs, have no doubt about it.
As for the Russian House, it is doing tremendous, dynamic, groundbreaking work in the right direction, with our brothers – Yevgeny Baranov, Director of the House, who was our military correspondent in 1999, and Yevgeny Primakov, head of Rossotrudnichestvo and a worthy grandson of his grandfather, – albeit with limited resources.
Given the dominance of the West in the Balkans in the 20th century, and especially in Yugoslavia under Tito, when humanitarian exchange between our countries was reduced to a minimum, the focus of diplomatic work should be precisely on humanitarian sphere.
– What about trade and economic relations between the Balkans and Russia? How are they developing? Let’s have a look at the historical periods as the Soviet era, the 1990s, and present day.
– We can say that they are developing positively, although at a slower pace in recent years due to anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the West. But on the other hand, a lot of people are coming to us now, including IT specialists and other professionals. Yandex is now predominantly present in Serbia, and this is a giant company in its industry. So the West has slowed us down in some spheres and speeded us up in others. Serbia is now becoming very powerful in the IT sector. For our trade and economic cooperation to flourish fully, we need to reduce our dependence on the West.
But this is not far off, as the West is consistently working against us in many ways, but recently against itself as well.
It is difficult to compare with previous periods, because our relations in the 20th century during peacetime, under the influence of the West, were full of contradictions. Under Tito, economic relations were at a high level, but, as I said, a Russophile could easily end up in prison. In the 1990s, restrictions were lifted, but we had wars and sanctions, and you had an overall crisis. So, a full-fledged rise and prosperity are still ahead of us.
We have traditional forms of cooperation in many areas – energy, agriculture, investment construction, and military-technical cooperation. All this needs to be further developed, and it is possible and necessary to extend it to the spheres of new technologies and AI, as well as to all industries, remembering the key role of the humanitarian sphere – education, science, culture, sports, tourism…
– Please comment on the results of the forum that took place on March 14.
– The forum “Russia and the Balkans in Construction of a Multipolar World: Prospects for Economic Integration,” recently held in Moscow by the Russian-Balkan Dialogue International Cooperation Center and the Russian-Balkan Center for Business Cooperation and Culture, should be a good example of well-thought-out action in the right and very important direction.
The path to more developed economic cooperation and its best forms lies through direct interaction between people, especially when Western sanctions complicate the implementation of our plans, so my compliments to the authors of this initiative.
– How successful are You personally in maintaining relations with people in our country? How long has it been since You visited Russia?
– Over the past 35 years (most of my life), I have been to Russia many times, I lost count long ago. As an internationalist and diplomat, I traveled a lot. I have been to almost all European countries and many countries in Asia and Africa. When our country was on the front lines, I searched the world for friends and sources of solidarity, and I found them. But nothing can compare to Russia. Even in the “wild 90s,” I found the most courageous and sincere support in Russia. I have many friends and acquaintances there, and those are for a lifetime. In recent years, my health issues have not allowed me to travel often, but today technology makes it possible to communicate with friends almost on a daily basis and even participate in conferences…
– Today, the warm friendly relations between the Republika Srpska and Russia are particularly clear. Why do You think the countries have been able to maintain and develop these relations?
– The Republika Srpska is the greatest achievement and almost the only victory in our nationwide movement to preserve Yugoslavia, that is, historical Serbia. Its existence was confirmed by the Dayton Agreement after a bloody war with Western neo-Nazi puppets in Bosnia.
No city, no village, no family have been spared by the horrors of war. They remember everything and will not stray away from the lessons of this war. They also remember the Russian volunteers and peacekeepers. As the West is stirring up tensions there again, they stand firmly behind Russia and, of course, Serbia.
President Dodik recently visited Belarus and Russia and attended the “Games of the Future” in Kazan. Serbia’s acting Prime Minister Dačić and His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia have also visited Moscow recently. Presidents Vučić and Dodik, together with Patriarch Porfirije, agreed to hold a multi-level (and in many cities) All-Serbian Easter Council. I expect that at this council, the Serbian people will unanimously confirm their determination to defend freedom and brotherhood with Russia and reject Western threats and provocations.
– In Your opinion, are twin-city ties between regions necessary? Ho do the ties work?
– They are absolutely necessary just as are all forms of humanitarian exchange and cooperation! Serbian-Russian brotherhood is in our hearts and souls, but we do not know each other well enough. In the Middle Ages, we were practically a single nation, speaking one language, but at different times we lost our freedom. However, we were strengthened by our common faith, and we always helped each other whenever possible. In the 20th century, Western influence constantly created threats and obstacles for our cooperation and exchange. And in order to truly unite, we need to get to know each other better and communicate more. Twinning between regions and cities is one of the best ways to boost it.
There are already many such twinning arrangements (although not all of them are very active), because the feelings of peoples cannot be stopped. But they can be increased tenfold! Niš – Serbia’s second largest city – is an absolute champion. It has twinning agreements with Kursk, Kolomna, Belgorod, Kaluga, Orel, Vasileostrovsky District (St. Petersburg), and the Northern Administrative District (Moscow). The capital, Belgrade, is a twin-city “only” for Moscow and St. Petersburg. Our important city Novi Sad is twinned with Orel, Nizhny Novgorod, and the Petrogradsky District (St. Petersburg). The cities of Kraljevo (Ivanovo, Pereslavl), Krusevac (Odintsovo, Lipetsk), and Chetina (Tutaev, Cheboksary) also have two twin-cities each. Other twin-cities include Aleksinac – Noyabrsk, Bajina Bašta – Zvenigorod, Bačka Palanka – Klin, Palilula – Obninsk, Lazarevac – Domodedovo, Mladenovac – Ivanovo, Valjevo – Sochi, Vranje – Bryukhovetskaya, Vrbas – Kostroma, Vrnjačka Banja – Uvarovo, Zrenjanin – Noginsk, Injiya – Pavlovsk, Kosovska Mitrovica – Budennovsk, Mali Ijosh – Solnechnogorsk, Mionica – Kaluga, Novi Bečej – Novocherkassk, Pančevo – Stupino, Požarevac – Volokolamsk, Rekovac – Kusa, Ruma – Arzamas, Smederevska Palanka – Solnechnogorsk, Srbobran – Myshkin, Trstenik – Yelets, Čuprija – Yekaterinburg, Čačak – Ruza, Šabac – Ivanovo; in the Republic of Srpska: Banja Luka – Moscow, Bijeljina – Azov, Zvornik – Kolchugino, Prijedor – Irkutsk, Trebinje – Orekhovo-Zuyevo.
And this list is not complete.
– To follow up on this: I assume that the Serbs only know Moscow, St. Petersburg, and perhaps Sochi of all the Russian cities. Is this situation changing?
What can be done (and what is being done) to help our peoples get to know each other better?
– My deepest respect to the Balkan Diplomat and the Russian-Balkan Dialogue International Cooperation Center and the Russian-Balkan Center for Business Cooperation and Culture behind you.
I think you know the answer to this question better than I do. We are brothers, we are almost one people, there is great love, enormous potential, and the doors wide open. Thus, we need to get organized and work at all levels, and the results will surely follow.
– President of the Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on several occasions. Elections were recently held in our country. Please comment on the results.
– These elections in Russia are leading the country to victory and all of us – to the triumph of the New World. This is the salvation for all humankind. And this is our common victory. We stood in the 1990s, and now Russia is going to win for us all as well. I am delighted and proud that the brave Serb, our beloved Milorad Dodik, had the opportunity to convey our feelings to Vladimir Putin, the leader of Russia and the New World, on the eve of this great new start.
For reference:
Vladimir Kršljanin was born in 1960 in Belgrade in a family of anti-fascist partisans. He is a candidate of astrophysical sciences, author of five books on social theory and political journalism, four books of poetry, one monograph in astrophysics, and numerous articles.
In the 1990s, he was a member of the Socialist Party of Serbia on senior levels, head of its international department, and ambassador to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He is the founder and head of several public organizations standing for revival of Serbia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and for alliance with Russia. He was an employee of RISS and several Russian companies. In 2017, he was reinstated in the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has an ambassadorial rank.
He is a professor emeritus at the Russian State University of Trade and Economics and has been awarded the Rossotrudnichestvo honorary badge “For Friendship and Cooperation.” He is also vice president of the International Slavic Academy of Sciences, Education, Arts, and Culture, a member of the presidium of the World Union of Free Thinkers, and secretary of the S. Milosevic International Committee.
Interview: Evgeny Osenkov,
Published in the Balkan Diplomat, Issue 3, 2024.
Photo by Archive of Vladimir Kršljanin
