Opposition Serbian protesters have started bringing “Euromaidan Serbia” flags to their protesters – seemingly as a humorous response to the authorities’ accusations of a “coup attempt, initiated by the West.”
The logo on these flags stems from the logo of our media, Euromaidan Press, which was founded during the Euromaidan Revolution.
Pro-Western opposition protests against election result falsification continue in Belgrade. Thousands of people took to the streets in a rally in the capital of Serbia, chanting “Thieves!” and accusing the populist government of President Aleksandar Vučić of fraud during the recent general elections on 18 December.
During the 2013-2014 Euromaidan protests of Ukrainians against their pro-Russian, authoritarian leader Viktor Yanukovych, Russia denigrated the popular uprising by claiming it was engineered by the West. Ever since, Russian propaganda has spun this narrative in post-Soviet societies to shape a negative perception of the democratic protest. It has also been used by the Serbian authorities to discourage criticism of the government.
It appears that not all Serbian citizens bought the narrative.
At least several Euromaidan Serbia were spotted at the protests in Belgrade on 29 December, European Pravda reported, citing Politika.
Footage with the flag was also published by Twitter users (X).
Srećom ima, ovu fotku sačinio sam na večerašnjem protestu: pic.twitter.com/5zfFNFed7b
— Igor Mitrovic (@IgorMitrovic100) December 29, 2023
Russian propagandist media did not overlook them either – a video from the protest was published by the Balkan Telegram channel RT.
#BREAKING #Serbia #Belgrade Opposition protests in Serbia feature demonstrators carrying EU flags and the 'Euromaidan Serbia' flag. pic.twitter.com/EUIORbj0To
— The National Independent (@NationalIndNews) December 29, 2023
The logo of Euromaidan Press was created by Moscow-born designer Natasha Alimova in 2014. Up till 2023, we had used the version with the laurel leaves that became the basis of the protesters’ flags. In 2023, Euromaidan Press switched to a variant of the logo where instead of laurel leaves, the dove is completed by “broadcast waves.”
Serbian and Russian authorities interpret the protests in Belgrade as an attempt by Western countries to “organize a Maidan.”
The Ukrainian Embassy expressed outrage at the distorted interpretation of Euromaidan by the leaders of Serbia.
