A Tale of Two Serbias: Revolution and Rot

Thomas Paine, a key figure in the American Revolution, fearlessly spoke out against tyranny and oppression. His pamphlet Common Sense ignited the flames of revolution in the hearts of many colonists, inspiring them to fight for independence from British rule. Paine famously wrote, ‘These are the times that try men’s souls,’ urging his fellow patriots to stand up and fight for freedom. It seems that the whole of Serbia has become a latter‑day Thomas Paine.

As Serbia’s institutional infrastructure collapses—its orphanages overcrowded and its opposition battered—Dictator Aleksandar Vučić is once again nowhere near the crisis. Instead, he was seen this week shopping for €100,000 watches under gilded lights in Abu Dhabi’s elite Galleria Mall, having arrived aboard a €55 million Dassault Falcon 6X, procured through secretive military budget exemptions.

While Serbia’s most vulnerable citizens sleep in overcrowded state facilities, with three children to a bed and almost no specialised care for the disabled, Vučić luxuriates on foreign tarmacs, shielded by armed detail and opaque offshore finances.

Over 6,000 children remain in state care. Nearly 700—many under three years old or living with disabilities—are still warehoused in institutions repeatedly condemned by the European Union. These forgotten children are not victims of bureaucracy, but of deliberate state neglect: years of social underinvestment, corruption, and elite enrichment.

A Regime Built on Looted Wealth

Leaked financial files reveal that Vučić and his inner circle have moved billions through covert channels—across the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Russia, and the United States. Intelligence briefings confirm that these funds originate from arms sales, privatisation bribes, and systemic budget diversions masked as national infrastructure projects.

The dictator doesn’t just watch the rot—he cashes in on it.
And where’s the EU? Where’s Marta Kos?
Ah, of course. Brussels nods along while Vučić picks crumbs off orphanage floors and calls it reform.

State Terror in Plain Sight: The Sandulović Affair

The abduction and near-fatal torture of Serbia’s leading opposition politician Nikola Sandulović—following his public apology for Serbian war crimes in Kosovo—has triggered national outrage and international alarm. Security and diplomatic sources confirm the operation was conducted with the direct involvement of Serbia’s domestic intelligence agency, the BIA.

Nikola Sandulović, who emerged as a powerful voice of reconciliation and resistance, was targeted not for what he did, but for what he represented: a Serbia that refuses to live in the shadow of its own past. He survived—barely—but the message was clear. Any dissent will be crushed.

He is not the only one. Oliver Ivanović is dead. Vladimir Cvijan vanished and later surfaced—dead—under suspicious circumstances. Journalists, whistleblowers, and activists have been harassed, surveilled, detained, or worse.

The Vučić regime no longer disguises its tools of repression. Analysts say its terror apparatus now operates in the open, signalling the desperation of a system losing its grip—much like Milošević’s final years.

Student Uprising: A Movement Without Masters

The foundation of the regime is cracking—not under foreign sanctions, but from inside. Serbia’s students are leading a decentralised, leaderless revolt.

The tipping point came in November when 16 people were killed after the collapse of a concrete canopy at the newly renovated Novi Sad railway station. The project had been rushed and awarded to regime-linked contractors. When Vučić sacked his prime minister to defuse public fury, students refused to back down. They rejected both the regime and its compromised opposition.

On 15 March, Serbia witnessed the largest street protests since 2000. Police responded with long-range acoustic devices. Panic and injuries followed. In retaliation, the government pulled funding from EXIT Festival—once a post-war symbol of cultural rebirth. This summer’s edition will be its last in Novi Sad.

Universities have been effectively shut down. Faculty salaries slashed to 12.5%. Officials claim professors “aren’t fulfilling duties.” In truth, the education sector is being held hostage.

Countdown to Vidovdan: The Final Showdown?

Cracks are forming even at the ballot box. In June, local elections in two municipalities—longstanding strongholds of Vučić’s party—ended in narrow victories despite documented irregularities. Opposition monitors cite widespread vote-buying and ballot manipulation.

With Vidovdan—28 June, Serbia’s day of national remembrance—approaching, student groups are calling for a decisive mobilisation in Belgrade. Many believe this is the final moment to reclaim the country.

The Dictator, Cornered

Vučić—once marketed to the West as a stabiliser—is now recognised by Western intelligence services as Europe’s most entrenched autocrat. He governs through state media control, security service loyalty, patronage jobs, and fear.

He no longer stabilises the Balkans. He destabilises Serbia.

Whether he flees, fights, or hides behind another façade of democracy, his era is ending. A new generation is demanding a Serbia no longer owned by oligarchs, gangsters, and the secret police.

And they are not asking.