Serbian anti-corruption protests

Civil Unrest

April 3, 2025

Why are people protesting in Serbia in 2025?

Beginning in 2024, there have been significant student-led protests against the corruption of Serbian government officials. On the 1st of November 2024 the canopy of the Novi Sad railway station collapsed killing 14 people on the spot, and 2 people died later in hospital from their injuries. The reason this was a trigger was because renovations of the canopy had only just completed in mid-2024, indicating a lack of quality control and accountability in public infrastructure projects, with ultimately fatal consequences for members of the public. Authorities announced an investigation. However public confidence in government was so low, and there was so little faith that anyone would be held accountable for the failings, students decided to memorialise the dead with silent vigils on the streets.

How and why did the protests escalate?

The early protests in November 2024 largely took the form of silent vigils in memory of the victims of the canopy collapse. With little credible response from government, the protests grew, and demands arose for a transparent investigation into the disaster, and the release of documents relating to the incident.

The main reason the protests escalated from this point was the arrogant response to the protests from government. One of the first catalysts was the President, Aleksandar Vučić, and Minister of Construction, Goran Vesić, using pro-government media platforms to claim the canopy was never reconstructed. Despite the availability of multiple news articles and videos documenting the renovation, some of which included Vesić officially opening the reconstructed Novi Sad Railway Station.

The government response

A string of senior ministers resigned in the first months of the protests, Vesić first (still maintaining “he does not feel responsible”). Shortly after him, the former Minister of Construction, Tomislav Momirović, resigned while publicly maintaining his loyalty to the President. Momirović was Minister of Trade.

But nobody accepted responsibility for the disaster. and it was clear there would be no accountability. The arrogance of this assumed impunity seems to be at the core of why the protests kept escalating.

Still oblivious to the depth of feeling from the public, Vladimir Đukanović, a high-ranking member of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), fanned the flames with this message on X:

Which translated means:

“We must fight against anarcho-terrorists, fake commie intellectuals, the pseudo-elite that is ravaging Serbia with anti-Serbian attitudes. It is time to stop this social scum. In every place and at every step. First of all, in every discussion, and God forbid, if necessary, with force. This scum will no longer be able to terrorize this country. Long live Serbia and just fight bravely”.

President Vučić claimed the demonstrators were being funded by Western countries seeking to destabilize Serbia, which the public television station, RTS, broadcast (11th December).

On 15th December, Prime Minister Miloš Vučević said “you can’t bring down a country because of 15 people who died, nor 155, nor 1,555.”

On Christmas Eve, President Vučić stated that “if [he] wished so, [he] could send out the Cobras special forces on the students and they would throw them around in 6–7 seconds”. This prompted public ridicule and a mass of memes mocking it.

On 3rd January prime minister Vučević declared that all education staff joining the protests would be fired and replaced.

President Vučić made several attempts to blame Croatian intelligence agents for fomenting the protests, in an attempt to delegitimise the movement via state media.

Police response

Red paint was symbolically thrown over the entrance to city hall in response to the lack of accountability from officials. The police responded with tear gas and arrests. At this point protesters suggested government was deliberately attempting to derail the protests, which escalated the situation further.

Attacks on protesters

On 21st November 2024 students and professors of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts gathered to remember the casualties, announcing it to the authorities per national legislation. The whole gathering was attacked by an organised group, which allegedly included high-ranking officials from the ruling SNS party (photos in this article show some of them). This violent response caused further escalation, and spread the protests to other university departments and other cities (notably Belgrade and Leskovar, where citizens joined the students).

As well as the silent vigils and faculty occupations, weekly 15 minute traffic blockades on Fridays at 11:52 began, marking the time the canopy collapsed. During these protests, demonstrators were struck by cars allegedly driven by members of the ruling SNS party.

At one of the 15-minute traffic blockades, a car was again driven into the protesters, this time by a 67 year old man. He injured 4 members of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra who had joined the protest, breaking one person’s arm and another’s hand. The Orchestra publicly denounced the attack, and the driver was arrested.

On the 13th December, a group of farmers used their tractors to block the Ibar Highway in central Serbia with their tractors. A Porsche was used to try and ram the farmers, and then a group of four men leapt out and physically attacked them. One of them was a serving police officer.

On the 27th December protesters blocked a road in Ivanjica. Someone again drove their car at high speed into the assembled crowds, and once the vehicle came to a stop, the driver was then attacked by the protesters. Undercover police immediately protected the man, and helped him escape the area without arrest.

On the 16th January someone drove their car into the assembled protesters, badly injuring a female student who was hospitalised. This time the driver was arrested and charged with attempted murder.

By the Medical Faculty in Novi Sad, on 17th January, an older man attempted to attack protesting students with a pocket knife, but they were able to disarm him.

What tactics were used?

initially students gathered for silent vigils to remember those killed by the collapse of the railway station canopy. As these were largely ignored by governmental officials, protests escalated to graffitiing Novi Sad City Hall with symbolic red paint, and there were attempts to break into the building, which was met with police brutality.

In the face of police brutality, tactics switched to more familiar and safer locations, and some school campuses were blockaded for 24 hours at a time, and university faculty buildings were occupied. One month after the disaster there was a high profile silent march.

As the movement grew, and protests became more popular demonstrations focused on bolder targets including the BIA (Serbian Intelligence Agency), the Constitutional Court of Belgrade,

The bulk of coordination was happening through social media, and communication/messaging apps like Telegram, Zoom and Signal.

How did the movement build?

During November 2024, the protest were primarily limited to student activity, with Leskovar a notable exception. The average age of protesters was between 20 and 30, most of whom are educated to secondary or tertiary level.

But on the 5th December, the Bar Association of Serbia announced its lawyers would organize a one-day strike on 11 December because of “systematic and long-term interference by the executive branch in the work of the judiciary branch and violation of the principle of separation of powers in a democratic society.” This is an incredibly important moment for the protests as they escalate to the bulk of a professional group that brings gravitas and increased legitimacy to both the protests, and the demands and claims of the protesters.

The day after the lawyers joined the movement, a car was driven into members of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra (noted above) popularising support the non-violent movement, and engendering disgust at the violence perpetrated against the demonstrators.

By mid-December more than 50 university campuses and multiple secondary schools had suspended classes owing to the protests. Around this time a group of farmers in central Serbia joined the movement, blocking the Ibar Highway (as mentioned above), and were physically attacked by a group of four men, one of whom was a serving police officer.

By 22nd December a critical mass was being reached that transcended demographics, especially following the physical attacks on farmers and musicians. Demonstrators organised a protest in Slavija Square in Belgrade which was reportedly attended by over 100,000 people, the largest in Serbia’s recorded history.

On the 27th December 200 employees of the state broadcaster RTS signed a petition in support of the protests. On the 3rd January, prime minister Vučević threatened all people working in education that if they joined the protests, they would be fired.

On the 14th January, the largest education workers’ union (NSPRS) officially announced their support for the protests, and that they would be joining the protests.

Tools and Platforms

Social Media Platforms: Utilized for spreading messages, organizing events, and sharing real-time updates.
Messaging Apps: Enabling secure and rapid communication among participants.
Documentation Tools: FPV drones and video-sharing platforms help in documenting and disseminating information about the protests.

In summary, the Serbian student uprising is a decentralized, digitally-driven movement primarily led by young, educated individuals. It seeks to address systemic corruption and promote transparency, using various digital platforms to organize and communicate effectively. The movement’s persistence and broad participation highlight deep-seated frustrations with governance and a collective demand for societal and political reform.

Notes

A good deal of the content above is drawn from first person accounts, news reports, and the well collated description of events on Wikipedia. Below are some example links to articles covering the protests, from sources that support the Serbian government, those against, and some more neutral.