Two and a half years ago, Serbia became a new home for Jaroslav Bulavin, a photographer from Russia, which, as he told Vreme, provided him with a number of opportunities to develop his own talent. After releasing drone footage and photos of the March 15 protest, he was told he had to leave the country for a year
Hundreds of thousands of activated flashes on phones shine Slavija Square and the surrounding streets as the drone soars into the sky and captures footage that has gone around the world.
The video "All peace" was recorded by the photographer and videographer Jaroslav Bulavin March 15 during the greatest student protest u Belgrade.
Footage from a drone by Yaroslav Bulavin
Even though that day and the next few days, according to the decision of the Directorate of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Serbia, aerial photography was prohibited in a significant part of Belgrade, Bulavin decided to raise the drone.
Ban on filming from the air in LY R8 Belgrade in the period from 14.03. until 18.03.2025. year. ✈️ pic.twitter.com/STmHFhT5m6
— Peđa Vučetić (@Pedjijatar) March 14, 2025
The video soon went viral, and two weeks later Jaroslav received a notice that he had to leave Serbia within seven days, with a one-year ban on entering the country's territory.
A few days earlier, he had also received an anonymous message that he had broken the law and that he should remove the materials and that, if he did not do so, he might be in serious trouble.
What is written in the order to leave Serbia?
Bulavin had a unique residence permit in Serbia and work, which was no longer valid by the decision he received at the end of March.
In the order to leave the country, the recordings are not mentioned as the reason for such a decision, his lawyer Tatjana Pećaranin told "Vreme".
"He received a decision terminating his right to the unique permit that was issued to him in the third extension of his temporary stay and he is prohibited from entering Serbia for a year. The first decision that was handed to him practically does not contain reasons, except for one single sentence that the police officers of the Directorate for Foreigners checked the legality of the stay and found that there is a justified suspicion that he is not using the approved unique permit for the intended purpose," says Pećaranin.
The decision was delivered to him on March 31, and upon receiving it, the lawyers he hired filed an appeal.
"In the appeal against the first-instance decision, we stated that the procedure was not carried out, that the facts were not established, that no evidence was presented, that he, as the person whose rights are being decided, was not given the opportunity to state the facts and provide evidence to support his allegations. The administrative procedure was practically not carried out lawfully. In the second-instance decision on appeal, all allegations were rejected as unfounded and they claim that based on the field check they carried out on March 29, which was a Saturday, the legality of residence was checked, that he was not found at the address of residence and at the address where the activity was reported, and that's it," says Pečaranin.
Jaroslav Bulavin then decided to leave Serbia and not initiate further proceedings.
It is currently located in Montenegro.
What did Bulavin do on March 15?
Jaroslav Bulavin moved to Belgrade in 2022.
He worked as an independent photographer and videographer, but his main activity was art, he tells "Vreme".
He trained as a film director in St. Petersburg and in Belgrade held several independent exhibitions of photographs and video content, shot in Russia and Serbia, as well as creative lectures and workshops.
"My artistic life is like a treasure hunt, a constant search for beauty. In Serbia, I looked for beauty in the aurora borealis, storm clouds, the underwater world, human faces, as well as in cultural rituals and urban landscapes, and I created exhibitions about it," he told Vreme.
However, protests in the country they gave him a new opportunity.
"I had the opportunity to find beauty in the masses of people in the squares. I lived near the Branko bridge, and during the spring protests were held around my house. I documented these protests for my project 'Window on Belgrade' where I record everything interesting that happens around my house. But on March 15th, a big exam was scheduled and I only had one chance to pass. It was a crazy, rare opportunity to use all my artistic experience for these unique circumstances and I was ready to risk everything I had for it. I didn't care about the consequences, because regretting the missed opportunity would be much more painful," says Bulavin.
Shot of Branko Bridge by Jaroslav Bulavin
Thus, even though he did not have all the permits for filming, and even though filming from a drone was prohibited in part of the Belgrade area that day, Jaroslav decided to launch the drone, considering that this violation was insignificant in relation to the importance of the event, which, Bulavin told Vreme, he had to record as an artist.
"My personal sacrifices pale in comparison to the potential historical value of the documentary material I was able to obtain," says Bulavin.
After the publication of the material, it turned out that the artistic value of these pictures was multiplied by their political significance, which, he says, he completely underestimated and learned only from the comments.
"I knew the public was waiting for these images, but I completely underestimated it in other possible contexts and meanings and didn't think about the consequences."
In response to the popularity, he distributed all the materials for free download, because, as he explains, "they belong much more to the Serbs than to me."
He was not, he says, the only one filming Slavia that day, but his recording, which he called "All Peace", went the farthest.
"I think the point of the virality of 'All Peace' is in my decision to make a spherical panorama with the whole square in it, because low clouds did not allow drones to be higher. And the mass of people with lamps in this picture looks like a living neuron or a galaxy, so the picture takes on a strong symbolic meaning that unites people, and at that moment the documented footage becomes art. I heard that people even get tattoos with this picture. I also got an offer to print photos on souvenirs, but I didn't think it was appropriate," he says.
View this post on Instagram
Anonymous warning message
In addition to a barrage of comments, he also received an anonymous warning message.
"Photography and filming is strictly prohibited in the vicinity of the military complex and government facilities, especially with a drone for which you did not have permission from the DCV for any flight you announced, and especially for filming mass gatherings when the use of unmanned aircraft is prohibited by law. Your aircraft's ID is now certainly blacklisted on our anti-drone equipment, and I warn you, in good faith, as a friend of Russian citizens in Belgrade, to remove the footage and keep the following flights as far away from military and government facilities as possible. because if these mine start a process against you, it will not work out. Greetings!", read the message he received on March 25.
In the part of Belgrade, which included the area where the protest was held, a ban on aerial photography was in effect from March 14 to 18.
"He was absolutely right and I was grateful for this friendly warning and I hid most of the material I published, except for "Sve mira" because it didn't make sense to hide it at that moment," Bulavin explains to "Vreme".
View this post on Instagram
Decision of the Department for Foreigners
Bulavin then received a call from the Department for Foreigners at the end of March. They asked him why he was not at his physical and legal address.
"It was Saturday, and I explained that I was out of Belgrade. I was invited to an interview on Monday, where they asked me about my work. I answered that I work as a photographer and videographer and provided evidence that confirms the legality of my business. It seems that the inspector was convinced that my activities were being carried out properly. However, at the end of the interview, I was handed a decision banning me from entering Serbia, with a request to leave the country within seven days. My personal residence card was cut with scissors," he explains. interlocutor of "Vremena".
At that point, he still had six months left before he could be eligible to apply for permanent residence.
As he says, he doubts that this decision was prepared in advance and did not depend on how the conversation went.
After he received the decision, complete chaos ensued, he says.
"After dozens of calls, I found myself between two opposing opinions about my sentence," he says.
One opinion he had was that everything is a great injustice, judicial arbitrariness, "consider me a victim who should stay in Serbia and fight for his rights, because my misdemeanors are not enough for deportation."
"The other opinion was the opposite: my offense is much more serious; I may be in danger; they did not treat me so harshly because I was not considered a threat to national security, as is usually done with other exiles, I should be grateful, leave the country, erase everything and keep quiet. And that is also right. The anonymous message lists the prohibitions that I have violated, and they are very serious offenses indeed. I was torn between these two opinions until I listened to my conscience, which took a position exactly in the middle", explains the interlocutor of "Vremena".
As he says, despite the fact that the formal reason for the ban is unfair, he believed that the punishment was deserved.
"I took a risk on purpose, I was willing to sacrifice myself for these shots and I should be responsible for this decision. Which means I'm responsible for accepting the punishment instead of trying to avoid it. That's fair," he says.
So, after the appeal and request for an adjournment were rejected, he decided to ask the lawyers to drop further legal challenges.
As he adds, he decided to tell his story to the public only some time after he left - "when all the processes have been completed, so that my message could not be interpreted as a call to change the decision or an attempt to cause pity".
"I have no such goal, I just want to share the story of why I decided to do this recording and how the Serbian chapter of my life ended. I also refuse offers of help, although I am very grateful for them. That is my attitude. But I am really grateful for the great wave of support I receive from Serbs (and Russians too). It proves that everything was not in vain and inspires me with faith in a good future for all of us and reminds me that I am not an outsider in Serbia", says Bulavin, more than four months after he left Serbia.
When the one-year ban expires, he would like to return to Belgrade.
"I will return for a while to visit my parents and my brother who still live there. But whether I will live in Serbia will depend on whether I will be granted a residence permit again and whether I will feel safe as before," concludes Bulavin.
Drone shooting - what are the rules?
Drone filming in Serbia is legally regulated and requires the fulfillment of certain conditions.
The drone needs to be registered and insured, and the operator must have a valid license to operate it. There are also special regulations for flying over populated areas, public gatherings and near airports. Aerial photography often requires a special permit from the Ministry of Defense.
Flying drones is strictly prohibited within a radius of five kilometers around the airport due to the risk of collision with aircraft. Violations of this rule lead to serious consequences, including heavy fines.
In addition to airports, there are other "no-fly zones" such as military bases, government buildings, hospitals and schools. Flying over such objects without permission is strictly prohibited.
In Serbia, it is prohibited to operate a drone beyond the visual field of vision (BVLOS) without a special permit. This means that the operator must have visual contact with the drone at all times.
The students in the blockade of DUNP reported two Novi Pazar judges to the disciplinary prosecutor for attending the SNS pre-election rally, stating that such behavior violates the independence of the judiciary
Consultations are being held in the House of the National Assembly on Friday before the constitution of the new convocation
Nenad Stefanović filed a disciplinary complaint against Branko Stamenković, claiming that his public appearances damaged the reputation and trust in the work of the public prosecutor's office. Among the disputed statements is the one that Stamenković gave to the weekly "Vreme", talking about the "para-prosecutor system" in Belgrade.
"I have not terminated the employment contract of any employee," said the principal of the "20. Oktobar" elementary school, Gordana Radojević, in her denial regarding the article about the parents demanding her resignation. He claims that the employees left at their own request or their fixed-term contracts expired.
The mayor of Smederevo, Jasmina Vojinović, was arrested along with two other city officials
At the moment when the institutions of the Republic are destroyed, when Vučić's octopus is still alive, when people are disgusted by the injustice and the stench left behind by the Essenes regime, we have, as Machiavelli said, only civic virtue as the fuel with which we can return to the beginning
The four independent members of REM are an example of perseverance and civic responsibility. Rodoljub Šabić even, upon leaving the premises of REM, after the sentencing of the Informer, experienced that the Essenes insulted him, hit him with their hands and feet. But that too will soon be over
Vučić pardoned the batterers and Dijana Hrkalović. The election winners should abolish the sultan's power that allows one man to run afoul of the entire judicial system
Interview: Branko Stamenković, public prosecutor of the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office
A black picture and the breakdown of the rule of law subscribeThe archive of the weekly Vreme includes all our digital editions, since the very beginning of our work. All issues can be downloaded in PDF format, by purchasing the digital edition, or you can read all available texts from the selected issue.
See all
