The Serbian Army does not have the capacity to hold a parade like the former JNA, which in 1985 had more than 300.000 members, and at the last parade on May 9 of that year, it directly led 6.690 of them. Plus supporting services, of which there were more than 4.000. At that parade, there were combat equipment that will be shown even now, 40 years later. These are M-84 tanks, Gazelle helicopters, Eagle and Super Galeb G-4 planes, armored personnel carriers and trucks. Now they will all be presented as "modernized wonders" even though their resources have long since run out
Current President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić came to power in 2012. Since the Prime Minister was his coalition partner Ivica Dacic, he became the drawn sword of the government" - the first Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the fight against corruption and the Minister of Defense. Since then, he has been looking for his command to be the "executive" in the Serbian Armed Forces in every way.
Here and there he can brag about his military service in Sarajevo and his "escape" over the fence of the "Slobodan Princip Seljo" barracks in Sarajevo. However, except for one Albanian whom he met during a visit to Kosovo, there is no one to confirm those "adventures", nor has any senior officer from that barracks come forward to testify that Vučić was his soldier...
MILITARY HOLIDAY
Since coming to power, the current president of Serbia has declared everything he does "historical". Thus, in a "marathon" guest appearance on TV Informer a few months ago, he announced the holding of a parade, "the largest in the history of the Western Balkans", for September 15 in Belgrade. No. 15. September - The Day of Serbian Unity, Freedom and Flag - came and went, and Vučić did not keep his word - the military parade was moved to October 20. Just to remind you - in 2014, Vučić planned a parade on the occasion of Belgrade's Liberation Day on October 20, but moved it a few days earlier due to the arrival of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Then the army was withdrawn from all of Serbia: on the military side, everything was done well, but many weaknesses were also shown. For example, the regime media announced that there would be more than 100 tanks, which turned out to be untrue - the Serbian Army did not have crews for such a large number of tanks at the time.
After this, Vučić announced new military parades for years. But in the end, they came down to displays of weapons. And in his speeches, the President of Serbia regularly threatened imaginary enemies from the environment who would attack Serbia - "Shiptars, Ustasha, Balija". He did not pay any attention to the fact - and he forgets it even now - that Serbia is surrounded by NATO members and that a conflict with any neighboring country also implies a conflict with NATO. This includes Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are under NATO protection. The target of these threats is exclusively intended for domestic use. Users of the regime's media are thus told that Serbia is militarily strong and superior. It was the same in 1999.
And that's how stories about "the biggest military parade in the history of the Western Balkans" come to be. Perhaps Vučić does not know the history of military parades, but that is why he has a general as the head of the Military Cabinet, as well as advisers who would have to point out to him that the Serbian Army does not have the capacity to hold a parade like the former JNA, which in 1985 had more than 300.000 members, and at the last parade held on May 9 of that year, 6.690 of them directly performed. Plus supporting services, of which there were more than 4.000.
At that parade, there were combat vehicles that will be shown even now, 40 years later, such as M-84 tanks, "gazelle" helicopters, "eagle" and "super galeb G-4" planes, armored personnel carriers and trucks. In this context, the same planes "Orao" and "G-4" flew over Belgrade for days. Now they will be presented as "modernized miracles" even though their resources have long since run out.
RUSSIAN AFFAIRS
The overhauled MiG-29, also from the last century, flew over the capital of Serbia, for the overhaul of which Serbia paid "heavily" to Russia. For example, before Vučić came to power, during the time when the Minister of Defense was Dragan Šutanovac from the Democratic Party (today the ambassador of Serbia to the USA), 25 million dollars was paid for the overhaul of four aircraft. So five million per aircraft. It also included levers - "rods" - for pulling the plane with tractors. Those "ores" can last for centuries, but the Russians demanded that they be "repaired", that is, that new ones be delivered, so they were also included in the price. Clean racket.
And when Vučić allegedly received ten MiG-29s from Russia as a gift, the overhaul cost 185 million euros, or 18,5 million per aircraft. What went into that "renovation" was never published. The arrival of the plane was announced for a long time, media spectacles were made, even airplane semi-parades, and Vučić declared that Serbia is now the strongest air force in the region. Then the "gifted" MiG-29s from Belarus arrived - four pieces. The cost of their overhaul remained unknown.
Since everything is "historical" and "record-breaking" for Vučić, there is no one to tell him that there were a record 11.500 direct participants (the number of indirect ones was around 6.000), 760 artillery pieces, 113 combat and 506 non-combat vehicles at the Victory Day parade on May 9, 1975, so the question is how "historical" will succeed in surpassing those facts with the current numerical situation of the Serbian Army
TANKS THAT HAVE NO ONE TO DRIVE
There are not even cooks left in the Army units today, everything has been sent to Belgrade. And the preparations are going on, are they going on? The unfortunate participants of the parade, which the public sees every day practicing in New Belgrade, have one satisfaction - they receive daily wages. Thus, it will contribute something to the household budget. There, with an attractive compensation of at least 1.000 euros, retired members of armored mechanized units - primarily tank drivers - are invited, because there are not enough of them in the army.
At the moment, the security of the country is being taken care of by a minimal force, some warehouse guards and those on duty in the barracks. At the "Winner's Step" parade in October 2014, with great efforts, it was barely possible to "scratch" the officially announced number of 4.500 participants, together with members of the MUP, and the Army then had more members than today. And that is why they are frantically looking for "frames" to make the parade "historic".
Commenting on the traffic collapse in New Belgrade, "Vremena" sources say that in 1975 and 1985 preparations for the parade took place on Obrenovački Road, which was already closed to traffic due to the construction of a new road.
"First, preparations in the barracks, three months, and then three weeks of daily training there, from morning to night, breakfast, brunch and lunch on the field, from snacks, and only then dinner in the barracks on Teodora Dreizera Street, that's how it was. And no one protested, it was an honor for us to be participants in the parade," says the source of "Vremena", then a non-commissioned officer. He adds that at that time the members of the Army were not guarded by private security, but by members of the Military Police. "I'm looking at these videos now, every 50 meters there are military policemen and private security guards alternately, it's a shame."
Citizens of Novi Belgrade and Zemun can see for themselves for more than two weeks, the "occupation" is underway, in which members of the Traffic Police are also participating. How it will be on September 20 or a day before, you don't even have to imagine.
This year's parade in Vučić's honor is not foreseen in the annual plan and budget of the Serbian Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense. And if it costs - it will cost. The sources of "Vremena", retired experts of the Serbian Armed Forces, simply say - it is known what the daily wages of engaged soldiers and elders are, plus vehicle costs. Damage to the asphalt is the least of the problems. Traction trains transport tanks and transporters to Ušće. But what then? These preparations, which last for days, take resources. For example, the M-84 tank consumes 200 liters of fuel per hour while moving on flat ground, and when it is stationary and its engine is running, it is 50 liters. Russian self-propelled howitzers "Gvozdika" consume even more. And where are the armored personnel carriers or the Chinese vehicles driving the new air defense vehicles. They spend like a Russian.
There is no need to talk about the Russian trucks that are there for the air defense assets "KUB" and "Neva" and the vehicles that serve them, they are fuel guzzlers.
A former high-ranking officer of the technical service of the Armed Forces also points to the fact that, since this parade is not foreseen in the budget for 2025, the question should be asked where the fuel for all these powerful resources comes from: "Only when they officially announce how many vehicles participated will it be known how much it will cost the country. Every military expert will be able to calculate it immediately - from jeeps to tanks to NORA howitzers. These are all known data. And they are easy to verify. For days they uselessly drive tanks and armored personnel carriers. Who will fill them and how will they be filled? And fuel is the most basic thing in every war."
At one time, Vučić had the idea to hold a parade at the military airport in Batajnica in 2024. And then the people from the Air Force and Air Defense Command answered him from that plan, explaining that the tanks would "plow" the runway and that it would be unusable. That's why, twice in a row, he decided on a "static display".
We should also recall some of Vučić's statements, such as the one from September 2019, when he said that the Serbian Army is much stronger today than it has ever been and that it is currently at its strongest, but that it has not yet reached its maximum, and that it will be even stronger. Then in July 2020, he said "that the Serbian Army today is many times stronger than before and is now starting to compete with stronger countries".
In September 2024, Vučić said that Serbia is "first or second in Europe in terms of the number of working tanks in operational use. I know 15 countries that together do not have as many tanks as Serbia."
He deliberately "forgot" that Serbia actually has more than 250 tanks, but they don't have more than 60 crews. Who will drive those tanks? There is no reserve team. Serbia abolished military service in 2011, so there are no more reservists who could operate a tank. But, ignoring that, Vučić claims that the Army is "at least ten times stronger" today.
Why is there nothing else between the overcome regime and the changes? What does the regime mean when it says it is defending Serbia? Why is the Student Movement indomitable? Who has the knowledge and real experience, and who leads without a day of work experience outside of politics? And why students win
After almost two years of protests, hundreds of kilometers walked, arrests, persecution and unprecedented social mobilization, Serbia is holding elections that could mark the end of a political era. Sociologist Marija Babović tells "Vreme" that the hope for change has not been so great since October 5, 2000, but she also warns of the danger that, if changes are not made, the country will face an even tougher authoritarian regime.
Their only weapon now is the media they control: like, we don't have an agenda, which is not true; as, we will betray the national interest, which is not true. One of their arguments is that we are afraid to go to the debate with Vučić. They do not understand that it is their punishment. This is a punishment for Aleksandar Vučić, who for 14 years conducted exclusively a monologue. For fourteen years he did not allow anyone any kind of dialogue, and now he would like to be rewarded or pardoned with the opportunity to talk to us. Well, he won't be able to. What he sowed is now reaping
These elections are not elections about Serbia's membership in the European Union, Kosovo and Metohija, gay marriage, tax policy or any other single political issue. Although parties on the fringes of political power try to impose these themes, at the heart of the upcoming political election is a much simpler dilemma: change or preserve the existing order. For more than a year now, surveys have shown that this is the primary dilemma on the ballot
In the RS, 19.800 people registered for the elections in Serbia, who will be able to vote at 28 polling stations. It remains unknown how many of them will cross the Drina on October 25 and vote in Serbia. In any case, I do not believe that the voters from Republika Srpska are the ones who will decide the winner of the elections in Serbia. Realistically, the voters from Republika Srpska can influence a little, but it seems that they are symbolically very important to both Vučić and the opposition.
There is, literally, no difference between the one who claims it is day in the middle of the night, or the one who claims to be a giraffe, from the claims we read on billboards: that Vučić is working to unify Serbs and that Serbia is doing better and better day by day.
The pre-election arrests due to the alleged "overthrow of the state" testify to the regime's panic. The bad news for them is - they can't arrest the whole people who decided to defend themselves from progressive beatings and election theft
The ring that tightens around Ćaciland Student list is getting narrower. Because there are more and more spoiled people who see the false prophet for what he is: a street obscener who is fighting Serbia
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In accordance with the logic most often manifested by militant regimes, after the roles on stage are set, the regime begins to assign roles to the audience as well, with alternations for critical viewers. Or teachers, school directors, council members... The "commander-in-chief" will make students 2.0, soldiers 2.0, professors 2.0, doctors 2.0, Dubrovnik 2.0, Serbia 2.0... That's why the life of children and young people in Serbia today resembles the fate of non-swimmers caught in a strong vortex that drags them to the very bottom of the system from which they will be thrown out as frustrated, insufficiently educated and armed
