New book by Dr Orhan Dragaš, The End of the Russian World – Russia, Ukraine, Balkans was published, in Serbian and English. Author’s analyses deal with the events of the past year, from September 2021 to September 2022, and concern various aspects of a phenomenon that lasts much longer, which is the expansion of Russia’s influence in an attempt to create its mythical-quasi-historical concept “Russian World”. This period also includes Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, as a historical event, which we are still witnessing.

The author finds the motive for this book in the need to try to interpret the epochal events in real time, using the knowledge accumulated so far and the research work that has up to this point discovered and proven many legalities about Russia’s attitude towards its important priorities, specifically Ukraine and the Balkans.

What Russia wants in the Balkans (and with the Balkans) is directly opposite to everything the West wants in the Balkans (and with the Balkans). If the West offers the Balkans integration into the EU and NATO, as a proven way for economic and social progress, the Russian offer is the opposite – it discourages integration, asks everyone to “remain true to themselves” and

not blend into the Western “melting pot”. While Western options tend to erase borders and reduce ethnic tensions, because not so long ago they birthed bloody wars, the Russian model insists on strengthening national feelings and confronting everyone who is not “us”. While the West is asking for strong institutions, the rule of law, free elections and public, Russia assures that all that is redundant, and that it is important to preserve one’s “Slavic soul” that leads the society and the state as dictated by the myths of brotherhood.

In the author’s introductory note, Dr Dragaš points out that the Ukrainian crisis is at the same time the most important internal issue of every European country, especially those in the Balkans. Russian aggression is also an event that will change relations in Europe in the long term and concerns every country and every European individually.

It will be particularly interesting for readers to compare the assessments presented by Dr Dragaš in a number of Serbian, regional and world media, as they will find many parallels and analytical assessments that have come true. Those attitudes and assessments have as a general conclusion that the idea of the so-called “Russian world” is deeply harmful and destructive not only for Ukraine and the Balkans, which are observed as “brothers” in that concept, but also for Russia itself, which persistently implements it, even by military force. The end of the Russian world, therefore, is not (only) an emotional expectation of the author, but a grounded and well-argued research conclusion.

You can order Dr Orhan Dragaš’s book The End of the Russian World – Russia, Ukraine, Balkans, in Serbian or English, from the publisher, International Security Institute at e-mail [email protected] or by phone 011.328.52.84