Former head of Serbia’s intelligence agency BIA and current pro-Russian political figure Aleksandar Vulin once again openly demonstrated his close connections with Moscow during Russia’s “Victory Day” parade on May 9 in Moscow, which he said he attended at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Although Vulin currently holds no official state office, he appeared at the parade wearing several Russian state and security decorations awarded to him during his years in senior positions within Serbia’s government and intelligence structures.
Vulin has been under U.S. sanctions since July 2023 for what Washington described as spreading malign Russian influence in Serbia, as well as alleged involvement in organized crime, drug trafficking, and abuse of public office.
Russian Decorations and Kremlin Recognition
Photos published by Serbian media and on social networks showed Vulin wearing the Russian Order of Friendship, awarded directly by Putin. The decoration was formally handed to him in January 2024 in Moscow by Sergei Naryshkin, one of the Kremlin’s top intelligence officials.
According to Vulin’s Socialist Movement party, the award recognized his “major personal contribution to the development and advancement of cooperation” between Serbia’s Security Information Agency (BIA) and Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service.
Vulin also wore a medal from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), successor to parts of the Soviet-era KGB. That decoration was likewise presented to him in Moscow for “outstanding contribution” to cooperation between Serbian and Russian security services.
Over the years, Vulin has accumulated numerous Russian honors, including medals from Russia’s Ministry of Defense, the Ministry for Emergency Situations, and military-technical cooperation institutions.
At the parade, he also displayed the Saint George ribbon — a symbol heavily associated in recent years with Russian military campaigns, including the annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine officially banned the symbol in 2017.
Longstanding Pro-Russian Role in Serbia
Throughout the rule of the Serbian Progressive Party, Vulin has held several influential positions, including head of Serbia’s Office for Kosovo, Minister of Defense, Minister of Interior, and director of BIA.
After resigning as BIA chief following U.S. sanctions, he later returned to government as deputy prime minister responsible for relations with Russia in the cabinet of Miloš Vučević.
In 2025, Serbia’s government appointed Vulin chairman of the supervisory board of Srbijagas, the state energy company through which Serbia imports Russian gas — giving him continued influence over a strategic sector closely tied to Moscow.
He also became head of the Serbian branch of the Russian Historical Society, led by Sergei Naryshkin, who has himself been under U.S. sanctions since 2014 over Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
“Serbian World” and Regional Concerns
Vulin remains one of the loudest promoters of the concept of the “Serbian World,” a political idea viewed across the Western Balkans as echoing nationalist ambitions associated with the violent breakup of former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Known for inflammatory rhetoric toward neighboring countries and unwavering support for Russia and China, Vulin has repeatedly argued that Serbia should become a strategic ally of Moscow and Beijing.
His appearance in Moscow wearing Russian state honors has once again intensified criticism toward Belgrade’s balancing act between European Union membership aspirations and its deep political and security ties with the Kremlin.
