Russian opposition figure and former executive director of “Open Russia” Andrey Pivovarov, who was arrested after surveillance in Belgrade, stated in an interview with Nova.rs that he is certain that this could not have been done without the knowledge of the presidents of Serbia and Russia, Aleksandar Vučić and Vladimir Putin. The mediator was then-Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin, who, according to Russian opposition figures, ordered the surveillance in Belgrade. Vulin passed this information to Putin’s secretary, Nikolai Patrushev, and Nova.rs uncovered what was discussed and agreed upon during that meeting.
Andrey Pivovarov spent three years in prison in Russia on charges of working with “undesirable organizations”. He was released in a major prisoner exchange between the West and Russia on August 1 of this year. In an interview with Nova.rs, he explained how representatives of the secret services tracked him and his colleagues during their stay in Belgrade, and what role Aleksandar Vulin, then Interior Minister and now Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia responsible for relations with the Russian Federation, played.
“I am sure that in both Russia and Serbia, nothing happens without a direct order from the president because Vulin is not an independent figure. Every step taken by the prime minister, minister, or someone in a lower position is always coordinated with the president’s cabinet or personally with the president. In Russia, this is taken for granted and for Serbia, I am absolutely certain that all of Vulin’s activities are coordinated with Vučić,” said Pivovarov.
So, what exactly did Vulin do and what did he organize in Moscow at that time?
As Interior Minister at the time, Aleksandar Vulin met in May 2021 with Nikolai Patrushev, Russia’s National Security Secretary, to whom he delivered information about the meeting of Russian opposition figures who had previously stayed in Belgrade.
In the transcript of the conversation between the two officials, which Nova later obtained, it is stated that Vulin promised that Serbia would regularly inform the Russian side about the activities of the “Open Russia” organization.
Two weeks after the meeting, the Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested the co-organizer of the seminar in Belgrade and representative of “Open Russia”, Andrey Pivovarov.
During this period, Russian opposition representatives held a seminar at a hotel in New Belgrade. According to attendees, from the first to the last day, this event was monitored by Serbian security.
This was confirmed by Vladimir Kara-Murza, a co-organizer of the meeting and a Russian opposition politician, in an interview with Nova, and also by one of the seminar lecturers in Belgrade, lawyer Dmitry Zahvatov. He said that two men constantly followed their movements and that he had noticed them in various locations.
“On May 9, we rented a boat tour on the Danube and Sava. I assumed that surveillance continued there as well. At a distance of about 200 meters, halfway through our trip, we noticed a ‘zodiac’ boat persistently following us with two men on it. The next evening, May 10, we went for a walk in the Zemuni area, took a taxi to Kula Gardoš, and got off at Grobljanska street. When I got out of the taxi, I noticed a silver Volkswagen Golf passing us and saw the same two men I had seen on the first day. Later, one of them continued to the Zemuni cemetery. He was where we were and moved continuously from one bench to another, trying to remain inconspicuous,” he stated.
Just two days after the seminar in Belgrade, Aleksandar Vulin traveled to Moscow. His two-day stay in Russia was marked by a meeting with Nikolai Patrushev, during which, as learned, he handed over transcripts of recorded conversations of Russian opposition figures, promising Serbia’s assistance.
Fighting Against Color Revolutions and “Secret” Groups
The transcript of the conversation states that Vulin explained to Patrushev that he was familiar with the activities of the “Open Russia” organization, which he said had Western support and “operated against Russian interests.”
“He promised that Serbia would regularly inform the Russian side about the activities and members of the organization,” the document states.
“Fighting against color revolutions is extremely important for Serbia,” Vulin also said on this occasion.
On the other hand, Nikolai Patrushev presented information that the last meeting of the Task Force against Color Revolutions was held more than a year ago in Belgrade.
Interestingly, Serbian public opinion was unaware of the existence of these groups. Even President Aleksandar Vučić and then-Prime Minister Ana Brnabić claimed they had no information about its existence.
“This task force, whose role is to normatively regulate the work of NGOs, examine ways to counter mass unrest and attempts to destabilize order, is expected to have its next meeting in Moscow during the summer. The agreement for training Serbian forces to combat unrest was not implemented due to the coronavirus pandemic,” states the transcript from the Vulin-Patrushev meeting.
Arrest in St. Petersburg
At the same time, as stated in the document, the Russian side informed its Serbian counterparts about the development of its IT system, which enables the monitoring of objects and individuals, while Vulin noted the exceptional cooperation between the two ministries of internal affairs, adding that they exchange about 500 pieces of information every year.
During the meeting, Vulin expressed Serbia’s willingness to participate in training related to combating drug trafficking, organized crime, the destruction of explosive devices, as well as the negative impact of non-governmental organizations.
Two weeks after this meeting, Andrey Pivovarov from “Open Russia” was arrested at St. Petersburg airport. His team stated at the time that the police had interrogated him, searched his apartment, and opened criminal proceedings for allegedly violating Russian legislation on “undesirable organizations.”
In an interview with the daily “Nova”, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s richest man and a friend of Andrey Pivovarov, said that Pivovarov had not done anything illegal but would likely face the maximum sentence.
“Regardless of the article under which independent politicians are accused, as absurd and unfounded as the accusations may be, the verdict is almost always conviction. The article of law under which Pivovarov is accused carries a penalty of up to six years in prison. I fear that his sentence will be close to the maximum,” Khodorkovsky said at the time.
