Ristanovic: Somewhat comical division over celebrating Europe Day and Victory Day

Petar Ristanovic, a research associate at the Institute for Serbian Culture in Leposavic, stated that due to the war in Ukraine, political divisions have emerged around the celebration of Europe Day and Victory Day, a phenomenon also visible in the Western Balkans.

“It is somewhat comical that both Victory Day and Europe Day are celebrated on the same date. Europe is divided along political lines over what is celebrated, considering that even the current EU countries, which now celebrate Europe Day, were undeniably on the winning side in World War II and, until just a few years ago, before relations with Russia cooled, also took part in celebrating Victory Day,” Ristanovic told Kosovo Online.

He explains that Europe Day symbolizes unity and that the date was chosen to coincide with the day Germany was defeated in World War II.

“The idea is that enough time has passed, that Europe is now united, and that we should not insist on celebrating the day of Germany's defeat, even though the circumstances of that defeat are clear, but rather focus on celebrating unity,” Ristanovic explains.

On the other hand, for Russia, Victory Day is a reminder of the end of the Great Patriotic War.

“For Russia, World War II was a matter of physical survival, and it continues to commemorate Victory Day, which also carries a political dimension, especially today, when Europe is divided, the entire world is divided, and Russia is one of the focal points of that division,” the historian points out.

He emphasizes that the Western Balkans are following the “European trend,” where attitudes toward Russia are simplified into binary terms, either for or against, and this has also been reflected in the symbolism of attending the military parade in Moscow.

“There are leaders and political parties who send their representatives or leaders to Moscow to mark Victory Day, thereby expressing either a certain kind of loyalty to Moscow or publicly declaring their willingness to cooperate with Russia, as well as with the rest of Europe. On the other hand, in the Balkans, those political parties and governments that completely ignore Victory Day and only participate in Europe Day celebrations are, in a way, signaling their loyalty to a united Europe regarding the war in Ukraine and their stance on Russia,” Ristanovic explained.

He believes this topic has also taken on a “day-to-day political dimension.”

“I think this has become an issue that, like many others, has acquired a short-term political dimension, where positions on Russia and Victory Day are used to signal and try to win over public sympathy, possibly to distract from other topics. It serves as a kind of political smoke screen,” the historian noted.

He views reactions from Pristina to the Serbian president’s visit to Moscow in the same light.

“Pristina is a protectorate that is completely dependent on Western aid, so in their case, there aren’t many options. Ideologically, they align with the West. On the other hand, Russia does not recognize Kosovo and supports Serbia in international affairs as a sovereign state that includes Kosovo, so in Pristina, there is no willingness or desire to ideologically come closer to Moscow in any way,” Ristanovic concluded.