The New Serbians

According to the independent outlet Vaznye Istory Russian business figures, arms‑industry executives, and Kremlin insiders have secured Serbian passports that grant them visa‑free travel across the European Union.

The paper has alleged that, from early 2022 through April 2025, Belgrade has approved more than 330 “citizenship for merit” decrees, and 204 went to Russians. The fast‑track naturalizations cite Article 19 of Serbia’s citizenship law, which waives residency and language requirements for persons who provide “services to the republic.” Recipients keep their original citizenship and are not required to live in Serbia.

Passports issued under Article 19 often reward athletes, artists, and investors. During Russia’s War on Ukraine, for example, iconographers who decorated Belgrade’s Church of St. Sava and mixed martial arts legend Fedor Emelianenko were all reportedly naturalized. Recent decrees, however, reach deeper into Russia’s political and military elite.

Viktor Shendrik, chair of the Moscow Boxing Federation’s supervisory board and a former officer in the FSB’s Vympel special‑forces unit, has also reportedly become a citizen. Shendrik sponsors a far-right division  fighting against Ukraine and is an associate of Umar Kremlev, who is linked to Alexey Rubezhny, head of President Vladimir Putin’s personal security detail.

Relatives and associates of the defense conglomerate KRET, Russia’s largest maker of electronic warfare gear, allegedly received passports as well. According to the report, Anastasia Kolesova — the daughter of former KRET chief and EU‑sanctioned ex‑governor Nikolai Kolesov — was naturalized along with her husband, Nikolai Urayev, and a relative, Nadezhda Urayeva. Kolesov now runs Russian Helicopters, while Urayev and Urayeva previously managed the Kazan plant Elekon, a key supplier of electrical connectors for missiles, aircraft, and submarines.

Further, Svetlana Kiyko, wife of Mikhail Kiyko, who heads drone developer Aeromax Group, allegedly gained Serbian citizenship, as did Andrei Shamshurin, vice president of the hardware manufacturer Aquarius, whose encrypted communications equipment are used by Russian security agencies.

Some new citizens are reportedly profiting directly from activity in occupied Ukrainian territory. For instance, Ivan Sibirev, former chief of Gennady Timchenko’s construction firm Stroytransneftegaz, co‑owns R‑Stroy, a builder reconstructing the occupied Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Severodonetsk. The EU sanctioned R‑Stroy in 2024.

Ilya Shumanov, corruption researcher and head of the NGO Arktida, said the wave of Russian naturalizations may reflect political bargains made between Belgrade and Moscow. Serbia risks slowing its EU accession bid, he said, but gains “levers from Moscow,” as it confronts anti‑government protests that have roiled the country since early 2024.

Those protests coincided with the largest burst of merit passports: In 2024, 86 of 137 passports went to Russians, more than 30 of whom are tied to the Kremlin or major state corporations. During the same period, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin — a close ally of Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev — made frequent trips to Moscow for meetings with the SVR, FSB, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. In March, Vulin publicly acknowledged Russian intelligence's help in quelling the demonstrations.

Serbia, like Russia, is historically a Slavic Orthodox country (indeed, Russia's close affiliation to Serbia was a significant spark that drew Europe into World War I). These deep roots show themselves in close diplomatic ties.