The ninth of May, Victory Day over fascism, is not just a historical date for me and for the Serb people, said Milorad Dodik, leader of SNSD, on the occasion of marking Victory Day.
We present his column in full:
It is also a day of remembrance of the immense suffering of the Serb people, who, together with the Russian people, were among the greatest victims of Nazi and fascist ideology in Europe. Few nations have paid such a high price for freedom as the Serbs and the Russians.
It is a day of deep, primordial gratitude to the Russian and Soviet people who bore the heaviest burden in the fight against the evil that threatened to engulf all of Europe. More than 27 million sons and daughters of Russia did not give their lives only for their homeland — they liberated the world from the Nazi scourge. Europe owes them eternal gratitude. Without Russian blood, without Stalingrad, without the assault on Berlin, today we would not be speaking of freedom, but of the darkness that would still dominate our continent.
The Serb people also endured terrible suffering in that struggle. Kozara became a symbol of suffering and resistance, a place where entire villages disappeared in flames, where mothers were left without children, and children without parents. Jasenovac and Donja Gradina remain permanent marks of a monstrous policy of extermination carried out against Serbs simply because of who they were. In those places, it was not only a people that was being killed — there was an attempt to destroy their name, faith, culture, and right to exist.
Republika Srpska and the Serb people carry that gratitude in their hearts. We know what it means to fight against fascism. We know the price of freedom. That is why our alliance with Russia is eternal and unwavering. Russia stood by us in our most difficult moments, and we will always stand by Russia. Our brotherly bond is not a matter of temporary politics — it is woven into our hearts, history, and memory.
When we speak about Victory Day, we also speak about a vow never to forget those who laid down their lives so that the Serb people could survive. Our ancestors did not choose the easier path. They chose freedom, even when it meant suffering, Golgotha, and sacrifice. That is why the Serb people will never accept that those who were on the wrong side of history today dictate what we are allowed to remember, whom we are allowed to respect, and how we are allowed to mark our history.
Today, unfortunately, the world in many ways resembles the eve of victory in 1945. Once again, battles are being fought over the fate of humanity. Once again, hegemonies are being imposed, international law and state sovereignty are being violated. It is clear that there can be no lasting peace — neither global nor European — without a balance of power and without recognizing the legitimate interests of Russia. Peace is not built on the dictate of one power, but on agreement among great nations that respect one another. A common language must be found with Russia on the rules by which the world will function — in security, political, and economic terms.
The last three decades have shown that peace has been most endangered by the policies of several U.S. administrations after the end of the Cold War. Instead of building partnership, they moved toward expansion, encircling Russia, and imposing a unipolar world. In this, they were unfortunately supported by forces in Europe that are the direct ideological descendants of the greatest collaborators of Nazism and fascism. Today, wrapped in the blue flag of the European Union, they dare to lecture the Russian and Serb peoples. They forget that their ancestors welcomed occupiers with flowers in 1941, while our grandfathers were dying in forests and mountains for freedom.
In Republika Srpska, we see this most clearly in practice. The imposition of Christian Schmidt as a false “High Representative” — without the consent of the United Nations Security Council and contrary to the Dayton Agreement — represents a classic example of neo-colonial behavior. It is a modern version of what we saw in the Second World War: an external governor or vassal who comes to abolish democratic procedures, nullify laws and institutions, enable the majorization of the Serb people, and plunder our resources.
The last time Germans governed this region, it was also to the great suffering of the Serb people. Serbs paid for their resistance with mass suffering, pits, camps, and burned villages, yet they did not accept submission. That is precisely why today’s generations have the obligation not to yield to pressure and to preserve their homes, their future, and the legacy left to us by our ancestors.
While Germans once came with tanks to take our mines and forests, today they attempt to do so through a representative who nullifies the will of the people expressed in elections.
The Serb people will never accept that. We are a people who have always chosen freedom over servitude. That is why we have always stood and will stand with the Russian people — because Russians fell here, on our lands, selflessly to secure our freedom. They did not come to take, but to liberate.
The Serb and Russian peoples are connected precisely through that historical sacrifice and the understanding that there is no freedom without readiness to pay the highest price. On the altar of European freedom, our nations laid down millions of lives. Therefore, no one has the right today to relativize our contribution to the victory over fascism or to teach us what freedom and anti-fascism mean.
May 9 reminds us that evil never disappears forever — it only changes its form. Today, as in 1945, victory will belong to those who defend justice, sovereignty, and the dignity of nations. Republika Srpska stands firmly with Russia in that struggle. Let Victory Day be our inspiration to preserve the freedom that our ancestors paid for with the highest price.
Long live Russia!
Long live victory!
Long live Republika Srpska!
Source: RTRS
