Since the beginning of 2022 until April 2025, the Serbian government has signed decrees granting citizenship to more than 330 people with the wording «in the interests of the republic», 204 of them are Russians, write «Important Stories» citing records in the official legal bulletin of the Serbian authorities. All these decrees are adopted in accordance with Article 19 of the Serbian Citizenship Law, which allows issuing passports for merits to the country in a special procedure: there is no need to renounce citizenships of other countries, nor is there a need to live in Serbia either before or after obtaining a passport.
Sports migration to Serbia provided an opportunity to obtain passports for officials associated with the Russian Boxing Federation (RBF), which was headed until 2021 by Moscow Region entrepreneur Umar Kremlev. Now he organizes boxing tournaments at the international level as the head of IBA. After the start of the war, thanks to his acquaintance with General of the FSO and head of Putin's personal security Alexey Rubezhny, Kremlev received confiscated assets of the country's largest car dealer «Rolf». And several people close to him gained visa-free access to the EU through Serbian citizenship. For example, Kremlev's former coach Alexey Galeev, Kremlev's deputy in IBA North Caucasian official Abdulmutalim Abakarov and his family.
Sumayd Khalidov, a Chechen boxer close to Ramzan Kadyrov, who, together with Umerov, heads the European Boxing Confederation, became a Serbian citizen in 2023. Another newly minted Serb is Viktor Shendrik, who heads the supervisory board of the Moscow Boxing Federation, previously served in the FSB's «intellectual special forces» «Vympel». Shendrik is also the head of the security service of Russian Railways and the former head of the security service of Putin's friends, oligarchs Arkady and Boris Rotenberg. «Important Stories» previously wrote that Shendrik, in the interests of the Rotenbergs, sponsors the neo-Nazi football fan unit «Espanyol», fighting against Ukraine.
The largest migration affected people around the «Radioelectronic Technologies» concern (KRET) — the largest manufacturer of electronic warfare systems in Russia, as well as avionics for military aircraft and helicopters. KRET is part of the arms state corporation «Rostec» of Putin's KGB comrade Sergey Chemezov.
Citizenship was granted to Anastasia Kolesova — the daughter of the former head of KRET and ex-governor of the Amur region Nikolay Kolesov, who is under EU sanctions as he heads the «Russian Helicopters» holding. Anastasia's husband, active defense industry worker Nikolay Uraev — also received a Serbian passport. Previously, Kolesova and Uraev alternately headed the Kazan defense plant «Elecon» — a key manufacturer of electrical connectors in the Russian military-industrial complex. The plant produces components for intercontinental ballistic missiles «Bulava» and «Topol-M», military aircraft, helicopters, submarines, ships, satellite systems, etc. It is under US sanctions under the law on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and under EU, UK, and Canadian sanctions due to the invasion of Ukraine.
The Serbian passport is now also held by Russian Roman Karusev, who, according to leaked income data, received a salary at the «Shimko Radioelectronics» enterprise within KRET. This is the main manufacturer of «friend-or-foe» identification systems for Russian combat aviation.
Another category of «new Serbs» — Russians directly or indirectly associated with profiting from occupied Ukrainian lands. For example, Ivan Sibirev, who previously headed the «Stroytransneftegaz» company of Gennady Timchenko. With the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, Sibirev became a co-owner of the construction company «R-stroy», which operates in the occupied and destroyed by the Russian army Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Severodonetsk, «Important Stories» found out. Last year, the company fell under EU sanctions.
A Serbian passport was also obtained by Dmitry Sergeev, a friend of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev. From 2010 to 2018, when Patrushev Jr. headed Rosselkhozbank, Sergeev was his deputy. When in 2018 Patrushev Jr. became Minister of Agriculture, Sergeev followed him into the government. Currently, Sergeev is the CEO of the United Grain Company and the Grain Exporters Union.
Corruption researcher and head of the NGO «Arktida» Ilya Shumanov** believes that such a massive issuance of passports to Russians associated with the Kremlin and the defense industry could be part of political agreements between the two governments, write «Important Stories». In such a scenario, the Serbian government risks losing prospects for European integration, but may receive from Moscow tools of control in the face of massive anti-government protests that have not ceased in the country since the fall of 2024.
* Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent» and «undesirable» organization.
** Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent».