| In previous times, Russia, which always considered itself the patroness of Serbia, was nervous about Belgrade’s attempts to change its foreign policy orientation. One of the most striking examples of Russian participation in the fate of Serbia was the coup of 1903, when Russian envoy Nikolai Hartwig and military agent Viktor Artamonov knew about the plans of the Black Hand officer organization and even financed the recruitment of new members into its ranks. Thus, Russia intended to overthrow Milan Obrenovic, who actually ruled behind the back of his son Alexander and pursued a pro-Austrian course. The result, however, exceeded expectations: heated by the battle with the defenders of the royal palace, the officers, led by Dragutin Dmitrievich, threw Milan’s wife, Queen Draga, out of the palace window, after which Europe refused to deal with the “murderers.” Russia had to make a lot of efforts to get European monarchs to recognize the change not only of the monarch, but also of the ruling dynasty. True, the new inhabitants of the royal palace, the Karageorgievichs, really broke with the previous course and until the Second Balkan War began in June 1913, they remained reliable allies of St. Petersburg in its foreign policy endeavors in the Balkans. Belgrade, in turn, actively used Russia's authority as a cover against the attack of the Austro-Hungarian army during both Balkan wars of 1912-1913. Even in the moments of crisis in the summer of 1914, Serbian politicians decided to consult with St. Petersburg about the possibility of accepting Vienna’s ultimatum and only after a response from Russia, which declared support for its ally, they refused to accept it.
In 1940-1941, the USSR supported the opposition in Yugoslavia, however, this time it was a completely pragmatic action: the government of General Cvetkovich pursued a pro-fascist policy. Therefore, Moscow, interested in the presence of a distracting theater of military operations, supported a group of officers led by Air Force commander General Simovich, who were oriented toward the anti-Hitler coalition. On March 27, 1941, Simovich managed to overthrow the supporters of Germany and Italy, and a few days later the USSR signed a non-aggression pact with the new government. The fact that upon returning home the military attaché in Yugoslavia, General Alexander Samokhin and his assistant Mikhail Maslov received the Order of the Red Banner, suggests that they did not eat their bread in vain. True, Germany did not tolerate this and on April 14, together with its allies, struck Yugoslavia.
In 1947-1953, after Belgrade’s break with Moscow, the latter repeatedly tried to instigate conspiracies and uprisings against the “bloody Tito-Rankovic clique”, which pursued an independent policy, in which the Soviet secret services tried to involve “old communists” from among the former Comintern members, for a long time who lived in the USSR, or generals who fought in the Balkans side by side with the Soviet Army. However, real and imaginary conspiracies were uncovered by the Yugoslav security authorities, who acted quite in the traditions of their colleagues and regularly filled the concentration camps with “Soviet agents.” Shortly before Stalin's death, the MGB even developed a plan to eliminate Tito, which was canceled after the death of the leader of the people. Pavel APTEKAR
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