Dzhukanovich was elected President of Montenegro

In the presidential election in Montenegro, the leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists Milo Dzhukanovich won. According to preliminary data of the election commission, in the first round he gained 57 percent of the vote.

The main rival of Dzhukanovich, the pro -Russian candidate from opposition parties, Maden Boyanich receives about 33 percent. In total, seven candidates participated in the elections. The president is elected for a five -year term.

Comment by Vitaly Portnikov for our special project "The kidnapping of Europe"

Dzhukanovich was already held by the presidential post in 1998-2002 and headed the government six times. Under his leadership last year, Montenegro joined NATO. Dzhukanovich urged voters to confirm the choice of the European path. “They (pro -Russian candidates. - Ed.) Can withdraw a decision on the recognition of Kosov, which was important for regional stability. They can withdraw a decision on our integration with the European Union. They can cancel sanctions against Russia and, of course, they can question the issue of independence,” Dzhukanovich said in an interview with local media in early April. At the same time, he expressed "absolute readiness to build good relations with Russia."

In 2016, an attempt by the coup and murder of Dzhukanovich was prevented in Montenegro. The Montenegrin authorities said that the crime is Russian state bodies that tried to disrupt the country's entry into NATO.

The court in this case began in May last year. According to the prosecution, a group of citizens of Serbia, Montenegro and Russia outlined a coup on October 16, the day of parliamentary elections: three sabotage groups with a total number of up to 500 people had to provoke riots, open fire on demonstrators and shoot the head of government.

According to the Chernogorsk prosecutor's office, the conspiracy was led by GRU agents Eduard Shishmakov and Vladimir Popov. The Russians were put on the wanted list. The accusations were also brought by the leaders of the Prossei Party "Democratic Front" by Andriy Mandich and Milan Knezhevich.

The key witness is, the leader of the Serbian wolves, Sasha Shindlach, called Shimshakova the main organizer of the operation. According to his testimony, the Russian demanded to deliver barbed wire, tear gas, gas masks, slingshots with metal balls, handcuffs and other equipment that was supposed to be used in the assault on state institutions.

In November last year, Russia provided the political tour of one of the defendants in the case - a citizen of Montenegro Ananiy Nikich.

The Russian authorities deny involvement in illegal actions in Montenegro.