On May 31, in Belgrade, at the media center of the Association of Journalists of Serbia, a conference of far-right and neo-Nazi organizations titled “The Future of European Nations” took place. The event was presented as a meeting of the “Alliance for Peace and Freedom,” an alliance established in 2015 by far-right parties from various European countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain.
It is noteworthy that this year’s meeting occurred amid heightened internal political tensions in Serbia, as large-scale anti-government and student protests erupted in Belgrade at the end of May. Against this backdrop, pro-government Serbian media and pro-Russian forces attempted to shift public attention by promoting a radical nationalist agenda and anti-Western narratives, of which this far-right congress became a part.
Notably, the list of speakers and delegates in Belgrade almost completely replicated the participants of the previous congress held in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in September 2025. That event resulted in the founding of the “International League of Anti-Globalists ‘Paladins’” — a network of neo-Nazi, neo-fascist, and far-right organizations from different countries.
The organizer and moderator of the Belgrade summit of European radicals was Miša Vačić — leader of the extra-parliamentary party “Serbian Right,” a well-known and odious figure in the Balkans and an open “agent of Kremlin influence.” He previously gained notoriety for posing against murals honoring the Wagner PMC in New Belgrade and for organizing radical street actions.
Since December 2023, M. Vačić has been under sanctions from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of State. The FBI has included him on the list of individuals involved in “malign activities on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation” aimed at undermining peace, security, political stability, and territorial integrity of the United States, its allies, or partners. The sanctions were imposed due to his participation in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. In September 2022, he acted as a puppet “international observer” at the sham Russian “referendums” on the annexation of temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine.
The May Belgrade neo-fascist conference was not a spontaneous initiative of local marginals, but part of the Kremlin’s long-term strategy to coordinate and unite far-right and far-left movements around itself worldwide. In Russia, the management of radicals is informally carried out by structures linked to Russian ultra-right oligarch Konstantin Malofeev, known for supporting and financing hybrid operations of the Russian Federation and the “Russian Spring” of 2014. It was at the previous forum in Saint Petersburg in September 2025, organized by K. Malofeev, that the creation of the “International League of Anti-Globalists ‘Paladins’” was announced.
The composition of delegates attracted attention because the Italian neo-fascist party Forza Nuova was represented at this year’s event in Belgrade by its leader Roberto Fiore and Secretary General Gloria Callarelli. This marginal political force has a history of street violence, attacks on trade unions in Italy, and the use of Nazi symbols. Roberto Fiore himself hid in London for years in the 1980s while wanted in connection with the investigation into the bloody terrorist attack at the Bologna railway station. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Forza Nuova publicly supported the aggression, its leadership participated in Malofeev’s Saint Petersburg congress, and many of its members went to fight on the side of Russian occupation forces as mercenaries.
Another well-known radical who spoke at the Belgrade event was Gonzalo Martín, vice-president of the Spanish neo-Nazi party Democracia Nacional, who also participated in the Saint Petersburg forum. The presence of all these controversial figures in Belgrade proves that the agent network of far-right radicals, created by Russian special services and financed by K. Malofeev, is increasing its influence potential in Europe.
Serbia was chosen as the logistical and ideological center for the far-right and neo-fascist congress because the country remains the main hub of Russian influence in the Balkans, where the Kremlin maintains extensive agent networks and information support. Despite its European integration statements, the Serbian authorities treat pro-Russian radicals with loyalty and do not prosecute them under the law. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić continues a policy of balancing, refusing to join European sanctions against Russia.
Serbia provides a favorable ideological and informational environment for the concentration of pro-Russian radicals. The local media landscape has been nourished by Russian propaganda for decades, and narratives about the “common struggle against NATO,” the non-recognition of Kosovo’s independence, and the protection of “traditional values” are mainstream among Serbian nationalists.
For Russia, the institutionalization of European neo-fascists through networks such as the “Paladins” is part of hybrid warfare aimed at undermining internal stability and European unity from within. By financing, coordinating, and consolidating radicals around itself, the Kremlin strengthens its influence network, which will serve as a tool for inciting migration and racial conflicts, and, most importantly, will seek ways to enhance cooperation with other European far-right forces in order to pressure European governments and infiltrate the system of power.