On the night of 25 December, while most Western countries were celebrating Christmas and paying little attention to political news, the Serbian gendarmerie dispersed a rally of pro-Western opposition protesting against the falsification of parliamentary elections.

Both the Russian and Serbian authorities interpret the protests in Belgrade as an attempt by Western countries to "organise a Maidan."

Read more about the new protests in Serbia and their possible consequences in the article by Yurii Panchenko, European Pravda's editor – Plot twist by Russian scenario: how Serbian authorities revealed an attempt at 'Western-initiated' coup.

Opposition rallies in Belgrade have been ongoing for over a week, triggered by the results of parliamentary and local elections on 17 December.

Contrary to poll predictions, the political force led by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, the Serbian Progressive Party, managed to improve its results and regain a majority in parliament. The ruling party also took the first place in the elections to the Belgrade City Council. It was no secret that they have achieved this bringing lots of voters from Kosovo and Republika Srpska (part of Bosnia and Herzegovina).

The result for the pro-Western opposition, running in the bloc Serbia Against Violence, was, as expected, less than 23%. Although it has improved compared to previous elections, it was clearly lower than the sociologists' forecasts (exit polls during Serbian elections are prohibited).

Not surprisingly, opposition leaders Marinika Tepić and Miroslav Aleksić found nothing better than to declare a hunger strike, demanding a re-vote in the capital, where the use of administrative resources was particularly clear.

Despite the weakness of the opposition, protest sentiments in Serbia proved powerful enough to make the rallies daily and attract thousands of participants. Simultaneously, they remained organised enough to stay within the legislative field.

While OSCE observers, despite documented violations, refrained from talking about election fraud, EU leaders largely refrained from congratulating Vučić. The Serbian president received a congratulatory telegram only from his friend Viktor Orbán.

Vučić desperately needed in this situation to discredit the protest, actions by the opposition that would provide grounds for using force. And on 24 December, such an opportunity presented itself.

According to the Serbian opposition, football fans affiliated with the Serbian government initiated the violence. The leader of the Party of Freedom and Justice, Dragan Đilas, claims that the instigators of the assault on government buildings have been identified. They are fans from the group led by Djordje Prelic (the current leader of this group is currently serving a sentence for the murder of a French fan). None of the members of this group were arrested on the night of 25 December.

Instead, the Serbian authorities immediately announced the prevention of an attempted state coup.

Vučić voiced this version during a morning meeting with Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko. Prime Minister Ana Brnabić personally communicated with Western diplomats to inform them about the information provided by the Russian secret services, but they allegedly did not take this information seriously.

"We had information from services that warned us about this. First of all, this information was provided to us by the Russian secret service, but (representatives of Western countries – ed.) accused us of spreading disinformation and that it was nonsense.

They laughed, and as the president (Aleksandar Vučić – ed.) said, some took it seriously, some wanted to help, and many knew and did not want to help," she said.

Nevertheless, the protests in Belgrade resumed the very next day. Marching to the police station where those detained on 24 December were held, protesters staged another rally outside the Central Election Commission.

A large rally is planned for 30 December, during which the opposition will determine its next steps. Some changes, however, are already seen. The opposition has intensified its demands. Now they are calling for new elections not only in Belgrade but throughout the country.

Are there chances of success for the protests in Belgrade? Yes, but they are not highly likely.

The protests, on the other hand, may lead to an increased dependence of the Serbian government on Russia. In this context, Viktor Medvedchuk has become active on the Serbian front.