Domestic political opposition drove Russia’s pro-Serbian foreign policy

Evidence

As the leader of a tertiary participant, Boris Yeltsin was cross-pressured by the desire, on the one hand, to maintain, expand, and benefit from good relations with the West and, on the other hand, to help the Serbs and to disarm his political opposition, which regularly accused him of caving into the West. Overall the latter concern won out, and Russian diplomatic support for the Serbs was frequent and consistent. … Russia also consistently opposed efforts to suspend the arms embargo against the former Yugoslav republics, which had its principal impact on the Bosnian Muslims, and regularly attempted to tighten that embargo. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 786 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

The Yugoslav wars also produced a virtually unanimous rallying of the Orthodox world behind Serbia. Russian nationalists, military officers, parliamentarians, and Orthodox Church leaders were outspoken in their support for Serbia, their disparaging of the Bosnian “Turks,” and their criticism of Western and NATO imperialism. Russian and Serbian nationalists worked together arousing opposition in both countries to the Western “new world order.” In considerable measure these sentiments were shared by the Russian populace, with over 60 percent of Muscovites, for instance, opposing NATO air strikes in the summer of 1995. Russian nationalist groups successfully recruited young Russians in several major cities to join “the cause of Slavic brotherhood.” Reportedly a thousand or more Russians, along with volunteers from Romania and Greece, enlisted in the Serbian forces to fight what they described as the “Catholic fascists” and “Islamic militants.” — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 782 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Post-Cold War Greece reoriented its foreign policy toward Orthodoxy and Russia; Domestic political pressure drove Russia’s pro-Serb diplomacy despite Western alignment — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 786; Orthodox religious identity united Russia behind Serbia during the Yugoslav wars — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 782 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Domestic political pressure drove Russia’s pro-Serb diplomacy despite Western alignment #corroborates (0.96) — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 786
• Orthodox religious identity united Russia behind Serbia during the Yugoslav wars #complicates (0.72) — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 782