Russia and Montenegro: How and why a centuries old relationship ruptured

Abstract

In 2016 Montenegro and America shared a common problem - Russian meddling in the democratic process of both countries. According to an official assessment from American intelligence agencies, Russia was involved in an obstruction of the American presidential elections. During the 2016 October election night in Montenegro, Russian citizens together with individuals from Serbia and Montenegro, planned to kill former Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic and overthrow his pro-Western government. Russian nationalists, members of the Russia's military intelligence service GRU, were involved in the planned action with the goal of stopping Montenegrin accession to NATO. Officially Moscow denied its involvement in both cases. The aim of this article will be to offer answers to the dilemma - how did it happen that Montenegro, after a clear commitment to become the next member of NATO, has found itself in the center of the Russian sphere of influence? Moreover, this article is written with an intention to clarify how modern techniques of Russian hybrid warfare became visible in the case of Montenegrin accession to NATO.