Serbian anti-corruption protests


In November 2024, mass protests erupted in Novi Sad, Serbia, after the collapse of the city's railway station canopy, which killed 16 people and left another severely injured. By March 2025, the protests had spread to 400 cities and towns across the country. Led by university students, the protests called for accountability for the disaster.
The protests began with student-led blockades of educational institutions, initiated on 22 November at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, after students were attacked during a silent tribute to the victims. Other faculties and high schools soon joined. In the early stages, protesters enacted daily "Serbia, stand still" traffic blockades from 11:52 am to 12:08 pm—the exact time of the collapse—as a symbolic gesture honoring the deceased, accompanied by a silent protest.
By early 2025, these 16-minute pauses had ceased as a standalone action, and the movement transitioned into sustained civil disobedience. Protesters began organizing extended road blockades, walking demonstrations, a protest cycling and relay race from Belgrade to Strasbourg and Brussels, respectively, and blockades of the headquarters of Radio Television of Serbia that severely disrupted its programming.
Confrontations escalated as supporters of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party and the police clashed with demonstrators, leading to street fights and arrests in multiple cities, including smaller ones such as Novi Pazar and Užice. After months of student lockouts at most higher learning institutions, including the University of Belgrade and the University of Novi Sad, classes resumed and the 2025/2026 school year commenced in the previously locked-out institutions. Continuing anti-academic rhetoric by the regime presented a false narrative of the lockouts.

Background

On 1 November 2024, the canopy of the Novi Sad railway station collapsed, killing 14 people on the spot and leaving three with injuries; one of the injured died on 17 November and another died on 21 March 2025.
The collapse led to widespread public concern in Serbia, with many questioning the structural integrity and maintenance oversight of public infrastructure. Authorities launched an investigation into the causes of the incident, but public frustration grew due to lack of accountability in the response.
The station building was constructed in 1964, and was renovated from 2021 to mid-2024 with support from China's Belt and Road Initiative. The official cause of the collapse remains under investigation, with government corruption and opaque dealings with Chinese contractors blamed.

Timeline

Protests against government corruption and inaction soon began, grew into the hundreds, and spread across the country. The protests continued in 2025 and into 2026.

Symbols and slogans

A common protester slogan was "corruption kills". Protest symbols included red handprints with the caption "your hands are bloody", referring to the authorities and ruling politicians, and bleeding doves. Banners accompanied protests and blockades. Most of them mention Vučić and other members of the ruling party, public prosecutor, and generally support the students. Some of the banners feature quotes or references from Serbian and world pop culture, including Better Call Saul, Grand Theft Auto VI, Game of Thrones Daenerys Targaryen, and Charli XCX's album Brat. National Serbian flags, both contemporary and historical, as well as the flags of many Serbian cities and municipalities, and university and faculty flags, were common sights. Ferrari flags and paraphernalia, once a prominent symbol of opposition to the Milošević regime, made a return. Students called out Vučić's excessive behavior, arguing that he is acting ultra vires by involving himself in matters that are out of his legal capacity as the President.
Some banners included the word "ćaci", a reference to an anti-protest graffiti ćaci u školu; this was reported to be an attempt by the ruling SNS to provoke the students, backfiring due to the creator's illiteracy. The pro-government encampment in Pioneers Park was widely dubbed ćacilend by protesters. Another catchphrase originated from Reddit, is "pump it", meaning to "keep increasing the pressure", which also appeared in memes and banners. Another closely related phrase, "stew it", was popularized by sociologist Jovo Bakić.
Some protests adopted specific names that are wordplays:
  • "Sretnimo se na Sretenje
  • "Iz Banata, iz inata"
  • "1.2. na 3 mosta"
  • "Na korak od pravde"
  • "Pod našom (Auto)komandom"
  • "Munze želi konza"

Reactions

Before the 15 March and 28 June protests in Belgrade, public transit operations there halted. Private bus companies cancelled most departures to and from Belgrade. Passenger trains coming in and out of Belgrade were halted due to bomb threats. An attempt of Niš students to organise transport to Belgrade failed after a private bus company allegedly received threats from people close to the government.

Criticism of protests

Russian President Vladimir Putin voiced support for the Serbian authorities and rejected what he called a "colour revolution".
The EU Commission enlargement director-general, Gert Jan Koopman, stated that the EU "will not accept or support a violent change of power in Serbia."
US President Donald Trump's envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, wrote on X that the United States supports peaceful demonstrations but does not support "those who undermine the rule of law or who forcefully take over government buildings."

Neutral stance

The European Commission and the Council of the European Union remained neutral. On 28 January 2025, a group of Serbian public figures sent a letter to EU officials, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urging them to become more actively involved in supporting a "free, democratic and European Serbia".
Many supportive Serbs interpreted this lack of attention as backing the government. For example, several days after a "15. za 15" protest in Belgrade, Vučić met with European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos in Brussels, a meeting the EU diplomat described as "constructive." Kos made no mention of the use of a sound cannon against non-violent protesters the weekend before, drawing criticism from protesters and their supporters. Support for EU membership fell after the protests began, with many Serbs in support of the protests viewing the EU as an opponent of democratization and bureaucratic reform efforts, resulting in the absence of EU flags and other pro-European symbols from rallies.

Domestic support

Protests were publicly supported by over 5,000 university professors, cooperators and researchers.

Political organizations

Political organizations that supported the protests include:

Professional associations and cultural institutions

A number of associations and cultural institutions supported the protests, including:
Professional associations

Public figures, artists and celebrities

Numerous public figures, artists and celebrities from Serbia, as well as from other former Yugoslav republics supported the protests, including:
Writers
Composers
Rock musicians and bands
Hip hop and rap artists
Pop and folk singers and musicians
During the February 2025 Pesma za Evroviziju song contest, organized by Radio Television of Serbia to select the Serbian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, several participants, including Ana Ćurčin, Oxajo, Aleksandar Sedlar and Tam, expressed their support for the protests by wearing badges with messages of support or displaying red hands.
Athletes and retired athletes
Basketball players, coaches and staff
Football players and coaches

Support from neighboring countries and the Serbian diaspora

Since mid-December protests have been held by students in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, North Macedonia and by Serbian diaspora in numerous cities around the world. Those include Banja Luka, Bijeljina, Podgorica, Sarajevo, Zagreb, Rijeka, Split, Osijek, Pula, Šibenik, Hvar, Komiža, Skopje, Ljubljana, Maribor, Paris, Marseille, Brussels, Trieste, Milan, Athens, London, Manchester, Cambridge,Dublin, Budapest, Bucharest, Timișoara, Sofia, Vienna, Graz, Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Dresden, Stuttgart, Aachen, Bonn, Munich, Warsaw, Kraków, Poznań, Wrocław, Zurich, Bern, Basel, Geneva, Lausanne, The Hague, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Luxembourg, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Las Palmas, Lisbon, Porto, Gran Canaria, Prague, Brno, Bratislava, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Oslo, Bergen,Trondheim, Helsinki, Reykjavík, Valletta, Nicosia, Zanzibar city, Mexico City, Washington DC, Boston, Nantucket, Chicago, Miami, Tampa, Detroit, Houston, Austin Los Angeles, Stanford, California, New York City, San Francisco, San Diego, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton, Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Auckland, Punta Cana, and Tokyo.
On 2 February 2025, during a protest gathering in front of the Embassy of Serbia in Budapest, an unknown man inside the embassy gave the middle finger to the protesters from the open window. Ambassador Aleksandra Đurović declined to either apologize or reveal the man's identity.

International support

Vasilije Čarapić, Montenegrin politician and member of the leading Europe Now! party, publicly expressed support for the students. In his statement, Čarapić emphasized the importance of regional solidarity and the need for accountability in infrastructure projects, urging governments to prioritize public safety to prevent such tragedies.
Former president of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili who was leading the 2024–2025 Georgian protests supported the Serbian protests by calling them "similar" and also called for the stronger support from the EU.
European parties Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, European Green Party, Renew Europe and European Left supported the protests. On 31 January, it was announced that the students of Serbia were a candidate for 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.
Following March 15 protest in Belgrade, a group of 210 academics from Europe, the United States and South America signed a letter of support to Serbian students and academics. The list included Étienne Balibar, Judith Butler, Annie Ernaux, Nancy Fraser, Thomas Piketty and Slavoj Žižek.

Public figures, artists and celebrities

Other public figures and artists which publicly supported the protests include:
Academics