Montenegro–Russia relations
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Montenegro–Russia relations (russian: Российско-черногорские отношения, ) are foreign relations between
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
and
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
. Montenegro has an embassy in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
and Russia has an embassy in
Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; lit. 'under the hill') is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd (Cyrillic: Титоград, ) between 1946 and 1992—in the period that Montenegro form ...
.


History


Early modern period

Owing to Rákóczi's War of Independence (1703–1711), the position of Serbian militiamen in the
Military Frontier The Military Frontier (german: Militärgrenze, sh-Latn, Vojna krajina/Vojna granica, Војна крајина/Војна граница; hu, Katonai határőrvidék; ro, Graniță militară) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and ...
of the Habsburg monarchy was endangered. In 1704 the first Serbian attempts were made to offer their services to Imperial Russia in the latter's struggle against the Ottomans. Prior to the beginning of the Russo-Turkish War (1710–11) Russian Emperor Peter the Great invited Serbian militiamen and Serbs in general to join the Russian forces. In 1711 the third delegation sent to Russia by metropolitan Danilo arrived in St. Petersburg. The first Russian delegation to Montenegro arrived on 3 March 1711. Peter the Great called the Balkan Orthodox to rise up against the Ottomans during the
Pruth River Campaign The Russo-Ottoman War of 1710—1711, also known as the Pruth River Campaign, was a brief military conflict between the Tsardom of Russia and the Ottoman Empire. The main battle took place during 18-22 July 1711 in the basin of the Pruth rive ...
. In 1715–16, Montenegrin metropolitan Danilo I travelled to St. Petersburg from where he returned in April 1716 with two diplomas signed by Emperor Peter the Great, the first which obliged the Montenegrins to aid the Russians in case of war with the Ottomans, the second an annual aid of 500 rubels to the
Cetinje Monastery The Cetinje Monastery ( sr, Цетињски манастир, Cetinjski manastir) is a monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro. It is located in Cetinje and is the seat of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro. A center of historica ...
.
Šćepan Mali Šćepan Mali ( sr-cyr, Шћепан Мали ), translated as Stephen the Little, Stephen the Small or Stephen the Humble, ( – 22 September 1773) was the first and only "tsar" of Montenegro, ruling the country as an absolute monarch from 1768 ...
was an impostor of Peter III of Russia who sought to rule Montenegro. He supported Sava Petrović as bishop when the Montenegrin tribes supported
Arsenije Plamenac Arsenije Plamenac ( sr-cyr, Арсеније Пламенац; 1766 – 1784) was the Metropolitan of Cetinje between 1781 and 1784, earlier the co-adjutor to Metropolitan Sava Petrović during the reign of Šćepan Mali (1767–73). Plamenac (Pl ...
. During the office of Metropolitan Petar I, he and '' guvernadur'' Jovan Radonjić were the two head chiefs of Montenegro, one by title, the other according to actual position. The two clashed in international politics: the Metropolitan held to Russia, while Jovan relied on Austria. On the question whether to support Austria or not, the two sides conflicted during the
Austro-Turkish War (1787–91) The term Austro-Turkish War may refer to: * Austro-Turkish War (1593–1606) * Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664) * Austro-Turkish War (1683–1699) * Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718) * Austro-Turkish War (1737–1739) * Austro-Turkish War (1788–1 ...
and
Russo-Turkish War (1787–92) The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...
.


19th century to 1918

The
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
opened a
consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth c ...
in
Kotor Kotor ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative ...
in the Habsburg monarchy in October 1804. It was to serve as "protection of the people of Montenegro and Brda". It was officially recognized by the Austrians that same month. Among active Russian emissaries in Montenegro were Mazurevsky (the deputy) and Marko Ivelić. In 1806, the Russian–Montenegrin force under
Dmitry Senyavin Dmitry Nikolayevich Senyavin or Seniavin (russian: Дми́трий Никола́евич Сеня́вин; – ) was a Russian admiral during the Napoleonic Wars. Service under Ushakov Senyavin belonged to a notable noble family of sea ...
took Kotor, but handed it over to the French. Petar I conceived a plan in 1807 to revive a Serbian Empire ("Slaveno–Serb empire"), which he informed the Russian court. It envisioned Russia as the suzerain; the title of Serbian emperor would be held by the Russian emperor. It was thwarted by the French–Russian peace treaty.
Nicholas I of Montenegro Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš ( sr-cyr, Никола I Петровић-Његош; – 1 March 1921) was the last monarch of Montenegro from 1860 to 1918, reigning as prince from 1860 to 1910 and as the country's first and only king from 1910 to 19 ...
, the last king of Montenegro, exchanged support with the Russian monarchy. In 1868 he undertook a journey to Russia, where he received an affectionate welcome from the tsar, Alexander II. Two of King Nicholas's daughters were married to Romanov Grand Dukes,
Princess Milica Princess Milica Hrebeljanović née Nemanjić ( sr, Милица Немањић Хребељановић · ca. 1335 – November 11, 1405) also known as Empress (''Tsaritsa'') Milica, was a royal consort of Serbia by marriage to Prince Lazar, ...
and Princess Anastasija. Under Nicholas I, Montenegro was an ally of Russia in the
Russo-Japanese war The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
. Volunteers from Montenegro were fighting in the Russian Army. In 2006 Japan recognized Montenegrin independence and declared an end to the war. A peace treaty was signed.


Yugoslav period

During that period both states were part of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
and
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, respectively.


NATO membership and escalation of tensions

A poll in July 2015 from the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights, which received financial support from NATO, found that 36.6 percent supported membership, to 37.3 percent against, with sharp divisions between ethnic groups: 71.2 percent of Montenegrin Albanians and 68 percent of Montenegrin Bosniaks supported membership, while only 11.3 percent of Montenegrin Serbs did. In June 2015, NATO Secretary General
Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician who has been serving as the 13th secretary general of NATO since 2014. A member of the Norwegian Labour Party, he previously served as the 34th prime minister of Norway from 2000 to ...
said that low public support for NATO could affect whether Montenegro was able to join the alliance. In December 2015, the spokesman for Russian president
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
said that Montenegro's accession to NATO was bound to result in "retaliatory actions". In late April 2017, after the Montenegrin parliament approved the country's accession to the alliance, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement that said the decision to join NATO had been made by means of defying "the will of nearly half the country′s population that comes out against" the accession. A Russian establishment analyst commented that NATO needed Montenegro for launching a hybrid war and destabilising Europe. Tensions between the countries increased dramatically thereafter, with Montenegro accusing Russia of meddling in its internal affairs and banning entry to specified Russian nationals, including such top Russian officials as
Dmitry Rogozin Dmitry Olegovich Rogozin (russian: link=no, Дми́трий Оле́гович Рого́зин; born 21 December 1963) is a Russian politician who served as director general of Roscosmos from 2018 to July 2022. He previously served as deputy ...
,
Nikolai Patrushev Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev (russian: Никола́й Плато́нович Па́трушев; born 11 July 1951) is a Russian politician, security officer and intelligence officer who has served as the secretary of the Security Council of ...
, and
Ramzan Kadyrov Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov ce, КъадаргӀеран Ахьмат-кӏант Рамзан, translit= (born 5 October 1976) is a Russian politician who currently serves as the Head of the Chechen Republic. He was formerly affiliated to the ...
. On 5 June 2017, the day Montenegro formally joined NATO, the Russian foreign ministry said, "In the light of the hostile course chosen by the Montenegrin authorities, the Russian side reserves the right to take retaliatory measures on a reciprocal basis. In politics, just as in physics, for every action there is an opposite reaction."


Economy

Russia plays a big role in the Montenegrin economy. In 2012, ''Monstat'' reported that Russian businessmen have majority shares 32% of foreign enterprises present in Montenegro.


Tourism

Montenegro and Russia share a visa-free regime on travelers between the two countries since 2008. Montenegro is recognized as one of the most popular destinations among Russian tourists. In the summer of 2011, Russians composed of over 20% of all the tourists that visited Montenegro.


Controversies


Privatization

Up until the dissolution of Serbia and Montenegro, the majority of business enterprises in Montenegro were state-owned. Following independence, mass privatization swallowed up many of Montenegro's former-state companies. Privatization in Montenegro has been recognized among Russian officials as a matter of controversy since 2005, when Vladimir Vaniev (at the time representing the Russian Consulate in Podgorica) said sarcastically in a press conference regarding the privatization of Montenegrin aluminum-producer KAP that ''"he didn't know that Montenegro was the 51st state of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
."'' Vaniev also accused the Montenegrin press of being funded "in dollars" by the United States in order to support a disproportionate privatization wave for the benefit of American interests.


Property ownership

The dissolution of the Serbo-Montenegrin union also led to large swaths of property being sold to eccentric profiles under controversial exchanges. Russian press claimed in 2012 that Russian citizens own at least 40% of real-estate property in all of Montenegro. In 2009, Croatian news portal ''Globus'' called Montenegro a "Russian colony", accusing
Milo Đukanović Milo Đukanović ( cnr, Мило Ђукановић, ; born 15 February 1962) is a Montenegrin politician serving as the President of Montenegro since 2018, previously serving in the role from 1998 to 2003. He also served as the Prime Minister ...
of manipulative strategies in post-independence privatizations for the benefits of non-Montenegrins, especially Russian tycoons. On 3 October, 2019, the government of Montenegro announced that it was receiving applications for its citizenship-for-investment programme that will last until 2022. The very first "golden passport" of Montenegro after the opening of the borders was received by a citizen of Russia.


See also

* Foreign relations of Montenegro *
Foreign relations of Russia The foreign relations of the Russian Federation is the policy arm of the government of Russia which guides its interactions with other nations, their citizens, and foreign organizations. This article covers the foreign policy of the Russian Fed ...


References


Sources

* * * *


External links

*
Montenegro–Russia relationship from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montenegro-Russia relations
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
Bilateral relations of Russia