Coup in Serbia: How Russia Played the Serbian Card

Coup in Serbia: How Russia Played the Serbian Card

Throughout the 19th century, Serbian politics was shaped by the rivalry between two dynasties—the Karađorđevićs and the Obrenovićs—who overthrew and assassinated each other. For most of the latter half of the century, power was held by the Obrenovićs, under whom Serbia gained independence from the Ottoman Empire and was elevated to the status of a kingdom. However, Russia’s influence over Serbian elites gradually increased, culminating in its interference in the events of 1903.

Russian Influence on the 1903 Coup

King Milan I aligned himself with Austria-Hungary, while Russia supported Bulgaria. In 1888, the Radical Party succeeded in introducing a new constitution, leading Milan to abdicate in favor of his 12-year-old son, Alexander. However, Milan continued to exercise de facto control over the country, appointing himself commander-in-chief of the army.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Serbia balanced between Austria-Hungary and Russia, but the situation changed in 1900 when Alexander married his mother’s lady-in-waiting, Draga Mašin. A disinformation campaign spread the notion among Serbs that Draga was a promiscuous woman of disreputable parentage—her father was said to be insane, her mother an alcoholic—and, most importantly, that she was infertile. This campaign fueled widespread discontent with the marriage among the public, the army, and the ruling elite, creating a fertile ground for a coup.

In May 1903, Serbian officers, recruited and trained by Russian intelligence, orchestrated a conspiracy against the king. They stormed the palace, blasted open the doors with dynamite, and after a lengthy search, found Alexander and Draga. The king and queen were brutally murdered—shot, hacked with sabers, and their bodies thrown out of the window. Draga’s brothers, the prime minister, and the minister of defense were also killed.

A Russian journalist, V. Teplov, described the events as follows:

"The Serbs have not only disgraced themselves with regicide, which is in itself beyond any justification, but also with the truly savage treatment of the corpses of the murdered royal couple.
After Alexander and Draga fell, the killers continued to shoot and hack at their bodies. The king was struck by six revolver shots and forty saber blows, while the queen received sixty-three saber strikes and two gunshots.
The queen’s body was almost entirely mutilated—her chest was cut off, her abdomen slashed open, her cheeks and hands deeply cut, especially between the fingers, likely because she had grabbed the sabers in a desperate attempt to defend herself. This contradicts doctors’ claims that she died instantly. Moreover, her body was covered in bruises from the officers’ boot heels.
I prefer not to speak of other atrocities committed against Draga’s corpse, so horrifying and disgusting were they.
When the assassins had satisfied their thirst for cruelty, they threw the bodies out of the window into the palace garden, with Draga’s corpse completely naked."

The bodies of the king and queen lay beneath the palace windows for several days. With this, the Obrenović dynasty ceased to exist, and the Russian-backed Peter I Karađorđević ascended to the throne.

"Black Hand" and Russian Funding

After the king’s assassination, Serbia fully aligned itself with Russia. The Karađorđević dynasty restored its influence, and the conspirators from the secret society "Black Hand" became the new rulers’ favorites, further expanding their power. Acting in Russia’s interests, this organization sought to enlarge Serbian territory and unite the South Slavic peoples into a "Great Serbia"—a kind of "Great Russia" on the Balkan scale.

By a remarkable coincidence, the primary handler of "Black Hand" was Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijević (Apis), who also headed Serbian military intelligence. His tasks included conducting covert operations in the interests of the Russian Empire, including overseeing radical terrorist organizations. Under his leadership, the group "Mlada Bosna" ("Young Bosnia") was created and trained—one of its members would later assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

How Russia Led the World to War

The key event that made war inevitable was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914. The attack was carried out by members of "Mlada Bosna", a group established, trained, armed, and directed by Serbian intelligence with Russian funding.

Serbia’s intelligence service, led by Colonel Dimitrijević, was closely connected to Russia’s ambassador in Belgrade, Nikolai Hartwig. It was Hartwig who transmitted orders and financial support to the terrorists, ensuring they had the necessary resources. The assassination of the Archduke was a strategic move by Moscow—it eliminated a leader who could have reformed Austria-Hungary in favor of the Slavs, thereby depriving Russia of influence in the region.

Russia and Serbian Terrorists

Funding Serbian radicals allowed Russia to weaken Austria-Hungary without engaging in open conflict. By using local extremists, Moscow paved the way for future intervention. The Archduke’s plans for imperial reform posed a direct threat to Russian dominance in the Balkans, making his assassination inevitable.

Upon receiving Hartwig’s instructions, Colonel Dimitrijević immediately mobilized Serbian radical organizations. The preparation for the assassination proceeded with the direct involvement of Russian intelligence. Russia understood that after the murder, Austria-Hungary would be forced to go to war, triggering a global conflict in which Russia saw itself as the eventual victor.

Conclusion: Russia as the Initiator of War

Unaware that it was acting in Moscow’s interests, Serbia served as a tool in Russia’s strategy. "Black Hand" and "Mlada Bosna" were not just radical nationalist groups—they were secret instruments of Russian policy. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand provided the pretext for World War I, but the true instigator was Russia, which used Serbian radicals to drag Europe into a global conflict.

The war did not bring Serbia the independence it sought—on the contrary, it led to catastrophic consequences. Russia, having manipulated Serbian nationalists, also failed to achieve its goals, as the chain of events it set in motion ultimately led to the collapse of the Russian Empire.