US-backed “Student List” Shut Down Alta Bank: Targets Russian Business and Trade in Serbia

• Considering the extensive documented evidence of US government funding behind every aspect of the Serbian “Student List” movement, from major media outlets promoting it, to US-funded fronts posing as NGOs supporting it, to the promotion of “Student List” candidates on US-funded media itself, it is no surprise the first move “Student List” made coming into power was to close Alta Bank;

• Alta Bank is the primary bank facilitating business and trade between Serbia and Russia including the export of energy from Russia to Serbia;

• Without placing sanctions on Russia or banning the entry into Serbia of Russian citizens, “Student List” has now made it nearly impossible for Russian businesses and individuals to live, work, or do business in or with Serbia;

• This is another predictable example of the common pattern of “bait and switch” where US polling agencies determine what the population of a targeted nation wants to hear, tells them this narrative during campaigning, but placing in a client regime that will do the exact opposite as soon as they take office;

References: FT – Serbia shuts down bank favoured by Russians (Nov. 2, 2026): https://www.ft.com/content/c478c8b6-7…

RFE/RL – Exclusive: Rubio Receives Request To Sanction 4 Vucic-Linked Businessmen Ahead Of Serbia Elections (Oct. 22, 2026): https://www.rferl.org/a/serbia-vucic-…

Media Ownership Monitor Serbia – N1: https://serbia-2017.mom-gmr.org/en/me…

BIRN – Donors: https://birn.eu.com/about-birn/donors…

Reuters Institute – Serbia (2026):
https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox….

N1 – Saičić: Na formiranje vlade neće se čekati predugo, nelegalno stečena imovina biće oduzeta (Oct. 2026):
https://n1info.rs/vesti/saicic-na-for…

N1 (Instagram) – Saiči interview (Oct. 2026):
  / de_pxszfp09  

  / de_pxszfp09  

N1 – Jovo Bakic: All ties between the state and organized crime must be severed (Oct. 2026):
https://n1info.rs/english/news/jovo-b…

N1 – promoting Jovo Bakic before “Student List” (2023):
https://n1info.rs/vesti/ministarstvo-…

N1 – promoting Jovo Bakic before “Student List” (2021):
https://n1info.rs/vesti/jovo-bakic-na…

Vreme – Blockade students: We will not live in Alta State (Jul. 2025):
https://vreme.com/en/ekonomija/studen…

NED – Disclosure of NED funding of Vreme and Danas (1999):
https://www.ned.org/carl-gershmans-st…

Vreme – anti-Vucic article funded by the NED, just one of many (2021):
https://vreme.com/en/vreme/sa-njima-n…

NYT – Who Really Brought Down Milosevic? (2000):
https://archive.ph/UubU