Behind the walls of the Russian-Serbian church in Banja Luka

There are around 40 Orthodox religious buildings in the Banja Luka area

Construction of the Russian-Serbian church in Banja Luka has been ongoing for eight years, with deadlines repeatedly postponed and continuous allocations from the budget of Republika Srpska. The final cost and completion date of the project, which entity authorities promoted as historic for Russian-Serbian relations, are not known.

According to data published on the Government’s website, around 2 million Euro were allocated during the first two years of construction. In 2024, an additional 5 million Euro were approved, and with the latest decision in February this year, another 2.5 million Euro were allocated. This brings the total amount of public funds close to 10 million Euro.

The latest allocation for continuing the works comes in a year when this Bosnia and Herzegovina entity plans to borrow nearly 1 billion Euro to repay earlier debts and outstanding social benefits. There is also no information on how much the Serbian Orthodox Church or private donors have contributed to the construction.

The Banja Luka Eparchy does not have a publicly available email address, and no one answered the listed phone numbers. There are around 40 Orthodox religious buildings in the Banja Luka area.

The project is being carried out by the Banja Luka Eparchy, with financial support from the Government of Republika Srpska. Construction of the church began in 2018. It is designed as a replica of the Chudov Monastery in the Moscow Kremlin, which was demolished after the October Revolution.

When the project was presented, it was announced that the church would be dedicated to the Russian imperial Romanov family and Tsar Nicholas II, as a symbol of gratitude to Russia for its support to the Serbian people during the World War I.

The building is being constructed according to a design by the Moscow Architectural Institute, and the works are being carried out by Russian and local craftsmen.

From the outset, the authorities described it as a historic project of Russian-Serbian relations. At the beginning of 2019, the church was included among budget priorities, with a completion deadline of 18 months announced at the time. Since then, the deadline has been postponed twice, ahead of the 2022 and 2024 elections.

The church and an accompanying cultural center are being built in the wider city center of Banja Luka, not far from the Republika Srpska Government building, on an area of about 6,500 square meters. The cultural center is planned to host Russian language studies and programs related to Russian culture.

In addition to the Banja Luka Eparchy, the project was initiated by representatives of the humanitarian organization Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society, headed by Sergei Stepashin, former Prime Minister of Russia and former head of the Federal Security Service, the successor to the KGB.

While the church remains among the budget priorities of Republika Srpska, numerous infrastructure projects in Banja Luka are still awaiting funding. These include investments in roads, water supply networks, bridges, and educational facilities, for which the city says it lacks sufficient resources.

A few years ago, a bust of Nicholas II Romanov was installed in the center of Banja Luka at the initiative of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society. A bust of the former Russian tsar is also located near Doboj, in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was unveiled in 2017, organized by the Association of Serbian-Russian Friendship and the Unity of Orthodox Peoples, with the support of the Russian Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Not far from the Russian-Serbian church, also near the entity’s Administrative Center, is the building that houses the office of the Russian Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, opened in June 2024. The villa, owned by the Serbian Orthodox Church, Banja Luka Eparchy, was built during the Austro-Hungarian period and is one of a series of villas erected at that time along the main Banja Luka road, then known as the Imperial Road. The building that now houses the Russian Embassy Office is part of an architectural ensemble declared a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina by a decision of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments in October 2017.

With the opening of the Office, Bosnia and Herzegovina became the only Western Balkan country where the expansion of Russia’s diplomatic mission was enabled after that country launched its aggression against Ukraine in 2022. The move was announced at the time as a continuation of the policy of closeness between Banja Luka and Moscow.

Russia has so far provided strong support to Milorad Dodik, president of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, who through statements and decisions of the authorities he leads has increasingly expressed secessionist aspirations to separate Republika Srpska from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Since the start of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, Dodik has met nine times with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Dodik met with Putin in his capacity as a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and as President of Republika Srpska, most recently on October 2 last year in Sochi, after he had been stripped of his mandate as President of Republika Srpska.

Since 2011, Russia has regularly opposed the reports of the High Representative before the United Nations Security Council, stating that the position should be abolished. /Slobodna Evropa/