Milorad Dodik is the leader of the Republika Srpska (RS), the Serbian autonomous half of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He first came to power in 1998 and has long flip-flopped between demanding independence for his statelet and wanting a return to the basics of the original 1996 peace deal, which would give the central government even less power than it has today.
Removal from office: On August 6th 2025 Bosnia's Central Election Commission stripped Mr Dodik of the RS presidency, a decision upheld on appeal. He refuses to accept this. He was convicted and banned from holding public office for six years for flouting rulings by Christian Schmidt, the German High Representative. He paid a fine to avoid jail and is appealing to the Constitutional Court, with the aim of eventually taking his case to the European Court of Human Rights.
International backing: Mr Dodik is under American sanctions. He is backed by Russia and China and says that the High Representative's appointment was illegal. He visited Moscow on September 9th 2025 to seek Russian support, describing his country as "occupied" and "the last colony in Europe".
Referendum and independence: Mr Dodik called a referendum for October 25th 2025 asking RS citizens whether they accept his removal from office. He has warned that after the presidential election set for November 23rd, "the conditions will be created for holding a definitive referendum on independence. And I think this is an unstoppable path."
Satire does not look pretty upon a tombstone.