The Balkan Puppet Show: Berat Buzhala, Richard Grenell, and the Kremlin's Grip on Kosovo

The alliance between Buzhala and Grenell, influenced by Serbia and Russia, threatens Kosovo's sovereignty, urging immediate action from its security apparatus to safeguard stability.

In the volatile and politically fraught landscape of the Western Balkans, few figures embody the nexus of power, media influence, and foreign manipulation as sharply as Berat Buzhala. A former politician with deep ties to the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Buzhala has since become one of the country’s most influential media moguls. His publication Nacionale, is viewed by some as powerful vehicles for shaping public opinion—while others see them as instruments of political manoeuvring that serve not Kosovo’s interests, but rather those of Serbia and, by extension, Russia. The man behind these outlets has found an ideological ally in Richard Grenell, a former U.S. diplomat whose controversial actions in Germany and the Balkans raise profound questions about the role of external actors in undermining democratic stability in the region.

As Kosovo stands at the crossroads of democratic resilience and foreign manipulation, the relationship between Buzhala and Grenell—and their respective …