The Delventa massacre hit like a bombshell, shaking the political landscape of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Soldiers who understood the cause and effect were ordered to stay silent, while war correspondents who tried to uncover the truth were quietly executed and buried in Delventa's mass graves. The massacre suddenly became a major focal point of public condemnation against the Croatian army.
When Yanayev saw the newspaper reports, he immediately grasped the situation. Karadzic's tactic of framing his political opponents as immoral was not brilliant, but it was executed cleanly, leaving no evidence behind. Now, all countries—including the United Nations—were pointing fingers at the Croats, trapping Croatia's armed forces in a defenseless position.
Yet Yanayev still called Karadzic on the Kremlin's secret line. When Karadzic answered, Yanayev barked, "Karadzic, why do this now? Once the truth gets out, it will seriously damage us at the negotiation table. You'll have no choice but to face trial at the International Political Court."
"I don't know what you mean, President Yanayev. If I've done anything wrong, please show me. And thank you for supporting the Bosnian Serb Army," Karadzic replied, feigning confusion. He was an old fox—this kind of secret was known only to a few, including themselves.
Seeing Karadzic's evasiveness, Yanayev lost patience. "Don't play with fire, Karadzic. I don't have time to clean up your mess. If you want to keep your edge in international opinion, you'd better clean this up thoroughly—and if possible, make the Americans hate it too."
"Everything is fine. The Serbian army is advancing smoothly," Karadzic said with a double meaning.
After hanging up, Yanayev dialed another number. "Surkov, come to my office. Now."
Surkov dropped his work and hurried over, unsure what the moody general secretary wanted. Yanayev slammed the latest headlines about the Serbian massacre on the desk. "Know about this?"
Surkov, sensitive to international politics, glanced at the headline. "Yes. The Delventa massacre is a brutal crime that's become public. Serbian journalists reported it from deep within the war zone, shocking the world."
"This massacre seems to have put Croatia's army under harsh humanitarian scrutiny," Surkov continued. "Although there have been reports of sporadic killings of Croats and Muslims by Serbian militias, there's been no news of massacres by regular Serbian troops."
He looked up at Yanayev, who smiled and nodded, encouraging him to go on.
Surkov's analysis sharpened. "I suspect the Serbian army deliberately avoided retaliating, blaming the militias instead. Meanwhile, Croatian leadership probably lost control over their outraged troops—leading to this brutal massacre that was exposed."
"The only question is why a large-scale massacre happened now, when previous killings were sporadic," Surkov said, puzzled.
Yanayev answered, "I doubt the Croatian army was behind this. The Bosnian Serb army still needs to claim the moral high ground. Karadzic is clever. In the past, Yugoslavia got no international support, and massacres were the only way to expel Croats and Muslims. Now, backed by the Soviet Union, the Serbs must consider international opinion."
"Best is to cast themselves as patriotic heroes fighting for national unity and independence, while painting the enemy as vile villains."
"We'll run a propaganda campaign portraying the Croatian army, backed by the US, as brutal and inhumane," Surkov said knowingly. "The US will have a headache. They can ignore it, but UN members will surely investigate and intervene. After the Serbian bombing lesson, NATO fears losing influence in Yugoslavia. The more chaos, the better—we maximize our interests."
Despite the US and USSR using the EU as a proxy, they still distrusted each other. Yanayev's job was to protect Soviet interests while hampering the US.
Moscow's newspapers quickly jumped on the propaganda bandwagon, publishing scathing articles labeling the Croatian army as violent mobs who raped, looted, burned, killed, and robbed.
"The Delventa massacre was just a taste. We have reason to believe this gang will commit worse atrocities."
"We urge all sides to unite against the Croatian army's brutality and save the innocent children!" the articles pleaded, striking a tragic tone that won sympathy from those unaware of the truth.
When Yanayev read the reports, he almost believed them. The articles included photos of massacres from Bosnia and Herzegovina—taken by both Croatian and Serbian journalists—though all were presented as evidence against the Croats. As always, the truth depends on which side controls the narrative.
This reinforced Yanayev's conviction about the importance of strict news censorship. Once those with ulterior motives control the media's power over public opinion, their distortion of right and wrong could very well become a battering ram to overthrow a government.