This troubled area
includes the former Yugoslavia
(today's Serbia/Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Macedonia, Croatia and Slovenia),
Romania, Bulgaria, Albania.
Greece,
European Turkey and the former Soviet Moldova.
For many years the area has
been torn apart by numerous territorial disputes and ethnic/religious
conflicts some of which are still unresolved. Major information on their
background can be found in "Brief History" section
The majority of Croats
and Slovenes, do not agree that their countries belong to the Balkan region
– rather, insisting on being a part of Central Europe.
We do not claim to
judge whether they are right or wrong. However, it looks like their
historical and cultural backgrounds are definitely closer to countries like
Hungary, Austria, Germany
and Italy than to Serbia, Bulgaria,
Romania or Albania.
However, we still decided to keep them in
this section due to the fact that it is hart to separate their history from
the history of the whole area.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that history is
still alive for many people in the area and so are some of the old
grievances and prejudices. Overcoming the burden of history may be a long
and complicated process requiring the combination of both national and
international efforts.
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Click HERE
for the
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BALKANS
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with historical maps and illustrations
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(Young Experts’ Think Tank)
for related articles
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