Embattled Balkans Creep Closer to Russia — The American Conservative

Disputes over identity and historical birthrights are part and parcel to the Balkans. A past characterized by subjection to foreign empires meets innumerable ethnic, linguistic, and religious differences, all concentrated in a narrow geographic funnel […]

[…]Bulgaria and North Macedonia have seen mirror protests in each of their respective capitals over a proposed deal to ensure the latter country’s ascension to the E.U[…]

[…]tensions between [Islamic] Kosovo and [Christian] Serbia[…]

[…]Concepts of blood and soil may currently be verboten in the globalist West, but they remain essential features of social life most everywhere else. This is especially true in the Balkans.[…]

[…]An overbearing and ideologically driven supranational apparatus in Brussels, an exacerbating disconnect between globalist-minded ruling class and the organic nation[…]

The Slavic Orthodox religious bonds, common ethnic and linguistic roots, as well as a shared history of Ottoman subjection imbue North Macedonia, Serbia, and Bulgaria with a cultural affinity that is distinctly separate from Western Europe. All three (especially Serbia and Bulgaria) are also much more favorably inclined toward Russia than the rest of Europe is, stemming from the same connections that tie the three Balkan neighbors together. All of the latter are also entirely energy dependent on Moscow. […] in the southeastern Balkans, where Russia is still venerated as a Slavic Orthodox brother who fought to liberate the region from the Ottoman yoke.

[…]Bulgaria’s refusal to accept the accession of North Macedonia to the European Union, due to a dispute over ethnic and linguistic roots. Like countless times before, the multilateral institutions of globalist Europe have once again swooped in to broker a deal.[…]A new agreement was eventually reached that—also as usual—left all parties involved feeling angry and resentful.

[…]a mere 39 percent of Bulgarians believe that the E.U. takes the interests of their country into account when making policy, a 9 percent plummet since spring 2021. Out of the entire union, they also report the second lowest level of positive affirmation that the core values of the E.U. must be respected by all member states—a 4 percent drop. Attitudes toward a shared financial future and further economic integration are also low. Only 37 percent of respondents supported the notion of a European economic and monetary union with one single currency (the euro), while 46 percent were actively against.[…]

Embattled Balkans Creep Closer to Russia — The American Conservative