3 ms·

Which countries have Russian roots? I'm not aware of any.

lou1306 6y ago
Although not an EU country, Serbia would be the best example. However, I would say "Russian ties" rather than "Russian roots". For instance, they both are Slavic, Orthodox countries, and have been historically allied.
- killtimeatwork 6y ago
  Serbian is not Eastern Europe...
  - pjc50 6y ago
    Serbia is usually counted as being "eastern Europe", although it's not yet in the EU.
    - 317070 6y ago
      Eastern Europe is a word which is a bit contested. In the countries west of the wall, it came to mean all countries east of the wall. Perhaps with the countries around the wall being Central Europe. However, the wall did come down. In many places that were on the east side of the wall, people take offence of the name "Eastern Europe" as they feel it refers to bad times they had and they want to get rid off. Rumanians and Ukrainians are all Central Europe, and they will refer to Georgia as Eastern Europe. I am not sure what Georgians think of the name. It is a bit like some Irish taking offence by Ireland named as one of the "British Isles". That name is a reference to a past they want to get rid off.
    - helij 6y ago
      Should be south Europe actually. Former Yugoslav (Yugoslavia) countries were never behind the wall.
  - Shish2k 6y ago
    Is there an official definition of “Eastern”? As a Brit, my general cultural impression is that Germany is “Central”, and every other country is northern / eastern / western / southern relative to that
pjc50 6y ago
Estonia and the other Baltic states have Russian speaking populations. I'm not convinced about Russia joining the EU in 50 years; Putin is only 68 and can be reasonably expected to live another thirty-ish years. So we'd have to wait for him to die and the subsequent power consolidation within Russia.
- Aerroon 6y ago
  >Estonia and the other Baltic states have Russian speaking populations. There's a good chance that this point specifically would be why the Baltic states would oppose Russia joining the EU. Take a look at this table: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Estonia#Ethnic_groups https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Estonia#Ethnic...
lubonay 6y ago
That's a tricky question. You could say Ukraine has Russian roots in that it split off of the Russian Empire and then the USSR. You could also say Russia has Ukrainian roots because that was the historic domain of the Kievan Rus. Similarly, you could say Bulgaria has Russian roots because it gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century in the wake of the Russo-Turkish war. Alternatively, you can say Russia has Bulgarian roots in that Cyrillic was invented in Bulgaria in the 9th century and spread to other Slavic cultures. The bottom line is that Eastern Europe and Russia have, for better or for worse, strong historic and cultural ties.

Although not an EU country, Serbia would be the best example. However, I would say "Russian ties" rather than "Russian roots". For instance, they both are Slavic, Orthodox countries, and have been historically allied.

killtimeatwork 6y ago
Serbian is not Eastern Europe...
- pjc50 6y ago
  Serbia is usually counted as being "eastern Europe", although it's not yet in the EU.
  - 317070 6y ago
    Eastern Europe is a word which is a bit contested. In the countries west of the wall, it came to mean all countries east of the wall. Perhaps with the countries around the wall being Central Europe. However, the wall did come down. In many places that were on the east side of the wall, people take offence of the name "Eastern Europe" as they feel it refers to bad times they had and they want to get rid off. Rumanians and Ukrainians are all Central Europe, and they will refer to Georgia as Eastern Europe. I am not sure what Georgians think of the name. It is a bit like some Irish taking offence by Ireland named as one of the "British Isles". That name is a reference to a past they want to get rid off.
  - helij 6y ago
    Should be south Europe actually. Former Yugoslav (Yugoslavia) countries were never behind the wall.
- Shish2k 6y ago
  Is there an official definition of “Eastern”? As a Brit, my general cultural impression is that Germany is “Central”, and every other country is northern / eastern / western / southern relative to that

pjc50 6y ago

Estonia and the other Baltic states have Russian speaking populations. I'm not convinced about Russia joining the EU in 50 years; Putin is only 68 and can be reasonably expected to live another thirty-ish years. So we'd have to wait for him to die and the subsequent power consolidation within Russia.

Aerroon 6y ago
>Estonia and the other Baltic states have Russian speaking populations. There's a good chance that this point specifically would be why the Baltic states would oppose Russia joining the EU. Take a look at this table: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Estonia#Ethnic_groups https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Estonia#Ethnic...

lubonay 6y ago

That's a tricky question. You could say Ukraine has Russian roots in that it split off of the Russian Empire and then the USSR. You could also say Russia has Ukrainian roots because that was the historic domain of the Kievan Rus. Similarly, you could say Bulgaria has Russian roots because it gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century in the wake of the Russo-Turkish war. Alternatively, you can say Russia has Bulgarian roots in that Cyrillic was invented in Bulgaria in the 9th century and spread to other Slavic cultures. The bottom line is that Eastern Europe and Russia have, for better or for worse, strong historic and cultural ties.