Are Romanians uncomfortable being labeled as Balkan ?

[Nurzat]

Romania is in process of Balkanization since the 1918 creation of Greater Romania - some regions, like Bukovina and Maramures, are not historically Balkan (politically and culturally) but are Balkanized in the meantime because Romanianization comes together with Balkanization, because it is directed from Bucharest, which is one of the Balkan hotspots, together with Belgrade, Sofia, Skopje and Sarajevo. I think that the only communities in Romania that really cannot be considered Balkan are the Ukrainian ethnics by the northern border (both geographically and culturally they fit with the rest of Ukrainians, at least Western ones) and the Lipovan communities in Bukovina, Moldova and Dobrudja regions. but those who leave the community to live in Romanian cities can be called Balkanic. another region that for the most does not fit is most of Moldova countryside, except of its southern side, like Galatz and Fokshany counties, which always had heavy Wallachian influence, in speech and looks and culturally. so Romania does fit the Balkan image now, it did less so in the recent past. Moldova the country is not Balkan at all, it's (post)Soviet.

average Romanian, especially from the South, feels deep connection with the Balkans and with "Latin" countries, they like to say. much less so in the rest of the country. Balkan identity is also very promoted by the TV and the media. also musically Romanians label themselves Balkan, mostly because of the klezmer and Gypsy influences in music.

foreign visitors from ex-Soviet Union see better than locals the differences in vibe between the Romanian regions and I've heard them say Moldova region, including Suceava, Iasi or Galati feel Eastern Euro (post-Soviet-like) while Bucharest feels very Balkan to them.

also culturally the Balkans do share some things with Eastern Europe, so it's more of a gradient and it's hard to exactly see where the Balkans end and where Eastern Europe starts, there's no clear line.

[BTHUN]

Turkey is not Balkan, and Greece is peripheral one like Romania.

I didn't say "Turkey is a Balkan country." Only eastern thrace is part of Balkans,just like dobruca region of Romania

[WeirdLookingFellow]

Romania is in process of Balkanization since the 1918 creation of Greater Romania - some regions, like Bukovina and Maramures, are not historically Balkan (politically and culturally) but are Balkanized in the meantime because Romanianization comes together with Balkanization, because it is directed from Bucharest, which is one of the Balkan hotspots, together with Belgrade, Sofia, Skopje and Sarajevo. I think that the only communities in Romania that really cannot be considered Balkan are the Ukrainian ethnics by the northern border (both geographically and culturally they fit with the rest of Ukrainians, at least Western ones) and the Lipovan communities in Bukovina, Moldova and Dobrudja regions. but those who leave the community to live in Romanian cities can be called Balkanic. another region that for the most does not fit is most of Moldova countryside, except of its southern side, like Galatz and Fokshany counties, which always had heavy Wallachian influence, in speech and looks and culturally. so Romania does fit the Balkan image now, it did less so in the recent past. Moldova the country is not Balkan at all, it's (post)Soviet.

average Romanian, especially from the South, feels deep connection with the Balkans and with "Latin" countries, they like to say. much less so in the rest of the country. Balkan identity is also very promoted by the TV and the media. also musically Romanians label themselves Balkan, mostly because of the klezmer and Gypsy influences in music.

foreign visitors from ex-Soviet Union see better than locals the differences in vibe between the Romanian regions and I've heard them say Moldova region, including Suceava, Iasi or Galati feel Eastern Euro (post-Soviet-like) while Bucharest feels very Balkan to them.

also culturally the Balkans do share some things with Eastern Europe, so it's more of a gradient and it's hard to exactly see where the Balkans end and where Eastern Europe starts, there's no clear line.

[vi]

I don't fully agree, in the sense that there isn't a strong enough discrepancy between Wallachia and the rest of the country, but Moldova the region does fit as an intermediary between Balkan and Eastern Europe. I personally identify with both.

[Nurzat]

I don't fully agree, in the sense that there isn't a strong enough discrepancy between Wallachia and the rest of the country, but Moldova the region does fit as an intermediary between Balkan and Eastern Europe. I personally identify with both.

forgot to mention that the same as Balkans and Eastern Europe don't have a clear border and they overlap on some aspects, the same can be said about the Balkan influence going north, and by extension Hungary and Slovakia are at least partly of Balkanic vibe as well.

one could go from conservative mode in which only Yugoslavia and Bulgaria are Balkan to speculative mode in which we add Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. I don't know about Albania and Greece, I see them as rather Mediterranean.

[brennus dux gallorum]

According to the following source, the ten most similar nations to Romanians are:
Moldova
Bulgaria
Poland
Hungary
Slovakia
Croatia
Serbia
Ukraine
France
Slovenia

8 out of 10 are countries that are either not Balkan at all or sometimes included in Balkans:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/objecti...o-romania/amp/

That means that even if we see Romania as Balkan, at least its not core Balkan

forgot to mention that the same as Balkans and Eastern Europe don't have a clear border and they overlap on some aspects, the same can be said about the Balkan influence going north, and by extension Hungary and Slovakia are at least partly of Balkanic vibe as well.

one could go from conservative mode in which only Yugoslavia and Bulgaria are Balkan to speculative mode in which we add Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. I don't know about Albania and Greece, I see them as rather Mediterranean.

Hungary and Slovakia??

From what aspect would you say that these two have a Balkan vibe?

Its probably true that Greece is better described as a Euromed country, and the same is being said in the following source

https://www.google.com/amp/s/objecti...to-greece/amp/

Since all 5 most similar nations to Greeks are euromed. But thats not implied for Albania as well, its a category of its own

[Ferox]

yes we are.

[Freeroostah]

The majority of Romanians are Balkan in terms of culture, food, religion, history, genetics, phenotypes, etc.

Geography doesn't mean much and if it means then Romanians are still considered Balkan diaspora

[Blondie]

forgot to mention that the same as Balkans and Eastern Europe don't have a clear border and they overlap on some aspects, the same can be said about the Balkan influence going north, and by extension Hungary and Slovakia are at least partly of Balkanic vibe as well.

one could go from conservative mode in which only Yugoslavia and Bulgaria are Balkan to speculative mode in which we add Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. I don't know about Albania and Greece, I see them as rather Mediterranean.

Hungary and Slovakia has nothing to do with Balkans, i have been to Greece many times and i went through Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, and i saw a very different world. Budapest is a very liberal and cosmopolitan place, reminds me Prag, Wien or Berlin, the hungarian countryside is divided, in Transdanubia the nice and clean villages, farms is similar to the austrian countryside, North Hungary (Borsod, Nógrád, Heves, Szabolcs) reminds me Ukraine, dilapidated houses, villages with high rates of proverty. The Alföld region is between Transdanubia and North Hungary in half way. But i have never seen this typical balkan vibe.

[sean]

Romania is an odd case. Historians are baffled how the hell did a Latin language survive surrounded by Slavic cultures and after centuries of Ottoman influence in the Balkans extending up to Hungary (Romania is probably the only country in Southeastern Europe which had Ottoman problems that was never turned into a Turkish Pashalic).



Romania is not geographically in the Balkans, since the Balkan mountains end in Bulgaria according to some Romanian historians.

[Mortimer]

Everywhere where they eat sarma and ajvar is Balkan so yes