The Balkans have been at the center of great-power competition for centuries. Russia has long played a leading role, supporting its Slavic and Orthodox Christian allies in Serbia and elsewhere in the region. The disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s and the resulting conflicts placed the Balkans back at the forefront of European politics.
Now, more than two decades after the Yugoslav wars, the political arrangements created to balance the claims of myriad ethnic and religious communities are becoming increasingly precarious. While much of the region seeks deeper integration with the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), experts say Moscow is trying to leverage simmering tensions to block those efforts. However, President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine could undermine Russia’s sway in the Balkans.
Russia’s Influence in the Balkans | Council on Foreign Relations (cfr.org)
