The volume “Three Centuries of Russian Influence in the Balkans“, edited by Matthew Crosston, Mihaela Teodor, Jordan Baev, and Bogdan Teodor and published by Peter Lang in January 2026, explores various aspects of Russian influence in the Balkan region over the past three centuries. It emphasizes Russia’s changing interests in the Balkans, and the responses from Balkan countries and other Great Power competitors. The volume is the outcome of a project initiated by the Balkan History Association.
Table of Contents
List of Figures
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Slavic Brotherhood and Pan-Slavism: What You See Depends on Where You Sit
PART I. The Russian Presence in the Balkans: Domains, Trends and Methods
Diverse Diplomacy: The Strengthening of Russian Influence in the Balkans (1820s–1830s), Katalin Schrek
Russia’s Shifting Dynamic Between Bulgaria and Serbia, Miloš Petrović
Russian Foreign Policy and Military Presence in Crete, 1897–1906, Georgios Limantzakis
A Shifting Coalition or Convenient Compromise: Romania and Russia in World War I, Hadrian Gorun
PART II. Russia’s Great Competitors in the Balkans
Tito and Anglo-Soviet Competition in the Balkans: Yugoslav Territorial Ambitions in Venezia Giulia, Chris Murray
Propaganda Competition in the Middle of Chaos: Russian and Austrian Narratives via Croatian News (1914–1920), Adrijan Štivić
A Waning and Waxing Stage: The Balkans as Performing Ground for Franco-Russian Relations, Kateřina Kočí and Marcela Hennlichová
Junior or Equal Partner? Chinese and Russian Engagement in the Balkans, Ion Marandici
PART III. Serbia as a Case Study for Russian Influence in the Balkans
Moving Away from the Kremlin Winds: Serbia as Critical Case Study on Russian Influence in the Balkans, Ana Jović-Lazić
A Complex Triangulation: Soviet–Yugoslav–Albanian Economic Relations (1945–1948), Božica Slavković Mirić
Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Influence of Soviet and Yugoslav Intelligence Officers on Russian Émigrés in Yugoslavia (1944–1956), Željko Oset
Soviet-ish: The Unique History of Yugoslav Revisionism (1956–1961), József Juhász and Bálint Mezei
Notes on Editors and Contributors
Index
