Conference Paper

This chapter analyses the portrayal of the Balkans in contemporary Russian history and its impact on Russia’s relationship in the region. There have been attempts to create a unifying European history to promote peace, security and a wider European identity since the collapse of communism in Europe. However, the Russian state has been cast unfavorably in the new Eastern European histories. This has caused friction in foreign affairs and seen attacks on the Russian historical narrative. By contrast, the idea of liberation in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century is important where the Balkans are concerned. School textbooks were used as a vehicle for championing a new European history, and the theme of liberation is key in the Russian historical discourse. This makes them an ideal medium through which to assess Russia’s narrative and a relationship, which could be consequential.