The Non-Balkan Nations Who Wanted the Balkans

The best way to explain a thing tends to be the simplest – and the rise of memes have presented history with an unprecedented opportunity to get to the “truthiness” of historical situations.  

Thus we can explain the four hundred+ year rivalry between Austria and Russia in the Balkans this way:

Of course, the simplest way is merely the easiest explanation.  There was much more to the rivalry of two of the Great Powers in the area that would become Yugoslavia and its surrounding nations; actions and inaction, wars and peace, open rhetoric and spies all acted for hundreds of years in the area, and it can still be argued that they are acting against each other today.  

To understand how the turmoil between East and West in the Balkans developed, one needs to know the history behind it.  To read about the history of Russia, Austria, and Ottoman rivalry in the Balkans, please click here.