Living in Switzerland (III): The ethnic map of Eastern European
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Latin and Germanic Europe in addition to the two peoples, as well as Slavs and many other nationalities. Slavs is Europe's most populous nation, not Slavs, ethnic map of Europe eclipsed. At first before coming to Europe, my nation in Europe and there is nothing very detailed understanding, especially large tracts of land in Eastern Europe, is simply a black hole. After a year of traveling, I finally have been to all the European countries except Belarus (including the fact that an independent Kosovo and Transnistria). These countries, each have their own nation's history, each with its own language, each have their own culture, in which the feud and bad, 箇中 what, after all, is to speak out. Want to understand the European crossroads of the Swiss armed neutrality, we can not understand the first European nation. So I "lived in Switzerland mind" series, this one is inserted.
If the Germans and Latins inhabited place is Western Europe, Eastern Europe, so vast it is almost Slavs dominated territory. Slavs can be divided into the East Slavs, West Bluff and Yugoslavs. East Slavs is also Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. West Slavs including Poles, Czechs and Slovaks. Yugoslavs constitute the most complex, including the Slovenes, Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Montenegrins, Macedonians and Bulgarians, including the most complex relationship.
Byzantine successor - All Russia
The largest ethnic Slavs East Slavs, the so-called all-Russia : Great Russia, Little Russia, Belarus: (the Great, the Little and the White). Great Russia is now Russia, mainly from the expansion of the Moscow principality. Little Russia is Ukraine, although the territory is not small, but it is relatively large in Russia is relatively small, its capital Kiev was the first country of the East Slavs of Kievan Rus birthplace. Kievan Rus Scandinavians have long been the rule, so the Russian people and the Nordic Germanic people have complex origins. Belarus (Belarus) is both a translation of the Chinese name is a transliteration, which means white Bela, and Beo homologous Belgrade (Beograd) "White City".
East Slavs use text dates back to the First Bulgarian Empire, the Greek missionaries Cyril and beauty Dodd invented the Glagolitic alphabet , and later his disciples and according to legend, the Greek alphabet to improve the Glagolitic alphabet, so called for the Cyrillic alphabet .
East Slavs exactly have to say, is to use the Cyrillic letter Orthodox people, such as Russia, Macedonia, Bulgaria. Orthodox religion was once the Byzantine Empire, in the Middle Ages for a thousand years has been known as the Roman Empire inherited the legal system. In the fifteenth century, the Byzantine Empire and finally the Ottoman Turks conquered the repeated destruction, the former world metropolis of Constantinople became Istanbul Turks. Russia thinks Byzantine orthodox successor, the new self-appointed guardian of the East. Russian flag and national emblem of the double-headed eagle is the symbol of the Byzantine Empire inherited. Since then hundreds of years in the Russian Empire launched SECOND Russo-Turkish war , the ultimate goal is to recover Constantinople.
Interestingly, many Islamic countries, including Turkey flag on the moon and stars symbol is actually Constantinople city flag, it originated in ancient Greece, but it became the national symbol of Islam. The following figures are Turkish and Byzantine moon and stars moon and stars.
West Bluff and "do not talk to people."
West Slavs and Germans distributed in areas adjacent to Central Europe, including Poland and Czechoslovakia. Western Slavs from the Middle Ages to the Germans has been ruled directly or indirectly, in the shadow of Germanic culture. West Slavs adopted the Latin alphabet, especially by German spelling affected. For example, and German, the actual pronunciation of the Polish alphabet w / v /. Shenzhen West Slavs Germanic cultural influences that originated in the Middle Ages the Holy Roman Empire (the so-called "neither holy, nor Roman, but non-imperial") rule. As the Czech capital of Prague, it was once the largest city in the Holy Roman Empire.
West Bluff and the Germans on a long history of living together and now Slavs living in Pomerania , East Prussia , Silesia , Bohemia , Moravia , and even the Volga River basin have had a lot of Germans. Compared to the local Slavs, Germans mastered the more advanced civilization, the monopoly of the local city of culture, trade and industry and commerce. The Slavs places mainly farmers, living in the surrounding cities. This situation continued until the end of the war, after the defeat of Germany, a large number of Germans living in Eastern Europe have been forcibly deported to Germany , even in local life has been for hundreds of years people are not immune. Mathematician Euler was in East Prussia Konigsberg long-term residents, and made famous Seven Bridges of Königsberg , thereby creating a graph theory. Konigsberg is now in Russia's Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad , a no Germans. In contrast, in a West Slavic Sorbian people , still living in Germany, Saxony and Brandenburg.
At the time of the Slavs opinion, these German people completely understand exactly speaking alien languages. This makes Slavic in German is called немецкий (nemetskiy), origin of the word is немой (nemoy), which means dumb. So he said the German people is the "dumb people" the.
From the beginning of the 17th century, many Protestant Germans mass migration to the United States. Most of these people come from southern Germany to the north of Switzerland Alamein Virginia and West Slavs and mixed population of Moravia, the first major gathering in Pennsylvania, known as Pennsylvania Dutch .
Yugoslavia - Europe's powder keg
Slavs from a thousand years ago and gradually into the Balkans, and slowly assimilated the indigenous Illyrians . Balkan Slavs for a long period of time are Byzantine, Venetian powers, Austria and other indiscriminate treat as barbarians, until the Ottoman Empire ruled most of the Balkans. Ottoman rule philosophy is different ethnic divide and rule, is actually means Millett system (Millet) . Millett similar ethnic autonomous system, but the difference is that there is no fixed area in favor of nationalities live together. In a region inhabited by various ethnic groups, everyone is subordinate to a Millett, all religious, legal, and economic activities, including taxation, including by Millett responsible. Almost all the powers and duties of the Ottoman sultans are decentralized Millett, Millette leaders by the specific discretion. Millett is a mix of religious and ethnic groups, mainly through religion, rather than linguistic groups. Millett system eventually led to ethnic divisions. Balkan Slavs under Ottoman rule, gradually differentiate into Serbs (Orthodox), Croats (Catholics), Bosniaks (Muslims), and a little distant source of pro-Bulgarians (Orthodox).
In addition to the Ottoman Empire, the Balkans as well as under the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Slovenia control, as well as Latin-controlled Dalmatia (Dalmatia) States - the Venetian Republic and the Republic of Ragusa. Ottoman Empire had only in the Adriatic sea just nem (Neum), now part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the ancient city of Dubrovnik (Ragusa) became the enclave. Complex ethnic relations and geopolitical powers such that the Balkans into a wrestling arena, there is the "powder keg of Europe", said. World War I was triggered took place in Sarajevo (Sarajevo). Ironically, a hundred years later, Sarajevo is still not out of the title of a powder keg, and now the Republika Srpska tensions and Bosnians continued.
After World War II, Croatia was born political strongman Tito (Tito) with the support of the Soviet Union with an iron fist unified Yugoslavia, it just has a few hundred years each ethnic feud of the twisted strands of a rope. The disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, the country, once so to describe:
`七條國境（意大利、奧地利、匈牙利、羅馬尼亞、保加利亞、希臘、阿爾巴尼亞）六個共和國（斯洛文尼亞、克羅地亞、塞爾維亞、波黑、黑山、馬其頓）五個民族（斯洛文尼亞人、克羅地亞人、塞爾維亞人、黑山人、馬其頓人）四種語言（斯洛文尼亞語、塞爾維亞語、克羅地亞語、馬其頓語）三個宗教（東正教、天主教、伊斯蘭教）兩種文字（拉丁字母、西里爾字母）一個國家（南斯拉夫）`
This diversity is doomed from the beginning of the birth of Yugoslavia is not stable, then no second Tito "Yugoslavs." History will eventually make it to several brutal bloody war ended, another six republics disintegrated, leaving only Serbia. Even Serbia, and this is still the question of Kosovo (see my Kosovo Travels ).
Several wars of the twentieth century, the Swiss received hundreds of thousands of refugees from Yugoslavia. Today, the Middle East and the influx of refugees in Germany, the rapid influx of refugees difficult to integrate into the local community. Most of the year came to Switzerland Yugoslav refugees not well educated, these people make Switzerland Yugoslavs, or even all Slavs had a very serious prejudice. To this day, the eyes of the Slavs still has a bad impression of the Swiss.
Other nations
In addition to occupy the vast majority of the population of Germanic, Latin and Slav peoples on the European continent these three also many smaller nation, roughly: the Greeks, Celts, Ural people, Balts, Albania people, Basques and Turks, as well as two countries no nation: Jews and Gypsies.
Greek
Origin of Greek civilization is the whole of European civilization, Alexander the Great had been brought to the Far East. Before the Greeks reach the Indus, Buddhism is not idolatry, Greek sculpture is to bring Buddhist statues ( Greek Buddhism ). Although the Greeks created a brilliant civilization, but later Roman Empire was more dazzling brilliance overshadowed, then the Greeks would have been other ethnic domination. Despite the late Byzantine Empire has become a Greek national from a Latin country, modern Greece until the nineteenth century before independence from the Ottoman Empire became the new nation-state. Until the early twentieth century, the Greeks are also widely distributed in the Aegean Sea and the east coast of Anatolia, especially in the Black Sea coast, such as Trebizond (Trabzon). Greece and later the birth of the nation-state of Turkey in 1923 there was a large population exchange , the Greeks from Asia Minor completely left.
Celtic
The Celtics are now Scottish, Welsh, Irish and Breton. In the Roman Empire, the Celtics once the barbarians across the European continent, which is the Gauls. Gauls and Germans had been two scourge of the Roman Empire. In the early period of the Roman Republic, the Gauls had even captured the city of Rome. Period until Julius Caesar, the Roman Empire was thoroughly conquered Gaul. Today Celtics have almost disappeared in Europe, only France, Brittany.
Ural people
In addition to the distribution of people in the Urals in Russia near the Ural Mountains, as well as Hungarians, Finns and Estonians. This nation is considered Eastern barbarians, especially the Hungarians, and the early Middle Ages in Europe raiding "Huns" and even Huns in northern China have a subtle connection.
Balts
Balts is a distant relative Slavs, including Lithuanians and Latvians. As a weak nation Baltic, Balts long lived in the shadow of the East Prussians, Vikings and Russians in the past one hundred years, first by the merger of the German Empire, the Soviet Union after being embezzled.
Albanian
Albanian is an Indo-European-speaking ancient nation, its language and other Indo-European far. The origin of this nation not yet been finalized, but the Albanians consider themselves Roman Empire Illyrian descent. There are a large number of Albanians living in Kosovo and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia parts of Serbia, the Kosovo issue is also consequent. In recent years, many people choose to spend the Albanian Adriatic to Italy to make a living, plus reduce the population of Italy, was born in southern Italy, a lot of the Albanian village.
Basques
Basque is a minority in Spain and France, living in the vicinity of northern Spain and the Pyrenees. The national origin nor conclusive, may not be the Iberian Peninsula Roman assimilation of aboriginal descent. Basque people, almost half are RH negative blood type , this ratio can be described as unique in all nations.
Turks
Turks in addition to the Turks, as well as Crimean Tatars and Orthodox faith Gagauz people . After the Soviet Union collapsed, the Gagauz people tried to Transnistria Russians as independence from Moldova, the establishment of "Gagauz Republic."
Jew
Jews speak flash containing ethnic language, Arabs, Egyptians are closely related. Jewish ancestors founded a monotheistic Judaism is Abraham three religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) ancestor. Before Christianization, the Indo-European peoples and India, Iran's Aryan as believe in polytheistic religion. After the destruction of the Jewish kingdom, the Jewish diaspora around the world, and in Europe a thousand years to depend on others, can be described as very unique. Since there is no land, generations of Jews engaged in commerce and industry, under the law of natural selection will become the most business people. But precisely because of deliberately keep a distance from other ethnic groups, Jews always become a target for other nations.
Jews in Switzerland has a very complicated feelings. World War II, to escape Nazi persecution, a large number of Jews fled to Switzerland, these Jews really dodged a bullet. However, Switzerland at the time of the Jews very welcome, the majority of asylum Jews were denied entry, and even trying to have landed the repatriation of Jews to return to Germany. World War II killed a large number of Jews in Switzerland large amounts of deposits is still missing, there are still many Jews the right to organize in the recovery of assets from Switzerland.
Gypsies
Like Jews, Roma is a nation depend on others. But different Jews, Gypsies chose another to survive: in the circus, acrobatics, fill the pot, begging and so on. Gypsies call themselves "Roma", "Gypsy." The name was changed to Egypt, because Europeans first thought that darker skin Gypsies come from Egypt. But the latest study found that , Roma ancestors may be India's Dalits (untouchables). Different traditional culture and genetic make Jews and Gypsies have a different fate and social status.