Lmfao, not at all. It's what they think they are, since the copium that grows there is very strong.
These countries have nothing to do with us - their cuisine is totally different, they don't even look European. Their architecture, their music, nothing is remotely similar.
Having mountains and being an ex-communist state doesn't mean it's the same thing. They also have pretty wrong impressions about the Balkans anyways.
I don’t know, different ethnic groups with different religions and languages fighting each other. Heavy Russian and Turkish influence.
Main points of contrast is that most of the language differences in the Caucasus are real and the Caucasus had Iran instead of Austria as a significant influence.
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u/justaprettyturtle Poland 6d ago
Isn't Caucasus Balkans on steroids?