From the Neva to the Danube

By: Margaret Poda

February 7, 2013

Not so long ago, I was sitting in an apartment in St. Petersburg, sipping tea and being force-fed chocolate by my host family. Now, I find myself a bit further west and much farther south, sitting in a dorm room with three roommates discussing the finer points of the Hungarian take on hummus. When I decided to take a split year and stay in two different countries for the school year, I spent a significant amount of time figuring out which countries to go to. From the beginning, I knew that I wanted to go to Russia to improve my control of the language. But, for the second half? At first, I considered Prague, but then due to visa difficulties, I stumbled upon a small program in Budapest. I knew little about Hungary, aside from its recent Soviet history, and I thought that Hungary would be a fitting location following my semester in Russia considering their recent shared history.

It did not take long after my arrival to determine that Russia and Hungary are very different counties. Whereas I would without a doubt say that Russia is an Eastern nation, Hungary seems to be very Western in its appearance and culture. I just spent the whole weekend exploring the city and I can see the marks of Western civilization. Even a precursory glance has demonstrated to me that the East-West division is not as obvious as I once thought it was.

As I find myself in Hungary, I have begun to consider the East-West divide. In my political science class, we discussed various important divisions of the European continent. As I mentioned earlier, the most obvious, to me at least, is also the most recent divide: the Iron Curtain. This line that divided Europe into communist and capitalist societies may have “fallen” in 1989; however, its importance still resonates today with much of the world. As I have found, this line is quite controversial for Hungarians who do not enjoy being associated with Eastern Europe. To them, Hungary is a Central European nation. I can understand this aversion to the title “Eastern.” To much of the world, this term denotes a certain backwardness that may take the form of a not-so-successful economy with a corrupt political system dependent on Russia or the United States. To be Eastern Europe is to be stigmatized in the eyes of many so-called developed nations.

Another division between the East and the West stretches back centuries. In my mind this division is more obvious than ever, considering my transition from Russia to Hungary. I am talking about the Catholic-Orthodox line. When I was in Russia and Ukraine, it was difficult to walk anywhere without constantly seeing traditional onion domes. Even more than 50 years of communist domination did not completely eradicate the Orthodox world of these two countries. Now, as I walk the streets of Budapest, I have only seen the Lutheran, Calvinist, and Catholic churches that stud the city. Only once have I seen an Orthodox remnant, an ancient Serbian Orthodox church in the old part of the town. Historically speaking, religion has influenced the development of government and culture within a great number of countries, European or otherwise. Maybe the preeminence of this particular Orthodox-Catholic division has been diminished in modern times, but I would not be surprised if it became powerful again, considering the power of religion in the everyday lives of many people in the world.

So what is the East-West divide? Is it religious? Linguistic? Economic? Is it the fact that people in Hungary drive Volvos instead of Volgas? Or the prevalence of recycling bins and bike lanes, perhaps? Literary tradition? Life philosophy? Respect for environmental issues? Drinkable tap water?

Recently I stumbled upon a particularly interesting map in a book that I have been reading for fun, written by historian Norman Davies. This map catalogs the various European divisions through the centuries. Of course it demarcates the Iron Curtain and the Catholic-Orthodox division, but also it shows other divisions that have effected the development of modern Europe. These demarcations include the line of ninteenth century industrialization, the ancient borders of Roman civilization, and the Ottoman line. Each of these divisions have been important throughout history. Now, as I consider the future of Europe, it is hard for me to determine which line is presently the most influential. At first glance, the Iron Curtain is the most obvious choice, considering its semi-recent creation and physical destruction. But, upon further thought, other lines seem to still play a dominant role.

Take the Ottoman line, for example. Turkey has been interested in becoming a member of the European Union. Countries that were members of the Soviet Union, such as Hungary, are currently members, but Turkey has so far been denied membership. There are many reasons floating around about this rejection. One is that Turkey poses an economic threat to the European Union. It is a giant market with many people who would be able to move themselves and their products freely around and into other EU nations, potentially posing an economic danger to the current members. On the other hand, this denial is perhaps a result of their Ottoman, and therefore Islamic, heritage. It is possible that the European Union does not want to allow a country with such a different cultural and religious history to enter their exclusive group. In the end, it is obvious that the East-West divide is more than simply a geographical line. There is an inherent division between the various nations of Europe. Regardless of whether this division is religious or ideological, occurred centuries ago or is being formed in the present, for better or for worse, European development will never occur without the influence of these dividing lines.

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