[Rusalka]

Great point you make there, Awar, and obviously very true. Since the Balkans got invaded and ruled by the Ottomans before they ever got out of feudal rule themselves, they never quite got that "national" as opposed to "local" or ruler-based identity and when they were free by themselves at last, they sort of picked up where they had left. Also, as all empires, the Ottoman Empire did a pretty good job at "divide and rule" politics too, hence the post-Empire situation with people who only had their locality and their religion to identify with.