Players and Pieces on the Balkan Chess board

The confrontation between Russia and the West is reflected in regions not directly involved in it. One of them is the Balkans. Using the metaphor of ranking power into players and figures, it is possible to identify the strategies of key and so far secondary external (national and supranational) actors in this historically active zone. The assessment of Russian prospects deserves special attention: it is obvious that Moscow will have to win back the decades of «oblivion» of the Balkan region through new projects, methods and technologies.