Black Sea and Mediterranean Regions – unity or neighborhood? Location of the North-Western Black Sea Region in the Mediterranean Region

• Main Authors: Tamara GALCHINA, Andrei GHERȚEN, Olga GHERȚEN
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Institute of International Relations of Moldova 2019-08-01
• Series: Relaţii Internaţionale Plus
• Online Access: http://irim.md/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3-Galchina-eng.pdf

Abstract The paper examines the criteria for determining the boundaries of the historically established “informal region” - the Mediterranean, and the place of the North-Western Black Sea region, in particular, Moldavia, in this region. The culture of the region has both absorbed the features of the culture of the peoples of the Mediterranean and the Black and Azov Seas coastal parts associated directly with it, and had a huge impact not only on the adjacent territories, but sometimes on the whole world. Speaking about the Mediterranean, first of all, they have in mind the peculiarities of nature, which appear, however, in such a vast region with varying degrees of clarity and intensity. Repeated changes of cultural, political and economic leadership in the region have created a multi-layered nature of its culture. One of the connecting threads that tie together heterogeneous parts of the region together has been and remains migrations in ancient times associated with colonization (Phoenician, Greek, Roman), later with territorial conquests, geopolitical associations and, finally, with economic and cultural interactions between different countries and their mutual influence. The paper also discusses the historical role of the rivers of the Mediterranean-Black Sea basin in the spread of the Mediterranean civilization. The North-Western Black Sea Coast is a natural and integral part of the Mediterranean-Black Sea region, which in its nature, culture and economy combines Mediterranean features with the characteristics of the territories covering this region from the north. This is determined not only by geographical location and nature, but also by the fact that in the course of history the North-Western Black Sea region, including Moldavia, was part of various large geopolitical structures, experiencing very heterogeneous influences. Keywords: Mediterranean Sea, North-Western Black Sea region, borders, boundaries, migrations, river basins, “Mediterraneanity”, historic-geographical landscapes