I made the classic mistake of asking a taxi driver for his opinion.
What made it worse was that this taxi driver happened to be Greek and the question was, “What do the Greeks think of Putin?” As if it were possible for him to answer that!
Well, his answer lasted the entire 15-minute journey from the sanctuary to old Epidavros port. And he barely stopped for breath. There were a few conspiracy theories thrown in, but in case you were wondering, his ire was not aimed at the Russian president.
If you were a Putin empathiser in the UK – like Nigel Farage, say – you were branded, bizarrely, as a right-wing nutter. But it is no secret that Putin has many fans in Greece. So why is that? I don’t know the answer, but the historic relationship between the two peoples may offer some clues.
We try to avoid politics on our Missy Bear blog, but here it may not be entirely possible. And when does politics become history anyway? After 40 years; after 20 years; tomorrow?
Here are some pointers to a possible answer from our previous blogs.
The first clue is a shared religion. We know that Greece is the Greek Orthodox Church, which was the official religion of the entire Byzantine Empire when it split from the western Roman church. Russian Orthodoxy is a closely-related church – part of the 'Orthodox Commonwealth' if you like.
The second clue is persecution. We know that the Slavic peoples, many now known as Russians, had been abused and enslaved for centuries by the west and east alike. ‘Slave’ is derived from ‘Slav’ as we have seen and they were sold by Venetians, amongst others, to the Muslim Ottoman empire including Egypt. And we certainly know that the Greeks were subjugated by the Ottomans – and Venetians for that matter - from the 15th to the 19th century, and even into the 20th century. So, my theory is that both peoples need a sense of security to resist further oppression.
The next clue is lasting alliance. Greece has often looked upon Russia as its ally. This is partly due to their shared Orthodoxy, but also because Russia fought against the Ottomans in at least 10 wars. We have mentioned the Crimean War (1850s) last season, which was essentially a Russian-Ottoman fight for control of the Black Sea. But before then, the Russian’s navy helped at the Battle of Navarino. And before that, Alexey Orlov, a Russian Admiral, had offered the help the Maniots rid the Peloponnese of the Ottomans (1760-1770s). This - albeit failed - attempt was the precursor to the 1821 start of the War of Independence. Interestingly, Boubelina’s father-in-law (Dimitrios Lazarou-Orlov) had double-barrelled his family name to commemorate his participation in the Orlov revolt and so declare his loyalty to Russia.
My final clue is sharing a common enemy. We must not forget that the western great powers (Britain and France) fought for the Ottomans and against the Russians in the Crimean War. This was to maintain a ‘balance of power’. But what would the Greeks have thought of the west’s choice of enemy? Well, I looked it up, and many Greek volunteers fought on the Russian side. Remember, the main reason that the British and French liberated the Peloponnese for the Greeks, was to keep the Egyptians out of Europe.
And Britain didn’t want a newly independent Greece to grow too big at the expense of Turkey, in case that emboldened the Russians. Perhaps Greeks believe that Russia, and not the west, is more often with them?
To add a sprinkle of politics, in the recent Greek financial crisis with the EU (Germany), Putin was always in the wings offering Greece alternative support.
To add some real substance to this story, Missy Bear is currently parked up in Poros at Greek Sails’ quay. Yesterday, Skipper and First Mate hired a quad bike to do a tourist road trip around both the small island (Sferia) and the big island (Kalavria). The two islands are separated by a tiny canal, which was bridged near the naval college by the one road.
One of the lovely bathing bays and anchorages on Kalavria is called ‘Russian Bay‘, which has a few dilapidated old stone buildings on the beach under the pine trees. An information board beside the Russian ruins says the following:
“With the Treaty of Kuchuk Kainarji [the 1774 peace treaty between Russia and Ottomans after the 6th Russo-Ottoman War], Russia secured free shipping for its navy, war and merchant alike, throughout the waters of the Ottoman Empire. As Russian naval activity grew, the need arose for a supply station, and land was acquired at the edge of Poros town. Extensive material, coal, and food storage facilities were built, as well as a hardtack baking factory.
After Greek independence, Governor Kapodistrias [the guy who got shot by the Maniots in Nafplio] requisitioned the facilities for the use of the Greek war navy, and offered the Russians an alternative location in a nearby cove [i.e., Russian Bay]. The new facilities were far larger, and were used by Russian ships throughout the 19th century. The number of Russian residents of Poros increased and even so did the base [but] by the early 20th century only a single Russian watchman was left guarding it.
It was then granted to the Greek Navy by the Czar, but was never put to actual use, and the abandoned buildings were left to decay.”
So, these ruins are a constant reminder to the residents of Poros of their historic ties with Russia and how Russia helped protect them and their faith from the Ottomans.
The other key element of the 'Treaty of Kuchuk Kainarji' is that Russia became directly responsible for the fate of the Ottoman Empire's Orthodox Christian subjects. Albeit this did not often lead to direct action.
Of course, the relationship is now far more nuanced and complicated than that. And one taxi driver does not speak for an entire nation. It would be like a Greek going to England and asking a local what they thought of the country. It sort of depends whether the Greek chanced upon a Guardian reader or Daily Mail reader.
If you read the recent press about Greece, there is still a large proportion of left-leaning voters sympathetic to the old Russian Communist regime. And some right-wing ‘conservative’ voters who perhaps still dream of the ‘Great Idea’ – a movement around since the Balkans Wars and First World War – of Greece expanding its borders to recreate a Byzantine empire of essentially Orthodox Greeks. That would mean kicking the Turks out of Istanbul, and the only way that might ever happen is through someone strong, like Putin. That to my mind now seems entirely fanciful.
Our blog ‘Barriers and Boundaries’ touched upon a more present and salient point preying on Greek people’s minds: financial and energy security. The cost of living for Greeks is increasing just as fast as anywhere else in Europe and electricity prices are no exception. Turkey is currently disputing the internationally accepted maritime boundaries around the eastern Greek islands, such as the Dodecanese. It wants to take Greek territory by claiming all the sea within 12NM of the Turkish coast(1). There is supposed to be a lot of gas under there. Greeks worry about Erdogan.
And they also worry that if they upset Putin, there will be repercussions on their current and future supply of Russian oil.
To be clear, I don’t think anyone here is condoning Putin’s actions in Ukraine. Especially as the Greek death toll has mounted. It’s just that the situation is not so black-and-white here in the Balkans as it might appear to be in London.
And if Putin goes, Erdogan will still be knocking at Greece’s door. So, it is timely that tomorrow Missy Bear will continue her eastwards voyage, via the Cyclades, to the newly re-badged Türkiye.
(1) Each nation also had the right to a 200 NM Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ), which Turkey cannot exploit because the islands within that area belong to Greece. Turkey insists that the Greek Islands, including Crete, shouldn’t enjoy an EEZ. These are the waters under which much of the gas is to be found.