ABSTRACT

Portrayals of Eastern European countries as “bridges” between East and West are commonplace both in the media and in the political discourse. In particular, the popular label “gateway to the East” is used in history textbooks, tourist guides, and economic reports to equally describe Warsaw, Budapest, Bucharest, Sofia, and Istanbul (Hann 1995: 2). Thus, in the European imaginary, Easternness, in its European variant, is being continually passed on—and, as such, consistently refuted—all the way to Europe's geographical borders as they are defined today.