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The article is based on the field materials of three expeditions to the Greeks of Russia (territories of the Krasnodar Krai, Karachay-Cherkessia, Caucasus Mineral Waters region). This paper analyzes the typological transformations that Greek given names and surnames underwent in different periods of history, as well as the peculiarities of naming among the Pontic Greeks. The historical and modern trends in the choice of a name are considered, as well as the features of the functioning of Greek surnames in different historical and social contexts (“Russification” of surnames during the period of repressions, reverse process of “Hellenization” when moving to Greece, morphemic translation of surnames from Turkic into Greek, etc.). Along with names that easily could be labeled as “Greek” (Nikos, Despina, Christos, Ellada, Athena, Euclid, Socrates), Greeks in Russia use “Russian” names (e.g. Maria, Elena, Pasha, Olya, Nadezhda) as well. It often turns out that these “Russian” names are hypocoristics of Greek ones: e.g., Olya from Olympiada, Pasha from Parthena. The paper also contains the description of the features of Greek anthroponymy in the field of traditional culture, such as the use of “double” names to protect one against the evil eye and “stopping” names designed to prevent the birth or death of children. The “Russification” of surnames and given names, as well as the use of Georgian names by Greeks during their residence in the territory of the Georgian SSR, are considered as strategies of ethnic mimicry, which were common among different ethnic groups in the USSR. At the same time, the reverse processes are characteristic of the last three decades: the return of “Greekness” to surnames and given names when obtaining a new citizenship, when installing tombstones, etc. Ever since the Soviet era, the Pontic Greeks have found the use of ancient Greek names that clearly indicate the ethnicity of the bearer, recently in the Caucasus it has become possible to baptize a child with this name in the Russian Orthodox Church.

This paper presents an overview of the ethnolinguistic expedition (July 2023) to the Greeks of the North-Eastern Black Sea region (Anapa, Vityazevo, Gelendzhik, Novorossiysk). The modern Greek population of this area was mainly formed by the migrants from the Ottoman Empire, who moved to the Black Sea coast in the 19th–20th centuries. The main motives for the resettlement were persecution by the Ottoman authorities and, subsequently, the genocide of the Greek population. The coastal towns of Russia repopulated by the Greeks (such as Anapa and Gelendzhik) once were the Ancient poleis. The Ancient Greek past of the region therefore became an important element of the group identity, which is emphasized both in the names of the Greek societies and newspapers, and in their visual content. The Greek population of the Krasnodar krai received governmental support from the newly formed Soviet state during the 1920–1930s, but this brief period of recognition was soon interrupted by mass repressions and deportations. The main goal of the field research was to record the vocabulary of funeral and memorial rituals. The Pontic dialect vocabulary in this region coincides with one recorded in previous expeditions during 2022–2023. Among the lexemes which were not previously recorded is the term kanona instead of the common Pontic lexeme kokia, both stand for ‘ritual dish from grain’. We also recorded the lexeme Charon for ‘death’. In general, the Greek presence in the region is noticeable primarily in the visual landscape: recognizable Greek fonts of signs as well as the names of cafes, hotels and other businesses hint at the origins of their owners. The main actors promoting Greek culture in the region are cultural societies where the population can learn modern Greek language and traditional dances.

This article analyses the material collected during an ethnolinguistic expedition to the Pontic Greeks of Sochi, which took place from the 15th to 25th of July, 2022. In the settlements of Krasnaya Polyana, Lazarevskoye, Adler, Sochi (center), Lesnoye, and Galitsino, the Pontic dialect of the Greek language and the characteristic elements of traditional Pontic culture are preserved to this day. The Greek population arrived in this region in the second half of the nineteenth century. The first settlers fled from the Ottoman Empire to Russia and historical memory of these events is still preserved. The Pontic funeral and memorial rites are structurally similar to the East Slavic and Greek ones. Some Pontic death-related lexemes are similar to Greek, while others differ (for example, the Pontic verb monázo ‘to keep vigil over a dead body’). A number of ritual elements (such as throwing flowers behind a funeral procession or distributing gifts at a funeral) were borrowed by the Pontians from their Eastern Slavic neighbours. Of particular interest is the use of objects associated with the deceased in magical rituals. One Pontic funeral tradition is the special way of decorating the funeral dish (kukía). The article also describes the changes in funeral rituals during the Soviet era, such as the increased role of ritual specialists and the custom of reading the Psalms for the deceased at home.

Furniko flour (FF) is a traditional roasted flour derived from a maize landrace, commonly consumed by Greeks of Pontic origin in the northern regions of Greece. Despite its perceived nutritional benefits, there is a lack of scientific data to support and highlight its value. This study aimed to compare the nutritional, physicochemical, anti-nutritional, functional, and antioxidant characteristics of FF with those of traditional and non-traditional types of maize flour. Furniko flour (FF) presented the highest values for protein (10.86 ± 0.36 g/100 g), fat (5.05 ± 0.08 g/100 g), K (539.93 mg/100 g), Mg (126.38 mg/100 g), P (296.4 mg/100 g), Zn (2.44 mg/100 g), and total phenolic content (TPC) (156 mg GAE/100 g). However, FF exhibited lower levels of Fe (3.83 mg/100 g), carbohydrates (70.55 ± 0.24 g/100 g), and antioxidant activity (0.27 ± 0.02 µmol of TE/g) than other types of flour examined. Furniko's functional properties make it an excellent source for porridges, while its low content of antinutrients reduces the possibility of low bioavailability of Fe, Zn, Mg, and Ca. Due to its significant and functional characteristics, Furniko flour could be considered an important material in the food industry, especially in bakery goods and health-oriented foods like energy bars, breakfast cereals, and gluten-free pasta. More research is needed, however, to thoroughly investigate its dietary potential and compatibility with other components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the life story of a Greek Pontic, who migrated from central Macedonia (Greece) to Belgium in 1965. The account of his life starts with his father being born and living in the Samsun province (Ottoman Empire), that is before the exchange of populations in the 1920s and his arrival to Greece as refugee. This dense and precise life history narrative not only allows us to revisit major events of Greek history, but also to follow the social and geographical transitions and trajectories that a family made during a century. Socialization processes, appropriation and loss of economic resources, political choices, transmission of stereotypes are some of the issues discussed here. The analysis of this material is inspired by cognitive anthropology: one of the aims has been to examine how « analogic thinking », through the connections and the correspondences it establishes, leads to exegetical reflections that facilitate the process of understanding and coping with novel situations. In this framework, analogies not only play a heuristic role, but also give the impression of intimately knowing not lived situations and experiences of the past. By listing similarities and differences, analogical arguments become an adaptation tool in migratory contexts as the one analyzed here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Introduction The Pontic Greeks, besides their long and distinguished history, have a special and important culture and identity, elements of which are still preserved and active by their descendants a century after their settlement in Greece. One element of their identity and culture is their basic yet diverse cuisine, which is an important and recognized local cuisine in contemporary Greece. This study aimed to identify the most common foods, ingredients, and dishes found in Greek Pontic Cuisine. Methods Six cookbooks, two cooking magazines, four folklore books, and four folklore magazines were reviewed in this study. A considerable amount of data was collected and processed using a text analysis tool. Results and discussion The study provides the most frequently encountered dishes, foods, and ingredients that feature in the publications. The most common dishes are soups, including tanomenon sorva (soup with coarse grains, salty strained yogurt, and mint). Among other dishes, siron (a pre-baked filo-based pastry dish), chavitz (a thick corn dish resembling porridge), and foustoron (an omelet with fresh cow butter) are quite common. Common staples are anchovies and greens. In cookbooks and cookery magazines, ingredients include butter, wheat, eggs, tomatoes, milk, bulgur, corn-flour, and cheese. Meanwhile, the study publications are an excellent way of passing down traditional food knowledge intergenerational, as they are largely descended from Pontic Greek progenitors. Conclusion After analyzing all the publications, it was declared that dairy products, grains, and vegetables were commonly used in Pontic cuisine. It was concluded that cookbooks are crucial for the preservation of the Greek Pontic culinary tradition.

Introduction: The Pontic Greeks, besides their long and distinguished history, have a special and important culture and identity, elements of which are still preserved and active by their descendants a century after their settlement in Greece. One element of their identity and culture is their basic yet diverse cuisine, which is an important and recognized local cuisine in contemporary Greece. This study aimed to identify the most common foods, ingredients, and dishes found in Greek Pontic Cuisine. Methods: Six cookbooks, two cooking magazines, four folklore books, and four folklore magazines were reviewed in this study. A considerable amount of data was collected and processed using a text analysis tool. Results and discussion: The study provides the most frequently encountered dishes, foods, and ingredients that feature in the publications. The most common dishes are soups, including tanomenon sorva (soup with coarse grains, salty strained yogurt, and mint). Among other dishes, siron (a pre-baked filo-based pastry dish), chavitz (a thick corn dish resembling porridge), and foustoron (an omelet with fresh cow butter) are quite common. Common staples are anchovies and greens. In cookbooks and cookery magazines, ingredients include butter, wheat, eggs, tomatoes, milk, bulgur, corn-flour, and cheese. Meanwhile, the study publications are an excellent way of passing down traditional food knowledge intergenerational, as they are largely descended from Pontic Greek progenitors. Conclusion: After analyzing all the publications, it was declared that dairy products, grains, and vegetables were commonly used in Pontic cuisine. It was concluded that cookbooks are crucial for the preservation of the Greek Pontic culinary tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a novel qualitative visual methodology—scoping—to interrogate the Lefebvrian right to the city across the social movement landscape of Thessaloniki, Greece. Generating a reflexive and experimental visual field practice, we narrativize photographs and field notes taken in central Thessaloniki in May, 2018, where we intervene in touristic scopic regimes as family-tourists-researchers, negotiating spaces where claims to roots, routes, and rights to the city are performed. We consider the placemaking tactics of a solidarity march for LGBTQI refugees in Thessaloniki and appropriations of public space for "simultaneity and encounter" through autogestion, followed by a nationalist Pontic Greek rally which put the mayor of Thessaloniki in hospital and into global media discourse. Our methods of "picturing power" seek to reimagine Lefebvre's "right to the city" by offering an account of the knitting together of subjects, materials, and traces which enact kinetic and multivocal revelations of activist politics in urban space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most interesting and mysterious pages in Ukrainian history is the ancient period, especially the period of interaction between the Hellenistic states of the northern Black Sea area and the population of the Middle Dnieper Ukraine (the middle of the fourth century BC - the middle of the third century BC). During those years, the first stage of the Hellenic period of the Greek colonies in the northern Black Sea area took place. It was characterized by a revival of the economic life, especially by the development of the trade with the local population and with the cities (Greek cities and colonies). In recent years, publications by domestic and foreign scholars pointed to numerous finds of coins in the settlements from the Scythian period, in the forest-steppe zone, even findings of coin hoards. Our article is dedicated to the find of a bronze coin minted in the Kerkinitis, in the end of the fourth at the beginning of the third century BC, in the Scythian settlement near the village of Vyazivok, Horodyshche district, Cherkasy region, in the upper part of the river Vilshanka, during the fall of 2019.The find of the coin of Kerkinitis in a settlement of the Scythian period, that was located at more than 600 kms away from the then Kerkinitis and at 350 kms from the ancient Greek colony of Olbia, may testify about the spread of the northern Black Sea colonies' coins to the Middle Dnieper, in the first half of the fourth century BC. Besides, it can point to the connection between the inhabitants of the forest-steppe zone with the Greeks from the northern Black Sea region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some of the most important agenda items of the Paris Peace Conference, where the disintegration and participation of the Ottoman Empire was discussed after World War I, were the establishment of Greater Armenia and the share of the Greeks. It was seen that the province of Trabzon was trying to be included in this plan in order to have access to the sea for the envisioned Armenia, and under the Prime Ministry of Venizelos Greece supported these ideas by taking into account its interests in Western Anatolia and Istanbul. While the Pontic Greeks reacted, on the one hand, to the relinquishment of Trabzon to the Armenians, on the other hand, both the Greeks and the Armenians were in the minority in the mentioned province, so this situation made the plans difficult to be implemented. Any of the allied states abstained from taking responsibility in spite of the consensus among them, and the National Struggle in Anatolia won a victory over Armenians, thus the plans for acquiring influence over the Black Sea region by using Armenians failed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws on longitudinal research of a linguistic ethnographic nature with four young women of Pontian Greek origin who migrated to Greece, from Russia and Georgia, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and who speak Standardised Modern Greek and Pontian Greek; a language variety of the former. The article focuses on the ways in which the young women navigated the different ideologies about ‘language’, nationhood and heritage that they encountered in different domains of their lives. The research presented here is located at the interface between two research traditions: between research on language ideologies, on the one hand, and on the other hand, research on multilingualism and contemporary diversities, and, in particular, recent work on linguistic diversity which incorporates the Bakhtinian notion of ‘heteroglossia’ and which foregrounds the tension between language ideologies reflecting the centripetal pull towards homogeneity and ideologies reflecting the pull towards linguistic and cultural difference. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Massive migration from Georgia started in the 1990s following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The majority of the migrants went abroad seeking jobs, and like other ethnic groups residing in Georgia, Greeks were actively involved in this process. Even though the driving factor of migration appears to be Georgia's difficult economic situation, some official institutions looked upon this process as a form of repatriation. This article aims to establish the factors leading to the migration of Georgia's Greeks, analyzes 42 interviews carried out during the research, and compares socio-economic conditions in Georgia with those in the countries of destination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the ethnic self-perception of Greeks from Russia and Georgia (alternatively known as Pontic Greeks) is examined in the socio-political context of Cyprus. I analyze the concept of mother tongue and the potential (symbolic) role it plays within the multilingual community of Pontic Greeks in Cyprus. The study demonstrates that the majority of Pontic Greeks both from Russia and Georgia ethnically self-identify as 'Greeks' while speaking different languages. Language plays a vital role in ethnic self-identification of some Pontic Greeks while for others the link between language and ethnicity appears to be insignificant. Interestingly, the 'Greekness' of some Pontic Greeks is questioned by the local population, which appears to be sensitive to the language-ethnicity link. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an empirical study on morphological integration of borrowed nouns in Pontic Greek. The data have been elicited from a corpus drawn from original fieldwork in Georgia. The aim of the paper was to identify whether there was an advantage associated with borrowing between languages of the same morphological type, i. e. non-concatenative (Russian) to non-concatenative (Pontic Greek). However, the research revealed that the phonological form of the loanword is decisive for the integration of Russian and Turkish nouns into PG, and not the morphological type. Additionally, we discuss some strategies of transfer which reveal the interaction between languages of different morphological types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how displacement is used as a tool of atrocity perpetration and offers initial observations that will be used to create a future typology of Displacement Atrocities. Perpetrators' uses of forced population displacement coupled with systematic deprivations of vital daily needs (i.e., food, water, clothing, shelter, and medical care) combine to kill targeted victims through primarily indirect methods. A preliminary theoretical framework of Displacement Atrocities is offered and the critical elements that comprise this crime are explored. I argue that the Displacement Atrocity crime is a new way of understanding lethal forced population displacement. This theoretical framework is used to examine three typically understudied atrocities: the Cherokee Trail of Tears, the Herero Genocide, and the Pontic Greek Genocide. These processes of destruction are all classified as examples of Displacement Atrocities. This article is part of a larger research project on Displacement Atrocities to be completed in the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is devoted to the Chersonesos inscription IOSPE I2 347, dating from c. 46 BC. An unpublished fragment found during excavations led by M. I. Zolotarev in the north-eastern area of Chersonesos in 1976 is the lower part of the said inscription and makes it possible to interpret the document as a proxeny decree relating to Xenon, son of Timotheos. Various indirect data point to the individual honoured here having originated from the South Pontic polis of Amastris. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a study of a bilingual and bicultural Pontian Greek Australian dancer. His musicking involves performing and teaching dancing. Dancing has been and continues to be a major part of the self-identity of the participant. This phenomenological single case study used interpretative phenomenological analysis to analyse the data collected by interview. The findings are presented thematically and address the formation of identity and its enactment via performing and teaching. Many people carry multiple identities and an understanding of one may inform the provision of opportunities for learning and teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the post-Cold War repatriation to the Black Sea of people deported to Central Asia after World War II, Crimean Tatars and Pontic Greeks. It reflects on their novel ethnic and religious identifications, not available to them before their exile. Religious labeling is now used by officials as a criterion for allocating people to places, and by people as expressions of loyalty and belonging. Politically, such labeling is used for negotiating appropriate sites for resettlement schemes for the two groups in the region. The Crimean Tatar strategy is to argue in favor of 'indigenous group' status, while the Pontic Greeks opt for dual commitment between repatriation to their 'kin state' (Greece) and their pre-WWII places of residence in the Crimea. The comparison of the dilemmas faced by the two communities upon repatriation elucidates the role of the Black Sea region in the pragmatics of 'returning home' and people's sentiments of belonging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Rich particle system to express contrast. [•] CLLD does not have the same pragmatic import as in SMG. [•] pa-phrases are exclusively associated with a non-exhaustive reading. [•] Information focus is obligatorily in the left periphery. [•] There is evidence for a contrast phrase. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of CEDRUS is the property of Mediterranean Civilisations Research Institute and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Pan-Pontian dance ‘Tik’ can be found in many variant forms depending on the geographical origins of the dance. The purpose of this study is to determine the differences and similarities between the different forms of the popular Pontiac dance ‘Tik’ and therefore limit the uncertainties and generalizations around its basic elements. The collection of the ethnographic data was based on the principles of historical ethnography, which combines fieldwork research on a community with historical data and written sources and interviews. Structured interviews were used for data collection. The criteria for sample selection were the age, the professional and social activity, and people such as musicians, teachers, and members of culture and social clubs were chosen. The rhythmical data collection was based on published music notations of specialized ethnomusicologists and researchers. Rhythmic transcripts and analysis of the authors of this study, based on the principles of ethnomusicology and ancient Greek musical rhythmic, were also used. The results of this study revealed 14 variant forms of ‘Tik,’ which differ in names, form of the hand grip, morphological elements, rhythm, and positioning in the dance circle. The musical meter of 2/4, which is the most rare, and the most common meters 5/8 and 7/16 were found during the analysis of the rhythmical data. It is the first research attempt to analyze and clarify the different forms of ‘Tik’ and the results of this study are the first analysis of the ethnographic and musical elements of these forms. These results help the recognition and understanding of the different forms of the dance and are valuable in the hands of dance teachers and researchers. Also, this study aspires to set a new approach at studying teaching traditional Greek folk dance and music in general. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Diachronica is the property of John Benjamins Publishing Co. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Türk Dünyası Araştırmaları is the property of Turk Dunyasi Arastirmalari Vakfi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article consists of two parts. The first part provides general information on the language and its speakers: I describe the language, land, and livelihood of the Greek-speaking people of Beşköy in Trabzon province. In this respect it is indispensable to mention migration, which is one of the most serious threats the Greek-speaking community and their language faces today; statistical data show that Beşköy lost half of its population over the past fifty years. Despite these adverse conditions, the language has proved to be resilient enough to remain a preferred means of communication when Greek-speakers come together. In the last subsection, on language and identity, I present testimonies by native people which illustrate that positive attitudes towards both the Greek language and Turkish citizenship or Islamic identity are easily compatible. The second part comprises a linguistic discussion of the language and aims at giving an overview of its main features. It describes its phonological system, and points out some of its most interesting morphological and syntactical characteristics. Special emphasis is laid on the differences from the Sarachos variety that has been studied by Peter Mackridge.1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pontic Greeks have been migrating from the former Soviet Union to Greece at least since the 1960s and into the 1990s. The more recent migrants (mid-1980s onwards) differ from those who migrated earlier (in the 1960s and 1970s) in their cause of migration and in their socio-economic background while in the Soviet Union. These differences had a significant effect on the expectations and aspirations of the two groups (older and newer migrants) once they were in Greece. An equally significant effect was that of the difference in definition of national identity for these migrants between their place of origin and the place of their destination. For, while their Greek identity in the Soviet Union was defined in their official documentation and necessitated little obvious manifestation of cultural, linguistic, or religious signs and practices, this same identity was insufficient to qualify them as members of their host society, even though the Greek State had officially bestowed such a qualification upon them. Such continuing divergence of definitions of identity impedes their integration in the host society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on former-Soviet Greeks' experiences of cross-border movement to Greece, this paper sheds light on the impact of this migration on the social identities of Russian Greeks as a transnational community. It draws on informants' narratives and ethnographic observations recorded among Greek migrants in their home communities in southern Russia, and shows how their motivation, in their transnational movement, is determined by the 'push-and-pull' forces of socio-economic and political transformations in post-Soviet space. In these conditions, Greek identity becomes a resource which facilitates the organisation of transnational migration. The cultural, social and economic differences between the former-Soviet Greek migrants and the native-born population of Greece result in the emergence of a Pontic-Greek cultural identity which emphasises migrants' connections with the former USSR. The difficulties of economic and cultural adaptation for migrants to Greece are examined in relation to the Russian Greeks' economic strategies within their home communities and their perception of the 'homeland' as a constantly contested and relocated social construct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents empirical evidence from two contemporary diasporas to support the thesis that formal return to the homeland does not necessarily "unmake" diasporas, as some scholars have previously suggested. I argue that, instead, so-called reverse diaspora formation processes take place, with important repercussions for the acculturation of co-ethnic immigrants in their nominal "homelands." This article focuses on this latter issue, primarily on processes of identity formation and notions of belonging and home, which are particularly meaningful in the context of this diasporic "homecoming." It draws on the structured comparison of the ethnic Greek and ethnic German diasporas from the former Soviet Union who moved to Greece and Germany after perestroika. Despite their rich and illuminating analogies and overlaps, these two diaspora groups have never been compared and contrasted before. After a brief historical contextualization, complicated processes of identity negotiation and belonging in the putative "historical homelands" are investigated comparatively, lending credence to the idea that "reverse" German and Greek diasporas have developed within (and often in conflict with) contemporary Greek and German societies. The fact that they occur simultaneously in both countries tends to suggest that the concept of reverse diaspora is an important one that needs closer attention from scholars in the future. The article concludes by outlining how we may conceptualize a reverse diaspora, based on existing definitions of diaspora. My research materials consist of in-depth qualitative data collected over the course of six years by means of eighty-one semi-structured interviews in Russian, German, and Greek with migrants and experts in Greece and Germany, embedded in ethnographic research and supplemented by statistical data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]