Slavic

Polish singer Justyna Steczkowska, representing her country for the second time, even includes a Slavic magic spell in her song, Gaja – summoning the spirit of the mother Earth to "cleanse" her of a toxic relationship.

A Madonna holding an anti-tank weapon, like a Slavic Joan of Arc ready to baptize Russian invaders in holy fire.

Prof Heather wants to use it to investigate what he describes as one of European history's biggest mysteries: why central and eastern Europe changed from being Germanic speaking to Slavic speaking, 1,500 years ago.

Baker: When I was looking for a name, I literally looked at names from the Slavic region.

Long bound to Russia by history, common Slavic roots and a shared Orthodox Christian faith, Bulgaria was once so loyal to the Kremlin it asked to be absorbed into the Soviet Union.