When I lived in the Balkans 20 y. ago, I lamented how horrible the pollution was outside of the main tourist areas. A friend well-traveled in RU turned me, knowing I studied/lived in the Soviet Union before it fell, and said, “If you really want to see how fucked up things can be, go to Russia.”

Wow, two completely different varieties of fucked up. The Balkans? Cultural, religious, historical calamity still struggling to recover fully. Vatnikia? Genocide, ecocide, democide (Oh my 😐) If they didn't have so much territory the health effects would be incalculable.