Transcript Chapter 6

Chapter 6
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
• Very different from Western Europe
• Under control of Soviet Union for most of the
20th century
• Lacks prosperity of the West
• Shatter Belt
▫ A region that is under continual political pressures
and is often fragmented by warring factions or
heavily influenced by surrounding rival countries
I. Baltic Region
• States that border the Baltic Sea
▫ Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia
• Northern European Plain- dominant land
feature
Poland
• Official Name:
▫ Republic of Poland
• Capital:
▫ Warsaw
• Area Comparison:
▫ Slightly smaller than New Mexico
• Government:
▫ Republic
• Independence:
▫ 11 November 1918 (republic proclaimed)
Poland
• WWII- under German occupation
• Soviets “liberated” – not much better
• Part of the “Soviet bloc” – puppet states of the
USSR
• In 1989, the Poles were the first to start the
movement of overthrowing the Soviets
• Now, transitioning to a free-market economy
• Joined NATO in 99 and EU in 04
Warsaw
• Pop. of over 2 million
• Many conquerors throughout history
• Soviets actually restored buildings in Old
Warsaw using pictures after the Nazis destroyed
them
• Rest of the city has a modern appearance
Central Plains of Poland
• Gdansk- once the most populous city, important
as a port
• It was in Gdansk that Solidarity was formed- first
labor union in the Iron Curtain
• Southern Uplands of Poland
• Area produces many minerals: zinc, lead, sulfur
• Krakow
▫ Used to be the Capital
▫ Only city to escape destruction during WWII
• Auschwitz
▫ Largest of the Nazi death camps
▫ 3 million Jews in Poland in 1933, 45,000 in 1948
Gates at Auschwitz
Krakow at
Christmas
Baltic States
• Located on the
Northern European
Plain
• Independent after
WWI, part of Soviet
Union after WWII
Lithuania
Capital:
Vilnius
Government:
Parliamentary democracy
Largest of the Baltic States
80% of pop. Are native Lithuanian
Lithuania
• Roman Catholics fought against Soviet Union
with Hill of Crosses
▫ Shows religious fervor and nationalistic feeling
• History:
▫ Oldest of Baltic States, record of selling amber to
Roman Empire
▫ United with Poland and Russia in the past
• Today
▫ Struggling to establish a free republic
▫ Joined NATO and EU in 04
▫ Trading more with Western Europe instead of
Russia now
Latvia
• Middle Baltic State
• Over 12,000 rivers (none very long)
• Capital:
▫ Riga
• Government:
▫ Parliamentary democracy
• Languages: Latvian and Russian
Estonia
Northernmost Baltic State
Capital:
Tallinn
Government:
republic
•Baltic Sea moderates the climate
•Islands make up 10% of the land, 2 islands have cities
•Must speak Estonian to become a citizen
•Joined NATO and EU in 04
Tallinn, Estonia
II. The Carpathians
• Carpathian mountains are the main mountains
in Eastern Europe
• 3 landlocked nations share the Carpathians
▫ Czech Republic
▫ Slovakia
▫ Hungary
Czech Republic
• Formerly part of Czechoslovakia, created after WWI,
fell to Hitler during WWII and then to Soviets
• Overthrew Communists swiftly in 1989- Velvet
Revolution
• After independence, two parties (Czechs and
Slovaks) disagreed over economic reform, peacefully
split up- Velvet Divorce
• Mass Privatization: experiment to get property
back in the hands of citizens, handed out vouchers
for people to be shareholders. Now Czech Republic
has a strong economy
Czech Republic
• Bohemia
▫
▫
▫
▫
Western half of CR
Large basin, surrounded by highlands
Independent spirit, was once its own kingdom
Prague, the capital city is located here
• The Sudetenland
▫ Mountainous region, many Germans live here
▫ Very fought over area during WWI and II
▫ Issue of bad blood between CR and Germany
• Moravia
▫ Eastern part of CR
▫ About 4% of population is Moravian
Slovakia
• Capital: Bratislava
• Since the split in 1993, has formed a democratic
government
• Mainly produces agricultural items
Hungary
• Descendants of the Magyar tribe
• Different from their neighbors- speak a Uralic
language
• Capital: Budapest
▫ used to be 2 cities- Buda and Pest
▫ 2 million people – 4th largest city in Eastern
Europe
Budapest, Hungary
III. The Western Balkans
• Balkan Peninsula is a mountainous region
• 9 countries lie on the peninsula, called The
Balkans
• Share language, but differ by religion and
culture
• Did have a common enemy- the Ottoman Turks
to the South
• During the Cold War– all belonged to the
communist country of Yugoslavia
Slovenia
• Capital:
▫ Ljubljana
• Economy: leading example of free market
economy, has always produced a lot for its size
▫ Watermelon, maize, wheat
Slovenia- Attractions
• Karst Region
▫ Has limestone caves, largest caverns in Europe
• Lipica
▫ Lipizzaner horses are named after this town
Croatia
• Shaped like a boomerang
• Close linguistically with Serbia, but big rivalry
between the two
• Capital:
▫ Zagreb
• Really beautiful part of the country is along the
Dalmatian Coast
Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Bosnia- Northern and central portion
• Herzegovina- Southern portion
• War torn capital: Sarajevo—lies between the
two
• Rough past- civil war in 1991
▫ Bosnia claimed independence, Serb minority
refused to join, fighting lasted until 1995 when US
stepped in to maintain peace
Montenegro
• Means “black mountain”
• Followed Slobodan Milosevic for years- leader of
Serbs
▫ He died in 2006, Montenegro voted to become
independent later that year
• Has opportunity to develop independently for
the first time in centuries
• Capital:
▫ Podgorica
Albania
• Major industries: forestry, mining
• Strong Ottoman influence, 70% Muslim, highest in
Europe
• Economy struggled after communism fell
• Weak infrastructure, country is underdeveloped
• Most people live on small farms, agriculture makes
up more that half of the money made
• Tirane- Capital city
Albania
• Spiritual History
▫ Communist leader Enver Hoxha established what
he called a truly Atheistic country
▫ Communism overthrown in 92
▫ Door finally open to missionaries
▫ Now Muslim, Eastern orthodox, Catholicism make
up the majority
IV. The Eastern Balkans
• Dominated by mountains
• Made up of: Macedonia, Serbia, Kosovo,
Bulgaria, and Romania
Macedonia
• Used to be home to Alexander the Great
• When Yugoslavia broke up, Greece would not
recognize Macedonia, fearing a move to reunite
Greater Macedonia from history
• Greece still opposes the name of the country, so in
the UN it is referred to as the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
• Capital:
▫ Skopje
• Official Language
▫ Macedonian
Serbia
• Northern plains are the agricultural
center
• Capital:
▫ Belgrade
▫ Centrally located, been conquered and destroyed
more than 30 times
▫ Second largest city in the Balkans
Kosovo*
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▫
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Large province in the south in Serbia
90% of residents are Albanian
Capital: Pristina
Tried to declare independence in 1992, no one
recognized them but Albania
▫ In 2010, the International Court of Justice affirmed
Kosovo’s independence , 70 countries recognize as a
nation on its own
▫ Serbia, backed by Russia, refuses to recognize
Bulgaria
• Capital:
▫ Sofia
• Bulgar people arrived in 7th century, still the
majority of the population=84%
Romania
•Means “land of the Romans”- last province captured by
the Roman Empire
•Only language in Eastern Europe that developed from
Latin
•Gained freedom from Communism in 1989, but the
effects are still seen today
•Economy struggles, but has joined the EU in 2007
One of the most famous Romanians is Nadia Comaneci:
winner of three Olympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer
Olympics, and the first gymnast ever to be awarded a perfect
score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event
Romania
• Transylvania
▫ Nearly half of Romania is a section of the Carpathian
Mountains
▫ Hungary ruled the area for much of history, handed
over to Romania after WWI.
▫ Forested hills and gloomy castles have intrigued
people for centuries with mystery and danger
• Wallachia
▫ Large plain for agriculture
▫ Bucharest located in this region
• Moldavia
▫ Moldavian Plain starts here and continues into the
country of Moldova
▫ Romania used to own Moldova until the Soviets took it
away in WWII
Gypsies
Gypsies
• One of the largest ethnic minorities in Europe
• Called Gypsies because people mistakenly thought they
came from Egypt
• Call themselves Roma, language is Romany
• Limited contact with outside world, preserved their
language, laws, customs
• Life of wanderers: seasonal jobs, odd jobs, begging,
fortune telling
• Bad reputation, “gyp” means “to cheat”
• Hitler labeled them undesirable, about 400,000 died
during the Holocaust
• Governments are trying to incorporate them into society
• Largest tribe: Kalderash in the Balkans
V. The Eastern Plains
• Huge plain extends from the Carpathian
mountains to make the Great European Plain
• 3 countries lie on the eastern part of the plain:
Moldova, Ukraine, and Belarus
• All used to be in the Soviet Union
Moldova
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Hilly, landlocked country
2/3 speak Moldavian
Most densely populated country in Eastern Europe
A small group would like to rejoin with Romania
Capital:
▫ Chisinau
Ukraine
• Capital:
▫ Kiev
• Area Comparison:
▫ Slightly smaller than Texas
• Largest nation completely on the continent of
Europe
• After independence in 91, transition was slow
• Elections of 2004 were watched worldwide
▫ One candidate was poisoned, the voting was full of
fraud, and protests erupted immediately
▫ Another election had to be held, winner won fairly
▫ All of this is called the Orange Revolution
Ukraine
• Northern Lowlands
▫ Capital is here- Kiev—most
populous city in all of eastern
Europe, cultural center of the
country
• Southern Coasts
▫ Most valuable region: Crimean
Peninsula
 Barely attached by 2.5 mile wide
isthmus
 Known as the Russian Rivera
Ukraine
• Chernobyl
▫ The Chernobyl explosion in 1986 was the most serious
nuclear accident in history
▫ Two Chernobyl plant workers died on the night of the
accident, and a further 28 people died within a few weeks as
a result of acute radiation poisoning.
▫ Resettlement of areas from which people were relocated is
ongoing.
• Still the greatest environmental issue facing the Ukraine
is the lingering contamination by radiation that resulted
from Chernobyl
Belarus
• Government:
▫ Republic in name, although in fact a
dictatorship
▫ Retained closer political and economic ties to
Russia than any of the other former Soviet
republics.
• Capital:
▫ Minsk
Map of Eastern Europe