Eastern Europe

Key Concepts

• Eastern Europe has great cultural diversity because many ethnic groups have settled there.

• Many empires have controlled parts of the region, leaving it with little experience of self-rule.

Eastern Europe

History of a Cultural Crossroads

Cultures Meet• Location between Asia and Europe shapes Eastern

Europe’s history- migration creates diversity, empires delay independent nation-states

• Area includes:- Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,

Croatia, Hungary, Poland- Czech Republic, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia,

Slovenia, Yugoslavia• Cultural crossroads—place where various cultures

cross paths- people move through the region, world powers try

to control it

Empires and Kingdoms• Rome holds Balkan Peninsula, Bulgaria, Romania,

Hungary- later held by Byzantine Empire, then Ottoman

Empire in 1300s, 1400s• Slavs move in from 400s to 600s; Polish, Serbian

kingdoms form- non-Slavic Magyars take Hungary in 800s; later

conquered by Ottomans• Austria becomes great power in 1400s, takes Hungary

from Ottomans- in late 1700s, Austria, Prussia, Russia divide

up Poland

Ottoman Empire

Turmoil in the 20th Century

War after War• Balkan nations break from Ottoman Empire in 1908

- Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia defeat Ottomans in1912

- Balkanization—a region breaks up into small,hostile units

• Slavic Serbia wants to free Austria-Hungarian Slavs- Serb assassin kills Austrian noble, starts WWI

Gavrilo Princip

War after War

• After war, Austria and Hungary split

- Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland,

Yugoslavia gain independence

• Germany takes Poland in 1939, starts WWII

- Soviets capture, dominate Eastern European

nations

- they become Communist USSR’s

satellite nations

Recent Changes

• In late 1980s, USSR has economic problems, Gorbachev makes reforms

- Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania

remove communism in 1989

• After communism comes instability, return to ethnic loyalties

- Yugoslavia violently divides

- Czechoslovakia splits: Czech Republic, Slovakia

Gorbachev

Developing the EconomyIndustry• Under communism, government owns and controls

factories- inefficient system brings shortages, trade

deficiencies, pollution• After 1989, region tries market economy—making

goods consumers want- factories are privately owned, but inflation,

unemployment rise• Cost cutting and improved production help some

economies growLingering Problems• Albania has old equipment, lack of materials, few

educated workers• Romanians lack money to invest; government owns

some industries

A Patchwork Culture

Cultural Diversity• Numerous languages make regional unification difficult• Religions include Catholicism (Roman); Eastern

Orthodox (Byzantine)- Protestant minority; Islam from Ottoman Empire

• Holocaust kills 6 million Jews, half of them from PolandFolk Art• Folk art is produced by rural people with traditional

lifestyles- pottery, woodcarving, traditional costumes

• Folk music influences Frédéric Chopin (Polish), Anton Dvorák (Czech)

Ukrainian Easter Eggs

Moving Toward Modern Life

Less Urban Development• Large cities include 1,000-year-old Prague in Czech

Republic• Most of region has fewer urban residents than rest of

Europe- only 40% in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 37%

in Albania live in cities• Cities will grow as industry develops

- so will pollution, traffic, housing problemsConflict• Fierce loyalty to ethnic groups leads to violence

- many Serbs hate Croats for WWII collaborationwith Nazis

Prague, Czech Republic

Conflict• Discrimination against minority groups

- anti-Semitism—discrimination against Jewish people- discrimination against nomadic Romany (Gypsy) people

Democracy• Eastern Europeans must overcome old hatreds• Unlike past dictators, officials must obey the rule

of the law- in 2000, Yugoslavs force out a dictator who lost the election