Eastern European Culture

Making Culture  In the years after WWII, communism began to engulf Eastern Europe.  Communism is when the government has total control over the people…and the economy.  Eastern Europeans began to be effected by this control, and the people became very poor and afraid of the government.

 The Russian population in the U.S. has grown by 254% since 1990 and they are the second largest foreign-born ethnic group in the U.S.  As a culture, they had one of the highest household incomes at an average of $51,000 and have the highest level of education:  52% have a bachelor’s degree or higher and  80.3% have high school diplomas.  It is a rich culture, full of pride.

U.S.S.R  Russia is sometimes referred to the Former Soviet Union.  Which includes the following states that gained independence after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991:  BelarusEstonia Kazakhstan Lithuania  ArmeniaAzerbaijan Georgia Latvia  MoldovaUkraineUzbekistan  TajikistanTurkmenistanKyrgyzstan

Balkan Nations  The Former Yugoslavia which was made up of 20 ethnic groups.  Gained independence with the fall of the Soviet Union in  Ethnic cleansing took place in the 90’s where 250,000 people of many ethnic backgrounds were killed. Countries include: Kosovo Slovenia Macedonia CroatiaSerbiaMontenegro Bosnia and Herzegovina

Communication:  Russian is the primary language.  However, there are 27 co-official languages recognized in the republics.  People typically speak the language of the republic they were from—Ukrainian, Belorussian, Uzbek, and Polish.  Yiddish and Ladino – a combination of Hebrew and the Native language may also be spoken in the home.

Family and Social Structure:  The family is the most important institution in the Russian culture.  Russian values center around the family, married life and self- sacrifice.  Strong kinship bonds are seen:  They will support each other in crisis and will often consult family members during healthcare planning; especially if consents are needed.  The male is the dominate figure in society.  The woman’s life revolves around her husband and her family.

City Life  About ¾ of Russia’s people live in cities.  The two largest cities in Russia are Moscow and St. Petersburg. Country Life  In the country, many people live in single-family homes.  In some remote places, homes lack basic plumbing, running water, gas and electric.  The quality of health care and education is lower in the country.

Religion  By far, the most common religion in Russia is Orthodox Christianity.  When this religion was brought over to Russia, the Cyrillic alphabet came along with it.  The Cyrillic alphabet was adopted as the official writing system of Russia.  Islam, Buddhism and Judaism are also practiced in Russia. Over 15% of the population practices Islam.

FoodSports  Russians generally eat a hearty diet that uses a lot of root vegetables, such as beets, carrots and potatoes.  Traditional Russian foods, such as blinis and borscht, are enjoyed everywhere.  Tea is a traditional beverage for Russians.  Winter sports, such as hockey, ice skating and skiing are popular due to the cold climate.  Tennis is also popular.  Russian athletes compete seriously for Olympic team positions.