Eastern Europe This is how Eastern Europe looked in 1989… look how much the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.) controlled!

What countries are part of Eastern Europe?

Countries of Eastern Europe Poland Czech Republic Slovakia Hungary Romania Slovenia Croatia Bosnia Kosovo (Just became a country two years ago. Seriously!) Serbia Montenegro Bulgaria Albania FYR of Macedonia

Cultural Crossroads Many world powers have controlled it because it’s located between Asia and Europe. Over the years, this area has been controlled by Rome, the Ottoman Empire and Austria. Man, who hasn’t taken over Eastern Europe?? Cute little Eastern European kid

Why are they called “Slavs?” What is a slav? The ethnic term for many of the people of Eastern Europe is “the Slavs.” They are called slavs because for hundreds of years they were enslaved by various empires. They eventually just became known as Slavs, which means slaves. When you hear the term Slavs, or Slavic countries, you know the history of these people is one of slavery. OUCH.

Balkanization Responding to centuries of foreign rule, most ethnic groups in Eastern Europe fiercely guarded their identities. They all want their own country, too. That would be like Blacks, Latinos, Whites, and Asians all demanding their own country inside of the USA. Eastern Europe used to be just a couple countries in the Balkan Mountains... “Balkanization” is the process of a region breaking up into small, mutually hostile units.

Yugoslavia back in the 1980’s… ?

An example of Balkanization: All those colored areas used to be 1 big country called “Yugoslavia.”

“The Soviet Union” aka “The USSR” aka “Russia” aka “The Communists” During World War II, Germany invaded Russia (the USSR) and killed millions of Russians. After the war, the USSR (Russia) built a political barrier between itself and West Europe by setting up Communist governments in Eastern Europe. Eastern Europe became a region of “satellite nations,” nations dominated by another country. For decades, the Communist country of Russia crushed political reform and free trade in Eastern Europe.

Recent Changes in East Europe The Soviet Union controlled Eastern Europe from the 1940’s to the 1980’s. When Mikhail Gorbachev became President of the Soviet Union (aka Russia) in the 1980’s, he made many reforms (changes). One reform (change) was to give Eastern Europe more freedom. In 1989, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Romania declared independence from Russia. In 1990, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia did the same.

Mikhail “Gorby” Gorbachev Check out the birth mark Current Russian Prime Minister Putin Former Russian President Gorbachev

Yugoslavian Civil War After “Gorby” changed Russia from Communist to Democratic, there was a lot of problems. Life was unstable. The old governments taught people to only be loyal to the Communist government. Afterward Russia changed, people returned to their ethnic loyalties. This was especially true in Yugoslavia, a nation consisting of six republics. These republics declared independence from Yugoslavia and started a long, nasty civil war in the 1990’s. Czechoslovakia peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Developing the Economy Communism is where the government controls the economy and owns all factories. This system was stupid and inefficient because industries had no reason to please customers or cut costs. Often there were shortages of goods. “Who cares if the government loses money, so what. I get paid the same either way” Eastern European nations only traded with each other and therefore didn’t keep up with the developing technology. They probably use old, janky broken laptops.

Market Economy After 1989, most of Eastern Europe moved towards a market economy, where businesses – and not the government – sets their product’s prices. Factories became privately owned but (1) were slowed by old equipment and (2) shortage of educated workers. The changes caused problems – (3) inflation, (4) closing of factories and (5) unemployment. Since then several countries, such as Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, have developed healthy economies. In general, it will take years for Eastern Europe to overcome the damage caused by decades of Communist control. Oh, well.

Cool Sites of Eastern Europe (and other extra info you don’t need to know for the test next week)

Poland This is the Marienburg Castle in Poland. Notice how different castles look in different parts of Europe?

Castles of Eastern Europe

Just another regular day in Warsaw, Poland

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising On April 19, 1943, the Warsaw ghetto uprising began after German troops and police entered the ghetto to deport its surviving inhabitants. 750 fighters fought the heavily armed and well-trained Germans. The ghetto fighters were able to hold out for nearly a month, but on May 16, 1943, the revolt ended. The Germans had slowly crushed the resistance. Of the more than 56,000 Jews captured, about 7,000 were shot, and the remainder were deported to concentration camps.

1943 – Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

Prague, Czech Republic This is one of the most beautiful cities of Europe not destroyed by WWII

Bosnia We helped Bosnian Muslims fight against Yugoslavia

Bosnia

This library in Sarajevo, Bosnia was bombed by Yugoslavia in 1996

Bulgaria

Romania Home of: Transylvania and vampires

Budapest, Hungary This neat- looking building is the House of Parliament in the country of Hungary.

Albania Mother Theresa was a famous Albanian Albania is POOR country. Its nickname is “The Hermits of Eastern Europe”

Eastern Orthodox Christians Some people in Eastern Europe are Eastern Orthodox Christians… go down a couple slides to see their version of the cross!

A common Eastern Orthodox Cross This bar is the sign identifying Jesus This crooked bar is where Jesus put his feet. It’s crooked because one criminal chose to follow Christ and the other didn’t.

Eastern Orthodox Clergy These Eastern Orthodox Clergy members are Christian – are they dressed like the people at your church?

“The Blue Danube Waltz” is named after the Danube River!