 18 Countries.  Former Soviet Union, broke apart in 1991, each region became its own country.

 Physical Characteristics:  Mostly covered by the European Plain.  Used to be covered by thick forests, now cut down for farmland.  Today, more than 2/3 is open fields.  Poor and sandy fertile soil, hard to farm.

 Industries:  In the South large deposits of coal, sulfur, and copper.  Poland depends on other countries for iron and petroleum.  Climate:  Severe winters  Mild summers which are often rainy

 During WWII Nazi Germany took over Poland.  Nazi’s built 6 concentration camps in Poland, about 6 million Poland people were killed in camps.  Under Soviet control, Poland was communist. Except Polish people never supported the Soviets. Auschwitz, Poland

 After WWI Czechoslovakia was formed with Czech and Slovakia lands that were controlled by Hungary.  Czechoslovakia was a democratic government until Germans took control in the late 1930’s. In 1945 Soviets took over Germans in Czechoslovakia. Was Communist until 1989.

 Used to be considered part of the former Soviet Union.  In the late 1980’s when the Soviet Union split Czech’s, Slovaks, and Hungarians reaffirmed themselves as separate countries.

 In 1993 Czech and Slovak leaders worked together under a velvet revolution and created two separate countries, Czech and Slovak.  Velvet Revolution = a revolution without bloodshed.

 Czech Republic did not exist as an independent nation until  Physical Characteristics:  More than 10 million people  Flat areas, except the plains that lie beside the Elbe River.  Plateaus and mountains.

 2 regions:  Eastern Region = Moravia  Old coal and steel industries. However, now inefficient in the world market.  Western Half = Bohemia  Mines and industries. Coal, iron ore, copper, and lead all mined in the North. Also deposits of quartz which is used to make glass.  Prague is the capital of Czech, located in central Bohemia.  Challenges:  air and water pollution from acid rain and industrial pollution.

 Became an independent nation in  More than 5 million people live in Slovakia.  Physical Characteristics:  Rugged peaks in the north to the plains of the Danube in the South.  Carpathian Mountains

 Physical Characteristics:  About the size of Indiana.  Danube River divides the country into two parts.  Western half = Transdanubia  Hills, plateaus, and valleys.  Known as land across the Danube.  The Eastern half = Great Alfold  Known as “Breadbasket of Europe”

 Romania:  Economy:  Recently western investments have brought small improvement  Poor even though there are lots of natural resources  Ineffective government  Physical Characteristics:  Plains, fertile soil, foothills

 Bulgaria:  Climate:  Summers = warmWinters = mild  Democratic Government  Physical Characteristics:  Fertile soil  Known as “garden of eastern Europe”

AAlbania: EEconomy: IItalian and Greek manufacturers built factories because of cheap labor. PPhysical Characteristics: MMountainous 33.5 million people

 Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia  Physical characteristics:  Flat terrain, marshy lowlands, and fertile plains  Combined population of 8 million people  All three countries gained independence after WWI

 Ukraine  Capital – Kiev  Economy:  Grow crops like wheat, barley, and potatoes  Physical Characteristics:  Smaller than the state of Texas  Fertile soil  Known as “Breadbasket of eastern Europe”

 Belarus and Moldova  Belarus  Economy:  Industries and services  Physical Characteristics:  Size of Kansas – 10 million people  Moldova  Economy:  Wine, sugar beets, and seed oils  Physical Characteristics:  Landlocked, Hilly - 4 million people

 Fun Facts:  Russia is the largest country in the world.  Twice the size of the U.S.  Russia spans across Europe and Asia.  Russia stretches across 11 time zones.  The coldest temperature ever recorded outside of Antarctica was in far Eastern Russia at -94 degrees Fahrenheit

 Varied  Most of the land is flat, rolling plains.  Mountains in the southern and eastern parts.  Several rivers flow into the Arctic Ocean and the Caspian Sea.  The Ural Mountains divide Russia between Asia and Europe.  Mountains are at a low elevation  Very important because they contain valuable minerals.

 Winters are long and very cold.  Summers are short.  Russia is mostly subarctic.  Biomes:  Tundra = few plants and animals, very cold. North Russia.  Taiga = thinly scattered forests. Forests cover half of Russia. Great source of paper and other forest products.  Steppes = Broad open stretches that were once a grassland. Taiga Forest

 Rural Life:  Many Russians escape city life and enjoy hiking and camping in the mountains and forests.  Traditional ways of life continue in villages and other rural areas.  Urban Life:  ¾ of Russia’s population live in large cities  During Soviet control there were a lot of housing shortages, so government built huge apartment blocks.

 Ethnicity:  25 million residents of Russia belong to non- Russian ethnic groups.  Culture:  Artistic Creativity  Concerts, operas, and ballets.

RRailroads: 993,000 miles of track in Russia. GGreatest mover of people and goods. IInexpensive RRivers: IImportant trade route since most rivers are frozen during many months of the year. Dangerous.

 Environment:  Soviets were wasteful and inefficient = depleted resources and hurt the environment.  Today, Russia is very concerned regarding environmental problems.  When Soviet Union fell, Russia suffered from inflation.  Inflation = wide spread increase in prices.  Because of inflation, black market developed.  Black Market = goods and services are sold unofficially