1. Eastern Europe
Borders in Eastern Europe have quite a history. Political changes have made the subregion's borders a source of division and conflict. Physical features also play a role. The Danube River divides countries physically, but it also helps connect Eastern and Western Europe economically. The Eastern European countries of today were once part of large powerful empires. Most modern countries of the subregion did not gain independence until after World War I. The subregion today is a unique land with a turbulent past, but with richness in literature, art, and culture.

2. Physical Geography of Eastern Europe
Landforms
The area is characterized by several mountain ranges that are extensions of the Swiss Alps.
Lowlands within this region have a karst topography, areas of barren and rocky ground.
The Balkan Peninsula’s rugged landscape makes traveling over land difficult, thereby increasing the importance of waterways for transportation.
The Balkan Mountains provide a climate barrier between the Danube River valley and the transitional climate south of the mountains.

4. steppe climate
Italian Peninsula
Oder River
Danube River
Balkan Peninsula
limestone
Adriatic Sea
Carpathian Mountains
bauxite
Poland

5. Physical Geography of Eastern Europe
Water Systems
Large rivers and seas act as natural borders between countries and are important to economic activities in the region.
The Danube is the second largest river in Europe, passing through nine countries and emptying into the Black Sea.
The Vistula River in Poland serves many major cities and industrial centers, including Warsaw.
Other waterways, such as the Oder River, branch out from the main rivers to provide access inland.
What helps to meet Germany’s power needs?
How long is the Main-Danube Canal?
Name two economic activities the canal helps.
Name 5 countries that the entire waterway runs through.

7. Danube River
Adriatic Sea
Oder River
Main-Danube River
Vistula River
Black Sea
Baltic Sea

8. Climate, Biomes, and Resources
Physical Geography of Eastern Europe
Climate, Biomes, and Resources
Much of Eastern Europe has a humid continental climate.
The Carpathian and Balkan Mountains, along with the Hungarian Plain, make up the Danube region.
Some coastal regions along the Black Sea have micro- biomes.
The Carpathian Mountains contain large energy reserves, while areas around the Baltic Mountains rely on water as a natural resource.

9. Human Geography of Eastern Europe
History and Government
Eastern Europe is a shatter belt, or region of great political instability, that drove the area’s Balkanization, or the division of the region into smaller hostile regions.
Yugoslavia attempted to reverse this process, since it combined smaller regions into one country, but it fell apart with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Power struggles led to civil war and ethnic cleansing, or the genocide of an ethnic group, and Balkanization has continued with countries declaring independence.
At the end of a three-month siege in Vukovar, the Serbian army had destroyed the community. While the Serbian army achieved its primary goal of consolidating their control over the Croatian area of eastern Slavonia, there was nothing left of the town but rubble. After the city fell, the Serbian army massacred at least 200 Croatian civilians.
In this image, a destroyed Roman Catholic cross is seen in Vukovar, Croatia, on Nov. 25, 1991.
What countries broke away in 1991?
What countries broke away in 1992?
Which groups was the conflict between in the 1990s?
What country was created in 2006?
What country was created in 2008?
How many countries total was created from the old Yugoslavia?

10. Timeline of the Breakup of Yugoslavia
Fill in the timeline on your notes from the graphic

11. Upon the fall of the communist party in the early 1990s, ethnic tensions among Yugoslavs erupted. Many of the republics that made up Yugoslavia began to break away, resulting in civil wars. These wars were marked by genocide, mass murder, and ethnic cleansing, all aimed at removing ethnic and religious rivals from certain areas of the country.
Eventually, intemational peacemaking efforts and military intervention by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) prevailed. Countries were established and today a fragile peace exists.
This 1999 image shows an ethnic Albanian home in Kosovo, which was destroyed by Serbs.

12. Human Geography of Eastern Europe
Population Patterns
The Slavs are an ethnic group that includes Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, and Macedonians.
The Roma are of Indo-European origin and are the largest minority population in Europe.
The majority of people live in urban areas, although there are large populations along the Danube and Vistula Rivers.
Eastern Europe experienced large migrations during and after World War II with people leaving to escape war and poor conditions.

13. Society and Culture Today
Human Geography of Eastern Europe
Society and Culture Today
Countries have faced economic challenges in the transition to democratic governments.
The area is marked by many different religious and ethnic groups.
The family is the basic social unit and serves to reinforce social values.
The long history of folk and classical music makes it an important art form among peoples of the region.
Where did the earliest Slavs migrate from?
Who is the largest minority group in Europe?
Where are the Roma thought to have migrated from?
What kind of lives to the Roma live?
What 3 groups once formed Yugoslavia?
Looking at those three ethnic groups, why do you think there was conflict?

14. Human Geography of Eastern Europe
Economic Activities
Over the past 20 years, Eastern Europe has transitioned to a market economy.
The region is known for low-cost, high quality electronic and automotive manufacturing, but still maintains its agricultural roots.
As political stability has improved, the region has become increasingly linked to Western Europe through trade and, more recently, by joining the European Union.
What countries are apart of the EU?

15. How did Poland improve in the report?
Improving the Business Climate in Poland
“Poland...made it easier to register property, pay taxes, enforce contracts and resolve business insolvency, making it the most improved country out of the 185 tracked in the report.
...The desire to catch up with more established European Union members continues to drive improvements in business regulations in Eastern Europe....Poland is now the 55th best place to do business, up from 62nd place last year. The country has been a rare bright spot in Europe over the past few years, managing to sustain robust growth even while its neighbors slumped.”
              —Anna Yukhananov, “Poland makes greatest strides
                       in business reforms—World Bank,”
                           Reuters, October 22, 2012
How did Poland improve in the report?
What is the reasoning behind the drive to improve business regulations?
How many spots did Poland jump in one year?
Why has it been a “rare bright spot in Europe”?

16. People and Their Environment: Eastern Europe
Managing Resources
Rapid and intense industrialization without regard to the effects on the environment have damaged water quality.
Illegal logging and the burning of those logs generates air pollution that has led to great losses in the area’s biodiversity.
Interest in reforestation, or renewing forest cover, has increased, but countries continue to struggle with protecting the environment while providing opportunity for economic growth.

19. People and Their Environment: Eastern Europe
Human Impact
Eastern Europe’s high concentration of industry and excessive reliance on coal have had a devastating impact on the environment.
Waterways have been affected by acid rain and meltwater, the result of melting snow and ice that have carried pollution into lakes and rivers.
As Eastern European countries have joined the EU, environmental protection standards and strict emission controls are helping to address these problems.

20. It is estimated that, at one time, nearly 80 percent of Europe was covered in forestland. Today, approximately two-thirds of that has been logged either legally or illegally.
The Bialowieza Forest, located in eastern Belarus and Western Poland, is one of the last forests in Europe to be left in its ancient state. The Bialowieza Forest is home to 300 European bison and a variety of other plants, animals, and trees.
The forest dates back to 8000 B.C. and is the cause of much debate between environmental activists and Polish government officials. While protecting the area and its biodiversity is of concern to activists, government officials believe in the job creation provided by the logging industry.

21. People and Their Environment: Eastern Europe
Addressing the Issues
Serious efforts have been made to help clean up the environment, but directing and funding cleanup is difficult because the process involves many countries.
For countries not yet admitted to the EU, gaining membership provides an important incentive to manage resources and minimize environmental impacts.
Cooperation among Balkan countries is needed to ensure effective resource management.

22. Closed and abandoned factories dot the European landscape and are reminders of the air and water pollution that still exists today.
Shown here is Kremikovtzi, the largest steel mill in Bulgaria and a major industrial polluter. Built in the 1960s, the mill and its associated buildings, apartments, and mines once covered 154 acres of land. The mill employed 8,000 people. However, it also caused severe pollution in nearby Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.
Starting in at least 2005, the steel mill faced serious financial difficulties. By 2007, as Bulgaria was working to become a member of the European Union, Kremikovtzi faced the need to install pollution control systems to meet EU standards.
In 2008 the Kremikovtzi steel mill went bankrupt. The mill itself was finally sold at auction in The buyer of the mill will process it for scrap. It is estimated that this processing will take four years and will net 80 million euros.

23. Some Eastern European natural areas, such as Bulgaria's Srebarna Nature Reserve and Montenegro's Dumitor National Park, are protected both nationally and as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. As in most other developed regions, however, conservation efforts must compete with other goals. Some national parks may be affected by pollution from nearby economic development projects such as dams. Others may suffer from inactive management when government attention is focused elsewhere.
This image shows the protected Tara River Canyon in the Durmitor National Park in Montenegro.