Chapter 8: Cultures of Europe and Russia Section 2: Cultures of Eastern Europe

Introduction and Movement Movement throughout Eastern Europe is very easy – Why? – There are no major natural barriers in Eastern Europe. Migration: movement from one place to another Reasons for people to move include: – People move to find places with a good supply of natural resources – People moved to escape enemies – Fled places where their religious beliefs put them in danger – Moved to find a better life (jobs, family, environment)

Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe Among the groups that migrated to Eastern Europe were the Slavs – This group first lived in the mountains of modern Slovakia and Ukraine then spread south to Greece, east to the Alps, and north to the coast of the Baltic Sea Slavic Cultures – Ethnic groups: groups of people that share things, such as a culture, ancestors, language, or religion – There are 10 Slavic languages Dialect: a different version of a language that can be found only in a certain region

Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe – People can speak the same language, but different dialects (dialects often change based on a region) Religious difference among the Slavs – Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Islam Have some similar customs – Eastern Europeans still live in rural areas and work as farmers because there are fewer factories – A rural area’s culture changes much slowly than an urban area does

Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe Other Ethnic Groups – Poland, Croatia, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic are almost entirely Slavic – 90% of Hungary are Magyars – Romania is made up of Romanians, Albania is made up of Albanians, and Bulgaria is made up of Bulgars

Ethnic Conflict Czechs and Slovaks: A Peaceful division – The two main ethnic groups of Czechoslovakia were the Czechs and Slovaks Czechs lived in a western region called Bohemia Czechs and Slovaks lived in the central of Moravia Slovaks lived in an eastern region called Slovakia – After WWII, the Soviet Union controlled Czechoslovakia and the Communist party took over Many protests forced the communist government to become a democracy Velvet Revolution: a nonviolent change in government from communism to a democracy – Vaclov Havel was elected President The nation broke into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993 in a peaceful manner.

Ethnic Conflict When Ethnic Groups Clash – Yugoslavia broke up into Bosnia-Herzogovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia Wars broke out, when the nations began to fight NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), which is an alliance between the U.S.A., Canada, and other western nations to help keep the peace in the world, helped to bring peace to the regions in 1995 – War broke out again in 1999, which forced NATO to intervene The nations have broken apart even more into the early 2000s. Kosovo became an independent nation in 2009.