Discussion Notes 12-1: East Central Europe I. Poland - lies on the North European Plain, has mild weather. A. Most have small farms on this fertile plain which 28% of the people work on. B. Coal mining is one of the most important industries. C. Gdansk, a Baltic seaport, is an important shipbuilding center. D. Poles belong to the Slav ethnic group and speak Polish, a Slavic language. Most Poles are Catholic. II. The Baltic Republics - made up of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All lie on the Baltic Sea and their economies are based on “free market” which is made up of farming, fishing, and shipbuilding. Nearly 1/3 of the people are Russian of the Baltic Republics (tensions).

III. Hungary, Czech Republic, and Slovakia (Czechoslovakia) A. All three are landlocked countries. B. Hungary depends on the Danube R. for trade and transportation. C. 90% of Hungary’s 10 million people are descendants of the Magyars. Czech has a highest standard of living in Eastern Europe. Prague, the capital, is the center of service industries, tourism, and manufacturing. F. Czech is a parliamentary democracy with a president. G. Slovakia is rich in iron ore, lead, zinc, and copper. H. 60% of Slovakia’s 5.4 million live in cities and most are Slovak.

Discussion Notes 12-2: The Balkan Countries I. Romania A. 1/3 of the Carpathian Mountains cover Romania. B. Romania now has a free market economy to produce consumer goods. C. 56% live in cities and towns. Bucharest is the capital and has 2 million people. D. Most Romanians are descendants of Romans. II. Bulgaria - has mountains to the south. A. Agriculture and manufacturing are important. Roses are grown here. B. The Slavic people use the Cyrillic alphabet. III. Albania - is a very poor country with many mountains. A. 70% are Muslim and the rest are Christians and Eastern Orthodox.

IV. Former Yugoslav Republics – broke up in the 1990’s. A. Yugoslavia broke apart into: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro. B. After the breakup, Serbia tried to gain control of all the republics through war and ethnic cleansing. C. People fled which they were known as refugees. D. Slovenia is the most peaceful and prosperous. E. Religion divides the Croats and Serbs in Croatia. F. Many people in Bosnia are Muslim, but there are Christians too who often have conflicts.

Discussion Notes 12-3: Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova I. Ukraine - is the largest European country. A. A vast steppe, or partly wooded plain covers the country. B. The Dnieper River is its most important waterway. C. Farms are very productive giving it the nickname “breadbasket of Europe”. D. It was once part of the Soviet Union until it became free in 1991. II. Belarus and Moldova A. Farming, factories of equipment, chemicals, and food processing are important economic activities. B. Communist party control Belarus’s government and have maintained close ties with Russia. Many foreign businesses refuse to trade with them. C. The capital and largest city of Belarus is Minsk.

D. Moldova was once part of Romania in which 2/3 of the people trace their ancestry from. E. Moldova’s eastern region recently declared independence in which this region produces 80% of the country’s electricity. F. The capital is Chisinau and most of Moldova is rural.