1. Eastern Europe
Chapter 13

2. Introduction
The many countries in Eastern Europe are united by a shared history as a crossroads where different cultures from Asia and Europe have encountered one another. Such encounters have been both facilitated and inhibited by Eastern Europe’s diverse physical geography.

3. Estonia
Tartu is established as the “cultural capital of Estonia”, while Parnu is known as the “summer capital”
Estonia has a population of 1.3 million and one of the most sparsely populated countries in Europe.
Estonia is the homeland of Skype, Hotmail and KaZaA.

4. Latvia
It has a brutal modern history: An estimated percent of Latvia’s population were killed during the second World War, the highest percentage of any European nation bar Poland and Lithuania. As many as 190,000 were subsequently imprisoned in Soviet gulags between 1945 and 1952.
It’s watery: Latvia has 12,000 rivers and 3,000 small lakes – perfect if you like messing about in boats
And has sandy beaches: It’s a decent bet for an offbeat beach holiday, if you don’t mind the chilly water, with miles of sandy beaches. Jurmala, a summer holiday favorite that has temperatures that can top 20C (68F) in high summer, so you might even need sun cream (what the call sunscreen)

5. Lithuania
By the end of the fourteenth century, Lithuania was the largest country in Europe.
190,000 or 91% of the Lithuanian Jews were killed, one of the highest total mortality rates of the holocaust.
On February 4, 1991, Iceland became the first country to recognize Lithuanian independence.

6. The Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is almost entirely surrounded by mountains (except to the south, toward Austria and Slovakia). Mountains mark a natural border with Germany and Poland.
There are over 2,000 castles, keeps, and castle ruins in the Czech Republic, one of the highest density in the world
One of the most famous Czech sportswoman is tennis champion Martina Navratilova (born in 1956), statistically the second best female player of the 20th century behind Steffi Graf.

7. Slovakia
Slovakia is a car-country. With more than 100 cars per 1000 people they are the largest producer of cars if counted per person.
In Slovakia, they have a unique active geyser that spouts water to a height of 15 meters. It erupts every one and a half day. Similar geysers are located only in Iceland.
Almost 50 amazingly well-preserved wooden churches stand all over Slovakia. They are part of the cultural heritage of UNESCO, all-wood and without a single nail. The oldest of them is the church of St. Francis of Assisi in Hervartov . It was built in 1500.

8. Poland Poland is the 9th largest country in Europe
Poland has 17 Nobel Peace prize winners
Poles eat pizza with ketchup

9. Hungary
Rick Steves: Hungary

10. Bulgaria
Bulgaria is the oldest country in Europe that hasn’t changed its name since it was first established. This happened in 681 AD.
Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, was founded 7000 years ago. This makes it the second oldest city in Europe
Bulgaria has many beaches that sit on the Black Sea. In fact, Bulgaria is considered the Garden of Eden of Eastern Europe

11. Moldova
Moldovans speak either Romanian, which is the native language, Russian or Gagauz. Some speak all three.
Moldova has the dubious distinction of being the poorest country in Europe with a per capita GDP of just $1,843 (£1,395), according to the World Bank. To put that into perspective, consider this: nearby Bulgaria, the poorest member of the European Union, has a GDP of $6,819 (£5,163).
Ancient tools dating back 1.2 million years have been found in some of Moldova's key archeological sites. The flint relics were added to the national hoard of Paleolithic and Neolithic artefacts that includes jewelry, weapons and cooking utensils.

12. Albania
In the evenings, the locals like to walk. But it’s not just a walk. Known as xhiro, it’s an official evening walk where every resident comes out to stretch their legs and catch up with their neighbours. In many towns, the roads close to cars for certain hours! Apartment blocks empty and everyone gathers at various places, walking and talking until nightfall
The majority of Albanians are Muslim. About 70% at last count. A 2011 census shows that about 60% of Muslims are practicing Sunni and Bektashi Shia, making it the largest religion in the country. About 17% are Christian, which makes it the second largest religion, and another 17% are either undeclared or atheist.

13. România
Romanian travel video

14. Serbia Serbia is the largest raspberry exporter in the world
18 Roman emperors were born on the territory of modern day Serbia. The most famous of them was definitely Constantine the Great, Roman emperor who declared Christianity as the official religion. Moreover, Serbia is home to one of 4 Roman capitals – the ancient city of Sirmium, today’s Sremska Mitrovica.
‘Vampire’ is the only word of Serbian origin that is known the world over.

15. Montenegro
Montenegro in 1992 was officially declared an ecological state. It is the only of its kind in the world.
Biogradska Gora is one of the few remaining rainforests in Europe. This rainforest is home to numerous plant and animal species.

16. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sarajevo, the current capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics.
The Bosnian War was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and They used the olympic site as a war zone. Where the main medals were given was an execution site and they would launch bombs from the bob sled site
Bosnia and Herzegovina was the world champion of volleyball at the 2004 Summer Paralympics. Many of the team members lost their limbs in the Bosnian War.
After the olympics were over - i believe in 1993 a war started between serbia and B&H. they used the olympic site as a war zone. WHere the main medals were given was an execution site and the would launch bombs from the bob sled site.

17. Sarajevo Olympic village

18. Croatia Croatia has 1, 246 Islands, Inlets and Isles to sail through
Almost 10% of Croatia is made up of national parks and reserves
Croatia invented the neck tie

19. Slovenia There are over 10,000 caves in Slovenia
½ of Slovenia’s total surface area is covered in forest
The world’s largest ski jump is in Slovenia

20. Macedonia Birthplace of Mother Teresa
Greece does not acknowledge Macedonia as an independent country because they feel it belongs to Greece
Macedonia was the first country to have full access to wireless broadband

21. Kosovo
Kosovo is a small landlocked nation which has more than fifty percent of its population living under the poverty line
Ethnically, ninety percent of Kosovo's population is Albanian
Kosovo is the youngest nation in the world

22. Physical Geography of Eastern Europe

23. Landforms
The Physical Geography is characterized by Mountains and Plains
Carpathian Mountains in Slovakia and Northern Romania
They are geographically young
Less compact than the Swiss Alps
Water from these mountains flows into the Black Sea

24. Balkan Mountains of Bulgaria
Extension of the Alpine-Carpathian range
They are a climate barrier between the continental climate of the Danube River Valley and the the transitional climate south of the mountains.

25. Dinaric Alps
Span the countries of: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro
Karst Topography - terrain dominated by limestone bedrock and characterized by rocky ground, caves, sinkholes, underground rivers, and the absence of surface streams and lakes.
What is Karst?

26. Dinaric Alps continued

27. Water Systems Danube River 2nd largest river in Europe
Divides Budapest (capital of Hungary) into 2 main parts Buda and Pest
International waterway and has served as a commercial highway

28. Main River
It is a tributary of the Rhine River
Took 30 years to build
Hydroelectric power plant
Vistula River
Largest river in Poland
Has ports that are crucial to the Polish economy
Black Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Baltic Sea
The Adriatic Sea

29. Climates, Biomes, and Resources
Much of this region has a humid continental climate characterized by cold, snowy winters and hot summers. Eastern Europe does not benefit from the warm ocean currents that moderate the climates in Western Europe. Summer and winter temperatures inland vary more widely than they do on the coast.

30. Climates, Biomes, and Resources
The Baltic Sea and the Northern European Plain
Marked by long, cold winters with temperatures reaching a low of 14 degrees in mid winter.
It has short summers.
The Danube Region
Is comprised of the Carpathian and Balkan Mountains and the Hungarian Plain.
Continental climate.
Summers and winters are equally long and have moderate temperatures
Steppe Climate
Has a subtropical climate.
Cold winters.
Hot, dry summers.
Grassland Biome
Adriatic Sea
Has a humid subtropical climate.
Mild, rainy winters. Hot, dry and sunny summers

31. Natural Resources
The Carpathian Mountains have reserves of natural gas, oil and coal
Latvia has hydroelectricity. It accounts for 71% of their electric capacity
Romania uses the Danube River for hydroelectricity. It obtains ⅓ of its electrical needs from here
Poland has vast coal, natural gas, iron, zinc, lead, copper, and small silver reserves. They are known for its amber, often referred to as “Baltic gold.”
Most all Eastern European countries have bauxite reserves. Bauxite is used to make aluminium

32. Human Geography of Eastern Europe

33. History and Government
Eastern Europe has undergone many changes in the past few decades. The political geography of the subregion has changed drastically as the result of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in Eastern European economies are being integrated into the European Union and the world markets. They have made variable progress in the difficult transition from communist-based command economies to market economies

34. History and Government
Eastern Europe is known as a shatter belt region, this means it is a region where political alliances are constantly splintering and fracturing based on ethnicity.
Shatterbelt regions are more likely to engage in interstate wars and civil wars. During the cold war ( ) they were dominated by the Soviet Union. When the USSR fell old animosities reappeared causing political instability.

35. History and Government - Early Peoples, Empires and Conflict
Slavs migrated from Asia thousands of years ago and settled in Eastern Europe alongside Celtic and Germanic tribes.
The Mountain terrain allowed them to resist invading armies, particularly the Mongols in the 1200’s
Around A.D. 106 the Romans conquered the lands between the Carpathian Mountains and the Danube River and called it Romania.
After the fall of Rome the eastern half became part of the Byzantine Empire.
This lasted for 1000 years before falling to the Ottoman Empire in 1453.
The Ottoman empire ruled most of the southern part of Eastern Europe until the fall of it after WWI

36. History and Government - Conflict, Union and Division
The Ethnic conflict in this region contributed to the start of WWI when a Serbian nationalist assassinated Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungry throne, in 1914.
After WWI
A new map was drawn based upon ethnicity, population, politics, and economic strengths.
Yugoslavia combined many ethnic groups in lands that had been contested between the Austro- Hungarian and Ottoman Empires for hundreds of years.
As a shatterbelt the Balkan peninsula has seen a division of larger countries into smaller ones and this is called balkanization - a division of a region into a smaller region.

37. History and Government - Conflict, Union and Division
After WWII
Eastern Europe fell under Communist control.
They were part of the Cold War, an ideological, political and geographical war. The Soviets used Eastern Europe as a “buffer zone”.
The buffer zone provided military protection and led to very different types of social, economic, and political developments between Eastern and Western Europe.

38. History and Government - The Road to a New Era
1950’s-1980’s, saw revolts against the communist rule.
1989, large-scale revoltuing contributed to the fall of the communist government.
1991, the nationalist protests and financial crisis led to new, ethnic based countries within Yugoslavia.
This also resulted in civil war and ethnic cleansing, the expelling from a country or genocide of an ethnic group.
In this region the Bosnian Croats and the Bosnian Muslims were affected the most.
NATO countries bombed Serbian military and civilian targets to stop the ethnic cleansing.
In less than 20 years, the country of Yugoslavia was divided into 8 smaller countries.

39. Population Patterns
Most Eastern Europeans are ethnically Slavic, they are defined by their language.
The Roma, trace its language back to Indo-European origins and are thought to have migrated from Northern India centuries ago. There are several million Roma who live in Europe. They tend to be less educated, have poorer health care, and shorter life expectancies
Population density is influenced by geographic factors. For example, Poland has fertile soil and ample water resources so it can support large populations.
Following WWII you have large scale migration. Most Jewish people left this region and migrated to Israel. Also, a great number of people migrated to escape communism

40. Society and Culture Today
Since communism fell they have had free education.
Literacy rates are improving. Though lack of funds in some countries have affected education systems
Health Care is considered “cradle to grave”. High numbers of senior citizens, low numbers of infants. Most people have access to high quality of health care
Religion: Eastern Orthodox, Islam, Catholicism and Judaism

41. Society and Culture Today - Family and Status of Women
The family is the basic social unit and serves to reinforce social values.
Eastern European families tend to have fewer children and extended family members live other places.
Women have made gains in education, and are able to be employed in professional jobs.

42. Society and Culture Today - The Arts
Folk and classical music are important to the Czech, Hungarian, Slovak, and Slovene people
Hungarian Folk Music
This region has produced world famous writers, such as Czech born Franz Kafka ( ) known for his work of Metamorphosis
Many writers from this region write about the despair and darkness that fell over the region due to war, ethnic conflict, and economic depressions.

43. Economic Activities
Agriculture and Industry: Eastern Europe was industrialized under communist rule, many parts worked hard to maintain their agricultural roots.
The mediterranean climate produces olives, citrus fruits, dates, and grapes.
Farther north farmers grow wheat, rye, and other grains along with livestock
Fishing is an industry that relies on lakes and rivers. They fish for carp and perch
Most countries have world-class internet services
European Union includes Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, and Romania

44. People and their Environment: Eastern Europe

45. People and their Environment
Natural resources, people, and culture combine to influence the nature of human impact on the environment in a given region. For example, some countries in Eastern Europe have followed plans on rapid and intense industrialization without regards to the effects on the environment. In addition, dams, dikes, and other types of development have damaged water quality, posing a threat to wetlands, fish and bird populations.

46. People and their Environment - Managing Resources
It is believed that 80% of Europe was once covered by forest.
Illegal logging. One of the reasons for illegal logging is high cost of electricity. Burning of the wood causes air pollution.
Bulgaria and Romania rank at the top of the UN’s development program for having the most citizens die of urban pollution.
As individuals left rural farmlands to work in cities interest in reforestation, the action of renewing forest cover (as by natural seeding or by the artificial planting of seeds or young trees) grew.
Eastern Europe has begun to focus on preserving their forests but, environmental activists and the logging industry are going head to head.

47. People and their Environment - Human Impact
The communist government placed an emphasis on rapid industrialization and heavy manufacturing. Black triangle of Poland, Eastern Germany, and the Czech Republic that relies primarily on burning coal os a power source. This causes: soot that covers the ground, and air that smells of sulfur.
Excessive reliance on coal burning led to air, soil, and water pollution. The communist built smokestacks to purposely carry the pollution away from those areas and caused pollution in areas without heavy industry.
Acid rain effects forest, lakes, and rivers. When the snow melts in the spring there is meltwater, the result of melting snow and ice that carries the acid to lakes and rivers.

48. People and their Environment - Human Impact
Agricultural pollution, as water moves through the ground it picks up fertilizers and pesticides. This agricultural runoff deposits pollutants into the both the Danube and Vistula rivers.
Prior to 1989 Eastern Europe had no laws to help protect the environment.

49. People and their Environment - Addressing the Issues
Members of the EU can face legal action if they do not respect international environmental laws.
Helsinki Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea area. This regulates land based sources of pollutants.
The ban on Dolphin fishing and runoff into the the Black Sea
WWF
This area needs to regulate its mining methods, adopt modern technologies, and educate the people about the environment