1. Central and Eastern Europe
Chapter 19
Central and Eastern Europe

2. Section 1 --Poland
National Identity- Poland has maintained this sense of what characteristics make them a nation
Physical Characteristics-
North European Plain- thick forests covered flat land
NE/E sandy/less fertile
NE Baltic Sea
Climate - Humid Continental
S - Carpathian Mts. -deposits of
coal, sulfur, and copper

3. Poland
Roman Catholic
Ethnic groups wiped out during the Holocaust (a fire that burns something completely)
Poland - Warsaw ghetto and 6 death camps
Post WWII - Soviets take control / Poland is communist / Catholic church survives

4. Last on Poland Solidarity - Independent Polish Workers’ Labor Union
Lech Walesa (Lek Veh Lan sah)- leader of the Solidarity movement, wanted economic reform
Outlawed by the Gov. in 1981
Lech Walesa became the 1st dem. Elected President of Poland
Change from command to market not easy - Walesa out in 1995

5. Poland Today
Parliamentary Democracy -Leg. Branch (parliament) is elected by the people (popular vote)
President is appointed by the Parliament
Prime Minister is always the majority in the Parliament - selected by Parliament members
Pres. - Lech Kaczynski
P.M. -Donald Tusk
Currency - zloty $1 = 3.2 zloty
EU member since Donald Tusk

6. Section 2 -- Czech and Slovak Republics and Hungary
Czech Republic -1993
10 million
Few flat areas (plains beside the Elbe river)
Plateaus and Mts. (Sudetic and Carpathian)
WWI - allies agree to Czechoslovakia (stable until WWII)
WWII - Nazis Soviets
Velvet revolution - without bloodshed led to first elected Gov.
Democratic parliament - President (Vaclav Havel)
republic becomes two (Velvet Divorce)
Privatization - selling Gov. industries to private owners

7. Czech Republic Czech Republic - NATO and EU (2004)
Czech Koruna - currency (.06 to $1 US)
Two regions
West - Bohemia - mines and industries (Prague)
Coal, iron ore, and quartz
East - Moravia - older and inefficient
Pollution - huge problem

8. Slovakia Slovak Republic - 5 million people
Carpathian Mts. - north / Danube river in the south
Farming and industry - fruits, veg., potatoes
Collective farms during communist rule
Bratislava - capital
Conflicts with Hungary immigration
Currency - Slovak Koruna.)

9. Hungary Magyars - Hungary are descendents of the Magyars(90%)
1000 AD - birth of Hungary when the Pope crowned King Stephen
Communist rule after WWII - the people revolted in 1956 with no luck
free elections
Danube river divides Hungary (E and W)
Great Alfold broad plain - “breadbasket” of Europe Eastern portion
Struggles with economy, high unemployment, poor industry
Forint -currency

10. Section 3 - The Balkan Peninsula
Balkanize - to break up into small pieces
All countries have been dominated for hundreds of years
Turks and communism
ROMANIA
Eastern Orthodox
Physical geography - broad plains with fertile valleys along the Danube - in the south.
North - Carpathian Mts.
Transylvanian Mts. - middle

11. Romania Troubles under communism
Nicolae Ceausescu (chowchesskoo)(Pres )when he and his wife were executed by themilitary
Bright spot - coke spent $150 million
Entrepreneurs - start and build a business
Multiplier effect - adding jobs because of coke
Currency The Leu - lowest currency in the world in 2005
EU since 2007

12. Bulgaria Borders the Black Sea / Danube river in the North
Balkan Mts on the west - fertile plains in the south
Bulgarians - Slavic (like many Russians)
After communism - found some new markets and foreign investment
Currency Lev - 1 to .$79 USD
EU 2007

13. Albania Borders the Adriatic sea
Pindus mts. Run on the entire eastern portion of the country
Very poor nation - relies heavily on foreign aid
Albanian Lek 78 to $1 dollar

14. Former Yugoslavia
Land of southern slavs - 6 nations became independent
Many ethnic groups - Serbs, Albanians, Croats, Muslims - long history of War and ethnic cleansing
Slovenia and Croatia
Macedonia and Bosnia
Left of Yugoslavia - Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo
250,000 people lost their lives and 2 million homeless during wars

15. Sect. 3 continued
Physical geography - mainly mts. With some plains and valleys by the Danube river
Croatia - Croats descended from early Slavs
Serbs - Eastern Orthodox/ Cyrillic alphabet
Croats - Roman catholic / Latin language
Slovenia - Julian Alps
Industry and resources have made it the wealthiest of the Balkan countries
Bosnia and Herzegovina - Serbs, Croats and Muslim
Very poor /civil war - foreign aid
Natural resources help

16. End of sect. 3
Macedonia - less conflicts ( some with Greece and Albania - hampered trade)
ethnic conflict over the National Language - Albanian became official
Kosovo - recently declared independence (2008)
Serbs attempted to cleanse Kosovo of ethnic Albanians even though they were the majority
NATO gets involved -Slobodon Milosivic (Serb. President) arrested and tried for crimes against humanity

17. Section 4 - Baltic states and Border Nations
Other Eastern countries had “independence” these countries were former Republics of the Soviet Union; Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova
Physical geography -bordering the Baltic, flat - marshy/fertile
Humid continental
Human - Est. and Lat - Lutheran Lith. - Catholic

18. Sect. 4 cont.
Baltic states - access to the sea benefit but also battle for control
Independent - after WWI
Soviet Union annexed (added) them WWII
Life was harsh, people fled, Nationalism looked down on - SU out in 1991
Many Russians in these countries
Diversify - increasing variety
Estonia - service and industries (mining, shipbuilding)
Lithuania - industry (food processing)
Latvia - most diverse (vehicles, pharmaceuticals,etc)

19. Ukraine Kiev – where the 1st Russian state began
Russian power moved to Moscow – rest wanted Kiev
Ukraine means border
Under Soviet Rule many Ukrainians starved
Chernobyl – accidental explosion destroyed a nuclear reactor
12.3 million acres polluted

20. Independence 1991 after the break up of the Soviet Union
“breadbasket” of Europe
Fertile steppe – warm weather / precip
Chernozem – black soil
Fight over natural gas and oil with Russia

21. Belarus and Moldova Belarus – also closely connected to Russia
Relies on service and industry / must import to finish product
Moldova – smallest of the former Soviet republics
Connected closely with Romania (language and culture)
Hilly terrain in the S. to Black sea
Frequent invasions