Growth of Nations in Eastern Europe

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Growth of Nations in Eastern Europe

• Chapter 32
• Section 5

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Defined

• Eastern Europe is an eastern region of Europe
  variably defined. It can denote
• the region lying between the variously and
  vaguely defined areas of Central Europe and
  Russia. This contemporary delineation is more
  commonly used to identify the region since the
  dissolution of the Warsaw Pact
• a diverse area of land stretching from east to
  west as follows
• - its eastern limit is either the Ural Mountains
  within Russia or from the Pacific coast of the
  Russian Far East
• - its western limit is the boundary between the
  European Union and the Commonwealth of
  Independent States

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• Politically, "Eastern Europe" may in fact cover
  all of northeastern Eurasia, since Russia is one
  single transcontinental geo-political entity.
  Cyprus is also frequently taken to be a European
  state, although geographically it is in Asia. The
  same approach is also sometimes taken with the
  post-Soviet states of Georgia, Armenia, and
  Azerbaijan in the Caucasus.

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• More recently, the term "Eastern Europe" has been
  used to refer to all European countries that were
  previously ruled by Communist regimes - the
  so-called "Eastern Bloc". The idea of an "Iron
  Curtain" separating "Western Europe" and
  Soviet-controlled "Eastern Europe" was dominant
  throughout the period of Cold War which followed
  the Second World War.

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• As a cultural and ethnic concept, the term
  Eastern Europe was defined by 19th century German
  nationalists to be synonymous with "Slavic
  Europe", as opposed to Germanic (Western) Europe.
  This concept was re-enforced during the years
  leading up to World War II and was often used in
  a racist terminology to characterize
  Eastern/Slavic culture as being backwards and
  inferior to Western/Germanic culture, language,
  and customs.
• Eastern Europe would then refer to the imaginary
  line which divided predominantly German lands
  from predominantly Slavic lands. The dividing
  line has thus changed over time as a result of
  the World Wars, as well as numerous expulsions
  and genocides.

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Previous to 1989
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• Poland began to form into a recognizable unitary
  and territorial entity around the middle of the
  10th century under the Piast dynasty. Poland's
  first historically documented ruler, Mieszko I,
  was baptized in 966, adopting Catholic
  Christianity as the country's new official
  religion, to which the bulk of the population
  converted in the course of the next century. In
  the 12th century Poland fragmented into several
  smaller states, which were later ravaged by the
  Mongol armies of the Golden Horde in 1241.

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• In Polish Democracy every member of parliament
  was able to break any work or project by shouting
  'Liberum Veto' during the session. Russian czars
  took advantage of this unique political
  vulnerability by offering money to Parliamentary
  traitors, who in turn would consistently and
  subversively block necessary reforms and new
  solutions.

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• The Soviet Union instituted a new communist
  government in Poland, analogous to much of the
  rest of the Eastern Bloc. In 1948 a turn towards
  Stalinism brought in the beginning of the next
  period of totalitarian rule. The People's
  Republic of Poland (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa)
  was officially proclaimed in 1952.
• In 1956 the régime became more liberal, freeing
  many people from prison and expanding some
  personal freedoms. In 1970 the government was
  changed. It was a time when the economy was more
  modern, and the government had large credits.
  Labour turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of
  the independent trade union, "Solidarity"
  ("Solidarnosc" in Polish), which over time became
  a political force. It eroded the dominance of the
  Communist Party by 1989 it had triumphed in
  parliamentary elections.
• Lech Walesa, a Solidarity candidate, eventually
  won the presidency in 1990. The Solidarity
  movement greatly contributed to the
  soon-following collapse of Communism all over
  Eastern Europe.

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Tatra Mountains