EASTERN EUROPE By: Sahithi Next Hey Folks. Today we will learn about Eastern Europe. And there’s the map of Eastern Europe.
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By: Sahithi Next Hey Folks. Today we will learn about Eastern Europe. And there’s the map of Eastern Europe. Hey Folks. Today we will learn about Eastern.
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By: Sahithi Next Hey Folks. Today we will learn about Eastern
Europe. And theres the map of Eastern Europe. Hey Folks. Today we
will learn about Eastern Europe. And theres the map of Eastern
Europe.
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Albania Andorra Austria Belarus Belgium Bosnia Herzegovina
Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus The Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland
France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kosovo Latvia
Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco
Montenegro The Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia
San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey
Ukraine United Kingdom Vatican City *Eastern European Countries
Next
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Russia The Czech Republic Hungary Romania Moldova Croatia
Lithuania Latvia Estonia Slovenia Slovakia Bulgaria Ukraine Belarus
Serbia Montenegro Albania Bosnia Herzegovina Kosovo Macedonia
Poland Next
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RUSSIA Russia is Eastern Europe's largest and easternmost
country. It separates Europe from Asia and straddles both
continents over a wide geographical area that engulfs many
cultures, terrains, and climates. Moscow is Russia's capital city,
but it's an important cultural and historical center, too. Most
individuals who travel to Russia visit Moscow first: here, the
Kremlin's walls contain echoes of legends, museums guard important
examples of Russian art, the nation's rich and powerful strut their
plumage. THE CZECH REPUBLIC Breaking a nearly 75-year union with
the Slovak Republic in 1993, this independent country in Central
Europe consists of the regions of Bohemia and Moraviaonce part of
the Great Moravian Empire formed by Slav tribes in the early ninth
century. The Bohemian kingdom arose here during the tenth century,
its 600-year reign a highlight of Czech history. Bohemia is a
plateau surrounded by mountains, and Moravia, to the east, is
mostly hills and lowlands. Austria's Habsburgs took control of both
regions at the start of the 16th century. With the end of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, the Czechs and Slovaks came
together to create Czechoslovakia. NextBack
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HUNGARY The Danube River flows north to south through the
middle of Hungary, splitting this landlocked central European
country almost in half. Hungarians (Magyars) migrated here from
Asia more than a thousand years ago and are distinct from the
Germanic and Slavic peoples that surround them. Hungary's support
for Hungarian minorities in other countries is sometimes criticized
as interference by neighboring governments. ROMANIA Romania lies on
the Black Sea coast of southeastern Europe. The Carpathian
Mountains and the Transylvanian Alps divide the country into three
physical and historical regions: Wallachia in the south, Moldavia
in the northeast, and Transylvania in the country's center. The
majority of the people are Romanian (89 percent), but the Hungarian
minority, living in the Transylvanian basin, numbers some 1.7
million. Communists took power in 1947 and installed a Soviet-style
government. MOLDOVA Landlocked Moldova lies in eastern Europe
between Romania and Ukraine. It consists of hilly grassland drained
by the Prut and Dniester Rivers, and the economy is mainly
agricultural. Most of Moldova was part of Romania before World War
II, and two-thirds of Moldovans speak Romanian. Soviets annexed
Moldova in 1940, and Russians and Ukrainians settled in the
industrial region east of the Dniester (known as Transdniestria).
After Moldova gained independence in 1991, Transdniestria seceded,
making Tiraspol its capital. Moldova does not recognize
Transdniestria's independence and works to resolve the conflict.
Next Back
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CROATIA A crescent-shaped country in southeast Europe, Croatia
extends from the fertile plains of the Danube to the mountainous
coast of the Adriatic Sea. In the Adriatic, Croatia has 1,185
islands many are major tourist areas. The 1991-95 civil war between
Croats and Serbs caused massive damage to cities and industries.
War halted the tourist trade and drastically cut industrial output,
including a lucrative ship-building business. Since the war,
Croatia has progressed politically and economically; it applied for
European Union membership in 2003. LITHUANIA Lithuania is in
northern Europe, on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. The
landscape consists of gently rolling plains and extensive forests.
Beginning at about the same time as movements in the other Baltic
republics of Estonia and Latvia, Lithuania quickly surged ahead. In
March 1990 democratically elected representatives voted for
independence, lost in 1940 with annexation by the Soviet Union.
Lithuania, embracing market reform since independence, joined both
the European Union and NATO in 2004. LATVIA Flat and forested,
Latvia lies on the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. Few former Soviet
republics experienced a more profound shift in character during
their 50 years of domination than this Baltic country. From
1939-1989 the proportion of ethnic Latvians in Latvia dropped from
73 to 52 percentdue to heavy Russian immigration and Latvian
emigration. Since independence in 1991, Latvian ethnicity has
started to rebound and now constitutes 59 percent of the
populationRussians are 29 percent. An industrial country with trade
ties to the West, Latvia joined NATO and the EU in 2004. Next
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ESTONIA Estonia, smallest in population of the former Soviet
republics, is a low-lying land on the Baltic Sea with 1,500 lakes
and plenty of forests. Independence blossomed briefly between 1918
and1940 after centuries of German, Swedish, and Russian rule.
During World War II it was invaded first by Russian troops, then
Germans, and then Russians again, forcing Estonia into the Soviet
Union in 1944. Since independence in 1991, Estonia deals with the
legacy of Russian workers brought in during the Soviet years26
percent of the population is Russian. As a stable democracy with a
market economy, Estonia looks west for trade and security, joining
both the European Union and NATO in 2004. SLOVANIA Slovenia is an
Alpine-mountain state in central Europe consisting mainly of Roman
Catholic Slovenes. In 1918 Slovenia joined the Kingdom of Serbs,
Croats, and Slovenes subsequently named Yugoslavia. Slovenia
proclaimed its independence in June 1991, prompting a ten-day
conflict that brought defeat to the Serb-dominated Yugoslav Army.
It is the most prosperous of the former Yugoslav republics, with
the region's highest standard of living. Its Western outlook and
economic stability won Slovenia membership in both NATO and the EU
in 2004. This country's split from the more affluent,
industrialized Czech Republic in 1993 was prompted by Slovak
nationalism and grievances over rapid economic reforms instituted
by the Czechoslovak government in Praguereforms that left many
Slovaks without jobs. Slovakia's industrial economy is market
oriented. It joined NATO and the European Union in 2004. SLOVAKIA A
landlocked country in central Europe, Slovakia is mostly
mountainous except for southern lowlands along the Danubewhere the
capital, Bratislava, is found. Next Back
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BULGARIA Bulgaria, in southeastern Europe, is dominated by
rugged mountains, except for the Danube lowland in the north that
it shares with Romania. Rich farmland in the Danube Valley, 130
kilometers (80 miles) of sandy beaches on the Black Sea, and
mountainous terrain characterize one of Eastern Europe's least
densely populated nations. Most of the population is urban; about
83 percent are Orthodox Christians, and some 12 percent are
Muslimthe Rhodope Mountains, along the border with Greece, are home
to many Muslims, including an ethnic Turkish minority. UKRAINE The
Carpathian Mountains rise in the west and the Crimean Mountains in
the south, but the heartland of Ukraineslightly larger than
Franceis the rich flat earth that stretches for 1,600 kilometers
(1,000 miles), known as the steppe. Once called the breadbasket of
the Soviet Union, Ukraine also has huge deposits of coal and iron
that feed heavy industry, particularly in the Donbas (Donets Basin)
and Kryvyy Rih regions. BELARUS Belarus, meaning "White Russia," is
in Eastern Europe and consists of flat lowlands separated by low
hills and uplands. Forests cover a third of this republic, and the
Pinsk Marshes occupy much of the south. Settled by a Slavic people,
Belarus was dominated by Kiev during the 13th century, by Lithuania
and Poland into the 18th century, and by Russia after 1772. The
region suffered grievously during World War II, losing more than
two million people. Postwar years saw heavy industrial development,
centered at Minsk. The 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl
(Chernobyl), just south of Belarus in Ukraine, contaminated one
third of Belarus70 percent of the radiation fell on its territory.
Belarusians continue to suffer from high incidences of cancer and
birth defects, and about 25 percent of the land is considered
uninhabitable. Next Back
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SERBIA Located in southwestern Europe, Serbia possesses a
fertile Danube plain in the north, but the land becomes rugged and
mountainous in the south. Serbia was once the dominant state within
Yugoslavia, a republic formed in 1929 to forcibly unify the Kingdom
of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. The republic was held together by
coercionfirst under kings then under a communist governmentuntil
1991-92 when Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, and Bosnia and
Herzegovina declared independence. By 1992, all that was left of
Yugoslavia was Serbia and Montenegro. MONTENEGRO Montenegro
declared its independence on June 3, 2006. It is about the size of
Connecticut, with a population of 650,000. The country got its name
(literally, "black mountain") from the dark, mountain forests that
cover the land. Some 60 percent of the country is more than 1,000
meters (3,280 feet) high, with the tallest peak reaching to 2,522
meters (8,274 feet). The mountains were a natural fortress that
helped Montenegro maintain its independence until it suffered
devastating losses in World War I. It became part of Serbia in 1918
and Yugoslavia in 1929. ALBANIA Albania lies along the Adriatic Sea
in southeastern Europe. The narrow coastal plain rises to mountains
that are almost 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) high, which cover most of
the country. These mountains are rich in mineral resources such as
chrome, iron, nickel, and copper; however, mining requires
investment that Albania lacks. It is one of the poorest countries
in Europe (and the only one with a Muslim majority). It suffered
from more than 40 years of communist rule, which ended in 1991.
Next Back
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BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA In mountainous southeastern Europe,
Bosnia's Muslims, or Bosnians, trace their ancestry to Christian
Slavs who converted to Islam under the Ottomans for tax and
landholding advantages. Yugoslavia recognized Bosnians as a
separate people in 1969. Muslim Slavs and Roman Catholic Croats
voted in early 1992 for independence from Yugoslavia; most Eastern
Orthodox Serbs were fiercely opposed. In the ensuing 1992-95 civil
war, some 250,000 people died. The Dayton Peace Accord ended the
war and partitioned the country into a Muslim-Croat region and a
Serbian region (Serbian Republic). High unemployment and ethnic
tensions continue to hamper the country. KOSOVO Kosovo became a
nation when its parliament declared independence from Serbia on
February 17, 2008. The United States and many European countries
have recognized Kosovo's independence, while Serbia and some of its
allies, most notably Russia, have denounced the declaration as
illegal. Kosovo, which was part of the former Yugoslavia, had been
run by the United Nations and NATO since 1999, when Serbian forces
were ousted after a U.S.-led NATO air war was launched to end
Serbia's crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists. About 10,000
people were killed and nearly one million others were driven from
their homes during the conflict. Located in southeastern Europe,
Kosovo is landlocked and roughly the size of the U.S. state of
Connecticut. Its name refers to a place outside the capital,
Prishtina, and loosely translated it means "field of blackbirds."
Much of Kosovo's terrain is mountainous, with the highest peak,
Gjeravica, rising 8,714 feet (2,656 meters) above sea level. Kosovo
has two main plains and several notable rivers and lakes. The
climate is continental with warm summers and cold and snowy
winters. Next Back
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MACENDONIA The landlocked and mostly mountainous country of
Macedonia, in southeastern Europe, proclaimed independence from
Yugoslavia in September 1991. The UN officially calls the country
"The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"due to Greece's fear
that use of "Macedonia" might imply territorial ambitions toward
the Greek region of Macedonia. The democratic government faced a
2001 rebellion launched by ethnic Albanians, who make up 25 percent
of the population. Negotiations led to laws making Albanian an
official language and providing other minority rights. POLAND The
largest country in central Europe, most of Poland is low-lying,
with woods and lakes. Unlike many of its neighbors, Poland has only
a minuscule minority population. Poles as a nation are unified by
the Polish language and a common religionRoman Catholicism.
Buffered by the Baltic Sea in the north and the Carpathian
Mountains in the south, Poland enjoys no such natural protection to
the east and west. Nazi Germany invaded in 1939 and built the
Auschwitz concentration camp, where 1.35 million Jews and more than
100,000 others were murdered. After World War II, Joseph Stalin
seized a chunk of eastern Poland for the Soviet Union. Next
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