•Rests between

Russia and the

rest of Europe
• They have
varied history,
usually under
harsh leadership
 Eastern Europe is much less
urban than the rest of Europe
Behind rest of Europe because of
all years spent under Communism.
Second World Countries

CONFLICT:
Ethnic/religious rivalry is a major
problem
Jews have also faced anti-
Semitism
The Romany people (Gypsies) are
scattered across Europe and are
looked down upon because they
call no place “home”
End of Communism:
• The Soviet Union controlled
Eastern Europe for 4 decades
• Late 1980’s, Soviet Premier Mikhail
Gorbachev instituted new reforms for
economic hardships and gave
Eastern Europe greater freedom.
• Demanded an end to Communism
and held free elections.
• Problems followed- people were
not used to freedom and ethnic
loyalties created chaos
Yugoslavia, there were 6 republics
and 4 agreed to separate, led to civil
war. Czechoslovakia peacefully –
split into the Czech Republic and
Slovakia
Poland

covered by Northern
European Plain
Resources: coal, sulfur,
copper
95% Catholic, Pole ethnic
group
Holocaust, Jews sealed in
Poland: strong cultural identity
A Polish Nation: 95% Roman
Catholic
The Holocaust
•Jewish population down from
3 million to 9,000
•sealed into ghettos by Nazis
•concentration camps (6 million
Polish dead)
Poland

Catholic Church keeps Poles united

Solidarity: independent labor
union
•Led by Lech Walensa
Troubled economy
•end of Communism did not bring
instant prosperity
Czech and Slovak Republics & Hungary
Czech Republic -Industrial
Former Czechoslovakia
• Controlled by Communists from
• Velvet revolution: without bloodshed;
became a free society and free market
economy
• Velvet revolution led to a “velvet
divorce”
Czech and Slovak Republics & Hungary
Two regions
Bohemia: western half
•mines and industries
Moravia: eastern half
•air, water pollution
•inefficient industries
Czech and Slovak Republics & Hungary
Slovakia: agricultural region
•collective farms
(government owned; workers
paid by the government)
Czech and Slovak Republics & Hungary
Hungary:
one ethnic group,
Magyars
•Danube River
•“Breadbasket of
Europe” (fertile soil)
The Balkan Peninsula
Balkanize: break into small,
mutually hostile political units
Romania
Ceausescu
Eastern Orthodox, ethnic
Romanian
economy in chaos
The Balkan Peninsula
Bulgaria: “Garden of Eastern
Europe”
Slavic people
Rose industry
The Balkan Peninsula
Albania: “Europe’s Hermit”
small nation, distinctive
culture
isolation left country poor
The Balkan Peninsula
Yugoslavia
Six separate republics –
violent break-up
•Macedonia, Slovenia,
Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia,
Montenegro
Conflicts
Bosnia-Herzegovina: fighting
between Muslims, Croats,
Serbians
Ethnic cleansing: Serbs
drive out ethnic groups,
captured, murdered them
 “Ethnic Cleansing” of
Bosnian Muslims

WAR IN BOSNIA:
• In March 1992, Bosnia and
Herzegovina declared
independence
• Bosnia’s Muslims and Croats
supported the move, Serbian
population didn’t and started a
war using violence and mass
murder to rid the region of Croats President
and Muslims. Clinton
• Over 200,000 people died, 2
million fled their homes to
refugee camps
• In 1995, the US/UN sponsored a
peace treaty to end the fighting
Dayton (OH) Peace Accords
The Balkan Peninsula
Serbia and Montenegro
kept the name of Yugoslavia
after the other republics broke
away
industries poorly developed
economic disaster from break-up
and war
improved in 1990s
WAR IN KOSOVO:
• Serbs angry at Muslim Albanians
living in Kosovo
• Serbia, under Milošević, tried to
take control and wipe out the
Albanian population.
• The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)
formed and began attacking
Serbian officials
• The Serbian government bombed
villages and began a campaign of
ethnic cleansing against Albanians
• March 1999, NATO started
bombing Serbia to end the violence
In June, Milošević withdrew his
forces from Kosovo
• After the withdrawal, the world
learned of the atrocities committed
The Balkan Peninsula
Croatia
descended from same Slavic
people as Serbs
language same, alphabet and
religion different
fighting and conflict between
Serbs and Croats
Serbs still living in Croatia
economy in decline
The Balkan Peninsula
Slovenia
good industry; expected to recover rather quickly
from war
Bosnia-Herzegovina
ethnic complex: Serbs, Croats, Muslims
civil war has made the poor, poorer
foreign aid from United Nations and NATO
Macedonia
remained relatively quiet
poorest of old republics
CAUSES OF WATER
POLLUTION:
• Mines and factories Tisza River

discharge chemicals into

rivers and streams
• Bury solid waste which
seep into ground water.
• Burn coal and other
fuels which cause acid
rain which fall into water
sources
CAUSES OF WATER
POLLUTION
Sewage: Some countries have
no water treatment plants
Chemical Fertilizers: Rain
washed fertilizers from fields
into bodies of water causing
algae and plants to grow faster
than they can be eaten by fish.
Oil Spills: In December 1999, a
tanker spilled 10,000 tons of oil
off the coast of France,
spreading 250 miles along its
coastline. It killed thousands of
shorebirds.
• The EU has set up the
European
Environmental Agency
which keeps it informed
Logo of the
about environmental International
Commission
issues for the
Protection of
•E.E countries may be the Rhine

admitted to EU when
pollution controls are in
place.
CAUSES OF AIR POLLUTION: Air pollution
is made up of harmful gasses and
particulates (very small liquid or solid
particles) which are expelled into the
atmosphere:
• Using Fossil Fuels: Burning petroleum,
gas, or coals causes air pollution and creates
smog (brown haze that occurs when the
gases released by burning fossil fuels react
with sunlight to create hundreds of harmful
chemicals. One chemical is “ozone” which
plays a part in the removal of hydrocarbons
from the air, but is also the first step in the
creation of components of smog which can
be a powerful eye irritant.
• Fires: Forest fires and garbage burning
releases smoke and particulates into the
atmosphere.
• Chemical use: Dry cleaning, refrigeration,
air conditioning, and spraying pesticides are
a few human activities that release harmful
chemicals into the air.
• Industry: Factories discharge chemicals
such as sulfur … this was a big problem in
former Communist countries.
RESULTING PROBLEMS:
• Breathing problems can result from air
pollution such as asthma, bronchitis,
emphysema, and possibly even lung cancer
• It harms livestock and plants growth
• It causes acid rain which kills forests and
damages buildings (such as the Parthenon)

CLEANING UP THE AIR:

• Individual nations are passing laws to
make air safer
• France requires improve thermal
insulation of new buildings reducing the
need for fossil fuel use for heating
• Other European nations have followed suit
• In 1998, members of the European Union
agreed that in 2000, they would all
implement laws reducing car and van
emissions.