1. Eastern Europe

2. Physical Geography

3. Physical Features
 Land of Contrast
 cold-warm climates; jagged mountains; rolling hills
 Landforms:
 Northern European Plain, Carpathians (low mt. range),
Great Hungarian Plain (fertile area), Dinaric Alps &
Balkan Mts. cover Balkan Peninsula
 Water Features:
 Adriatic Sea (trade and transportation, Black Sea (trade
and transportation), Danube River (transportation,
trade, important to economy, & produces electricity;
heavily polluted)

4. Climate & Vegetation
 Wide variety determined by climate and landscape
 The Baltic Coast
 Coldest location in E. Europe
 Fog is common
 Huge forests

5.  The Interior Plains
 Milder temps
 Many types of vegetation:
forests, grassy
plains, wildflowers
 Eastern Europe’s forests:
damaged by terrible
accident
 Nuclear power plant
explosion
Chernobyl, Ukraine
 Radiation released into
the air ruining forests
and soil

6.  The Balkan Coast
 Mediterranean climate
 Beaches attract tourists
 Not many forests
 Shrubs and hardy trees

7. Poland and the Baltic Republic

8. History
 Settled by many different groups
 Groups became: Estonians, Latvians, & Lithuanians
 Each had own language and culture
 Historical events tie all together

9. Early History
 People of the Baltics
 Formed many independent kingdoms
 Lithuania & Poland were largest & strongest
 Ruled much of Eastern & Northern Europe
 Latvia & Estonia small and weak kingdoms
 Often invaded by others

10. The World Wars
 WWI & WWII were devastating
 WWI fought mainly in Poland: many soldiers and
civilians died
 WWII: began when Germany invaded Poland from the
west. Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east.
Millions were killed & property destroyed.
 Estonia, Latvia, & Lithuania also suffered
 Occupied by Soviet army

11. Soviet Domination
 Soviets dominated Eastern Europe after WWII
 Estonia, Latvia, & Lithuania became part of U.S.S.R.
after war
 Poland remained free, but had to have Communist
gov’t
 Communist gov’t was opposed by many
 1991 the Baltic Republics broke away from U.S.S.R. &
became independent once again.

12. Culture
 Cultures are different & similar
 Speak different languages and practice different
religions
 Latvian, Lithuanian, & Polish
 Catholic & Lutheran
 Common customs: cook same types of foods & enjoy
same types of entertainment
 Potatoes & sausage, seafood
 Pottery, painting, and embroidery, music & dance
 Frederic Chopin

13. The Region Today
 Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, & Poland
 Feel effects of Soviet Rule still
 Economies not developed during Soviet Rule
 No decent infrastructure (the set of resources, like
roads, airports, and factories, that a country needs in order to
support economic activities.
 Working to build & strengthen economies
 Replacing old & outdated factories w/ new ones
 Seeking new sources of income
 Tourism is on the rise in these countries

14. Estonia Russian control
 History of
 30% ethnic Russian
 Russia is still important
trading partner
 New ties forming w/
Finland
 Language related to
Finnish
 Most people are Lutheran
 Ferries link Estonian
capital w/ Finnish capital

15. Latvia Baltic country
 2 largest
nd
 Highest % of ethnic
minorities
 57% are Latvian
 30% are Russian
 Largest urban area of Baltic
countries
 Strong Scandinavian &
Russian influences
 Once part of Russian
Empire & part once rules by
Sweden
 Most people are Lutheran
 Sweden & Finland are
important trading partners

16. Lithuania
 Largest of southernmost
Baltic countries
 Small % of ethnic
minorities
 80% are Lithuania
 9% Russian
 7% Polish
 Ancient ties w/ Poland
 Roman Catholicism is
main religion
 Agriculture & production
of consumer goods are
important

17. Poland most populous
 Largest &
 Gained independence
after WWI
 WWII communist gov’t
formed by Soviets
 1989 Communists allowed
free elections
 Ties w/ western countries
has strengthened
 1999 Poland, Czech
Republic, & Hungary
joined NATO

18. Inland Eastern Europe

19. History & Culture
 Inland Europe:
 Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine, Belarus, &
Moldova
 Ruled by many different people
 Influenced culture and customs

20. Czech Republic & Slovakia
 Once home to many small kingdoms
 Founded by Slavs
 People from Asia
 Austria eventually conquered Slavic kingdoms
 WWI
 Allies formed new nation: Czechoslovakia
 1993 split into Czech Republic & Slovakia
 Long ties w/ Western Europe
 Influenced by Western Europe
 Roman Catholic

21. Hungary
 900s
 Magyars invaded
 Eventually conquered by Austrians, but continued to
shape culture of area
 Hungarian language based on language of Magyars

22. Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova
 Settled by Slavs
 Conquered by other groups later
 Vikings
 Rus
 Settled in Kiev, Ukraine
 800s built huge empire
 1700s
 Rus empire became part of Russia
 1922
 Ukraine, Belarus, & Moldova become Soviet Republics
 Independent w/ Soviet Union breakup in 1991
 Influenced by Russian culture
 Orthodox Christians
 Languages written in Cyrillic (Russian) alphabet

23. Inland Eastern Europe Today
 Overcome most problems from Soviet Union control or
influence
 Some issues still remain
 Government:
 Once Communist gov’t w/ few freedoms
 Poor economies & hardships from policies
 Today: republics w/ elected leaders
 Belarus: claims to be republic, but really dictatorship
 Belong to Commonwealth of Independent States
 Meets to discuss issues such as trade and immigration that affect
former Soviet Republics
 Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, & Bulgaria not
members belong to EU

24. Economies
 Economic Development is major challenge
 Industry has help strengthen economies
 Ukraine: productive farmlands
 Potatoes, grains, & sugar beets

25. Cities
 Life centered around cities, especially capitals
 Capitals are key economic & cultural centers
 Cities are home to influential leaders & universities
 Cities are popular tourist destinations

26. The Balkan Countries

27. History
 Conquered & ruled by many groups
 Different groups continues to shape life in these areas

28. Early History
 600 B.C.
 Greeks founded colonies (Northern Black Sea coast)
 Romans conquered most of area (Adriatic Sea to Danube
River)
 Roman Empire Divided in late 300s A.D.
 Area became part of Byzantine Empire
 Many became Orthodox Christians at this time
 Muslim Ottoman Turks conquered Byzantine Empire
 Many people became Muslims
 Ottomans drove out in 1800s & separate kingdoms were
created

29. WWI & After
 Trouble between Balkan kingdoms & neighbors led to
WWI
 1800s: Austro-Hungarian Empire took control of part of
Balkan peninsula. A man from Serbia shot the heir to
Austro-Hungarian throne, starting the war
 After WWI
 Europe’s leaders divided peninsula
 Yugoslavia created (combination of several former
independent countries under one gov’t)
 Lasted until the 1990s (conflict between ethnic & religious
groups)

30. Culture
 Most diverse culture area in Europe
 Large number of religions practiced & languages
spoken

31. Religion
 Most are Christian
 3 Types: Orthodox Christian, Roman Catholic, and
Protestant
 Large group of Muslims who follow Islam

32. Language
 3 major:
 Slavic (related to Russian)
 Latin form (related to French, Italian, and Spanish)
 German
 Some languages are not related to these languages
 Albanian
 Roma (have own language)

33. The Balkans Today
 Recovering from weak economies from Soviet
Communist gov’t
 Poorest in Europe
 Religious & Ethnic groups have had serious
implications
 Violence
 Largest religious or ethnic groups tried to get rid of all other
groups (threatened with punishments or death)
 Known as ethnic cleansing
 Troops sent in 1995 & in 2008 fighting ended

34.  Albania: poorest; struggled since end of Soviet period;
high unemployment & crime rates
 Macedonia: once part of Yugoslavia, broke away in
1991; did so peacefully
 Slovenia: once part of Yugoslavia; joined EU in 2004
 Croatia: once part of Yugoslavia; fighting between
Croats and Serbs; many Serbs left and peace was
restored
 Bosnia & Herzegovina: peacefully since end of ethnic &
religious violence; people working to rebuild

35.  Serbia: largest nation of former Yugoslavia; fighting
between different ethnic groups
 Kosovo: former province of Serbia; independent in
2008; mostly ethnic Albanian
 Montenegro: mountainous country separated
peacefully from Serbia in 2006
 Romania: largest of Balkan states; recovering from
years of bad gov’t; poor leaders have left gov’t and
economy in ruins
 Bulgaria: people are working to develop a capitalist
economy based on industry and tourism