Lesson 3 –Life In Eastern Europe And Western Russia

Lesson 3 – Life in EasternEurope and Western RussiaPg. 410-417

Ethnicities inEastern Europe & Western Russia Ethnic groups: mostly Slavic Languages: Slavic languages,but vary by regiono Alphabet: Cyrillic à

Religion in Eastern Europe &Western Russia Eastern Orthodox in thecentral & east à Catholic in the west Lutheran & Catholic in theBaltics Islam in Albania & Bosniaß St. Basil’sCathedral inMoscow,Russia

The Sourceof muchConflict

A History of Ethnic Turmoil Diversity: Few natural boundaries mean this region hasbeen invaded MANY times in historyo Many diverse ethnic groups live here and come into conflict Weak governments: When the USSR collapsed,devolution (a powerful central government gives uppower to local governments) led to the rise ofnationalism in Eastern Europe. Russian Aggression: a threat to border states (Ukraine)and to groups in Russia (Chechnya) that want to breakawayo Chechnya’s oil reserves & good location are important to Russia’seconomy, so the government puts down on protests harshly

Economies inEastern Europe & Western Russia Agriculture & forestry Some industry, but outdated Mining Switching from communism to a freemarket economy has been difficulto People own businesses instead of thegovernment, but oligarchs (a few powerful,rich people) tend to control the businesseso Not enough goods producedo Higher unemployment and inflation (risingprices) for food & clothing

Environmental concerns in Eastern Europe &Western Russia Forests & farmland have been ruined inthe rush to build up industries Air & Water Pollutiono smog is causing lung disease &cancero Drinking water is ruined due tochemicals, poor sewer systems, &old chemical weapons in dumps§ Life expectancy (# of years an averageperson lives) in Russia is 71 years(ranked #154 in the world)

Regions of Eastern Europe & Western Russia Western Russia The Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, & Lithuania) Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, & Hungary The Balkans The Border States (Belarus, Ukraine, & Moldova)

Russia Today Population: 142.4 million, mostlySlavs Government: federal republicoPowerful President (and former KGBintelligence officer) Vladimir PutinৠHas improved Russia’s economy andreasserted itself as a world power§ BUT, limits freedom of speech & thepress and dealt harshly withopponents.

The Arts in Russia Enjoy the outdoors, sports (hockey,skating, gymnastics), movies/TV,modern music Famous for ballet & operao Peter Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker,Sleeping Beautyo Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird Suiteo Mariinsky Theater à Folk Dancing Literature:o War & Peace, Leo Tolstoy Faberge eggs

Russian Food Borscht – beet soup Shchi – cabbage soup Prioshki – meat turnovers Caviar Boiled potatoes

The Baltic States(Estonia, Latvia, & Lithuania) Small populations that weretreated harshly when they weretaken over by the Soviet Uniono Used nonviolent resistance tobreak away

Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, & Hungary Countries that lost a lot of territoryduring WWI & WWIIo 3 million Polish Jews were killedduring the Holocaust, causing a lackof ethnic diversity in Poland

Culture in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, &Hungary Major Cities:o Budapest, Hungary ào Warsaw, Polando Prague, Czech Republic Famous Poles:o Frederic Chopin, musiciano Marie Curie, physicisto Nicolaus Copernicus

The Balkans: (Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, BosniaKosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia, Croatia, Slovenia) Controlled by the OttomanTurks for 500 years, then theSoviet Union, 1948-1980s Continuing conflict in theregion of former Yugoslavia asnationalist groups try tocontrol each countryo “Balkanization”- to split upinto small countries that arein conflict with each othero Resulted in ethnic cleansing(genocide) removing ormurdering other ethnicgroups& Herzegovina,

The Border States(Belarus, Ukraine, & Moldova) 1932-33 Ukrainian “Famine” Soviet leader Josef Stalin starved 7 millionUkrainian farmers who refused to give uptheir good farmland to the communistsystem (genocide!) 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Meltdown Caused pollution, cancer, & birth defects inUkraine & Belarus Since 2014, Russian troops have occupiedeastern Ukraine (22% of Ukraine’s 48 millionpeople are ethnic Russians) Folk music – bandura, hopak dancing

Lesson 3 –Life in Eastern Europe and Western Russia Pg. 410-417. . Western Russia Eastern Orthodox in the central & east à Catholic in the west Lutheran & Catholic in the Baltics Islam in Albania & Bosnia ßSt. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, Russia. . §Life expectancy (# of years an average person lives) in Russia is 71 .