TERMS & NAMESMikhail Gorbachevparliamentary

republiccoalition governmentethnic cleansingDuma

After the breakup of the SovietUnion, many former Sovietrepublics and countries of EasternEurope became independent.

Nations once under Soviet rule are taking steps toward neweconomies and democraticgovernments.

MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW

THE KREMLIN, MOSCOW, 1988—To reduce

military spending, the Soviet Union has

begun removing large numbers of troops

and arms from Eastern Europe. This latest

news is just one of many changes in the

Soviet government since Mikhail Gorbachev

(GAWR•buh•chawf) came to power three

years ago.

Although Gorbachev believes in the

ideals of the Soviet system, he thinks that

change is necessary to help solve the coun-

try’s economic and political problems. Since

1985 Gorbachev has reduced Cold War

tensions with the United States. At home in

the Soviet Union, he has allowed more

political and economic freedom.

Eastern Europeand RussiaEastern Europeand Russia

Region • Mikhail Gorbachev leads

the Soviet Union toward a freer

society. �

TAKING NOTES

Government

Economy

AspectAfter

CommunismUnder

Communism

Use your chart to take notes about modern Europe.

154 CHAPTER 6

The Breakup of the Soviet UnionMikhail Gorbachev’s reforms did not solve the problems of theSoviet Union. The economy continued to get worse. WhenGorbachev did not force the countries of Eastern Europe toremain Communist, this further displeased many Communists.

In 1991, a group of more traditional Soviet leaders tried to takeover the Soviet government. Thousands of people opposed thiscoup d’état (KOO•day•TAH), and the coup failed. Then, one byone, the Soviet republics declared independence. The WarsawPact was dissolved. By the end of 1991, the Soviet Union nolonger existed.The huge country had become 15 different nations.

Modern Eastern EuropeEach former Soviet republic set up its own non-Communist gov-ernment. The countries of Eastern Europe that had been underSoviet control held democratic elections, and many wrote orrevised their constitutions.

In some countries, such as the Czech Republic, formerCommunists were banned from important government posts. Inother countries, such as Bulgaria, the former Communists reor-ganized themselves into a new political party and have won elec-tions. Many different ethnic groups also tried to create new stateswithin a nation or to reestablish old states that had not existed inmany years.

Parliamentary Republics Today, most of the countries of EasternEurope are parliamentary republics. A parliamentary republic is aform of government led by the head of the political party with themost members in parliament. The head of government, usually aprime minister, proposes the programs that the government willundertake. Most of these countries also have a president who hasceremonial, rather than political, duties.

Modern Europe 155

Vocabulary

coup d’état:the overthrow of a government,usually by a smallgroup in a position of power; oftenshortened to “coup”

The Central AsianSoviet republicswere mostlyMuslim. Theserepublics are nowthe countries ofKazakhstan,Turkmenistan,Uzbekistan,Kyrgyzstan, andTajikistan.

ARMENIA

AZERBAIJAN

GEORGIA

BELARUS

ESTONIA

K A Z A K H S T A N

POLANDSLOVAKIA

KYRGYZSTAN

LITHUANIA

CZECH REP.

EASTGERMANY

AUSTRIA HUNGARY

ALBANIA MACEDONIA

SLOVENIACROATIA

RUSSIA

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINAYUGOSLAVIA

LATVIA

MOLDOVA

R U S S I A

TURKMENISTANTAJIKISTAN

UZBEKISTAN

UKRAINE

ROMANIA

BULGARIA

Mediterranean Sea

NO

R

Black Sea

CaspianSea

Baltic

Sea

60°N

0

0 1,000 2,000 kilometers

1,000 2,000 miles

Former Soviet Republics and Warsaw Pact Members, 2001

GEOGRAPHYSKILLBUILDER:Interpreting a Map1. Location • Which

former Soviet republicsand Warsaw Pactmembers borderRussia?

2. Region • On whichcontinent are most of these countrieslocated?

Easter in Ukraine In Ukraine, most Christians belong to the Orthodox Church. TheseUkrainians are known for the special way in which they celebrate the Easter holiday. Theycreate beautiful Easter eggs, which are dyed bright colors and covered with intricatedesigns. These eggs are so beautiful that people around the world collect them.

Ukrainians also bake a special bread for Easter. They decorate it with designs made from pieces of dough. Families bring the bread and other foods to church to be blessed on Easter. Then they eat the foods for the holiday feast.

THINKING CRITICALLY

1. Analyzing IssuesWhy were Ukrainian Easter eggs not common during the Soviet era?

2. ComparingHow do your family’s holiday customs compare with Ukrainian customs?

For more on Easter in Ukraine, go toCL AS SZONE .COM

RESEARCH LINKS

In some countries, small political parties have joined forces towork together to form a government. This is called a coalitiongovernment.

New Economies Under Soviet rule, Eastern Europe struggledeconomically and its people’s freedoms were severely restricted.Although Eastern Europeans gained their freedom, they alsofaced problems such as inflation and unemployment.

Eastern Europe’s countries are changing from commandeconomies to free-market economies. Some countries, such asSlovakia, made this change slowly. Others, such as Poland,reformed their economic system and achieved economic success.

Many former Soviet republics, which did not quickly reformtheir economic systems, are in bad economic shape. Some ofthese nations are terribly poor. Struggles for power have led to violence and sometimes civil war. Pollution from the Soviet erathreatens people’s health. Still, some republics, includingUkraine, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, are making progress asindependent nations.

Defense After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Eastern Europeannations no longer looked to the Soviet government to defend them.Many wanted to become members of NATO. Belonging to NATOwould help assure them of protection in case of invasion.

156 CHAPTER 6

A. ComparingCompare a command economy with a free-marketeconomy.

By 1991 Croatia,Slovenia,Macedonia, andBosnia-Herzegovinahad gained independence from Yugoslavia.Only Serbia andMontenegro werestill part of theYugoslavian federation.

In 1999 three new members joined NATO:Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. In2001 Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, andthe Baltic states were also working to becomeNATO members.

War in the Balkan PeninsulaSince the late 1980s, much of Eastern Europe hasbeen a place of turmoil and struggle. Yugoslavia,one of the countries located on Europe’s BalkanPeninsula, has experienced terrible wars, extremehardships, and great change.

Under Tito After World War II, Yugoslavia cameunder Marshal Tito’s (TEE•toh) dictatorship.Tito controlled all the country’s many differentethnic groups, which included Serbs, Croats, andMuslims. His rule continued until his death in1980. Slobodan Milosevic (sloh•boh•DONmuh•LAW•shuh•vich) became Yugoslavia’s presi-dent in 1989, after years of political turmoil.

Milosevic Slobodan Milosevic, a Serb, wantedthe Serbs to rule Yugoslavia. The Serbs in Bosniabegan fighting the Croats and Muslims livingthere. The Bosnian Serbs murdered many Muslims so that Serbswould be in the majority. The Serbs called these killings of mem-bers of minority ethnic groups ethnic cleansing. Finally, NATOattacked the Bosnian Serbs and ended the war.

Pollution Soviet leaders thoughtthat industry would improve life foreveryone. Developing industry wasso important that the Soviet gov-ernment did not worry about pollu-tion. Few laws were passed toprotect the environment.

In the 1970s and 1980s therewas not enough money to modern-ize industry or to reduce pollution.Some areas also could not affordproper sewage systems or recyclingplants. Today, Eastern Europe hassome of the worst pollution prob-lems on the continent.

Vocabulary

Baltic states:Estonia, Latvia,and Lithuania—former Sovietrepublics that areon the Baltic Sea

Belgrade

H U N G A R Y

ROMANIA

B U L G A R I A

R O M A N I A

ALBANIA

A U S T R I A

G R E E C E

I T A L Y

SAN MARINO

Y U G OS

LA

VI

A

Macedonia

Kosovo

Vojvodina

Montenegro

SerbiaBosnia and

Herzegovina

Croatia

Slovenia

A

d r i a t i cS e a

18°E12°E

National boundaries, 2001

Yugoslavia, 1991

Autonomous provinceboundaries, 2001

National capital

N

0

0 100 200 kilometers

100 200 miles

The Balkan States, 1991 and 2001

GEOGRAPHYSKILLBUILDER:Interpreting a Map1. Location • Which

Balkan state bordersGreece?

2. Region • How manycountries developedfrom Yugoslavia?

In 1995 the Serbs, Croats, and Muslims of Bosnia signed apeace treaty. In 1999 Milosevic began using ethnic cleansingagainst the Albanians in Kosovo, a region of Serbia. NATOlaunched an air war against Yugoslavia that ended with the defeatof the Serbs. In 2000, public protests led to Milosevic’s removal.He was subsequently arrested and tried for war crimes by theUnited Nations.

Modern RussiaLife in Russia has improved since the breakup of the Soviet Union.Russian citizens can elect their own leaders. They enjoy more

freedom of speech. New businesses have sprungup, and some Russians have become wealthy.

Unfortunately, Russia still faces serious prob-lems. Many leaders are dishonest. The nationhas been slow to reform its economic system.Most of the nation’s new wealth has gone to asmall number of people, so that many Russiansremain poor. The crime rate has grown tremen-dously. The government has also fought a waragainst Chechnya (CHECH•nee•yah), a regionof Russia that wants to become independent.

Russian Culture The fall of communism helpedmost Russians to follow their cultural practicesmore freely. Russians gained the freedom topractice the religion of their choice. They canalso buy and read the great works of Russian lit-erature that once were banned. At the beginningof the 21st century, writers and other artists alsohave far more freedom to express themselves.

New magazines and newspapers are beingpublished. Even new history books are beingwritten. For the first time in decades, thesepublications are telling more of the truth aboutthe Soviet Union.

Russia’s Government Russia has a demo-cratic form of government. The president iselected by the people. The people also electmembers of the Duma (DOO•muh), whichis part of the legislature.

One of the mostpopular pastimesin Russia is thegame of chess. Infact, many of theworld’s greatestchess players,such as BorisSpassky, havebeen Russian.

158 CHAPTER 6

B. IdentifyingProblems Whatare the main problems that face Russia today?

Russian Icons A special feature of Russian Orthodox churches istheir beautiful religious paintingscalled icons (EYE•kahns). Russianicons usually depict biblical figuresand scenes. They often decorateevery corner of a church.

The greatest Russian icon painterwas Andrei Rublev (AHN•dray ruhb•

LYAWF). He worked in the late 1300sand early 1400s. Rublev’s paintings,one of which is shown below, arebrightly colored and highlighted in gold. His work influenced manylater painters, and today he is con-sidered one of the world’s great religious artists.

Democracy is still new to the Russian peo-ple. Some citizens are working to improve thesystem to reduce corruption and to ensure thateveryone receives fair treatment. Even thethought of changing the government is new tomost Russians. Under the Soviets, people had toaccept things the way they were.

Resources and Industry The map above showsRussia’s major natural resources. The country isone of the world’s largest producers of oil.Russia also contains the world’s largest forests.Its trees are made into lumber, paper, and otherwood products.

Russian factories produce steel from iron ore.Other factories use that steel to make tractorsand other large machines. Since Russian shipscan reach both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans,Russia also has a large fishing industry.

Economics Following the lead of EasternEuropean countries, Russia has been movingtoward a free-market economy. Citizens canown land, and foreign companies are encour-aged to do business in Russia. These changeshave given many Russians more opportunities,but they have also brought difficulties.

Russian highwaysare in poor condition. Also,many rivers andmajor ports areclosed by ice in the winter. As aresult, mostRussian goods are transported by railroad.

The Russian Language More than150 million people speak Russian. Itis related to other Slavic languagesof Eastern Europe, including Polish,Serbian, and Bulgarian.

Russian is written using theCyrillic (suh•RIHL•ihk) alphabet,which has 33 characters.

Many of the newly independentrepublics are now returning to theLatin alphabet, used to write Englishand most other languages of theWestern world. The major powersin the world economy base theirlanguages on the Latin alphabet,making communication easier withother countries.

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

R U S S I A

ARCTICOCEAN

BeringSea

Sea of Okhotsk

140°E

160°E

180°

40°N

60°N80°N

Natural gas

Coal

Oil

Iron

Gold

Lead

C

Forest

Grassland

Desert

Tundra

Farmland

Fishing

N

0

0 250 500 kilometers

250 500 miles

GEOGRAPHYSKILLBUILDER:Interpreting a Map1. Human-Environment

Interaction • Namethree of Russia’s morecommon naturalresources.

2. Place • What is themost common type ofland in Russia?

Modern Europe 159

Russia’s Natural Resources Today

Prices are no longer controlled by the government. This meansthat companies can charge a price that is high enough for themto make a profit. At the beginning of the 21st century, however,people’s wages have not risen as fast as prices. Many people can-not afford to buy new products.

Some Russians have done well in the new economy. On theother hand, people with less education and less access to powerhave not done as well. Also, today most new businesses and jobsare in the cities, which means that people in small towns havefewer job opportunities.

160 CHAPTER 6

The Russian government isunable to enforcetax laws. Manypeople don’t paytheir taxes. Withoutthat money, thegovernment cannotprovide basic services, such ashealth care.

Reread the information in the Spotlight on Culture feature. Write a short, personal essay thatdescribes a special family, school, neighborhood, or holiday celebration in which you participated.

SECTION ASSESSMENT

Using Graphics2. Use a flow chart like this one to

outline the changes in EasternEurope and Russia from 1988through 2000.

Main Ideas3. (a) What happened to the govern-

ments of the former Sovietrepublics after independence?

(b) How have the economies ofEastern European countrieschanged now that those coun-tries are free?

(c) In what ways has life in Russiaimproved since the breakup ofthe Soviet Union?

Critical Thinking4. Making Inferences

Why do you think many EasternEuropean countries would like tojoin NATO?

Think About◆ what happened to the Warsaw Pact◆ the economies of Eastern Europe◆ the relationship between Eastern

Europe and Russia

Terms & Names1. Explain the significance of: (a) Mikhail Gorbachev (b) parliamentary republic (c) coalition government

(d) ethnic cleansing (e) Duma

1988:

Place • Forestry is a major industryin Russia. Theseharvested logs are being floateddownriver to beprocessed. �