A History Of Eastern Europe

While mainly focusing on the modern era - the effects of ethnic nationalism, fascism and communism - this history also offers revisionist coverage of topics such as the Hussite Revolution, and the rise and decline of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The long-awaited new edition of the acclaimed, first-ever comprehensive, informative, and entertaining history of Eastern Europe in English―thoroughly updated, with a major new section on the postcommunist era and a foreword by BBC Central Europe Correspondent Nick Thorpe. When the legendary Romulus killed his brother Remus and founded the city of Rome in 753 BCE, Plovdiv--today the second-largest city in Bulgaria--was thousands of years old. Indeed, London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Madrid, Brussels, Amsterdam are all are mere infants compared to Plovdiv. This is just one of the paradoxes that haunts and defines the New Europe, that part of Europe that was freed from Soviet bondage in 1989, and which is at once both much older than the modern Atlantic-facing power centers of Western Europe while also being much younger than them. Eastern Europe! is a brief and concise (but informative) introduction to Eastern Europe and its myriad customs and history. Even those knowledgeable about Western Europe often see Eastern Europe as terra incognito, with a sign on the border declaring "Here be monsters." Tomek Jankowski's book is a gateway to understanding both what unites and separates Eastern Europeans from their Western brethren, and how this vital region has been shaped by but has also left its mark on Western Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. It is a reader-friendly guide to a region that is all too often mischaracterized as remote, insular, and superstitious. The book comprises three parts, The first sums up modern linguistic, geographic, and religious contours of Eastern Europe, while the second, main part delves into the region's history, from the earliest origins of Europe up to the end of the Cold War, as well as--new to the 2nd edition--a section on the post-Cold War period. Closing the book is a section that makes sense of geographical name references -- many cities, rivers, or regions have different names -- and also includes an Eastern Europe by Numbers feature that provides charts describing the populations, politics, and economies of the region today. Throughout are boxed-off anecdotes (Useless Trivia) describing fascinating aspects of Eastern European history or culture.

Covering all key Eastern European states and their history right up to the collapse of communism, this second edition of Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century – And After is a comprehensive political history of Eastern Europe taking in the whole of the century and the geographical area. Focusing on the attempt to create and maintain a functioning democracy, this new edition now: examines events in Bosnia and Herzegovina includes a new consideration of the evolution of the region since the revolutions of 1989–91 surveys the development of a market economy analyzes the realignment of Eastern Europe towards the West details the emergence of organized crime discusses each state individually includes an up-to-date bibliography. Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century – And After provides an accessible introduction to this key area which is invaluable to students of modern and political history.

This volume surveys the first five hundred years of Eastern European history, focusing on the disappearance, assimilation, and recurrence of ethnic cultures over time and how the intermixing of cultures influenced the formation of modern states.

This illustrated historical reference work provides an interpretive overview of each of the countries of Eastern Europe, focusing particularly on political developments and including references to significant social, cultural and economic events.

A History of Eastern Europe 1740-1918: Empires, Nations and Modernisation provides a comprehensive, authoritative account of the region during a troubled period that finished with the First World War. Ian Armour focuses on the three major themes that have defined Eastern Europe in the modern period - empire, nationhood and modernisation - whilst chronologically tracing the emergence of Eastern Europe as a distinct concept and place. Detailed coverage is given to the Habsburg, Ottoman, German and Russian Empires that struggled for dominance during this time. In this exciting new edition, Ian Armour incorporates findings from new research into the nature and origins of nationalism and the attempts of supranational states to generate dynastic loyalties as well as concepts of empire. Armour's insightful guide to early Eastern Europe considers the important figures and governments, analyses the significant events and discusses the socio-economic and cultural developments that are crucial to a rounded understanding of the region in that era. Features of this new edition include: * A fully updated and enlarged bibliography and notes * Eight useful maps * Updated content throughout the text A History of Eastern Europe 1740-1918 is the ideal textbook for students studying Eastern European history.

Why is Eastern Europe still different from Western Europe, more than a quarter-century after the collapse of Communism? A History of Eastern Europe 1918 to the Present shows how the roots of this difference are based in Eastern Europe's tortured 20th century. Eastern Europe emerged in 1918 as the 'lands between', new states whose weakness vis-à-vis Germany and Soviet Russia soon became obvious. The region was the main killing-field of the Second World War, which visited unimaginable horrors on its inhabitants before their 'liberation' by the Soviets in 1945. The imposition of Communist dictatorships on the region, ironically, only deepened Eastern Europe's backwardness. Even in the post-Communist period, its problems continue to make it a fertile breeding-ground for nationalism and political extremism. A History of Eastern Europe 1918 to the Present explores the comparative backwardness of Eastern Europe and how this has driven strategies of modernisation; it looks at the ways in which the region has served as a giant test-tube for political experimentation and, in particular, at the enduring strength of nationalism, which since 1989 has re-emerged more virulent than ever. This book in the essential textbook for any student of 20th-century Eastern Europe.