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Life in Eastern Europe and Russia (People and Cultures (Religion (Daily…
Life in Eastern Europe and Russia
People and Places
Economic Changes
People and Cultures
Ethnic and Language Groups
East Slavs are represented by the Slavic ethnic groups in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus
West Slavs include ethnic Slavs in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and parts of eastern Germany
The most diverse group are the South Slavs, who live in Bulgaria and other countries of the Balkans
Russia is made up of more than 120 ethnic groups
Almost 80 percent of the population is ethnic Russian
Each of these groups speaks its own language
Albanian is the last surviving language of an entire Indo-European language group
Religion
For most of the 1900s, religious practice was strongly discouraged throughout Eastern Europe and Western Russia
Less than half the population of the Czech Republic belongs to any church
In the Baltic region, nearly two-thirds of Latvians and one-third of Estonians are not affiliated with any church
The dominant religion in most of these countries is the Eastern Orthodox Church
The majority of people in Belarus, Bulgaria, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine worship at an Eastern Orthodox Church
The majority of people in Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia are Roman Catholics
Most of these countries also support minority populations of Muslims, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Protestants, and Jews
Nearly 70 percent of Albanians are Muslim, as are a number of people in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Arts
The novels of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky; the music of Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, and Rimsky- Korsakov; and the plays and short stories of Chekhov and Gogol are still considered among the world’s finest
Although a small amount of literary work was written in the Czech language, Czech literature did not become internationally important until Czechoslovakia became an independent country in 1918
Karel Capek was a Czech writer who was famous for his plays and novels His most well-known contribution to world literature is a word he coined—robot—in his 1921 play R.U.R
Eastern European composers, such as Bela Bartok and Zoltan Kodaly, celebrated the traditional music of Hungary and Romania by using it in their compositions
Russian and Polish filmmakers can follow their national traditions, but they also can see how well-liked and influential American films and television are
Daily Life
For much of the 1900s, the people of Eastern Europe and Western Russia lived under communist governments that attempted to control their private lives
The collapse of the USSR brought about devolution in Russian government and in governments throughout Eastern Europe
Freedoms emphasize unique aspects of these countries and their people
Soviet authorities did not trust the music, films, and television programs coming from capitalist countries such as the United States, but they could not effectively outlaw them
Young Russians and Eastern Europeans are now having the same cultural experiences that young people are having in the rest of Europe and in the Americas
One issue in Russia is the generation gap that exists between people who grew up in communist USSR or are old enough to remember it, and those people who have lived most or all of their lives in the post-Soviet era
In the 1990s, historians took a critical look at the Russian Revolution, the leadership of Lenin and Stalin, and the excesses of the Soviet government. They took a more positive approach when looking back at the era of the Romanov czars
Eastern Europe and Western Russia are still in the process of change. They are trying to modernize their industries and governments during difficult economic times
Issues
Earning a living
Factories combine to determine how people earn a living in these places.
Vocabulary