Eastern Europe! Sampler

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2021. 09. 26.

16:44

Foreword by Nick Thorpe, BBC News Central Europe Correspondent 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

“Astonishing, entertaining, and informative.”

—Nick Thorpe, BBC News Central Europe Correspondent

PRAISE FOR THE PREVIOUS EDITION C

M

Y

“A sweeping history of Eastern Europe … a commendable feat.”

—Library Journal

CM

MY

CY

CMY

“[Jankowski] displays an ease and familiarity with cultural minutiae while briskly covering intense topics of genocide, religion, and communist implosion.”

—Publishers Weekly

K

“A brief, concise, and informative introduction to the less-known part of the old continent.

No country is left out…. No historic period is overlooked…. A good resource for teachers, students, and all those with roots in this part of the world.”

—CHOICE Tomek Jankowski worked, studied, and traveled in Eastern Europe for years starting in the late 1980s. Holding degrees in history and economics, he is a director at a research firm, where his reports and other work have often touched on Eastern Europe. He and his wife live in Pembroke, New Hampshire.

Cover design © Oscar Boskovitz

$29.95 ISBN 978-0-9973169-2-6

52995>

www.NewEuropeBooks.com

www.AcademicStudiesPress.com

9 780997 316926

EASTERN EUROPE! 2ND EDITION TOMEK JANKOWSKI November 2021 | 742 pp. | 9780997316926 (Paperback) | $29.95 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 timely in its extensive overview of the region, which provides a good background for understanding the current crisis in Ukraine.

SUMMARY 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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tomek Jankowski—who was raised in a Polish family in Buffalo, New York—worked, studied, and traveled in Poland, Hungary, and other regions of Eastern Europe from the late 1980s to the mid1990s, gaining a working literacy of several languages in the process. He holds a BA in history (minor in anthropology) from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and an MA in applied economics from Southern New Hampshire University. Currently he is a director of research at a research firm that specializes in producing market analysis for the professional services world, where his research occasionally touches on Eastern Europe and emerging markets regions.

Married to a native Pole, he lives in Pembroke, New Hampshire, and still visits Eastern Europe.

A co-publication by New Europe Books and Academic Studies Press

Copyrighted Material © Tomek Jankowski 2021

Eastern Europe!

2nd Edition

Tomek Jankowski

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Eastern Europe!

2nd Edition Everything You Need to Know About the History (and More!) of a Region

that Shaped Our World and Still Does

Tomek Jankowski

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Published by Academic Studies Press & New Europe Books, 2021 Copyright © Tomek Jankowski, 2021 Cover design © Oscar Boskovitz, 2021 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations in critical articles and reviews.

ISBN: 978-0-9973169-2-6

Printed in the United States of America.

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Dedicated to my wife, Magda, who is still putting up with me and all the books

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TABLE O' CONTENTS page Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii Introductory FAQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiv Acknowlegments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Table o’ Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiv

1 Section I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A Few Words About a Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 A Note on Pronunciation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 A Word (or Two) about Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Geography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Section II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Introduction: Prehistory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Introduction: History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Introduction: The Classical Age in the East, or “Eastern Europe - the Prequal” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

48 49 55

Chapter 1: Setting the Stage, 500–800 CE . . . . . . . . . . .

A. Western Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

B. The Avars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

C. The Slavs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

D. The First Slavic states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

E. The Bulgars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F. The Dacians and Vlachs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

G. The Khazars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

H. (A Bunch of) Finns and Balts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

74 74 79 80 81 83 84 86 88

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Special Insert: The Steppe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91-93 vii

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Chapter 2: The Origins of States, 800–1242 CE . . . . . . . . . . 94 A. The Franks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 B. Moravia Magna and Bohemia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 C. The Bulgarians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 D. The Rus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 E. The Magyars/Hungarians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 F. The Slovenes and Croatians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 G. Duklja, Raška, and the Serbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 H. The Poles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 I. The Pechenegs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 J. The Cumanians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 K. The Lithuanians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 L. The Finale: 1239–42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Special Insert: Peoples of Eastern Europe—The Jews . . . 125-129 Chapter 3: The Medieval Years, 1242–1600 CE . . . . . . . . . .130 A. The Mongol Empire, the Golden Horde, and Tartars . . . . . . . . 133 B. Bulgaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 C. Serbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 D. Montenegro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 E. Bosnia & Herzegovina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 F. Croatia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 G. The Republic of Ragusa/Dubrovnik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 H. Albania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 I. The Byzantine Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 J. The Ottoman (Turkish) Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 K. Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 L. Hungary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 M. Bohemia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 N. The Teutonic Knights and Schizoid Prussia . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 O. Lithuania and the Eastern Slavs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 P. Livonia and the Balts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Q. Poland as Catalyst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 R. Novgorod, Muscovy, and the Russians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 S. Halych-Volhynia: A Kingdom in Galicia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 Special Insert: Peoples of Eastern Europe—The Germans . . 173-177 viii

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Chapter 4: The Dawn of a New Age, 1600–1800 . . . . . . . . .178 A. Bohemia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 B. The Principality of Transylvania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 C. Wallachia and Moldavia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 D. Montenegro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 E. The Swedish Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 F. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 G. The Ukrainians and Belarussians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 H. Ottoman Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 I. Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 J. Of Austrians and Habsburgs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 K. Prussia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 Special Insert: Peoples of Eastern Europe—The Roma (Gypsies) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221-223 Chapter 5: The Very, Very Long 19th Century,1800–1914 . . . .224 A. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 B. The Ottoman Empire as Doorstop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 C. Serbia’s Front Row Seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 D. Montenegro Hits the 19th Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 E. Romania is Born . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 F. Bulgaria’s Raw Deal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 G. Albania as Accident . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 H. The Italian Risorgimento and Irridentism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 I. Pan-Germanism and How Fritz (and Helga) Got their Mojo . . . . . 252 J. Pan-Slavism and Pie in the Sky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 K. The Austrian Dilemma and Hungary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 L. Russia, the Hope and Prison of Nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264 M. Dawn of the Dead: The Poland That Just Won’t Go Away . . . . . 271 Special Insert: Peoples of Eastern Europe—The Muslims . . 277-279 Chapter 6: The Great War, and a Magic Year, 1914–1939 . . . .

A. The War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

B. Paris, 1919 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

C. The Ottoman Empire Goes Out in Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

D. Austria-Hungary as a Bug on the Windshield . . . . . . . . . . . .

E. Serbia and History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

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F. Montenegro is Pushed Off the Cliff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

G. The Failed Superstates I: Yugoslavia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

H. Bulgaria Tries 1913 Over Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I. The Failed Superstates II: Romania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

J. Albania: Let’s Try That Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

K. Hungary Loses the War . . . Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

L. The Failed Superstates III: Czechoslovakia . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

M. Ukraine: With Friends Like These . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

N. Belarus Gets Its 15 Minutes . . . Literally . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

O. Libre Baltica: Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia . . . . . . . . . . . .

P. Russia and How Russians Do Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Q. The Failed Superstates IV: Poland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

299 299 302 305 308 310 314 319 323 324 329 335

Chapter 7: War! 1939–45 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A. The War as You Probably Don’t Know It . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

B. About the Numbers Used in This Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

C. An Overview of the War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

D. Poland and The Art of Not Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

E. The Baltics and a Bad Neighborhood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F. The Czech Lands Revert to the 17th Century . . . . . . . . . . . . .

G. Slovakia Is Born, Sort of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

H. Hungary Embraces Its Inner Tar Baby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I. Romania Guesses Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

J. Yugoslavia, Serbia, and 1914 All Over Again . . . . . . . . . . . .

K. Croatia’s Dark Side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

L. Albania Tries to Keep Its Head Above Water . . . . . . . . . . . . .

M. Bulgaria: Third Time a Charm? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

N. The Soviet Union Wins by Knockout in the 9th Round . . . . . . .

O. The Holocaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

341 345 350 352 354 360 362 365 366 369 372 373 376 378 379 385

Special Insert: Home is Where the Border is! . . . . . . . . 392-395

Chapter 8: The Frying Pan, the Fire, etc., 1945–92 . . . . . 398 A. Introduction: The Cold War, or This Town Isn’t Big Enough . . .

B. The Cold War for Eastern Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

C. The Warsaw Pact: The Farm Animals Unite . . . . . . . . . . . .

D. Yugoslavia: Exit, Stage Left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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E. Albania as an Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421 F. Bulgaria Finally Gets Something in Return . . . . . . . . . . . . 424 G. Romania Goes Off the Deep End . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427 H. Hungary and Its Food-Based Ideologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431 I. Czechoslovakia, Just East of Eden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435 J. Austria Teetering on the Brink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440 K. East Germany as the Runt of the Litter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444 L. Poland, the Perennial Pain in the Butt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448 M. The Soviet Union, Keeping Up with the Joneses . . . . . . . . . 455

Chapter 9: Easy Come, Easy Go: 1989–92 . . . . . . . . . . . . .463 A. Introduction: Ashes to Ashes, We All Fall Down . . . . . . . . . . 464 B. Poland and the Ghosts of 1980: The First Steps . . . . . . . . . . . 468 C. The Hungarian “Refolution” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470 D. East Germany Goosesteps into Oblivion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471 E. Elvis is Dead, but Czechoslovakia Goes Velvet Anyway . . . . . . . 474 F. Bulgaria Knows Peer Pressure When It Sees It . . . . . . . . . . . . 475 G. Asking for a Light in the Romanian Powderkeg . . . . . . . . . . . 476 H. Albania and Frost in Hell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477 I. Playing Fiddle on the Deck of the Titanic: the Soviet Union . . . . . 480 J. Libre Baltica, Part II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482 Chapter 10: The Morning After: 1989-Present . . . . . . . . . .489 A. Introduction: Hope Among the Rubble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490 B. The Yugoslav Hydra and its Successor States . . . . . . . . . . . . 492 C. Bulgaria Muddling Through . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504 D. Romania and a Bumpy Ride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506 E. Moldova Goes it Alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509 F. Albania and Saving Graces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .511 G. Hungary Retreating into Fear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513 H. Slovakia Surprises Itself—and Everybody Else . . . . . . . . . . . 518 I. Czechia on its Own . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521 J. Poland Keeps it Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524 K. Belarus and the Pripyet Marshes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528 L. Ukraine on the Knife’s Edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531 M. The Baltics Try Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540 N. Backward, Backward to the Future: Putin’s Russia . . . . . . . . . 544 O. Turkey Misses a Beat—and a Chance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559 xi

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Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563 Section III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 572 Musical Chairs, or Place Names in Eastern Europe . . . . . .572 Eastern Europe in Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .575 Mrs. Jankowska’s Homemade Bigos . . . . . . . . . . . . . .591 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .595 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .649 Index ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 675 About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .710

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FOREWORD In 1989, as a young scholar from Hungary, I was one of the fortunate few among my compatriots who had the opportunity to study in the United States. The rapid changes that were occurring in Eastern Europe captured the imagination of many fellow students. I remember a German student suggesting that the students of Indiana University form a European Club.

Good idea, I thought, Perhaps we are on the map of Europe, after all. That student then designed an emblem we could use on T-shirts. It turned out to be an outline of the European continent, but at one glance, it became apparent that Eastern Europe was missing.

We now know that the Western world was highly apprehensive about the fall of Soviet power in Eastern Europe and continental reunification was not envisioned at all. We were not part of the Western mental map of Europe. Perhaps the situation has improved somewhat today, but “Europe” for many Americans (and Germans, Frenchmen, British, and Italians) still means the West. Eastern European contributions to world civilization can’t be told in just a few lines: the list includes artists, writers, musicians, scientists, scholars, film makers and more. To mention a couple: did you know that Andy Warhol’s parents and brothers were born in Slovakia, or that Rubik’s Cube comes from Hungary?

The author of this book used to be a student of mine at Janus Pannonius University in Pécs, Hungary, where he lived and taught for years. Led at first by his Polish ancestry, he immersed himself in history and along the way developed a devotion to the study of Eastern Europe.

As we used to talk over many a korsó of beer (need I explain?), careful not to clink our glasses lest we violate a national taboo stemming from the 19th century, young Tomek and I would mull the region’s almost complete absence from the West’s consciousness. Now he has produced a unique portrait of Eastern Europe, from Szczecin all the way down to Trieste and beyond, one that would give a professional historian pause.

This book is a veritable intellectual feat, not only because the author seems to be at home in languages, history, and literature as diverse as, say, Bulgarian and Hungarian, but mainly because his book conveys what it means to be European and Eastern European at the same time.

Eastern Europe! is a guide through the millennium-long maze of wars, xiii

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Copyrighted Material © Tomek Jankowski 2021  Foreword strange customs and habits, and seemingly impenetrable languages of a region that has been largely shaped by external powers but has also left its imprint on the world.

This book is a must-read for all who want to learn about and understand this forgotten part of Europe.

László Borhi —associate professor of Central Eurasian studies, Indiana University, Bloomington; author of Hungary in the Cold War, 1945–19561

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INTRODUCTORY FAQ Q: Why am I still reading this?

A: I have a few assumptions about why you’re reading this. They fall into the following categories: You’re in the dentist’s office and it’s either this book or the June 1995 copy of Cosmopolitan you’ve already read over the last couple of dozen appointments.

• You’ve inherited a surname with lots of extra letters you’re sure you’re mispronouncing.

• You’re dating someone who has inherited a surname you’re sure you’re mispronouncing, and it’s really starting to irritate his/her parents.

• Someone close to you is in the military and is currently stationed in one of those countries with a severe vowel drought.

• You accidentally moved pictures of your boss you’d “tweaked” in Photoshop™ onto the company intranet, and now you’re the office manager for your company’s Albania branch.

• There’s a Ukrainian church near your home that sells the most amazing pierogis on Saturdays, and you’re trying to pry the recipe out of those little old ladies with the babushkas.

• You’re a government employee who was just tasked with researching some detail about Trghksbjndkltsylvania or Phgdvnmtrzcdograd.

• Junior just called from his/her exchange program in Prague, and you couldn’t tell from his/her slurred speech whether the country was famous for its beers or bears, so you figure you’d better pay him/her a visit.

• You have a crucial exam tomorrow morning for a 400-level class and you’re hoping to God this book explains who Tycho Brahe was, what he did, and when and where he did it.

Well, whatever your reasons for reading this book, we’re here to help.

•

Q: What is Eastern Europe?

A: You would think the answer would be easy; just grab a map of Europe and look at the eastern half—but it’s not quite that simple. Defining Eastern Europe throughout history is sort of like playing the proverbial wack-a-mole game. The Romans thought of Eastern Europe as everything east of what they controlled—which meant the Balkans were a core and integral part of Roman civilization, while Britain was an outlying barbarian border territory. xv

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Copyrighted Material © Tomek Jankowski 2021 Introductory FAQ The breaking of the Roman Empire into eastern and western halves muddled the East-West border somewhat, but Charlemagne’s empire put a stake on the Elbe and Danube rivers as the West’s outer eastern boundaries. (This meant that Vienna was a border town, while modern cities like Berlin and Copenhagen were in the barbarian East.) The Great Schism in Christianity, the Steppe invasions, the Ottoman Empire, the rise of the German Empires, the rise of Russia—and its doppelgänger, the Soviet Union—all kept reshaping and redefining Eastern Europe for each new generation.

The term “Eastern Europe” only came into use in the late 18th century as an increasingly prosperous and powerful (and self-aware) Western Europe wanted to distinguish itself from the backwards, decaying medieval relics in the east. In the late 17th century, Pope Innocent XI proclaimed Poland antemurale christianitatis (Rampart of Christendom) but in the early 19th century the great Austrian statesman Prince Metternich famously declared “Asien beginnt an der Landstraβe” (Asia begins at Province Street)—referring to the road beginning at Vienna’s eastern gate leading eastward into Hungary.

A common thread throughout all these changes has been that Eastern Europe—and who is Eastern European—has always been defined by others. Today’s Eastern Europe, for example, derives from the Cold War of 1945–89 and Stalin’s Iron Curtain. This is a book about peoples who only fairly recently came to think of themselves as “Eastern Europeans,” but who nonetheless have always been fully engaged in European history and have even, on occasion, played important roles.

For the purposes of this book I have defined “Eastern Europe” as that region of Europe that has spent its entire history surrounded by competing civilizations, between Western Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa, sometimes benefiting immensely through social, economic, or technological gains—but with the tradeoff of occasionally serving as somebody else’s battlefield. While some states in Eastern Europe managed to become strong enough to challenge outside powers on occasion, none were ever completely able to overcome the region’s role as a crossroads, and Eastern Europeans have always had to balance as best as possible—whether between Byzantines and Franks, Habsburgs and Turks, or Soviets and the West.

So, to sum things up in answer to the question of “What is Eastern Europe,” the answer is: it depends.

Q: Does Eastern Europe still exist? Didn’t it go away in 1989?

Poles, Hungarians, and others will tell you that if there is an Eastern Europe, they are not it; but the truth is that governments and businesses still use this term. Eastern Europe is still defined from the outside. xvi

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Q: Why haven’t I seen much about Eastern European history in books with titles like, A History of Europe? Eastern or otherwise, it’s still Europe, isn’t it?

A: Good question. Western libraries are filled with books claiming to tell the history of “Europe,” but by “Europe” they really mean Western Europe.

British historian Norman Davies puts it this way: The title of “Europe,” like the earlier label of “Christendom,” therefore, can hardly be arrogated by one of its several regions. Eastern Europe is no less European for being poor, or underdeveloped, or ruled by tyrants. In many ways, thanks to its deprivations, it has become more European, more attached to the values which affluent Westerners can take for granted. Nor can Eastern Europe be rejected because it is “different.” All European countries are different. All West European countries are different. And there are important similarities which span the divide. A country like Poland might be very different from Germany or from Britain; but the Polish experience is much closer to that of Ireland or of Spain than many West European countries are to each other. A country like Greece, which some people have thought to be Western by virtue of Homer and Aristotle, was admitted to the European Community; but its formative experiences in modern times were in the Orthodox world under Ottoman rule. They were considerably more distant from those of Western Europe than several countries who found themselves on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain.1

Q: OK, so my company has posted me to Eastern Europe. Why should I waste time reading about Eastern European history? Why not just get one of those little phrase books?

A: Well, if you want to be successful dealing with Eastern Europeans, you will need to speak their language—and I don’t mean Bulgarian.

Actually, learning at least some Bulgarian might be helpful, but the point is that Eastern Europeans have a different relationship with their past than Westerners do, particularly Americans. The past for Eastern Europeans is not restricted to dry, dusty books on shelves; the past is a living part of life for Eastern Europeans, and their discussions about the present are often clothed in the language of the past. For the average American, the American Revolution of 1775–83 was thousands of years ago, but for the average Eastern European, the 1389 battle of Kosovo Polje or the 1410 battle of Grunwald haven’t quite ended yet. True, the historical accuracy of their memories may be suspect, but it is important for you to know and understand the references they use. To quote historian Lonnie R. Johnson:

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Copyrighted Material © Tomek Jankowski 2021 Introductory FAQ Developing a sense for what could be called the subjective dimensions of Central Europe—the (usually pretty good) stories that Central Europeans tell about themselves and the (usually pretty bad) ones they tell about their neighbors—is important to understanding the region. Some of the problems Central Europeans have with themselves and with one another are related to the fact their history haunts them.2

Q: Good God—does this mean I’m going to have to inject some reference to medieval battles into all my conversations with Eastern Europeans? I’m in business, for Pete’s sake!

A: No, relax. It is just important to understand that history permeates everyday life and thinking for Eastern Europeans, and not having at least a basic understanding can lead to missed references or a social faux pas like clinking beer glasses in a Hungarian pub. Bad move.

Q: Does this mean I’m going to be reading about . . . Slavs?

A: Well, yes, we will be exploring some Slavic peoples and their histories but many, many other peoples as well. Eastern Europe and its heritage is not just about Slavs, but also includes Hungarians, Germans, Roma (Gypsies), Cumanians, Arabs, Romans, Jews, and so many others.

It was common in the West at the turn of the 20th century to say that Western Europe was primarily a Germanic and Latin realm, while Eastern Europe was Slavic. The real difference between Western and Eastern Europe (as far as ethnic groups are concerned) is that Eastern Europe has far greater ethnic diversity than Western Europe. And, even worse, weaker state and institutional development in Eastern Europe—a product of historic political instability in the region—blurred the lines between some ethnic groups. For instance, nobody doubts the differences between French, Dutch, and Germans (though in truth all three derive from pretty much the same groups of peoples) but Eastern Europeans still argue whether Lemkos are Ukrainians or if Macedonians or Bosnjaks3 really exist or not.

Through its relative political stability, Western Europe has achieved sharper (if ultimately superficial) distinctions between its various ethnic cultures than Eastern Europe. The West learned this lesson painfully in 1919 when it tried to reorganize Eastern Europe for its own purposes. It was kind of like herding cats.

Q: Will there be any sex or violence in this book?

A: Admittedly, it will be a little weak in the sex department, but we do promise lots of senseless, gratuitous violence. As a Hungarian professor once told me, “Those Eastern Europeans who wanted boring, calm, predictable lives emigrated, but those of us who wanted exciting and interesting lives, we stayed!” xviii

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Q: OK, so I’m going to read your history. Exactly how much history will this book cover? After all, Eastern Europe’s history pretty much begins in 1918, right?

A: Nope. The early Bulgarian, Czech, and the parent civilization to the Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarussian states all existed by the time Alfred the Great first united Anglo-Saxon England in 890 CE. The Hungarian, Croatian, and Polish states followed shortly after. This book covers some 1,516 years—beginning with the death of the Greco-Roman “Classical” world— and blathers on until about the beginning of the 21st century.

Q: Will there be many names or terms in funny, unpronounceable languages? I can’t even say “Schenectady.”

A: Well, yes, there are going to be a lot of new names and terms, most in languages you’re not familiar with. But don’t panic. This book contains pronunciation guides right in the text.

USELESS TRIVIA: USELESS TRIVIA!

If you’ve ever worried that you hadn’t destroyed enough of your brain cells through alcohol abuse in college and that you might have lots of pointless extra storage capacity under your skull, we’re here to help! Throughout this book are little boxed-off sections like this one called “Useless Trivia” inserts that are filled with interesting but utterly useless historical, cultural, or other completely senseless facts about Eastern Europe that you can use to amaze your friends. I doubt these will even show up in any popular game shows. Still, these little factoids can be fun and, if nothing else, they can serve as placeholders in your memory until something more important comes along, like remembering Gilligan’s Island episodes. Here’s an example, below.

USELESS TRIVIA: I’M PRETTY SURE THAT THING IS COPYRIGHTED . . .

In August 1947 Western diplomats (and let’s face it, some spies) were intently watching a Soviet Tupelev-4 long-range bomber make its world debut at an airshow just outside Moscow. Normally these Western observers would be focusing on the aircraft’s capabilities but on this day they were actually just trying to see if it was really a Soviet plane. When they watched multiple versions of the Tu-4 fly by, however, their worst fears were confirmed: it really was a Soviet plane. xix

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In the summer of 1944, three American B-29 “Superfortresses” were damaged while bombing Japanese industrial targets and were forced to land in the Soviet Union. These American long-range bombers were the most advanced technology of the day, far beyond Soviet capabilities. The American crews were released but Stalin kept the planes and ordered his engineers to take the planes apart, study them, and build an exact Soviet replica model. Both Washington and London believed that Soviet science was too primitive for this feat and suspected in 1947 at the airshow that the Tu-4s flying before them were actually those three damaged American B-29s— but modifications proved that the Soviets had succeeded and the Tu-4 was real. This meant that the Soviet air force could now reach such American targets as Chicago. The Soviets built some 800 Tu-4s before upgrading to more advanced models.4

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Who knew it would be so much work writing a book? When I started this project, I had a full head of thick, luxurious hair, and now people in the oncoming lane get sun glare from my scalp. OK, maybe I’m exaggerating but just a bit.

In any event, because misery really does love company, I spread the pain as I got in well over my head and handed copies of my manuscript to any victim—I mean friend—who came within thirty feet of me.

Actually, some lived in other states or even countries but were foolish enough to open my emails. Anyway, this means I am highly indebted to a lot of folks who slogged through my numerous typos, tortured grammar, endless run-on sentences, constant irrelevant tangents, and legions of mistakes. Each time I got a manuscript back drenched with red ink like a bloody murder victim, I twitched and writhed in agony from these thousand stab wounds—my baby!—but this book is far better for their efforts, and I am truly grateful to those of you who did so. Professor László Borhi has been a longtime inspiration and source of encouragement. I would also like to thank Dr. John Ashbrook, Assistant Professor of History at Sweet Briar College, and Dr. Nate Weston, Professor of History at Seattle Central Community College, for reviewing my manuscript and providing helpful feedback. Gratitude also goes to Tricia and Anne Marie Saenger, Dennis Pack, Anastasia and Will Colby, Allison Barrows and Romas Brandt, and László & Ildikó Olchváry, as well as longtime friend Paul Olchváry for his faith and patience. I am indebted also to Sharon Price for her graphics aid, as well as Derek Smith for helping out with some technical issues.

Thanks also to Jeff’s dad, Charles Wilson, for his suggestions. Putting the bibliography together was a mind-numbing exercise, but my darling sister-in-law Joanna Dybciak-Langworthy volunteered, along with my wife, Magda, and together the deed was finished.

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Copyrighted Material © Tomek Jankowski 2021 Acknowledgments I am indebted not only to New Europe Books and its staff but also, for the second edition, to Matthew Charlton and his colleagues at Academic Studies Press.

If there are any remaining mistakes, omissions, or boring tangents, I can assure you that these folks are not to blame. The fault lies with me and my fat typing fingers alone.

—Tomek E. Jankowski Pembroke, New Hampshire, 2021

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The passenger terminal and the lighthouse, Varna, Bulgaria (IMAGE © ANGELINA DIMITROVA / SHUTTERSTOCK)

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TABLE O' FIGURES

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Figure 1. Eastern Europe in 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Figure 2. The Indo-European Language Family Tree. . . . . . . . . 10 Figure 3. The Indo-European Language Family. . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Figure 4. A Basic Breakdown of the Indo-European Language Groups in Modern Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Figure 5. A Breakdown of the Slavic Language Group . . . . . . . 15 Figure 6. Breakdown of the Finno-Ugric Language Family in Eastern Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Figure 7. A Modern-day Language Map of Eastern Europe with 2009 State Borders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Figure 8. Eastern Europe’s Language Map in 1922 with Contemporary State Borders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Figure 9. A Satellite View of Eastern Europe and Its Geography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Figure 10. The General Cultural Regions of Eastern Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Figure 11. Central Europe vs. East Central Europe in 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Figure 12. The Major River Systems and Regions of Eastern Europe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Figure 13. The General Religious Borders of Eastern Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Figure 14. The Spread of Agriculture in Late Stone Age Europe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Figure 15. The Celtic Settled Regions of Europe, c. 800 BCE with Modern-day Country Names. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Figure 16. The Independence Chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

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Figure 17. An Independence Chart for Select Western European Countries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Figure 18. The Persian Empire, c. 500 BCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Figure 19. The Roman Empire Under Emperor Trajan, 117 CE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Figure 20. The Farthest Extent of the Umayyad Arab Empire, c. 750 CE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Figure 21. Eastern Europe Timeline, 500–800 CE. . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Figure 22. Comparative Western Europe Timeline, 500–800 CE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Figure 23. Eastern and Central Europe in the mid-7th Century CE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Figure 24. The Farthest Extent of Slavic Settlement in the Late 7th Century. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Figure 25. The Khazar Khaganate/Empire in c. 814 CE . . . . . . 87 Figure 26. The Steppe in Eastern Europe and Asia. . . . . . . . . . . 91 Figure 27. Eastern Europe Timeline, 800–1242 CE. . . . . . . . . . . 95 Figure 28. Comparative Western Europe Timeline, 800–1242 CE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Figure 29. Eastern Europe in 814 CE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Figure 30. The Farthest Penetration of the Vikings, 800–1100 CE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Figure 31. Eastern Europe in 1000 CE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Figure 32. Western and Eastern Pomerania in 2012. . . . . . . . . 124 Figure 33. Eastern Europe Timeline, 1242–1600. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Figure 34. Comparative Western Europe Timeline, 1242–1600 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Figure 35. The furthest extent of the Mongolian Empire, c. 1250 (including the Golden Horde):. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Figure 36. Eastern Europe c. 1242. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

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Figure 37. Eastern Europe in 1350 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Figure 38. Eastern Europe in 1500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Figure 39. Eastern Europe Timeline, 1600–1800 . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Figure 40. Comparative Western Europe Timeline, 1600–1800. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Figure 41. Eastern Europe in 1625 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 Figure 42. The Swedish Empire in 1650. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 Figure 43. The Ottoman Empire in 1600, with Modern-day Borders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 Figure 44. Eastern Europe in 1750 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 Figure 45. Charles V’s Habsburg Empire, c. 1550. . . . . . . . . . . 215 Figure 46. Prussia and Brandenburg in 1750. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 Figure 47. Eastern Europe Timeline, 1800–1914 . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 Figure 48. Comparative Western Europe Timeline, 1800–1914. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226 Figure 49: Eastern Europe in 1800 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Figure 50. Eastern Europe in 1900 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241 Figure 51. Eastern Europe Timeline, 1914–39. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280 Figure 52. Eastern Europe in May, 1914. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285 Figure 53. Eastern Europe in 1924 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294 Figure 54. Eastern Europe Timeline, 1939–1945 . . . . . . . . . . . . 343 Figure 55. Allied and Axis Deaths in World War II . . . . . . . . . 345 Figure 56. World War II Fatalities by Global Region . . . . . . . . 346 Figure 57. Total World War II Fatalities in Europe. . . . . . . . . . 347 Figure 58. Total Civilian World War II Fatalities in Europe. . . . 347 Figure 59. Top 10 Countries in the World in Terms of % of Population Killed in World War II. . . . . . . . . . . 348 Figure 60. Eastern Europe Under Nazi Rule, 1942. . . . . . . . . . 349 Figure 61. Where the Axe Fell in the Holocaust. . . . . . . . . . . . 387 Figure 62. Eastern Europe Timeline, 1944–1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . 401 xxvi

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Figure 63. Eastern Europe in 1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407 Figure 64. A Divided Europe: NATO vs. the Warsaw Pact in 1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417 Figure 65. Eastern Europe Timeline, 1988–92. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465 Figure 66. Comparative Global Changes Timeline, 1970–2000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466 Figure 67. Eastern Europe in Europe’s Population Line-Up, 2021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575 Figure 68. Population Growth in Eastern Europe, 2021. . . . . . 576 Figure 69. Eastern Europe’s Population by Region (2021) . . . . 577 Figure 70. Minorities as a % of Population across Eastern Europe (2021) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579 Figure 71. The European Union in Eastern Europe in 2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581 Figure 72. NATO in Eastern Europe in 2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 582 Figure 73. Historic GDP per Capita across Europe (1995–2020, estimated). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584 Figure 74. Traditional Alcohol Consumption in Eastern Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 587

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“They pass the time mainly by looking forward into the past,” says Jimmy Porter about his father-in-law and his father-in-law’s generation in John Osborne’s play Look Back in Anger. This observation characterizes not only an age group but also a people—namely, the Hungarians. The submissions to an essay competition . . . held [in Hungary] for non-Hungarians . . . bore this out. Faced with the question ‘What are Hungarians like?,’ the respondents—who necessarily observe us Magyars from a distance, but in some cases dwell among us—observed, among other things: Hungarians devote a staggering amount of attention to the past; indeed they pour out into the streets, flagrantly and loudly, several times a year in an effort to conjure up notable historical events.”

—from the foreword to The Essential Guide to Being Hungarian1

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