HISTORY

Ancient Times

The first known Slav, the ancestors of the majority of today’s ethnic groups, settlements in the area that is now called Eastern Europe date back to the 6000BCE. Other ethnic groups from the Urals (ancestors of Hungarian ethnic groups) that also settled down in the territories of the current Eastern Europe are somewhat younger (4000BCE). These ethnic groups prevailed until the days of the Roman Empire under the common denomination of Slavonic peoples or, simply, barbarians. They went South and contacted the already existing Roman Empire because of the expansion of Huns, another ethnic group, that came from Asia. Slavonic peoples weren’t regarded as something different to other barbarians or as an entity by the Romans.

Creation of first Slavic States

In fact, it wasn’t until the late 9th, 11th century that the first forms of organisation in the form of state were created among Slavonic peoples, that is mainly Kievan Rus (855CE, next to the shores of Dnepr river next to Kiev) and Polish Kingdom (1025 CE, around Giecz, centre of Poland).

Kievan Rus, funded by prince Rurik, was mostly in contact with the Byzantine Empire, from which it traded regularly and received much of its cultural background. Byzantine missionares diffused cristianism to Eastern Europe, to Slavs and even created a language system to teach them: cyrillic alphabet, derived from Greek. (CURTIS, 1996). The contact, due to trade, between the Byzantine Empire and the kindom of Kievan Rus) allowed the diffusion of Christianism, which many Slavs embraised. (CURTIS,1996).

Vladimir I (956-1015) proclaimed Christianity the official religion of Kievan Rus and his son Yaroslav built many monasteries, thus relating Christianity with the ideology of the crown. Orthodox Christianity, in contrast to Roman Christianity, linked the power of the king with that of religion, as well as giving a lot of power to local patriarchs and allowing religious texts to be written in national languages, not only in Greek (divergences that led to the mutual excommunication of the pope and the patriarch of Constantinople in 1054). Orthodox Christianity became, by these means, a very important component to national identity. One can compare, in fact, the expansion of Kievan Rus with the trading routes to Constantinople, as those served to the diffusion of Christianity.

Orthodox Christianity had become such an important “unifying agent” in Kievan Rus that, many years later, when the Byzantine Empire disappeared, Moscow aspired to be the new Constantinople: „the third Rome” (Muscovy period) (VOYCE, 1995).

The expansion of Kievan Rus went in progressive decline because of the conflicts between different royal families. Eventually, the territories of Kievan Rus were occupied by the Tartars (of Mongol origin) that, though didn’t abolish Christianity, introduced new practices.

By the 15th century, among the different principalities that had defeated or had never been subjugated by the Tartars, the Muscovy Principality had already established itself as the main hegemonic force in the area. . By XVIII it had become the Russian Empire. (CURTIS, 1996)

Meanwhile, Poland was experiencing another history, that officially started by 1025CE after the establishment of the Polish Kingdom by the Piast dynasty, on the lands inhabited by the Poliane or the Polanie (who settled in the zone by 800-900 CE) This was possible because many years before, the founder of the Piast dynasty, prince Mieszko (966CE) accepted baptism directly from Rome and not from the German church, thus not becoming part of the German Kingdoms.

Starting at 1241 Poland suffered many Tartar invasions, which, summed to the incursions of the Teutonic Knights to fight the pagans in Lithuania and the fragmentation in Poland made the country very weak and prone to foreign invasion. It wasn’t until the years under the reign of Wladyslaw Lokietek (1314-33) and his son Kazimierz the great (1333-70) that a new era of expansion and Independence started. (CURTIS, 1994) Subsequent crises because of a lack of a natural heir led to the Union of Krewo with the Great Duchy of Lithuania, in 1385, forged after the marriage of Polish queen Jadwiga to Jagiello (CURTIS,1994). This new Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth expanded across Europe and gained independency from Teutonic knights, thus consolidating itself as a European superpower (XV was its Golden Age). Its economy was mostly based on grain export to Western kingdoms, which generated an enrichment of the nobility and the preservation of a rural society, opposed to the urbanization and the spread of incipient capitalism that was taking place in most Western kingdoms. This Polish-speaking nobility (szlachta), enjoyed certain rights, while lower nobility didn‘t have that rights and peasants were nearly slaves. This, in turn, allowed the creation of a noble parliament (Sejm), decentralized model of power which gave the right to nobles to make laws. Culturally speaking, it was a very fruitful period in which Italian renaissance models were imported.

Repeated wars against Sweden and Russia, as well as Turkish invasions during 16th and 17th century weakend the Polish –Lithuanian state.

Also, the power of szlachta increased to the degree that they were able to control the king; they could even exercise the veto power in the Sejm.

Peter the Great of Russia annexed the Commonwealth to the Russian Empire by transforming it into a protectorate, which meant the diminishing of authority of the king. (CURTIS, 1994).

Eastern Europe in modern times

To this period of recession a new 18th century marked by the partitions of Poland followed.

The first happened when Cathaline the Great of Russia (1762-96) elected the king of Poland: Stanislaw August Poniatowski, who, against her expectations, tried to modernise the country and eliminate veto power in the parliament. Then, Cathaline provoked an uprising among the Orthodox Christians in the East of the Commonwealth, which, in turn, provoked an uprising of the Catholics by the Confederation of Bar, a league of Polish nobles, in 1772. As a result, Catharine decided an agreement with Austria and Prussia.

The second partition took place in 1793, after the Russian occupation (with Prussian support) of the Commonwealth. Catharine invaded what was left of the Commonwealth under the pretext of the loss of liberties there and the call of the Confederation of Targowica, a group of conservative nobles that didn‘t agree with the innovations, which were inspired in the values of Enlightenment and the American Independence, introduced by Stanislaw August Poniatiowski. These innovations included: the creation of the first constitution (following the American model, with the abolishment of veto power, separation of legislative, executive and judicial power...) which was never implemented, education reform (thus creating the first Education Ministry), reforms in taxation and army and centralization of government in the Permanent Council. (CURTIS, 1994)

The third partition was carried out in 1794, under the pretext of subordinating a revolt led by Tadeusz Kosciuszko. The whole of the country was now on foreign hands, thus unbalancing the power in Europe (two extremely powerful empires: Prussia and Russia). (CURTIS, 1994)

Pictures also by (CURTIS, 1994) Pictures show the three partitions in chronological order.

During the 14th-17th centuries, the Ottoman Empire expanded through the Balkans and, eventually to Central Europe, which was nearly took them to conquer Vienna in 1683 but were defeated, in the end, by the Polish king Jan Sobieski.

Vienna was saved by king Jan Sobieski (1683).

As a consequence, by the beginning of 19th century, most territories within Eastern Europe were agriculture-based economies inside enormous empires which, in most cases, involved serfdom.

This made it impossible for most Eastern European kingdoms to take part in the globalization wave that was taking place as they were mostly continental powers.

Europe after the congress of Vienna (1815).

Eastern Europe, in clear contrast with Western Europe, was dominated by three big Empires: Austro-Hungary Empire, Ottoman Empire and Russian Empire.

The latter, the Russian Empire, served as a hegemonic force in the area. Though big in scope, it remained alien to technological advances and cultural innovations that were taking place in other European countries by that time, something that some centuries later the tsar Peter the Great (1682-1725) would realize and try to compensate by sending new generations of engineers and intellectuals abroad. Another big difference between Russia and Western countries was the low degree of alphabetization and the agrarian system that kept the vast majority of population under a condition of serfdom. This, in fact, was not abolished until the middle of the 19th century, which in part explains the future crisis the Russian Empire would have. (CURTIS, 1996)

The Balkans in the 19th and 20th century

The fact that the Ottoman Empire was getting weaker and weaker led to conflicts between Western powers as these fought to win influence over these territories and also to avoid the empowerment of Russia. Someting, that led, for example to the Straits Convention (1841) and to the Crimean War (1853-56)

Simultaneously, different waves of revolts in Serbia that diminishes Ottoman power and sometimes even defeated it took place: 1804 (until 1812 Ottoman empire didn‘t intervine because it was too busy with a war with Russia and in 1813 retook Serbia), 1814 (new independence for Serbia with clever negociations and also, from 1821 Ottoman Empire was too busy with Greek independence). By 1830 Serbia had gained international recognition as an independent state within the Ottoman empire and with Russian protection. Serbs sough themselves as liberators of all South Slavs. (GASCOIGNE, 2001)

This chaotic situation was temporally solved with the treaty of San Stefano (1878) and the Berlin Congress. Those guaranteed full independence to Serbia and Romania and Bulgaria to become a huge principality under the influence of Russia, though under the sovereignty of the Turkish sultan, after an uprising (1876). Eastern Rumelia becomed autonomous within the Ottoman Empire, and, after the insurrection of Hercegovina in 1875, Bosnia-Hercegovina became part of Austria-Hungary Empire. Albania and Macedonia remained under Turkish domain. Different Balkan states wanted for themselves a piece of Albania. In the meantime, different guerrillas in Macedonia fought between them regardless of international conflicts.

Albania became eventually independent in 1912, while, at the same year, Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria declared war to Turkey (first Balkan War). The independence of Albania led to some rivalries, as its borders weren’t clearly defined, something Russia took advantage of, for example, by putting pressure for the province of Kossovo to be part of Serbia in order to support and strengthen Serbia, the neighbour of Austria-Hungary Empire. The 2nd Balkan War took place in 1913 when Bulgaria was attacked by Romanians, Greeks, Serbs and Turks. (GASCOIGNE, 2001).

After WW1 and the dissolution of Austro-Hungary empire a new state appeared with the purpose to unite all South Slavs: Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Bosnians.

Its borders emerged as a result of the Treaty of Versailles

The project was initiated by Serbia, as they were the first to gain independence and so, the moral obligation to free their Slav borders (Pan-Slavism wave). (GASCOIGNE, 2001).

The conflicts and rivalries existing in the Balkans didn‘t get solved and persisted across time: WW1, interwars and WW2. It is well knwon that the Croats, for example, created an independent state that collaborated with the nazis and exterminated Serbs. Also, Albanian nationalism in the region of Kosovo persisted. (GASCOIGNE, 2001)

The Yalta Conference and Iron Curtain

The Conference of Teheran, Yalta and Postdam when WW2 was coming to the end paved the way to the division of Europe (and later of the world) in two blocks: one Soviet-orientated and the other US and UK orientated.

• During the Yalta Conference (February 4-11 1945), among other things, the Three Big (Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin) agree on the need for the countries that were released of nazi occupation by the Soviet Red Army to have free elections, Baltic republics to become part of the Soviet Union and also that Russia enters the UN.

• The “Iron Curtain” is a term deployed by Churchill in 1946 to denominate the diplomatic rupture between Western powers and the Soviet Union. The later came to indirectly dominate all surrounding countries by favouring the rise of Communist parties in all over Eastern Europe. The parties were, theoretically elected through democratic elections but these, in some cases (as in Czechoslovakia), proved to be fraudulent. Again, territories beyond Germany and France became under Russian influence, thus re-establishing the previous order (Poland, Ukraine...) plus the Balkans. Greece, though having a consolidated communist party, has “given away” by Stalin, thus remaining outside the “block”.

• “Eastern Europe” was then to be transformed into a term to bring together all European countries in the Soviet’s orbit. Although they shared common values in surface, the reality of Eastern European was far more complex as to encapsulate all of them in the same category, as the Marxist principles were applied very differently in each country. In Poland, for example, property was never abolished while in the Soviet Union yes. The extent of bribery was much higher in Ukraine than in Germany, also. Additionally, not all countries in Eastern Europe had the same diplomatic relations, as we can see in the map.

After the collapse of URSS, “Eastern Europe” began to disappear as such, since all its countries entered the free-market and most of the, later, joined the EU. Nevertheless, the use of this name prevailed in order to refer to all countries that used to have communist regimes, thus tracing parallelisms between them and presupposing similitudes in their economic growth and political development after the fall of communism.

References:

CURTIS, G. (1994) Poland: a country study, Federal Research Division, Available version of Chapter 1 at:https://archive.org/details/polandcountrystu00curt_0 [Last accessed: 24/10/2016]

CURTIS, G. (1996) Russia: a country study, Washington, DC: Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. Excerpt available at:http://www.shsu.edu/his_ncp/Kievan.html [Last accessed: 24/10/2016]

GASCOIGNE, B. (2001 onwards) "History of the Balkans" HistoryWorld. Available at:

http://historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistoriesResponsive.asp?groupid=1623&HistoryID=ac79&gtrack=pthc#c1623 [Last accessed: 24/10/2016]

VOYCE, A. (1995) Russian Orthodox Church: early history and art, Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at:http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~mes/russia/moscow/history.html [Last accessed 24/10/2016]