In 1989, to the surprise of many, the infamous Iron Curtain separating Western and Eastern Europe collapsed. In a matter of months, a world that had existed for four decades was overturned, and nations and people who had for centuries been dominated - and at times destroyed - by their more powerful neighbours to the east and west were detatched from the Russian sphere of influence and set on radically new economic and political path. Eastern Europe has re-emerged on the world scene in ways unimaginable during the Cold War, from the unexpected expansion of NATO into former Warsaw Pact nations to the painful attempts to build democracy and market economies in areas that, until the late 1980s, saw political totalitarianism and planned economies. More recently, the outburst of violence associated with the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia has been a reminder that Eastern Europe is still a volatile and unpredictable region of the world, one still capable of being driven by powerful emotions rooted in the distant past. This encyclopedia explores the history of this complex region over the last two centuries.
The cornerstone of the encyclopedia are the articles on countries and regions of Eastern Europe: Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and the countries that once made up Yugoslavia. Additional coverage of European Russia is also included. These articles are both detailed and concise, offering the reader a brief but comprehensive introduction into a country's history during the last two centuries-a crucial time when Europe was swept by wars and convulsive political change that shaped the present. Eastern European history is often written from an "outsider" perspective-that is, from the vantage point of the impact of the West or of Russia on this crossroads of Europe. Although the influence of its neighbors is a formative and defining aspect of Eastern European history, it is not the only one. This encyclopedia offers a variety of rich detail covering the intrinsic cultural, political, and social phenomena of the region. The book also covers not only the leading figures who shaped the region's political destiny, but also the major artists, writers, and other culturally significant individuals during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Some of these figures are known in the West, while others will be new to the average reader. A unique community of more than 200 scholars of Eastern Europe from the United States, Canada, and Europe - each an expert in his or her field - has been assembled to create more than 1,000 entries. An extensive map program enriches the text and helps the reader place a topic in geographic context. Bibliographies at the end of entries direct the reader to accessible sources for further reading or research on Eastern European history.