Europe Geography 3

Greece: What does "geography" mean in Greek?

Geo meaning earth and graphos meaning writing. Geography's birthplace is Greek.

Romania: What is the connection between Romania and Moldova?

Historically the same state, vast majority are ethnic Romanians

Albania: Approximately what percentage of Albania's population is Muslim?

70%

Bulgaria: What impact did the Great Schism of 1054 have on Christianity in Europe?

Created a great split of western and Eastern Europe in terms of Christian faith

The former Yugoslavia 3: Why has this region been a shatter belt?

A region in chronic instability

Poland: What was the Warsaw Pact?

An alliance of communist countries out of pettiness of the NATO alliance

Greece: What did Eratosthenes do that earned him the title of the "Father of Geography"?

Accurately created latitude and circumference of the earth

The former Yugoslavia 1: What group unified Yugoslavia after World War I?

Serbians

Belarus: What does "Belarus" mean?

White roots, White Russia

Poland: What is the irony of Poland's membership in NATO today?

Because of it's old alliance with Soviet communism. They also signed the Warsaw pact in Poland.

Czech Republic and Slovakia: Why was the term "velvet divorce" very appropriate for the separation of Czechoslovakia into Czechia and Slovakia?

Because the country separated into 2, they separated very civil and smooth with no tensions.

The former Yugoslavia 3: Who were the victims of the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and Kosovo?

Bosnian Muslims

Hungary: The presence of the Magyar language in Hungary has what impact on the Slavic language patterns in Eastern Europe?

Both languages allowed diversion of each other

Albania: How did Islam become the dominant religion in Albania?

Brought by ottomans during invasion

The former Yugoslavia 2: What country became the last country to join the European Union in 2013?

Croatia

Greece: What large eastern Mediterranean island country remains a source of conflict between Greece and Turkey?

Cyprus, mainly populated by Greek. When declaring their independence they did not gain their recognition by anyone other than Turkey.

Bulgaria: What was the Bulgarian contribution to the eastern Slavic languages?

Cyrillic alphabet

Czech Republic and Slovakia: Why are some of Europe's worst environmental degradation sites in Slovakia?

Due to their dominance, Czechoslovakia dumped all of the gross infrastructure there

Romania: How did the Romanian language survive when neighboring areas became dominated by Slavic languages?

It originated from the Latin spoken by colonists in the region of Dacia, which provided a strong linguistic foundation that persisted.

Romania: How was the fall of Communism in Romania in 1989 different from the rest of Eastern Europe?

It was not peaceful, they started protesting. Nicolae Ceaususcu was pro communism, the Romanian people wanted him out, ended up being executed on Christmas.

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (The Baltic Republics): What Russian territory became an exclave after the breakup of the Soviet Union and independence of the Baltic Republics in 1991?

Kaliningrad

Albania: What impact did political isolation and the economic policy of autarky have on Albania by the late 20th century?

Made them the poorest country in Europe since they only have themselves to economically provide. Opened themselves up in the 21st century.

The former Yugoslavia: Who led the successful resistance against the Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia during World War II?

Marshal Josip Broz Tito

Hungary: What is a thermal lake? And where does Lake Hévíz rank among the world's thermal lakes?

Naturally heated from heat within the earth's core. They rank 2nd largest.

Czech Republic and Slovakia: Czechoslovakia was created out of remnants of the Austro-Hungarian Empire following which conflict?

WW1

Bulgaria: Why did Russia help liberate Bulgaria from the Ottoman Turks in 1878?

Russia and the Ottoman Turks were enemies over geopolitics, Russia saw Slavic people in need and considered themselves as a "protector"

Ukraine: What has been Russia's justification for its invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea?

Russia said that Crimea wanted to be a part of Russia politically which is false and they invaded Ukraine to protect Russians interest but in reality Putin really just wants the Soviet Union back.

The former Yugoslavia 2: What happened in Yugoslavia shortly after Tito's death in 1980?

Serbians started to dominate and then after the collapse of communism, the country started falling apart

The former Yugoslavia 3: Why did the Yugoslav government fight so hard to hold onto Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo?

Slobodan Milošević's government saw the Bosnian muslims as the problem, wanting to get rid of them (ethnic cleansing) thinking it would get them to stay (genocide)

The Former Yugoslavia 2: What country was the first to successfully get independence from Yugoslavia in 1991?

Slovenia

Greece: How was ancient Greek civilization politically organized?

Was not organized as a continuous empire. Much more fragmented politically geographic landscape, examples like Sparta.

Czech Republic and Slovakia: What was the central problem with the multinational state of Czechoslovakia?

The 2 nations were not on equal standings, Czechoslovakia was completely dominate

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (The Baltic Republics): How did these three countries become Republics of the Soviet Union?

The Soviet Union invaded and annexed them

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (The Baltic Republics): What has been one of the major issues between the Baltic Republics and Russia over the past few decades?

The alliance of NATO

The former Yugoslavia 1: What event in Sarajevo kickstarted World War I?

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Ukraine: Where does Ukraine rank in terms of land area in Europe (excluding Russia)? Is it bigger or smaller than Texas?

The largest country within Europe's boundaries, in terms of land area. Still smaller than Texas.

Ukraine: What impact did the Chernobyl disaster have on the view of the safety of nuclear energy?

There was a fire in the nuclear reactor which leaked out a lot of radiation, the most severe commercial accident that has ever occurred. This accident gave the world pause, made people realize that when this happens it is not easy to clean back up. Bringing high rates of cancer and negative health impacts.

Moldova: What do the Romance sub-family languages have in common?

They all have their roots from Latin

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (The Baltic Republics): Why are these three countries called the "Baltic Republics"?

They are all on the same body of water called the Baltic Sea and because from 1940-1941 they were international republics for the Soviet Union

The former Yugoslavia 2: How has that country fared economically since?

They have been the most prosperous because of how early they got out

Hungary: Why is health tourism such a big industry in Europe in particular?

They have great health value, the lake helps muscle and joint pain. They have universal health care, making it very cheap and accessible attracting a lot of tourists.

Poland: Why did the Soviet Union insist upon communist governments in Eastern European countries like Poland after World War II?

They refused to let another country invade as much as the Germans did in WW2, they needed communists countries around them to protect them

Hungary: How did the Magyar language come to be widely spoken in the Hungarian Basin?

They settled from Asia early on which caused wide spread of the Magyar

Belarus: How has Russia often used its oil and natural gas exports to Belarus as a political weapon in recent decades?

They use Belarus as a major exporter of gas and oil, when there is conflict between the 2, they turn this off particularly in the winter months which makes it very life threatening.

Moldova: How did Moldova become a Soviet Republic? And who was the Soviet Republic for?

They were meant to correspond with the major ethnicities in the country. It was for Russia.

Poland: Why were countries like Poland referred to as "Soviet satellites" during the Cold War?

Under the influence of another country to watch and protect them from enemies

The former Yugoslavia 3: What is the origin of the term "Balkanization"?

a violent breakup of a country among ethic and religion relations. Comes from reference in this area.