| Overview |
| The regions covered on this website all have different backgrounds. This results in the countries handling transitions differently region by region. The Visegrad region includes the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland. The Czech Republic and Slovakia are the result of Czechoslovakia splitting up. Czechoslavakians have experienced change since WWII, and instability is common. As a result the people have not supported right-wing ideas of change, because they are very apathetic toward change. Hungary and Poland have a background filled with independent ideas. Although they were under communism, they were very resistant and welcomed change from communist ways. The right-wing parties were gathering support even before the fall of communism and have continually increased. The Balkan states have all taken different paths to get where they are now. Bulgaria has had close ties to Romania. Bulgaria and Romania had been under communist rule since WWII and were ready to abandon communism. Once they got the chance for independence, they were quick to initiate it. Slovenia on the other hand has had a tough time with the transition politically, but has been successful economically. This is in part a result of their closeness to western Europe (CIA Factbook). The Baltic Republics have had a tough time with the transition. They have all had unstable pasts with limited independence. This has resulted in small amounts of political change since the fall of communism. Latvia has had a small taste of previous independence which has resulted in a small increase in support of right-wing parties. Russia is a good example of what not to do after a transition. The Russian people have always been very apathetic to government and economic conditions. This is in large part due to the strict communism enforced by Stalin, Lenin, and Kruschev. The people have lived under communism for much of the century. The transition has gone badly and as a result people want to return to old ways. However, this idea is slowly being changed with efforts in education. Ukraine has experienced a very unstable political system. They have been under the rule of Russia and hold alot of the same ideas of Russians. Ukranians have a tough task at hand in achieving democracy, but they are slowly moving towards it. The regions of Eastern Europe have experienced many different political and cultural changes throughout the past century and even before. These cultures react in different ways resulting in different effects on policy. |