Demographic features. In total, up to 60.5 million people live in the region. The demographic situation characterizes the same trends as in most European countries. It has a sharp decline in fertility and
natural growth, which is due to socio-economic factors. Birth rate and, accordingly, the natural population growth is the highest in Montenegro (3.5%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (1.35%), Albania (0.52%) and Moldova (0.28%), and in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia , Croatia is negative (on average -0.05%). The age composition of the population is favorable for the reproduction of labor resources: children under 15 years old - 19%, persons of working age (15-64 years) - 69%, pension (65 years) - 12%. Everywhere women more (51%) than men.
Racial composition. In most countries of the region, representatives of the southern group of the European divider prevail. They are more intense than in other European phones, skin pigmentation, mainly dark, sometimes wavy hair, dark eyes. In the northern regions most of the population belongs to the Middle Eastern Race Types.
Ethnic composition. Southeast Europe is a very inhomogeneous region in national-ethnic and religious relations. This leads numerous conflicts that are leaving the historical past peoples - several powerful states fought for influence on them: Orthodox Russia, Protestant Germany, Muslim Turkey, Catholic Austria and Bavaria, Hungary. Permanent military conflicts generated significant population migrations. The consequence of this is the specific settlement of huge territories (Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Albanian villages are located nearby.
In the countries of the region, the percentage of national minorities is large, and some of them occurred the territorial mixing of ethnic groups (Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia). In Bulgaria, the national minorities include Turks (8%), in Bosnia and Herzegovina - Serbs (32%), in Macedonia - Albanians (22%), in Moldova - Ukrainian (14%) and Russians (13%), in Romania - Hungarians (9%) and Gypsies (1.1%), in Kosovo (Serbs - 8%).
Most of the inhabitants of the region refers to the Indo-European language family: Slavic Group (Slovenia, Croats, Serbs, Chernogorets, Macedonians, Bosnians (Muslims), Bulgarians) Albanian Group (Albanians) Romanesque Group (Romanians, Moldovans).
In the south of Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania, there is a slight amount of Turks, which belong to the Turkic group of the Altai language family. In the West of Romania (Transylvania) there are many Hungarians belonging to the Finno-Ural family group.
Religious composition. The overwhelming majority of the population professes Christianity (Orthodox - Bulgarians, Romanians, Moldovans, Serbs, Montenegrins, a significant part of the Macedonians, and Catholics - Slovenia, Croats, part of Romanians and Hungarians) and Islam (Albanians, Kosovo Albanians, Bosnians, Turks). Albania is the only country in Europe in which almost the entire population is Muslim.
Placing the population. Posted population evenly. Low density of it can be traced in the highest regions of the Carpathian and Balkan mountains, the highest - in the valleys of the Danube and his tributaries: Savva, Drahva, Tisa, Prut.
All tangible affects the population of urbanization, primarily connected with the movement of rural residents in the city. This causes high growth rates of the urban population, an increase in the number of new cities, concentrating people in large cities, the formation of urban agglomerations. However, by the share of the urban population (53%), the degree of "maturity" of agglomeration, the level of urbanization of the countryside of Southeastern Europe is significantly lagging behind the majority of countries of other European regions. In some of them (Bosnia, Moldova, Albania), more than 2/3 of the population live in rural areas, mainly in small villages.
The greatest agglomeration is Bucharest (2.3 million people).
Labor resources. Make up more than 23.4 million people, of which 15.6 million fall on Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia. Employment in agriculture is very large - 24%, and in Albania - 55%, the highest indicator for Europe, 38% of the population is occupied in industry, construction and transport, 38% in the service sector (one of the lowest indicators in Europe). Especially crowded population in the ancient industrial areas, metropolitan cities and their surroundings, areas of intensive farming.
One of the important problems is to overcome the socio-demographic and religious and ethnic crisis arising in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. This largely depends on the democratic development of some countries in the region.
In recent months of World War II, popular fronts have formed in the countries of Central and Southeast Europe, which included various parties and most social corpses. 1944-1946 entered the history of these countries as the period of "People's Democracy". The following factors influenced the birth and strengthening in the Soviet region region:
- soviet army parts are located in the territories of these European countries;
- The USSR abandoned the Marshall Plan.
These factors also affected the elimination of a multi-party system in the countries of Central and Southeastern Europe and created the conditions for the United States of Communist Party.
In 1948-1949, the Communist Parties, which were in power, put forward a course on the construction of socialism, and the market economy replaced the centralized planned economy. As a result, totalitarian socialist society emerged in these countries. Private property has been canceled, entrepreneurship and alternate peasants are minimized.
In a number of countries of "People's Democracy", the first spoiled relations from the USSR Yugoslavia. The Union of Communists of Yugoslavia, opposed by the Soviet dominion, was excluded from the Communist Information Office.
In 1949, the Council of Economic Communications (SEA) was established to coordinate the economic development of the socialist countries of Central and Southeastern Europe, and in 1955 the same countries entered the organization of the Warsaw Agreement, which united their armed forces.
Stalin's death and, especially, the criticism of the cult of personality contributed to changing the political climate in the countries of Central and Southeast Europe. In the fall of 1956, the crisis was arose in Poland, which was able to weaken the partial democratization of the political system.
On October 23, 1956, mass demonstrations began in Hungary. Imre Naga, chosen by the head of the Hungarian government, on November 1 announced the exit of Hungary from the organization of the Warsaw Treaty. On November 4, Soviet tanks entered Budapest and literally fused the liberation movement in the blood. Imre Nagia was accused of state treason and executed.
In 1968-1969, events called "Prague Spring" occurred in Czechoslovakia.
The Czechoslovak Communist Party under the leadership of A. Dubchek adopted a "action program" to build such a model of a socialist society, which would correspond to the conditions of modern Czechoslovakia. The USSR and some socialist countries negatively reacted to this idea.
Troops of the USSR, Poland, GDR, Hungary and Bulgaria invaded Czechoslovakia. In August 1968 A.
Dubchki and his comrades were arrested and deported to Moscow. In 1969, place A.
The policy of "Perestroika" in the USSR and the collapse of the empire in the late 1980s - early 1990s provoked a paralysis of the socialist system in the countries of Central and Southeast Europe. Poland first fell out of the socialist system.
As a result of the collapse of the socialist system, together with the USSR, the Balkan Empire collapsed - Yugoslavia. She broke into independent states: Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia,
Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia. And Czechoslovakia was divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The video tutorial allows you to get interesting and detailed information about the countries of Eastern Europe. From the lesson you will learn about the composition of Eastern Europe, the peculiarities of the countries of the region, their geographical position, nature, climate, place in this subregion. The teacher will tell you about the main country of Eastern Europe - Poland.
Topic: Regional characteristic of the world. Foreign Europe
Lesson: Eastern Europe
Fig. 1. Map of subregions of Europe. Eastern Europe is highlighted in red. ()
Eastern Europe- The cultural and geographical region, which includes states located in the east of Europe.
Structure:
1. Belarus.
2. Ukraine.
3. Bulgaria.
4. Hungary.
5. Moldova.
6. Poland.
7. Romania.
8. Slovakia.
In the post-war time, the industry has been actively growing and developed in all countries of the region, and non-ferrous metallurgy relies mainly on its own raw materials, black - imported.
The industry is also represented in all countries, but the most developed in the Czech Republic (first of all, the machine tooling, the production of household appliances and computing equipment); Poland and Romania are highlighted by the release of metal machinery and structures; In addition, shipbuilding is developed in Poland.
The chemical industry of the region is far behind Western European region due to the lack of raw materials for the most advanced industries of chemistry - oil. But you can still note the pharmaceuticals of Poland and Hungary, the glass industry of the Czech Republic.
In the structure of the economy of Eastern Europe, under the influence of HTRs, significant changes: AIC emerged, a specialization of agricultural production was occurring. It is most clearly manifested in grain farming and in the production of vegetables, fruits, grapes.
The structure of the economy of the region is heterogeneous: in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, the share of animal husbandry exceeds the proportion of crop production, in the rest - the ratio is still reverse.
Due to the diversity of soil and climatic conditions, several zones of crop production can be distinguished: wheat is being grown everywhere, but in the north (Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), rye and potatoes are played, in the central part of the subregion, vegetable growing and gardening are cultivated, and the "southern" countries specialize on subtropical cultures.
The main cultures grown in the region - wheat, corn, vegetables, fruit.
The main wheat-corn areas of Eastern Europe have been formed within the middle and lowland lowlands and Danube hilly plains (Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria).
Hungary achieved the greatest success in grain production.
Vegetables, fruits, grapes are cultivated in the subregion almost everywhere, but there are areas where they primarily determine the specialization of agriculture. These countries and areas also have their own specialization in product range. For example, Hungary is famous for winter varieties of apples, grapes, onions; Bulgaria - oilseeds; Czech Republic - Hop, etc.
Livestock. The northern and central countries of the region specialize in milk and meat-dairy cattle breeding and on pig breeding, and the southern - on mining and pasture meat and woolen animal husbandry.
In Eastern Europe, lying at the intersection of paths, has long been connecting the Eastern and Western parts of Eurasia, the transport system is formed over the centuries. Now in terms of traffic, railway transport leads, but automobile, marine are also developing intensively. The presence of largest ports contributes to the development of external economic relations, shipbuilding, ship repair, fisheries.
Poland. The official name is the Republic of Poland. Capital - Warsaw. The population is 38.5 million people, of which more than 97% are Poles. Most are Catholics.
Fig. 3. Historical center Warsaw ()
Poland borders with Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Russia; In addition, it borders with marine waters (zones) of Denmark and Sweden.
About 2/3 of the territory in the north and in the center of the country is the Polish lowland. In the north-Baltian ridge, in the south and south-east - the Malopolskaya and Lublin hills, along the southern border - the Carpathians (the highest point of 2499 m, mountain of the tatras) and the sudden. Large rivers - Vistula, Odra; Thick river network. Lakes mainly in the north. Under the forest of 28% of the territory.
Poland's minerals: coal, sulfur, iron ore, various salts.
Upper Silesia is a region of the concentration of industrial production of Poland of the pan-European meaning.
Almost all of electricity, Poland produces on TPP.
Leading industry manufacturing industries:
1. Mining.
2. Mechanical engineering (Poland occupies one of the leading places in the world for the production of fishing ships, commodity and passenger cars, road and construction vehicles, machines, engines, electronics, industrial equipment, etc.).
3. Black and color (large zinc production) Metallurgy.
4. Chemical (sulfuric acid, fertilizers, pharmaceutical, perfumery and cosmetics, photographs).
5. Textile (cotton, linen, woolen).
6. Sewing.
7. Cement.
8. Production of porcelain and faience.
9. Production of sports goods (kayaks, yachts, tents, etc.).
10. Production of furniture.
In Poland, highly developed agriculture. Freeding predominates in agriculture. The main grain crops are rye, wheat, barley, oats.
Poland is a major manufacturer of sugar beet (over 14 million tons per year), potatoes, cabbage. Export of apples, strawberries, raspberries, currants, garlic, onions are important.
The leading branch of animal husbandry is pig breeding, milk-meat cattle breeding, poultry farming (Poland is one of the largest suppliers of eggs in Europe), beekeeping.
Homework
Topic 6, P. 3
1. What are the features of the geographical position of Eastern Europe?
2. Name the main industries of Poland.
List of references
Basic
1. Geography. A basic level of. 10-11 CL: Textbook for general education institutions / A.P. Kuznetsov, E.V. Kim. - 3rd ed., Stereotype. - M.: Drop, 2012. - 367 p.
2. Economic and social geography of the world: studies. for 10 cl. general education institutions / V.P. Maksakovsky. - 13th ed. - M.: Enlightenment, Moscow Tutorials JSC, 2005. - 400 p.
3. Atlas with a set of contour cards for the 10th grade. Economic and social geography of the world. - Omsk: FSUE "Omsk Martographic Factory", 2012. - 76 p.
Additional
1. Economic and social geography of Russia: a textbook for universities / ed. prof. A.T. Khrushchev. - M.: Drop, 2001. - 672 C.: Il., Cards.: Col. incl.
Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, Directory and Statistical Collections
1. Geography: reference book for high school students and entering universities. - 2nd ed., Act. and drag. - M.: AST-PRESS School, 2008. - 656 p.
Literature for preparing for GIA and EGE
1. Thematic control in geography. Economic and social geography of the world. Grade 10 / E.M. Ambarcumova. - M.: Intellect-Center, 2009. - 80 s.
2. The most complete publication of typical options for real tasks EGE: 2010. Geography / Sost. Yu.A. Solovyov. - M.: Astrel, 2010. - 221 p.
3. Optimal assignment bank to prepare students. Unified State Exam 2012. Geography: Tutorial / Sost. EM. Ambarcumova, S.E. Dukov. - M.: Intellect-Center, 2012. - 256 p.
4. The most complete publication of typical options for real tasks EGE: 2010. Geography / Sost. Yu.A. Solovyov. - M.: Ast: Astrel, 2010. - 223 p.
5. Geography. Diagnostic work in the format of EGE 2011. - M.: MCNMO, 2011. - 72 p.
6. EGE 2010. Geography. Collection of tasks / Yu.A. Solovyov. - M.: Eksmo, 2009. - 272 p.
7. Geography tests: Grade 10: to the textbook V.P. Maksakovsky "Economic and Social Geography of the World. Grade 10 "/ E.V. Branches. - 2nd ed., Stereotype. - M.: Publisher "Exam", 2009. - 94 p.
8. Textbook on geography. Tests and practical tasks in geography / I.A. Rodionova. - M.: Moscow Lyceum, 1996. - 48 p.
9. The most complete publication of typical options for real tasks EGE: 2009. Geography / Sost. Yu.A. Solovyov. - M.: AST: Astrel, 2009. - 250 s.
10. Single State Exam 2009. Geography. Universal materials for the preparation of students / FIPI - M.: Intellect-Center, 2009. - 240 s.
11. Geography. Answers on questions. Oral exam, theory and practice / V.P. Bondarev. - M.: Publishing House "Exam", 2003. - 160 p.
12. EGE 2010. Geography: thematic training tasks / O.V. Chicherina, Yu.A. Solovyov. - M.: Eksmo, 2009. - 144 p.
13. EGE 2012. Geography: typical examination options: 31 option / ed. V.V. Barabanova. - M.: National Education, 2011. - 288 p.
14. EGE 2011. Geography: standard exam options: 31 option / ed. V.V. Barabanova. - M.: National Education, 2010. - 280 p.
Materials on the Internet
1. Federal Institute of Pedagogical Measurements ().
2. Federal portal Russian education ().
Alla Alekseevna Yazkova - Head of the Center for Mediterranean - Chernomoria of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Alla Yazkova
Southeast Europe in the era of change
In the context of international events of the last two centuries and in the concomitant views of contemporaries, southeastern Europe, a better known under the name of the Balkans, was invariably combined with negative connotations. The term "Balkanization" was associated with the concept of "Balkan", which meant, according to the famous Yugoslav analytics and publicist Ranko Petkovich, the state of a permanent conflict between the states of controversial territories and the provisions of ethnic groups of the population outside their countries. To this characterization, you can add a factor of many years of self-"game" of major European and world powers on contradictions both between the Balkan states and between their people inhabited.
At the end of the twentieth century, these complex processes ended with the collapse of the largest Balkan state - the Allied Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and the resulting regional crises and conflicts were not overcome and to this day.
Contrary to this, most countries of the region, although not always consistently and successfully, is included in the processes of modernization and advancing along the path of Atlantic and European integration. In pan-European projects and science and political literature, the Balkan region is increasingly indicated as "Southeast Europe". Yes, and in the public consciousness of most of its countries, it becomes increasingly noticeable. The desire to quickly overcome a dangerous tendency to conflict, the notorious "Balkanization" syndrome, stereotypical ideas about the Balkans as a "powder cellar" and "vulnerable to put up" continent.
But today it is possible to argue today that the concept of "Southeast Europe" has already replaced the term used for many decades Balkans?
Yes and no. The Balkan Peninsula, beyond any doubt, remains the geographical basis of Southeast Europe. But in the context of the ongoing processes of modernization and advancing along the path of regional and pan-European integration, the indication of its European affiliation becomes especially important and significant for the countries. As modern authors rightly celebrate, the region acquires grounds for phased inclusion in European integration precisely as southeastern Europe. At the same time, we are talking about the historically established group of the Balkan countries, the community of which became apparent only at those stages of history when they had to solve common tasks. For example - to deal with national and state independence at the turn of the XIX and twentieth centuries.
On this segment of history and a complex of regional characteristics was formed, in the posteriority of which the Italian researcher Stefano Biancini saw balkan specificity. On the one hand, it is inherent in the similarity of the spiritual and material culture of all peoples inhabiting the Balkans. On the other hand, in the local mentality there are features that oppose it to the cultural world of Western Europe. In the same time, the well-known Romanian historian Nicolae Jorga was written about the same time, which was noted that on clothes, types of ornaments used, architecture, methods of agriculture, customs and superstitions, the image of thoughts and feelings Balkan peoples "are absolutely identical to each other."
At the same time, a strategically important and densely populated region of South-Eastern Europe (the total number of people living here is about 50 million) literally permeated with sources of various potential contradictions. Here, the opposition of Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Islam, who repeatedly poured into sharp religious conflicts took place. The ethnic map of the region in its motion is incomparable with other parts of Europe (except for the Caucasus). Being over the centuries under the authority of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires and feeling permanent, although not the unequivocal impact of Russia, the Balkan region perceived both positive and negative aspects of all these influences.
In the XIX century, the Russian Empire, although not disinterestedly, but quite actively contributed to the emergence of new independent states here. After the occurrence of the USSR and, until the Second World War, the states of Southeastern Europe were in one way or another in the politics of the "Sanitary Cordon" policies, and in the post-war years their relations with the Soviet Union were consumed at the well-known model of "international relations of the new type", which after 1968 became known as the "Restricted Sovereignty Doctrine". After the collapse of the USSR, the period of alienation was reappeared, and therefore Russia's relations with the countries of this region over the past one and a half decades have to be upgraded.
Thus, the states of the Balkan Peninsula were formed under conflicting cultural and historical and political influences. Moreover, in the twentieth century in the Balkans there was a powerful encounter generated by Western civilization of ideologies - communism, fascism and nationalism, which even more strengthened the conflict potential of the region. In other words, many of the currently characteristic of the Balkan region are rooted in the past. Among them - and historically established multi-ethnicity, and the formation of nations and states, and, as a result of all the above, protracted economic retardation and political instability.
The characteristic feature of the international development of the Balkan states remains their dependence on major European powers, which after the world wars solved themselves - as a rule, with benefits for themselves - extremely painful for Balkan questions about establishing or changing state borders. After World War II, the current boundaries between Romania and Hungary were identified, territorial disputes between Bulgaria were resolved, on the one hand, and Greece and Turkey, on the other. It was more difficult for the problems of the territorial settlement between Italy and Yugoslavia, the dispute between which about the "free territory of Trieste" was finally allowed only in 1975. For a long time, the post-war settlement between Greece and Albania was also delayed, the state of the war between which was formally discontinued only in February 1988.
During the "Cold War", the confrontation of blocks was added to territorial disputes, which made it possible to talk about the Balkans as the micromodes of the whole world with his conflicts and contradictions. The states located in the region were part of NATO (Greece and Turkey), the organization of the Warsaw Agreement (Romania and Bulgaria), the Non-Aligned Movement (Yugoslavia) or remained in self-insulation (Albania - the only European country that did not sign the final act of a Security and Cooperation Meeting in Europe ). The situation was also complicated by intrasystem of political clashes. Among them are the conflict of Stalin and Tito in 1948, the rupture of the USSR relations with Albania in 1960, the transition of Romania in the mid-1960s in the position of "dissident" in the socialist community.
True, in contrast to this in the 1960s and 1980s, the processes of inter-balkan cooperation, which became the original refraction of the "Helsinki Spirit" after 1975 and the prologue to subsequent overcoming the opposition of world systems in the Balkans. It is impossible not to notice in this regard that the activation of such interaction at that time contributed to the gradual erosion of national, ideological and geopolitical barriers in relations between the Balkan countries themselves and in their contacts with the West.
However, the subsequent collapse of communist regimes in Bulgaria, Romania and Albania led to the destabilization of the general political situation in the region and the revival in the late 1980s of nationalist ideas and slogans. Even before the start of the war in Yugoslavia, the American researcher Stephen Larreby noted that the main threat of European security now proceeds not from the Soviet bloc, but from inter-ethnic conflicts and political fragmentation. It is also joined by the Greek researcher Tanos Veremis, from the point of view of which the main causes of instability in the Balkans in the early 1990s were the escalation of inter-ethnic conflicts and the weakening of mutual trust.
The most difficult for Southeastern Europe was the consequences of the collapse of SFRA - former Yugoslavia. The resulting crises and conflicts tried to prevent and repay, although not always acceptable methods, first the European Union, and then the United States and NATO. According to many international experts, the prologue to the escalation of large-scale conflicts on the territory of Yugoslavia was the hasty recognition by the European Union in late 1991 and the early 1992 Independence of Croatia and Slovenia, made in opposition to the nationalist policy of Serbia's leadership. The culmination of the Balkan policy of the United States and NATO was the application in March - June 1999 of bomb strikes in the Union Republic of Yugoslavia, which only pOST. factumit was decided by the UN Security Council resolution No. 1244, which recognized the territorial integrity to shed.
During the 1990s, Russia also tried to assist in the resolution of the Yugoslav crisis, but at first the Russian ruling elite did not have a clear understanding of its origins or constructive ideas to overcome it. For a long time, the rate was done on those forces to shed, which this crisis and gave rise to Slobodan Milosevic and his environment. Russian foreign policy showed a number of traits in those years, which allowed to talk about a situational response to events in the context of Russian problems actually and at the same time - about the desire for conservation status. qUO. In the region and prevent any changes. Its disappointing results were the results of voting in the UN Security Council after the start of air strikes in FRIV, when, on March 26, 1999, the resolution proposed by Russia, characterized by NATO as aggressive, voted only by Russia, China and Namibia.
Today, the Balkans do not shoot - and this is the merit of UN peacekeeping forces, NATO and the European Union, "but the smoldering foci of potential crises remain. In this situation, Russia as a permanent member of the UN Security Council remains important. In this regard, it suffices to mention its contribution to a complex and long-term process of negotiations on the settlement of Kosovo's problem, an autonomous region in Serbia with mainly by the Albanian population. The provision of the edge of independence, on which the Kosovoians insist, can easily entail a new explosion of territorial and inter-ethnic contradictions, seriously undermine stability in the region.
Russian diplomacy was managed at the final stage of negotiations on the status of Kosovo in the Security Council (March - April 2007) to translate them to the level of direct contacts between representatives of Belgrade and Pristans through the mediation of Troika as part of Russia, the EU and the United States. At the same time, the basis of the negotiations was the idea that "not an early decision on the status of Kosovo, and the achievement of a compromise should be the goal and necessity for all."
The impasse situation around the Kosovo problem creates a potential threat to new armed conflicts in the Balkan region. In the case of the provision of independence of Kosovo, the territory of Macedonia and Montenegro, inhabited by Albanians, may be reached into this region. Anticipating such an opportunity, the nationalist circles of the Republic of Serbian, which threatens the very existence of Bosnia and Herzegovina jeopardize today. Finally, inevitable in a similar case, the explosion of nationalism in Serbia can finally undermine stability in the western part of the Balkan. All of the above questioned the current unity of Southeastern Europe. Its western part, which unites six countries - Albania, as well as fragments of the former Yugoslavia as part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, remains the most problematic part of the European continent.
The transition to a market economy turned out to be more complex here than in other former socialist countries. The disintegration of Yugoslavia and armed conflicts on its territory were destructively affected by the economic situation affected by them, negatively affected the course and pace of the transition period. Despite significant international assistance, the region is still very far from macroeconomic stability and economic recovery. Today, the economic indicators of countries in it differ from the results achieved not only in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, but also in the eastern part of the Balkans themselves - in Bulgaria and Romania, which became members of the European Union in 2007.
But, despite the predisposition to political crises and economic stagnation, it is impossible not to take into account and the continuing community of the goals and objectives of the historically formed group of Southeast Europe countries. The processes of modernization and democratization here are still far from European samples. Consolidation of the imperfect party system is conditional, the independence of the judiciary and its effectiveness, Efemerna Freedom of the media are problematic. But with the chosen orientation to join the European Union, the choice of a democratic path for the countries of the region is pregnant. The opponent movement will be possible only if the European perspective is lost or in the case of explosive destabilization at regular points or in the region as a whole.
The European vector in the foreign policy of the South-Eastern European countries was marked in the early 1990s, becoming decisive for the subsequent stage. An essential reason that strengthened the former socialist countries to the Euro-Atlantic structures was to be inability to independently settle the protracted interstate crises and conflicts. The collapse of the USSR played its role here, as well as a new configuration of relationships with his heirs - first of all, with Russia. But the main factor promoting them to focus on "return to Europe" and the integration into NATO and the EU was that not only state leaders, but the majority of the population associated with such a course of hope for the best life and overcoming authoritarian heritage.
However, other opinions are expressed, according to which the initiative role in the expansion of NATO to the east belonged to the North Atlantic Alliance, which was striving to strengthen its strategic positions. Without discarding the undoubted importance of the Western influence provided, I would like to note that the main incentives of the "drift west" were still internal factors. In different countries, they showed themselves in different ways, but all the Balkan states united the fact that the obvious inconsistency of their economic and political development standards of NATO and especially the EU only confirmed the direction of their movement.
"Pioneers" spoke Romania and Bulgaria: in May 2004, they became members of NATO, and from January 2007, they provided themselves to membership in the EU. It is more difficult to deal with the states of the Western Balkans. Their negotiations with the European Union in the foreseeable time are hardly crowned with success. As for NATO, the most active contacts with the Alliance today are supported by Croatia, Macedonia and Albania, who signed an agreement on joint actions in this direction in November 2002. Serbia, Montenegro, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina for various reasons, are not yet included in the negotiation process, although their persistent desire to achieve at least the primary attachment to the integration process is obvious.
No less complex problems due to the new vector of Balkan politics after the crash of "real socialism" arose in the West. The task of establishing contacts with the countries of the Balkan region was extremely difficult for the EU. According to a meeting adopted in June 1993 at a meeting of the European Council in Copenhagen, the EU membership is possible for those states that correspond to the so-called "Copenhagen criteria". However, even the most stable Balkan states - Bulgaria and Romania did not "fit", and that is why the deadlines for their entry into the EU were repeatedly transferred. Albania specific dates were not even offered, and the republics of the unpaved SFRA were only included in the preliminary program "Regional approach for the Balkans". As a result, by the end of the 1990s, the EU relations with the countries of South-Eastern Europe were characterized by estimating one of the Greek researchers, "amazing diversity". In the region, it was adjacent: a full member of the European Union - Greece, two candidates of the "second wave" of expansion - Bulgaria and Romania, which is waiting for integration into the EU for almost twenty years of Turkey, as well as Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and shed, included in Additional European Union programs.
Subsequently, as already noted, the bar managed to overcome Bulgaria and Romania. Meanwhile, in the western part of the Balkan there was a kind of enchanted circle: political stability in Southeast Europe is impossible without progress in the economy, and he, in turn, is inhibited by the lack of political stability. This does not mean that the position of the countries awarded the entry is absolutely cloudless: the most significant obstacle to the normal functioning of Romania and Bulgaria within the EU remains corruption, which, by definition of the European Commission, is a large-scale and systemic problem undermining justice, the economy and faith of citizens to the state. But attempts to accelerated curbing corruption and especially the shadow economy will entail negative consequences, in particular an increase in the already high level of unemployment. In addition, according to the estimates of specialists, the introduction of European quotas for exporting agricultural products and strict foodstuffs of food security can lead to a ruin of 40% of small and medium-sized enterprises. For the elimination of such barriers will go years. This will significantly complicate the implementation of social programs of EU member states and entry candidates.
For the relationship of the states of Southeastern Europe with NATO, the 1999 Washington Summit had Strategic concept, where for understandable reasons (the summit was held in the midst of NATO bombing sly) the focus was on the situation of affairs in the Balkan region. The documents adopted in Washington have formed the basis for the further processes of transformation and the modernization of NATO. The first practical steps to regulate international crises outside the traditional zone of the Alliance were made precisely in the Balkan region, but their results were much more modest expectations. The main goal was not reached - ensuring stabilization in the crisis area of \u200b\u200bSoutheastern Europe. The establishment of an international protectory over Kosovo also did not solve the key problem to determine the status of the region and the provisions in it of national minorities.
In the relevant sections Strategic concept The conditions for the integration of South-Eastern Europe in NATO were identified. Among them are the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means; resolution of inter-ethnic and territorial conflicts with neighbors; commitment to the rule of law and the protection of human rights, refusal to the threat of the use of force and the creation of a system of democratic and civil control over the armed forces; Providing partners information on the state of the economy and the principles of economic policy.
Romania and Bulgaria were able, although very conditionally, overcome the plank given by the alliance. As for the states of the Western part of the Balkans, the Secretary General of NATO Yaap de Hoop Skaffer said that in order to become candidates for joining, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Serbia, in addition to the implementation of military reforms, should actively cooperate with the Hague Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia . After 2002, the well-known prospects of NATO accession appeared in Albania, Croatia and Macedonia, and the strategic interests of the North Atlantic bloc were decisive here.
Summing up, it can be concluded that, despite numerous obstacles and difficulties, the countries of Southeast Europe will continue to cooperate with European and Euro-Atlantic structures. The desire to "return to Europe" remains dominant not only for politicians, but also for the majority of the population of these states. Its implementation will largely depend on when and how successfully the economic and social barriers between East and the West of Europe will be overcome and at the same time established - on a new basis - their cooperation with traditional partners, primarily with Russia.
Today, if we exclude the "problem of Kosovo", Southeast Europe can no longer be perceived as a field of geopolitical confrontation between Russia and the West. The new situation consists of real conditions for large-scale economic cooperation of our country with the countries of the region. Based on the largest energy companies, Russia today is able to conduct more active regional policies than before. In this sense, the expansion of the Russian economic presence logically fits into the policy of stabilization of the region, and in relations between Russia with the European Union. But this does not exclude exacerbation of competition for control over the paths of oil and gas, attempts to create alternative energy supply to the energy resources in Southeast and South Europe.
Typical for the economic relations of Russia with countries of South-Eastern Europe has become a significant imbalance in mutual trade and the obvious asymmetry of the interests of Russia and its partners who seek to return to the Russian market. Russia itself does not suit the fact that 90% of its exports to the countries of South-Eastern Europe fall on energy, raw materials and semi-finished products, and the share of finished products continues to steadily decline. Here, of course, the orientation of our partners affects the receipt of high-tech products from the EU countries, although at the present stage their capabilities are limited in the indicated plan.
Of all the above, it is necessary to conclusion about the need for tripartite cooperation of the states of Southeastern Europe with Russia and the European Union, which is more profitable for them and more promising than any one-sided options. In this way, despite the inevitable obstacles and difficulties on this path, the stage of the age-old confrontation between Russia and the West in the Balkans may be completed.
This part is devoted to the vast territory stretching from the Taiga Kama to the subtropics of the Black Sea region. Its North Half is occupied by the expanses of the saved Russian plains lying in the Basins of the Great Volga and Quiet Don. And in the south, between the Black Sea and the Caspian, the mountains of the Grand Caucasus stretched, with tops crowned with eternal snow. Before them is a flat predfaccazier.
Seven areas and six autonomous republics, two edges and the two autonomous regions included in this part of the Russian Federation. There are territories here with a monolithic Russian population and multinational areas where a large number of peoples and nationalities live, especially in the mountains of the Caucasus. Large industrial cities are allocated - Kazan and Kuibyshev, Saratov and Penza, Volgograd and Astrakhan, Rostov and Krasnodar, Ordzhonikidze and Grozny. Here is the dear heart of every person Ulyanovsk - the birthplace of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.
Bread Hitters of the Volga and Kuban, Don Gardens and Dagestan Vineyards, Unique Fishing Pools of the Caspian Sea and Azov-Black Sea, Plated and Alpine Pastures, Oil Tataria and Coal East Donbass, Stavropol combustible gas and Caucasian Mineralnye Vody, Seaside and Mountain Resorts - Not Full The list of wealth of the south-east of the European part of Russia.
It is striking not only wealth, but also the diversity of this part of the country. The European South-East is not a single administrative or economic district: it has neither his center nor leadership organizations, you will not meet it in the reports of the central statistical management. Two historically established natural and economic parts of the country are described in Toma, two independent major areas: the Volga region and the North Caucasus.
And yet the southeast of the European part of the country is not a newcomer in geographical literature: a lot of work is devoted to him. Direct offers were made - to organize such a major economic area in the Russian Federation (though, several in other boundaries). The fact is that between the Volga and the North Caucasus, along with great differences, there are similarities and communication, and mutual interests.
First of all, these neighboring areas, and the set of landscape zones of the Volga region continues to the south until the terco-kum plain. The plains of both areas are equally open and western winds bringing moisture from the Atlantic Ocean, the amount of which decreases to the southeast, and the hot breathing of Central Asia, whose influences weakens to the north-west. As it moves to the south, the amount of solar heat increases, but due to the lack of mountain barriers, the cold mass of the air in winter is unhindered reach the northern slopes of the Caucasus.
There is a lot of common in the historical fate of the Volga region and the North Caucasus. Both of them lay on the outskirts of the Russian state during its formation, in both the feudal top of the conquerors - Tatar-Mongols on the Volga, the Turks and their vassals in the Caucasus - was hostile to the Russian state, raised on his border lands, prevented trade. The promotion of Russians and the development of land in both districts was accompanied by the creation of defensive frontiers with fasteners and supporting points, which subsequently developed many modern cities.
Both areas developed as high-tender agricultural, primarily grain and animal bed, country bases, and only after the Great October Socialist Revolution turned into powerful industrial-agricultural districts. Return the Volga region and the North Caucasus General features of the geographical position on the paths between the most important areas of the country. It is known that the development of the economy of the Volga region contributed to the situation between the Industrial Center of the country and the Urals: it stimulated the growth of sowing areas, many industrial centers of the region, poor minerals (oil open recently), formed at the intersection of railways with the Volga.
The North Caucasus lies on the ways in the Republic of Transcaucasia, and in the geographical situation, in the development of its largest center - Rostov-on-Don - a lot of general devils with the Volga cities. Finally, the studies are mainly the post-war years in the Volga region and the Precaucasies, huge accumulations of oil and gas were found, and all this space becomes a single oil and gas area. Naturally, the commonality of natural conditions, the main minerals, geographic location, finally historical destinations led many traits of the similarity of the economy of both large economic regions.
And now they are characterized by powerful commodity agriculture, the basis of which is grain growing. But these are not only the main wheat areas. They are famous for both various technical crops, including oilseeds and sugar beets, vegetable growing and horticulture; These are the most important areas of the Russian Federation on mud and viticulture, as well as on fine-on sheep.
In front of the agriculture of both districts are many common tasks. In agriculture, it is to ensure stable yields on fertile soils, by protecting fields with forest stripes from the degenerate influence of Sukhovyev, and the further development of irrigated agriculture, in terms of which the North Caucasus overtakes the Volga region. Both district solve the problems of the organization of distant pasture animal husbandry, and the winter pastures of black lands and the Nogai steppe they even use together. There is a lot of common in the structure of the Volga region and the North Caucasus.
The versatile food industry has developed on the basis of the processing of local agricultural raw materials and now plays a significant role in their industrial complex. To satisfy local needs, agricultural and transport engineering has developed here, subsequently not only determined the all-union specialization of the industry of these areas, but also served by the base of their powerful and versatile industrial development.
The new page is associated with oil and gas: on their basis, in both areas a powerful industry has been created, including the production of oil-producing equipment, production and complex processing of oil and gas, up to enterprises of chemistry of organic synthesis. Both areas are the largest manufacturers of cement in the country and stand out on the catch of the most valuable fish, especially sturgeon.
Along with these traits of similarities, there are significant differences between the economic complexes of both districts that only strengthen their mutual interest. Volga region, for example, besides oil, gas, salt and raw materials for the building materials industry, almost does not have minerals; But thanks to the construction of giant hydroelectric power plants on the Volga, this is one of the main energy production areas of the European part of the USSR.
In the North Caucasus, non-ferrous metallic ores have been produced, non-ferrous metallurgy; We are rich in coal from the subsoil of Eastern Donbass. Black metallurgy has historically developed. But, despite the abundance of fossil fuels and large potential energy reserves of the Caucasian rivers, the area lacks electricity. It is largely replenished due to the inflow from the Volga region.
The oil refineries of the Volga region do not cope with the streams of the oil produced, but there are redundant power in Grozny. Also not fully provided with local wood woodworking factories and factories of the North Caucasus: they are interested in raw materials from the pool of Kama, as well as the Donbass in the fastener. On the contrary, the enterprises of the Volga region there is a Donetsk coal, raw materials for the food and chemical industry, the finished products of the food industry and mechanical engineering. The Volga region became one of the main arsenals of mechanical engineering in the country. All this causes powerful economic ties between two areas of the southeast. And their consequence serve compounds of transport networks of both areas.
The historic transport rod of the Volga region - the waterway on the Great River - not only continues in the Caspian Sea to the eastern regions of the North Caucasus; Now the Volga-Don shipping channel named after V. I. Lenin joined it with the ports of the Azov and Black Seas, and also gave a direct access to the Volga region to Donetsk coal.
A duplicate Volga Railway from Kazan to Volgograd received an exit through the Salge steppes to Krasnodar and Novorossiysk. In Tikhoretsk, it intersects with the main transport axis of the North Caucasus - the Main In Moscow - Rostov - Baku, which now through Kizlyar and Astrakhan is connected with the railways of the left bank of the Lower Volga region. Rostov railway ring was closed - Grozny - Astrakhan - Volgograd - Rostov, providing the widest links between both districts.
Railway and water pathways are complemented not only by the thick network of roads, but also power lines stretching from the Volga HPP named after the XX Congress of the CPSU. All these paths are common to both regions. Different peoples inhabit the Volga region and the North Caucasus. The rhythms of fire dancing residents of the mountainous republics are not similar to the long-timber ringtone of the Volga choirs, as the mountains are not similar to the plains.
Many people have a pahahar's labor from the labor of Miner, various problems solve the breeders of Kuban and employees of the Institute of Atomic Reactors in the Volga city of Meleks. One tourist will pave its route by the Caucasian glaciers, another will prefer the excursion along the Volga, past the picturesque Zhiguli.
But the main thing is that it unites these areas - the accomplishments of the Soviet people who transformed the Earth's Soviet power over 50 years, whose owners of which they became after the victorious Great October Socialist Revolution.