Natural conditions in Eastern Europe. General features and peculiarities of the economy of the countries of Central-Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe as a historical and geographical region includes: Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, countries formed as a result of the collapse of the former Yugoslavia (Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia), Albania, Latvia, Lithuania , Estonia. But the name “Eastern Europe” stuck with the countries of this region and is recognized throughout the world.

Natural resources of Eastern Europe

The countries of Eastern Europe represent a single natural-territorial area stretching from the Baltic to the Black and Adriatic Seas. At the heart of the region and adjacent countries is an ancient Precambrian platform, overlain by a cover of sedimentary rocks, as well as an area of ​​alpine folding.

An important feature of all countries in the region is their transit position between the countries of Western Europe and the CIS.

Natural resource reserves include: coal (Poland, Czech Republic), oil and natural gas (Romania), iron ores (countries of the former Yugoslavia, Romania, Slovakia), bauxite (Hungary), chromite (Albania).

In general, it must be said that the region is experiencing a shortage of resources, and in addition, it is a striking example of the “incompleteness” of a set of minerals. Thus, Poland has large reserves of coal, copper ores, and sulfur, but almost no oil, gas, or iron ore. In Bulgaria, on the contrary, there is no coal, although there are significant reserves of lignite, copper ores, and polymetals.

Population of Eastern Europe

The region's population is about 130 million people, but the demographic situation, which is difficult throughout Europe, is the most alarming in Eastern Europe. Despite the active demographic policy pursued over several decades, natural population growth is very small (less than 2%) and continues to decline. Bulgaria and Hungary are even experiencing natural population decline. In some countries, natural increase is higher than the regional average (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia), and it is the largest in Albania - 20%.

The population of Eastern Europe has a complex ethnic composition, but one can note the predominance of Slavic peoples. Of the other peoples, the most numerous are Romanians, Albanians, Hungarians, and Lithuanians. Poland, Hungary, and Albania have the most homogeneous national composition. Lithuania. Eastern Europe has always been an arena of national and ethnic conflicts. After the collapse of the socialist system, the situation became more complicated, especially on the territory of the most multinational country in the region - Yugoslavia, where the conflict escalated into an interethnic war.

Economy of Eastern Europe

The countries of Eastern Europe today are not characterized by a pronounced socio-economic unity. But in general we can say that in the 2nd half of the 20th century. The economies of Eastern Europe have undergone major changes. Firstly, industries developed at a faster pace - by the 1980s, Eastern Europe had become one of the most industrial regions of the world, and secondly, previously very backward regions also began to develop industrially.

Metallurgy in Eastern Europe

In the post-war period, the industry actively grew and developed in all countries of the region, with non-ferrous metallurgy relying mainly on its own raw materials, and ferrous metallurgy on imported ones.

Mechanical engineering in Eastern Europe

The industry is also represented in all countries, but is most developed in the Czech Republic (primarily machine tool manufacturing, production of household appliances and computer equipment); Poland and Romania are distinguished by the production of metal-intensive machines and structures, Hungary, Bulgaria, Latvia - by the electrical industry; In addition, shipbuilding is developed in Poland and Estonia.

Chemical industry in Eastern Europe

The chemical industry of the region lags far behind that of Western Europe due to the lack of raw materials for the most advanced branches of chemistry - oil. But we can still note the pharmaceuticals of Poland and Hungary, the glass industry of the Czech Republic.

Agriculture in Eastern Europe

The economic structure of the region is heterogeneous: in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, and the Baltic countries, the share of livestock farming exceeds the share of crop farming; in the rest, the ratio is still the opposite.

Due to the diversity of soil and climatic conditions, several zones of crop production can be distinguished: wheat is grown everywhere, but in the north (Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) rye and potatoes play an important role, in the central part of Eastern Europe vegetable growing and horticulture are cultivated, and the “southern” countries specialize in subtropical crops.

Vegetables, fruits, and grapes are cultivated almost everywhere in Eastern Europe, but there are areas where they primarily determine the specialization of agriculture. These countries and regions also have their own specialization in terms of product range.

Territory. Natural conditions and resources.

The Central-Eastern Europe (CEE) region covers 15 post-socialist countries: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic (the Czech Republic includes the territory of the historical regions of the Czech Republic, Moravia and a small part of Silesia), Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Federation Serbia and Montenegro (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Albania. The area of ​​the region, representing a single territorial massif, is over 1.3 million sq. km. with a population of 130 million people. (1998). Of its constituent countries, the group of larger European states includes only Poland and Romania; the rest of the countries are relatively small in size (territory from 20 to 110 thousand square kilometers with a population of 2 to 10 million people).

This region of Europe has gone through a difficult path of political and socio-economic development in the context of a dramatic struggle for the peoples inhabiting it by the largest European powers for spheres of influence on the continent. This struggle was waged with particular force in the 19th-20th centuries. between Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, Turkey, as well as France and Great Britain. During this struggle and the intensified national liberation movements of the local population, former states were formed and destroyed. After the First World War, the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed, Poland reappeared on the map of Europe, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were formed, and the territory of Romania more than doubled.

Subsequent changes in the political map of CEE were the result of the victory over fascist Germany and Italy during the Second World War. The most important of them: the return to Poland of its western and northern lands with wide access to the Baltic Sea, Yugoslavia - the Julian Region and the Istrian Peninsula, inhabited mainly by Slovenes and Croats.

During the transition of CEE countries from a centrally planned economy to a market economy (late 80s - early 90s), political, socio-economic and national-ethnic contradictions sharply worsened. As a result, Czechoslovakia split along ethnic lines into two states - the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, and Yugoslavia - into five states: the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the republics of Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The CEE countries are located between the countries of Western Europe and the republics that were (until 1992) part of the USSR. This is associated with a number of common features of their political and socio-economic development at the stage of transition to a market economy. They are in the process of deep structural economic restructuring, fundamental changes in the nature and direction of foreign economic relations.

The CEE states are striving to expand their participation in pan-European economic integration, primarily in the fields of transport, energy, ecology, and the use of recreational resources. The region has access to the Baltic, Black and Adriatic seas, and the navigable Danube flows through it for a long distance; the region's territory can be widely used for the transit of goods and passengers between Western Europe, the CIS countries and Asia. For example, with the completion in 1993 of the Bamberg (on the Main River) - Regensburg (on the Danube River) canal, the possibility of end-to-end trans-European water transport between the North and Black Seas opens up (from Rotterdam at the mouth of the Rhine to Sulina at the mouth of the Danube, a waterway of 3,400 km.) . This is an important link in the development of a unified European network of inland waterways. Another example of the expanding use of the geographical location of the CEE countries is transit shipments through pipelines of natural gas and oil from Russia and other Caspian states to the countries of Western and Southern Europe. The CEE countries signed the European Energy Charter in 1994, which laid down the economic mechanisms for the global energy space throughout Europe.

When assessing natural resources, settlement patterns and regional differences in economic activities on the modern territory of the CEE countries, one needs to imagine the most important structural and morphological features of its relief. The region covers: part of the European Plain in the north (Baltic States, Poland), Hercynian midlands and hilly uplands (Czech Republic), part of Alpine-Carpathian Europe with folded mountains up to 2.5 - 3 thousand m high and low accumulative plains - Middle and Lower -Danube (Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, northern Croatia, Serbia and Bulgaria), the southern European Dinaric and Rhodope-Macedonian massifs up to 2 - 2.5 thousand meters high with intermountain basins and foothill plains (most of Croatia and Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania and southern Bulgaria).

The characteristics of the geological and tectonic structures determine the composition and nature of the geographical distribution minerals countries The greatest economic importance are large (on a European scale) deposits: hard coal (Upper Silesian basin in southern Poland and the adjacent Ostrava-Karvinsky basin in the north-east of the Czech Republic), brown coal (Serbia, Poland, Czech Republic), oil and natural gas ( Romania, Albania), oil shale (Estonia), rock salt (Poland, Romania), phosphorites (Estonia), natural sulfur (Poland), lead-zinc ores (Poland, Serbia), bauxite (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary) , chromite and nickel (Albania); In a number of countries there are deposits of uranium ores of industrial importance.

In general, CEE countries are insufficiently provided with primary energy resources. Up to 9/10 of the region's coal reserves (about 70 billion tons) are in Poland alone. CEE contains over 1/3 of the pan-European reserves of brown coal; they are more dispersed across the countries of the region, but still more than half lie in Serbia and Poland. No country (except Albania) has sufficient oil and natural gas reserves. Even Romania, which is better supplied with them, is forced to partially cover its needs for them through imports. Of the total hydro potential of CEE of 182 billion kWh, about half is in the republics of the former Yugoslavia (primarily Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina) and more than 20% in Romania. The region is rich in healing mineral springs, some of which are effectively used (especially in the Czech Republic).

CEE countries vary greatly in size, composition and quality forest resources. In the south of the region, the mountainous regions of the Balkan Peninsula, as well as the Carpathians, are characterized by increased forest cover with a predominance of conifers and beech, while in the predominantly flat and heavily cultivated Poland and Hungary the forest supply is much less. In Poland and the Czech Republic, a significant part of productive forests is represented by artificial plantations, primarily pine trees.

However, among the main assets of CEE - its soil and climatic resources. There are large areas of naturally fertile soils, mostly of the chernozem type. These are primarily the Lower and Middle Danube plains, as well as the Upper Thracian lowland. Due to the extensiveness of agriculture before the Second World War, about 10 - 15 quintals were collected here. with hectares Cereal crops. IN

In the 80s, the yield had already reached 35 - 45 c. per hectare, but was still lower than the yields in some Western European countries with lands less rich in humus.

Based on soil and climatic conditions and other natural resources, CEE countries can be conditionally divided into two groups: northern (Baltic countries, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia) and southern (rest of the countries). These differences, consisting of higher temperatures during the growing season and more fertile soils in the southern group of countries, create an objective basis for the specialization and complementarity of both groups of countries in agricultural production. While most of the territory of the northern group of countries is in a zone of sufficient moisture, in the southern group, arid conditions often arise during the growing season, causing the need for artificial irrigation (In the Lower Danube and Middle Danube lowlands, in the second half of the 20th century, one of the most irrigated areas in Europe arose agriculture). At the same time, the climatic conditions of the southern group of countries, combined with healing mineral springs and wide access to warm seas, create important prerequisites for organizing recreation for residents of not only these countries, but also the northern part of the region, as well as tourists from other, primarily European, countries.

Population.

The population dynamics of CEE are characterized by a number of features characteristic of the European continent as a whole: a decrease in the birth rate, an aging population and, accordingly, an increase in the mortality rate. At the same time, the CEE region, in contrast to Western Europe, is also characterized by a significant population decline due to a negative balance of migration. In the second half of the 90s, the average population density of CEE (104 people per 1 sq. km.) was close to that in Western Europe. Country-by-country differences in population density range from 33 in Estonia to 131. At 1 km. sq. in the Czech Republic. There are more significant differences in population density within countries, due to both natural conditions and socio-economic factors. The process of urbanization had a great influence. For most CEE countries, in contrast to the developed countries of Western Europe, the stage of accelerated industrialization and, accordingly, increased concentration of production in cities occurred at a later time, mainly after the Second World War. Therefore, the rate of urbanization during this period was the highest. By the beginning of the 90s, more than 2/3 of the region’s population was already concentrated in cities (in Czechoslovakia up to 4/5). There are few large cities compared to Western Europe. Capital cities stand out sharply, among which the largest two million people are Budapest and Bucharest, and some urban agglomerations (Upper Silesian).

An unfavorable demographic situation (for a number of years, mortality has exceeded birth rates) is especially characteristic of Hungary, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Croatia. The situation is somewhat better in Poland, Romania and Slovakia, where in the 90s there was still natural population growth. It is still high in Albania. But within a number of countries there are large regional differences in natural growth, depending on the national composition and religious characteristics of individual population groups. In some areas of Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Bulgaria, where significant Muslim groups live, the natural increase is much higher. The consequence of this is a change between the population of different nationalities within each of these countries in favor of representatives of peoples professing predominantly Islam.

For example, in the former Yugoslavia, during the period between the population censuses of 1961 and 1991. due to higher natural population growth, the number of Albanians increased from 0.9 to 2.2 million people and Muslim Slavs (primarily in Bosnia and Herzegovina) from 1 to 2.3 million people. Mainly for this reason and partly due to migration, there have been great changes in the structure of the national composition of the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the share of Serbs from 1961 to 1991 decreased from 43 to 31%, and the share of Muslims increased from 26 to 44%)

After the Second World War, in contrast to Western Europe, the homogeneity of the national composition of the population of a number of CEE countries increased significantly. Before the war, in the countries of the region as a whole, national minorities exceeded a quarter of the total population, but, for example, by 1960 they constituted only about 7%. At the same time, the following stood out: single-national countries with a very small proportion of national minorities - Poland, Hungary, Albania; single-national countries with significant groups of national minorities - Bulgaria (ethnic Turks, Gypsies), Romania (Hungarians, Germans, Gypsies); binational countries - Czechoslovakia, inhabited by Czechs and Slovaks, historically associated with a certain territory, moreover, in Slovakia there were also significant minorities - Hungarians and Gypsies; finally, multinational countries - Yugoslavia. The latter was mainly (84% according to the 1991 census) populated by South Slavic peoples, but in some of its republics, primarily Serbia, there were significant groups of national minorities (Albanians and Hungarians).

In the process of aggravation of the political and socio-economic situation in Central and Eastern Europe in the late 80s - early 90s, interethnic contradictions intensified. This led to the collapse of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. The Czech Republic and Slovenia have now joined the first group of co-ethnic minorities. At the same time, interethnic problems (and in some cases, acute conflicts) continue to complicate the development of Romania, Bulgaria and especially Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Intensive migrations are closely related to interethnic problems and economic factors. Massive internal migration of the population was especially large in the first decade after the war (in Poland and Czechoslovakia, associated with the movement of Germans to Germany from the Polish reunified lands and border regions of the Czech Republic, as well as in Yugoslavia - from war-torn mountainous areas to the plains, etc.). Emigration also took place; in search of work, over 1 million people emigrated from Yugoslavia in the 60-80s (most to Germany and Austria) and slightly less from Poland; Some ethnic Turks emigrated from Bulgaria to Turkey, and most ethnic Germans from Romania (to Germany). Internal and external migrations of the population in the former Yugoslavia sharply increased in the early 90s as a result of acute ethnic conflicts; the bulk of them are refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. Some of them sought to leave zones of interethnic conflicts, while others were subjected to forced relocation in order to achieve greater ethnic homogeneity of the population in certain areas (for example, the eviction of Serbs from Croatian Western Slavonia and Serbian Krajina or Croats from northern Bosnia and eastern Slavonia).

The situation was particularly difficult in the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (AK Kosovo for short) in southern Serbia. There, by the time of the collapse of Yugoslavia (1991), the population consisted of 82% Albanians, 11% Serbs and Montenegrins, 3% Muslim Slavs, as well as Gypsies, etc. The predominance of the Albanian population in Kosovo is the result of several processes.

First, after the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, when Serbian forces suffered a fateful defeat at the hands of the Turks advancing in the Balkans, the Serbian population in Kosovo declined. Subsequent Serbian uprisings and wars between the Austrian and Turkish empires for possession of the Balkans were accompanied by the devastation of Serbian lands and the massive resettlement of Serbs across the Danube (especially at the end of the 17th century). Albanians gradually began to descend from the mountains to the devastated lands of Metohija and Kosovo with a rare Slavic population, who by the 18th century. Most of them were already converted to Islam. As a result of the First Balkan War, the Turks were expelled from most of the Balkan Peninsula. It was then, in 1913, that an independent Albanian state was created and the borders that still exist today were established with its neighbors - Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Greece.

During the Second World War in Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia, almost 100 thousand Serbs were expelled from Kosovo and Metohija. In their place, many Albanians were resettled from Albania, which was under the protectorate of fascist Italy. According to the 1948 census of Yugoslavia, 0.5 million Albanians (more than 2/3 of their population) already lived in Kosovo and Metohija.

In the SFRY, the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija was created as part of the Republic of Serbia. According to the new constitution of the country in 1974, the population of the region received even greater autonomy (its own government, parliament, judiciary, etc.). In AK Kosovo, despite the presence of broad autonomy, Albanian separatism and nationalism began to intensify. From 1968 to 1988, under pressure from Albanian nationalists, about 220 thousand Serbs and Montenegrins were forced to leave Kosovo.

Secondly, the Muslim Albanian population grew at a high rate as a result of large natural increase, which was several times higher than that of the Serbs and Montenegrins. In the 60s of the 20th century, AK Kosovo experienced a demographic explosion. Over 30 years (from 1961 to 1991), the Albanian population increased there due to natural growth by 2.5 times (from 0.6 to 1.6 million people). Such rapid growth entailed an aggravation of vital socio-economic problems in the region. Unemployment increased sharply, and the problem of land became more and more acute. Population density increased rapidly. From 1961 to 1991 it increased from 88 to 188 people per 1 km. sq. The territory of Kosovo and Metohija is the area with the highest population density in South-Eastern Europe. In such conditions, interethnic relations in the region worsened, and Albanian protests intensified with demands for the separation of AK Kosovo into a separate republic. The government of the SFRY was forced to send internal troops into AK Kosovo. In 1990, the assembly (parliament) of Serbia adopted a new constitution, according to which AK Kosovo loses the attributes of statehood, but retains the features of territorial autonomy. Albanians are holding a referendum on the issue of a “sovereign independent state of Kosovo”, terrorist acts are intensifying, and armed groups are being created.

In 1998, Albanian separatists create the “Kosovo Liberation Army” and move on to open military action against Serbian troops, seeking the internationalization of the “Kosovo issue.” They succeed, and after the failure of peace negotiations in France, at which the Yugoslav side was ready to grant Kosovo the broadest autonomy, in March 1999 the bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by NATO aircraft began.

A new act of the Balkan drama, the Balkan crisis, has played out. NATO countries, instead of the stated purpose of the bombing - to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Kosovo - contributed to this catastrophe. In the month since the beginning (March 1999) of the NATO air operation against the SR Yugoslavia, Kosovo (according to the UN) more than 600 thousand ethnic Albanians were forced to leave. But the tragedy is that the armed conflict in Kosovo did not contribute one step to resolving the “Kosovo issue”; at the same time, it caused enormous damage to the population and national economy of the SR Yugoslavia.

Ultimately, the tragic events in the territory of the former Yugoslavia in the last decade of the 20th century are another stage in the struggle of NATO countries for dominant influence on the Balkan Peninsula.

Main features of the economy.

Most CEE countries (excluding Czechoslovakia) embarked on the path of capitalist development later than the leading countries of Western Europe and, on the eve of World War II, were classified as economically less developed European states. Their economy was dominated by extensive agriculture. During the Second World War, the countries of the region (especially Poland and Yugoslavia) suffered great material and human losses. After the war, as a result of political and socio-economic transformations, they switched to a centrally planned type of economy, in contrast to the market economy of Western European countries. Over almost half a century of development (from 1945 to 1989-1991), a specific type of economy was formed in the CEE countries, characterized by excessive centralization of management and monopolization of the social and economic spheres of life.

The level of their economic development has increased significantly; At the same time, there was a significant convergence of the levels of the countries in the region. During the ongoing industrialization, a new sectoral and territorial structure of the economy was formed with a predominance of industry, primarily its basic industries. A new production infrastructure was created, primarily in the field of energy and transport, and the involvement of the economy in foreign economic relations increased (especially significantly in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Slovenia). However, the achieved level of development was still significantly lower than that of the leading countries of Western Europe. At the same time, according to some quantitative indicators, there was a significant convergence of individual CEE countries with the countries of Western Europe (for example, in coal mining, electricity production, steel smelting and basic non-ferrous metals, production of mineral fertilizers, cement, textiles, footwear, as well as sugar, grain, etc. . per capita). However, a large gap has formed in the quality of products, in the degree of introduction of modern technologies and more economical production. The products produced, although they were sold in the countries of the region and especially in the huge but less demanding market of the USSR, were for the most part uncompetitive in Western markets. The accumulated shortcomings of a structural and technological nature (the predominance of industries weighed down by outdated equipment, increased material and energy intensity, etc.) led to an economic crisis in the 80s. The period of accelerated industrialization in the first post-war decades gave way to stagnation and then a decline in production. The ongoing process of transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy with the replacement of the “transferable ruble” in foreign economic calculations with convertible currency and at world prices had dire consequences for the economies of most CEE countries. Integration economic ties between the CEE countries and the republics of the former USSR, on which their economic systems were basically closed, turned out to be largely destroyed. A radical restructuring of the entire national economy of Central and Eastern Europe was required on a new, market basis. Since the beginning of the 90s, the CEE countries have entered the stage of establishing a more efficient national economic structure, in which, in particular, the service sector is widely developed. The share of industry in GDP decreased from 45-60% in 1989 to 25-30% in 1998.

By the end of the 90s, some more developed CEE countries - Poland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary - were able to come closer to emerging from the crisis. Others (mainly the Balkan countries) were still far from this. But even the first group of countries continued to lag far behind the EU countries in terms of economic development, and it will probably take at least two decades to eliminate this backlog. Significant differences in the level of socio-economic development between different groups of countries in CEE itself can be judged by the following data: 5 of them (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia), which have more than 2/5 of the territory and half of the population of the CEE region , accounts for almost 3/4 of GDP and foreign trade turnover, as well as 9/10 of the volume of all foreign direct investment.

Industry.

In the CEE countries in the 50-80s, a large industrial potential was created, designed mainly to cover the needs of the region and close interaction with the national economy of the USSR, where a significant part of industrial products was sent. This direction of industrial development was reflected in the formation of an industry structure, which was distinguished by a number of features.

During industrialization, fuel, energy and metallurgical bases were created, which served as the basis for the development of the machine-building industry. It is mechanical engineering in almost all countries of the region (excluding Albania) that has become the leading industry and the main supplier of export products. The chemical industry, including organic synthesis, was almost re-created. The rapid development of mechanical engineering, chemistry and electric power contributed to the fact that their share in gross industrial output reached half. At the same time, the share of products from the light and food processing industries has decreased significantly.

Fuel and energy industry region was created based on the use of local resources (mostly in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania) and imported energy sources (mostly in Hungary, Bulgaria). In the total fuel and energy balance, the share of local resources ranged from 1/4 (Bulgaria, Hungary) to 3/4 (Poland, Romania). In accordance with the structure of local resources, most countries were characterized by a coal orientation with the widespread use of brown coals of low calorific value. This led to higher specific capital investments in the production of fuel and electricity and increased their cost.

CEE is one of the largest coal-producing regions in the world. In the second half of the 90s, more than 150 million tons of coal were mined there per year (130-135 in Poland and up to 20-25 in the Czech Republic). The CEE countries are the world's first region for brown coal production (about 230-250 million tons per year). But if the main mining of hard coal is concentrated in one basin (it is divided by the Polish-Czech border into two unequal parts - Upper Silesian and Ostrava-Karvinsky), then brown coal is mined in all countries, and from many deposits. More of it is mined in the Czech Republic and Poland (50–70 million tons each), Romania, S.R. Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria (30–40 million tons each). Brown coal (like a smaller part of hard coal) is consumed mainly at thermal power plants near mining sites. Significant fuel and electric energy complexes have been formed there - the main bases for electricity production. Among them, larger complexes are located in Poland (Upper Silesian, Belchatuvsky, Kujawsky, Bogatynsky), the Czech Republic (North Czech), Romania (Oltensky), Serbia (Belgrade and Kosovo), Bulgaria (East Maritsky). In Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Albania, the share of hydroelectric power plants in electricity production is high, and in Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia - gas stations. Some power plants also use natural gas (mostly imported from Russia, and local in Romania). Electricity production in the region reached 370 billion kWh per year in the 80s. Electricity consumption was significantly higher than production due to its systematic purchase in the former USSR (over 30 billion kWh per year), especially in Hungary, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia.

CEE countries were highly connected to each othercovolt power lines and formed, together with the energy systems of Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus, a single energy system. An oil refining industry has been created in CEE that is sufficient to meet the demand for petroleum productstah. It grew on the basis of large oil supplies tomainly from Russia, delivered via the systemoil pipeline "Druzhba" (to Poland, Slovakia, CheKhiyu, Hungary) and by sea from Novorossiysk (to Bolgariya). Hence the localization of larger refinerieson oil pipeline routes (Plock, Bratislava, Sashalombatta) or in seaports (Burgas, Nevoda-ri, Gdansk). These refineries (with a capacity of 8-13 million tons)served as the basis for the development of basic plants in the petrochemical industry of the respective countries. In the 90s, with a decrease in the villageoil prices from Russia and growth in imports from the statemember states of OPEC, CEE countries were forced to re-equip part of their refinery capacities, according topreviously built with Russian oil in mind.

Before World War II metallurgy Gia was represented mainly by ferrous metallurgy enterprises in the Czech and Polish lands, lead-zinc plants in southern Poland and copper smelting in Serbia (Bor). But in 1950-1980. New large ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy plants were built in the region. By the end of the 80s, the annual production of steel reached 55 million tons, copper - 750 thousand tons, aluminum - 800 thousand tons, lead and zinc - 350-400 thousand tons each. The main producers of iron and steel were Czechoslovakia and Poland and Romania. In each of them, large plants were built either on the basis of domestic coking coal (Poland, Czechoslovakia), or mainly imported (Romania), but all on imported iron ore. Therefore, they were built in the corresponding coal basins (Upper Silesian, Ostrava-Karvina) or on the routes for the import of iron-containing raw materials and coking coal from outside, in particular on the banks of the Danube (Galati and Calarasi in Romania, Dunaujvaros in Hungary and Smederevo in Serbia). By 1998, steel production had decreased to 35 million tons.

Non-ferrous metallurgy factories were created mainly on the local raw material base. This industry has received greater development in Poland (copper, zinc), the former Yugoslavia (copper, aluminum, lead and zinc), Bulgaria (lead, zinc, copper), Romania (aluminum). The copper smelting industry of Poland (reached level of over 400 thousand tons of copper) and the aluminum industry of a number of republics of the former Yugoslavia (300-350 thousand tons) have good prospects; There are significant reserves of high quality bauxite in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro. On their basis, aluminum smelters were built in the areas of Zadar (Croatia), Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Podgorica (Montenegro) and Kidrichevo (Slovenia). But the largest aluminum smelter in the region operates in Slatina (in southern Romania), using domestic and imported raw materials. Yugoslavia and Hungary were suppliers of bauxite and alumina to other countries (Poland, Slovakia, Romania, but most of all to Russia).

The scale and structure of metallurgy significantly affected the nature and specialization of mechanical engineering. In particular, in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania its metal-intensive industries are more widely represented, and in the former Yugoslavia and Bulgaria - industries that use large quantities of non-ferrous metals (cable production, electrical engineering, material handling equipment).

The main specialization of mechanical engineering in CEE countries is the production of vehicles and agricultural machines, machine tools and technological equipment, electrical products and instruments. Each country has developed a specialization aimed at covering the basic needs of the region itself and the former USSR. They specialized in the production of sea vessels primarily in Poland (especially fishing vessels), Croatia, locomotives, passenger and freight cars - Latvia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, buses - Hungary, minibuses - Latvia, electric cars and motorcycles - Bulgaria, excavators - Estonia, etc. .d.

Specialization was also great in the defense industry. Even as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, its main “arsenal” was the Czech Republic (especially the famous Skoda factories in Pilsen). The location of the newly created defense industry gravitated towards the “inland” regions of the countries, especially to the foothills and intermountain basins of the Carpathians, the Dinaric Highlands and Stara Planina.

In general, the location of mechanical engineering is characterized by a high concentration of enterprises within the center and north of the Czech lands, the Middle Danube valley (including Budapest) and its tributaries the Morava and Vág. In Poland, this industry is dispersed across large cities in the central part of the country (the main centers are Warsaw, Poznan, Wroclaw), as well as the Upper Silesian agglomeration. There are mechanical engineering centers in the Bucharest-Ploiesti-Brasov zone (Romania), as well as in the capital cities of Sofia, Belgrade and Zagreb.

From 1/3 to 1/2 of the country's mechanical engineering productsCEE was sent for export. At the same time, exchanging these products mainly withinCMEA member countries, countries of the region in the small hundredpenalties experienced the impact of the mainengine of scientific and technological progress in the world -competition. Low mutual demands, especially on product quality, led to the fact that in the transition to a market economyeconomy and inclusion in the world economya significant part of the machines and equipment producedproduction turned out to be uncompetitive. There was a large decline in production in the industry andAt the same time, imports of higher quality products increasedequipment from Western Europe, USA and JapanNI. Characteristic fact; Czech Republic -one of the countries with developed mechanical engineering, in whichsecond in the 80s machinery and equipment compositionaccounted for 55-57% of its exports and only about 1/3 of imports, already in the early 90s it began to purchase muchmore machinery and equipment than selling them.A painful process of transformation takes placeof the entire machine-building complex of the countries of the regionshe, in the process of which hundreds of largeenterprises were on the verge of collapse and bankruptcy.It became faster than other countries to adapt to new conditions whenadapt to mechanical engineering of the Czech RepublicLiki, Poland and Hungary.

During the post-war period, CEE was essentially re-created chemical industry . At the first stage, when mainly large basic chemical enterprises were built (especially for the production of mineral fertilizers and chlorine-containing products), Poland and Romania, which had large reserves of the necessary raw materials, found themselves in a more favorable position. Later, as the organic synthesis industry developed, its production began to be created in other CEE countries, but mostly on the basis of oil and natural gas imported from Russia (and in Romania, their local resources) and coke chemistry (Poland, Czechoslovakia); specialization in the production of pharmaceutical products (especially Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria) and small-scale chemicals has increased.

The most important territorial groups of enterprises in the chemical and oil refining industry are tied, firstly, to the main coal mining basins (primarily Upper Silesian and North Bohemian), where, in addition to coal chemistry, industries that used oil and petroleum products supplied through pipelines were later “pulled”; secondly, to the centers for refining imported oil that arose at the intersection of main oil pipelines with large rivers (Plock in Poland, Bratislava in Slovakia, Saskha-lombatta in Hungary, Pancevo in Serbia), as well as in seaports (Burgas in Bulgaria, Rijeka region in Croatia, Koper in Slovenia, Navodari in Romania, Gdansk V Poland); thirdly, to the sourcesnatural gas, or locally produced (Tran Sylvania in the center of Romania), or received through gas pipelines from Russia (Potisje in eastern Hungary, in the middle reaches of the Vistula in eastern Poland).

Lightweight industry satisfies the basic needs of the population in fabrics, clothing, shoes; a significant part of its products is exported. CEE countries occupy a prominent place in Europe in the production of cotton, wool and linen fabrics, leather shoes, as well as such specific products as costume jewelry, art glass and art ceramics (Czech Republic). The main areas of the textile industry historically developed in the center of Poland (Lodz) and on both sides of the Sudeten Mountains - in the south of Poland and in the north of the Czech Republic.

The region has a large shoe industry - in the 80s, over 500 million pairs of shoes were produced per year. It is more developed in Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, and Croatia. In particular, the Czech Republic is among the leading countries in the world in the production and export of footwear per capita. Well-known centers in the industry include Zlín (in the Czech Republic), Radom and Helmek (Poland), Timisoara and Cluj-Napoca (Romania), and Borovo and Zagreb (Croatia).

CEE has all the main branches of the food industry, but at the same time, each country specializes in the production of certain types of products in accordance with the nature of local agricultural raw materials and national customs in the consumption of certain food products. In the northern group of countries, the share of industries processing livestock products is much higher; Among products of plant origin, their share is high in the production of sugar and beer. Southern countries are distinguished by the production of vegetable oil, canned vegetables, grape wines, fermented tobacco and tobacco products. A significant part of these types of products from sub-sectors specialized in the north and south of the region is intended for export.

In the context of the transition to a market economy in CEE countries, the main changes in industry consist of a decrease in the share of basic industries (coal and ferrous metallurgy), as well as mechanical engineering. Particularly significant are intra-industry changes towards a reduction in production with increased energy and material intensity. A number of countries in the region receive loans from Western Europe for the purchase of high-tech equipment and the replacement of outdated production facilities with new ones, the products of which are in demand on the world market. Industrial modernization progressed more successfully in the 1990s in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland. The most difficult situation in industry is in the republics of the former Yugoslavia (with the exception of Slovenia); they became embroiled in a decades-long conflict that greatly affected their economy.

Agriculture. Expanding agricultural production is one of the important areas of promising specialization for CEE countries. For this, the region has favorable soil and climatic conditions. During the post-war period, gross agricultural output increased significantly, and the yield of main crops and livestock productivity increased several times. But in terms of the general level of development, especially in terms of labor productivity, the agriculture of the CEE countries is still significantly inferior to that of Western Europe. In this regard, there are differences among individual CEE countries. For example, there is a high level of agriculture in the Czech Republic, Hungary and lower in the countries of the Balkan Peninsula and Poland. In general, the population of CEE is provided with basic agricultural products and a considerable part of them can be exported. In turn, the region, like Western Europe, needs to import tropical products and some types of agricultural raw materials (primarily cotton). In the process of transition to a market economy, CEE agriculture is increasingly encountering difficulties in selling products on Western markets in the context of the crisis of overproduction and intense competition existing there. At the same time, close to CEE there is an extensive Russian market, to which, on new, mutually beneficial terms, products that are in short supply for Russia are supplied in large quantities, primarily vegetables, fruits, grapes and processed goods.

The place of the CEE region in European agricultural production is determined mainly by the production of grain, potatoes, sugar beets, sunflowers, vegetables, fruits and meat and dairy products. In 1996-1998 CEE countries produced on average about 95 million tons of grain per year (almost 40% more than Russia, but half as much as Western European countries). Of this amount, the main grain crops - wheat, corn and barley - accounted for 33, 28 and 13 million tons, respectively. But there are large country-by-country differences in the composition of the dominant grain crops and the volume of their production. The largest grain producer, Poland (comparable in volume to the UK, but inferior to Ukraine) stands out for the production of wheat and rye. In the southern group of countries, along with wheat, a lot of corn is grown (primarily in Romania, Hungary and Serbia). It is this group of countries that, together with Denmark and France, stands out as having the largest grain production per capita in Europe. In the diet of the inhabitants of the southern group of countries, beans stand out, while in the northern group, especially in Poland, potatoes are prominent. Poland alone grew almost as much potatoes as Germany, France and Great Britain combined. In the Middle and Lower Danube plains within Hungary, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria, many sunflowers are grown; their lands produce more sunflower seeds than all of Western Europe (only Ukraine is a larger producer in Europe). In the northern group of countries (especially in Poland), another oilseed crop is widespread - rapeseed. Flax has been cultivated in the Baltic states and Poland for a long time. More sugar beets are also grown there, although this crop has become widespread in all CEE countries. This region is a large producer of vegetables, fruits and grapes, and in the southern countries, especially a lot of tomatoes and peppers, plums, peaches and grapes are grown, a significant part of which is intended for export, including to the northern part of the region.

During the post-war period, a significant increase in crop production and a change in its structure in favor of forage crops contributed to the development of livestock farming and an increase in the share of its products in total agricultural production. In Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, breeding cattle and pigs is of greater importance. They have higher slaughter weight of livestock and average milk yield. In the southern group of countries, the general level of livestock husbandry is lower, and pastoralism and sheep breeding are common.

Transport.

During the post-war period, transport work in the region grew faster than national income. This was due primarily to the high rate of industrialization, the expansion of mining and other basic heavy industries, and the increase in agricultural output; with the creation of industry in previously economically underdeveloped areas that were drawn into the sphere of territorial division of labor; with the transition of the industry to large-scale mass production and with the development of intra-industry specialization and cooperation of production, accompanied in many cases by the spatial division of the technological cycle; with the dynamic expansion of foreign trade exchanges within the region and especially with the former USSR, from where large flows of fuel and raw materials were sent. All this led to a manifold increase in the mass of transported goods, for which the road network created in the previous period was mainly used; This was especially true for its backbone - the railway network (the density of the railway network in CEE as a whole is much less than in Western Europe). In the 1980s, the density of freight transport by rail in the region was, however, much greater than in Western European countries. For this purpose, most of the main lines were modernized: transferred to electric and diesel traction. It was they who took over the main flows of cargo. At the same time, there were significant differences between countries. Along with the closure of a number of minor roads, new lines were built. The main ones: Upper Silesia - Warsaw, Belgrade - Bar (connected Serbia with Montenegro through the mountainous regions and provided Serbia with access to the sea), as well as broad gauge lines (as in the CIS countries): Vladimir-Volynsky - Dombrova-Gurnica and Uzhgorod - Kosice (for supplying Ukraine and Russia with iron ore raw materials to the metallurgy of Poland and Czechoslovakia) the creation of the Ilyichevsk - Varna sea ferry railway system was of great importance for speeding up and reducing the cost of transportation between Bulgaria and the USSR.

The road network was significantly expanded and improved. First-class highways appeared. Separate sections of the meridional North-South expressway are being built from the Baltic coast to the Aegean Sea and the Bosphorus Strait (Gdansk - Warsaw - Budapest - Belgrade - Sofia - Istanbul with a branch to Nis - Thessaloniki). The importance of the Moscow-Minsk-Warsaw-Berlin latitudinal highway is increasing. But in general, the CEE region continues to lag far behind Western Europe in terms of the level of development of the road network and road transport.

The CEE region has become an important link in the developing European pipeline transport system. It was on the route of the main flows of oil and natural gas from Russia to the EU countries. The creation of a network of main oil and gas pipelines made it possible to reduce the load on railway transport, the capacity of which was almost exhausted. The basis of the CEE pipeline network is oil and gas pipelines transporting fuel and raw materials from Russia. These pipelines transport a lot of natural gas in transit to other European countries. Thus, gas is transferred through the territory of Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary to Western European countries, and through Romania and Bulgaria to Greece and Turkey.

An urgent task of European cooperation in the field of transport is the development of a unified system of inland waterways of international importance. An important link in this system is the Rhine-Main-Danube waterway.

Complexes of hydraulic structures on thisthe paths are mostly completed. However, to ensuredevelopment of regular transportation of bulk cargo beforeIt’s worth “expanding” several “bottlenecks”. One of them is the section of the Danube between Slovakia and Hungaryher, where during the period of shallow water (usually in the second halfbecause of the summer) the passage of loaded ships is difficult.In order to improve navigation conditions onIn this area, it was decided to build a joint hydro complex Gabcikovo - Nagymaros. Shortly before the completion date of this large structureHungary refused to continue it in 1989(for environmental and political reasons).Unfortunately, the political situation putsthere are many slingshots on the path of pan-European integrationtions. Another example: stopping regularshipping on the Danube in 1994 as a consequence of economic blockade of the Federal Republic of Southglory from the UN. The most difficult sectionfor navigation on the Danube, until the early 70s, the area of ​​​​the Cataract gorge between the spurs of the Southernthe Carpathians from the north (Romania) and the spurs of the East Serbian Mountains from the south (Serbia); joint wuxitwo countries were built therehydraulic complex - "Iron Gates"I" and "Ironnew gateII» with the largest locks in Europeand dam hydroelectric stations (powerHPP "Iron Gate"I» more than 2 million kW).

Maritime transport in CEE countries plays an important role in foreign trade transport, but in general its importance in the transport system of most countries in the region is much less than that of Western European countries. Naturally, in the economy of coastal countries: Poland (port complexes of Gdynia - Gdansk and Szczecin - Swinoujscie), Romania (Constanza - Adzhidzha complex), Bulgaria (ports of Varna and Burgas) and Croatia (main port of Rijeka), ports play an important role.

External economic relations CEE countries in the 60-80s were decisive in the formation of the Eastern European integration region, which included the former USSR. More than 3/5 of the foreign trade turnover of the CEE countries accounted for mutual supplies within the member countries of the former Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. The reorientation of the political and economic development of the CEE countries led in the 90s to changes in their traditional economic ties. The old ties were largely destroyed, and new ones were difficult to establish in the conditions of a large decline in production in the first half of the 90s. Nevertheless, the geographical focus of economic relations between the CEE countries has changed towards primarily Western Europe. Transformations in CEE contribute to the penetration of Western European products and capital into the capacious Eastern European market. At the same time, traditional products from CEE countries find it difficult to make their way to the West in the face of fierce competition. These countries provided only 4% of EU countries' imports at the end of the 90s. CEE's turn to the West did not bring it the expected quick results in reconstruction and economic recovery. It became obvious that the long-term development of the economic complexes of the CEE countries should be based on the objective need to combine broad ties with both the West and the East. Efforts are being made to partially restore ties with Russia, Ukraine and other republics of the former USSR on a mutually beneficial basis. The main part - 4/5 of the foreign trade turnover of CEE countries is realized within Europe. At the end of the 90s, about 70% of CEE’s foreign trade was carried out with EU countries (the main ones among them are Germany, Italy, and Austria). Mutual trade within the region is also intensifying.

Domestic and foreign service sectortourism has become an industry that provides the countries of the region with significant income. Tourism participates in the formation of the territorial structure innative economy in a number of regions of the CBE countries. Thisprimarily the Adriatic coast of Croatia,Montenegro and Albania; Black Sea coastBulgaria and Romania; Lake Balaton in Hungary.Tourism contributes relatively little to the risedeveloped mountainous regions of Slovakia, Slovenia,Poland, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria. However, its seasonality leads to large fluctuations in employmentof the population in the off-season. At weakeninguse of recreational areas, especiallyforeign tourists, is strongly reflected inpolitical and economic instability. An example of this is the difficult situation that has developed infirst half of the 90s on the Adriaticresorts in Croatia and Montenegro.

In the future, the CEE region will participate in the pan-European and world markets as a consumer primarily of high-tech equipment, energy resources (primarily oil and gas), industrial raw materials and a supplier of competitive types of mechanical engineering, non-ferrous metallurgy, pharmaceuticals, and food products. The foreign trade deficit in the balance of payments, characteristic of CEE countries, is partially covered by income from transit transportation, remittances from citizens temporarily working in other countries, and from international tourism.

Volga) no more than 370 m. Mountains are found here only on the outskirts (Carpathians, Caucasus, Ural). In Western Europe, the relief has a completely different character. Here, mountains, plains, flat hills, and hilly areas often alternate in a small space. In many European countries, islands and bays contribute to the creation of sharp natural contrasts in relatively small areas. This diversity of surface shapes and natural conditions is especially evident in Greece and Italy.
Almost all of Europe lies in a temperate climate zone. In summer, the main part of European Russia is dominated by positive temperatures from 15° (Arkhangelsk) to 20° (Poltava). In Western Europe, summer temperatures are close to them, although in the north (in England, Scandinavia) they are somewhat lower, and in the extreme south they are slightly higher. But winter temperatures differ quite sharply in these areas. The distance from the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf Stream currents, and the warm Mediterranean Sea cause a strong cooling of the surface and atmosphere. Therefore, in winter it is much colder here. Here are data on the average January temperatures of some Western European countries
capitals: Athens - -j-9°, Madrid 1-4°, London [-3°, Paris -
+2°, Berlin 1°, Vienna 2°. Bucharest 4°2. In Russia
there were no such temperatures (with the exception of a narrow Black Sea strip); cities such as Lvov, Kyiv, Minsk, Poc-
tov-on-Don lie in the band from -2 4 to -8°; Leningrad,
Moscow, Voronezh, Volgograd - in the range from -8° to -12°; January is even colder in Arkhangelsk, Gorky, Perm, Kuibyshev3* Thus, January in Western Europe is warmer than in Eastern Europe, by an average of 10°. The difference in winter temperatures leads to another important difference. If the coastal countries of Western Europe do not have permanent snow cover at all (it forms at a temperature no higher than -3°), then in European Russia the snow lies for a long time - from three to four (Kyiv, Volgograd) to six to seven months (Leningrad, Arkhangelsk , Sverdlovsk). Only in the eastern part of Central Europe does snow persist for one to two months. Spring and autumn in Western European countries are warm and more extended in time, which is also important for agriculture.
The bulk of precipitation in Eastern Europe falls in the summer. They are distributed fairly evenly over the surface of the Russian Plain. Most of it has 500-600 mm of precipitation per year. In the extreme south and southeast, the soil receives only 300-400 mm, and in the Caspian lowland even less than 200 mm. In Western Europe, precipitation falls significantly more - on average from 500 to 1 thousand mm per year; They are distributed throughout its territory more diversely. At a great distance from the ocean in the warm season in the south-eastern part of Eastern Europe, it is often possible to install

There are long periods of rainlessness and drought. In some cases, they also cover the middle part of Eastern Europe and, less often, Central Europe.
There are a lot of large rivers in Eastern Europe. Here is the greatest river in Europe, the Volga, whose length is 3,690 km, and the basin makes up 12% of the entire area of ​​the continent, and eight more large rivers, each with a length of more than 1 thousand km. There are only five such rivers in Western Europe. No country in Europe has such powerful and branched river systems covering vast areas. Most of the large rivers of Eastern Europe flow south - into the Black and Caspian Seas. Hydrologists characterize Eastern European rivers as rivers of the “Russian” type. They have a mixed feeding pattern (rain and snow), but with a predominance of snow. In the spring, as a result of melting snow, the water flow in them increases sharply, and floods occur. At the end of summer, the rivers become shallow (especially at the end of August - September), and this level remains the same throughout the winter. According to data from the 19th century, in the Moscow River in spring, water flow was more than 100 times higher than during low water; The flood on the Volga reached such proportions that in Astrakhan it lasted about two months4. Since most Russian rivers flow along the plain, they usually have a calm flow and a large number of meanders. The rivers of European Russia, as a rule, are covered with ice for a long time (from two to seven months a year).
The rivers of Western Europe are characterized by a significantly lower, sometimes close to zero, proportion of snow supply. Therefore, they also lack spring floods. The rivers of Western Europe (with the exception of the rivers of the Far North) do not freeze in normal years. Many rivers in Western Europe, especially those starting in the mountains, have a fairly fast flow; Some rivers are calm in nature.
In terms of soil cover, the territory of European Russia can be divided into two parts. The border between them runs approximately along the line Kazan - Gorky - Kaluga - Kyiv - Lutsk. The northern of these parts is characterized by soils with reduced biological productivity. The northernmost regions of Eastern Europe (roughly speaking, north of the 60th parallel) have very poor soils - tundra, swamp, podzolic. To the south there are areas occupied by soddy-podzolic soils, which have more nutrient reserves. Those of them that have a clay or loamy composition can produce good yields. However, in this territory there are more sandy and sandy loam soils in mechanical composition than clayey and loamy soils. Finally, significant areas in this part are occupied by swamps.
The southern part has much more fertile soils - gray forest and chernozems of various types. This is the territory of the modern Black Earth Center* of Moldova, Ukraine, which
They serve as the breadbasket of the country. The best varieties of chernozems here are distinguished by high fertility. There is also little sand here. True, the southeast of this region (the Caspian lowland and the adjacent strip of steppes) has a lot of sandy and saline soils and often suffers from a lack of moisture.
Western Europe can also be divided into two parts, differing in the nature of their soils. Infertile soils occupy the Scandinavian Peninsula, the islands of Great Britain (with the exception of their southern parts) and Ireland; on the mainland, the border between poor and rich soils can be extended from Lutsk through Lublin, Wroclaw, Magdeburg and Rotterdam. Sometimes areas of soils more favorable for agriculture go beyond this line (in the north of Germany, the GDR and Poland, in the east of Denmark); but to the south of this border, soddy-podzolic soils lie in separate massifs in France, Germany, the German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovakia. South and west of this line, the soils are, as a rule, fertile - gray or brown forest soils, chernozems, brown soils, red soils, yellow soils, etc. (Ho in this part there are no such rich chernozems as in Eastern Europe, and a significant part of the territory is occupied by soils of mountainous regions, which have a thinner nutrient layer.) The ratio between the fertile and infertile parts in foreign Europe is exactly the opposite of the same ratio in European Russia: if in In the first case, fertile areas occupy slightly more than half of the territory; in the second case, they account for a smaller part of the area.
h Russia's mineral resources were very large. Here there was much of what was necessary for the development of industry of the feudal period. The main raw materials for primitive metallurgy were swamp, lake and turf ores. They were distributed almost throughout the entire territory of Europe, and Rus' in this regard was, therefore, in completely equal conditions. There were huge deposits of high-quality maschetite ore in the Urals; Western Europe also had rich reserves of iron ore (in England, Germany, Sweden). Russia had large deposits of non-ferrous metal ores, but they were located in the eastern regions (in the Urals, Altai, Transbaikalia). In Western European countries, copper was mined in Germany, Spain, Hungary, and Serbia; tin - in England, Saxony, Czech Republic, Serbia; lead - in Hungary. Reserves of precious metals were also developed in Western European countries: there was a lot of silver in Germany; gold and silver were mined in smaller quantities in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Serbia5. Russia was also not poor in these metals, and the reserves of gold and platinum were much richer than the ores of European countries, but they were again concentrated mainly in the Urals and Siberia. Russia had vast tracts of forest of excellent quality, and in this regard it was superior to other European countries. The country was well provided for
hydraulic energy and raw materials for the primitive chemical industry, and its natural resources here were not inferior to those of Russia's western neighbors.
These are the main features of the natural conditions of European Russia in comparison with foreign European countries.

1. Find the countries of Central-Eastern Europe on the political map. Assess their political – and economic-geographical position.

The countries of this region have a lot in common in historical and socio-economic development. After World War II, they were united by belonging to the socialist economic system, which led to stable economic ties with each other and the USSR. Most of them were members of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) and the political bloc of the Warsaw Pact. Currently, these countries are undergoing radical economic transformations, as a result of which their ties with the developed countries of Western Europe have expanded. Until recently, the political situation in the countries of Eastern Europe remained extremely tense. As a result of military operations, the economies of the countries - the former republics of Yugoslavia - suffered significantly. The countries of Eastern Europe are a single territorial area stretching from the Baltic to the Black and Adriatic Seas. The main features of the economic and geographical position of the countries of Eastern Europe are: the coastal position of most states; the possibility of access to the sea along the Danube waterway for countries that do not have direct access to the sea (Hungary, Slovakia); neighborly position of countries in relation to each other; transit position on the way between Western European countries and CIS countries. All these features create good preconditions for the development of integration processes.

2. What new states have formed in the region since the 90s. XX century?

As a result of the collapse of the USSR, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, the following countries were formed in the region: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro.

3. Why did the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe never form a monolithic unity economically?

Economically, the former socialist countries never represented a monolithic unity (and Yugoslavia and Albania were not even members of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance). In terms of transport, only coastal and inland countries were more or less closely connected, and then only “in pairs” (two Baltic, two Black Sea, two Mediterranean, as well as Hungary and Czechoslovakia). Together they (with the exception of Albania) were connected by a network of transcontinental railways. The Danube flows through the territory of only three countries in the region, and is a border river for two more countries. The international network of roads of the appropriate class was extremely underdeveloped. Economic cooperation between individual countries of socialist Eastern Europe was also hampered by existing territorial “inconsistencies” (for example, in relations between Hungary and Romania, the problem of Transylvania, which was once an integral part of Austria-Hungary, and is now part of Romania).

4. What own* mineral resources and natural conditions of the region contribute to the development of the economies of its member countries?

The natural prerequisites for the economic development of the countries of Eastern Europe are quite favorable, although there is a certain shortage of natural resources. First of all, this concerns mineral resources. Their supply is low. The main reserves are concentrated: hard coal - in Poland (Upper Silesian basin) and in the Czech Republic (Ostrava-Karwin basin); oil and gas - in Romania; hydropower resources - in Bulgaria, Macedonia; iron ore - in Romania, Slovakia, as well as in the countries of the former Yugoslavia; copper - in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria; bauxite - in Hungary; chromites - in Albania; oil shale - in Estonia; sulfur and potassium salts - in Poland and Romania. Fertile soils are located on the plains of Eastern Europe, primarily in the Middle Danube Lowland. In combination with favorable agroclimatic resources, they are a good basis for the development of agriculture (with the exception of the Baltic countries, in Karaganda agroclimatic resources are insufficient). Water resources are represented by large river systems: Danube, Vistula, Oder, etc. The provision of forest resources is generally insufficient for the development of forestry; the bulk of them are in secondary mixed-deciduous forests. Only in the Baltic countries are coniferous forests of industrial importance. Natural and recreational resources are widely represented. These include, first of all, the coasts of the Black, Adriatic and Baltic Seas, Lake Balaton in Hungary, and the Tatra Mountains in the Czech Republic.

6. Describe the region’s transport network.

The countries of the region (with the exception of Albania) are connected together by a network of transcontinental railways. The Danube flows through the territory of only three countries in the region, and is a border river for another four countries. The international network of roads of the appropriate class is insufficiently developed.

7. Give a description of one of the countries in the region according to the plan of the “Step by Step” section on p. 164-165.

The Czech Republic is a country in the center of Europe. The country borders Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Austria. The terrain of the Czech Republic is quite diverse. In the north and north-west, the natural border of the Czech Republic is represented by the Ore Mountains, as well as the spurs of the Sudetenland, and from the south-west and south the Šumava mountain range, covered with forest. The Czech Republic is located on the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, which is the watershed between the largest rivers - the Elbe (Laba) and the Danube. In addition to high forested mountain ranges, the Czech Republic has fertile plains and the famous Czech forests, as well as many lakes and rivers. Population -10.5 million people. The national composition is 81.3% Czechs, 13.7% residents of Moravia and Silesia. The remaining 5% are national minorities, of which: Germans (50 thousand people), Gypsies (300 thousand people) and Jews (2 thousand people). Restraint towards foreigners is a distinctive feature of the Czechs. Population density: 130.6 people/sq.km. Urban population: 65.3%. Religious composition: atheists 39.8%, Catholics 39.2%, Protestants 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, supporters of other religions 13.4%. Employment: in industry 33.1%, agricultural sector 6.9%, construction 9.1%, transport and communications 7.2%, services 43.7%. Area - 78864 sq. km. The largest river in the Czech Republic is the Vltava, which is 440 km long. The largest cities in the Czech Republic are Brno (392 thousand), Ostrava (332 thousand), Pilsen (175 thousand), Olomouc (106 thousand), Usti nad Labem (100 thousand), Liberec (100 thousand), Hradec Kralove (98 thousand), Pardubice (94 thousand), Ceske Budejovice (93 thousand). In the Czech Republic there are 8 sites protected by UNESCO as “world cultural and natural heritage”. The capital is Prague (1.3 million people).

The Czech Republic stands out for its developed mechanical engineering. This industry provides about half of all exports; mechanical engineering employs a third of all industrial workers in the country. The Czech Republic occupies one of the first places in the international trade of machinery and equipment. The industrial “face” of the Czech Republic is also determined by the coal industry (especially the mining of coking coal). And ferrous metallurgy; In recent years, the chemical industry has occupied a significant place. In the Czech Republic it produces machine tools (including those with program control), machine tools, motorcycles, cars, locomotives, chemical products, fabrics, refrigerators, etc. The production and development of medical equipment is very well developed (including the production of “artificial heart", used in heart surgery). The textile industry is also well developed.

Research conducted by the UN in 2001 showed that the Czech Republic has a high standard of living. The Czech Republic was in 27th place among all countries in the world. The Czech Republic has low prices for food and clothing. Confidence in the future is instilled by a rapidly developing market economy, a clear course for reforms and a powerful flow of Western investment. At the same time, the Czech Republic is distinguished by the lowest unemployment in Europe, the high quality of free medical care and education, the stability of the national currency and low, compared to other European countries, prices for residential and commercial real estate.

8. How would you rank the countries in the region in terms of:

a) provision with natural resources;

Countries in the region are endowed with natural resources to varying degrees. The most significant primary energy resources are represented by coal reserves (Poland, Czech Republic), oil and gas (Romania), and hydro resources (Bulgaria). The main reserves of ore minerals are concentrated in the countries of the Balkan Peninsula, Romania and Slovakia (iron ores), Hungary (bauxite), Albania (chromites). The shortage of many types of mineral raw materials in a number of countries is to some extent compensated for by the fertile lands of the Danube lowlands.

b) level of socio-economic development;

In relation to all countries of the region, the term “countries with economies in transition” was recently widely used, i.e., those implementing the transition to a developed market economy. While some countries (Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary) have achieved tangible success along this path, others (Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro and especially Albania) seem to be “drifting” towards such an economy. The process of economic reforms in them is moving slowly.

c) directions of specialization of agriculture.

Many countries have different agricultural characteristics. Thus, Romania has no equal in the share of corn sown areas, Poland - in rye and potato crops, Bulgaria - in the importance of gardening, Estonia - in pig breeding.

9. Analyze the state of Russia’s foreign economic relations with the countries of the region. With which of them, in your opinion, is it especially advisable to develop economic ties for our country?

Over the past twenty years, relations between Russia and CEE countries have gone through a rather contradictory path: from the minimization of these relations in the early-mid 90s of the 20th century to a significant revival that has steadily emerged at the end of the last decade of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. The “Concept of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation” states: “Russia is open to further expansion of pragmatic, mutually respectful cooperation with the states of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, taking into account the real readiness of each of them for this*.” It is most advisable to develop relations with Russia’s largest Eastern European trade and economic partners, the first of which is Poland, and the second is Hungary. However, modern relations are still largely unstable and remain subject to many opportunistic factors. On the one hand, they are determined by internal political and economic circumstances, on the other hand, by the dictates of higher world politics and its main players today. Among the priorities of the foreign economic policy of the countries of Central Europe, membership in the EU comes first, the second is the development of cooperation within this group of countries, and only in third place is the formation of relations with Russia and other CIS countries.

Europe is the second (after Australia) smallest part of the world by area. However, its strategic location in relation to Asia and Africa, as well as its navigable rivers and fertile soils, made Europe a dominant economic, social and cultural power over a long period of history.

Water resources

Water is an essential component of life on our planet. Ecosystems, societies and economies need sufficient water to thrive. However, the demand for water resources exceeds its availability in many parts of the world, and some regions of Europe are no exception. In addition, a large number of water bodies are in poor ecological condition.

Oceans and seas

Europe is washed by two oceans: in the north - the Arctic Ocean and in the west - the Atlantic Ocean; as well as the following seas: North, Baltic, Mediterranean, Black, Azov, Barents, Norwegian, White, Kara and Caspian.

Rivers

A large number of rivers flow through Europe. Some of them form borders between different countries, while others serve as a valuable source of water for agriculture and fish farming. Most rivers in Europe are rich in dissolved minerals and valuable organic compounds. Many of them also have interesting physical properties and create waterfalls and canyons. European rivers are, in fact, an extremely important part of the continent. The longest rivers in Europe are: Volga (3,692 km), Danube (2,860 km), Ural (2,428 km), Dnieper (2,290 km), Don (1,950 km).

Lakes

Lakes are bodies of water with stagnant fresh water, although they can also be brackish, i.e. slightly salty. They are characterized by physical features such as area, depth, volume, length, etc.

In Europe there are more than 500,000 natural lakes larger than 0.01 km² (1 ha). Between 80% and 90% of them are small, with an area of ​​0.01 to 0.1 km², while about 16,000 are larger than 1 km². Three quarters of the lakes are located in Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Karelo-Kola part of Russia.

24 lakes in Europe have an area of ​​more than 400 km². The largest freshwater lake in Europe - Lake Ladoga - covers an area of ​​17,670 km² and is located in the northwestern part of Russia, next to the second largest Lake Onega, with an area of ​​9,700 km². Both lakes are significantly larger than other European lakes and reservoirs. However, they are only 18th and 22nd in the world in terms of area. The third largest is the Kuibyshev Reservoir, with an area of ​​6,450 km², located on the Volga River. Another 19 natural lakes with a size of more than 400 km² are located in Sweden, Finland, Estonia, northwestern Russia, and also in Central Europe.

Demand and supply of water resources

Although fresh water is generally abundant in Europe, water shortages and droughts continue to affect some water basins at certain times of the year. The Mediterranean region and most densely populated river basins in different parts of Europe are hotspots for water scarcity.

In winter, about 30 million people in Europe live in conditions of water scarcity, while this figure in summer is 70 million people. This corresponds to 4% and 9% of the total population of this part of the world.

About 20% of the total population of the Mediterranean region lives in conditions of constant water scarcity. More than half (53%) of the inhabitants of Mediterranean countries experience water shortages during the summer.

46% of rivers and 35% of groundwater resources provide more than 80% of the total water demand in Europe.

Agriculture requires 36% of total water consumption. In summer, this figure increases to approximately 60%. Agriculture in the Mediterranean region accounts for almost 75% of the total water consumption of the European agricultural sector.

Public water supply accounts for 32% of total water use. This puts pressure on renewable water resources, especially in areas with high population densities. The small resort islands of Europe are in severe water shortage conditions caused by the influx of tourists, which is 10-15 times greater than the number of local residents.

Forest resources

In Europe, about 33% of the total land area (215 million hectares) is covered by forests, with a positive trend of increasing forest areas. Other forest lands cover an additional 36 million hectares. About 113 million hectares are covered by coniferous forests, 90 million hectares by broad-leaved forests and 48 million hectares by mixed forests.

The use of forest resources is an important industry in Europe. The timber industry generates revenues of more than $600 billion annually. Forestry and wood processing industries provide jobs for around 3.7 million people and account for 9% of Europe's gross domestic product (GDP).

The most important forest industries in Europe are: wood processing, pulp and paper, construction materials and furniture products. This part of the world is known for exporting high quality goods such as paper, furniture and wood panels.

In Europe, non-timber forest resources are also in demand, which include the collection of mushrooms and truffles, honey, fruits and berries, as well as the cultivation and collection of medicinal plants. Europe accounts for 80% of the total production of phellem (cork fabric) worldwide.

Map of the percentage of forests to area of ​​European countries

The largest area of ​​forest resources is occupied by Finland (73%) and Sweden (68%). Forest cover in Slovenia, Latvia, Estonia, Greece, Spain and the European part of the Russian Federation exceeds 49%.

The least amount of forest is found on: the Isle of Man (6%), the island of Jersey (5%), the island of Guernsey (3%) and the island nation of Malta (1%). Gibraltar, Monaco, San Marino and Svalbard and Jan Mayen have less than 1% forest cover.

Land resources

Land is the basis for most biological resources and human activities. Agriculture, forestry, industry, transportation, housing and other forms of land use serve as important economic resources. Land is also an integral part of ecosystems and a necessary condition for the existence of living organisms.

The earth can be divided into two interrelated concepts:

• vegetation cover, which refers to the biophysical cover of the earth (eg, crops, grasses, broadleaf forests, and other biological resources);

• land use indicates the socio-economic use of land (for example, agriculture, forestry, recreation, etc.).

Forests and other wooded areas occupy 37.1% of the total area of ​​Europe, arable land makes up almost a quarter of the land resource (24.8%), grassland 20.7%, and shrubland 6.6%, with water areas and wetlands lands occupy 4.8%.

Agricultural land use is the most common land use in European countries and accounts for 43.5% of the total land area. Areas used for forestry occupy 32.4% of the territory, while 5.7% of the land is intended for residential and recreational purposes. Industry and transportation make up 3.4%, and the remaining lands are used for hunting and fishing, or are protected, or have no apparent use.

Europe has many different vegetation and land uses that reflect historical changes. In recent years, some of the most important changes in land use have included the decline in agricultural land use and the gradual increase in forested areas (driven by the need to meet global environmental obligations due to climate change). The construction of roads, highways, railways, intensive agriculture and urbanization have led to the fragmentation of land resources. This process negatively affects the flora and fauna of Europe.

Mineral resources

Europe has significant reserves of metal resources. Russia is a major oil supplier, giving it a strategic advantage in international negotiations. Outside of Russia, oil is relatively scarce in Europe (with the exception of fields off the coast of Scotland and Norway). Peat and potash are also important to the European economy. Zinc and copper are the main elements that are used in almost all European countries. Iceland is a leader in alternative energy sources. Since the Baltic countries are poor in mineral resources, they depend on other states, for example, Sweden.

Europe Mineral Resources Map

Mineral resources of the Nordic countries

Northern Europe's mineral resources mainly include metals such as bauxite (from which aluminum is extracted), copper and iron ore. Some northern European countries (such as Denmark) have oil and natural gas reserves. Scandinavia is relatively rich in oil and natural gas.

Mineral resources of Southern European countries

Italy has significant reserves of coal, mercury and zinc. Croatia has a limited amount of oil and bauxite. Bosnia and Herzegovina has reserves of bauxite, coal and iron ore. Greece has some iron ore, bauxite, petroleum, lead and zinc.

Mineral resources of Western European countries

Spain and France share reserves of coal, zinc, as well as copper and lead. France also has bauxite and uranium. Germany has large reserves of coal, as well as nickel and lignite (or brown coal, similar to peat). The UK has some offshore oil and natural gas deposits, as well as significant coal reserves and small gold reserves. Iceland is a leader in hydropower and geothermal energy production. Portugal has some gold, zinc, copper and uranium. Ireland has significant reserves of natural gas and peat.

Mineral resources of Eastern European countries

Ukraine and Russia are rich in natural gas and oil. The Baltic countries are poorer in mineral resources, although Latvia has begun to exploit its hydroelectric potential. Poland is endowed with coal, natural gas, iron ore and copper, and also has limited reserves of silver. Serbia has some oil and natural gas, copper and zinc, and limited reserves of gold and silver. Bulgaria is rich in alumina and copper. Kosovo is probably the most blessed country of all the Eastern European states, as it is home to huge reserves of gold, silver, natural gas, bauxite, nickel and zinc. Finally, Russia has an abundance of natural resources: it has a large percentage of the world's oil and natural gas reserves, as well as huge reserves of almost all the most important minerals.

Biological resources

Europe's biological resources include all living organisms that live in this part of the world, including: animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms that are used by people for personal needs, as well as wild representatives of flora and fauna that have a direct or indirect impact on the ecosystem.

Livestock

Spain, Germany, France, the UK and Italy are the largest livestock-producing countries in Europe. In 2016, the largest number of pigs was recorded in Spain and Germany (28.4 and 27.7 million heads, respectively), France raised 19.4 million heads of cattle, and the UK raised 23.1 million heads of sheep. Goats and poultry (chickens, ducks, geese, etc.) are also raised in Europe. Livestock farming provides Europeans with food, including milk, meat, eggs, etc. Some animals are used for work and riding.

Fish farming

Fish farming is an important branch of livestock farming. Europe represents approximately 5% of the world's fisheries and aquaculture production. Wild fish are caught primarily in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Main fish species include: Atlantic herring, sprat, blue whiting and Atlantic mackerel. The leading fishing countries are: Spain, Denmark, Great Britain and France. These countries account for about half of all fish catches in Europe.

Crop production

Cereal crops grown in Europe include wheat, spelled, barley, corn, rye, etc. This part of the world is the leading producer of sugar beets in the world (about 50% of the world's reserves). Oilseed crops grown here include soybeans, sunflowers and rapeseed.

The main vegetables grown in Europe are: tomato, onion, carrot. The most important fruits include: apples, oranges and peaches. About 65% of the world's viticulture and winemaking is concentrated in Europe, with the leading producing countries, accounting for 79.3% of total production, being Italy, France and Spain.

Europe is also the world's largest producer of olive oil, accounting for almost 3/4 of global production. The Mediterranean region produces 95% of the world's olive trees. The main producing countries of this oil are Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal.

Flora

Probably 80 to 90% of Europe was covered in forest. It stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Arctic Ocean. Although more than half of the forests have disappeared due to deforestation, more than 1/4 of the territory is still covered by forests. Recently, deforestation has slowed down and many trees have been planted.

The most important tree species in Central and Western Europe are beech and oak. In the north, the taiga is a mixed spruce-pine-birch forest; further north, within Russia and extreme northern Scandinavia, the taiga gives way to the tundra. In the Mediterranean, many olive trees were planted and adapted very well to the characteristic arid climate; Mediterranean cypress trees are also widespread in Southern Europe.

Fauna

The last Ice Age and the presence of humans influenced the distribution of European fauna. In many parts of Europe, most large animals and top predators were exterminated. Today, large animals such as wolves and bears are endangered. The reason for this was deforestation, poaching and fragmentation of natural habitats.

The following animal species live in Europe: European forest cat, fox (especially red fox), jackals and various types of martens and hedgehogs. Here you can find snakes (such as vipers and snakes), amphibians and various birds (for example, owls, hawks and other birds of prey).

The extinction of the pygmy hippopotamus and pygmy elephant was associated with the earliest arrival of humans on the Mediterranean islands.

Marine organisms are also an important part of European flora and fauna. Marine flora mainly includes phytoplankton. Important marine animals that live in European seas are: molluscs, echinoderms, various crustaceans, squid, octopus, fish, dolphins, and whales.

Europe's biodiversity is protected by the Berne Convention on the Conservation of Wild Fauna, Flora and Natural Habitats.

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