Introduction

“Eastern Europe” is primarily a political concept rather than a geographical one; it is understood to mean the socialist regimes of Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia. The two separate words “Eastern” and “Europe” are purely geographical terms, but the concept formed by their combination--”Eastern Europe”--is charged with heavy political connotations and implies a socialist political system that was originally modeled on the Soviet system. It is one that differs fundamentally from the political system of the countries of Western Europe (which is also a political concept).