How French was Russia in the late 19th century? At least the upper class. I've read some Russian lit and they sprinkle French all over the place.

First off, thank you all for doing this AMA. A couple of questions about Poland:

1. From about 1770 to the end of World War I, Poland disappeared from the map as a political entity, carved up by various regimes. Yet after World War I, the people formed a state. What was going on in Poland during that century and a half? I know that Tadeusz Kosciuszko led a rebellion during the 1790s, but what happened after that? How did the Poles preserve their language, culture, and institutions?

2. Second, would it be fair to describe Soviet policy toward Poland as imperialism? The couple of books I read described it as very violent and rather colonialist, with Stalin massacring large numbers of Poles (Katyn Massacre), seeking to ethnically cleanse certain areas and destroy civil society, and that he imposed a puppet regime that most Poles strongly disliked.

why despite end of cold war most people still lable countries like Poland, Czech, Slovakia, Hungary as eastern europe?

How have the various Tatar populations around Eastern Europe been treated since the 1800s?

When did the slavic language become the predominant one in Eastern Europe, and why? As I understand it, during the Roman era, a sizeable population of Eastern Europe was predominantly Germanic-speaking.

How did the Russian Revolution impact women's roles and day to day life in Russia? What changed for the better or worse for women in Russia between 1917-1993?

Did Russia or the USSR ever seriously consider annexing/adding Bulgaria to their territory?

It's a common claim in Bulgaria that there were plans to establish a guberniya of the Russian empire in the Bulgarian territories after the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-78. Claims that Todor Zhivkov wanted to see Bulgaria become the 16th Soviet republic are also common. Is there any truth to either of these?

I understand that Poland and Ukraine have a deep and friendly relationship. Why?

Why did Khrushchev attempt to get Tito's blessing in person to invade and put down the Hungarian Revolution in 1956? Also why do you think the two leaders were at such opposite ends of the spectrum with their opinions on how to deal with Imre Nagy after the Soviet invasion of Budapest?

Reading recently about Elizabethan era Britain i stumbled upon short mention of the Muscovy company, an English company that had traded with Russa since 1550s and enjoyed certain rights and privilages in both England and Russia.

It was said the deal was interesting for Russia, because it was a way for them to trade with West by avoiding dealing through their western neighbors and traditional rivals, Poles, Lituanians, Germans, Hanseatic cities etc.

However it was unclear for me what was the actual importance of this link between Russia and England? Like, what was the real nature and size of this trade? Was it a significant factor for Russia (or England) at the time, or was it just a curiosity event? Did it have a role in rise of both powers?

If you have any info, i would be happy to hear it:)

Question mainly for /u/bemonk. I'm Slovak but sadly my education in local history predates my interest in it. If I want to get at least some general overview, what would be some books in Slovak/Czech/English/German that you would recommend? Thanks.

Which country would you say had the most influence in helping/inspiring the balkan states to become independant?
I'm refering mostly to Serbia, Bulgaria,Romania and by becoming independant I mean escape the influence of big powers like Russia, Ottomans and Habsburgs and later USSR.

We typically don't hear much about eastern Europe prior to the Medieval age and as a result it's typically ignored or seen as irrelevant to the ancient world. Is this true or due to a lack of written and archaeological evidence?

I wonder if anyone can explain to the the concept of Dominium Maris Baltici? What makes Baltic Sea such a highly desired region? How this concept influence the history of the Eastern Europe?

What made the Pannonian basin such an attractive place for eastern invaders, comparable to other plains in Europe?

Perhaps this is a rather broad question (or perhaps not?), but I'd like to know about the rise of communism in Czechoslovakia. What were the most important events (mainly post-war, but I'd guess some pre-war background might be necessary), what kind of popular support did they enjoy, how large a part did the Russians play in all this?

I'm also interested in Czechoslovak economy before, during and after WWII. You see, the interwar period is often romanticized here, and communists are blamed for everything that went wrong with the post-war economy. So I'd like to know just how developed Czechoslovakia was before the war, how did the war affect this and how much can the communists be blamed for falling behind the West.

What was life like in the bishoprics that were created after the Baltic crusades, i.e. lands controlled by the Livonian and Teutonic Order. How did the administration of these lands differ from feudal lands from where the crusaders originally came? How did the life of local converted pagans change?

Why did Russia come out ahead of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in Eastern Europe (especially taking into account temporary Polish presence on Kremlin)?

And equally how was it possible that country once big and powerful in the region was completely annexed? Can it be considered diplomatic as well as military/economic failure on the PLC side?

Texas has integrated the vibrant culture and food of the Czech people into our modern culture. What were the cultural, economic, and social drivers for early Czech immigration to Texas (1849 - 1st wave) and (1870 - 2nd wave)? Over a quarter-million Texans claim and celebrate their Czech heritage, any modern impact other than the proliferation of the delicious Kolache? Thanks!

How "Magyar" is/was Hungary? Today the majority of Hungarians see themselves as being Magyar, but in reality, upon invading the Carpathian basin they could not have numbered that many people (same with any other Steppe nomadic group). In comparison to the Avars, Gepids, how did they become the majority?

Also if you could speak about why they chose the Carpathian Basin, I'd also be interested in that.

I recently watched the 1920 German silent film Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam (The Golem: How He Came Into the World), which features the Jewish folktale of the Golem and the creature's creation by Rabbi Loew of Prague.

My primary question is about who takes ownership of this legend. Although the story is set in the 1500s, it appears to have been created by German writers in the 1800s (according to my cursory Wikipedia-ing), but there appears to be some debate about this classic narrative's construction as modern fiction or otherwise.

I also want to know if this narrative was used as a tool for anti-semitism. The other side of story in which the Golem is more of a Frankenstein-like creature, uncontrollable by its creator, appears to make the turn towards the horror genre. I'm also getting the sense that recent versions of the folktale also appear to have some connection to other topics like blood libel, but these connections remains quite confusing to me.

So, not to drop this question, but what are the thoughts on Snyder's Bloodlands? And is its position in historiography overplayed in popular press, or was he not saying anything new?

Hi! Thanks so much for doing this! I have a few questions...

Regarding linguistics, I guess largely directed at /u/rusoved: I am fascinated by the ways in which history is marked on language. I am especially curious about the stories behind the Slovene and Croatian languages. Would you please direct me towards some resources which could plainly show how various colonial powers have shaped these languages and their dialects? I am especially curious as to how much, if any, French has been absorbed into Slovene as a result of the time of the Illyrian Provinces. Barring that, what are some discrete examples of how, say, German has been incorporated into these languages, as a result of the Habsburg Empire, especially with regard to words concerning government and military?

It is my understanding that during the time of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, there had been a movement to treat Serbo-Croat and Slovene as a single language. How extensive was this movement? How far did it go? Do we have examples of it?

Regarding Slovene, I am also interested in historical explanations as to why Slovene has remained relatively conservative in many respects, e.g. its preservation of the dual case and the use of "jaz".

Over different periods of history, despite different times of reform and revolution, why does Russia seem to be perpetually perceived as a backwards nation so to speak.

What were the language policies of P-L Commonwealth?

Renaissance Poland-Lithuania is one of my favorite subjects to read about. Would the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth have benefited from a more traditional form of monarchy, or was the collapse not related to the PLC's government?

When can we say that the Baltic region began to form a distinct identity? Were the Baltic regions under Swedish control (Estland and Livonia primarily) 'Slavic' or consider themselves 'Russian'(?) or Swedish during that reign? How has Swedish/Russian control through the ages influenced their identity?

Maybe a stupid question, but I couldn't find the answer anywhere else. Russian/Ukrainian/Belorussian patronymics. Is it the a general slavic costume (meaning that this costume exists for both southern and western slavs), or did the eastern slavs inherit it from the vikings/Varangians?

Second question, if you guys have time. Did anybody read Akunin's history of the russian state, and what did you think of it?

How long standing have the divisions between eastern and western Ukraine been? I don't understand how Ukraine has such a strong affinity with Russia considering how they were treated during the soviet era

How economically affluent were the Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) before they were occupied and later annexed by the Soviet Union?

What was the reason behind those three countries having a much higher GDP during the Soviet rule when compared to other socialist republics?

What is the main difference between countries east of the Holy Roman Empire and west of Russia (from Baltics to Balkans) that no long lasting/major empire or colonizing power was established in that region?

Jan Hus was burned at the stake in Constance on 6 July 1415, 600 years ago. I am familiar with the older generation of Czech historians such as Frantisek Smahel whose texts have been translated into other languages. Can you recommend some modern historians writing (preferably in European languages other than Czech) about the Hussite wars/revolution?

Did the Jews living in Eastern European lands ever develop Judeo-Slavic languages? And if they did, why did most communities still end up speaking Yiddish?

It seems like today there isn't too much variance in dialects around Russia. Was there a time when different areas that make up Russia today had vastly different dialects?

What was the process that brought many of the Eastern Europeon countries into the USSR? Despite a term of covering the cold war in the UK, it hardly covered Russia at all.

What led up to the the fall of Yugoslavia and the brutal war that followed? What exactly were the former-Yugoslav nations fighting over?

A few questions about nationalism and national consciousness leading to and through the founding of Czechoslovakia:

• Did the Czechs and Slovaks truely seem themselves as the same people (or perhaps "brother nations" as I've seen some monuments indicate)? Or was this more strategic, to ensure the combined Czech and Slovak populations outnumbered the Germans in the new country?

• Where do the Moravians fit into this? Did/do they truly see themselves as Czech even though the word means 'Bohemian'? Was there ever a distinct Moravian national consciousness?

• Were the Czech lands and Slovakia split between Austria and Hungary to stop them from uniting?

/u/bemonk I live in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. There is a large Check/Slovak population and even a museum dedicated to them here. Have you visited it? What did you think?

What exactly is Ruthenia/Rutenian identity and what's its relationship with Ukrainian? I grew up in a large Ukrainian-Canadian community and Ruthenia is a bit of a controversial topic with some people denying that it even exists.

Okay so I asked this a while ago but it went unanswered: in high school and middle school looking at maps of the black death (e.g http://www.usu.edu/markdamen/1320hist&civ/slides/06plague/map.jpg) it seems that Poland and Lithuania were compartively untouched by the plague. My question is two fold: is there any specific reason for this and what impact if any did it have on the rise of the Polish Lithuanian empire?

Re: Soviet Union gender/sexuality I spent a couple of months in Russia in '96, and by far the strangest part of the entire experience was how eager the women were to sit with me, talk to me (I spoke almost no Russian and a lot of them spoke no English either), invite me back to their place for sex (seriously), asked me if I thought they were pretty. On the flip side, the (Russian) guys seemed to take absolutely no interest in girls whatsoever. I could presume that a fair amount of the attention the girls threw my way was my being a decadent Westerner and all, but the attitude of the men left me wondering just how much of it was my country of origin and how much of it was my willingness to talk to the women and ask them relevant questions about their lives, their studies, etc. Was my experience an outlier, or are gender roles there that strict? A professor in college suggested that the massive amount of casualties in WWII played a part in upsetting the gender roles for a generation, but I've always been curious about the dynamics behind male/female relations in the former Soviet Union.

How have other languages been affected by the geographical expansion of Slavic language speaking empires?

Hi /u/bemonk , are you Czech or Slovak yourself? If not it is really awesome that there is someone who know so much about us :)

Hi, can any of you tell me why there might be so many destroyed Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Estonia? My girlfriend and I recently went on a trip through West Harjumaa, Läänemaa, and Saaremaa, and we found no fewer than three. A quick Google search showed that there's another one on Hiiumaa.

They all look pretty much like this: http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/50056171.jpg

This is the one in Hiiumaa that I found a picture of on the internet. We have pictures of all the others, but the style is the same (mid to late 19th century) and the damage is very similar too, they all look burned down, and have roofs that collapsed through the center, and their steeples are still mostly ok. The one in Läänemaa, specifically Kõmsi, had an information plaque that said it burned down in 1977 due to an electrical fire, but all of the Orthodox churches look like they suffered the same sort of damage, and were burned down at around the same time!

Is this just a coincidence? Did these churches accidentally all burn down at around the same time? Or was there some kind of Orthodox church burning phenomenon going on in the 70's in Soviet Estonia?

I understand how... esoteric this question is, so I'm not expecting much, but I figure it's worth a shot.

I want to ask questions about Romania but I guess its outside the scope of the AMA. I'll just ask if anyone knows a good English language book on Romanian 20th century history, particularly 1980 forwards. I haven't been able to find one I really liked.

What kinds of strategic or materiel capabilities did the Russian military lose following the breakup of the Soviet Union? Beyond just the operational capabilities lost with the loss of a base, I mean. Maintenance/Repair/Overhaul, equipment upgrade facilities, munitions factories, etc?

I remember reading about Imperial (the monarchy) Russia's attempt to change the polish alphabet to cyrillic in an attempt of russification them. Was this true, and did anything happen conversely, ie during the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth, an attempt to make Ukrainian and Belorussian closer to Polish?

Given the fact that Stalin himself was Georgian, can any of our panelists talk about the social and economic status of Caucasian ethnicities like Armenians and Georgians within the Russian Empire? They were they viewed mainly as fellow Orthodox Christians, given the Russian state's strong religious character in the 18th century? Or were they viewed as ethnic minorities, since they didn't speak a Slavic language, and pan-Slavism was a major cultural movement in 19th and 20th century Russia? Did this change over time?

Here's a question mainly for /u/bemonk:

I'm an American of slovak decent, but I know almost nothing about slovakia before the first world war. How and where could I learn about slovakia in English? Specifically premodern slovakia and/or the formation of the slovak people.

This will primarily be for /u/rusoved or /u/bemonk, I think. It's a few parts, feel free to answer whatever parts you want.

1. When did Slovak politicians start promoting Slovak as a separate language from Czech? How large of a role did language have in the separation of Czechoslovakia in the early 1990's?

2. How has policy making, specifically language policy, evolved in Slovakia since its establishment as a state in '93? To what extent has nationalism and nationalist governments, such as the Mečiar government, shaped this process?

There's a lot more I've got, but hopefully that's manageable enough to start. Thanks!

how about good sources for the political development of east/east central europe. While i knew about the sejm Fukuyama's origins of political order opened my eyes to the "constitutional" struggles of such states between nobles and the king.

why do you think such topics get so little coverage in america?

Was Poland ever under soviet rule? I've read it wasn't, but had big soviet influence until the berlin wall came down. how much influence did the soviets have in poland?

Meta Question: Of all the panelists, how many can speak/read the languages of the place they study?

Was Tzar Nicholas II seen as a bad leader before 1905?

How much of an impact (even just symbolically or memetically) did the Hungarian Democratic Republic have on the later Soviet ruled Hungary?

The languages in the area are often in a different alphabet or share very few roots with Western European languages. Where did the original settlers of Eastern Europe come from and how long ago did they arrive?

So convenient this thread is here! I was thinking about this earlier.

Why did Stalin demand the repatriation of the overseas Poles of he was going to kill/imprison them? Why did Britain acquiesce, and did this apply to other Eastern European citizens abroad (like Hungarians)?

Question primarily for /u/kaisermatias

I am interested in knowing about the degree you are working towards.

What career path are you interested in perusing after graduation?

How well do you know Russian and Georgian? And how familiar were you with those languages when you started your MA?

What university are you attending (if you are comfortable sharing on Reddit)?

I ask because it is my goal to apply for a Eurasian/Slavic studies program with the intent to begin fall of 2016.

Can you give me a brief overview about the kingdoms of Bohemia and Poland in the period between 1345 and 1450?

What were the so-called "pagan" religions of Eastern Europe that were pushed out by the spread of Christianity like? How were they organized, what were the deities worshiped, etc.?

How was the transition from Katorga to Gulag handled? Plenty of people in Katorgas must have been communists or at least anarchists, right?

My family lineage is Polish, however we have papers of our great grandfather being in the Russian navy before he came to the United states, was this common in the late 1800s early 1900s?

This is a bit specialist but I'm writing a big multi-part article at the moment and could use some nudging along:

How much control over the policies of the UON-B and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army did Stepan Bandera have following his incarceration by the Germans and prior to his release in 1944?

And how much responsibility for the Polish genocide in World War II Ukraine and the Ukrainian nationalist role in the Holocaust can be fairly laid at his door?

I was once told that the popular slavic babushka head covering, shares a common history with the modern hijaab head covering worn by some muslim women. Namely, that one had in fact influenced the other (but which direction I can not recall).

Is there any truth to this?

How were the Ottomans able to conquer and rule South-Eastern Europe so effectively?

For the Soviet space program, were cosmonauts really chucked into space with no intention of retrieving them? Or did these unfortunate souls have the misfortune of accidently drifting into deeper space?

What, if there is any, is the best source of academic information available on Absalon's campaigns against the Wends, specifically the battle at Cape Arkona?

How did Lithuania go from a minor duchy (which I think was split up between minor tribes as well) that was being hammered on by the Teutons to having huge masses of land in the 13th and 14th Century?

Poland has changed sizes, and not even existed for many years. How come the language still exists so well today? On maps of 'what languages are spoken in poland' it is almost entirely Polish (with a bit of ukrainian on the south east corner)

What do people in the east think of the "black diggers" who dig up old battlefield graves and sell things like I.d. tags and helmets from them. How long has this practice gone on?

I wanted to ask about 'Youth' in Eastern Europe.

What changes did WWI bring to how children/youth were perceived? and second question How did the lives of children/teenagers change in Russia - post Communist revolution?

During Czechoslovakia's first republic, why was the parliament so weak and why did it have to rely on coalitions so much? Also, is there anymore that can be said about the Hrad's inner political workings (the politics around the president) that isn't on wikipedia?

Damn, way late! Just in case, what do you consider the parameters of Cossackdom to be and why?

Do historians still use the concept of the Elbe-Trieste line?

In Yugoslavia, what was the public opinion of Josip Tito? What has it been like in the post-Yugoslavia states since the breakup (generally speaking)?

Why has Eastern Europe always "lagged" behind technologically compared to Western Europe?

How were the days of a noble in the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth when choosing a new king. Because of all sons of nobles were automatically also noble, after a while there were a lot a nobles choosing a king. Were they all there in person? Could any noble become king? Is it comparable with the election of a pope?

Why did the Duchy of Brandenburg adopt Prussian culturally, and would you consider old Prussian at its roots Germanic, Slavic, or something else?

Why isn't Kazakhstan used as an example for how 'bad' council democracy is? Weren't they worse off than Ukraine?

What happened to Nobility in Poland after partitions? Some were integrated into the Russian Nobility, such as Przhevalsky's family, but was this common practice? Also how long would a Polish identity persist or would they quickly adopt a Russian Identity?

Who are the slavs, where and when do they come from?

Was there any American influence found in pre-20th century in Eastern Europe?

Did USA people do much traveling or do much commerce in Eastern Europe during that time frame? Did they read American books? Watch American plays?

What did the average polish / czech / etc person think of an American?

One of my ancestors lived on a folwark (individual farm) near Vitebsk (now in Belarus). I originally thought that he owned that farm based on descriptions from my family, but I recently found it mentioned in a 1906 book with the owner stated as a nobleman with a different surname.

So now I'm curious — how did these farms operate? Would a nobleman own the land and pay the peasants for working it? Would the peasants pay rent? Would all the peasants living on such a farm be of equal economic standing, or would some of them employ others?

This is for /u/rusoved. I have two questions about Slavic languages. Is Polish unique in its extensive case system in relation to other Slavic languages? If it is, do we know how/why it developed that way.

Also, with enough practice, would it be possible to distinguish between all the Slavic languages purely by listening to someone speak it? That is, are there any unique phonetic differences between the languages, or is it just down to grammar?

Thanks!

How did Croatia become one of the strongest bulwarks of Catholicism while Serbia and Bulgaria became bulwarks for Orthodoxy? From what little I know of the Christianization of the early Slavs, the Christianization of Bulgaria was a huge hot topic as the Tsar went to the Pope instead of Constantinople for a baptism despite being in Constantinople's 'sphere'.

Could anyone go more in-depth about the fighting between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia over Latvia in WWII? I would especially like to know more about the battles over Rīga.

If you could also recommend a book about the subject, that would be great.

How have slavic and baltic languages effected and influenced Romanian?

When Estonia was in war with Russia fir its independence, how did the other Baltic countries and the rest of the world help?

Why did Bulgaria choose to convert to Greek rather than Latin Christianity? On the face of it, it seems like a country at war with Byzantium so often wouldn't want to share it's religion.

I'm reading a book about Soviet forces in Afghanistan. In the books introductory chapter it writes:

The Soviet Army was probably the world's most operationally competent army in terms of theory, planning and execution. Historic Soviet victories were operational and Soviet war-fighting was operationally oriented (compared to Western armies which had more of a tactical orientation).

Can you elaborate on any of this, or how the Soviet army compared to NATO in terms of quality and doctrine?

Thanks

How did Romania christianize? How did Eastern Europe christianize?

How was Muscovy able to continuously defeat the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth? I hardly know anything about Eastern European history,but the commonwealth seemed much larger and more powerful at the time. How could they lose so much territory to the Russians?

To what extent is Russia linguistically unified? Was there 'Russification' in the areas further east? If so, when did this occur?

How does Byelorussian culture differ from Russian culture? How do the Jews of Belarus differ from Russian and Ukrainian Jews?

Very interesting thread, I hope I'm not too late for asking questions, because I have already a few :)

1. Where does the word s(c)lavic come from? In particular, what do you think about O. Pritsak who made a connection with some sort of professional warriors?

2. Some historians think that a Slavic dialect was a lingua franca in Avar empire. What is your opinion?

3. Recently, I have read a collection of essays of Marian Malowist about economical history of eastern Europe during Medieval and Early modern ages. Can you recommend some similar authors/books dealing with this subject?

What were the terms of the Cession of Ruthenia from Czechoslovakia to the USSR following WWII? Did the Soviet Union just say, "mine now," or were there any negotiations? Why did the Soviet Union even want that particular piece of territory? Did Czechoslovakia receive anything out of the deal? Did any Czech/Slovak politicians or prominent civilians speak out against the cession? Were Ruthenians generally okay with the cession, given that Ruthenian is closer to Ukrainian than to Slovak?

Sorry for the barrage of questions. I haven't been able to find much information on this topic.

At least to my layman's understanding, Eastern Europe seems to be a bunch of small states sandwiched inbetween major powers for much of recent history. Is there a reason why that area hasn't created any great, enduring powers, or have there been such powerful countries there and I am simply unaware of it?

Is there any link between Holodomor and rising of the UPA/OUN-B? Could we suspect, that famine in the Ukrainian SSR somewhat quickened or made possible creating so strong Ukrainian resistance in its aggressive (ethnically) and military form?

How did Ragusa manage to maintain it's own identity (culture, language etc) despite being located in a turbulent region? Just how powerful was the city? How far did its influence spread inland? I did an essay on Maritime Republics so I am familiar with it's power at sea and naval trade, but I don't know much about it's role in the Baltic region. The books I could find on the city were fairly limited and so I am wondering if there's anything I missed. Not sure if the city is covered in your areas of expertise but I figured I'd ask.

Is there any way we could have realistically got the Russians to let the Germans keep at least Breslau and Stettin, or was it pretty much given they could do whatever they wanted.

How much of Europe would Stalin have taken if he had been able to- would Sweden be part of the USSR?

How was the Baltic region actually run during and after the Northern Crusades? Did the Teutonic Order actually rule over it, or did they simply conquer it and hand it over to someone else?

Hi and thank you for doing this AMA! I have a question related to a cultural paradigm that seem to be common in Russia's history: pan-slavism/pan-Orthodox. It seems like this always blows up in Russia's face, but it pops up again in again in Russia's history. Like the Turkish wars & Crimea, or the Ukrainian conflict now. What are the long-term successes of pan-slavism? I can see Transnistria would be an example except I don't think that was a 'cultural' conflict as much as a political and opportunistic one?

What ever happened to the Bulgarians who fled to Hungary and Poland?

Probably really basic question but is the whole "every two Soviet soldiers had to share a single rifle in WW2" real??