The Fall of Communism: Crash Course European History #47

Summary

This Crash Course European History episode delves into the aftermath of the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, highlighting the chaotic redistribution of state assets and the rise of kleptocracy. It discusses the social upheaval, including increased alcoholism and a drop in life expectancy, and the economic struggles like hyperinflation. The video also explores the emergence of new democracies and private enterprise, particularly in Poland, and the expansion of NATO and the European Union. It touches on the complexities of EU membership, the cultural and economic shifts, and the rise of both globalism and localism in response to these changes.

Takeaways

• 🏠 The video was filmed during a global pandemic, emphasizing that we are living in history and subject to its forces.
• 📉 The collapse of communism in Eastern Europe led to a period of economic uncertainty and social upheaval, including the collapse of social services and a rise in unemployment and alcoholism.
• 🔄 The fall of communism resulted in a massive transfer of state-owned assets to private hands, often at极低的价格, leading to widespread corruption and wealth inequality.
• 📈 Inflation rates skyrocketed in countries like Romania and Ukraine following the collapse, causing severe economic hardship.
• 🏹 The conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, including the Srebrenica massacre, highlighted the brutal ethnic cleansing and violence that can accompany the breakdown of states.
• 🌐 The expansion of NATO and the European Union after the fall of communism included former Eastern Bloc countries, promoting a sense of unity and cooperation.
• 💶 The introduction of the euro as a common currency aimed to foster economic integration and a sense of European identity among member states.
• 🤝 The EU's policies, while promoting economic integration, also faced criticism for potentially prioritizing corporate interests over worker welfare.
• 🏭 The rise of consumer culture in Eastern Europe following EU integration brought both economic opportunities and cultural changes, as well as concerns about 'Consumania'.
• 🏛️ Despite moves towards European integration, there was also a push for local autonomy, with regions seeking to maintain their distinct identities and control over local affairs.

Q & A

What is the significance of the global disease pandemic mentioned in the script?

The global disease pandemic serves as a stark reminder that we are living in history and subject to its forces, emphasizing the ongoing impact of historical events on our present.

How did the Black Death reshape European life?

The Black Death profoundly reshaped European political, social, and economic life, illustrating the deep ways in which historical events can alter societal structures.

What challenges arose from the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe?

The collapse of communism led to the kleptocratic seizure of state-owned assets, the collapse of social services, increased unemployment and alcoholism, and a significant drop in life expectancy.

Why was the division of assets after the fall of communism in Eastern Europe problematic?

The division of assets was problematic because it was often done through a corrupt process where influential individuals took control of valuable assets at extremely low prices, leading to economic inequality and social unrest.

What was the impact of the Yugoslav Wars on the region during the 1990s?

The Yugoslav Wars led to ethnic cleansing, massacres, and the destruction of cultural heritage, highlighting the devastating consequences of ethnic conflicts and the use of 'negative integration' strategies by politicians for power.

How did the expansion of NATO after the fall of communism affect Eastern Europe?

NATO's expansion included former Warsaw Pact members, providing a sense of security and integration for Eastern European countries, and signaling a shift in the geopolitical landscape.

What were the economic and social changes brought about by the European Union's expansion?

The EU's expansion led to increased economic cooperation, standardized policies, and a common currency (the euro), but also raised concerns about the loss of national sovereignty and the imposition of regulations that could harm local industries and communities.

Why did some Eastern Europeans have mixed feelings about joining the EU?

Some Eastern Europeans felt like 'poor cousins' due to the economic disparity and feared that joining the EU would lead to further economic challenges and the erosion of their national and ethnic identities.

How did the rise of consumer culture in Eastern Europe reflect the region's integration into the global market?

The rise of consumer culture, exemplified by the popularity of megastores like IKEA, indicated Eastern Europe's integration into the global market and a shift towards a consumer society, despite concerns about 'Consumania' and the loss of traditional values.

What were the implications of the fracturing of countries like Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia?

The fracturing of countries into smaller states based on ethnic or religious lines highlighted the tension between the desire for ethnic sovereignty and the push for supra-national cooperation, leading to a complex geopolitical landscape.

How did the script suggest that local and global governance interact in addressing shared global problems?

The script raises questions about the balance between local, national, and supranational governance in addressing global issues, such as pandemics and environmental challenges, suggesting that the scale of response can significantly impact effectiveness.

Outlines

00:00

🌏 Post-Communist Eastern Europe's Challenges

This paragraph discusses the aftermath of the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, highlighting the economic and social upheaval. It mentions the redistribution of state-owned assets, leading to a kleptocratic event where influential individuals took control of factories and farms at minimal cost. The collapse of social services like healthcare and sanitation led to increased unemployment, particularly among women, and a surge in alcoholism. Men's life expectancy dropped significantly, and hyperinflation was rampant in countries like Romania and Ukraine. The paragraph also covers the ethnic conflicts and violence in the 1990s, particularly in Yugoslavia, where ethnic cleansing and massacres occurred. It critiques the portrayal of these conflicts as ancient rivalries, suggesting they were manipulated by politicians for power.

05:00

🌱 Emergence of Democracy and Economic Integration

Despite the chaos following the collapse of communism, this paragraph notes the emergence of democratic institutions and private enterprise, especially in Poland. Eastern European governments stabilized and sought membership in the European Union (EU) and NATO. The EU expanded significantly, with former Warsaw Pact members joining NATO, and the adoption of the euro as a common currency. The EU's policies aimed to standardize various aspects of member countries' lives, from television content to environmental regulations. However, the paragraph also points out criticisms of the EU's neoliberal policies, which some argue prioritize corporate profits over workers' well-being. It discusses the mixed reactions to EU membership, particularly the economic disparities and the perceived loss of national identity.

10:02

🛍️ Consumerism and Ethnic Fractures in the New Europe

This paragraph explores the rise of consumer culture and the proliferation of shopping malls in Eastern Europe, reflecting a growing middle class and the influence of global brands. It contrasts this with the ongoing struggles in rural areas, where poverty remains profound. The paragraph also addresses the fracturing of nations along ethnic lines, such as the split of Czechoslovakia and the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Despite these divisions, there is a push for autonomy alongside a desire for membership in organizations like the EU and NATO. The narrative concludes by raising questions about the balance between local autonomy and global cooperation, particularly in the context of shared global challenges like pandemics and environmental issues.

Keywords

💡Black Death

The Black Death, also known as the bubonic plague, was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75-200 million people in Eurasia and peaking in Europe in the 14th century. In the video, the Black Death is mentioned as an example of how profoundly a disease can reshape European political, social, and economic life, highlighting the video's theme of the ongoing impact of historical events on the present.

💡Kleptocracy

Kleptocracy refers to a government or state where those in power exploit national resources and steal; rule becomes corrupt and self-serving. The script uses this term to describe the chaotic aftermath of the collapse of communist states in Eastern Europe, where assets were taken into private control by factory managers, former officials, and the wealthy, often at significantly undervalued prices, leading to widespread corruption and economic disparity.

💡Tetris

Tetris is a popular video game created by Alexi Pajitnov while he was employed by the Soviet state. The game is mentioned in the script to illustrate the issue of intellectual property rights in the post-communist era. Tetris, like many other assets, was not owned by its creator but by the state, and the script discusses the challenges of asset redistribution during the transition period.

💡European Union (EU)

The European Union is a political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The video discusses the EU's expansion and its role in fostering international cooperation and economic integration. It also touches on the complexities of membership, such as the standardization of policies and the potential for economic disparities between member states, as well as the benefits of shared resources and market access.

💡NATO

NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is an intergovernmental military alliance between North American and European countries. The script mentions NATO's dramatic expansion after the fall of communism, highlighting the inclusion of former Warsaw Pact members, which underscores the video's theme of shifting political alliances and the reconfiguration of power in the post-Cold War era.

💡Ethnic Cleansing

Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic or religious groups from a given territory by a more powerful ethnic group, often involving violence and human rights abuses. The video references the horrors of ethnic cleansing during the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s, particularly the atrocities committed in Bosnia and the Srebrenica massacre, to illustrate the devastating consequences of ethnic conflicts and the video's broader theme of historical violence.

💡Euro

The Euro is the official currency of the European Union and the currency used by its member countries within the Eurozone. The script discusses the introduction of the Euro as part of the EU's efforts to promote economic integration and a sense of European unity. It also touches on the economic and political implications of adopting a common currency, including the centralization of economic policy and the potential for economic disparities among member states.

💡Globalism

Globalism refers to the increasing global interconnectedness and interdependence of countries through trade, cultural exchange, and policy coordination. The video script mentions globalism in the context of the EU's efforts to foster international cooperation and economic integration, as well as the rise of supranational organizations. It contrasts with the theme of hyper-localism, which emphasizes the importance of local control and decision-making in response to global challenges.

💡Supranational

Supranational organizations are entities that operate above and beyond the authority of individual nation-states, often with the aim of promoting cooperation and coordination among member countries. The video discusses the EU and NATO as examples of supranational organizations, highlighting their role in fostering international cooperation and addressing shared global challenges, such as economic development and security threats.

💡Dehumanization

Dehumanization is the act of depriving a person or group of people of their individual humanity, often as a means to justify violence or discrimination against them. The script refers to dehumanization in the context of ethnic rivalries and conflicts, such as those in the former Yugoslavia, where politicians used the strategy to create a stronger sense of 'us' versus 'them' to gain power, illustrating the video's theme of the manipulation of identity for political ends.

💡Consumerization

Consumerization refers to the process by which societies become increasingly focused on consumer culture and the acquisition of material goods. The video discusses the rise of consumerization in Eastern Europe following the fall of communism, as new shopping malls and megastores like IKEA and Electroworld emerged, indicating a shift towards a consumer-driven economy and the integration of Eastern European countries into a broader European consumer market.

Highlights

Introduction to Crash Course European History amidst a global disease pandemic.

The Black Death's profound impact on European political, social, and economic life.

The challenges of asset distribution following the collapse of Communist states.

The example of Tetris to illustrate the issue of asset ownership in the Soviet Union.

The kleptocratic event in Eastern Europe post-communism leading to asset control by the influential.

The collapse of social services like sanitation and healthcare due to government collapse.

The significant rise in alcoholism and the impact on men's life expectancy post-Soviet Union.

Economic instability in Romania and Ukraine post-communism with high inflation rates.

The ethnic cleansing and massacres in the 1990s Balkans under Milosevic.

The cultural heritage destruction during the Yugoslav Wars.

The portrayal of the Yugoslav conflict as ancient rivalries versus a power grab by politicians.

The emergence of new democratic institutions and private enterprise in Eastern Europe.

The expansion of NATO and the inclusion of former Warsaw Pact members.

The official birth of the European Union through the Maastricht Treaty.

The economic benefits and infrastructure development aid that the UK received from the EU.

The introduction of the common currency, the euro, and its reception among EU members.

The drawbacks of EU membership, such as the impact of fishing quotas on local communities.

The mixed reactions of Eastern Europeans to EU membership and the feeling of being 'poor cousins'.

The rise in ownership of consumer goods and car sales in former Communist states.

The phenomenon of 'Consumania' and the social act of joining consumer society in Eastern Europe.

The fracturing of Europe amid ethnic feelings and the rise of hyper-localism.

The question of local versus supranational decision-making in the context of global problems.

Transcripts

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Hello and welcome to Crash Course European History and welcome to my house.

I’m filming this in the midst of a global disease pandemic, a stark reminder that we

are living in the middle of history, and subject to its forces.

In fact Stan, roll the tape of me from the past back in 2014

And as for the potential dangers of the 21st century, there are environmental disasters,

the rise of a super bug that wipes out millions upon millions of people, possible global conflict

or a rise in instability.

I’ll tell you Me From the Past, I could write a book about what you didn’t know

in 2014, but you got that one right.

So we began the series by talking about how profoundly the Black Death reshaped European

political, social, and economic life.

The world today is vastly different from the world of 500 years ago, and the human population

is vastly different.

But history continues to be what one writer called, “the relentless unforeseen.”

And microbes, or I guess in this case viruses, continue to shape human history in very, very

deep ways.

And so that’s why I’m at home.

But we can still take this opportunity to learn some history together.

INTRO But where were we in history?

Oh right, the downfall of communism in Eastern Europe, which seemed to promise a bright future

in which eastern Europe would become as healthy and as prosperous iias western Europe.

But we have to remember that in Communist countries, many large assets--from intellectual

property to collectively owned factories--were legally the property of the people.

Take, for example, the wildly popular video game Tetris.

It wasn’t owned by its creator, Alexi Pajitnov, but by the Soviet state, which had employed

him while he designed Tetris.

So, how would all these assets be divided now that the states were collapsing?

Well, terribly, as it turned out.

Pajitnov would eventually get the rights to Tetris back, but most of these assets were

taken into private control in a huge kleptocratic event that unfolded in these countries.

factory managers, former officials, and people with influence and money swept in and took

control of factories, farms, and much else in eastern Europe.

And they paid pennies on the dollar.

Or, I guess in this case, Kopecs on the Ruble.

And in the midst of this, social services such as sanitation and health care collapsed

because the governments backing them had collapsed.

Many people--primarily women--were thrown out of work.

Alcoholism surged.

One woman reported of life after the fall of the Soviet Union, men “today walk around

with fear in their eyes.

Nothing but fear.

They’re downsizing the army, the factories are at a standstill.

. . . They sit on the curb waiting for something to happen.”

Men’s life expectancy fell from an already low 62 years in the 1980s to as low as 57

and a half years in the 1990s.

In Romania, inflation was over 135 percent.

In Ukraine, it was over 800 percent.

War heroes hawked their medals, and petty theft thrived.

And many of those who could left eastern Europe.

Worst of all, Yugoslavia became a battleground of ethnicities in the 1990s, as the Serbian

government under Slobodan Milosevic used both regular and freelance troops to expand Serb

power and territory.

Most horrific was the ethnic cleansing of rival groups, including the massacre of boys

and men in Bosnia and the rape of women there to create so-called “Serb” babies.

A 1995 Croatian massacre of Serbs who had helped seize land from Croatia was answered

with the infamous Srebrenica slaughter in which Serbian armed forces murdered more than

8,000 Muslim boys and men.

“Kill the lot,” the commander of the Serb forces ordered.

Military units also sought to attack the cultural heritage of their enemies, damaging cities

rich in medieval history, such as Dubrovnik, and destroying libraries and museums.

In 1993, Croats, having taken over a part of Bosnia, blew up the Mostar Bridge, built

in 1566, which was seen as a symbol of the Ottoman heritage of ethnic pluralism.

In the West, these conflicts were often portrayed as resulting from ancient rivalries or as

the product of backward people, but to others it seemed one example among many in recent

history of politicians using ethnic rivalries to gain power for themselves.

I mean, it’s not like Milosevic invented the negative integration strategy of dehumanizing

a “them” to create a stronger sense of “us.”

Serb militias and the Yugoslav army would go on to slaughter Albanians in Kosovo between

1997 and 1999 before NATO forces finally pushed the militias back.

And Milosevic was eventually apprehended by the world court, even as in 2003 his henchman

assassinated a new reform-minded prime minister.

Still, amid all this kleptocracy, and economic suffering, and ethnic cleansing, new democratic

institutions did begin to emerge, as did private enterprise, especially in Poland.

And gradually, eastern European governments stabilized, they presented themselves as potential

new members of the European Union and of the aforementioned military alliance, NATO.

Which I guess I should have said the full name of: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

NATO expanded dramatically after the fall of communism.

Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland, former members of NATO’s rival, the Warsaw Pact,

became NATO members.

And additional eastern European countries joined for a total of 28 nations.

The European Union was officially born with the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, but in some ways

it had begun in 1957 as the Common Market and then expanded--Scandinavian countries

joined the consortium, as did Spain and Britain.

For Britain, joining the European Community in 1973 was necessary to pull itself out of

economic doldrums as Common Markets countries outstripped the UK in economic growth.

The UK came to enjoy around $6 billion a year of aid that went into infrastructure and other

development.

Under the Maastrict Treaty, EU citizens held a common passport and voted for representatives

to a European parliament. and restrictions among nations in the spheres of business activity,

policing of borders, and transportation policies were reduced, eventually leading to the end

of passport controls at borders between Common Market countries.

Also governments, whether municipal or national, had to treat all member nations’ companies

the same.

Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU in 1995, and in doing so, they adopted the

common policies that governed everything from the number of American soap operas aired on

television to pollution controls on automobiles to standardized health warnings on cigarette

packages.

In 1999 a common currency, the European Currency Unit (or euro) came into being, although Britain,

Sweden, and Denmark did not adopt it.

Wait.

Hold on Stan.

I just want to make sure I have this correct.

Economists had, like, a once in a millennium chance to name a currency, and they named

it the European Currency Unit.

I mean.

Come on!

By the way.

Stan isn’t here.

I think you should know that.

I’m alone.

I miss you, Stan!

At any rate, those who did enjoy the common currency were mostly enthusiastic.

An Italian student said that the euro provided “a sense of belonging to a European Union

and I think it’s beautiful that there’s this big European country.”

And a French nuclear scientist remarked, “People with the same money don’t go to war with

each other,” which is a nice sentiment, although, did he learn about the French Revolution?

But also, with the adoption of a common currency, the EU’s central bank gained more control

over economic policy.

Critics saw the European Union as promoting neo-liberal business policies and emphasizing

corporate profits over the well-being of workers, while defenders felt the EU did a good job

of monitoring social well-being.

But one thing that was widely agreed upon is that, at the time, the EU seemed like a

model for international cooperation:

Like, Greece urged the admission of its traditional enemy Turkey in 2002 and 2003--despite a former

French president’s propaganda that Muslim countries lacked the Christian values of EU

members.

The Greek prime minister countered that “Turkey has been a great European power since the

sixteenth century.”

Through the EU, traditional adversaries could benefit through negotiated settlements and

through the reduction of defense spending, as happened between France and Germany.

OK Let’s go to the Thought Bubble.

1.

For some, there were of course also big drawbacks to European Union membership.

2.

For example, in 2002, the EU responded to a decline in the fish population by imposing

a 40 percent cut in fishing,

3. which preserved a lot of fisheries but hurt a lot of communities.

4.

A Spanish fisherman from Vigo near the Portuguese border

5.

pointed to technocrats’ lack of concern for ordinary people’s livelihoods, saying:

6.

“The bureaucrats in Brussels have signed my death warrant and that of all the other

people you see here in this port.

7.

The worst thing is that these gentlemen in their suits have never been on a boat and

know nothing about the ocean.”

8.

Rodrigo Duran had paid 2 million dollars for his boat

9. and he had a crew of 17 people with families to support.

10.

Moreover each fisherman’s livelihood produced jobs for some five other people.

11.

Workers were needed to can and freeze fish, to keep up the ports, to build ships, and

so on.

12.

So there were inevitably tradeoffs to EU regulation, and they could produce harm, like in this

case.

13.

Unless you’re fish, of course.

14.

Finding the balance between the needs of individuals like Rodrigo Duran

15. and the needs of the larger community--

16. to maintain long-term fish stocks and preserve biodiversity, for instance-

17. -is one role of government, and whether that’s best done up close

18. or at great distance has been a subject of much debate in the EU and beyond.

Thanks Thought Bubble.

Eastern Europeans also had mixed reactions to the EU, with many of them feeling like

poor cousins.

Like, on the eve of joining in the 21st century, the standard of living in Poland was 39 percent

that of EU members.

And even that statistic hides the big differences between the relative prosperity in cities

and the profound poverty in the countryside. and not everybody was enthusiastic about joining.

Like, one farmer in the Czech Republic testified, “It’s bad...the European Union is already

imposing various quotas and regulations on us.”

And for one retiree in Eastern Europe, the rising price of beer said it all: “If I

wanted to join anything in the West,” he said, “ I would have defected.”

others asked, why now that they were now free to be independent would they want to join

another huge organization that would erase their national and ethnic identity as communism

had tried to do.

Still, from some points of view, things definitely did get better: even in the least prosperous

former Communist states, ownership of freezers, and computers, and cell phones rose.

Car sales increased 10 to 12 percent a year, but again, this spending was far lower in

the countryside, where close to half of people could not afford basic necessities.

A further sign of both prosperity and regional differences: the new shopping malls that sprang

up were mostly around capital cities.

But these new customers--some 100 million of them initially--were a huge opportunity

for megastores like IKEA or Electroworld.

“When Electroworld opened in Budapest (April, 2002), it provoked a riot.

Two hundred thousand people crowded to get in the doors,” one report claimed.

Critics called the transformation “Consumania.”

Others saw the phenomenon differently: one eastern European business person called it

“a social act, indicating that one had joined consumer society.”

So Europe was integrating and “consumerizing” in the early twenty-first century but it was

also fracturing amid waves of ethnic feeling.

Despite two centuries aimed at building Slavic nationalism, in 1993 Czechoslovakia split

into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Yugoslavia also came apart into several states, including Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia, all

claiming ethnic or religious distinctiveness.

The Soviet Union itself broke up into some dozen states.

There were more European countries in the twenty-first century than there had been in

1945.

Yet despite wanting ethnic sovereignty, most simultaneously aimed for membership in supra-national

organizations like the EU and NATO.

And this drive for autonomy was pervasive: In 1998 the United Kingdom gave Scotland,

Wales, and Northern Ireland independent parliamentary control of education, health, roads, tourism,

and other services.

And so even as globalism began to rise--a phenomenon we’ll discuss next time--hyper-localism

also rose in response to it.

Should a local fishery’s quotas be decided by international organizations that try to

consider the largest possible picture?

And are responses to, say, global pandemics best organized at the local, national, or

supranational level?

Those questions are, of course, especially relevant in an age where humans must confront

so many shared, global, species-wide problems.

Thanks for watching.

I’ll see you next time.