what do u think about eastern Europe? do u know anything about communism?

Question

i've met many people(most of them are american) who think that eastern Europe is like a third world...thats sad especially for people who live there...
*I'm sorry if I've done wrong...I'm not as good as u to speak English because I live in Poland;]

Answer 1

Well, prejudices do only say something about the people who have them.

By the way, soon it will have been 18 years since the fall of communism in the East European countries and it is not the most up-to-date topic when we talk about Eastern Europe. Communism was an idealistic and utopian system that ended up catastrophically, because it was too naive to function in real societies.

Beside communism, which was just a short and unfortunate part of 20th century`s history, there are also many other things you should regard about Eastern Europe, such as its long history, various ethnic origins of the people there, their rich culture etc.

Many prominent scientists, artists and other world famous intellectuals come from East European countries, just a few that come to my mind are Stanislav Lem(writer), Emir Kosturica(film director), Roman Polanski(film director) or my fellow citizen Christo (artist,e.g. the wrapped Reichstag, Christo & Jeanne-Claude).

My personal experience is also that people in Eastern Europe are much more adventurous, daring and fond of life than the people of the "secure" industrial societies.
Thus, there are always two sides of the medal;)

Answer 2

Eastern Europe varies significantly.
Czech is especially modern. Prague and Karlovy Vary are great cities to visit.
Hungary is advancing. Budapest is also a great place to visit.
Slovakia seems a little behind. The stores in Bratislava aren't as well stocked as in other capitals.
Much of Poland is rural. Outside Warsaw, Wroclaw and a couple of other cities, it's mainly farmers. The roads are like farm roads in any country (narrow, pitted, not especially safe for high-speed travel).
Croatia is a jewel.
In former East Germany, visit Dresden, Seiffen or east Berlin.

In eastern Germany, Poland, Czech, Slovakia, Hungary, etc., you still see the cinderblock highrise apartments that the communists build. They're crumbling fast, so visit them soon.

Answer 3

Propaganda is rife. Especially from countries who consider capitalism the almighty beginning and end of everything. I don't think people think of Eastern Europe as "third world" tho.
E Europe has a rich and wonderful history and has given us many many great things.
I think Communism isn't as bad as most people think. But if you are in Poland, communism isn't there anymore, is it? I don't have a problem with communism, if given a chance, it would help real 3rd world countries. This won't happen with shallow, selfish, paranoid peoples living in the world.
My Xhusband's family were Polish. Their feelings on communism was negative. But that was just their opinon, not mine.

Answer 4

I am a Ukrainian-American, and was over there when the USSR broke up. All together I have spent 16 months in Ukraine and Belarus.
Most Americans know nothing about communism or your part of the world. Our government and news services fed us a lot of lies during the cold war, most people here believed the lies then and still do today. Pretty sad.

Answer 5

I think Eastern Europe is beautiful. Prague is the 6th most visited city in all of Europe. The people there cant help who ran the government, but al least now they can live their lives anyway they like. Foe the people who dont want to visit the area, you are missing out on so much

Answer 6

From what I know about communism I don't want to be under it's control. I like freedom and to me that's the best way to live.