Polls/Quiz: Central/East European History and its Money

The Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated by a Bosnian-Serb in Sarajevo. From here, World War I began and after the war, Austro-Hungarian empire, German empire (Prussia), Russian empire and Ottoman empire lost its colonies and states.

As a result, Austria became a Republic in 1919. The Habsburgs lost its influence. Austria lost access to the Adriatic sea to countries like Slovenia and Croatia. The empire crumbled into pieces of sovereign countries.

World War II began and ended. Yugoslavia was formed including countries like Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro. A famous leader of Yugoslavia was Josip Broz Tito. He was Croatian.

Yugoslavia existed from 1943 until 1992. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, Croatian War, Slovenian War and Bosnian War were fought against Serbs ranging from 1991 until 1999. Among its member countries, only Slovenia and Montenegro are now using Euro as its currency but Slovenia is the only member of the European Union. The rest, they still use their own. The autonomous region of Kosovo is also using Euro. Croatia is still using Kuna, Macedonia is using Macedonian Denar, Serbia is using its own Serbian Dinar and Bosnia/Herzegovina is using convertible Mark (derivative of German Mark).

This country was composed of Czech Republic and Slovak Republic. Both countries belonged to the Austrian-Hungarian Empire but when the WWI was lost, Czechoslovakia was born in October 1918. Russia invaded and dominated Czechoslovakia but a Slovak Reformer wanted to liberate the country and shake-off Russia´s influence. The so-called Prague Spring began on January 5, 1968 which continued up to August 21, 1968. The Warsaw Pact member countries invaded the country and subdued the political reforms.

Czechoslovakia separated into Czech Republic and Slovak Republic on January 1, 1993. Czech Republic is still using its own currency which is Czech Koruna while Slovak Republic is now using Euro as its currency. Both of them are members of the European Union.

Hungary is like a little brother of Austria throughout the decades. The ex-empress of Austria, Elisabeth, wife of Franz Josef I spoke perfect Hungarian. She was crowned Queen of Hungary. Austria and Hungary always had this special bond historically and culturally. The most famous Hungarian food being cooked and eaten in Austria is Gulasch. This is a beef stew with lots of paprika powder in it. Recipe available in the internet. Please consult Google.

Austrian - Hungarian Monarchy also known as k.u.k. (kaiserliche und koenigliche) Monarchy was established in 1867 and dissolved on October 31, 1918 after the First World War was lost. When Austria and Germany lost the Second World War, Hungary was invaded by Russian forces and became one of Russia´s satellite countries. From 1949 until 1989, the People´s Republic of Hungary existed. From October 23 until November 10, 1956, Hungarian Revolution was initiated by students only to be crushed by the socialist government loyal to Russia.

It was Hungary who started to ease the borders to Austria starting from August 19, 1989. Thousands of East Germans raced to West Germany passing Austria. Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989.

On July 4, 2011, the Crown Prince of Austria and Hungary and the last heir of the Habsburgs, Otto von Habsburg passed away. His bodily remains lie at the Imperial Crypt (Capuchins' Crypt) in Vienna which is also known as Kaisergruft. or Kapuzinergruft. However, HIS HEART lies in Pannonhalma Archabbey in Hungary.

Now, Hungary is a member of the European Union but is still using its currency which is Hungarian Forint.

Lenin, Stalin, Brezhnev...those were the leaders of the former Communist Russia. The World was divided into East Bloc and West Bloc. The East Bloc was led by Russia. The West Bloc was led by the US together with France and Great Britain. West Bloc has its NATO (still existing) and East Bloc had its Warsaw Pact. Iron Curtain was dividing Europe. Cold War occurred right after Second World war. Between Russia and the US, there were Atomic race and race to the Moon. To all sympathizers of the East Bloc, economic embargo was imposed. A famous example is Cuba.

Boris Jeltsin came to power and Michail Gorbachev followed him. He introduced Glasnost and from there, the world had changed. The communists became capitalists. If you visit Russia now, you won't miss the Russia 50 years ago. Just like the US, Russia's landmass stretches from coast to coast, from East (North) Sea up to Bering Sea. The currency of Russia is called Ruble. Russia has strong economic ties to Europe. It is rich in natural resources like - Gas, Diamonds, Gold and other precious metals. They also export Caviar.

This map was painted by Guglielme Blaeuw in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He was born on 1571 and died on 1638. The world that he perceived had changed a lot. The borders were moved forwards and backwards. Europe was in chaos but now, it has reached peace and unity. Economically, some European countries are still struggling but otherwise, wars would never breakout in Europe ever again. Europe had suffered devastation, famine, massacre, atrocities in the past and Europeans are smarter than that to start another war. There are some flush fires in some communities in England but England can handle it by themselves.

Since the Iron Curtain fell, the world became globalized especially now that we have internet. This also means, Austrians could possibly lose their jobs to Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Slovenes, etc. and not Vice Versa. Anyway, let's put it this way, the jobs stay with the family.

Moscow is the capital of Russia. You can visit St. Basil's Cathedral which is located right in the Red Square. The architecture is typical with its onion-shaped towers. Kremlin is the fortified complex being found in historical cities like Moscow. Sometimes, people think that St. Basil's Church is Kremlin and the other way around.

This picture depicts Novodevichy Convent, also known as Bogoroditse-Smolensky Monastery. UNESCO proclaimed it as World Heritage Site since 2004.