Unit 2 Vocab

Baltic republics

The countries of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia located on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea

Basque

Ethnic group that lives in both Spain and France in areas bordering the Bay of Biscay and encompassing the western foothills of the Pyrenees mountains

Chechnya

One of the republics that remains a part of Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union despite independence movements and violent upheaval

Chernobyl

Site of a nuclear power plant in Ukraine where a nuclear explosion took place in 1986

Chernozem

Black topsoil, one of the world’s most fertile soils

Cyrillic

Alphabet now used for Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Ukrainian, and other Slavic languages

Democracy

A government controlled by its citizens either directly or through representatives

Dialect

Local form of a language used in a particular place or by a certain group.

Eastern Orthodox

A major branch of Christianity, also called Greek

ethnic group

Group of people who share a common ancestry.
language, religion, customs, or place of origin.

European Union/Euro

International organization comprised of

28 European countries that governs common economic, social, and security policies/The common currency adopted by most of the member nations of the European Union.

Fjord

A long, steep-sided glacial valley now filled by seawater,

that are found in Norway.

Gross Domestic Product

The value of only goods and
services produced within a country over a period of time

North Atlantic Drift

A current of warm water from the tropics.

Oligarchy

A government in which power is in the hands of a few
people - especially one on which rule is based on wealth.

Parliament

A representative lawmaking body whose members are elected or appointed and which legislative and executive functions are combined

Peat

Partially decayed plant matter found in bogs that is

typically cut from large beds and burned as fuel.

Per Capita Income

The average amount of money earned by

each person in a political unit.

Polder

Land that is reclaimed from the sea or other body of

water by diking and drainage that is used extensively in the Netherlands

Polis

Greek city-state - the fundamental political unit of ancient

Greece after about 750 B.C

Pope

The bishop of Rome, head of the Roman Catholic Church.

Protestant

Major branch of Christianity, which began during the Reformation with protests against practices of the Roman Catholic Church

Republic

A form of government in which power is in the hands of representatives and leaders elected by citizens who have the right to vote

Roman Catholicism

Major branch of Christianity, centered in Rome.

Scandinavia

Region in Northern Europe with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties that includes Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland

Siberia

A region of central and eastern Russia, stretching from

the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean; known for its mineral resources and for being a place of political exile.

Slav

A member of a group of peoples in central and eastern

Europe speaking Slavic languages (i.e. Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Slovenes, Macedonians, and Montenegrins).

Taiga

Nearly continuous belt of evergreen coniferous forests

across the Northern Hemisphere, in North America and Eurasia.

Tundra

The flat treeless lands forming a ring around the Arctic
Ocean; the climate region of the Arctic Ocean

Yugoslavia

A former communist European nation of many ethnic groups distributed among six republics that broke apart due to murder, violence, ethnic cleansing, and independence movements.