Cars of Eastern Europe tells the story of the cars and vans made in Latvia, Poland, the former Yugoslavia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and East Germany. In a region that stretches from the Black Sea to the Baltic, the vehicles were as varied as the nations themselves. Now that eastern Europe has come in from the cold, this book offers a unique and timely survey of the motor industry in this often overlooked part of the continent.
Across the Soviet Bloc, from the 1960s until the collapse of communism, the automobile exemplified the tension between the ideological imperatives of political authorities and the aspirations of ordinary citizens. For the latter, the automobile was the ticket to personal freedom and a piece of the imagined consumer paradise of the West. For the authorities, the personal car was a private, mobile space that challenged the most basic assumptions of the collectivity. The "socialist car"-and the car culture that built up around it-was the result of an always unstable compromise between official ideology, available resources, and the desires of an increasingly restless citizenry. In The Socialist Car, eleven scholars from Europe and North America explore in vivid detail the interface between the motorcar and the state socialist countries of Eastern Europe, including the USSR. In addition to the metal, glass, upholstery, and plastic from which the Ladas, Dacias, Trabants, and other still extant but aging models were fabricated, the socialist car embodied East Europeans' longings and compromises, hopes and disappointments. The socialist car represented both aspirations of overcoming the technological gap between the capitalist first and socialist second worlds and dreams of enhancing personal mobility and status. Certain features of automobility-shortages and privileges, waiting lists and lack of readily available credit, the inadequacy of streets and highways-prevailed across the Soviet Bloc. In this collective history, the authors put aside both ridicule and nostalgia in the interest of trying to understand the socialist car in its own context.
East European cars are generally derided in the West as cheap, low-quality rustbuckets. This title aims to dig deeper, covering almost all the vehicles produced from the end of the Second World War to the end of the 20th century from the most basic three-wheeler from Czechosolovakia to the big V8 limousines of Russian and China. Many Soviet bloc cars were never exported to the West so there are many unfamiliar marques such as the Zil, Chaika, Syrena and Tatra. These are covered along with the better known Skoda, Lada and Trabant, including Soviet land-speed records and prototypes.
This book, first published in 1983, goes beyond the ‘black and white’ literature of many East–West observers to offer a more nuanced assessment of the achievements of the Eastern bloc countries of the early 1980s. It covers the emergence of ‘Eastern Europe’ from revolution and war, the politics and economics of the new countries and their relationships with the West.
'The topic is important and neglected and has major implications for the types of industrial policy that make any sense in transition countries. The clear message of this book is that protective science and technology policies would, for the most part, be a total waste of money. What is needed now is internationalization and a demand-driven approach, exactly the opposite of the former nationally based and supply-led systems existing under socialism.' - Paul Hare, Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh, UK 'Here is a book that goes beyond the abstractions and platitudes of conventional "transition economics" to look at what is really happening on the ground in the post-socialist countries of Eastern Europe . . . The Globalization of Industry and Innovation in Eastern Europe presents a provocative but richly documented assessment of the central dynamic issues facing the East European economies today.' - David Dyker, SPRU - Science and Technology Policy Research, University of Sussex, UK In this important book, industrial and enterprise reform over the last decade in Eastern Europe is critically reviewed in light of increasing Eastern integration into the global economy. The authors argue for the further globalization of Eastern European enterprise networks as a condition for recovery and growth in the region. Empirical evidence is provided from five industrial sectors (car industry, telecommunication, shipbuilding, computers, software), including case studies and international comparisons.
You can count on Rick Steves to tell you what you really need to know when traveling in Eastern Europe-including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia. Explore Eastern Europe's top cities, from the romantic spires of Prague and the steamy thermal baths of Budapest to charming Kraków and laid-back Ljubljana. Enjoy the imperial sights of Vienna and walking tours of exotic Dubrovnik. Then delve into the region's natural wonders: hike through the waterfall wonderland at Plitvice Lakes National Park, drive the winding road to the Julian Alps, and watch the sun dip slowly into the Adriatic from the Dalmatian Coast. Rick's candid, humorous advice will guide you to good-value hotels and restaurants. He'll help you plan where to go and what to see, depending on the length of your trip. You'll learn which sights are worth your time and money, and how to get around by train, bus, car, and boat. More than just reviews and directions, a Rick Steves guidebook is a tour guide in your pocket.
Challenges of Modernity offers a broad account of the social and economic history of Central and Eastern Europe in the twentieth century and asks critical questions about the structure and experience of modernity in different contexts and periods. This volume focuses on central questions such as: How did the various aspects of modernity manifest themselves in the region, and what were their limits? How was the multifaceted transition from a mainly agrarian to an industrial and post-industrial society experienced and perceived by historical subjects? Did Central and Eastern Europe in fact approximate its dream of modernity in the twentieth century despite all the reversals, detours and third-way visions? Structured chronologically and taking a comparative approach, a range of international contributors combine a focus on the overarching problems of the region with a discussion of individual countries and societies, offering the reader a comprehensive, nuanced survey of the social and economic history of this complex region in the recent past. The first in a four-volume set on Central and Eastern Europe in the twentieth century, it is the go-to resource for those interested in the ‘challenges of modernity‘ faced by this dynamic region.
