Eastern Europe since 1945

This essential text provides an engaging overview of the complex developments in Eastern Europe from 1945 to the present day. Tracing the origins of the socialist experiment, de-Stalinisation, and the transition from socialism to capitalism, it explores the key events in each nation’s recent history.

This new edition has been fully revised to include the latest scholarship and places greater emphasis on everyday life in Eastern Europe. While continuing to analyse the major political events, the authors now draw on social and cultural history to build up a picture of what it was like to live under socialism, why the system became unbearable in the late 80s, and how individuals experienced the rebirth of capitalism.