What Happened to The Eastern Bloc After Soviet Collapse? | Animated History

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Sources:
Armour, Ian D. A History of Eastern Europe 1918 to the Present: Modernisation, Ideology and Nationality. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2021.
“Belarus Protests One Year on: Lukashenko in Command and Striking Back” Translated by John Shelton, Deutsche Welle, 8 Aug. 2021, www.dw.com/en/belarus-protest....
Bideleux, Robert and Ian Jeffries. A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change, Edition 2. London: Routledge, 2020.
Kandelaki, Giorgi. “Georgia’s Rose Revolution: A Participant’s Perspective.” United States Institute of Peace, 2006. www.usip.org/sites/default/fi....
Medvedev, Roy A. Post-Soviet Russia: A Journey Through the Yeltsin Era. Trans. and ed. George Shriver. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.
NATO’s Return to Europe: Engaging Ukraine, Russia, and Beyond. Ed. Rebecca R. Moore and Damon Coletta. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2017.
Pynnöniemi, Katri; Rácz, András, eds. Fog of Falsehood: Russian Strategy of Deception and the Conflict in Ukraine. FIIA Report, 45. Helsinki: Finnish Institute of International Affairs, 2016.
“Relations with Russia.” NATO, 9 Mar. 2022, www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/to....
“Russia Invades Ukraine.” Reuters, graphics.reuters.com/UKRAINE-....
Thompson, John M. and Christopher J. Ward. Russia: A Historical Introduction from Kievan Rus' to the Present, Edition 8. London: Routledge, 2018.
Zimmerman, William. Ruling Russia: Authoritarianism from the Revolution to Putin. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016.
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[@TheArmchairHistorian]

Play Conflict of Nations for FREE on PC, Android and iOS: 💥 con.onelink.me/kZW6/TheArmchairHistorian Receive an Amazing New Player Pack, only available for the next 30 days! Sign up for Armchair History TV today! armchairhistory.tv/ Promo code: ARMCHAIRHISTORY for 50% OFF Merchandise available at store.armchairhistory.tv/ Check out the new Armchair History TV Mobile App too! apps.apple.com/us/app/armchair-history-tv/id1514643375 play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tv.uscreen.armchairhistorytv Discord: discord.gg/zY5jzKp Twitter: twitter.com/ArmchairHist

[@Val0rrr]

Funi game

[@hetticsoldier8835]

Now that's a lot of sponsors.

[@russiauncensored7788]

Griffin is going to start making videos with blackface

[@nationalist464]

I have a request , Can you please make videos on greats like Caesar and Napoleon . And some on military strategy

[@stevetownley5480]

I hope you don’t give into leftist's revisionist when they criticize your video.

[@Official_Kezzie]

I love this topic, and it’s a shame that it hasn’t been discussed as much as other things. The Armchair Historian has once again delivered valuable historical knowledge!

[@delarkaBCN]

you are not immune to propaganda

[@themouthofsauron6926]

@@delarkaBCN what propaganda?

[@TheMetalfreak360]

@@delarkaBCN I mean, nobody is. But I am guessing from your comment you are aiming at something specifically? And that is?

[@choreani]

The velvet revolution and the Romanian Revolution were stand outs to me

[@luke.4317]

valuable bias

[@dylanking6960]

It's insane how much more intricate the animations got between now and just a year ago. Well done.

[@MrPaxio]

@Austrian Painter ur last fight, Austrian painter, was with cyanide pill

[@MW-dd8vk]

Great video. It would be interesting to see a part 2 on how the collapse of the Soviet Union had an effect on former states in Central Asia such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan etc.

[@rosesprog1722]

Easy: Because of their immense potential in natural gas reserves, the US hurried and made alliances with them but the only way to get this gas to international markets easily was a pipeline through Afghanistan. The US started to negotiate with the Taliban in the name of the company Unocal for the rights to the pipeline. Originally the Taliban had agreed but suddenly, they decided they were not getting enough in that deal so they asked for way more, too much for the US hence the 2001 invasion and the subsequent war that lasted 20 years, Bin Laden only became part of deal later. Therefore, those states were the cause of the war in Afghanistan! : )

[@augusthoglund6053]

It seems that the Caucus States became embroiled in ethnic conflict; no genocides, but a Russian invasion of and a couple of wars between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Georgia had a peaceful revolution to improve ties with Western European powers, and the quality of life and governance has improved. As for Central Asia, Belarus-style dictatorship have taken over excepting Kyrgyzstan, but Kazakhstan is showing some cracks in the old dictatorial system. No major ethnic conflicts have broken out into war, at least not within the boundaries of the former Soviet Union. Pakistan, India, China, Russia, and the U.S.A. were all in a position to compete for influence in the region, but I'm not sure who's winning where. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan_Oil_Pipeline

[@alphasurge]

@@rosesprog1722 your theory conveniently omits September 11th. When your theory has such a major omission perhaps you should rethink your theory? Maybe, or maybe easier to believe a lazy conspiracy?

[@rosesprog1722]

@@alphasurge Afghanistan and Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, the US government used that event to settle affairs unrelated to this horrific event. If you want to know who did 9/11 ask yourself who would have advantage to have Arabs blamed for that event and to have Iraq neutralized. Just look into Operation Opera, also known as Operation Babylon. By the way, most of the supposed hijackers were Saoudis, why didn't the US attack them instead?

[@alphasurge]

@@rosesprog1722 I like your points several are thought out. Iraq I would agree with you but Afghanistan. Osama Bin Laden based in Afghanistan admitted that Al Qaida (who were being hosted in Afghanistan) performed 9-11. He admitted it, the Taliban refused to stop hosting and hand over the self admitted perpetrators. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsibility_for_the_September_11_attacks#:~:text=On%20February%2011%2C%202003%2C%20Al,direct%20link%20to%20the%20attacks. There are hundreds of sources stating who performed 9-11 not least from the black boxes. But the audiotape by OBL admitted 9-11 and he never denounced this audiotape as a forgery and Al Qaida has never distanced itself from it. Saudi Arabia also agreed to superficially co-operate with the west and stop exporting terrorism. Agreed though Saudi Arabia has a case to answer for numerous abuses but these are in addition to and distinct from those of Afghanistan.

[@facundomouly9446]

Love the detail that the Romanian soldiers have "G" model AKs, also known as "Romanian dongs". Great video as always!!

[@mpondachongo1138]

I also noticed. The animators did there research

[@sourrrrrrrr]

I love dongs, they are versatile, many different ways to grip, they let you control your shot well, and are overall just amazing.

[@dachavanderlinovo413]

@@mpondachongo1138 Not only animators

[@OperatorMax1993]

I loved that detail too! And i do like the wooden dongs on the Romanian AKs

[@teoborges3949]

@@sourrrrrrrr altough thei main disvantage was you can't strap a GP Underbarrel grenade laucher, but you can ditatch and switch with a standard AK handguard

[@janekduda7548]

I understand that Bulgaria didn't have a sparky and flashy civil war, but i would've liked to see them get the spotlight. Seeing as how their country's former communist security services (like most other former soviet states) really still rule the country to this day.

[@KALAENARUDA]

Bulgaria's worst time was 90s early 2000s bcs after one regime was changed with another the country fell apart not being ready for that, the mafia took all after that until nowadays and they still rule and dont care about the mass protests, they do oppressions occasionally

[@r_rumenov]

My thoughts exactly - we're still being ruled in a see-saw pattern between the children and grandchildren of the same people who had the power during the communist era, and their bodyguards...

[@thetheoreticalphysicist5852]

Same in Romania

[@philmitchellboxing8661]

Nothing flashy about war

[@reintaler6355]

Also the Macedonia problem

[@DraftTheHippies]

This video started out as a casual history video, then it evolved into a dark report of what led to current events. Good job as always

[@jacob4920]

I mean, isn't that what all of history really is? How did humanity get from Point A (then) to Point B (now)?

[@BaikalTii]

as long as you realize this video is a summation of the West's justification to achieve hegemony over Russia. so it's not actual history.

[@Vulkanprimarch]

The shift in tone certainly left an impression!

[@DraftTheHippies]

@@jacob4920 let me rephrase. To put it simply, that got dark-er

[@mariasirona1622]

Yup

[@luketompkins6509]

I've been through a majority of the former Yugoslavian countries in the summer of 2018, mostly by van or bus. Would love to see the history covered. Entire villages disappeared, with locals pointing out to places where graves are still discovered today. That, and Sarajevo, where while hiking up the mtn that overlooks the city, where the new gandola and old 1980s Olympic luge track are, we encountered the occasional old spent brass, amongst other things. Bullet holes and remnants still coat the city as a constant reminder.

[@dankovac1609]

A lot of rural areas are like this. It's a sad reminder of that time. I'm thankfully young enough that i haven't experienced it but a lot of the war's lingering effects are still felt. Plus it's a reminder of what is to come if current world events go haywire and that we should be prepared for tough times. In this part of the world tough times can exponentially grow into war times if given the right political and geopolitical tensions. And those seem to be becoming rather concerning not too far to the east from us.

[@yespls4184]

I've only been to Croatia and Bosnia, but they were the most amazing countries to visit. Sarajevo is a very beautiful city, so it was such a stark contrast to see the millions of bullet holes that remain in the buildings and the markings of shells-- let alone the massive cemeteries dotted throughout the city. The scars of history in that city are very dramatic, but still it's a very modern and culturally unique city. Never been anywhere quite like it before. Might be my favorite city in Europe.

[@EstoniaballAnimations]

Great video! Only addition that should’ve definitely been mentioned was The Singing Revolution in the Baltics 1987-91; It was a trigger to the Soviet collapse from the inside as from there on even more separatism took off, and also showed how weak Soviet authority was with not even the ability to suppress people who were just upfront singing banned national songs until independence. There was also the Karabakh conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan that occurred around a year after the Baltic revolution started which also fuelled Soviet collapse. Otherwise, everything was mentioned and I loved it!

[@D.A.R.89]

Nice you are here :)

[@cooljackster7390]

Well the Baltic nations were republics of the Soviet Union not exactly members of the Eastern Bloc

[@souvikrc4499]

@@cooljackster7390 not to mention that they were illegally annexed into the Soviet Union during World War II

[@cooljackster7390]

@@souvikrc4499 as were the other eastern bloc countries only difference is the Baltic States became republics of the Soviet Union but the eastern bloc states were their own countries (in name mostly)

[@reginaldcopperbottom1738]

Man that's so sad,I miss ussr

[@Newdivide]

Mikhail Gorbachev was the only Soviet leader to be born in the USSR. ie after the Russian empire

[@mayogamer2800]

-History matter

[@Newdivide]

@@mayogamer2800 hell yeah

[@theawesomeman9821]

Poetically, he was also the last Soviet born leader

[@nathanhiggers4606]

He hasn't seen capitalism so that's why he was dumb enough to support it. And now he's scared to appear in Russia cuz 75% of people would kill him with bare hands immediately. This dog lives too long.

[@mide8845]

Rather the last soviet-born soviet leader

[@cardboard_kitten]

I love the animation style you guys do, it really brings the history to life!

[@roygaisser9230]

You did a great job of condensing what well could have been a 4-hour mega video event. You can get 40 more detailed shows from this one master. There was SO MUCH happening in that region of the world in such a compact time frame. Good job of hitting the high points.

[@MrAlcoholicKoala]

Your content is out of control dude, seriously amazing stuff. Crazy that we’re really watching this story continue to unfold today.

[@mukhademonyo6449]

This video is unique amongst the ones you've made so far. It's very modern so as a random it feels weird to put in retrospect that we are currently at a point where history is currently in the making. It is scary to think about for me. What brought the weight of the situation down for me is the fact that this was a snowball like effect which has lead to the current situation happening right now as I write this comment. In the future I will look back at this and realise: Sheet this happened in my lifetime.

[@KapnKrowe]

That is exactly what made me become obsessed with learning history in middle school. I still remember hearing the news in the morning at my dad's small apartment as Kosovo officially declared independence in 2008. Only then did I realize that history was being made all around me- it kind of "elevated" my worldview from then on.

[@eutropius2699]

Currently Sri Lanka is in a state of anarchy. The Presidential Palace was overrun and occupied. We really be living in some insane history rn

[@plumbcrazy4391]

Wat h roses have thorns explains what happened in 2014 including the Odessa massacre

[@originalpost1925]

2022 is certainly a very eventful year in the modern era in terms of warfare, however, I feel like the modern events going on right now is just a little step towards something bigger.

[@JDRL96]

"There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen” - Ironically, Lenin

[@ianokan9120]

As a bulgarian i can say that we basically went "all in" on the capitalism, instead of taking it slow and steady and that lead to both large scale corruption and western companies buying then closing our industries so that they kill the competition.

[@trey5747]

I think that would still happen if captailism was brought in steadily, because capitalism brings in more corruption and corporatism anywhere

[@sisyphusvasilias3943]

and break up Unions... anything to drive down the value of labour. Same for Yugoslavia. Same for every expansion of the EU

[@someguy4512]

same can be said on Russia under Yeltsin or any eastern block country.

[@zzzz7217]

My favourite part is how Bulgarians under US siege cancelled construction of Rosatom nuclear plant and then stopped South stream) nation of wisdom)

[@someguy7723]

Your problem is slavic corruption. You made your own mess

[@jjt1881]

This is probably one of the best if not the best documentary about the topic that I've seen. KZbin is fast becoming the best alternatives for history lovers. And this one is one of my favorite channels. You and your crew put an extraordinary effort into these videos and it tells. Thank you. Keep it on, Armchair Historian!! 😎👍

[@jmontign1]

Thank you for the detailed backstory. it helps connect the things we've heard and seen into a timeline.

[@theengineer5320]

Funny story, when Ceausescu visited Syria he was met with a row of school girls greeting him with flowers. One of those girls was my mother, we joke that her touch was the start of his demise

[@RK-cj4oc]

So he was your father? Got it.

[@theengineer5320]

@@RK-cj4oc LOL

[@PakBallandSami]

"After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States and China are more likely to view each other as competitors if not adversaries. But the die has not been cast. The best possible outcome is a new understanding that when they cannot cooperate, they will coexist and allow all countries in the Pacific to grow and thrive" - Lee Kuan Yew

[@stevemc01]

Let's be honest: the US and China are in essence (for lack of a better term) frenemies. Politically, the two nations wanna be at each other's throats and maybe begin cutting them to all hell, but economically and culturally (somewhat culturally in the USA anyway) they are dependent on one another to almost the very core. A war done by either one of the two sides would absolutely demolish the other without a single act of military aggression.

[@tylerclayton6081]

No, it’s our burden to bring freedom to China. It’s the only right thing to do. 1.4 Billion humans shouldn’t have to live in a dystopian hell hole

[@dulguunjargal1199]

Well china is taking the thrive thing haif Haif "You're my puppet or be harased" Haif "You're So agressive!"

[@justacommonman5935]

@@dulguunjargal1199 nobody nation on this World Are Saint at all,not even Those 5 BIG BOSS In U.N Those SuperPowers Always Hungry For Powers,Thats Right Im talking bout You too U.S.A and U.K ...Don't just talking like Its just China & Russia the Main Antagonist on this world,Several Dictator Or Most of Dictator on this World Came to Power Under U.S support and those Dictator gonna kill Bunch of innocent lives.See? Nobody Good guy In this World,Not even "Land of freedom" are free from Bad behavior.

[@looinrims]

Sounds like Mr Yew has never heard of politics

[@dlaainejay4570]

The wordplay, the background music, the memes and of course telling of the context of history is so well done, I wish you were my history teacher.

[@czechoslovakpatriot4773]

An outstanding video on a topic that is frequently overlooked. This would make great educational content in the former Eastern bloc countries if it had subtitles.

[@dragonlukasmapping805]

Is there way how to translate it in to other languages? i would like to translate it in to czech language. :3

[@raketny_hvost]

Well, eastern Europe already knows, what it led to, on their own life experience and some documental publications. it is more educational for some liberal market believers

[@czechoslovakpatriot4773]

@Samar3n I ment for education in schools, you'd be surprised but often students don't know much about this period. Content like this could get them more engaged in the topic.

[@Fred-tz7hs]

"educational content"

[@iGamezRo]

8:20 Romanian here. The exccution of the Ceausecu and his wfie Elena are, still to this day, the last death sentence in Romania.

[@kidfox3971]

Super based btw, his wife was especially awful

[@SKa-tt9nm]

I love that it happened on Christmas morning.

[@ebinboiz8914]

We need more eastern bloc videos. Can't find enough on youtube

[@luke.4317]

no u can find real videos with real sources sonwithout propaganda

[@Menckenperson]

Really great video. Nice to have a break from warfare and tackle something slightly different. Always nursed hopes he would do the second part of the life in imperial Japan series from years ago.

[@Vinter927]

As a Hearts of Iron 4 player, I love your videos and map design, is like if the game is showing me the history and the animation and sound, you implement in your videos is amazing! You've come a long way with the maps and animation and I love it! Keep up the amazing work!

[@bt4670]

Don't cry because you were born too late to help tear it down. Smile because you don't have to live under it.

[@wingedhussar5528]

I was born in Lodz Poland in 79.. I still remember those days even though I was a kid.

[@bradyportwood9398]

@@wingedhussar5528 what was it like fi you don’t mind asking

[@nate32396]

Based

[@sH-ed5yf]

​​@@damobuns7639bullshit. It took literzly weeks for the UdSSR to fall. If the citizens are happy this would not happen

[@Arpi982]

That's kinda a controversial statement because there are a lot of crypto tankies nowadays.

[@familyrics2919]

I'm recently binge-watching your videos. Your narration improved a lot, besting your 4-year-old videos. Im happy that I got a chance to learn history in a fun and engaging way like this.

[@dunnowy123]

What an amazing summary of events. I hope educators use this video to help give context to recent events

[@jamessear4388]

Fantastic content as always mate!

[@ihavetowait90daystochangem67]

If only the Romanian Communist Leaders played Conflict of Nations (which is available for free in the description), they would've crushed the rebellion with little casualties

[@dauzlee2827]

Indeed

[@mihaibelu3912]

my father (Romanian) was told on the night after the rebelion in timisoara to go at the local trainstation where he saw many others from the city. They were given crossbars and sent to beat the guys in timisoara. The force they met and were supposed to beat however gave them ham and meat, which at tat time was a luxury, so, naturally,, they defected. The timisoarans were famous for their meat

[@emersonoh7477]

Great vidoes! Appreciate all the hard work your putting into these. Was curious if you had any videos reviewing the Black Hawk Down incident? Thanks.

Kudos from Czechia, thanks for interest in our history. Some mistakes though: Our police is "Policie, not policja (sounds balkan). Also, the main reason for the split of Czechoslovakia is to have 2 hockey teams at the world cups and the olympics. When The Czech team is eliminated, we cheer for the Slovak team and vice versa.

[@blase777]

Policja je polske slovo, pro americany jsme vsichni stejna banda :D

[@john.jai.sullivan]

You gotta be joking, smh

@@john.jai.sullivan not at all, I mean it was a good joke and that's why we had to do it

[@john.jai.sullivan]

@ ohhh I was so confused, because I’m learning more about your history. So let me ask you friend? What were the reasons for the split of Czechoslovakia? If you don’t mind.

@@john.jai.sullivan Well, the true reason was, the slovaks were not happy in the union. The country was artificially created without the ppl really knowing how it all hapenned, and we're still like broethers, but if one has the government and the other one has much less ruling power, somebody is unhappy. And you wouldn't want the ppl that are so similar to you be unhappy, so our prime ministers had a chat and announced how we'll split and it was for the better. Sorry for late answer, been on vacation.

[@Dusty338]

Another fantastic video. Thank you for all of the great work that you do!

[@azure664]

This has to be one of my favorites done by this channel. keep up the amazing work.

[@oliversherman2414]

I love your channel keep up the great stuff!!

[@AlexMappingHD]

Romanian: My grandfather was going to buy groceries that day...he was waiting in the line when shootings started to erupt. He left in panic and dropped his bags - when he got home, my grandmother asked him in an angry tone: -Where de hell are the bags?? my grandmother said. -Forget about the stupid bags! They are shooting outside! grandfather said. I don't know what happened after, but: I know that my grandfather burned his party id. When Ceausescu's execution ended and was radioed, my grand-grandmother started to cry. Why? She was actually enjoying her life (maybe because she was living in a village...), by her words: "I was working on the fields with other villagers, I was getting paid, I was also receiving some crops so I could cook, my house was my house, I was only paying for the medicine...".

[@nainiciatatapeviata22341]

This happend the same thing with my father and my aunts and more familiar aparts,the only thing is that the former military Romanian socialist army wasnt forced to fire over the people,its was like an sneaky attack,its wasnt an automic fire over the civilization on the streets (i can say that they were killing them hidden,not in public more). Abt the fire,the gun fires that were happening its were just to keep people back,cuz the civilization democracied were used to use the violence against socialist army,but its a lot of lies thats the thing. Im not an communism,but im gonna say this cuz a lot of people think that in the eastern front people were killed like in China Lmao.

[@charliewrx1878]

I can't thank you enough for all of your videos, all of the content made of history. This is my favorite history channel of all channels. Thank you so much!

[@voner8602]

3:50 Small correction: "Solidarity" trade union was banned in 1981 during the announcement of martial law on 13 of December aimed at swiftly destroying the movement. 1980 was a year in which the August Agreements were signed, giving some concessions and rights to workers and generally people, also legalizing the organization.

[@drznadvago]

Greetings from Poland! One detail i liked a lot in your video was Ceausescu appearing on a Rubin TV set exactly like the one we used to have.

[@cristianghidireac7628]

As a Romanian I must say that the presentation of the Revolution and the show trial and execution of the Ceaușescu couple was spot on and the animation was incredible

[@autocrat9791]

The final words gave me chills (the calm before the storm) We don't know how things will develop and how it will end.

[@bobbobby3085]

Great video Griffin been watching long time love how you have been continuously improving keep it up👍

[@jeffchristensen9076]

Good clear explanation of a complex situation. Well done.

[@LichsuhoathinhDrabattle]

*I hope there will be more videos about world history and Vietnam. Thank you team, every video is good 👏🏻*

[@NoName-sb9tp]

It’s amazing how you merge the internet meme culture with the history of the world. Great job!

[@user-lm7th9hv7b]

The video is amazing! I thing there is need for more detailed episodes about the subject - like the whole circus with German reunification or the wars after Yugoslavia wars. There is a great lesson in the mostly untold hystory of the economic colapse of countries like Bulgaria in the 90's and of the economic limbo of the East Germany afther reunification.

[@brtecson]

this content is so captivating and i dont even know why haha thanks for the uploads i'm going to continue my sunday night binge :D

[@Black-1ce]

In your videos I love seeing animated references to old memes and reaction images 😄

[@jeromebarry1741]

"Stern acts of finger wagging". Excellent and precise.

[@SpikEh2918xa]

I love these animations so much! Thank YOU Armchair Historian!

[@someguy1865]

Glad I found this channel. My schools here in the US didn't give me much insight on things like this.

[@pavlotretiakov2130]

I absolutely love the usage of swan lake in the background. Laughed really hard when I heard it

[@angrytengri7829]

Amazing video, though it's a shame you guys didn't dwell a little bit on the other end of the block. The Caucasus and Central Asian countries had a lot going on in the 80s and 90s, from Jeltoqsan protests to armed conflict straight after resolution.

[@IB-xk5se]

Yeah I'd like to see a video like this on the Caucasus and Central Asia. There's a lot of interesting history to cover there too.

[@frenlyfren]

Yeah I was bummed that that interesting history was left out. All that still ruminating and echoing today, and things aren't very happy or looking good over there especially with the russian invasion.

[@bazsamester]

Fortunately, here in Hungary there weren't any agressions when changing governments. The leading communist party also knew that the people had enough and they can't reign anymore peacfully, so they negotiated with the opposition and then peacfully handed over the power to them, in a free election. Fun fact: from all of the Eastern Bloc countries, Hungary was the best to live in under communism. People had the most freedom there, and there wasn't a big poverty there. But still, for obvious reasons, people had enough of it.

[@marcbuisson2463]

It's sad that you guys are starting to fall behond the other eastern european countries economically. Hope you'll manage to get rid of the corruption that is appearing in your country ^^.

[@bazsamester]

@@marcbuisson2463 yeah, Hungarian economy is pretty bad rn. Inflation is huge. Literally 1 euro equals to 400 in local currency (forint). So yeah it's bad, but let's hope it will be better

[@gergelyhangodi9008]

@@marcbuisson2463 Who exactly is it that we're "falling behind economically? The Romanians with their biblical-scale emigration, or perhaps the Estonians with their 20% inflation?

[@marcbuisson2463]

@@gergelyhangodi9008 nah, the czechs, the slovaks and poles. You guys were doign better than them for a while. And yeah, to an extent, the baltics. We'll see how it will compare at the end of the current struggles of course. Let's not compare with Romania or Bulgaria, it's not comparable at all. But you guys should be richer than all the countries previously mentioned. And you started to fall behind already before the pandemic :

[@marcbuisson2463]

@@bazsamester I hope you'll manage though. It's temporary, and we have to help each ther in Europe. Hungarians are great people and definitely have the capacity to get out of this, if they manage to be flexible enough.

[@cypherlen845]

Awsome video, hope you make a video purely about the breakup of Yugoslavia. Keep up the good work

[@kingstar5494]

11:40 If you look closely in this scene you can see the outline of Yugoslavia

[@sonnywong5885]

"You're not gonna believe this. He killed sixteen Czechoslovakians. The guy was an interior decorator."

[@mou6854]

rip Paulie

[@SKa-tt9nm]

His house looked like sh*t 😂😂

[@simonh6371]

Which was predicted by Quasimodo, the Quarterback of Notre Dame.

[@PremierCCGuyMMXVI]

RIP to all the geography students in the late 1980s and early 1990s

[@reginaldcopperbottom1738]

Yeah,I miss the ussr especially because it was anti lgbt

[@theonlynoob2939]

They added idk 14 ish extra countries for me to remember

[@Rumcajs1-yy2tm]

@@theonlynoob2939 and balkans?

[@napoleonbonaparte4776]

I just wanna note 2 things: - the JNA ceased to exist since 1992; the Army of Yugoslavia (VJ) was it's replacement within FR Yugoslavia - FR Yugo didn't withdraw due to military losses, but general political pressure from bureaucrats and other officials at home. This percieved treason however, as making peace was seen like amongst the Serbs, only led to a revolution down the line instead of appeasment

[@lolofblitz6468]

Don't agree with this as native Croatian ( I have lot of family members who participated in Croatian Homeland war )

[@napoleonbonaparte4776]

@@lolofblitz6468 And I am a Serb so. . .?

[@benedict9508]

Your content keeps getting better

[@bunkerbusterbob1372]

Great video as always! I only would have liked to hear a few words about the fall of communism in Bulgaria and Hungary.

[@MrAsianPie]

19:32 I remember I was in a debate with a Russian nationalist about Ukraine, and he was going on about how democracy failed Ukraine and how "prosperous" it was under Russia Wish I knew about this before hand

[@user-yq5tz6yt8z]

Yes, democracy failed. Idk at what point struggle between oligarchs became "democracy" but it hasn't changed since then. Doesn't mean that Russian oligarchs are in any way better.

[@r_rumenov]

Wow, what a somber conclusion... ang great video, as always!

[@taylor1052]

Awesome job like always

[@underscore5586]

Love your content so much :D Can you make a video on the boxer rebelltion?

[@soni3608]

55 days at Peking starts blasting

[@compatriot852]

Hope we get to see more Cold War content. The Forest Brothers guerilla war in the Baltics is definitely a subject I would like to see in the future given it spanned both across WW2 and the Cold War

[@benjaminleonard9588]

Or operation condor

[@Acampandoconfrikis]

Literally the best history channel in youtube Also I love the subtle meme references kek

[@flbphotography2239]

Lol I love the sarcasm and understatement in the script. It makes m love history just that much more

[@Minboelf]

That ending is the darkest episode in Armchair Historian so far

[@saulgoodmanKAZAKH]

Because it's relevant

[@therealBosnianBallPlayz]

I have to be honest, Griffin Johnson makes the best thumbnails about many of his history videos, the way how it describes an interesting image of history. Edit: I mostly like his video about the Yugoslav partisans, that how they were effective.

[@dachavanderlinovo413]

Artist drawing thumbnails, not Griffin

[@Malllaaaak]

Incredible video, honestly very well done. I was disappointed that you didn’t mention the Bosnian gennoacide while speaking about the break up of Yugoslavia but other than that really informative and well presented

[@uros3701]

There was no genocide in Bosnia.And if there was,then all 3 sides committed genocide on each other.I was disappointed that he didn't mention more than one sentence about how Albanian mobs and "authorities" to this day attack Serbian civilians in Kosovo and Metohija,but unfortunately we can't get everythung we want in one KZbin video.But what we got was at least mostly good.

[@bluruckuscrx8124]

@@uros3701 imagine refusing to believe history

[@mojewjewjew4420]

@@bluruckuscrx8124 imagine making up history to justify present day policies.

[@ForelliBoy]

one of my favorite historical tidbits about the collapse of the Iron Curtain is how Otto "Yes, that family" Hapsburg decided to hold a picnic/BBQ near a portion of the border between Austria and Hungary that was to be ceremonially dismantled...and dozens of East Germans looking to escape "just happened to be nearby."

[@akosbarati2239]

He was a figurehead, the decision was done between the Németh government, and Austria, Germans got wise to it by rumors. By 1988, Hungarian passports allowed free travel to most countries, including, but not limited to, visa free travel to West Berlin. East Germans were so kept in the dark by Stasi they weren't even aware there were other ways to leave.

[@zlpatriot11]

Awesome video! Can you do a video on the Soviet Union of 1941 versus 1944-45? I've always been fascinated how remarkable their turnaround became instrumental to ending WWII.

[@Swellington_]

Well they’re an enormous country with an enormous population and at that particular time a lot had no education (a vocabulary of around 500 words,they thought a toilet was for cooking) and the NKBD had a lot of guns and transportation and threw em in front of the Germans to buy time to rebuild their factories behind the Ural mountains,with slave labor pretty much,which is ironic because that’s what the west was trying to defeat,but the reds just had more money and they had the support of the western allies, and the Germans couldn’t compete with all the resources of everyone else,that’s somewhat close to how it went,or that’s what I’ve gathered

[@reyzhehal]

@@Swellington_ "a vocabulary of around 500 words,they thought a toilet was for cooking" and you yourself believe in it?

[@Swellington_]

@@reyzhehal yup,you don’t?

[@reyzhehal]

@@Swellington_ I have been learning Russian for 15 years and I can say for sure that 500 words are not enough to go to a clothing store. the average vocabulary of a European is 15,000 words. How do you think it is even possible for a person to know 30 times less? 500 words is the level of a 4 year old child.

[@Swellington_]

@@reyzhehal youre missing the point

[@sonicboom6893]

This is such an amazing video and I love the fact that you reserved some time to present the tragedy that happened in Romania in 1989 in detail. My father was sent there by the communist authorities when he was actually supposed to be home celebrating Christmas with his family, he almost got shot and he unfortunately lost some of his military colleagues, who died as heroes. You are doing a lot of justice for Eastern Europe in helping people understand why our countries are the way they are. The revolution in Romania was especially violent but truly nothing compared to what happened in Yugoslavia. Regardless we still have open wounds from what happened, many rumors about what actually went down, and still no real justice for all the young people who died. we still have loads of ex communists and ex Securitate running our government and institutions. Thank you thank you thank you!!! truly

[@lacanian1500]

thank you dostoevsky

[@tat17fotball]

In pare rau pentru tata tau 😢😢😢

[@landonmaybaum5321]

Can you do a video on the northwest rebellion !? Seeing some canadian history on here would be absolutely amazing. Love your content !!!

[@andrademeza]

Hey AH, i just wanna say thank you for making your videos with the WIIIIIDDDDDEEEE format. It fills up my phone screen perfectly, lol. usually videos never match my phone screen right.

[@AzureRath97]

it's interesting to see modern history play out in this format. Wasn't expecting the outcome of euromaidan

[@ChineseGlobalism]

Me watching this just days before Gorbachov’s death got me feeling strange

[@jasonz7788]

Solid work Sir thank you

[@lovromiljan7822]

Best topic so far. Thank you Griffith !

[@GreyWasteTim]

"Stern acts of finger wagging at anyone massacering civilians or committing genocide" You already killed him dude! Did you have to desecrate the body too?

[@Windona]

Fascinating overview. I feel like each individual country could be a whole video in itself, not to mention the Baltics. And I am curious about the ethnic tensions spilling out and the irreconcilable differences. Was it sort of like 'this one group dominates things and we don't want them to' or 'They want to do things that way, we want it this way, and we speak different languages and have different cultures anyway so let's split up'?

[@Yurk123]

Great video, you should go a little more in deep in future single video per country. And i hope you do one for the Central Asia countrys.

[@ejay960]

Thanks for a great video, very interesting

[@bramvandenheuvel4049]

Thank you for covering this topic. Having been to and having several friends from Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, this a very helpful overview.

[@kosarkosar7683]

Stalin had to keep his army in central Europe, because the USA was already preparing at the end of World War II to occupy the Soviet Union, because they lost a large part of the population in the war and wanted to take advantage of it. Therefore, the imperialist USA is to the greatest extent to blame for the Warsaw Pact. Most people supported communism for a long time because they had a higher economic growth than the western democracies for a long time. However, the USA tried to destroy the communist economies so that the people would rebel. In most countries that became democratic, they quickly re-elected ex-communists because their economy was even more destroyed. The US supports an anti-Russian version of history which is a complete lie. Ukraine had an economic problem because the pro-Western political forces wanted to break economic cooperation with Russia, and therefore the economy began to collapse. Anglo-fascist imperialist regimes also financed fascist regimes in other republics alongside Russia, which took away the citizenship of the Russian minority in the Baltic states so that they could not vote. Where was the USA when they established apartheid for the Russian minority in the Baltic states. Now that Russians have to fight to stay in their homes in fascist countries, the USA is trying to kill as many Russians as possible and take away their dignity and fight for freedom from the fascist yoke.

[@jjdelft3216]

@@kosarkosar7683 damn man if i were you i would read some history books because your knowledge is pretty lacking.

[@jjdelft3216]

@@kosarkosar7683 The plan to attack the Soviet Union was English of origin. Communist countries did 100% not have a better economic prospects and growth than capitalist countries. The pro western political forces in Ukraine were a majority of the citizens and has been for quite a while. In some baltic states there are laws in place to make the Russians in their country more fitting their national identity, which is pretty logical because those russians are only thete because of russian imperialism and Will be used to that end the same as Russia uses the ethnic Russians in Ukraine. Those laws arent anywhere near as extreme as apartheid or even the laws that Russia uses to Russify ethnic Ukrainians or other groups like crimean tartars.

[@jjdelft3216]

@@kosarkosar7683 also, Russia is the country nearest to fascism there is. Not only does Putin publicly support Neo Nazi groups such as the Spartak regiment, but the combination of hardcore nationalism, authotarian government and the hatred of other ethnic groups makes Russia pretty close to past fascist countries.

[@jjdelft3216]

@@kosarkosar7683 How can you even blame the USA when Russia is just another imperialist country invading other countries and lying to their citizens, Who are either too afraid, too dumb or lacking morals.

[@armedmage]

Great video as always. I'd love to see you do a whole follow-up video on the 2014 revolution in Ukraine and the resulting civil war up until the 2022 invasion.

[@Teranetes]

Перевороте , революция была в 1917м.

[@captainobvious7153]

I always love grabbing a snack sitting back and watching the new videos.

[@nonamernobrainer846]

I love that altyn helmet in the background of the video, it's like a reference to Tarkov

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

Needs a part 2 for places like the Baltics.

[@eliasziad7864]

Baltic dwarf states?

[@ramblingriderrob]

I never did research on my history. This video really brought forth some interesting and deeper insight into the Yugoslavian situation. I'm an American by birth but my heritage is Serbian and all I've ever heard is the atrocities committed in the 90s.

[@hatsuhioki9361]

better take look at some diffrant video, this one is generic western video.

[@eragonlindemann7236]

@@hatsuhioki9361 how is it generically western?

[@hatsuhioki9361]

@@eragonlindemann7236 just western plain picture, pure basics with zero indepth. Also its influenced alot by propaganda and narative it was pushed by usa/eu which suited em at the time. In general its very hard for anyone to do video on east europe and do it well, kinda impossible.

[@trk1b28varianrhesa4]

@@hatsuhioki9361 there is no totally neutral information, only left or right

[@TrueOnly]

7:45 the TV set is a Russian "Rubin" which I remember from my childhood. Congratulations for detailed reflection of that times.

[@HenryFrederick]

Excellent narration and graphics. Liked & subscribed...

[@VaxlandMapping101]

Do the Great Depression next!

[@teresabenson3385]

Thank you for doing this! If you feel up to doing a deeper dive into events in the Donbass region in this century, particularly known facts about Azov pre-2022, I'm sure it would get plenty of views.

[@m.a.118]

lol that would mean being critical of Ukraine and possibly having a more nuanced view about the Russian invasion... I'm sure Google and KZbin execs will love that.

[@NagaEvolution]

Hands down one of the best videos on this channel

[@SuperLeosid]

The background music at the end of the video really put me in a sense of suspense. Give your sound engineer a raise!

[@zenxel]

*Czechoslovakia:* Peaceful Ending. *Poland:* Neutral Ending. *Belarus and Ukraine:* Bad Ending. *Yugoslavia:* Genocide route 💀

[@xavithecat8330]

Neutral ~ it's not so simple

[@marekvavrecka1446]

Quick language note: "Policja" (as featured on Czechoslovak riot police shields 5:42) is neither Czech nor Slovak word. It is in fact Polish. Additionally Czechoslovak law enforcement at the time was using the name "Veřejná bezpečnost" (Public security) instead of Police

[@Vitalis94]

I think the sign is saying „Milicja”, though. :P

[@marekvavrecka1446]

@@Vitalis94 Didn't think of that, but I guess it's possible. But it's still neither Czech nor Slovak

[@saiien2]

@@Vitalis94 Even if it was "militia".. in Czech and Slovak language it's called "Milice" not "Milicja"

[@nanorider426]

Dane here. I remember most of this. I saw it on the TV in the news. One of my teachers (from Schlelswig) went to Berlin to gather up a piece of the Berlin wall. The piece went around in the classroom. It was so massive a moment, we realized we where holding a piece of history in our hands. The image of the bloodied form of Ceaușescu and his wife were etched in my memory, and that period of events in Eastern Europe was formative of my understanding of history and it sparked my interest in politics and foreign affairs. I'm so glad I was alive to witness this - on the sidelines. I don't envy those that was in the middle of this, but I'm glad that there were enough people that changed the course of the countries of Eastern Europe.