Considers not just the official eastern European state that came into existence in 1993, but the history and development of the region and people through the previous states that incorporated them, including tribal entities, the Hungarian kingdom, and Czechoslovakia. Kirschbaum (political science and international studies, York U., Canada) supports the articles on people, places, events, trends, institutions, and so on, with a brief historical introduction, a chronology, and maps ranging from the ninth century to the present. Well cross- referenced. No index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Includes bibliographical references (p. 195-211).