When reviewing the second edition of a reference book, it is often difficult to avoid repeating much of the content of the review of the first edition (RR 2003/14). There is no such difficulty on this occasion. The first edition of the dictionary covered the former Soviet Union and its former satellites; the new one covers only the first of these categories, the other countries (even the Baltic States) now being considered “Central Europe” and covered in a companion volume. The definition of “Eastern Europe” has thus radically altered from its traditional meaning, and in consequence the book is half the length of its predecessor (and its price seems high for the number of pages). The target readership comprises students, teachers, business people and general readers.
The new edition comprises about 600 entries ranging in length from a few lines to several pages, and covering nations, regions, peoples, parties, religious denominations, international organizations, important events and controversies, and a small number of personalities, nearly all holders of the highest political offices in the countries concerned. For the last of these, and for currently active organizations, contact details are provided. The text is updated to early 2007. The supplementary material includes a rather unsophisticated index of persons, and lists of entries grouped under the country to which they relate (a useful feature which might be copied in other reference books). In view of the obscurity of some of the areas covered, it seems a pity there is no map.
Readers in Western Europe will find that the Dictionary leaves them better informed about many political disputes little known to them, but which might yet give rise to a major European crisis; a few minorities, such as Abhkazia and Transnistria, are already operating as effectively independent countries, though internationally unrecognized. Among typical entries, one can discover the fate of descendants of the Ancient Greeks still to be found in the Caucasus (the museum of nationalities); the present status of the Russo‐Estonian border dispute; the extent of over‐fishing of caviar in the Caspian Sea; the address of the national Investment Agency of Belarus; and the identity of the only Buddhist republic in Europe. While a non‐specialist could scarcely be expected to succeed in the traditional reviewer's pastime of detecting errors, I must question the veracity of the statement that independent Moldova still officially employs the Cyrillic script for its language, as it did in Soviet times. But in general the Dictionary includes a great deal of information not easily found in other reference sources, about a region of growing importance in the contemporary world.
