This dictionary is a companion to the Political and Economic Dictionary of Eastern Europe (RR 2008/052) and follows the same pattern. Its geographical coverage is wider than one might expect from the title, stretching from the Baltic States to those of the Balkans and including all 19 European countries east of Germany except those already covered in the earlier work. It is a commentary on the revolutions of our times that 12 of them did not exist as independent countries in 1990. The anomalous Russian exclave of Kaliningrad is also included.
The dictionary comprises about 500 entries on countries, regions, ethnic groups, places, people (not very many of them), parties, organizations, movements, and controversies important to the area. The longest, running to 3,000‐4,000 words, are on the individual countries; the shortest may have as few as 100 words. Addresses and contact details are provided for the organizations listed and particular attention is paid to economic matters. The date coverage of the articles is almost exclusively for the period since 1945, and especially that since 1990. The most recent events covered are those of April 2010, and thus include the air disaster which then deprived Poland of so many of her leaders. Beyond that point there are a few predictions, notably concerning the dates at which some countries described may hope to join the European Union.
The supplementary material is rather sparse. There is no bibliography or list of websites, nor are there any maps. The index is confined to personal names. However, the list of entries classified by country is a useful feature.
Readers of the dictionary will see much material in it that is unlikely to find a place in most reference works. Which of us is familiar with the ethnic claims of the Csangos or the Pomaks? Who could explain (from the first page alone) the Abrene Question or the Adriatic Charter? Now and again there appears to have been a missed chance; for instance, though important boundary disputes are usually featured, there is no article on that between Slovenia and Croatia that is holding up the entry of the latter country into the European Union (although it is briefly alluded to in the text). Nor is there a mention of the controversy some years ago, an unprecedented case as far as I can remember, when Greece obliged Macedonia to adopt a new flag, the previous one having been held objectionable to Greek sentiments. But in general, the dictionary, in spite of being quite highly priced for its size, will be a desirable purchase for libraries with an interest in a part of the world that does not receive as much attention in the west as it should.
