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Running Head: EUROPEAN 1

Eastern : An Analysis of The Exodus of Eastern Europeans

Jacob A. Boisse

California Maritime Academy

EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 2

Abstract

The human race is a migratory species at its core and has utilized migration as a means to spread all over the Earth. The reason many decide to get up and move is dependent upon social and economic factors that push or pull individuals. Migration and emigration are consistent factors throughout the world, but one point of interest is in . Europe has long been a breeding ground for various cultures to come together and experience one another. Throughout

European history, populations have been uprooted and moved on their own accord. The large phases of European emigration started with the industrial revolution as Europeans moved to the

New World to start over. However, in recent history, the World Wars, Interwar years, and the

Cold War would all bring about the mass emigration of many groups of people. Xenophobia towards ethnic minorities would result in the of those people, and weak economies would be the primary driver for modern-day Europeans to leave their nations of origin. The consequences faced by countries with dwindling populations include brain drain, lack of economic growth, and the pressures to take care of an aging population. These are the main issues that accompany emigration, and various states throughout Eastern and have developed ways to attract their people back. Although that is the case, there has not been much progress with that and people continue to leave, but most of them have the desire to return.

It is not a surprise to find that why people go is economical, at least regarding the new millennium, and that they have no choice in their decision.

EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 3

Introduction

Throughout history, the many populations of the world have moved about for a variety of reasons. Whether that is actual or emigration depends on the circumstances. For a long time, Europe has been the epicenter of immigration and emigration. This thesis covers the analysis of European departure from the 1950s to the new millennium and the factors that drive people to leave their homes for foreign nations. Since the beginning of the Cold War, the ex-

Soviet states have never honestly been on the same level economically with their Western

European counterparts. Economic desolation is more than likely the main reason why so many leave in the first place and along with that, the looming threat of aging populations in Europe is pushing governments to come up with ways of bringing back their youngest and brightest. Most of these states have small communities, to begin with, such as countries like Lithuania, Hungary,

Bulgaria, and Romania. These are examples of states experiencing "brain drain" due to their weak economies, and therefore they lack opportunities. The concept of brain drain is a term that has been used more often in the modern era. It involves a country’s loss of its young and highly educated individuals because of either economic or social issues. Even so, with the decrease in eastern European populations, the vast crisis of today in the Middle East and North

Africa does hold some promise. However, most ex-Soviet states are against taking in immigrants even though it is a plausible solution to curb their dwindling populations. These nations have their way of trying to solve the problem at hand based on moral and societal values.

Today's world is defined by the threats of global warming, turbulent political structures, and a looming threat to along with its consequences. Many people have negative outlooks on the future of human civilization and along with dwindling resources do not see much change happening. A great deal of effort is put into solving these issues. These current EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 4 issues in the world are not the only problems presenting themselves right now. Many other matters including , civil war, and the consistent threat of pathological diseases all have their time the spotlight. On the other hand, other global issues are occurring which contradict the worries of many individuals.

Immigration and emigration have always been prevalent throughout , and it will still be a relevant topic if humans continue to exist on this earth for the next two hundred years. Migrants have been viewed as a detriment to the host country only because of their differences. A prime example of this is the different waves of immigrants that have come to the

United States in its concise history. They have all faced problems by showing up to American shores, yet none understand the reasons immigrants leave their homes in the first place. Many flee for economic reasons and others because of persecution in their native land. The search for new opportunities, however, is similar among all of them.

Europe has a rich history of migratory populations from the countless wars, , and the search for new exploits among themselves. It is common knowledge that a copious number of European immigrants came to the . The mass migration was a result of European dominance on the continent and as a direct result of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century.

The massive exodus of western Europeans to the was the defining event of the 18th and

19th centuries, and although numbers were significant, population pressures were not relevant.

History has not repeated itself in this region, and the opposite is occurring in eastern Europe.

Eastern European states have been under significant pressure as many of their young intellectuals have been leaving ever since the countries broke free of Soviet dominance in the 1990s. The transition to democratic governments allowed people to move about with less restriction and now that a majority of ex-Soviet satellite states have joined the European Union, emigrating to other EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 5

E.U. member states is now forever a right of Eastern Europeans. Many European nations are currently struggling with shrinking populations due to their economic, political, and social conditions affecting how the country works. The consequences of mass emigration are far one of the leading priorities of the governments concerns.

The Collectivist Mindset

At the end of World War One, the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian and Russian

Empires took place, granting independence to countries like , Estonia, and

Czechoslovakia. The nations of Eastern Europe, despite their freedom, were subject to growing spheres of influence from in the west and the in the east. In the decades following the armistice, those nations became the primary targets for conquest. The Allied victory at the end of World War II once again set free most of the eastern European states.

However, all the liberating forces in the east were Soviet, and Stalin had his agenda to work against the western powers. Stalin started to form the in the late stages of the war by annexing those countries on its immediate border as the Soviet Socialist Republic states to create an inner buffer zone.

The rest of Eastern Europe soon followed suit as most them became satellite states which in turn created their replicas of a Soviet style of governance. To the Soviets, these states’ primary purpose was to serve as an outer buffer zone against the western powers and their influence. It varied among the republics, but the conditions were, of course, worse than that of their western counterparts. Citizens within the Eastern Bloc earned less than that of their western peers as well as having the means to advance regarding jobs was virtually non-existent. Most of the emphasis on society was put towards the "motherland," of the Soviet Union. The eastern bloc lost a sense EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 6 of individuality in most aspects of government. Thus, these satellite states were second class to the overall agenda of the communist regime, and they suffered because of it.

The conditions within the eastern bloc were less than favorable compared to other regions in the world as low wages, scarce job opportunities, and small means to progress overall. It is no surprise that millions of people left the area in the years following the end of the Second World

War. Even before the start of the conflict, the USSR had already implemented emigration restrictions on its citizens. It is important to note that the role of how governments behaved had fundamentally changed by this point in time. The Great War had long-lasting effects on how nations identify with one another, and for all them, it was the rise of nationalism. For example,

France is for the French just as much as Czechoslovakia belonged to the Czechoslovaks (Dowty,

1989). Even with later problems that arose from that terrible conflict such as low birth rates and workforce shortages, the fear of immigration was ever prevalent. Although it was a suitable solution to solve the issue of the workforce and meet the demands of many nations, the desire for ethnic homogeneity was at the top of its peak. Therefore, anyone who wanted to emigrate from their home state was traitorous (Dowty, 1989). The belief in these nationalistic ideals to cement a particular point of view and ensured its longevity ensured the further development of narrow minded societies. It is not hard to see how the collectivist minds of the Soviet Union started to take root and eventually how this process progressed. There are no longer individuals in society but instead “bee workers in a hive.” The central importance of community is the progression of the state, not the people.

Emigration Restrictions

For collectivist regimes, the thought of mass emigration and defection from their nations is embarrassing in all matters of the political world. It does not matter what ideology the EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 7 administration is based on since they all use fear to keep people from leaving. For example,

Hitler painted horrible interpretations of Bolshevik influence on German society and the same was right with Stalin against his worries of Nazism (Dowty, 1989). Propaganda plays a very prominent role in the effectiveness of deterring people from leaving. The sign that most totalitarian rulers get their prominence from the boasting and spreading of their evil deeds is worthy of note. For example, the Bolsheviks insurance was the preaching of their distaste for western ways of thinking, making it clear why they made it so hard for their people to leave

(Arendt, 1973). If anything, the advent of the near mid-20th century brought about a new age of nationalism in a more radical way that included the suppression of a nation’s citizens to the power of the central government.

On the horizon of the Bolshevik Revolution, the idea of passports and emigration restrictions undermined the views of the revolution. Lenin's ideals preached the concept of freedom of movement and residence, which fell into accordance with Marxist ideals (Dowty,

1989). Even though that was the case, the tide would swiftly turn back to the ways of the old

Tsarist regimes. An early imposition made by the Russian government during the Tsarist period in the 19th century was that anyone who left the nation for at most five years, lost their citizenship. (Dowty, 1989). Fear is the most basic form of restriction among these types of states; however, the Soviet Union was more thorough in its methods. As time went on, the policies against emigration eventually became more severe.

The Bolsheviks were quick to develop their own rules and regulations on immigration.

They were heavily influenced by the progression of the Russian Civil War, which involved a great deal of foreign intervention. These fears were interpreted as masses of people leaving to fill the ranks of enemies' armies abroad. From that, as said before, the general concept of emigration EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 8 was interpreted as a rejection of the socialist state. The first stages of restrictions were internal passport controls, which would limit the degree to which an individual could move about within the state. The overall situation was that the population was held captive against its own will

(Dowty, 1989). Later, Stalin would further implement harsher restrictions to keep the ugly side of his regime a secret. By 1935, the Soviet Union and its puppet states were effectively sealed off from the outside world where even the most informed foreigner did not know what went on inside the borders of the USSR (Laqueur, 1996). The onset of World War II would further increase these practices to neighbors west of the USSR’s borders and set a precedent for today’s issues.

The First Exodus

The devastation of the Second World War left mainland Europe in ruins and many of its inhabitants displaced from their homes, forced to flee the fighting. Before the start of the war, there were German communities spread all throughout eastern Europe, most of which developed over a prolonged period. Ethnic German communities explain why Germany was able to gain support so quickly within its foreign neighbors; it was all because of considerably large German minorities. Even so, their presence in these non-homogenous countries only made Nazi propaganda more persistent in protecting German minorities abroad. German hegemony over

Europe during the Second World War and the following invasion of the Soviet Union set the

Aryan mindset into place (Prauser and Rees, 2004). The Aryan mentality refers to the “master race” and belief of superiority over any ethnic group that was not German or Anglo-Saxon. It was the primary catalyst for German aggression during World War II. As history would show, the

Soviets would eventually push the back to Germany and capture , throughout the war, there were still plenty of German communities all over Eastern Europe. Soviet animosity EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 9 towards the Germans was brutal, involving rape and murder. Along with the creation of pro-

Soviet governments in the newly forming eastern bloc, an estimated 12 million Germans were expelled from their communities throughout Eastern Europe (Prauser and Rees, 2004). Of those

12 million that fled, two million died of a range of factors and violence was among them

(Prauser and Rees, 2004). This first ‘forced' emigration of German-speaking people was the first phase of the several waves of migration westward and later led to more in the coming decades.

As the years went by, many peoples of Eastern Europe made attempts to emigrate to the west. Even on a multinational scale, both sides made efforts to make the process of leaving the east legally easier. This process was more one-sided towards the west due to the intentions of governments of the east. The Helsinki Accords of 1975 was an agreement between states of the east and the west to govern pressing issues involving the current geopolitical situation. Most questions pertained to the matters of emigration and other such topics related to it such as family contact, rights to international travel, and cultural exchanges (Dale, 2006). The focus of this took place between the two Germanies present at that time in history. The mass migration of ethnic

Germans from the east prompted a response from the Federal Republic of Germany. Their response involved a program of financial incentives that prompted in paying East

Germany for those seeking asylum to be approved and allowed to leave. Tens of thousands of

East Germans applied for asylum in West Germany, and most were accepted, which raised the hopes of those seeking a way out (Dale, 2006). However, this process was undermined by East

Germany which ruined emigration. It would go as far as to single out individuals who were known to apply for the program. In a society that idolizes the state, anyone who is an overall threat to the practices and policies of the government would be removed from the larger picture.

Fleeing from the Eastern Bloc EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 10

Following the massive German expulsion from eastern Europe, there were other groups of people fleeing the Red Army. Many Europeans were grateful to the Soviets for liberating them but in the end, wanted Soviet troops to leave their nations. However, Stalin discussed with the other major Allied powers how Europe would be divided up. His ambitions would be shown through conflict over ideologies instead of executing national aspirations. Poles, Czech,

Romanians, Bulgarians, and Yugoslavs all found their grievances with the new system setting itself into place after the end of the war. It is projected that around 15 million people emigrated from the Soviet-occupied east to the west. This mass emigration primarily occurred in the years following the end of World War Two (Bocker, 1998). After the two most brutal wars ever waged by humanity, Europeans finally started to understand that there are far simpler and less costly ways of settling differences (Kacowicz, 2007). The idea of a collective action has transitioned from the old sense of restriction and aggression into a mutual understanding of one another.

These ideas can teach a concept of "integration" and not necessarily by way of culture. It would take place by sacrifice, and the millions of Eastern Europeans that fled the Soviets were willing to give up any hope of political sovereignty, ethnic-homogeneity, and territorial gain (Kacowicz,

2007). The change was a natural occurrence, and despite the many contradictions to European peace, it has managed to manifest itself in a way that is mutually beneficial.

Their outlook was unfavorable, as their nations saw five years of war and even though one occupier had been defeated another had taken its place. This progression of totalitarianism affected the lives of many since it was a radical new form of dictatorship on the continent. In the years before the Second World War, this type of totalitarianism had been secluded to Germany,

Japan, , and the Soviet Union. Most governments of eastern Europe were accustomed to semi-functional social liberalism democracies (Laqueur, 1996). In any case, most of the old EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 11 regimes before was in a way less totalitarian than those of the mid-20th century.

Those governments certainly did not use mass propaganda to control the population nor did they try and justify themselves with pseudo-legitimist elections. (Laqueur 1996). The new regulations of the Eastern Bloc unintentionally created a push factor, which sent millions of eastern

Europeans westward. That, in turn, caused the harsh restrictions from the regimes as an attempt to stabilize their new power and somehow ensure their legitimacy.

The Preliminary Stages of “Brain Drain”

Brain drain is a concept that has been around for a long time but has indeed found a foothold in defining the evolving situation in Eastern Europe today. However, its roots reach further back in the history with the mass migration of people west. Brain Drain involves the leaving of young and usually highly educated individuals from society due to a variety of reasons ranging from economic to political. These are critical to the functioning and overall survival of any organization. All nations experienced this issue through the entirety of the Cold War, most of them dealing with workforce issues and considerable losses regarding their economic growth.

The scramble this caused amongst governments is unprecedented and more pressing than external threats. The most extensive example would be as it lay directly on the border with the west and instituted the to stem emigration from progressing any further.

Eastern Germany was at the epicenter of the Iron Curtain, which fell upon Europe in the late 1940s. The new nation was the last major stopping point for many migrants looking for refuge in the west. East Germany's population swelled with all kinds of people from various places within the Eastern Bloc even when many East Germans at the time were fleeing the country. Vast swathes of people from diverse backgrounds, teachers, lawyers, engineers and tens EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 12 of thousands of farmers were all on the move. The movement of over a third of East German farmers leaving the country had a massive impact on the ability to efficiently produce food

(Dale, 2006). The consequences were constant food shortages which added unnecessary pressure to those who had stayed. Overall, the country lost 40% of its working age population, causing strains on the government. This example of brain drain is a negative one at best, but even with the loss of so many people, there were still positives (Dowty, 1989). The massive emigration consisted of dissidents, which alleviated social pressures that affected other Soviet bloc states.

Until the Soviet Union finally clamped down on emigration, the damage done by the loss of thousands of young and skilled individuals put the Eastern Bloc in a precarious state. Most of their economies were in a stalemate between decline and growth because the narrow heavy emphasis that central planners had placed on their savings, leading to the departure of many

Eastern and Central Europeans westward. The focus on massive industry and corporate agriculture pushed aside smaller aspects of the economies like everyday goods which are vital for sustaining larger commodities such as hospitals, housing, and outlets. Nearing the end of the

1980s and with increasing pressure from the west as well as internally, the Soviet Union began to reluctantly implement new economic policies that allowed for a mixture of communism and capitalism. The combination was too toxic for the Soviet Union, and soon after that its satellite states started to make the transition to market economies which would be better for them overall.

Transitioning to A Market Economy

The events of history define humanity, and the constant movement of individuals is a clear image of that. The past has repeated itself in some way or another as the same issues still exist today even without the push factors of the Soviet Union or communism. The process in which emigration has occurred on the European continent is natural. Many realize that there are EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 13 more natural ways of finding new opportunities. That is not to say that the underlying image of emigration is solely based on materialistic reasons. Many individuals motivate themselves for political or economic rights, which is attributed to be the main reasons for many eastern

European youths leaving today. For example, the sudden transition of Eastern European economies led to conditions being worse than they were when the Soviets were still in power

(The Associated Press, 2000). There was a clear sign that the old communist system had many faults; however, it again provided many with the means of living. Regarding the late 1990s, any chance of economic stability in the short run would be stripped away by the rapid privatization programs that took effect.

As Eastern European states were in transition and restructuring their economies, there was an effort for ex-Soviet states to create organizations to protect themselves from Russian influence and power. These groups were intended to support one another economically like that of the European Union; however, most of the former Soviet States entered organizations like

Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) or the Eurasian Economic Community. The organizations’ primary goals were to create an attempt to set up economic unity between and its close neighbors, an attempt to re-establish a sphere of influence. The Russian Federation heads most of these organizations. Most of the original Warsaw Pact states such as Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Romania, as well as the

Baltic States, were hesitant of Russia's involvement and turned towards joining the European

Union and NATO.

An Expanding NATO and the European Union

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union were significant pull factors for Eastern and Central European states to shift westward and away from EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 14

Russian influence. These two organizations gave new opportunities for economic growth and the ability to integrate into to a group that thrived on mutual protection, free trade, and freedom of movement between member states. NATO is appealing to many European nations because of

Article 5 of the treaty, which says that all member states must come to the aid of any member state that comes under armed attack. NATO was the first incentive for countries to band together against a common enemy, which in this case was the Soviet Union. Even with the end of the

Cold War and overall de-escalation, NATO still expanded itself beyond its original borders also though they promised not to do so. This provocation against Russian influence in the region brought in other countries like Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. These countries were invited to join NATO in the late 1990s, and all of them accepted without hesitation. Move forward a couple of years into the new millennium; seven more Eastern European states had joined the military alliance by the year of 2004.

The European Union has been an organization that is meant to encourage collaborative efforts and removes any animosity between its member states that would lead to war. The

European Union has now asserted itself as a strong forward-thinking political and economic union of states. Its primary mission is to ensure that policies support the consistent free movement of people, services, and goods (Bradbury, 2009). The Treaty of Maastricht was a defining document that formed the three main principles of the European Union. Those laws relate to the European Community, the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and an emphasis on cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs. These three principles are the catalyst for former Soviet satellite states want to join the EU. When they entered their citizens started to receive help from all the opportunities now opened for them. EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 15

The morals and principles of the European Union are defined by the first pillar which involves the European Community; its underlying task is to set up a single market that supported various economic activities and an elevated level of employment between men and women

(Bradbury, 2009). In principle, everyone of any class and gender gave them the right to pursue their ambitions in a competitive market. The first pillar is the embodiment of the transition of

European states to democracy. The secondary component emphasized a shared foreign and security policy, something that was crucial for the ex-Soviet countries who were looking for a means to block any influence from the . The plan said that it was its fundamental goal to safeguard the interests, shared values, and interests of those within the Union (Bradbury, 2009).

Its policy was an effort that further develops and supports the democracies that made up the organization. Such an effort was complemented by the introduction of Eastern European states into the European Union. Lastly, the third and final pillar illustrates the importance of managing the safety of the union's citizens. It covers a wide variety of areas such as combating , encouraging judicial cooperation for legal matters and controlling illegal immigration.

(Bradbury, 2009). These issues were crucial to developing a sense of security within a country, and those that had been subjected to Soviet dominance were all too aware of its consequences.

The importance of this treaty is that it defines the answers which most Eastern and Central

European states sought after. Their transitions, although rocky, were done to better their societies and look forward to a better future.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the European Union looked eastward as the gateway to further expansion was now open. The former Soviet states eventually became attracted to the opportunities that the EU had to offer. Many them joined in 2004 such as the

Czech Republic, the Baltic States, Poland, and Hungary. As time went on, a few more post- EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 16 socialist bloc-states would join the organization. Even more would adopt the European Union’s policies which gave them access to the trade network, overall services, as well as the adoption of a new currency. The euro currency has become the second largest reserve currency and has significantly increased the growth of most member states’ economies. This growth has been achieved despite the most recent fiscal crisis in Europe involving the collapse of Greece’s economy along with the faltering economies of and .

Privatization, Poverty, and Death

The break-up of the Soviet Union was a result of the economic stagnation that took place from overspending on military capabilities. The economic policies of the late 1980s brought economic ruin to Soviet states because, in the end, they were too reliant on the Soviet Union for commercial support. This chain of events led to a severe breakdown of ex-Soviet economies. The transition for most post-Soviet economies to a market economy from a command economy occurred after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. However, most Eastern European states experienced varying results due to deficiencies from trying to restructure their economies. It caused a sharp decline in a majority of their Gross Domestic Products (GDP) dropped by 40%, worse than the Great Depression in the United States. The drastic nature of all of this resulted in the redirection of resources from health, education, and social welfare programs to a prioritization of capitalist priorities (University of Oxford, 2009). It undermined the general population and led to an increased degree of poverty and economic inequality (University of

Oxford, 2009). The sudden transition was so crippling that it led to the deaths of over one million individuals, who were of working age, through the entirety of the Eastern European region.

Today Poland, Romania and most notably Bulgaria, are dealing with the issue of emigration on a new scale which has not reflected what was experienced during the time of the EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 17

Cold War regarding migration. Unlike Romania and Bulgaria, Poland has a much better economy along with a higher standard of living. Regardless, the Polish economy still does not compare to the economies of Western Europe. From an economic perspective, these nations' economies transitioned too quickly once socialism fell. The liberalization of prices and easing of barriers against tariffs crippled the domestic outputs of all Soviet states (Hardt, 1995). Economic stagnation had been accelerated by the fact that the Soviet Union was the primary exporter and importer for the Eastern Bloc. So naturally, the overall output in their industries fell and following that there would be a massive loss of economic activity (Hardt, 1995). It is then no surprise that many people found no reason to stay in a crumbling environment when other opportunities exposed themselves elsewhere. These economic factors would be the primary driver for most when it comes to deciding to leave.

The New “Brain Drain”

The collapse of communism seems like a distant memory to most as the present day has its plethora of issues. Most of the brain drain that occurred early on in Europe was experienced in

Western Europe as many emigrants left for the United States in the mid-2000s. Even though that is the case, the issues that were made relevant in the past have not gone away. The concept is about brain drain, the problem that has many Central and Eastern European countries expressing concern over the loss of highly skilled workers to Western Europe. Even as some economies improve in Eastern and Central Europe, some do not see an end to the exodus. There are specific countries which are experiencing a brain drain, primarily just before and right after they had decided to join the European Union. Two of those countries are Poland and Lithuania. Both nations, have strong economies along with high standards of living, so it leaves many to wonder why people still choose to go. EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 18

Poland, Solidarity, and Its Connection to Britain

Poland has had a long history of being dominated by its larger neighbors such as the

Russian Empire before the 20th century, then Nazi Germany at the start of World War II, and then again with the Soviet Union at the beginning of the Cold War. That is only a snippet of Poland’s extensive history, yet it exposes the vulnerability of its geographical position. In modern times, the country has experienced the same route as most other former satellite states regarding their efforts to transform their economy from a socialist-planned into a market economy. The nation had its difficulties regarding social and economic standards; however, with time it eventually succeeded in improving its conditions. The mistakes made by the economic transition programs which were implemented in the early 1990s to enable Poland to shift away from communism and towards democracy was a poor example. The system put into effect in Poland failed to meet even the most basic criteria that constitute a liberal-democratic institution (Kowalik, 2012). From

1990 to 2005, there was a decrease in work environments by five million, along with the removal of two million individuals from the country’s working population. Poland soon boasted one of the highest unemployment rates, a staggering 16 to 19 percent, among its European counterparts

(Kowalik, 2012). The sustainable development of a nation relies on changes in ideas and interests. The system relied upon sudden and forced changes to subject the country to change. It failed, no doubt, because of its similarity to the Bolshevik Revolution and how that was only an illusion of liberal socialism.

The Solidarity movement had led to a vital congregation of working aged Poles to form a resistance against communism, an estimated 10 million workers or a third of Poland's working- age population were a part of the union. It played a pivotal role in breaking Poland free of its chains from the Soviets. Such movements are based on shared interests, goals, and objectives. Its EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 19 ideals were the main push factor for economic and social change despite backlash from the government. Solidarity would be an influential force in the years to come for Europe. The concept of Solidarity itself became one of the six principles in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

Poland's emigration crisis is not as severe as it once was when the Soviet Union dominated its government compared to the country's position now. However, it is important to mention that the issue is still relevant for Poland as thousands of experienced workers have left the country for the . England has always been a favorite destination for Polish migrants having its roots planted shortly after the end of the Second World War. Those Polish-

British communities left behind family and friends back home and therefore that has resulted in a steady flow of migrants. After the fall of communism in 1989, the influx of migrants increased due to a higher allowance of free travel and England's granting of free movement to immigrant workers, gave rise to new problems for the newly democratic countries. It appears past migrations of Eastern Europeans, in general, were changing from economic to social reasons. For

Polish migrants, they began to move for economic and social rights and continued gradual settlement into the United Kingdom (White, 2016). It is no surprise that Poles have now become the most prominent foreign national group in the United Kingdom. As with any migrant population, they have not received much of a warm welcome; as their numbers increased, native

Britons began to fear a cut in wages for locals to compensate for Polish workers. They started to have stereotypes such as the “Polish plumber or builder,” something like the stereotypes made in the United States (Pruszewicz, 2014). For example, in the United States tend to identify Mexican immigrants with cheap labor. They are not wrong because they're a lot of construction workers who are of Mexican descent. Poland's history with the United Kingdom is EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 20 the leading reason so many have left Poland in the first place. Since the beginning, Polish migrants ended up in Britain during the Second World War, they have been through the entirety of Britain’s history and are now more than likely out staying their stay. However, although that is the case, the situation in Poland has been improving nonetheless and providing new incentives for Poles to return home.

Poland’s decision to join the European Union and NATO in 2004 was by far the best decision it could have made regarding improving its economic status. By 2007 the nation started to show promise with strong economic growth, and the growing strength of the zloty (Polish currency) ultimately reduced the number of Poles migrating to the United Kingdom and encouraged those abroad to return home (Tchorek, 2008). For example, the Polish government instituted media outlets to offer incentives for Poles to stay in the country. Polityka, a Polish magazine, launched a ‘Stay With Us’ program that offered monetary incentives for young Poles to stay and work in the country. It is one of many programs designed to attract and keep its people within the country’s border. In the areas of construction, software, and general IT, the number of jobs has been increasing, bringing back many Polish immigrants. However, Poland's nurses have been purging themselves from the home country. For example, in the same year that the European Union expanded, an opening of a wider job market led to a great many nurses' moving to Western Europe for better-paying positions (Lesniowska, 2008). Although it has been over a decade since the wider European job market opened to Polish workers, the number of

Polish nurses in Poland has decreased dramatically since then. To put it into perspective, by 2008 at least 2,139 Polish nurses had left the country for a variety of Western European countries. The two countries that have received the most nurses are Great Britain and Italy, both have received about a thousand or near that number (Lesniowska, 2008). Poles are gradually returning to EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 21

Poland over time, although it is not in significant numbers. The economic incentives seem to be the most widely implemented solution to try and solve Poland’s emigration crisis.

Lithuania’s Precarious Position

Lithuania, like Poland, has had a long history of being conquered by their larger neighbors. Whether it was the Germans or the Russians, Lithuanian independence has never lasted too long, and Poland has violated its sovereignty in the 1920s. The unpredictability of the interwar period could be the start of the Lithuanian exodus from the region. At the beginning of the Second World War, Lithuania was sandwiched between Germany, Poland, and the Soviet

Union. It was considered that the territory would cease to exist if the three nations surrounding it went to war. History would show otherwise since both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union would end up fighting the war’s most vicious battles on Lithuanian territory (Buttar, 2013). The war would cause the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Lithuanian casualties due to the German and Soviets purge. The rounding up and murder of Lithuanian and the following re- annexation of Lithuania by the Soviets led to the further of people. Overall, from the start of the Second World War to the beginning of the Cold War, Lithuania lost around 780,000 people (Buttar, 2013). Soviet occupation would bring thousands to their deaths, and the

Lithuanians would regain their freedom in March of 1990 when a newly elected government would be put into place. The country voted to reinstate their independence, and of course, it was declared illegal by the Soviet president at the time, Gorbachev. This event led to heated relations between the Soviet president the Lithuanian head of state; it generated considerable concern among other countries in the region that it would reignite the Cold War (Dawisha and Parrott,

1997). The struggle of breaking away from the Soviet Union motivated many over the years to attempt to flee, to the point where there was an 800,000-strong community in the EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 22

United States near the end of the Cold War and dissolution of the Soviet Union. Explaining the overwhelming support that was given by outside groups to condemn what was looked a violation of international law because the Soviet Union chose to enforce its ideological views on

Lithuania.

This small nation, like others, had a challenging time transitioning from a planned economy to a market-based economy. Lithuania's effort to build a stable economic structure along with a reliable and robust currency was undermined by a non-aggressive strategy to attain a broader free market. Even so, the country was praised by outside bodies for its approach towards liberalizing prices, Lithuania had a well-educated labor force along with cemented

Western-oriented business models (Dawisha and Parrott, 1997). It is hard to even consider that

Lithuania had such a loss of individuals once it joined the European Union in 2004. Even so, the bringing about of more competitive job markets is the catalyst for Lithuanian emigration.

Coupled with a more than lackluster economy that did not rival the economies of Western

Europe, any sense of a promising future within the country is fundamentally non-existent.

The Baltic nation is one of the rare cases where a country that holds high standards of living statistics is facing mass migration on a scale not seen by other nations of its status.

Becoming even more apparent when the country was struck with another wave of mass emigration due to the economic crisis of 2008. As with a majority of the rest of the world, the

Lithuanian economy took a sharp downturn because of that and its GDP fell 15 percent

(Klusener et al, 2015). The relaxation of labor restrictions from Western Europeans gave new opportunities for primarily ethnic Slavs who were residing in the country at the time. Lithuanians started to emigrate after the economic downturn in the late 2010s. Regarding how the Lithuanian government is attempting to combat this has come in several phases since the Baltic state joined EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 23 the EU. One policy that was introduced had to deal with the international implications of migration, and it was called the Strategy of Nation Population Policy. This procedure directly addresses the importance of the freedom of movement within the European Union as well as the issues related to illegal immigration (Klusener et al, 2015). This document accepted the topics associated with emigration, as well as its benefits describing return migration. Another policy that was utilized and implemented by Lithuania in 2007, the Emigration Migration Regulation

Strategy that focused primarily on managing the demand of the labor market. It served to evaluate and control the factors of economic emigration from Lithuania itself and revitalize motives to encourage the return migration of economic migrants (Klusener et al, 2015). The underlying theme of Lithuanian government policies seems to be more focused on return migration overall instead of integrating immigrants from foreign countries or even encouraging immigration. At least that was the case in the first decade of the millennium. It explains that

Lithuanian is a homogenous society and with that their emphasis on return migration makes sense.

Fight or Flight in The

Lithuania and Poland are only a few examples of Eastern and Central European countries that are dealing with mass emigration. Specific areas of Eastern Europe like the Balkan region are suffering the most because their geographical position. The region serves as the gateway between and Europe, meaning it was the epicenter between the empires which dominated in their respective times. Balkan states have been dominated by the Russian, Austrian, and Ottoman

Empires who would more than usually fight their conflicts among those territories.

The overall history of the Balkans is turbulent, and that stems from the late 19th century and early 20th century periods. The rise of nationalism in the Balkans can be attributed to the EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 24 plethora of conflicts that have taken place throughout time. After centuries of experiencing foreign occupation, the time seemed ripe for uprising and rebellion. Nationalism rose in all areas of the Balkans with the Serbs, Bulgarians, , Romanians all going through their internal struggles against the Ottomans. Most notably, the rise of the Western notion of nationalism under the Ottomans caused the breakdown of Ottoman concept of millet. This idea allowed for religious groups to efficiently rule themselves at their discretion. From this, the idea of a singular state independent from a more significant entity, in this case, the , began to fuel flames of revolution (Jelavich and Jelavich, 2012). With this, came the influence from other major European powers such as Great Britain and who saw the potential in Greece’s strategic position in the Mediterranean and the Balkans. Through Britain and France came the encouragement to set up a centralized government to ensure that the ensuing struggle would be advantageous (Jelavich and Jelavich, 2012). One of the first sparks of nationalism can be linked back to the Greek War of Independence which lasted from 1821 to 1829 and was a victory for the

Greeks that led to the establishment of the first Hellenic Republic. The underlying failure of the

Ottomans, the instance of Greek nationalism was a significant factor in allowing the Ottomans to acknowledge the proliferation of this concept in their European holdings.

The Serbians would share their own experience with warfare regarding achieving their independence. The direct cause of this originated from the country’s active and autonomous of Eastern Orthodox . As well as the mismanagement of the Serbian core in

Belgrade by Ottoman officials both military and political. The first Serbian uprising began in

1804 and would last until 1813.The progression of the rebellion became increasingly more violent as what initially started out to end the tyranny of janissaries from consolidating power to fighting a full-fledged war against the Ottomans. However, the odds were stacked against the EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 25

Serbian rebels, being numerically outnumbered as well as inferior to the Ottoman military. An important note, the Russian Empire was highly involved in the affairs between Slavs and the

Ottomans (Jelavich and Jelavich, 2012). They intervened to undermine the political, cultural, and religious agenda of the Ottoman Empire. Russian intervention was no doubt evident, but other events then would distract Russia’s plans overall. Facing invasion from the French in 1812, the

Russians had to cease all aid to the rebels in Serbia. The Russian betrayal was unknown to the

Serbians and would eventually prove to be disastrous for them as they could not hope to defeat the Turks on their own (Jelavich and Jelavich, 2012). The outcome of the war would end in disaster for the Serbs and a quarter of the population would be exiled to the Hapsburg (Austrian)

Empire. As a result, most of them being rebel forces. The Ottoman backlash constituted abolishment of all autonomous Serbian institutions, mass killing of civilians, and countless individuals being sold into slavery. Tensions would soon rise again and lead to a second uprising that would bring about the creation of a semi-autonomous Serbian state in 1815.

Unlike the Greeks and the Serbians, the Bulgarians would take a more passive approach to gaining their independence from the Ottoman Empire. The nationalist movement did not focus on aggressive means but prioritizing negotiations for cultural and religious purposes. However, even with trying to take a more indirect approach to the matter, the conflict would eventually break out. By the beginning of the 1870s, revolutionary organizations started to make themselves known in Bulgaria. Over time, tensions would boil over in the April uprising of 1876. The April

Uprising was merely an insurrection by Bulgarian revolutionaries with the goal of establishing an actual Bulgarian state. The revolt was brutally oppressed by Ottoman irregulars (military personnel), and series of atrocities made against the Bulgarians followed, somewhere between

30,000 and 100,000 were massacred (Jonassohn, 1999). The actual amount of people that died is EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 26 still unclear as there were varying reports of the numbers. The vivid accounts from European reporters who visited the region and saw the aftermath of the massacres turned European public opinion against the Ottomans. A British writer by the name of Januarius MacGahan who had traveled to the town of Batak, where he stated that of the total population of seven thousand inhabitants, five thousand were killed (MacGahan, 1876). Most were beheaded and burned alive, with their bodies strewed about the village (MacGahan, 1876). This event gained the infamous name of “Bulgarian Horrors” and this would spark action from outside players elsewhere in

Europe who significantly favored the side of the Bulgarians. Russia would go to war with the

Ottoman Empire and be victorious, leading to the Treaty of San Stefano that was signed on the

3rd of March 1878. Like other rebellions and the oppression that would follow it, it only furthered the Bulgarian desire for independence. Ottoman policies that were made to deal with these events were outdated and misunderstood that times were changing.

The results led to outcry and anger from all over Europe. It ignited a continental effort, called the Constantinople Conference which was held between the great powers of Europe at the time to address the issues present in Ottoman territories involving the April Uprising and other brutally crushed rebellions in the past. It was a means to reform Ottoman practices in the region, reducing their influence in the area and granting more independence to those nations. The Turks would refuse to abide by the demands of the European powers. Russia would have none of it and declare war against the Ottoman Empire. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877 to 1878 would result in the formal declarations of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania. Russia’s intentions were not entirely all for securing the independence of fellow Slavs but also for redeeming itself from its defeat in the Crimean War. Regardless, the beginning of separatist movements had resulted in significant migrations of people all across the board regardless of what country they EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 27 identified with. It was the start of the devastation from two World Wars and occupation by the

Soviet Union had not yet taken place. The rise of nationalism within the Balkan nations could be considered the preliminary catalyst for migration, preceding what was again to come in the 20Th and 21st centuries.

Bulgaria and the “Wrong Side of History”

Bulgaria has had a long history, regarding the 20th century, of being on the wrong side of history. The two World Wars of the 20th century and subsequent Soviet domination in Eastern

Europe led to a migration problem within Bulgaria that is still relevant even today. Since the country’s entrance into the 20th century, it has always found itself on the losing side, and after losing three significant wars, Bulgarians might have had a good reason to leave. This period is from the years 1900 to 1946; it had a lasting effect on how the country would transition into s

Soviet satellite and eventually becoming a democratic institution.

The first two Balkan Wars at the start of the century occurred in 1912 and 1913 as if they were consecutive. The First Balkan War was a noble effort made by Bulgaria, Montenegro,

Greece, and Serbia to remove the Ottomans from the peninsula ever further. Significant elements of their ethnic populations had remained under Ottoman rule although all four of them had achieved independence. It was due to the Great Powers arguing amongst themselves and failed to ensure that the Ottomans would abide by the reforms put in place and it forced the Balkan states to implement their solution (Hall, 2000). The allied force would do surprisingly well against the

Ottomans from the start of the war. Pushing the Ottomans off the European continent entirely and taking vast swathes of Ottoman holdings. However, confusion and discord among the allied nations regarding who gets what territories (Hall, 2000). A dissatisfied Bulgaria took matters into their own hands and decided to work against its former allies Serbia and Greece to gain more EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 28 territory. This sentiment was because the country had sustained the most significant number of casualties among all the allied nations. Therefore, Bulgaria felt entitled to more of the spoils of war (Hall, 2000). It resulted in the start of the Second Balkan War which pitted Bulgaria against its former allies along with interventions against the country from Romania in the north and the

Ottoman Empire in the south-east. With pressure from all sides, Bulgaria could not sustain a war on so many different fronts. The subsequent Bulgarian surrender in 1913 had stripped most of the territories won in the year prior. The loss of so much land would effectively reduce Bulgaria in size and leave ethnic Bulgarians outside of its borders in large numbers.

Following the two Balkan Wars, Bulgaria would again find itself involved in a war on the

"wrong side" of the Central Powers in World War One. Bulgaria was isolated, surrounded by hostile neighbors and lost much of the support it had from the Great Powers. Even at the beginning of the First World War, Bulgaria was hesitant to join the war as it was still feeling the adverse effects to its economy and demographics that came from the Balkan Wars. However, its strategic position and firm military establishment made it a valuable ally for both sides of the conflict. Because of anti-Bulgarian sentiment before the war, in France and Russia, thus the

Central Powers persuaded Bulgaria to join in 1915. Bulgaria would have some successes in the war as it helped defeat Serbia along with its allies and prevent Romania from fulfilling its foreign policy ambitions (Crampton, 2007). However, Bulgaria situation would become more precarious once the Allied forces made landfall in Greece and the war in the Balkans turned into a war of attrition, a type of warfare that Bulgaria was not prepared to fight. The outcome of the war would again bring the country to a national crisis as it was in 1913. It would cause Bulgaria to give up occupied territories, additional territories, and pay hefty war reparations. The Second World War would also bring about the same outcome even though this time they were forcibly coerced into EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 29 the war by Hitler’s Germany (Crampton, 2007). Their motives were still moved by territorial ambition in the Balkans, but the climax of the battle, Germany’s invasion of Russia, was something the Bulgarians were not ready to comply with. Individuals became uneasy and were fearful of what the Soviets would do. The consequence would soon follow as Nazi Germany was beaten back and Bulgaria would be enveloped by the Soviet steamroller that was moving across

Europe to Berlin.

Bulgaria would have its monarchy abolished by the rising communist power within the state in 1946. Shifting from a monarchist society to that of a communist one was abrupt and destructive. The agricultural collectivities led to deaths of thousands of people, while labor camps at their height sent 100,000 Bulgarian off to faraway lands like the Soviet Far East

(Valentino, 2013). It is estimated that at least 31,000 were killed under the Bulgarian communist regime from 1944 to 1989. Unlike most other Eastern European nations, there was not a great deal of ethnic Bulgaria emigration from the country during the reign of communism. However, the Bulgarian communist party worked against many of the hundreds of thousands of ethnic

Turks living within the Peoples Republic of Bulgaria. Their forced assimilation policies were to efficiently remove unfamiliar cultures, other than Bulgaria, from the country and would its severity would peak in 1989. As of 1989, the Turks of Bulgaria were expelled, an estimated amount of 300,000 Turks was exiled from Bulgaria. In consequence, this caused a significant drop in food production among the southern regions (Crampton, 2007). Here there is a clear indication of the Bulgarian society trying to remove trying to remove the “unwanted” and rebirth the nation as one whole entity or unit. Almost befitting of a communist style regime to pursue as different makeups, such as Muslim Turks, would be detrimental to its practices. In the years after the fall of the Bulgarian Communist Party saw much political development without effectively EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 30 changing its structure. The new government had failed to make the profound, macroeconomic adjustments which the modern market economy functioned. It would be the financial collapse of

1996 to 1997 that brought the structural change needed like that of how the Communists consolidated power in the 1940's. Eventually, a stable government in the late 1990s would start to shift Bulgaria towards the European Union and its policies.

Bulgaria coming into the new millennium has never fully recovered from its transition to a market economy in the 1990s. The economy today is by far one of the weakest, besides

Romania, economies within the European Union. For example, Bulgarian politicians found it much easier to join NATO than that of the EU because of the country's actions during the

Kosovo crisis in the late 1990s. Bulgaria's economy still did not meet the requirements of the

European Union, and they would not join the organization until 2004. A large part of Bulgarian demographics has been defined by the plight of ethnic minorities within Bulgaria, like the

Greeks, Turks, Roma, and Jews, which have all been prosecuted resulting in large groups of them leaving. Whether it was because of war or persecution of religion, thousands had fled, and that was only the beginning (Crampton, 2007). In modern times, the population of Bulgaria has declined since 1989. From 1990 to the end of 2004, the population had decreased by a million, a fall of 10.48 percent. Not only that, but the birth rate has steadily declined from an all-time high of 14.9 births per thousand in 1950 to 1.09 births per thousand in 2004. As of today, the country still has one of the lowest birthrates in all of Europe, and the possibility of the population declining at most a third is highly likely. As with most other Eastern European nations, the number of Bulgarians leaving the country only exacerbated the issue, as it is estimated that more than three-quarters of a million young and highly educated Bulgarians have left the country

(Crampton, 2007). That amount is predicted to increase as most young individuals plan to go the EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 31 country in the future. In most recent years, the European labor market has opened to Bulgarians, allowing them more freedom of movement when it comes to choosing where to work. Before, when the country first joined the European Union, there were some temporary obstacles put in place against its citizens by other member states for seven years after Bulgaria’s membership was Commented [G1]: Inserted: h granted (Bilefsky, 2014). Since then, a right amount has already acted on this opportunity as they can move about with fewer restrictions. The development of Bulgaria and its gradual expulsion of ethnic minorities in the past led to the ultimate departure of native Bulgarians because of the country’s nodal position between the east and the west.

The Scapegoat That is Serbia

Serbia has always been the troublemaker in the Balkan region and is usually the more active type than sitting on the sidelines to wait and see what happens. Consequentially, the Serbs have been put to blame for a variety of things such as starting the First World War, to being accused of injustice towards the Croats, and as well as initiating a genocide against Yugoslav minorities. Their place in the issue of mass emigration may be as significant than others, but even so, they are one of many small Eastern European states that are left out of the lights of the Commented [G2]: Inserted: ive world stage because of that fact. A large part of Serbia's modern history is involved with the First

World War and the country’s formation of Yugoslavia along with several other states of the late

Austro-Hungarian Empire.

At the helm of the united federation was Serbia, it had established its control over the new country after the end of the First World War with its monarchs becoming head of state.

Unfortunately, the onset of the Second World War would change that with the Axis invasion of

1941 and the country's partitioning. At the end of the war, Yugoslavia would be controlled by various communist factions from each state and come together to form the Federal Republic of EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 32

Yugoslavia. The formation of this country would still have Serbia in the front seat but end with the deaths of 60,000 to 70,000 Serbs (Magas, 1993). As well as a sizeable political emigration of anti-Communist regime members in the 1940s. The Communist way of thinking is the result of the traditionalist policies of a one-party state, which involved a forced process of assimilation against minorities. Mass centralization in all areas of society, and the mass deportations, as well as killings of individuals, would leave the nation in a fragile state (Dragojevic, 2014). In 1989, the new Serbian president, Slobodan Milosevic planned to reduce the independent power within the regions of Kosovo and Vojvodina to merge power (Magas, 1993). The following outcry came from other communist leaders of the federation and sparked nationalism all over the country, eventually leading to Yugoslavia's breakup. The Yugoslav War ignited out of racial tensions and eventually evolved into a series of ethnically-based wars that lasted from 1991 to 1999. Many of the former republics were fighting one another but most notably was the intention of Serbia and

Montenegro who still considered themselves to be the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Serbia’s intentions in the war were labeled to preserve the integrity of the whole of

Yugoslavia. Serbia would do this of course by crushing the secessionist governments. However, those intentions were false, and the increasingly nationalist rhetoric of the Serbian government pushed the cause towards preserving and creating a Greater Serbia. The defining reason for this was the hundreds of ethnic Serbian communities in the neighboring republics who were opposed to countries like Croatia, Bosnia, and Macedonia from declaring independence from Yugoslavia.

The wars were brutal and foreign intervention from the United Nations and NATO to bring an end to the fighting. By the end of the combined wars, four million people throughout the former

Yugoslavia had been displaced. Of that, about a million Serbs were internally displaced from various regions in and outside of Serbia. The atrocities committed by ethnic Serbian rebels would EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 33 result in the following backlash from enemy factions such as the Albanians and those from

Kosovo.

The wars fought on the peninsula did not directly affect Serbia, it brought hundreds of thousands of into its borders. Most of these refugees were minority Serb communities from Croatia and Bosnia (Dragojevic, 2014). However, the Yugoslav war caused a large contingent of Serbs to leave the country in the 1990s. It is important to consider that the internal migration rates between Serbia and the post-Yugoslav states were high, especially involving migrants from Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Of course, that changed with the events of the 1990s and the breakup of Yugoslavia turned internal migration into ‘international migration’ (King et al, 2013). The main reason was primarily political and economical, a majority of which consisted of highly educated people that moved to Western European countries. By the time of Serbia's revival and separation with Montenegro, the total number of

Serbs that had emigrated from the country was just over 2,000,000 people which accounted for about five percent of the total population. That number would double to 4,000,000 by 2008 due to a more relaxed and open European job market as well as opportunities elsewhere in the world.

The Serbian brain drain is taking a toll on various aspects of society. One such aspect is in the medical field, like that of Poland, the number of health professionals in Serbia is decreasing due to the lack of career opportunities and low wages (Dragojlo, 2016). The country has fewer medical workers than most European countries, and on a micro level, Serbia lacks 13, 000 medical workers in certain regions. The essential point of this phenomenon is that most of the young health practitioners have no reason to stay in the country when they can go somewhere else and make ten times as much (Dragojilo, 2014). The structure of the Serbian economy has also been a driving force for many Serbs to emigrate elsewhere in Europe. It is obvious that EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 34

Serbia was in disarray at the turn of the millennium because of war and the negative effects of economic sanctions because of Serbia's actions in the 1990s. A weak economy, even though it was recovering, was even further stalled because of the global financial crisis in 2008. The following years would result in a loss of thousands of jobs. 600,000 jobs or employment relationships were lost by the year of 2012, and in 2015 the number would be significantly lower.

Serbia's economic transition led to a collapse of its industrial base which, in the 1990s, was the primary driver of their economy. Since then, that sector has become irrelevant, and now the services sector has become the leading contributor to the economy (IBNA Newsroom, 2017).

The transition called for a new set of work skills, in which most Serbian workers did not have, and a significant amount of the highly skilled Serbian workers had already left. This created a shortage of qualified labor, and in turn, this development posed an obstacle to existing companies as they were not able to meet their needs regarding output (IBNA Newsroom, 2017).

The educational system in Serbia is heavily criticized for being of inferior status and not preparing pupils well enough for the limited job market. At least 33 percent of college graduates are unemployed, and a sizable portion chooses fields of work for which there is low demand

(IBNA Newsroom, 2017). It often translates to graduates being overqualified for their jobs. To make matters worse, the ratio between old and young people in Serbia is higher regarding older people. Many of those that leave are young, and as an ever-increasing number of young individuals go Serbia, there would not be enough people to take care of the elderly in the coming decades.

Serbia is not like many of the other cases because it is not a part of the European Union.

Most of the other states that have been addressed have namely found their issue of emigration routed with their accession into the European Union. However, Serbia is different in that EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 35 circumstance, and although Serbians are leaving the country for similar reasons as other Eastern and Central Europeans are going their countries, they go because of the past and the possibility of achieving something more elsewhere in the world. There is not much that is known about any reforms or policies aimed at attracting Serbians back home like Poland or Lithuania. That may be due to simply Serbia’s economic plight being worse off than that of others.

Fledgling Romania

Romania in large part has had a turbulent history like that of Bulgaria and the rest of the

Balkans. Being sandwiched between two major empires, the Austrians, Ottomans and Russians, the Romanians have in some way or another been taken advantage of. However, they would have their brief moments of triumph and a great deal of defeat at the hands of various factions. Today,

Romania has one of the weakest economies in the European Union and is looked down upon or blame for petty issues on the continent. In any case, the situation within Romania’s modern history can explain as to why the country is how it is today. That primarily relates to its role in the World Wars, Soviet occupation, and joining the European Union as well as NATO in the new millennium.

Romania had a similar history of occupation by the Ottoman empire and gaining its independence in the late 1800s. The following Russo-Turkish War in 1877 and 1878, a war that was crucial to Bulgaria, Serbia, and Greece’s sovereignty, would grant Romania freedom and recognition from both the Great Powers of Europe and the Ottoman Empire. Romanian involvement in the First World War was done out of territorial incentive promised by the Allied powers. The country would join the war in 1916 and have some initial successes against the

Austro-, but with the fall of the Russian Empire, Romania stood alone and surrounded by enemies. Its defeat left 748,000 Romanian civilian and military dead (Horne and EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 36

Austin, 1923). Even so, the Allies would go on to win the war and keep their promise to

Romania as the country would go on to gain territories with majority Romanian populations from

Austria in 1919, Hungary in 1920, and Russia in 1920 (Horne and Austin, 1923). The acquirement of all the additional territory would bring Romania to its most considerable territorial extent, bearing the name Greater Romania (Romania, 2008). The nation soon became very prosperous following the 1920s as it becomes the second largest producer of oil in Europe as well as the producer of food. However, the 1930s were plagued by social unrest, unemployment, and instability within the Romanian government because of the Great

Depression. World War Two would soon be lingering on Romania's doorstep, and the country wanted nothing more to stay neutral in the conflict, but the Soviet Union would decide otherwise. The Soviets would send Romania an ultimatum in June of 1940. It outlined that if they did cede Bessarabia and northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union, they would face invasion.

Romania had no choice to cede the territory to the Soviet Union and would soon be approached by the Axis powers who coerced them to join their cause. Romania would lose even more land to

Bulgaria and Hungary because of the Axis powers’ arbitration.

The end of World War Two would follow with Soviet occupation, and overwhelming influence as the monarchy was removed in 1947 and Romania was proclaimed a People's

Republic. The country would remain under direct Soviet military and economic control, allowing the Soviet Union to exploit Romania's vast natural resources. The nationalization and collectivization processes would begin to take shape in the country and cause discord among the population. The government would brutally curtail political liberties within the state and suppress all forms of dissent with the assistance of the Romanian secret police. It is estimated that at most 2,000,000 people were affected by Communist repression from internment in forced EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 37 labor camps, internal , as well as extrajudicial killing (Verdey, 2014). The fall of the communist regime within Romania came from the reconciliation of Romania’s foreign debt and meant to find a solution to the problem involved western banking organizations like the

International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank whose influence undermine the legitimacy of the communist regime. It would result in austerity steps, which involve spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. This policy resulted in near economic stagnation of the

Romanian economy as well as impoverishing the population (Giurescu, 2007). An increase in power of the Romanian secret police would further tarnish the reputation of Nicolae Ceausescu, the communist leader from 1965 to 1989, and eventually lead to his execution during the

Romanian Revolution of 1989.

Romania has not faired all that well since its final transition towards the west. It does not have a "pretty" face due to being at the top of negative indicator lists. The list includes teenage mothers per capita, the proportion of car-accident fatalities, and illiteracy rates just to name a few

(Moisescu, 2015). The country lacks a sense of its development and is unable to provide proper infrastructure to support different services such as health and education systems. Consequently, this is a turn off for foreign investors since they would see no benefit to investing their money into a fledgling country like Romania. Romania’s biggest issue is poverty which is closely tied to lousy governance and unchecked corruption (Moisescu, 2015). The fraud is so severe in

Romania that it is estimated the black-market economy accounts for 28.4 percent of Romania’s

GDP. A majority of the country, precisely the rural regions, are left to fend for themselves. It is also not helpful that in 2014 the European labor market had opened for Romanians making it even more enticing to find work elsewhere since it would now be hassle free. The free movement of individuals has been one of the defining traits of the European Union and its processes of EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 38 integrating new states into the system (Bilefsky, 2014). At some point in the future, Romania could receive European emigrants from elsewhere and benefit from the expertise they bring to the United Kingdom and Germany are experiencing. Until then, the fact is still abundantly clear that whole villages have become ghost towns only inhabited by the elderly and very young, the abandoned and forgotten (Moisescu, 2015). Romania's politics are one-sided, and the country meekly follows the lead of the European Union directions and policies. Often disregarding those mandates and continuously commit petty crimes when the European Union looks the other way.

All these factors have to an angered population as demonstrations were held all throughout the early years of the 2010s and gives a good reason as to why, so many people are leaving Romania and not considering on returning (Boncea, 2015). Research is scarce, but as is known, a study on

Romanian migrants within the region of Madrid have identified that around 71 percent of them have the intention of returning with benefits. These benefits include work experience, productivity, financial capital and new innovative ideas (Boncea, 2015). It is surprising to note that age or their level of education does not correlate with whether Romanian migrants decide to return. Romanians are motivated to improve economic status and obtain a more substantial income, part of which they may send home back to Romania in the form of remittances.

Romania’s situation is desperate regarding countries in the European Union and does not seem to be improving. Unless the Romanian government can straighten out its issues with corruption and bad governance, countless amounts of young Romanians will continue to leave due to poor conditions. The Romanian migration is primarily seen as having been undermining the ‘grassroots' structure of transnational labor market and the welfare system which is a critical foundation of Romanian aspects of society. A ‘grassroots' system or society refers to government entities that are directly associated with bottom up, instead of top-down decision making. They EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 39 are also considered to be more natural than traditional power structures (King et al, 2013). It makes sense for Romania because the country is an agricultural society than an industrialist. As to how this all correlates with Romanian migration, there are similarities with the southern

European Union countries of Italy, Portugal, and Spain. They all have similar ‘grassroots' like structures incorporated and have attracted many Romanian migrants (King et al, 2013). For example, the number of Romanian migrants in Italy as of 2013 was 9997,000, and it is easy to consider that number has risen over one million despite economic stagnation in those countries.

Regarding the economic recession in the southern EU countries, it has put many Romanian migrants in a wrong spot because of austerity measures are now choking off employment opportunities (King et al, 2013). It reduces the ability of local employers to hire Romanian migrants. Funny enough, this has put Romanians in the same economic situation as they were in

Romania because the same outcome had occurred there as well (King et al, 2013). Under any circumstance, the conditions that are relevant today are a result of the earlier systems that were employed during the 20th century. From the failure of the Monarchy, the brief introduction of a fascist dictatorship, to the oppressive policies of the communist institution.

Hopes of Returning and Blocking Foreign Immigrants

All the countries in Eastern and Central Europe are experiencing brain drain. Most of which have suffered immensely from it as individuals continue to leave behind broken economies and inefficient governments. However, there are cases of people wanting to return to their home country and following through with it. Also, there massive influxes of refugees and immigrants the Middle East, as well as , can help stop the threats of shrinking European populations. Considering recent events in the past decade, the World Trade Center attacks,

London bombings, attacks in Paris and so on. With the rise of terrorism, there have been less EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 40 than favorable opinions about immigrants coming from areas known to be found with terrorists.

Most of these migrants come from Muslim-majority countries from all over the world which include asylum seekers, economic migrants, and of course those with ill intentions disguised as migrants. Despite all the factors in play causing brain drain and an overall shift of populations, there is a notable increase in opportunities for those who left to return home.

A perfect example to consider for this topic would be Germany, and although today it is not seen as an Eastern European country, most forget that during the Cold War the nation had been split between east and west. Therefore, Eastern Germany is "different" because of its history as well as the fact that it had to claw its way back to a competitive status with the West.

Surprisingly, East Germany has done just that by redefining itself as "the five new states," experiencing a newfound sense of normality (Dougherty, 2009). Though it is true that Eastern

Germany has made considerable progress and the gap between the two regions has shrunken, the area is still far from its western counterpart. Outward migration from the region is always active, and it has decreased in the most recent years, the number of those leaving is still much higher than those returning. Still, at least there are those that are coming back to Eastern Germany as a study in 2008 had estimated 136,000 people left, but 85,000 returned (Dougherty, 2009). In

1991, the five new states had a gross domestic product that was comparable to about 40 percent of the rest of Germany. Nowadays, that number has risen to 70 percent of the overall German figure according to statistics (Dougherty, 2009). These results effectively put former East

Germans ahead of other Western European counterparts like the Greeks, Portuguese, and

Spanish. The ability for Eastern Germany to reintegrate itself with the rest of Germany is astonishing and an excellent example for other Eastern European states to look up to. On the EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 41 contrary, Eastern Germany had help from Berlin when the country reunified, it had added support, and most other Eastern and Central European countries did not have that luxury.

The European migrant crisis had its roots in 2015 when an increasing number of refugees arrived in the European Union. Most of these refugees came by boat, traveling across the

Mediterranean Sea. Many immigrants would also travel overland through Southeast Europe. The development of this crisis has made it difficult for European countries to deal with this and has led many of them to turn to restrictive measures to limit the number of refugees entering their states. Western European countries have taken in the bulk of foreign immigrants much to their own citizen's dismay. In any case, most immigrants are favoring those nations over European nations in the east, and that is due to their unwillingness to accept them.

A primary example of this is Hungary, which is looked at as making the continents migrant crisis worse. Those that risk their lives to try the dangerous journey across the

Mediterranean are becoming ever bolder in how they get across due to land routes through

Turkey being shut down. For them, it is without a doubt a complicated issue that is not made any easier by the inhospitable attitudes of the countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Countries, like

Hungary, have stubbornly blocked entry to refugees on the move to Northern and Western

European countries (The Editorial Board, 2017). It ought to be noted that Hungary’s isolationist attitude was not always there, and that 1989 Hungary open its borders with welcoming arms to the people of Communist-ruled Eastern Europe. That fact could be attributed to racism, as then it was fellow Europeans, and now it is a xenophobia of Africans, Asians, and trying to come through. To further this notion, the European Union decided to help Italy and Greece in 2015 since they were the primary entry point country for fleeing immigrants. Their shores were being overwhelmed with a flood of migrants numbering in the hundreds of thousands (The Editorial EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 42

Board, 2017). A plan devised to resettle 120,000 migrants in other European countries as a collective effort, however, Hungary and Slovenia took it upon themselves protested being a part of such an endeavor. The complaints made by the two countries were rightfully ignored by the

Court of Justice of the European Union, it ignored their complaints only distanced Hungary farther from accepting foreign immigrants. Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, stated that global politics were undermining the values of Europe and its laws.

The situation has been made no better by the fact that the plan implemented by the

European Union did not amount to its full potential. The ignorance of nations has attributed to that, and the European Union just does not have the means to punish those countries. Still, it is in the best interest of Europe to look for humanitarian solutions and a way of resolving issues which proliferate mass migration to the continent. The problem is collective and should be approached in that respect. The principles of the European Union include tolerance, cultural diversity, protection of minorities and the rejection of xenophobia, should be applied (The

Editorial Board, 2017). It also should be understood that immigration can do more harm than good and most of these immigrants come with backgrounds of high education and work experience. They can certainly help nations they enter and relieve some of the pressures caused by brain drain.

Conclusion

There is much to consider when it comes to the current demographic crisis in Eastern and

Central Europe. The early years of many of the post-Soviet states were bogged down in the ambitions of their much more powerful neighbors in the east and west. Caught in the middle and forced to choose sides, ultimately, they would all suffer the same outcome by coming under the influence from the Soviet Union. The early migration restrictions from the Soviet Union would EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 43 trigger the first significant migration of Eastern and Central European emigrants while the reformations of their home governments would drive even more Europeans away. Initially, ethnic

Germans would be the primary movers as their country had been defeated in the bloodiest war known to man. Later it would evolve to the ethnic populations of nations and not so many ethnic minorities. The fall of Communism and transition to Capitalism would usher in economic stagnation and further emigration from those countries. Most would find opportunities in the much more productive Western European states and resettle there. Leaving former Soviet satellite states to work with a broken system and shrinking population. The early 2000s would be characterized by decent growth amongst the former Communist-led European countries, but most of that advancement and gain would be shattered by the 2008 financial crisis which set back most of those countries. It made the economic situation even worse, limiting the prospects for individuals to stay within their country's borders. Now, Eastern and Central European governments are working on their own accord to provide incentives and reasons for their people to come back. Hopefully, times will get better, and those that have left their nations of birth in

Eastern Europe will return to better their country so that it is successful and prosperous.

EASTERN EUROPEAN EMIGRATION 44

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