The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact. The terms Communist Bloc and Soviet Bloc were also used to denote groupings of states aligned with the Soviet Union, although these terms might include states outside Central and Eastern Europe.
Read more about Eastern Bloc: The USSR and World War II in Central and Eastern Europe, Formation of Eastern Bloc, Concealed Transformation Dynamics, Politics, Religion, Organizations, Emigration Restrictions and Defectors, Economies, Dissolution, Terminology and Other Countries
Famous quotes containing the words eastern and/or bloc:
“The Eastern steamboat passed us with music and a cheer, as if they were going to a ball, when they might be going to—Davy’s locker.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Unpleasant questions are being raised about Mother’s Day. Is this day necessary? . . . Isn’t it bad public policy? . . . No politician with half his senses, which a majority of politicians have, is likely to vote for its abolition, however. As a class, mothers are tender and loving, but as a voting bloc they would not hesitate for an instant to pull the seat out from under any Congressman who suggests that Mother is not entitled to a box of chocolates each year in the middle of May.”
—Russell Baker (20th century)