ABSTRACT
The states that fell under Soviet communist influence or domination after 1945 belonged to two fairly compact regions. Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia were Central European states with a population of 66.4 million (1998). To the south-east lay Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania with a smaller population of 55.6 million (1998 figures) (Dăianu 2001:90). Despite being part of the same Leninist social system, there were important differences between the communist states of Central Europe and the Balkans. These would, in no small way, help shape their evolution when the communist era drew to a close around 1989.
