Europe is called the part of the world that lies in the western part of the Eurasian continent in the Northern Hemisphere, and together with Asia forms a single continent. Its area is 10 million km 2, about 20% of the total population of the Earth (743 million people) lives here. Europe is the largest economic, historical and political center of great importance throughout the world.

Geographical position

Europe is washed by the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, its coastline is notable for its considerable indentation, the area of ​​its islands is 730 thousand km 2, ¼ of the entire area is occupied by the peninsulas: Kola, Apennine, Balkan, Pyrenean, Scandinavian, etc. The border between Europe and Asia conditionally runs along the eastern coast of the Ural Mountains, the river Emba, the Caspian Sea. Kumo-Manych depression and the mouth of the Don.

Main geographical features

The average surface height is 300 meters, the highest point is Mount Elbrus (5642 m, the Caucasus Mountains in Russia), the lowest is -27 m (Caspian Sea). Most of the territory is occupied by plains (East European, Lower and Middle Danube, Central European), 17% of the surface is mountains and plateaus (Urals, Carpathians, Pyrenees, Alps, Scandinavian mountains, Crimean mountains, mountains of the Balkan Peninsula), Iceland and the islands of the Mediterranean are in the zone of seismic activity.

The climate of most of the territory is temperate (the western part is temperate oceanic, the eastern part is temperate continental), the northern islands lie in the arctic and subarctic climatic zones, southern Europe has a Mediterranean climate, the Caspian lowland is semi-desert.

The amount of water flow in Europe is about 295 mm, this is the second largest in the world after South America, however, due to the much smaller area of ​​​​the territory, the volume of water flow (2850 km 3) exceeds the readings of Africa and Antarctica. Water resources are distributed unevenly across Europe, the flow of inland waters decreases from north to south and from west to east. Most of the rivers belong to the basin of the seas of the Atlantic Ocean, a smaller part - to the basin of the Arctic Ocean and the basin of the internal flow of the Caspian Sea. The largest rivers in Europe are located mainly in Russia and Eastern Europe, there are also large rivers in Western Europe. The largest rivers: Volga, Kama, Oka, Danube, Ural, Dnieper, Don, Dniester, Rhine, Elbe, Vistula, Tahoe, Loire, Oder, Neman. The lakes of Europe are of tectonic origin, which determines their considerable depth, elongated shape and heavily indented coastline, these are flat lakes Ladoga, Onega, Vattern, Imandra, Balaton, mountain lakes - Geneva, Como, Garda.

In accordance with the laws of latitudinal zonality, the entire territory of Europe is located in various natural zones: the extreme north is the zone of arctic deserts, then comes the tundra and forest tundra, the zone of deciduous and mixed forests, forest-steppe, steppe, subtropical Mediterranean forest vegetation and shrubs, the extreme south is the semi-desert zone.

Countries of Europe

The territory of Europe is divided between 43 independent states officially recognized by the UN, there are also 6 officially unrecognized republics (Kosovo, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria, LPR, DPR) and 7 dependent territories (in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans). 6 states, due to their very small size, are referred to as the so-called microstates: the Vatican, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino. Partially in Europe are the territories of such states as Russia - 22%, Kazakhstan - 14%, Azerbaijan - 10%, Georgia - 5%, Turkey - 4%. 28 states of Europe are united in the European Union (EU) national association, have a common euro currency, common economic and political views. According to cultural, geographical and political characteristics, the entire territory of Europe is conditionally divided into Western, Eastern, Northern, Southern and Central.

List of countries in Europe

Major European countries:

(with detailed description)

Nature

Nature, plants and animals of Europe

The presence on the territory of Europe of several natural and climatic zones determines the rich and diverse flora and fauna, which, under the influence of human economic activity, have undergone a number of changes, which has led to a decrease in their biodiversity and even to the complete disappearance of some species...

In the Far North, in the Arctic climate, mosses, lichens, polar buttercups, and poppies grow. Dwarf birches, willows, and alders appear in the tundra. To the south of the tundra there are vast expanses of taiga, which is characterized by the growth of such typical coniferous trees as cedar, spruce, fir, and larch. Due to the temperate climate zone prevailing in most of Europe, large areas are occupied by huge forests of deciduous and mixed trees (aspen, birch, maple, oak, fir, hornbeam). Oak forests, steppe grasses, cereals, shrubs grow in the zone of steppes and forest-steppes: feather grass, irises, steppe hyacinths, blackthorn, steppe cherry, dereza. The Black Sea subtropics are characterized by the predominance of forests of fluffy oak, juniper, boxwood, and black alder. Southern Europe is characterized by subtropical vegetation, there are palm trees and creepers, olives, grapes, citrus fruits, magnolias, cypresses grow.

The foothills of the mountains (Alps, Caucasian, Crimean) are characterized by the growth of coniferous trees, for example, such as relic Caucasian plants: boxwood, chestnut, Eldar and Pitsunda pines. In the Alps, pines and spruces give way to subalpine tall grass meadows; on the peaks there are alpine meadows that amaze with the beauty of their emerald greenery.

In the northern latitudes (subarctic, tundra, taiga), where the influence of man on the surrounding nature is manifested to a lesser extent, there are more predators: polar bears, wolves, arctic foxes. Reindeer, polar hares, walruses, seals live there. Red deer, brown bears, lynxes and wolverines, sables and ermines are still found in the Russian taiga, wood grouses, hazel grouses, black grouses, woodpeckers, and nutcrackers live here.

Europe is a highly urbanized and industrialized region, so large mammals are practically absent here, the largest inhabitants of European forests are deer and fallow deer, wild boars, chamois still live in the Alps, Carpathians and the Iberian Peninsula, mouflons are found on the islands of Sardinia and Corsica, Poland and Belarus are famous for their relic animals from the bison genus bison, which are listed in the Red Book and live exclusively in the reserve ah. The lower tiers of deciduous and mixed forests are inhabited by foxes, hares, badgers, ferrets, weasels, and squirrels. Beavers, otters, muskrats and nutria live on the banks of rivers and reservoirs. Characteristic inhabitants of the semi-desert zone: gazelles, jackals, a large number of small rodents, snakes.

Climatic conditions

Seasons, weather and climate of European countries

Europe is located in four climatic zones: arctic (low temperatures, not higher than +5 C 0 in summer, precipitation - 400 mm / year), subarctic (mild maritime climate, January t - +1, -3 °, July - + 10 °, the predominance of cloudy days with fogs, precipitation - 1000 mm / year), moderate (marine - cool summers, mild winters, and continental - long winters, cool summers) and subtropical (hot summer, mild winter)...

The climate of most of Europe belongs to the temperate climatic zone, the west is influenced by Atlantic oceanic air masses, the east by continental, the south by Mediterranean air masses from the tropics, and the north is under the influence of arctic air. The territory of Europe has sufficient moisture, precipitation (mainly in the form of rain) is unevenly distributed, their maximum (1000-2000 mm) falls on Scandinavia, the British Isles, the slopes of the Alps and the Apennines, a minimum of 400 mm in the east of the Balkan Peninsula and the southeast of the Pyrenees.

The peoples of Europe: culture and traditions

The population living in Europe (770 million people) is diverse and ethnically diverse. In total, there are 87 nationalities, of which 33 are the national majority in any single independent state, 54 are a minority (105 million or 14% of the total population of Europe) ...

In Europe, there are 8 groups of peoples, whose number exceeds 30 million, together they represent 460 million people, which is 63% of the total European population:

• Russians of the European part (90 million);
• Germans (82 million);
• French (65 million);
• British (55-61 million);
• Italians (59 million);
• Spaniards (46 million);
• Ukrainians (46 million);
• Poles (38 million).

About 25 million Europeans (3%) are members of the diaspora of non-European origin, the population of the EU (approximately 500 million people) is 2/3 of the total population of Europe.

It is not easy to draw the boundaries of European sub-regions; there is no generally recognized regional division of Europe. This reflects the conditionality of regional borders in the most complex European tangle of economic, civilizational and other spatial relationships.

There are many options for the regionalization of Foreign Europe. Before the collapse of the socialist camp, it was most often divided into Western (capitalist) and Eastern (socialist). In the economic literature, it is still customary to use the term "" to denote a subregion that includes all that continued capitalist development in the post-war period. Geographers usually singled out separately, which included the Scandinavian countries, sometimes Denmark, and, and the South, where they were "listed", and. Now everything is more difficult. The name (or Central and Eastern) Europe (CEE), which unites most of the countries of the former socialist camp, comes into use. The Baltic republics are classified as both CEE countries and Northern Europe. The Republics of the former Yugoslavia, as well as, and can be attributed to both CEE and. Some geographers distinguish separately. Eastern Europe is now sometimes understood as Russia and even the new states of the Caucasus.

Sub-regions of Europe (according to the classification of the World Tourism Organization)

Another new factor influencing the change in approaches to the regionalization of Europe is the process of so-called federalization within the European Union. The idea of ​​the supporters of EU federalization is that the union of states is being replaced by a union of regions. Within the framework of the EU, nation-states deliberately deprive themselves of a significant part of their independence by deciding to share sovereignty with the Union. At the same time, a number of specific functions of state administration are transferred to the constituent parts of states - lands, autonomous regions, regions. From this perspective, it no longer looks fantastic, for example, “dissolution” in a single “Franco-Germany”, obtaining the status of independent EU subjects by Catalonia, the Basque Country, Corsica or Wallonia. Will it become a reality or will it be an illusion - time will tell.

The issue of regionalization of Europe is inextricably linked with the issue of the region's external borders. The search for the most “correct” identification of Europe and its subregions has long been occupied not only by geographers, but also by geopoliticians, economists, historians, and culturologists. Views are often opposing. Thus, the well-known American geopolitician S. Huntington believes that Europe generally ends where Western Christianity is replaced by Orthodoxy and Islam. Between Europe and, in essence, an equal sign is put. In this case, for example, Greece, the cradle of European civilization, falls out of Europe. Another American scientist, L. Ferow, categorically objects to such an approach, who believes that European civilization has spread from to. In his opinion, only the unification of Western, Central-Eastern and, including Russia, will allow United Europe to take advantage of its geopolitical advantages, relying on "the richness of its diversity."

Where did the name "Europe" come from, and why was Asia, which is widely represented on ancient maps, artificially divided into 2 parts of the world - Europe and Asia? It turned out that there were some machinations of the clergy here too...

Has the reader ever wondered:

“how could Peter I “cut a window to Europe” being almost in its geographical center, and not on the border?” . After all, as we are being convinced, the border between Europe and Asia allegedly always passed through the Ural Mountains.

Or another question: Why are all the continents of the earth named after "A" except for Europe? What is so special about her?”

Or a third question: “By what logic was it necessary to divide the continent “EurAsia” into two parts, if this logic was not used to divide the rest of the continents of our planet?”

It is not so easy to answer, because the events are hidden by layers of centuries, but nevertheless, such attempts were made repeatedly, and today we present an article by one of the authors, who also suspected that EUROPE is a grandiose political scam, not related to geography, serving as the basis for the strategy of annexing a certain territory in the interests of certain forces.

TRACES OF A THOUSAND-YEAR WAR

That's how it happens in life. It seems that everything is already clear in the outside world. No surprises, and suddenly ... An inquisitive child asks: What is Europe? This is not a country or a mainland, but what then?

Since in geography I have never been below the four, I immediately give out the answer: - Europe is part of the world; The continent of Eurasia is divided into Europe and Asia. And then the worm of doubt begins to swarm inside. A on what basis Is the geographically not separated territory of a single continent designated as part of the world?! So, of course, we already know what Asia is. But after all, there must be a plausibly molded official version. It can't be that we are so cheaply bred!

When trying to clarify where something came from, a clear system of geographical representations begins to treacherously blur. It's just some kind of magic. Morok. Parts of the world from school were presented to us as a "geographical concept." This is the largest division of land, including even the continents (both Americas are one part of the world). But it turns out it's not! Although we are not told about this at school, but according to the Great Soviet Encyclopedia:

Parts of the world, historically the established division of the earth's land into regions ...

On Wikipedia, it's even weirder:

The division into continents is made on the basis of separation by water space from other continents, and parts of the world - the concept of RAPID(here she went to the dregs, - auth.) historical and cultural.

Unlike the mainland, part of the world also includes islands close to the mainland, and proximity is MEAN according to historical tradition, and the distance can be greater ...

So why do parts of the world study in the course geography, but not stories?

And therefore, apparently, that according to the initial plan, it was about geography, and only most recently the wind has changed. Judge for yourself. There are six parts of the world - America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia and Oceania, Europe, Asia. Much of this division is geographically very logical. Part of the world America is in fact a single continent with adjacent island territories. The Panama Canal artificially divided North and South America only in 1913. Before that, both Americas were completely one mainland. With Africa, Antarctica, Australia with the adjacent archipelagos of Oceania, everything also fits into the geographical logic.

But with Europe And Asia all geographical logic is gone. They fall out of this line. In turn, Antarctica falls out of the historical and cultural definition. Who is the bearer of the historical and cultural tradition? Except the penguins. So it turns out that a shade was given to this definition in recent times. Not before the end of the 19th century. This can be seen from the work of researchers of that time.

It turns out that even then there were people who were struck by the absurdity of dividing our continent into two parts of the world. Publicist, naturalist and geopolitician Nikolay Yakovlevich Danilevsky in 1869 he wrote the work “Russia and Europe. A look at the cultural and political relations of the Slavic world to the German-Roman world. Here is what is there on the issue of interest to us:

“... America is an island; Australia is an island; Africa is almost an island; Asia, together with Europe, will also be almost an island. Why should this whole body, this huge piece of land, like all other pieces, surrounded on all or almost all sides by water, be divided into two parts on the basis of a completely different principle? Is there any limit set by nature? The Ural Range occupies about half of this border. But what special qualities does he have in order to bestow on him, of all the ridges of the globe, the honor of serving as the border between two parts of the world, an honor that in all other cases is recognized only across the oceans and rarely beyond the seas? This ridge is one of the smallest in height, and one of the most convenient in terms of traversability; in its middle part, near Yekaterinburg, they cross it, as if through the famous Alaun flat hill and the Valdai Mountains, asking the driver: where, brother, are the mountains? .. But the Ural Range, at least, is something; further, the honor to serve as the border of two worlds falls on the Ural River, which is already perfect nothing. A narrow river, at the mouth a quarter of the Neva wide, with exactly the same banks on both sides ... "

And here it is difficult to disagree with Danilevsky. It is also obvious that in his time no historical and cultural definitions there was no part of the world at all. It was then only about geography. At the end of his work, Nikolai Yakovlevich despaired of finding a rational explanation for this and attributed this incident to mistakes and old habits. But today we know more. I think everyone will agree with me that the fact of forgery is obvious. But in order to sort out this centuries-old heap of lies, you need to plunge into the origins of the issue. All the most ancient and secret - in words And titles. Let's start with them.

Europe- what kind of word is that?

Wikipedia: Europe named after the heroine of the ancient Greek mythology of Europe, the Phoenician princess, abducted by Zeus and taken to Crete (at the same time, the epithet of Europe could also be associated with Hera and Demeter).

A bunch of small. Although this is the most common version, it is extremely implausible. Who in the 9th-14th centuries were interested in France, Germany, etc. the lascivious adventures of a locally venerated Greek deity to call his land that? Let's take a look at the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (hereinafter referred to as TSB):

Europe (Greek Europe, from Assyrian. Erebus- west (in other sources - presumably west, - auth.)); in ancient Greece, this was the name of the territory, lying to the west of the Aegean Sea) ...

Let's say "presumably west" though get out erebo Europe not easy. But west of the Aegean we have only Italy and Spain. And a millennium later, on the maps of the 15th century, Europe already flaunts almost within its modern borders. In fact, it does not matter how the Greeks or even the Romans called this or that. Europeans are not Greeks. Different place, different era. It should be someone else, which assigned a single name to the western territories by the 15th century. And he is in no hurry to get famous. Therefore, they start tales of lustful bulls and damsels.

It is obvious that some unified political force by the 15th century, it had spread its influence to the western territories of Eurasia so much that it united them under a single name - Europe. And despite the fact that there were many different states here, they all ended up in a dependent position. This power could only be Catholic Church and she remains silent. However, everyone knows that the official language of the Catholic Church was originally Latin. Well, if she appropriated some name, then it was in Latin.

What do you think it means in Latin? euro? Get ready for a sharp turn - in Latin it means EAST! It's easy to check:

eurus, i m (Greek. ; lat. vulturnus)

1) eur, southeast wind L, Sen etc.;

2) poet. Eastern wind, tzh. storm H, V, St; wind ( at all): primo sub euro Lcn at the first gust of wind;

3) poet. East VF, CD.

euro-aquilo,onis m- northeast wind Vlg.

eurocircias, ae m (Greek) - east-southeast wind Vtr

euronotus, i m (Greek) - south-southeast wind Col, PM.

eurous, a, um- eastern (fluctus V).

For those who are not sure that Europe is directly related to the Latin East, I will give the spelling of this word in Latin:

Europa, a.e. And Europe, es (acc. en) f- Europe.

Euro-pa(pars - part. lat.) - Eastern part.

This is much closer than Erebus both in place and in time. And most importantly, not just similar - identical. It remains to understand For what Catholics call the western lands east.

Very simple. This is for us - they are Western. But the spread of the influence of Catholics in the countries of Europe took place from west to east. And since the process of etching is not a quick and still unfinished business, the new lands captured by the Catholics were called for a long time east(in their Latin slang). These are the very vast spaces that today are called Europe(France, Germany, Poland, the Baltic countries, etc.).

It is important to note here that the name Europe has a clear political origin.

Asia - what is this word. TSB says:

Asia (Greek Asía, probably from the Assyrian asu - east), the most extensive part of the world (about 30% of the entire land area), part of the Eurasian continent.

Again this unscientific is "probably". Incredible and unbelievable. And in general, in the Greek language the word East - Ανατολή (trnskrp. Anatoli) is. Why is it necessary to introduce someone else's designation of the side of the world?

Wikipedia says:

... In the Hittite era, the kingdom of Assuva was located in the northwestern part of Asia Minor ... In the Greek epic, this kingdom is personified in the image of King Asius, an ally of the Trojans ... By the time of Herodotus, the designation of the whole part of the world as Assia (Asia) was generally accepted by the Greeks.

Assuva and Asiya, as they are actually written in all European languages, are not very similar words. And it is not clear why King Asius was so distinguished in order to call a whole part of the world after him?

Nothing would have been cleared up, but the Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus described some Asov-Alanov. And these Ases lived just in that very Asia. Despite the unhealthy addiction of the scientific elite to the distorted Assyrian words, it should be recognized that there is simply no more obvious hypothesis today. Again, it is clear that geography is far from the main thing here. Asia, this is a political entity - country of Ases. Its borders are delineated not by seas and mountain ranges, but by wars and treaties. Means, the name of the part of the world Asia, like Europe, has a clearly political origin.

Now at least something is clear. But one big question arose: How did the political division of our continent turn into such an absurd geographical, and then for some reason into a historical and cultural one?

It was by all indications. A thousand years ago, with the advent of the ]]> Night of Svarog ]]>, the process of capturing and uniting territories and peoples took place in the western territories. When the peoples could not be brought "in line", they were completely destroyed. Thus, the multi-million tribal unions of Lutiches and Veneds, who inhabited all the western lands, were destroyed. In Europe, mostly broken peoples remained. It was by all definitions. Real massacre. A certain political force, the manifestation of which we observe in the actions of the Catholic Church, divided people into pieces, pitted against each other, weakened in civil strife. Then the same force gathered all the peoples subject to it into a single fist, and threw the rest to the destruction. Everything was accompanied.

After the same force had established itself in the ashes, it took Renaissance. But the revival of their own, and not the Greek or Roman culture, as historians usually explain. Europe could accept Greek or Roman culture, introduce anything, only not revive.

It is inherently not a self-sufficient civilization. She always needed more sacrifices to keep her alive. When they finished eating their slaves, they went to capture neighboring peoples. And there was abundance - free Asia.

Asia- the home of the peoples, the bearers of the original, Vedic civilization, where there has never been slavery and poverty, where everything was created by one's own labor, where will and skill were valued above gold. This is our civilization, aces or Asian, as they are now trying to twist and turn the meaning around. Not Chinese, Not Mongolian and Not Japanese, but ours.

This is where the dog is buried. Asia has always actively resisted European expansion. In the 13th century, the Moscow principality and others (supposedly) were cleared of the slave infection. Then it was stopped « Drang nach Osten» - thrust to the east. The shock forces of Europe went under the ice of Lake Peipus.

But already in the 17th century, the territories, long weakened by Christianization, could not resist. The Moscow principality and those subject to it began to be indicated on maps as European Tartaria, or simply Europe. Front in the war of civilizations crawled to the east. In 1720 Tatishchev, allegedly proposed to draw a border between Europe and Asia along the Ural Mountains. At that time it was political border between two worlds.

The pressure to the east continued. In 1775, as a result of the defeat of the liberation army of Asia (Great Tartaria), which we know as "Pugachev uprising", The European civilization of slavery and profit has overcome the remnants of organized resistance. Having hastily staked out the occupied territories, the newly minted "Russian Empire" began to clean up the traces of the great confrontation. At home, it was technically easy. For example, the captured papers of the Pugachev headquarters (decrees, orders, letters) were securely hidden from prying eyes. The rest was propaganda.

A.S. Pushkin, only 50 years later, through great connections, got access to these papers. And this is another question - what was shown to him? At least those texts that are published by modern researchers (I don’t know where they get them from) are full of the words “my loyal slaves.” Could a person who brought freedom to people and communicated with them on an equal footing could write such a thing? At least, I have not yet been able to find the originals of even these supposedly Pugachev decrees.

Cleaned up so thoroughly that already in the 18th century the elite of new generations by puppy dog in front of “enlightened Europe”, and despised the dirty, dark Asian garbage heap, in the form of which undeveloped Russia seemed to them. But traces of the great confrontation have become too firmly established in circulation all over the world, preserved in names, in different languages, and laid down on maps. How to hide it?

This is where geography comes to the rescue. The then European geographers were very practical people involved in big politics. They hardly looked like Paganels. That's why lied easily and competently. Everything that used to separate 2 civilizations (armies, states, treaties) has gone into oblivion. Great generals have become bearded robbers, empires have become a collection of warring princelings, large cities have become newly cut down watchtowers. A 2 new parts of the world appeared in geography.

According to the intention of the authors of the forgery, not only the political background of the issue should be hidden from the Russians, but also from the whole world, and first of all from the Europeans. They must not know that the many allegedly independent European states, only signboard. It cannot be shown that all Europe is ruled by one force and revive forgotten Vedic traditions. After all, the conquest of Europe is not over to this day.

And where two civilizations opposed each other, only the geographical border remained. She has no patrols and guard regiments. Silent mountains stand, rivers flow, and they don't care. You can look at the border between Europe and Asia from this side, then run across and look from the other side. Nobody will say a word. This is how it was left for the time being.

Passes everything century, and Danilevsky is sincerely surprised by the geographical absurdity. It never occurs to him to reflect on the political interpretation of the name Eurasia. But the years passed, and there were more and more such Danilevskys. General education, be it wrong. Fursenko will not allow this in the future. Geographers, on the other hand, degenerated in office conditions. Politicians have almost wiped them off "fresh meat". They lost their grip. Mere mortals began to argue with them and ask uncomfortable questions. So there was an urgent need to patch up the official version. And highly qualified liars began to layer a new layer of lies on the geographical crypt of Asia-Tartaria, which gave numerous cracks.

It was necessary to come up with anything, but not a political confrontation between the two civilizations. So they spun around supposedly some kind of historical, established traditions. Then they realized that all history is inseparable from politics, and turned into a cultural channel. With this "historical and cultural" now they're blurring.

While writing this article, I encountered an interesting phenomenon. The authorities of the regions along which the border between Europe and Asia passes do not know what to do with this attraction. They are trying to find commercial applications: excursions, etc. But something, apparently, business is not working. Not very people are interested. Probably, it would be fascinating and informative if you tell them the truth, but you still won’t be able to make money on the blood and valor of your ancestors.

]]> ]]>

If you do not take into account dependent regions and not fully recognized states, then Europe for 2017 covers 44 powers. Each of them has a capital in which not only its administration is located, but also the highest authority, that is, the government of the state.

In contact with

States of Europe

The territory of Europe stretches from east to west for more than 3 thousand kilometers, and from south to north (from the island of Crete to the island of Svalbard) for 5 thousand kilometers. The European powers are, for the most part, comparatively small. With such small sizes of territories and good transport accessibility, these states either closely border on each other or are separated by very small distances.

The European continent is divided territorially into parts:

• western;
• eastern;
• northern;
• southern.

All powers located on the European continent belong to one of these territories.

• There are 11 countries in the western region.
• In the east - 10 (including Russia).
• In the north - 8.
• In the south - 15.

Let's list all the countries of Europe and their capitals. We will divide the list of countries and capitals of Europe into four parts according to the territorial and geographical position of the powers on the world map.

Western

List of states belonging to Western Europe, with a list of main cities:

The states of Western Europe are washed mainly by the currents of the Atlantic Ocean and only in the north of the Scandinavian Peninsula border on the waters of the Arctic Ocean. In general, these are highly developed and prosperous powers. But they are distinguished by an unfavorable demographic situation. This is a low birth rate and a low level of natural increase of inhabitants. In Germany, there is even a decline in population. All this led to the fact that developed Western Europe began to play the role of a subregion in the global system of population migration, it turned into the main center of labor immigration.

Eastern

List of states located in the eastern zone of the European continent and their capitals:

The states of Eastern Europe have a lower level of economic development than their Western neighbors. However, they better preserved cultural and ethnic identity. Eastern Europe is more of a cultural and historical region than a geographical one. The Russian expanses can also be attributed to the eastern territory of Europe. And the geographical center of Eastern Europe is located approximately within Ukraine.

Northern

The list of states that make up northern Europe, including capitals, looks like this:

The territories of the states of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jutland, the Baltic States, the islands of Svalbard and Iceland are included in the northern part of Europe. The population of these regions is only 4% of the entire European composition. Sweden is the largest country in the G8 and Iceland is the smallest. The population density in these lands is less in Europe - 22 people / m 2, and in Iceland - only 3 people / m 2. This is due to the harsh conditions of the climatic zone. But the economic indicators of development distinguish northern Europe as the leader of the entire world economy.

South

And finally, the most numerous list of territories located in the southern part, and the capitals of European states:

The Balkan and Iberian Peninsulas are occupied by these South European powers. Industry is developed here, especially ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy. The countries are rich in mineral resources. In agriculture, the main efforts focused on the cultivation of food products, such as:

• grape;
• olives;
• pomegranate;
• dates.

It is known that Spain is the world's leading country in the collection of olives. It is here that 45% of all olive oil in the world is produced. Spain is also famous for its famous artists - Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro.

European Union

The idea of ​​creating a single community of European powers appeared in the middle of the twentieth century, or rather after the Second World War. The official unification of the countries of the European Union (EU) took place only in 1992, when this union was sealed by the legal consent of the parties. Over time, the number of members of the European Union has expanded, and now it includes 28 allies. And states that want to join these prosperous countries will have to prove their compliance with the European foundations and principles of the EU, such as:

• protection of the rights of citizens;
• democracy;
• freedom of trade in a developed economy.

Members of the EU

The European Union for 2017 includes the following states:

There are now applicant countries to join this foreign community. These include:

1. Albania.
2. Serbia.
3. Macedonia.
4. Montenegro.
5. Türkiye.

On the map of the European Union, you can clearly see its geography, the countries of Europe and their capitals.

Regulations and prerogatives of EU partners

The EU has a customs policy under which its members can trade with each other without duties and without restrictions. And in relation to other powers, the adopted customs tariff applies. Having common laws, the EU countries created a single market and introduced a single monetary currency - the euro. Many EU member states are part of the so-called Schengen zone, which allows their citizens to move freely through the territory of all allies.

The European Union has common governing bodies for member countries, which include:

• European Court.
• European Parliament.
• European Commission.
• The audit community that controls the EU budget.

Despite unity, the European states that have joined the community have full independence and state sovereignty. Each country uses its own national language and has its own governing bodies. But for all participants there are certain criteria, and they must meet them. For example, coordination of all important political decisions with the European Parliament.

It should be noted that since its founding, only one power has left the European community. It was Danish autonomy - Greenland. In 1985, she was outraged by the low quotas introduced by the European Union for fishing. You can also recall the sensational events in 2016 referendum in the UK, when the population voted to leave the country from the European Union. This suggests that even in such an influential and seemingly stable community, serious problems are brewing.

Europe is a part of the world with an area of ​​about 10 million km² and a population of 740 million people (about 10% of the world's population). Together with Asia, it forms the continent of Eurasia.

Etymology

Europe is named after the heroine of the ancient Greek mythology of Europe, the Phoenician princess, abducted by Zeus and taken to Crete (at the same time, the epithet of Europe could also be associated with Hera and Demeter). The origin of this name itself, as the French linguist P. Chantren concludes, is unknown. The most popular etymological hypotheses in modern literature were proposed in antiquity (along with many others), but are controversial:

One etymology interprets it from the Greek roots Hebrew- and Ops- as "wide-eyed".

According to the lexicographer Hesychius, the name Europia means "the country of sunset, or dark", which was compared by later linguists with Western-Sem. ‘rb “sunset” or Akkad. erebu with the same meaning. M. West assesses this etymology as very weak.

Borders

The name Europe for part of the world is absent in ancient Greek literature (in the Homeric hymn to the Pythian Apollo, only Northern Greece is called Europe) and was first recorded in the Description of the Earth by Hecateus of Miletus (end of the 6th century BC), the first book of which is devoted to Europe.

The ancient Greeks initially considered Europe to be a separate continent, separated from Asia by the Aegean and Black Seas, and from Africa by the Mediterranean Sea. Convinced that Europe is only a small part of the vast continent, which is now called Eurasia, ancient authors began to draw the eastern border of Europe along the Don River (such ideas are already found in Polybius and Strabo). This tradition dominated for almost two millennia. In particular, at Mercator, the border of Europe runs along the Don, and from its source - strictly north to the White Sea.

In the 15th century, when the Muslims were forced out of almost all of Spain, and the Byzantines from Asia (by the Turks), Europe briefly became almost synonymous with Christendom, but now most Christians live outside of its territory. In the 19th century, almost all of the world's industry was in Europe; today, most of the production is made outside of it.

V. N. Tatishchev in 1720 proposed to draw the eastern border of Europe along the ridge of the Ural Mountains, and further along the Yaik River (modern Ural) up to the mouth that flows into the Caspian Sea. Gradually, the new border became generally accepted, first in Russia, and then beyond its borders. At present, the border of Europe is drawn: in the north - along the Arctic Ocean; in the west - along the Atlantic Ocean; in the south - along the Mediterranean, Aegean, Marmara, Black Seas; in the east - along the eastern foot of the Ural Mountains, the Mugodzhar mountains, along the Emba River to the Caspian Sea, from it along the rivers Kuma and Manych (Kumo-Manych depression) to the mouth of the Don (in particular, according to the encyclopedias: Great Soviet Encyclopedia and Encyclopedia Britannica) or, less often, along the Caucasus Range to the Black Sea). The further passage of the border between Europe and Asia along the Black Sea and the Black Sea straits is supported by all sources.

Due to these circumstances, the inclusion of Azerbaijan and Georgia in the list of European countries is based primarily on partial geographical location, as well as political, economic and cultural considerations, and is not unambiguous. Cyprus is part of the European Union, but geographically located in Asia. A number of Greek islands, located near the coast of Turkish Anatolia, can also be attributed to Asia.

Despite the fact that geographically Armenia is located in Asia, it has close political and cultural ties with Europe.

Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev wrote in 1906:

“The separation of Europe from Asia is artificial in all respects and will certainly smooth out over time and probably even disappear.”

Bernard Henri Levy

"Europe is not a place, but an idea."

Geography

Europe is washed by the Atlantic and Arctic oceans and their seas.

The area of ​​the islands is about 730 thousand km². The peninsulas account for about 1/4 of the territory of Europe (Kola, Scandinavian, Pyrenean, Apennine, Balkan, etc.).

The average height is about 300 m, the maximum (if we draw the border of Europe along the Kumo-Manych depression) - 4808 m, Mont Blanc, or (when drawing the border of Europe along the Caucasus Range) - 5642 m, Elbrus, the minimum is currently approx. −27 meters (Caspian Sea) and changes along with fluctuations in the level of this sea.

Plains prevail (large - East European, Central European, Middle and Lower Danube, Paris basin), mountains occupy about 17% of the territory (the main ones are the Alps, the Caucasus, the Carpathians, the Crimean, Pyrenees, Apennines, the Urals, the Scandinavian mountains, the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula). There are active volcanoes in Iceland and the Mediterranean.

In most of the territory, the climate is temperate (in the west - oceanic, in the east - continental, with snowy and frosty winters), in the northern islands - subarctic and arctic, in southern Europe - Mediterranean, in the Caspian lowland - semi-desert. On the islands of the Arctic, in Iceland, the Scandinavian mountains, the Alps - glaciation (area over 116 thousand km²).

Major rivers: Volga, Danube, Ural, Dnieper, Western Dvina, Don, Pechora, Kama, Oka, Belaya, Dniester, Rhine, Elbe, Vistula, Tahoe, Loire, Oder, Neman.

Large lakes: Ladoga, Onega, Peipsi, Venern, Balaton, Geneva.

On the islands of the Arctic and along the coast of the Arctic Ocean - arctic deserts and tundras, to the south - forest-tundras, taiga, mixed and broad-leaved forests, forest-steppes, steppes, subtropical Mediterranean forests and shrubs; in the southeast - semi-deserts.

The largest sandy desert in Europe, Ryn-Sands (40,000 km²), is located between the Volga and Ural rivers (on the territory of Kazakhstan and Russia); in Western Europe, the Tabernas massif in Spain is sometimes considered close to the semi-desert type of communities. In addition, there has been desertification of vast areas in Kalmykia, Russia, as a result of human activities in the industrial extraction of water from natural sources and irrational land use. In the zone of dry steppes in the east of Europe, there are a number of sandy massifs in Russia on the lower Don (Archedinsky-Don sands, Tsimlyansky sands, etc.), the borderlands of Kalmykia, Dagestan and Chechnya (Nogai steppe), as well as in Ukraine (Alyoshkov sands).

History of Europe

Europe remained uninhabited by humans for quite a long time. Where man came to Europe is debatable. We only know that Europe was not the birthplace of mankind. There are versions that the first hominids came to Europe from India. This is consistent with genetic studies. But the most developed is the hypothesis of the arrival of hominids to Europe from Africa through Asia Minor. There is an assumption that this happened in the middle of Villafranchian time. Before Homo Sapiens, Neanderthals inhabited Europe and Western Asia.

The Heidelberg man and his likely direct descendant, the Neanderthal man, truly populated Europe, the latter being a specialized form adapted to the European climate.

The earliest appearance of humans of the modern physical type (Homo sapiens) in Europe, known at the moment, dates back to 35 thousand years ago, and the Neanderthal probably finally disappeared 28 thousand years ago.

Countries of Europe

43 states have the recognition of the majority of UN members, 2 states (territories) have limited recognition.

Western Europe

• Austria
• Belgium
• Great Britain
• Germany
• Ireland
• Liechtenstein
• Luxembourg
• Monaco
• Netherlands
• France
• Switzerland

Eastern Europe

• Belarus
• Bulgaria
• Hungary
• Moldova
• Poland
• Russia
• Romania
• Estonia
• Ukraine
• Czech

Northern Europe

• Denmark
• Iceland
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Norway
• Finland
• Sweden
• Macedonia

Southern Europe

• Albania
• Andorra
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Vatican
• Greece
• Spain
• Italy
• Malta
• Portugal
• San Marino
• Serbia
• Slovenia
• Croatia
• Montenegro

Partly in Europe

• Azerbaijan (from 0% to approx. 10% of the territory)
• Georgia (from 0% to approx. 5% of the territory)
• Kazakhstan (up to 14% of the territory)
• Russia (from 22% to 23% of the territory)
• Türkiye (3% of the territory)

Unrecognized or partially recognized

• Republic of Kosovo
• Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic

States and territories maintaining close political and cultural ties with Europe

• Armenia (member of the Council of Europe)
• Greenland (part of Denmark)
• Cyprus (EU member)
• South Ossetia (partially recognized state)
• Abkhazia (partially recognized state)
• Azerbaijan[ (member of the Council of Europe)
• Georgia (member of the Council of Europe)

European dependencies

• Åland Islands
• guernsey
• Gibraltar
• Jersey
• Isle Of Man
• Faroe islands
• Svalbard
• Jan Mayen

Partially recognized religious order

• Order of Malta

Division of Europe

Europe is usually divided into Northern and Southern, Western and Eastern, as well as Central. This division is rather arbitrary, especially since not only purely geographical, but also political factors come into play here. Some countries, depending on the point of view, may be assigned to different groups of states.

In Soviet times, the division of Europe into East and West often had a political connotation - Eastern Europe included the GDR, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Yugoslavia and the USSR - socialist countries, or, as they were also called, "countries of people's democracy". All other states belonged to Western Europe. At the same time, Spain, Portugal, the south of France, Italy, Malta, Cyprus, Greece and Turkey were also called Southern Europe, and Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland - Northern Europe.

At present, after the collapse of the USSR, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, Central Europe includes Austria, Switzerland and Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the countries of the former Yugoslavia, Romania, Hungary, which were previously included in Eastern Europe, sometimes the Baltic countries (the latter are more often included in Northern Europe). To Eastern Europe - physiographically Russia (only a part in Europe), Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan (only a part in Europe), Georgia (only a part in Europe), Kazakhstan (only a part in Europe), Moldova, including unrecognized Transnistria. To Western Europe - Great Britain, Ireland, France and other countries, including the physical and geographically Central European Germany. Some sources retain the old division.

Political situation

In the post-World War II period until 1989-1991, Europe was the central scene of the Cold War between the Western (capitalist) and Eastern (socialist) blocs. Most of the countries of Western Europe at that time, in military and political terms, united within the framework of NATO. Social and legal integration was provided by the Council of Europe, economic - by the European Economic Community. In the east of the continent, the Warsaw Pact Organization acted as a military integration structure, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance acted as an economic one; in both, the USSR played a dominant role.

After the collapse of the socialist regimes, the situation changed markedly. Most of the countries of the former "socialist camp" reoriented towards Western structures. Currently, more than half of the states of Europe are members of the European Union and NATO, and almost all the rest declare their desire to join these organizations. On the one hand, this created the preconditions for the EU to become a political player on a truly global scale. On the other hand, the heterogeneity of the composition of the Union has a negative impact on its ability to develop common positions on certain issues.

The leaders of political processes in Europe are Germany, France, Great Britain and Italy. A significant role in the integration processes is played by the small countries of Western Europe (the Benelux countries, the Scandinavian states, Ireland), which have largely benefited from the development of the EU. A special place is occupied by the former socialist countries, which hope to improve their economic situation through participation in the European Union. The Balkan Peninsula remains a hotbed of instability, where the conflict situations that arose during the collapse of Yugoslavia have not yet been resolved. The political and economic future of the former Soviet republics, including those in the Caucasus, remains unclear. There is ambiguous attitude in Europe towards the desire of a predominantly Muslim Turkey to become more involved in European affairs.

Major international associations in Europe

European countries are members of various international organizations, most of which are organizations of an economic and political nature. The main international associations in Europe are listed below.

The Council of Europe is the only pan-European organization whose members are practically all the countries of Europe. Currently, 47 states are members of the Council of Europe. The goals of the Council of Europe are programs to smooth out contradictions between the legislative bases of European countries in such areas as human rights, citizenship, private international law, protection of the environment and cultural heritage, protection of the rights of national minorities, etc.

European Union

The European Union, the abbreviated name of the EU, is a supranational association of 27 European states. Within the framework of the Union, many programs are supervised. Within the framework of the EU, there is a single market, which includes a customs union, a monetary union (a single European currency - the euro, operates on the territory of 17 of the 27 members of the European Union), a common policy in the field of agriculture and fisheries. The European Union is also taking measures to coordinate the actions of member countries in the field of policy. There are also tendencies towards coordination of actions in the field of defense and common foreign policy. The Union is gradually evolving from an economic organization to a supranational one. At present, the combined GDP of the European Union is the largest in the world at US$15.849 trillion.

Also within Europe there are the following associations:

• Eurozone
• Schengen Area
• Customs Union
• European Economic Area
• European Free Trade Association

Commonwealth of Independent States

The Commonwealth of Independent States is an organization consisting of 11 former republics of the Soviet Union (except for the Baltic countries and Georgia). The CIS does not have supranational powers and is more of a symbolic organization operating in the field of coordinating interaction between the member countries of the Commonwealth. The main goals of the CIS are the implementation of cooperation in the political, economic, environmental, humanitarian, cultural and other fields; peaceful resolution of disputes; interstate cooperation and integration; protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens of member countries. The main topics of discussion are plans to create a single market like the EU, as well as the fight against cross-border crime.

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a military alliance whose members are mainly European countries, but also the United States and Canada. NATO was created as an organization to rally the Western European countries under the command of the United States against the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and its allies. The basis of the organization is an agreement on collective defense in the event of an attack on any of the member states.

OSCE

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is the largest regional security organization, which includes 56 states of Europe, Central Asia and North America.

The organization aims to prevent conflicts in the region, resolve crisis situations, and eliminate the consequences of conflicts.

The Nordic Council (founded in 1952) and the Nordic Council of Ministers (founded in 1971) are an organization for coordinating cooperation between the parliaments and governments of the Nordic countries. Member countries: Denmark, Finland (since 1956), Iceland, Norway, Sweden. The governing bodies are located in Copenhagen.

CEAST

The Central European Free Trade Association is an international organization that is the successor to the Visegrad Agreement between countries that are not members of the EU, signed on December 21, 1992. At the moment, the members of this organization are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, the Republic of Kosovo. Prior to joining the EU, the members of the organization were: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Benelux

Benelux is a political, economic and customs union of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, created on February 3, 1958. It has its own parliament and court, which includes representatives of three states.

GUAM

The organization was founded in 1997 by four countries: Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova (GUAM) The headquarters is located in the capital of Ukraine - Kyiv. From April 1999 to 2006, the organization also included Uzbekistan and it was called GUUAM.

EurAsEC

The Eurasian Economic Community is an international economic organization of a number of post-Soviet states that is engaged in the formation of common external customs borders, the development of a common foreign economic policy, tariffs, prices and other components of the functioning of the common market.

CSTO

Collective Security Treaty Organization - the organization includes Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan.

Within the framework of the CSTO, joint military exercises are being held. The purpose of the organization is to jointly repel aggression in the event of an attack on any state party to the treaty.

The Arctic Council is an international organization established in 1989 at the initiative of Finland to protect the unique nature of the northern polar zone. The Arctic Council includes eight subarctic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Canada, Norway, Russia, Sweden, USA. Observer countries: Great Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain.

Baltic Assembly

The Baltic Assembly is an advisory body for cooperation between the parliaments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, founded in 1991. The Assembly coordinates actions, advises the parliaments of the three countries and declares agreed positions in the form of resolutions, decisions and recommendations.

Council of the Baltic Sea States - was established on March 5-6, 1992 in Copenhagen at the conference of foreign ministers of the Baltic Sea countries. It included Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, as well as the Commission of the European Communities.

Forum of Regional Cooperation. The Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) was established in 1993. It included as permanent members Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Finland and Sweden, as well as the Commission of the European Communities (CEC). Nine states - Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Poland, France, the USA, Japan - have the status of observers.

Union State of Russia and Belarus

Confederate Union of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus with a single political, economic, military, customs, currency, legal, humanitarian, cultural space organized in stages.

Eurasian Customs Union

The Customs Union of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan and the Russian Federation is an interstate agreement on the creation of a single customs space, signed by Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Later, Kyrgyzstan joined the union.

Geographic center

The location of the center depends on the definition of the boundaries of Europe and is mainly determined by the calculation method chosen, as well as whether the outlying islands are included in the list of extreme points of Europe or not. Thus, several places claim the title of the geographical center of Europe.

A variant of the calculation by Belarusian scientists Alexei Solomonov and Valery Anoshko: 55 degrees 30 minutes north latitude, 28 degrees 48 minutes east longitude.

Ukraine, Lithuania, Slovakia, Germany and Poland also claim the title of the geographical center of Europe.

The Guinness Book of Records recognizes the village of Purnuškiai, 26 kilometers north of Vilnius, as the "official" geographic center of Europe.

• The name "Europe" is also given to an island located in the strait between the coast of Africa and Madagascar, named after the British ship "Europe", which on Christmas Eve 1774 correctly determined the coordinates of the island for the first time.
• Both world wars started in Europe.
• The name "Europe" also bears one of the moons of Jupiter, named after a character in ancient mythology.

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