I mean, in 1997, Ukraine and Russia were signing The Treaty of Friends. Hardly the most acrimonious period between them. The First Chechen War had wrapped up a year ago and the Second Chechen War wouldn’t break out until '99. Even that was small potatoes compared to the bloody mess of Afghanistan and the uprising in Romania during the 80s.
Yugoslavia definitely sucked, but it was the notable exception. Even Greece and Turkey managed to tone it down during the 90s.
I was more referring to prosperity when mentioning Russia and Ukraine. The decrease in living standards, and massive increase in alcoholism and deaths of dispair hardly paints a prosperous picture.
Unless I’m forgetting some especially disastrous conflict in the 1970s and 1980s in Europe, I don’t think you could argue that the 90s were more peaceful than either.
Unless I’m forgetting some especially disastrous conflict in the 1970s and 1980s
There were a bunch of uprisings in Eastern Europe towards the end of the 80s, as the Warsaw Pact dissolved.
Spain and Portugal both had coups. Romania overthrew its government. England had The Troubles with Ireland. The Years of Lead in Italy ran from the late 60s to the mid 80s, and there was some nasty organized crime conflicts through this period.
The uprisings were relatively bloodless though. The troubles continued well into the 90s so it’s not really point towards either side. Russia had an attempted coup in the early 90s.
Relative to prior decades, maybe. Idk if I’d describe The Troubles or the Years of Lead as “bloodless”.
The troubles continued well into the 90s
The worst of it was in the 70s, peaking with Bloody Sunday. The 90s were notable precisely because of the ceasefires, political accords, mainstreaming of Sinn Féin, and discrediting of the radical dissident groups.
Imagine saying this in 1997, during one of the most peaceful and prosperous periods of European History since the late Napoleonic Era.
Unless you’re Russian, Ukrainian, Albanian or anywhere in or around Yugoslavia.
I mean, in 1997, Ukraine and Russia were signing The Treaty of Friends. Hardly the most acrimonious period between them. The First Chechen War had wrapped up a year ago and the Second Chechen War wouldn’t break out until '99. Even that was small potatoes compared to the bloody mess of Afghanistan and the uprising in Romania during the 80s.
Yugoslavia definitely sucked, but it was the notable exception. Even Greece and Turkey managed to tone it down during the 90s.
I was more referring to prosperity when mentioning Russia and Ukraine. The decrease in living standards, and massive increase in alcoholism and deaths of dispair hardly paints a prosperous picture.
Unless I’m forgetting some especially disastrous conflict in the 1970s and 1980s in Europe, I don’t think you could argue that the 90s were more peaceful than either.
Not to mention the rampant banditry, the frenzied growth in the number of drug addicts and other things.
There were a bunch of uprisings in Eastern Europe towards the end of the 80s, as the Warsaw Pact dissolved.
Spain and Portugal both had coups. Romania overthrew its government. England had The Troubles with Ireland. The Years of Lead in Italy ran from the late 60s to the mid 80s, and there was some nasty organized crime conflicts through this period.
The 90s were comparably much more sanguine.
The uprisings were relatively bloodless though. The troubles continued well into the 90s so it’s not really point towards either side. Russia had an attempted coup in the early 90s.
I really don’t think they were.
Relative to prior decades, maybe. Idk if I’d describe The Troubles or the Years of Lead as “bloodless”.
The worst of it was in the 70s, peaking with Bloody Sunday. The 90s were notable precisely because of the ceasefires, political accords, mainstreaming of Sinn Féin, and discrediting of the radical dissident groups.
The 90s saw some 20% less violent deaths during the troubles than the 80s did, though it’s true that the 70s were the worst period.
The years of lead weren’t bloodless, but relatively few people died even compared to the troubles, let alone something like Chechnya