1.   Geography, with special attention to the disposition of the Communist bloc and the free World.

2.   An investigation of the cultures of six countries that used to be part of the communist bloc.

3.   And so ethnic or religious or national conflicts, whether within the Communist bloc or the Western bloc, had little chance of exploding.

4.   As democracy and democratic reforms have brought increasing prosperity to many in the former communist bloc, the Roma have been largely left out.

5.   A third of Egyptian exports were part of barter deals with the former Communist bloc that ignored quality and disregarded marketing.

6.   Albania remains the only country in the former communist bloc without any private television.

7.   Bulgaria was the last country of the former communist bloc to reach a positive rate of growth.

8.   But as is the case elsewhere in the former Communist bloc, revealing the dirty secrets of the past has proved complicated.

9.   During Soviet times, barter was used between Communist bloc countries.