Eastern Europe

When describing Eastern Europe, it can be defined by countries that had been satellites of the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union occupied and controlled half of Europe after 1945 and set up “puppet” governments in these countries. Some of these countries share a border with Russia, but on a map, it is everything East of Germany, Austria and Italy.

The entire list of current Eastern European countries includes Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldovia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania.

https://www.google.com/maps/@52.6528733,17.2751582,5z

The Baltic Countries

Depending on the context the Baltic region might stand for:

The countries that have shorelines along the Baltic Sea: Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Sweden.

The group of countries presently referred to by the shorthand Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

The Baltic States who share a border with Russia are Estonia and Latvia.  South of Latvia, Belarus and Ukraine also share a border with Russia

http://ontheworldmap.com/europe/baltic-states-map.html

In 1914, the Russian Empire included Finland, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and extended to the borders of Turkey, Romania, Persia, Afghanistan and China.

https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/map-russian-empire-1914

The Eastern European countries trade with Russia and all other countries in the area.  They have been attempting to improve their economies since 1989 and those who have established and expanded their private sector economies have done well. 

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader