Eastern Europe was never more advanced politically, culturally or economically even during the Middle Ages.
In fact, The Hanseatic League, an organization of German soldier-merchants, dominated the trade of northern Europe during that time and often wielded more power in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Denmark) than the native rulers did. The Low German language even almost replaced the native languages of Scandinavia during that time. In their book "Words - the evolution of western languages", Phil Howard and Victor Stevenson even tell the story of one Norwegian in the year 1489 who was stabbed to death by another Norwegian when he told him to stop speaking German, and speak Norwegian.
In Southern Europe, the Italian city states of Genoa and Vencie were the strongest economic powers. They almost succeeded in taking over the proud city of Constantinope and what was left of the Byzantine Empire in Greece and Turkey. However, the Ottoman Turks changed all that when they arrived in the 13 and 1400's from Central Asia via Iran (Persia).
I will say this though, Ardy619, that Western Europeans owe Eastern Europeans (especially Poles and Hungarians) a debt of gratitude for stopping the Mongol armies of Ghengis Khan. Somebody told me once that were it not for a handful of Poles and Hungarians, I would be sitting on a yak and speaking Mongolian today. I think they were basically right. While the Poles and Hungarians were never able to defeat the Mongols decisively in any one battle, they apparently inflicted enough causualties on the Mongol warriors that they decided to halt their westward migration and retreat back into Asia after about 1260.
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