Complex sentence: In practice, the status and function of the intelligentsia varied by society; in Eastern Europe, because they were deprived of political influence and access to the effective levers of economic development, the intelligentsia were at the social periphery of their societies.
Split into simpler sentences: In practice, the status and social function of the intelligentsia varied by society. In Eastern Europe, intellectuals were deprived of political influence and access to the effective levers of economic development; the intelligentsia were at the functional periphery of their societies.