· January, 2008

Stories about History from January, 2008

Russia: Osoaviakhim-1

  30 January 2008

De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis writes about the Soviet balloon Osoaviakhim-1, which reached the record altitude of 22,000 meters on Jan. 30, 1934, but crashed during the descent.

Trinidad & Tobago: Where's The ‘Mas?

  30 January 2008

Thebookmann attends Trinidadian artist Ashraph's Carnival exhibition: “The Midnight Robber, the Fancy Sailor, Bats, Red Devils and Fancy Indians, Kings and Queens and to its current transitional state of feathers and beads, all inclusive, in a brown paper bag.”

Belarus, Latvia: “Ploshcha”

  29 January 2008

Marginalia watches Ploshcha (“The Square”), a film about the March 2006 mass protests in Minsk – “and watching it is a good way to mark Ceauşescu's birthday and Suharto's death” – and muses on freedom in Latvia and the lack of it in Belarus.

Armenia: Army Day

  28 January 2008

January 28 is a national holiday in Armenia and marks the foundation of the Armenian Army. Nazarian posts his thanks for the creation of the country's post-independence non-Soviet army.

Bangladesh: Cinema, politics, health, photography and history

  28 January 2008

Cinema: The Bangladeshi film industry nicknamed Dhallywood used to produce decent films for the Bangladeshi society. But with the competition of superior quality pictures from Hollywood and Bollywood, which conquered Bangladesh market and the people with the help of cheap bootleg VCD/DVDs, Dhallywood was in trouble in the last decade....

UK: Disgrace

  28 January 2008

Blogrel comments on yesterday's desecration of a stone cross erected in memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide in the Welsh city of Cardiff. The blogger says that as the vandalism was a disgrace and marked a new low coming as it did on Holocaust Memorial Day he hopes...

UK: Genocide Memorial Vandalism Update

  28 January 2008

Blogian posts a photograph of the monument erected in the Welsh city of Cardiff that was vandalized yesterday. The desecration of the Armenian stone cross came on the eve of a special event to mark Holocaust Day as well as to pay respects to the memory of Turkish-Armenian editor and...