· May, 2006

Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from May, 2006

Czech Republic: Wedding Tradition

  31 May 2006

David of Prague Blog writes about a fun wedding tradition that the Czechs seem to observe: “After the wedding ceremony, and before the reception, the best man “kidnaps” the bride and takes her to a pub. […] They drink whatever they want, and the groom goes searching for them. If...

Belarus: Lukashenko's Childhood and Family

  31 May 2006

Tobias Ljungvall writes about Aleksandr Lukashenko's difficult childhood and posts a photo of the dictator's aunt that he took in 2002. (Two photos of Lukashenko's wife have been added, too.)

Belarus, Russia: IMF Approves of Common Currency

  31 May 2006

TOL's Belarus Blog criticizes the IMF's approval of the common currency of Belarus and Russia: “Oh, yeah, IMF is not a political body and does not care or understand that ‘currency union’ has nothing to do with economics but only disquises attempt of political incorporation.”

Belarus: Hunger Strikes and Persecutions

  31 May 2006

Andrei Khrapavitski writes about “repressions and deaths” in Belarus, as well as two hunger strikes – by the young politicians and a businessman facing a 6-year sentence for tax evasion.

Serbia & Montenegro: Referendum's Potential Consequences

  31 May 2006

Srdjan Cvijic of The TransAtlantic Assembly writes on potential geopolitical consequences of the Montenegro vote: “Independence of Montenegro, inevitable nourishes independence aspirations of other territorial entities across Europe and the World.”

Estonia: Nordic Battle Group

  31 May 2006

Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa writes about the history of military action of Sweden, Norway, Estonia and Finland, and reports on a Nordic Battle Group's workshop that took place Tuesday.

Latvia: Aleksiy II's Visit

  30 May 2006

All About Latvia writes about the visit of Aleksiy II, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, to Latvia last weekend. Latvia is home to some 350,000 Orthodox Christians.

Latvia: Second Gay Pride Parade

  30 May 2006

All About Latvia writes about the politics of this year's gay pride parade (to be held in Riga on July 22): “For political parties who objected the march last year, this will be a chance to win over the hearts of the skeptical public for the fall parliamentary elections by...

Slovenia: President's Book Review

  30 May 2006

AlesS of A Little Blog For a Restless Mind reviews a book written by Janez Drnovsek, Slovenia's president: Thoughts on Life and Awareness. “To me the president with this book seems like a freshman that hasn't even yet passed the first grade of buddhism, yet already wants to teach (preach...

Estonia: “The Hole” Review

  30 May 2006

David McDuff of A Step At A Time reviews The Hole, a study on the sinking of Estonia, “a giant passenger and car ferry in the Baltic Sea in September 1994 which involved the deaths of nearly 1,000 people in the space of 35 minutes.”

Russia: “And You Call It A Gay [Pride] Parade?”

  30 May 2006

This past Saturday marked the 13th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Russia, and a number of people attempted to take part in a gay pride parade in Moscow – despite the ban by a city court and mayor Yuri Luzhkov's words from the day before: “As long as...

Russia: Pogrom Instead of Gay Pride

  29 May 2006

LJ user greenmih posts photos from the pogrom that took place in Moscow on Saturday instead of the gay pride parade, which had been banned by Moscow's mayor (RUS). Riot police, Orthodox Christians, skinheads and radical nationalists prevented those who did gather despite the ban to proceed and assaulted them....

Russia: Moscow Roma

  29 May 2006

Julia (LJ user kunstkamera) posts striking photos of the Roma living in Moscow (RUS). She went to their camp together with a friend – who, at one point, even lent his camera to the Roma and let them make some shots.

Serbia & Montenegro: Photos of the Missing Albanians of Kosovo

  29 May 2006

Doug Muir of A Fistful of Euros writes about a wall of photos of 2,000 missing Albanians next to the government building in Pristina, Kosovo, the story behind these photos and their significance: “Kosovo: just because nobody’s paying attention, doesn’t mean it’s gone away.”

Russia: The Plight of Russian-Germans

  29 May 2006

J. Otto Pohl writes about one Russian-German family's road to political asylum in the U.S., the plight of the Russian-Germans during WWII and now, and the “deep-rooted Germanophobia among the US elite.”

Ukraine: GUAM Founds ODED

  29 May 2006

Vilhelm Konnander writes about a new organization whose founding members are Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova (GUAM): the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (ODED), to be based in Kyiv, Ukraine. GUAM-ODED is intended as an alternative to the Commonwealth of Independent States

About our Eastern & Central Europe coverage

Filip Stojanovski
Filip Stojanovski is the Central Europe editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.

Daria Dergacheva
Daria Dergacheva is the Eastern Europe editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.