Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from July, 2006
Albania: Reactions to the Sunday Times Article
annabengan of annasblog reposts the Sunday Times Magazine's article on Albania, and the “official reply/explanation from the chief editor of Sunday Times.” annabengan's Albanian friends thought the article was “fair” – while her non-Albanian friends considered it “bad journalism.” One reader wrote: “[…] if this were written about a poor...
Serbia: Talks of War
Eric Gordy of East Ethnia writes on the talks of war and the pains of forming a viable democratic coalition in Serbia.
Russia: “Mystery Illness” in Chechnya
David McDuff of A Step At A Time has translated a Prague Watchdog/Radio Free Liberty broadcast on the “mystery illness” that affected more than 100 children in Shelkovsky district.
Russia: “List of 17″
Sean's Russia Blog writes about groups present on (and missing from) the FSB's Terrorist Organizations list.
Ukraine: Universal of the National Unity
LEvko of Foreign Notes writes about the Universal of National Unity that president Yushchenko expects the leading Ukrainian politicians to sign, and some of the problems that surround the negotiation process.
Latvia: Baltica Festival
Dykun posts footage from the Baltica Festival in Latvia: “More specifically, this is footage of two groups from Latgale. Latgale is a region of Latvia that has long fascinated me; it is considered by many to be the most rural part of Latvia, and it shares a long border to...
Czech Republic: Moravian Folklore
Bored in Brno posts a report from the 49th “annual celebration of local music and folklore in the town of Velka nad Velickou in South Moravia”: “Being a Czech festival, the beer flows liberally. Despite the higher elevation, the region can still sustain some grape cultivation and there is a...
Serbia: Yugoslav Film Archive
Belgrade Blog writes about the new storage space for the Yugoslav film archive.
Russia: Brian Grover & Matthias Rust
Copydude writes about two men who became (in)famous after they flew their light planes into Russia illegally: Brian Grover (1938) and Matthias Rust (1987).
Food Blog Report #26
#1: From Denmark, KristianPetersen.com and his original "Peach, chili and garlic soup with chicken" It´s essensial for a starter to have a great, not to spicy taste, to be light, and be able to make the tongue´s taste system ready for something with more taste, flavour and with more density....
Ukraine: Waiting for Yushchenko
Dan McMinn of Orange Ukraine posts a brief update on Ukrainian politics and offers a few apolitical links.
Russia: Andrei Sychyov's Case
Sean's Russia Blog posts an update on Andrei Sychyov's case and writes about cruelty in the Russian army.
Russia: Chavez in Russia
Yuri Mamchur of Russia Blog writes about the visit of Hugo Chavez to Russia.
Russia: Kaliningrad Travel Restrictions
Copydude writes about travel restrictions for Kaliningrad residents: “As fast the Berlin Wall came down, the EU has been building it back up. You can’t paint nice murals on the Fortress Schengen wall, but it’s just as effective at keeping people in.”
Ukraine: Blog in Ukrainian
LJ user laset (UKR) has launched a free WordPress blog service for those who would like to blog in Ukrainian.
Russia, Ukraine: Stories About Words
Below is the translation of three stories about words: in the first one, they are being banned; in the second, they offend; in the third, there aren't enough of them. LJ user plushev, a Russian radio journalist, writes (RUS) about the government's attack on the name of the controversial National...
Russia & Armenia: Discriminatory Hiring
Nessuna reports on anti-Armenian discrimination in hiring for jobs in Russia.
Croatia: Dubrovnik Now and Then
Edward Lucas, Central and East European correspondent of The Economist, writes about his two visits to Croatia's seaside town Dubrovnik: in 1985 and this year.
USA: Ukrainian Sunflower Festival of Detroit
Greg of Reflections on Ukraine writes about the Ukrainian Sunflower Festival of Detroit, scheduled to take place Aug. 25-27, 2006.
Albania: Little Progress in Anti-Corruption
Our Man in Tirana cites a World Bank study, which declares that in terms of instituting anti-corruption reforms, “Albania remains the worst performer among all transition countries.”
Russia: Kremlin's Big Fish Fishing
Yuri Mamchur of Russia Blog writes about the current regime's idea of fishing: the “big fish” are Mikhail Khodrkovsky's former business partner Leonid Nevzlin, currently based in Israel, and two London residents – the “oligarch” Boris Berezovsky and “the so-called ‘Foreign Minister of Ichkeria’ Akhmed Zakaev.”
About our Eastern & Central Europe coverage
Filip Stojanovski is the Central Europe editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.
Daria Dergacheva is the Eastern Europe editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
