Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from April, 2007
Ukraine: Opposition Rally
Ukrainiana posts pictures from a recent opposition rally in Kyiv and writes: “As the rally drew to a close, it started raining lightly. A group of opposition supporters headed for the Counter-Maidan and streamed past it unobstructed, with 0.0 casualties. Sorry, Mr. Yanukovych, no civil war. Just a civil walk.”
Russia: More on Mstislav Rostropovich
Another personal reflection on Mstislav Rostropovich, written by an anonymous contributor to Robert Amsterdam's blog – “who as a young musician had the distinct honor of personally meeting the great Russian master.”
Russia: Mstislav Rostropovich
Megan Case shares a personal memory of Mstislav Rostropovich, who died in Moscow last week.
Serbia: Blogosphere Reacts to Protect Press Freedom
Two hand grenades were placed on a window sill of Serbian journalist Dejan Anastasijevic's apartment on Saturday, April 15. The explosions caused material damage but no injuries. There were numerous comments about who might have stood behind the attack. Bloggers started a petition requesting prompt reaction of the police for the sake of press freedom.
The Balkans: Turbofolk
Bosnia Vault lists useful resources on turbofolk music.
Russia: Blondes Who Disagree
Robert Amsterdam comments on the rally of The Blondes Who Disagree, calling it “an obvious attempt to ridicule and discredit the recent Marches of Those Who Disagree, which were so brutally suppressed by the authorities.”
Bulgaria: Escalators Fixed
In the early 1990s, the escalators of Sofia's Main Train Station did not work, writes Sofia's Hidden Beauty: “The escalators’ colour became darker and darker, dust and rubbish irreversably damaged the mechanisms and they turned just into dangerous alternative of the stairs.” Now some of them do, again.
Ukraine: Politics Roundup
Dan McMinn's roundup of recent Ukrainian political developments gets a life of its own, as usual, as the comments start coming in (31, so far).
Moldova: Coverage of Transdniestria
A comprehensive overview of coverage of the situation in Transdniestria, over at Scraps of Moscow.
Serbia: Ganja March
Belgrade 2.0 writes about the upcoming “Global Ganja March” in Belgrade.
Albania: Ruminations on Elections
Our Man in Tirana attempts to place the French and British elections into Albanian context.
Estonia: “A Russian Rebellion”
As Tallinn seems to have entered the second night of rioting over the removal of a Soviet war memorial, here's a blogger's recap (with photos, RUS, by LJ user mrprophet) of what happened the previous night: A Russian rebellion Today I've been to a true Russian rebellion, senseless and relentless....
Latvia: Roma Resources
TOL's Romantic posts a link to the collection of resources on Latvia's Roma.
Russia: Pieces by Illarionov and Gevorkyan
La Russophobe posts two translations: pieces by Andrei Illarionov and Natalya Gevorkyan.
Russia: The Problem With Archives
Sean's Russia Blog writes about multiple problems that scholars face when dealing with the Russian archives.
Russia: Media Freedom
There're 32 comments to Sean Guillory's post on a Russian radio station that seems to have become “exactly” like Fox News in the U.S.
Russia: Kasparov's Foreign Funding
As the Kremlin begins looking for Gary Kasparov's foreign sponsors, Sean's Russia Blog reports that a reporter for an expat paper in Moscow may have already completed the job.
Romania: Politics
Two blogs comment on the situation in Romania. Transatlantic Politics: “Four months after Romanian accession, it is clear that not even the post-accession monitoring mechanisms imposed by Brussels and the threat of safeguard clauses are real means of pressure for the Romanian politicians.” Romerican: “I often sense a deep hopelessness...
Hungary: Jewish History
Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar writes of a need for “a more rounded and positive insight into the history” of Hungary's Jewish community.
Russia: Space Explorers
Copydude writes about Russian humans and dogs in space.
Romania: Eurovision
Blog Bucharest writes about the approaching Eurovision Song Contest and how Romanians take it a bit too seriously.
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.
