Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from February, 2011
Macedonia: Online Advertising in 2010
Natalija Trajchevska presented a review of online advertising market in Macedonia [MKD] during 2010 on the e-Marketing blog. Most of the money went to entertainment content providers.
Macedonia: Ruined Monuments
Partikopolis‘ photos document vandalism against monuments [MKD] in Strumica: “…if this was a multi-ethnic community, then the ‘others’ would be blamed. Since it is not – nobody cares…”
Macedonia: Musings on the Early Elections
The Macedonian public is furiously discussing the justification and timing of the upcoming early elections.
Ukraine: Choosing to Leave
With Ukraine hit hard by the economic crisis and most citizens disappointed with the overall economic and political situation, more and more discussions about emigration alternatives have been appearing online. Tetyana Bohdanova translates some of the netizens' views on the issue.
Russia: Police Receives Right to Close Websites Without Court Order
Starting March 1, 2011, new law “On Police” [RUS] grants Russian police the right to order the heads of hosting companies to terminate the activity of those Internet resources that infringe Russian or International law or endanger individual or public security. Previously, police needed a court order to close a...
Egypt, Serbia: Protesters Trained by ‘Otpor!’
In an interview [MKD] for Vest daily, Ofelija Gadzevska-Sadek, a Macedonian living in Egypt, said that two leaders of the April 6 movement said on local TV that they'd been trained by Otpor! in Serbia. The main lesson by veteran activists, who helped overthrow Milošević in 2000, to the Egyptian...
Russia: Bloggers Deconstruct Isolationist Propaganda
As Russia is approaching another election cycle (in 2011 Russians are supposed to elect the Parliament and in 2012 – the president) the voices of state propagandists get louder. The upcoming election process, tamed and controlled by the President's office and the ruling party "United Russia," will be happening in the context of the Arabian "Spring of Nations 2.0." This fact inspires pro-Democracy activists, as well as regime advocates.
Russia: Internet Freedom As Cold War 2.0
Gregory Asmolov analyzes bloggers' reactions to the Internet Freedom speech by Hillary Clinton.
Macedonia: Reactions to Government’s Anti-Abortion Campaign
The Macedonian government’s campaign for “explaining the consequences of abortion,” re-started during the winter holidays, incited reactions by bloggers and civil society organizations, which mainly interpret it as an attempt to take Macedonia back to the Middle Ages.
Serbia: Reactions to the Story of Serbian Mercenaries in Libya
According to some sources, Serbian military pilots took part in the bombings of the Libyan protesters. Sasa Milosevic translates a few Serbian netizens' reactions to this allegation.
Poland: Prosecuted Blogger Hopes For a Different Verdict
Jakub Górnicki continues to report on the case of Łukasz Kasprowicz, a Polish blogger who was sued for defamation by a local official and is now banned from blogging by the court.
Macedonia: Global Voices Featured on a TV Show
GV author Filip Stojanovski was interviewed [MKD] for the TV show Nie (“We”) on the topic of “Kale, Internet, political parties, Facebook!? Whose fault is it?”, where he spoke about the importance of citizen media and Global Voices. The show also included a segment of Ethan Zuckerman's TED talk.
Ukraine: “Undressing… With an Excuse”
Good Girl Gone Ukrainian explains her disappointment with what FEMEN, a Ukrainian “female protest group known for its provocative bare-breasted acts,” has evolved into over the years.
Ukraine: “Reasons For Not Believing Today's Authorities”
Foreign Notes provides a loose translation – here and here – of the “30 reasons why it is difficult to believe today's authorities,” which were published in the Feb. 11 issue of the Ukrainian weekly news magazine Korrespondent.
Ukraine: Trip to Bakhchisaray, Crimea
The Kalpak writes about his trip to Bakhchisaray – “the hub of Crimean Tatar culture.”
Europe: EU and Social Media
Kosmopolito writes on the ways in which the “EU institutions [should] engage with bloggers” and on the need to have a bigger “euroblogosphere.”
Russia: One-Person Rallies by the Embassy of Libya
LJ user notavailablenow reports (RUS) on an hour-long series of one-person pickets held across the street from the Embassy of Libya in Moscow on Tuesday by two citizen activists, who took turns holding up a poster that read “Stop state terrorism.” First, however, the activists had to educate and argue...
Poland: Best Blogs of 2010 Announced
Jakub Górnicki reviews the winners of this year's Polish "Blog of the Year" contest.
Macedonia: Early Elections Imminent, Date Uncertain
Filip Stojanovski reports on the decision to hold early elections in Macedonia, and on the bloggers' reactions to it.
Poland: Ex-PM Jarosław Kaczyński Starts Blogging
On Feb. 18, Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of Poland's national conservative Law and Justice party, started a blog, and his first post has generated over 1,650 comments in just two days. Below are some examples that show how many emotions surround this new blogger.
Russia: Ulyanovsk News Portal Under Attack for Exposing Politician
73online.ru had been DDOS-ed for publishing compromising materials on Igor Bulanov, deputy speaker of Ulyanovsk legislative assembly. The portal published details on police detaining Bulanov and finding drugs in his car's glove compartment. After Bulanov was refused to remove the compromising publication, journalists started to receive threats while their website...
About our Eastern & Central Europe coverage
Filip Stojanovski is the Central Europe editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.
