· July, 2011

Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from July, 2011

Poland: Smolensk Report Blames Both Polish and Russian Sides

  31 July 2011

On July 29, Poland presented its final report on the 2010 Smolensk plane crash, in which 96 people died, including the then president of Poland Lech Kaczynski. While putting the major blame on the Polish pilot's error, the report also pointed at the fault of the defective lighting at Smolensk airport and Russian air controllers.

Russia: US Support of Opposition?

RuNet Echo  31 July 2011

LJ user grad46 (Maxim Petrovich) claims [ru] that several Russian opposition groups are funded by US-interests. Until recently an opposition activist himself, Petrovich publishes corroborating documentation, accuses several leading opposition activists of taking American money, and is interviewed [ru] on the issue by Russian newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets.

Ukraine: Timoshenko Facing the Law

  30 July 2011

LEvko of Foreign Notes follows up on the trial against former Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Timoshenko, and finds that – despite a weak case – the process is likely to end with a guilty verdict for a number of political reasons.

Russia: News as Rap

RuNet Echo  30 July 2011

Edmund Downie at Foreign Policy Passport reports that Russian president Dmitri Medvedev is much impressed by news agency's RIA-Novosti introduction of news in the form of musical rap info [ru].

Hungary: Situation of Roma

  30 July 2011

Eva Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum writes about the situation of Roma in Hungary against the beckground of US-talks with representatives of the Roma group in the country.

Poland-Russia: Passing Out Blame for Kaczynski Plane Crash

  30 July 2011

Streetwise Professor comments on the Polish report about last year's plane crash that killed the country's president, and goes on to argue that, whereas Polish pilots where mostly to blame, Russian air-traffic control was probably also to blame.

Slovenia: New Twists in Arms Bribery Affaire

  30 July 2011

Sleeping With Pengovsky posts an update about new developments in Slovenia's scandal over bribery in the Patria affaire concerning purchase of Armoured Personnel Carriers from a Finnish company.

Russia-USA: 20 Years Since START I

  30 July 2011

Hans Kristensen at FAS Strategic Security Blog commemorates the 20th anniversary of START 1, the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty beween the Soviet Union and the USA curtailing the number of nuclear missiles.

Poland: The State of Reading

  28 July 2011

A few weeks ago, a new social campaign - Reading in Poland - was launched by one of Poland's largest daily newspapers due to the fact that reading rates in Poland are very low: one reports states that 56 percent of the Poles don't read books at all - and are also incapable of reading texts longer than 3 pages. A huge debate has started on the reading culture in Poland and the reasons for the crisis it is facing.

Bulgaria-Russia: Refinery Shutdown Causes Oil Crisis

  28 July 2011

John Helmer of Dances With Bears reports that a Bulgarian government-imposed shutdown of the Lukoil-owned Burgas refinery threatens to create an oil crisis in the country, and goes on to describe the political game behind the crisis.

Russia: Summer Brings Death

  28 July 2011

Vadim Nikitin at Foreign Policy Association observes that death tolls in Russia seem to rise during the summer, from terrorism, accidents, disasters and other reasons.

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.