· April, 2012

Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from April, 2012

Russia: Gun Rights Advocates Rally Around Tula Hero

RuNet Echo

Russian gun ownership laws are long and restrictive. In early April, when a small-scale farmer in Tula used a kitchen knife to kill three armed robbers that threatened him and his family, the incident sparked a new dialogue about gun rights and self-defense in Russia.

30 April 2012

Russia: The Battle of Borodino Lives On

RuNet Echo

After 200 years, through the works of artists such as Leo Tolstoy (as well as legal disputes about the historic preservation of the battlefield), the Battle of Borodino continues to inspire passion and incite controversy. In this post, RuNet Echo returns to the historical and modern contexts of Russia's victory in the Napoleonic Wars.

30 April 2012

Ukraine: Netizens Discuss Dnipropetrovsk Bombings

There has been a great deal of speculation about the four bombings that rocked the city of Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, on Friday. The timing of the blasts is key to most of the popular theories emerging online, as Ukraine is undergoing a very eventful period right now.

29 April 2012

Russia: Putin Proposes Contentious State Power Grab in Siberia

RuNet Echo

On April 20, 'Kommersant' revealed an ongoing legislative project to create a state company to oversee the economic development of Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East. The schism at the heart of the RuNet's response to this issue reveals certain fundamental apprehensions that shape online Russian civil society.

27 April 2012

Russia: Dombrovsky and Molotov

RuNet Echo

The Faculty of Useless Knowledge tells a story of writer Yuri Dombrovsky‘s brief encounter with Vyacheslav Molotov, and shares a link to a documentary [ru] about Dombrovsky's life.

27 April 2012

Bulgaria: Penalty For Getting Pregnant

The blog “Работнически глас” (“Worker's voice”) tells [bg] about a trial scheduled for May 26: a former female employee is suing a company for a discriminatory clause in the work contract,...

26 April 2012

Bulgaria: May Bicycle Parade

On May 19, the 15th annual May Bicycle Parade will gather thousands of supporters of cycling in Sofia with one clear goal – to count the cyclists and show that...

23 April 2012

Serbia: Upcoming Elections Offer Few Choices, Inspire Apathy and Humor

Much unbeknownst to most people in the world, Serbia is, in many ways, looking at its most important election since the 2000 revolutionary elections that toppled the government of Slobodan Milosevic. As politicians have started campaigning avidly, so have many bloggers broken their silence on this issue. Danica Radisic reports.

22 April 2012

Russia: Anti-Drug Activist Identifies Corrupt Moscow Police in Sverdlovsk

RuNet Echo

Controversial activist Evgeny Roizman originally made a name for himself by establishing a non-profit fund called “A City without Drugs.” The fund both treats drug addiction and targets dealers, albeit using somewhat vigilante methods. Writing in his LiveJournal account, Roizman is now at the forefront of publicizing a police corruption scandal in Sverdlovsk Oblast.

21 April 2012

Russia: Liberal Democrats Join Opposition to Ulyanovsk NATO Hub

RuNet Echo

In the last week, Vladislav Naganov and Aleksei Navalny, two of Russia's most prominent liberal democrat bloggers, entered the debate about a proposed NATO transit hub in Ulyanovsk. The transit hub (or "military base," as critics call it) is unlike most Russian political issues that involve the North Atlantic Alliance, as the Kremlin in this instance has agreed to cooperate with (rather than resist) the West.

21 April 2012

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.