Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from October, 2012
Far-Right Party Performs Strongly in Ukrainian Vote
While the results of the Oct. 28 elections in Ukraine are still being finalized, netizens are already discussing the anticipated outcome. Many are paying special attention to VO Svoboda, a...
Russia: Assessing Predictions About the Coordinating Council Election
As RuNet Echo readers know well, the Coordinating Council's elections took place last week, and that body has already convened virtually through Facebook and once again in person. Weeks in...
Ukraine: Election Monitors’ Websites Under DDoS Attack
Ukrainian domestic election monitoring organizations and projects using crowdsourcing for mapping election violations (see GV post) reported [uk] being DDoS-ed on the day of the vote: […] web-sites of election...
Central Asians Treated ‘Like Crap’ at Moscow Airport
I realized that once you find yourself at [the Moscow airport] Domodedovo, you start feeling like you are [crap]. And you feel so not because you are actually [crap], but...
Ukraine: Election Votes for Sale Via Social Network
Odessablog draws attention [en] to a VKontakte page [ru] used by those who are willing to sell their Oct. 28 election votes. Roma Lexikov, one of the very few users...
Slovakia: Protesting SOZA's Newest Copyright Fees
SOZA's general manager Vladimír Repčík addressed Slovak high school seniors via his blog on October 22, urging them to register with his agency and pay €15 for their traditional graduation...
Russia: the Scuffles of the Moscow Literati
Most online conflicts in the RuNet remain virtual. Sometimes, however, members of the Moscow creative class feel that fisticuffs are their only recourse, as a recent Twitter spat between blogger...
Russia: Facebook Insults Lead to a Fight at the Bolshoi
Earlier this week, an online spat between the chief editors of Russian GQ and Russian Tatler magazines came to physical blows on the steps of the famous Bolshoi Theater. First,...
Ukraine: Technology for Transparent Elections
Amidst mounting allegations of the ruling party's use of administrative resource during election campaign, the government has pledged to keep the Oct. 28 free and fair. Local election monitoring groups,...
Ukraine: Crowdmapping Election Violations
ElectUA.org [uk] is a crowdsourcing tool used to report and map election violations in Ukraine. A project of Internews-Ukraine, its goal [en] is “to encourage citizens to have active social...
Ukraine: Pre-Election Roundup
In the run-up to the October 28 general election in Ukraine, discover a selection of relevant blog posts.
Russia: Cryptanalytic Vulnerabilities in the Opposition's Online Elections
The opposition's Elections Commission accidentally leaked personal voter data to one of its most dangerous enemies, Sergei Mavrodi's MMM group. How avoidable was this mistake, and does the fact that...
Russia: With Opposition's Online Elections Over, Scandals Plague Results
The Coordinating Council elections are finally over. Now that the final tally is in, it’s time to look more closely at what happened. Scandals and provocations have led to results...
New Realities of the India-Russia Defence Partnership
India has traditionally enjoyed warm defense ties with Russia. However, New Delhi’s recent tilt towards Washington has prompted Moscow to enhance its defense and diplomatic states with other South Asian...
Ukraine: Homophobic Bill Considered Ahead of Election
Shortly after scrapping the infamous defamation bill in early October, Ukrainian MPs passed another scandalous proposal in the first reading, aimed at “defending children from the propaganda of homosexual lifestyle...
Slovakia: “For Decent and Safe Life” Rally Stirs Controversy
Tibor Blazko reports on the controversial Oct. 13 rally for "a decent and safe life," translating netizens' views on the rights of Slovakia's Roma and non-Roma citizens, as well as...
Russia: DDoS Attacks Cripple Opposition's Online Vote
Eight hours after online voting for the Russian opposition's “Coordinating Council” began, unknown assailants launched a sustained Denial-of-Service attack against the Election Commission's website, disabling the primary voting portal.
Russia: Opposition Distracted by Virtual Elections, Loses Real Elections
In August, Global Voices reported on several activists from Russia’s protest movement running for office in local elections. They hoped it would be easier to win these small-scale contests, which...
Russia: A Ponzi Scheme to Destroy the Opposition's Coordinating Council?
There are storm clouds rolling in for the Coordinating Council's coming elections, and the promise of a democratic triumph for the protest movement could be faltering, thanks mainly to the...
Slovakia, UK: “Child Snatching” or “Child Protection”?
As many as 30 UK-based Slovak children have been removed from their families by British social workers in recent years. While some consider it "child protection," others call it "child...
About our Eastern & Central Europe coverage
Filip Stojanovski is the Central Europe editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.
