Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from December, 2013
Twin Acts of Terror for Russia's New Year
Little information about the perpetrators is known, but as usual the RuNet is rife with speculation.
Nude Twitter Calendar Promotes Sex Education and Gender Equality in Macedonia
Messages from the calendar include "Gender equality is not a threat to family," and “No always means No! Nakedness is not a substitute for consent.”
Ukrainian Protesters Play Lennon's “Imagine” Live to Riot Police
On December 18, 2013, American musician and composer Sean Lennon (son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono) shared a photo on his Facebook wall, depicting a pianist playing John Lennon's famous song “Imagine” to the rows of Ukrainian riot police. In a week, the photo has gathered over 16,900 likes...
9 Things the Russian Government Says Are “Gay Propaganda”
Russian state censors have revised the criteria for identifying information online that supposedly endangers minors. One new report tries to clarify the definition of "gay propaganda."
Vladimir Milov “On Khodorkovsky”
Vladimir Milov is an energy sector expert and former Deputy Energy Minister of the Russian Federation. RuNet Echo translates his reaction to Mikhail Khodorkovsky's release from prison last week.
Accenting the Positive on the Russian Internet
BestPozitiv.ru, also known as “Tol'ko Pozitiv” (Only the Positive), is a Russian website that promises to “fill you with positivity every day” by bringing its viewers “the most interesting” videos, GIFs, photographs, lists, and other multimedia “that the Internet has to offer.” The site aggregates everything, from memes of cute...
Ukrainians Demand Justice for Beaten & Jailed #Euromaidan Protesters
As Euromaidan protests in Ukraine continue, reports and evidence of police brutality against protesters and journalists grow. Netizens are organizing to protect victims of police brutality.
#askPussyRiot Wants Your Questions
After almost two years in federal custody, Pussy Riot's two most famous members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina, will hold their first post-prison press conference [ru]. The event will be hosted by the online TV station Dozhd and take place on Friday, December 27, 2013, beginning at 2:00 PM Moscow time (5:00 AM...
Pussy Riot Free to Tweet at Last!
Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova are already micro-blogging up a storm.
Emptying Russia's Prisons to Fill the Seats at Sochi 2014
Many Russian bloggers believe that the 2014 Olympics in Sochi played a major role in the early release of both Greenpeace activists and Pussy Riot, as well as Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Former Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko Officially Supports #Euromaidan Movement
According to her official website, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has officially joined the Maidan Civil Movement, a newly formed civilian organization stemming from the Euromaidan movement, just as the protest that began in Ukraine in November 2013 enters its second month. Tymoshenko, jailed in 2011 for allegedly “exceeding...
DIY Galaksija Computer, Bedrock of Serbia's IT Industry, Turns 30
Thirty years ago in Yugoslavia, young inventor Voja Antonić and his team created a personal computer that users could build at home, using tools and parts readily available in stores.
Will Pussy Riot Fight Putin's Amnesty and Remain in Prison?
The manner in which Mikhail Khodorkovsky was freed seems to differ from what awaits Pussy Riot's Tolokonnikova and Alekhina, who have signaled some unwillingness to leave prison early.
“Beyond Brazil”: European Journalists Wanted for Reporting Trips
Coolpolitics in Portugal announces [pt] an open call for European journalists who want to go on a reporting trip to Brazil in 2014. Twenty-one young reporters from Portugal, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom and Bulgaria will be selected to take part of three different groups that will cover events in Brazil,...
“Good Tsar” Putin Pardons Khodorkovsky
The news that Khodorkovsky had potentially admitted guilt and would be imminently released sent the RuNet into a fit of speculation.
Ukrainian Netizens Draft A Digital #Euromaidan Manifesto
As Euromaidan protests in Ukraine enter their second month, Ukrainian social media users have started circulating a Digital Euromaidan Manifesto [uk] drafted by their fellow netizens. Below is the English translation of the full original statement: Digital Euromaidan Manifesto We, the Ukrainian Internet users united by Euromaidan principles of non-violent...
Mapping the ‘Urban Commons’ of Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul and Athens
Pablo de Soto's research project discusses the control governments have over societies' shared goods, and establishes a connection between the commons and production as collectively owned resources.
The Economics of Ukraine's #Euromaidan [INFOGRAPHIC]
A Ukrainian news portal specializing in data visualization, Newsplot.org [ru], has published an infographic [ru] outlining the costs and necessities of the Euromaidan protests in Kyiv:
New Website Collects Reports and Data About Bribes in Hungary
Hungary, like many other countries in the region, has an on-going corruption problem on almost every level of governance. A new project created by investigative website Átlátszó.hu and Transparency International, Fizettem.hu, has taken on the task of collecting reports from citizens about cases of bribery and corruption in the country....
Bulgaria Marks Six Months of Continued Protests
December 14, 2013, marked six months of anti-government protests in Bulgaria, where protesters still gather daily in Sofia and other cities, demanding the resignation of the current government, led by the Socialist Party. After the previous government stepped down after similar protests in February 2013, the new government, elected in...
Ukraine: Live Streamed Monitoring of District Election Commissions
Amidst ongoing Euromaidan rallies throughout Ukraine, repeat elections have been held in five troubled single-mandate constituencies in the country, where results could not be confirmed during the 2012 Parliamentary election. In order to increase the transaprency of the electoral process, a non-government organization, Civil Network OPORA [uk, en] is preparing...
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.
