Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from March, 2015
Municipal Referendum to Preserve Skopje Shopping Centre Scheduled
The local council of the Municipality of Centar, part of the Skopje downtown area, approved a proposal to hold a referendum to preserve the authentic look of the iconic Skopje Shopping Center. As Meta.mk reports, the referendum will take place on April 26. For the referendum to be successful, it needs a...
An Interview with Anna Nemtsova About Being a Russian Journalist
Independent Russian journalist Anna Nemtsova talks to Global Voices about the assassination of Boris Nemtsov (no relation), Putin's recent unexplained disappearance, and censorship in Russia.
Russian Journalists, You're Now Being Ranked in Real Time
A new online service launched that ranks Russian-language journalists according to the amount of social-media traffic their articles generate.
Russian Girls Show Conservative Beauty Contest Just How ‘Modest’ They Can Be
Almost immediately after the contest was announced, VKontakte users began criticizing the Parliamentary League’s decision to make modesty and headscarves the focus of its contest.
Belarus Tightens Grip on Internet With New Data Retention Decree
The new data retention demands are just the latest in a string of restrictive Internet measures employed by Belarus in the wake of the next presidential election.
Russian Social Media Users Write 30 Million Daily Posts
For all the people registered on these websites, only 5 percent of users actually create original content. (The vast majority of Web activity is reposting someone else's material.)
Documenting the Systematic Decline of Women's Rights in Macedonia
Although southeast European countries are progressive in many other ways, the decline of women's reproductive rights in some Western Balkan countries has been a worrying trend. In Macedonia, several small protests have been held in recent years to demonstrate people's opposition to government involvement in determining public sentiment on issues...
American Blogger Offered Money to Publish Russian Propaganda
Ironically, Swanson and his blog actually support pro-Russian views, which seems to have made the incident doubly disappointing in his eyes.
Macedonian Journalist Describes How It Feels to Be Subject of State Surveillance
Prominent investigative journalist Meri Jordanovska wrote a testimony about her experience on receiving evidence that she was one of allegedly twenty thousand individuals who have been subjected to state surveillance in Macedonia. In an op-ed on Balkan Insight, Jordanovska explains: Each report on one of my wiretapped conversations was true:...
Russia Will Deploy “Digital Fingerprinting” to Enforce Copyright Online
A new intellectual property register, based on the principle of digital fingerprinting, is in the works in Russia to track and protect copyrighted files online.
Thousands of High School Students Protest throughout Macedonia
Thousands of high school students gathered across Macedonia to protest controversial educational reforms. Authorities hit back with every dirty trick available.
8-Year-Old Ukrainian Girl Is War's Latest Victim
A Ukrainian armored vehicle ran onto a sidewalk on Monday, killing a eight-year-old girl in a terrible tragedy that led to rioting in the eastern Ukrainian town of Konstantinovka.
Outing the Russian Military in Eastern Ukraine
A number of citizen data verification initiatives, both Ukrainian and Russian, specifically focus on tracking down information about the origins and fates of individuals fighting in Donbas.
Google Art Project Now Features Ukrainian Street Art
Ukrainian graffiti and street art, previously visible mostly to Ukrainians and tourists walking the streets of Ukrainian cities, is now available to Internet users across the globe.
TJournal's Vadim Elistratov Reviews Russia's ‘Homeland’ Adaptation
TJ’s Vadim Elistratov explains why it’s hard to dismiss the Russian adaptation as a failure, though its creators are clearly afraid of deviating too much from the American show.
Government Takedown Requests from Russia Double, Facebook Reports
Facebook restricted access to 55 pieces of content in Russia since July 2014, based on requests from Russian authorities, compared to 29 fulfilled during the first half of 2014.
Inside the Kremlin Troll Army Machine: Templates, Guidelines, and Paid Posts
A new cache of documents on the inside operations of the Kremlin's troll army provides a list of LiveJournal accounts operated by employees and talking points provided to the commenters.
Ukrainian Journalist Detained, Questioned by Russian Security Services in Crimea
Crimean FSB officials detained and questioned a journalist from Simferopol's Center for Investigative Journalism in connection with a criminal investigation on "public calls to separatism."
Croatian Women's Rights Activists Don't Only Take to the Streets—They Rename Them
For International Women's Day on March 8, residents of Croatia's Rijeka woke up to discover activists had changed the names of many streets to honor forgotten female figures.
Who Killed Nemtsov? Chechen Cops or Kremlin Cops?
The charging of Chechens with Nemtsov's murder and comments by Ramzan Kadyrov on Instagram revived speculation that Nemtsov was killed for supporting Charlie Hebdo. But the Russian Internet remains unconvinced.
Access to Grani.Ru and Other Censored News Websites Restored by Digital Activists
As part of Operation Collateral Freedom, activists used the technique known as mirroring to duplicate the nine censored sites and place their copies on the servers of large Internet companies
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.
