Stories about Belarus from September, 2008
Belarus: The Election
Pre- and post-election insight from Belarus – at Andrei Khrapavitski's Belarusan American Blog, here and here: “Both the govt and the opposition elite cared more about the exterior, much less about the substance.”
Belarus: Greens fight for gay rights
LJ user palitekanom reports on [RUS] actions by the Belarus Green Party to defend the rights of the LGBT-community in the country and a proposal to impose sanctionary measures against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.
Belarus: Parliamentary elections no way to reforms
A Fistful Of Euros writes about Sunday's parliamentary elections in Belarus, where all seats were won by the Lukashenko regime, and sees little hope for change in comparison with other countries that have undergone transition.
Ukraine, Russia: Kvas
Darkness at Noon posts an ode to kvas: “To be sure, kvas is the national drink of the East Slavic peoples. Vodka doesn't count because it is consumed largely for its well-documented medicinal benefits. Or at least this is what a local guide in Odessa recently told me. And while...
Ukraine: Critique of a Text on NATO Membership
The 8th Circle posts a detailed critique of Jeffrey Tayler’s piece in The Atlantic: “[…] in the process of attempting to make the case against Ukraine’s membership in NATO, Tayler resorts (consciously or not) to claims that are either: misleading or factually inaccurate and/or are highly improbable to be true...
Belarus: Elections without political life
LJ user junkie beatnik comments on [RUS] the absence of political life in Belarus, where neither opposition nor government seem to comment on politics with only a week left until parliamentary elections.
Belarus: Youth activists in strange accident
LJ user toshirskij directs attention to [RUS] a Charta 97 article reporting on an opposition youth activist from the Young Front in a freak car accident. Returning from a meeting in preparation for protests on parliamentary election day 28 September, the wheel of his car fell off at high speed,...
Belarus: Making it in the sausage competition
LJ user luchecon received a phone call [RUS] from his worried grandmother, that Belarus is cutting down the meat content in its sausage production, because it cannot meet the price competition with Russian sausages’ lower meat level. As it turns out, Belarus has a meat deficit, substituting it already with...
Belarus: Chernobyl Children Banned US Trip
Osteuropablog comments on [GER] how Chernobyl children in Belarus are denied going to the US for rest and treatment.
Eastern Europe: Blogs in German on the Slavic Triangle
Krusenstern presents [GER] a list of 24 blogs in German about Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
Belarus: Lukashenko threatens break with the West
LJ user navigatar writes about [RUS] threats by Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko to break relations with the West, in case the results of Sunday's parliamentary elections are not recognised.
Belarus, Ukraine, Russia: Chernobyl Photo Essay
Chernobyl and Eastern Europe links to a photo essay created by teenagers from Belarus, Ukraine and Russia for the International Conference on Chernobyl held in Belarus in April 2006: “It is interesting to see these images – effects of the Chernobyl disaster as seen through the eyes of the children.”
Belarus: Travel Programs for Chernobyl Kids Halted
Chernobyl and Eastern Europe reports that recreational travel abroad for Belarus’ “Chernobyl children” was halted by the state, after a 16-year-old participant of a summer program had refused to return from the United States.
