Global Voices · Citizen media stories about Eastern & Central Europe

If the claims circulating in the Balkans media space are to be believed, Nikola Grueski escaped to Hungary on a flight operated by an airline that closed in 2012.

From prime minister to escaped convict: Macedonia's ex-leader Nikola Gruevski flees to Hungary

Written by Filip Stojanovski · Hungary

"While Gruevski's escape was unprecedented in Macedonian history, his choice of destination wasn’t too surprising."

11 November 2018

Activists in Macedonia win fight for clean water despite years of dismissal by former government

Written by Filip Stojanovski · Macedonia

"Clear drinking water without arsenic is a present for the people of Gevgelija on 7th of November"

9 November 2018

Russia’s most progressive media outlet finds itself on the wrong side of #MeToo

Written by RuNet Echo · Russia

Kolpakov is the first-ever man to publicly resign over sexual assault accusations in Russia. And he's a #metoo supporter.

5 November 2018

Suicide attack against Russia's domestic intelligence agency spells more trouble for activists

Written by Christopher Moldes · Russia

A suicide bomber's attack against a local intelligence agency's office in Russia, allegedly an extreme reaction to violent persecution of leftist activists, generates yet more trouble for the latter.

Indian ambassador's farewell gift paintings create a media stir in Croatia

Written by Filip Stojanovski · South Asia

Indian Ambassador Sandeep Kumar bids farewell to Croatia's government officials by giving away some of the paintings he made during his three-year term in the country.

1 November 2018

Sarajevo awards honorary citizenship to UK heavy metal star Bruce Dickinson

Written by Filip Stojanovski · Western Europe

Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickenson is granted honorary citizenship for the moral support he gave the people of Sarajevo during a 1994 visit to the besieged city.

28 October 2018

‘Voice for the Ocean’ gives European citizens a say on the future of ocean conservation

Written by Marie Bohner · Western Europe

"It is necessary to connect European citizens and ocean lovers to the political sphere in order to discuss, make progress, and protect the ocean together."

26 October 2018

Death by bureaucracy? Russian regulators slap independent news site with sky-high fine

Written by RuNet Echo · Russia

"It obviously means bankruptcy and imminent closure for the magazine."

24 October 2018

Ukraine is outsourcing law enforcement to private companies that don't respect human rights

Written by Kanykei Tursunbaeva · Ukraine

Their mandates are based solely on contracts signed between them and the city -- which vary a lot from city to city -- and mechanisms of accountability are virtually nonexistent.

19 October 2018

Serbian authorities clamp down on a health charity after it exposed state negligence

Written by Filip Stojanovski · Serbia

The methods of pressure against Serbian civil society organizations bear resemblance to those used by governments in Central and Eastern Europe, in particular in neighboring Hungary and Macedonia.

18 October 2018

Six red carnations and one severed ram’s head: Deadly threats sent to Russian independent newspaper

Written by RuNet Echo · Russia

The recipient of these grisly messages, the independent investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta, holds the record for the most of its reporters murdered on the job: six, including Anna Politkovskaya.

17 October 2018

Macedonian propagandist calls for rape of female journalist, sparking outrage

Written by Marko Angelov · Macedonia

The threat came from Cvetin Chilimanov, a well-known propagandist and dogged promoter of Macedonia's former ruling party.

29 September 2018

Do Macedonians want their country to join NATO and the EU? A historic referendum will decide

Written by Marko Angelov · Macedonia

The September 30 referendum explicitly asks: 'Are you in favour of EU and NATO membership by accepting the Agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Greece?'

The Alliance for the Protection of Theatre fights to preserve Albania's cultural heritage

Written by Alida Karakushi · Albania

"Do not erase the collective memory of the generations. Any new theatre is welcome but we do not have to destroy the old one."

25 September 2018

Chat bot lets Russians detained at protests request legal assistance

Written by Christopher Moldes · Russia

A Russian NGO tracking police brutality developed a chatbot on the popular Telegram messenger that allows people detained at rallies report their arrests and request legal assistance.

24 September 2018

As xenophobic policies sweep Central and Eastern Europe, refugee aid is criminalized

Written by BlueLink · Bulgaria

While the numbers of refugees entering Europe decrease, political hysteria against them, and civil society organizations that help them in Central and Eastern Europeis on the rise.