Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from March, 2007
Russia: Putin's Article in the Times
Very Russian Tochka Net thinks Vladimir Putin should stop writing articles for publication in the West: “Confused, placatory stuff whose only effect is to make a bunch of smart-arses think we’re trying to suck up to them. At least this time he didn’t say we’re European.”
Russia: Non-Touristy Moscow Pics
The Turkish Invasion posts non-touristy pictures of Moscow.
Russia: Deadly Strip Club Fire
The Turkish Invasion reports on the deadly fire at a Moscow strip club.
Russia: Thaw
White Sun of the Desert reports on the beginning of the springtime thaw in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk: “Bereft of any kind of drainage system, the melting snow first forms a brown slush which lies ankle-deep on every pavement, and later turns to lakes of dirty water which straddle entire roads and covers...
Russia: Svyaznoi Prezidenta
Lyndon of Scraps of Moscow writes on the latest get-together of the pro-Putin youth group Nashi (the post includes a lovely Russian-language paraphrase of Aleksandr Pushkin).
Russia: Chechnya's Street Children
A Step At A Time translates an article on street children in Chechnya.
Russia: Grozny Photos
A Step At A Time links to incredible pictures from Grozny, Chechnya, taken by LJ user kunstkamera.
Russia: Variations of Dissent
After reading LJ user rudin‘s report (RUS) from the Dissenters’ March that took place in Nizhniy Novgorod this past Saturday, LJ user an_drevv made this ironic remark (RUS): Judging by the ratio between the participants [police outnumbered the protesters], it looks like the majority of the dissenters were cops, and...
Russia: User Guide
This has been an eventful weekend, rally-wise. In Minsk, Belarus, water cannons had to be used against several thousand citizens opposed to Aleksandr Lukashenko‘s regime. In Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia, it took some 20,000 police and military personnel to prevent yet another “Dissenters’ March” from happening. In Moscow, however, 3,000 riot...
Russia, Georgia: On Beggars
Darkness at Noon (Moscow-based) and Music and Life – Everywhere! (currently, in Tbilisi) reflect on street beggars and ways of dealing with them.
Russia: Blood Tests, Work Permits
The Turkish Invasion reports on the blood tests one is required to undergo to be allowed to work in Russia.
Russia: Higher Education Crisis
Lyndon of Scraps of Moscow writes in-depth on the troubles facing Russia's universities.
Russia: Spring in Moscow
Two-Zero captures a typical early-spring scene in Moscow.
Belarus: A Roundup
TOL's Belarus Blog covers these subjects: silly pretexts used to arrest opposition activists; the Constitution Day; Belarusian “market socialism“; some of the effects of the recent “gas war” with Russia.
The Balkans: War Criminals Abroad
Neretva River writes about five war criminals living abroad; Bosnia Vault writes about the one who had just been spared extradition by a British judge: “How much time needs to pass before a crime is no longer worthy of being dealt with in a court of law? In other words,...
Russia: Deportation of Kalmyks
J. Otto Pohl posts a note on the deportation of the Kalmyks 63 years ago.
Romania: Internet Use Stats
Information Policy reports on Romania's Internet use statistics.
The Oldest Blogger in the Balkans
In the evening, Radmilo Ristic, a 74-year-old retired high school professor, likes to attend theater plays, gallery openings, literary nights, round-table discussions and other similar events that take place around Kragujevac, the city in Central Serbia. When Ristic comes back home, instead of the traditional paper and pen, his computer...
Russia, Estonia: German View on the Bronze Soldier
Rossijskaja Federazija looks at the Russian-Estonian dispute over the WWII monument from a German perspective.
Russia: NBP Banned Again
Sean's Russia Blog writes about the ban imposed on the National Bolshevik Party.
Eastern & Central Europe: Slovio
Megan Case writes about Slovio, “the artificial simplified pan-Slavic language.”