Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from February, 2008
Kosovo: Implications for Other States
Pestcentric believes that “Kosovar independence has really opened a can of worms, the full extent of which has yet to manifest itself.”
Serbia: Charges Against Two Looters
East Ethnia reports on the charges against two young Serbian women “whose little looting adventure made them internet celebrities for one brief, greasy moment”: “And we know that they are about to be charged with theft, a crime which carries a sentence of between one and eight years. This will...
Kosovo, Serbia: A Roundup
Update on Kosovo/Serbia: Belgrade 2.0 sums things up; East Ethnia discusses the possibility of partition; Csíkszereda Musings writes on the meaning of Kosovo for Romania's Székelyföld autonomy; Greater Surbiton re-posts his article on what's “at stake in the struggle for Serbia”; Steady State writes on the implications of Kosovo for...
Latvia: Kārlis Ulmanis
Marginalia writes about “every Latvian's favorite dictator, Kārlis Ulmanis.”
Ukraine: Missing Children
Orange Ukraine writes about Ukraine's missing children.
Poland, U.K.: Football and Anti-Semitism
The beatroot examines whether the UK and Polish football fans are the “most anti-Semitic in Europe.”
Czech Republic: Markéta Irglová Gets an Oscar
The Reference Frame posts a note on Markéta Irglová, the first Czech female Oscar winner.
Russia: 1977 Fire at Hotel Rossiya
De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis writes about “the Big Fire” at Hotel Rossiya in Moscow in 1977.
Estonia: National Identity
Itching for Eestimaa marks Estonia's independence day (Feb. 24) by writing about Estonian national identity.
Czech Republic, Slovakia: 60 Years Since Communist Takeover
The Reference Frame writes about the 60th anniversary of the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia.
Slovenia: RIP Janez Drnovšek
Slovenia mourned former president Janez Drnovšek today; Sleeping with Pengovsky and Dr. Filomena paid tribute to the man who “has influenced Yugoslav and Slovenian politics profoundly, giving a stellar performance in a relatively short period of time.”
Czech Republic: Still Some More on the Election
Belatedly, another link on the presidential election in the Czech Republic: The Reference Frame writes that “one of Klaus's numerous tasks in the second term will be to abolish the global warming religion in the European Union that will be under the Czech Republic presidency in H1 of 2009.”
Montenegro: Milo Djukanovic
A Fistful of Euros writes about Milo Djukanovic, prime minister of Montenegro: “By 1991 he was the youngest Prime Minister in Europe. By 1998 he had squeezed out various rivals to become the most powerful man in the country. Which he still is today.”
Ukraine: Baba Paraska
Ukrainiana writes about Baba Paraska, “an elderly activist easily recognized as the icon of the Orange Revolution,” and her birthday wishes to president Yushchenko.
Ukraine, Russia: “An Octopus of Cash and Gas Flows”
Ukrainiana sums up the results of Yulia Tymoshenko's recent visit to Moscow: “It’s still unclear when and to what extent the current matryoshka system will be redesigned in favor of a more transparent one. The system Ukraine has today — an octopus of cash and gas flows — hinders energy...
Ukraine: Yanukovych's Real Estate
Ukrainiana translates and comments on Victor Yanukovych's controversial statements about the state-owned real estate he is allegedly attempting to privatize at “at a discount price.”
Ukraine: More Sketches by Olechko
Lots of new work by Olechko, including this sketch of “devoushkas at a cafe.”
Russia, Ukraine: February 23
Scraps of Moscow, Ukrainiana, and Windows to Russia! write about the Defender of the Fatherland Day (formerly known as the Soviet Army Day). Feb. 23 also happens to be president Victor Yushchenko's birthday, and, as Window on Eurasia points out, it is also the day on which Stalin’s deportation of...
Russia: Lev Ponomarev; Solovetskiy Stone
Robert Amsterdam reports on an investigation launched against human rights activist Lev Ponomarev, who has been “accused of committing slander against the Russian Federation, and is currently being prevented from leaving the country.” Also, Amsterdam writes about the Solovetskiy Stone memorial and the authorities’ plans to remove it from Lubyanka...
Russia, U.S.: The New York Times’ Russian LJ
Lyndon of Scraps of Moscow provides a comprehensive review of the New York Times‘ Russian-language LJ community, a platform for a “translator-assisted online dialog” between Russian bloggers and the newspaper's regular readers and its Moscow bureau staff: “a very interesting and creative step, with the potential to realize the full...
Serbia: Anglophone Bloggers on Belgrade Rally, Riots, Kosovo
Below is a selection of the English-language posts about last week's events in Serbia and Kosovo, which appeared on Feb. 21-23.
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