Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from January, 2009
Russia: Blog as Mass Media Outlet
LJ user ottenki-serogo is the first Russian blogger to have officially registered his blog as a mass media outlet. Many readers are asking: “What for?” One of the 168 comments to the post (RUS) with a scanned copy of the registration certificate, by LJ user vlada_lad (RUS): “Good thing that...
Romania: Rural Life in the EU
Tessa Bunney, who photographed rural life in the Carpathians of Romania, wrote this about the implications of the EU accession for some of the subjects of her photos: “The Romanian government’s interpretation of EU policy has resulted in the banning of horse and carts and hand milking of cows. No...
Russia: Medvedev vs Putin's Espionage Law
RFE/RL's The Power Vertical reports that president Medvedev “has instructed his administration to re-work a controversial bill broadening the definition of treason and espionage to assure that it doesn't violate human rights.”
Ukraine: Medical Center for Street Children
Scenes from the Sidewalk posts pictures and writes about the only medical center in Kyiv “where street children can get medical attention without documents”: “Many At-Risk Children or street children do not have these documents and will be turned away at the door if they try to get medical attention....
Latvia: Economy Update
An update on the economic situation in Latvia – at Edward Hugh's Latvia Economy Watch.
Latvia: Flash Mob To Support Public Radio
Free Speech Emergency in Latvia writes that “employees of Latvia's public service radio (Latvijas Radio) have called for a flash-mob to gather near the parliament (Saeima) building for five minutes on Friday, January 30 to stand in complete silence to protest the “silencing” of the national radio service through budget...
Slovenia: Honoring Auschwitz Survivors
Dr. Filomena dedicates a post to her grandfather’s sister, an Auschwitz survivor: “She was not a Jew, she was not Roma, she was simply the sister of a man who would not bow to the territory-hungry aggressor who’d tried to make his Slovenian family deny its roots and turn its...
Russia: “Economic Shock Therapy”
Sean's Russia Blog cites the director of the Serbsky State Scientific Center for Social and Forensic Psychiatry, who says that “since the financial crisis requests for psychologists have grown by 10 percent and psychotherapy by 20 percent. So much so that the Center has opened a hotline for people in...
Russia: “Izbrannoe” Stops Publication; Gryzlov's Crisis Denial
Lyndon of Scraps of Moscow links to LJ user barabanch‘s report (RUS) that the online magazine Izbrannoe has stopped publication, and notes on Boris Gryzlov's denial of the economic crisis.
Hungary: Budapest Photos
Lyndon of Scraps of Moscow posts two photo sets from a trip to Budapest last summer: street art and various city scenes.
Poland, UK: “Reverse Migration of Poles”
As more Poles are reportedly leaving the UK, the POLSKI blog notes that “it may imply that the era of cheap Polish labour – and jokes – might be coming to an end…”
Poland: Racism, Bad Roads and Euro 2012
Writing about Euro 2012 and racism, the beatroot concludes: “There are some nasty little racists at Poland’s football stadia, but believe me, Poland’s roads are a lot bigger threat to the fabric of society – and international football tournaments – than those idiots.”
Latvia: Politics Updates
Two updates on the post-Jan. 13 politics in Latvia – at Baltic, here and here: “Whoever you speak today in this Baltic country recognizes that discontent about the present political class is simply unbearable.” All About Latvia adds: “If Latvia were a civilized country, the government would have long collapsed...
Czech Republic: Hradec Králové
The Journeys of Captain Oddsocks writes about Hradec Králové, “one of the oldest and most important cities in Bohemia.”
Slovakia: Sky Europe Problems
The Czech Daily Word writes about problems facing the Slovak low-cost Sky Europe airline.
Romania: Czech Villages in Banat
CzechFolks.com writes about the Czech villages in the south of the Romanian Banat: “People in Banat have preserved their heritage for more than 180 years by simply passing it from one generation to another.”
Bulgaria: Martin Borilski Petition
Maya's Corner writes about an online petition to “[demand] just sentences for the culprits and punishments for prosecutors and judges responsible for the outrageous acquittal” of two Bulgarians implicated in the murder of Martin Borilski, a Bulgarian student, in Paris in 2000.
Russia: Siege of Leningrad Photos
On the 65th anniversary of the lifting the siege of Leningrad, one of the most popular posts in the Russian blogosphere, by LJ user komen-dant (RUS), features Sergei Larenkov's selection of contemporary photos of St. Petersburg merged with historic images that were taken during the siege from the same vantage...
Ukraine: “Gas Humor”
Ukrainiana shares some “gas humor” from Ukraine.
Russia, Ukraine: “Gas War IV”
Leopolis analyzes the Ukraine-Russia gas dispute and the agreement signed: “There is a natural temptation to assess the ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ of the Russian-Ukrainian Gas War IV, which emerged from a commercial crisis to a political game.”
Ukraine: Travel to the Exclusion Zone
Chernobyl and Eastern Europe Blog writes about “Photos of Your Home” at Pripyat.com, the project “developed as an opportunity for former Pripyat residents to see pictures of their former homes/apartments.”
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