· February, 2010

Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from February, 2010

Poland: “Plenty of Money”

  23 February 2010

“Years ago, when the inflation in Poland was in triple figures, we were all multi-millionaires,” writes the POLSKI blog and links to a Flickr set of photos of the Polish banknotes from the 1980s and the early 1990s.

Russia: New Military Doctrine and Information Security

RuNet Echo  23 February 2010

The new Russian military doctrine provides an interesting opportunity to evaluate the role of information from security perspective. This may apply to the issues of cyber security and Internet, as well as other information platforms.

Russia: Keith Gessen's LRB Piece on Khodorkovsky

  22 February 2010

Robert Amsterdam's Blog and Foreign Policy Association's Russia Blog link to and comment on Keith Gessen's review of Richard Sakwa's The Quality of Freedom: Khodorkovsky, Putin and the Yukos Affair, which appeared in the London Review of Books. On his blog, Gessen explains how to pronounce Mikhail Khodorkovsky's last name.

Russia: Media Portal Undergoes Check For Extremism

RuNet Echo  21 February 2010

The war on extremism became a universal formula used by Russian authorities to fight the freedom of online expression. Interestingly enough, this practice co-exists with ambitious projects of the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to modernize the country.

Croatia: A New President, A New Path

  20 February 2010

On Friday of last week, Ivo Josipović took office as Croatia's third president, replacing outgoing two-term president, Stjepan Mesić, who was the head of Croatia for a decade.

Slovenia: Carnival in Ptuj

  20 February 2010

Adventures in Wheelville posts pictures and video and writes about the carnival in Ptuj: “The carnival was a good time like a mini Mardi Gras and it gave me hope that at least some people in this country know and want to have a good time.”

Estonia: Lessons of the Ukrainian Election

  20 February 2010

Itching for Eestimaa writes that “the underwhelming victory of Viktor Yanukovich over Yulia Tymoshenko last week has caused all sorts of soul searching in Estonia and, in general, the West”: “Indeed, there are lessons to be learned.”

Bulgaria: “The Bulgarian Guantanamo”

  20 February 2010

Maya Markova of Maya's Corner posts videos and translates parts of the documentary The Bulgarian Guanatanamo, by Bulgarian journalist Ivan Kulekov. (An earlier GV roundup item on this issue is here.)

Belarus: State TV Accused of “Ripping a Whole Sitcom”

  20 February 2010

Belarus Digest reports that while the Belarusian government explains the recently-introduced internet regulations by the need to fight copyright law violations, the state-run TV is now being accused of “ripping a whole sitcom”: “In the CBS original, shown on E4 in Britain, the main character are called Sheldon, Leonard, Howard,...

Belarus, Ukraine: Yanukovych from Yanuki

  20 February 2010

Belarus Digest writes about the “Belarusian roots” of Victor Yanukovych, the winner of Ukraine's presidential election, and about the Belarusian village of Yanuki, the birthplace of Yanukovych's father: “Currently there are only two families live in Yanuki. Both of them are Yanukovichs.”

The Balkans, Italy: Berlusconi's “Albanian Girls” Comment; Doctored Photo

  20 February 2010

Balkan Travellers re-posts a Balkan Insight piece about the Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi's comment that “his country would accept only pretty Albanian girls as immigrants.” Belgraded writes about the photoshopped photos of Berlusconi and Slobodan Milosevic: “Fours days after the [doctored] photo was published, Milosevic lost the elections by a...

Poland: “Better Say Nothing”

  20 February 2010

The Economist's Edward Lucas posts his article about Poland and follows up with “this exasperated response” to counter “the furious reaction to the earlier piece on the Polish blogosphere.”

Macedonia: Official Website of Skopje Old Bazaar

  19 February 2010

Archaeological Diary informs [MKD] about the opening of the official website [MKD] for governmental Program for Revitalization of the Old Bazaar in Skopje, one of the most significant cultural treasures from the Ottoman period. Archeologist Vasilka Dimitrovska notes that for true revitalization, one has to work on providing content and...

Russia: Torrents.ru Is Suspended

RuNet Echo  19 February 2010

The major Russian torrent (files exchange) service torrents.ru has been suspended due to investigation of copyright violations, RIA Novosty reported. The service continues to work via another domain.

Russia: More People Watch Video Online

RuNet Echo  18 February 2010

Russian Internet TV daily audience grew 45 percent since last year and now consists of 1.39 million people watching TV programs online, “RUmetrika” reported.

Russia: Bloggers Remember Rock Legend

RuNet Echo  18 February 2010

In February, Russian bloggers celebrated a sad date. Ilya Kormiltsev, one of Russia’s most talented and controversial poets and songwriters, died of spine cancer three years ago. Kormiltsev’s death became the first and the most publicized death on the Russian Internet.

Russia: Bloggers Discuss Utilization of Old Books

RuNet Echo  18 February 2010

Libraries are throwing away old books due to old age and lack of readership, literary critic Alexander Zhitinski reported [RUS]. A library in Saint-Petersburg had to throw away all the books published before 1999. Mistreatment of books provoked a heated  discussion online [RUS] while  mainstream media ignored the subject.

About our Eastern & Central Europe coverage

Filip Stojanovski
Filip Stojanovski is the Central Europe editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.

Daria Dergacheva
Daria Dergacheva is the Eastern Europe editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.