Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from March, 2010
Russia-US: Towards a new Start of nuclear disarmament
Nikolas Gvosdev of The (Ex) Washington Realist reflects upon what now seems a clear road ahead for a renewed Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) between Russia and the US, signifying a breakthtrough in nuclear disarmament.
Russia: Theorizing Stalin's deportations
Otto's Random Thoughts draws attention to Robert Blauner's ideas on internal colonialism and how they could be theoretically applied on Stalin's deportations.
Estonia: Blank pages of press freedom protest
Paul Becker of GUS News comments on [GER] Estonia's four leading newspapers publishing issues with blank pages in protest against a government proposal that could curtail journalists’ ability to protect their sources.
Moldova: Fear for a fifth column
Zimbru of Morning in Moldova argues that Moldova's centre-right politicians underestimate the power of political forces aligned with Russia and thus put the country's democratization and plans to join the European Union in peril.
Ukraine: Tons of Fish Die; Fishing Enthusiasts Start Grassroots Campaign
Hundreds of tons of fish were trapped and crushed to death by the ice, after Ukrainian authorities abruptly lowered the level of water in the Kyiv Reservoir. A group of Ukrainian fishing enthusiasts reacted by launching a grassroots campaign to ensure that further damage is avoided and the government takes steps to restore the ecosystem of the reservoir.
Is Russia an Enemy of Internet?
The degree of freedom on the Russian Internet is an issue for debates. Some put Russia on the same list of "Internet enemies" with China and Iran. Others strongly oppose this kind of generalization and claim that Russian Internet is the most liberal and unrestricted public sphere in the country.
Serbia: Architectural feats from a world exhibition
Nothing against Serbia writes about the Serbian pavilion at the 1900 Paris world exhibition and posts pictures to illustrate it.
Russia: Prisoners Spend Their Time on Social Networks
Internet and social networks help Russian prisoners spend their time in prison, says an article at chaskor.ru. Convicts use mobile Internet to access dating sites, search information, and even post their own videos shot on cell phones.
New requirements for Russian E-Gov Sites.
The Russian Ministry for Economical Development published a list of requirements for governmental Web sites that provide online services, reports lenta.ru. All the documents on the sites should be accessed without any pre-registration and additional software requirements and content on the sites should be reached with no more than 5...
Russia: Prosecuted Blogger Receives Journalist Award
Mikhail Afanasyev (aka LJ user rukhakasia), blogger from Abakan, Eastern Siberia, received a Journalist Union Award “For Professional Achievement” for a series of articles about the accident at Sayano-Shushenskaya dam, Echo Moskvy reported. The articles led to a criminal case initiated against Afanasyev, which was closed later due to lack...
Russia: Activists Burns Effigy of Policeman
Activists of the movement “Autonomous Action” burnt an effigy a policeman during the “political Maslenitsa“, indymedia reports (photos and footage available). The action was dedicated to Seva Ostapov, a young man violently beaten by policemen and later accused of assaulting them.
Russia: Bank Employee Spoils Credit History for $0.26
Blogger logra published the recording of her conversation with a Russian bank employee who called her and in a strikingly impolite manner said he would spoil her credit history for the debt of 26 cents on her account. Logra's post gathered almost 3500 comments, seriously undermining the reputation of the...
Russia: Actor Calls Against Cooperation with Government
Russian actor Aleksey Devotchenko wrote a desperate post about what professional actors can do to express their protest against current political regime. Among the measures proposed are: not to stage in ‘patriotic’ movies, not to participate in concerts organized by police or FSB and so on.
Russia: Alpinist Destroys Cars And Blogs About It
Karpovka.ru writes about blogger drunn2007 who works as an industrial alpinist climbing up house walls and breaking excessive ice. On his blog, drunn2007 posts photos of cars damaged by fallen ice adding quite cynical comments.
Russia: Protests in 48 Cities Mark “Day of Anger”
Bloggers post photos of mass protests dedicated to the “Day of Anger” held on March 20, 2010. Protests in 48 cities gathered around 20,000 people. Here are the links to pictures and videos from Moscow, Kaliningrad, Vladivostok, Novosibirsk and Irkutsk.
Russia: Putin pros and cons go cyber
LJ user Anton Igorevich reports [RUS] that recent demonstrations against and for Russian Premier, Vladimir Putin, now have gone cyber, with websites against and in support of Putin, the latter being hacked, presumably by anti-Putinists.
Russia-UK: British troops return to Red Square
Siberian Light questions the recent reports that British troops are to march on Moscow's Red Square for the first time ever on the 9 May Victory Day Parade, illustrating previous visits with pictures and videos.
Russia-US: A Derogatory Dilemma
Streetwise Professor reflects upon US Secretary of State's, Hillary Clinton, visit to Moscow and reacts against her not responding to insults from Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, fearing this will become a pattern in US-Russian relations.
Russia: Bloggers Expose Election Fraud Techniques
The recent elections for local administrative offices in Russian regions were the first to show the power of Web 2.0. in uncovering voting violations. Bloggers would gather evidence with their cell phone cameras and published them online.
Russia to Investigate Closure of iFolder
Russian Minister of Interior Rashid Nurgaliev gave an order to check if the action of police against a popular Russian hosting ifolder.ru was legal. According to Lenta.ru, the order was given following request by president Medvedev.
Macedonia: If There Was No Internet
Macedonian bloggers and other new media users offer their responses to the question, "How internet changed your life?"
About our Eastern & Central Europe coverage
