Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from September, 2010
Russia: “The Putin State Chronicles”
Streetwise Professor recommends Dmitry Sidorov's new blog at Forbes – The Putin State Chronicles – which provides “some great examples of the natural/mafia state in action.”
Czech Republic: Protest Against Wage Cuts
Dr Sean's Diary writes about a trade union-organized protest against wage and budget cuts in the public sector, which took place in Prague last week.
Russia: Search for Liza Fomkina and Her Aunt
On her blog and in a Moscow News column, Natalia Antonova writes about the search for Liza Fomkina and her aunt, who went missing in a town near Moscow on Sept. 13, and whose bodies were found last week: “According to RIA Novosti, the main search and rescue efforts were...
Russia: Shnurov's “Khimki Forest” Song
A Good Treaty writes about and translates Sergei Shnurov's “Khimki Forest” song, “an obvious satire of liberal-leaning musicians prone to activist art.”
Russia: Controversy On Twitter Use in the Government
Russian General Prosecutor's Office registered [RUS] a Twitter-account @genproc [RUS]. Previously [RUS], Federal Anti-monopoly Service got @rus_fas [RUS] account. While more than 20 high [RUS] Russian officials already started tweeting, country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is sceptical about the new media which it considers an “information weapon.”
Belarus President Refused to Start a Blog
Blogger pilgrim-67 sarcastically comments [RUS] on Alexander Lukashenko's decision not to start a blog [RUS]: “That's a pity. I would be excited to read about Belarus cows and gaz wars in his blog […] I think his blog would be more lively than Medvedev's.”
Latvia: Oct. 2 Parliamentary Elections
Notes on the upcoming Oct. 2 parliamentary elections in Latvia – at All About Latvia, Baltic, and Juris Kaža's blogs (here, here, and here).
Latvia: Translation of Rainis’ 1929 Article
All About Latvia translates an article on “the process of convergence” between ethnic Latvians and Latvia's Jews, Russians and Germans, written by Latvian poet and politician Rainis hours before his death on Sept. 12, 1929.
Russia: Microsoft and Suppression of Dissent
Reactions to the Sept. 11 New York Times’ story about Microsoft and raids on advocacy groups by the Russian security services – at Oleg Kozlovsky’s English Weblog, Streetwise Professor, and Robert Amsterdam's Blog.
Russia: Campaign To Save Pavlovsk Experimental Station
Vaviblog draws attention to the campaign to save Russian botanist Nikolai Vavilov's Pavlovsk seed bank from destruction.
Poland: Jarosław Kaczyński and PiS
More updates on Jarosław Kaczyński, his Law and Justice (PiS) party, and Poland's politics – the beatroot, Raf Uzar, and Politics, Economy, Society.
Poland: Solidarność 1980 vs. Solidarność 2010
Raf Uzar wrote this on Aug. 31 about Solidarność‘s 30th anniversary: “Lech Wałęsa’s refusal to attend the celebrations was a clear cutting of the umbilical cord and demonstration of the fact that the legacy of Solidarity 1980 is to be found elsewhere, not in Solidarity 2010.” Polandian added: “So, to...
Russia, Poland: “The Fog Surrounding the Crash Remains”
Streetwise Professor writes about the ongoing inquiry into the April 10 plane crash that killed the Polish president and 95 others, reporting this, among other things: “Most peculiarly, the air traffic controller who was in charge when the plane crashed ‘retired’ three days after the crash, and Russian authorities claim...
Russia: Medvedev's “Chutzpah”
At The Huffington Post, Simon Shuster urges PM Putin to ask himself where President Medvedev got “such chutzpah”: “[Medvedev] is seen as having his own agenda for reforms, independent and vaguely appealing, a westernizer, you see, like a fun-sized Peter the Great.”
Russia: Luzhkov “Power Struggle”
A Good Treaty analyzes the situation with the Moscow mayor, suggesting “that Yuri Luzhkov will not be replaced before his term expires next year”: “But the Luzhkov affair has the appearance of a power struggle […]. The appearance of a more active and confident Medvedev gives off the impression that...
Russia: From Beijing to Kyiv, By Train
Derek Kedziora of The Kalpak is traveling by train from Beijing to Kyiv and is currently in Russia. Here's what he writes about his short stay in Irkutsk: “One of the first things I noticed is that people hold doors for each other here. […] Cars stop for you at...
UK, Romania: “Katalin Varga”
Csíkszereda Musings writes about Katalin Varga, Peter Strickland's film, set and filmed in Transylvania.
Russia: Photos of Kolyma Highway/Road of Bones
AskYakutia.com posts 45 winter photos of “the Road of Bones (officially known as the Kolyma Highway) built by GULAG work camp inmates in the time of Stalin.”
China: Rights to strike
The past year has seen a growing number of Chinese laborers fighting for their rights in incidents from across the country; a recent move by Chinese workers to go on strike in Russia has raised questions on both sides of the border.
Ukraine: “New Memory Engineers” and Ruslan Zabilyi's Case
Timothy Snyder writes on NYRblog about the arrest of Ruslan Zabilyi, the director of a Lviv museum “devoted to the occupation of Ukraine by the Nazis and the Soviets”: “Under Yanukhovych, Ukraine’s new memory engineers are using force.” Steve Bandera of Kyiv Scoop offers more insight: “These are the kind...
Serbia: Minister Takes e-Government from Virtual to Real
The Serbian online community has been a-flutter this evening after what seems to have been a small, laid-back, yet groundbreaking event earlier today in Belgrade: a meeting with Jasna Matic, the Serbian Minister of Telecommunications and Information Society, organized mostly through Twitter and Facebook.
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