· April, 2011

Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from April, 2011

Russia: Grigoriy Golosov, Political Analyst and a Blogger, Assaulted

RuNet Echo  24 April 2011

Grigoriy Golosov, professor at the European University at Saint-Petersburg and a political blogger at Slon.ru [ru], had been assaulted at the street. According to his blogpost [ru], on April 23, 2011 two persons followed him to his home, called his name, and after receiving a positive reply one of them hit...

Argentina: Croatian Community Reacts to Sentence of General Ante Gotovina

  24 April 2011

On April 15, 2011, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) handed down sentences to the Croatian generals Ante Gotovina, Mladen Markač and Ivan Cermak. Gotovina and Markac were charged with "crimes against humanity and violations of the laws and customs of war" committed in 1995 by the forces of their country during "Operation Storm." In Argentina, where it is estimated that the Croatian community is the country's third largest, there have been various reactions.

Belarus, Ukraine: “Chernobyl: The First Month”

  23 April 2011

At OpenDemocracy.net, Barys Piatrovich, a Belarusian writer and journalist, recalls the first month after the Chernobyl catastrophe of April 26, 1986: “It was difficult for me to write this text. I've been working up to it for over twenty years. More than once I have started to write but given...

Russia: “Navalny's Nationalism”

RuNet Echo  22 April 2011

A Good Treaty went through the archives of Alexey Navalny's blog and other RuNet sources and wrote about this prominent Russian anti-corruption activist's nationalism.

Russia: Photos of Moscow, Circa 1931

RuNet Echo  22 April 2011

LJ-user nikolas11 shares [ru] rare photos of 1931′ Moscow made by Branson DeCou, XX century traveler and photographer. Hand-colored photos depict Russian capital 2 years after the “Great Turn” and before many Moscow churches had been destroyed by the Bolsheviks.

Ukraine: Politicians As “Folklore Characters”

  22 April 2011

Good Girl Gone Ukrainian writes that by now many Ukrainians perceive the country's politicians as “some sort of folklore characters,” and offers examples of “jokes, user-generated videos and photo collages circulated on- and offline.”

Russia: Medvedev Unhappy With Websites on Drug Preparation

RuNet Echo  21 April 2011

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for shutting down the websites containing the information on preparation of drugs. He said that web hosting providers should be responsible for closing those sites, Russian information agency “RIA Novosty” reported.

Russia: Reactions to Putin annual speech

RuNet Echo  21 April 2011

Democratist shares some reactions on Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin's, speech to the Russian parliament on Wednesday April 20, and reflects upon it from the perspective of the 2012 presidential elections.

Ukraine: “Chernobyl Tourism: Time to Put an End”

  21 April 2011

Leopolis writes about the negative effect of “Chernobyl tourism”: “It has been branded as extreme tourism. The only problem is that as opposed to jumping off a cliff, you see the site that caused, and continues to cause, lots and lots of suffering.”

Lebanon: Seven Estonian Hostages Appeal for Help

On March 25, Estonian YouTube user HelensVlogs reported on the kidnapping of seven Estonian tourists two days earlier, as they were cycling in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. On April 20, the seven hostages appeared in this video, pleading for help. (More info, on BBC News – here and here.)

Russia: Social Networking Via a “Prison” Game, Female Users’ Photos

RuNet Echo  20 April 2011

Katya Trubilova of Social Media Lessons From Russia and the UK writes this, among other things, about Russia's largest social network VKontakte: “The most popular app on Vkontakte is a game called Тюряга (Prison) with 6 134 947 installations. The goal of the game is to make tattoos to become...

Russia: A Video of President Medvedev Dancing

RuNet Echo  20 April 2011

Siberian Light, Global Chaos and Russia! are among those who comment on a YouTube video of President Dmitry Medvedev dancing to the Russian pop song “American Boy” at a college reunion party a year ago. On Twitter, Medvedev (@MedvedevRussia) comments (RUS) on the video himself, in reply to Zaporozhye-based fashion...

Ukraine: “Crumbs From the Table”

  20 April 2011

Foreign Notes reports that a Ukrainian MP Rinat Akhmetov has bought a penthouse in London for £136 million ($222 million), and intends to donate $1 million for the construction of the new containment structure at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant; Akhmetov's fellow Party of Regions MP Mykola Lisin died in...

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.