Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from June, 2011
Macedonia: How the Protests Started
Tamara Atanasoska posts a personal account of the beginning of the protests against police brutality in Skopje, Macedonia: “We were walking, a handful of people, […] not knowing each other, hitting the streets to get attention. We just wanted an answer, someone to say what happened. We knew for sure...
Macedonia: Spreading the Word About the Protests, in Spanish
Sina (meaning “Blue female”) started a blog to spread the word about the protests against police brutality to a wider global audience. Her first post is in Spanish.
Slovakia, Poland: (Mis)Understanding the Euro Experience
According to a recent poll, the majority of Poles are against joining the Eurozone. One of the reasons may be their (mis)understanding of the Slovak experience.
Bulgaria: E-Book On Internet and Mobile Tracking
Bulgarian blogger and Internet activist Bogomil Shopov allows to download his latest e-book [bg; .pdf], which is about Internet tracking in Bulgaria and ways to avoid it. The e-book is 13 pages long and covers legal aspects of the monitoring, explains how the state is tracking Internet and mobile phone...
Macedonia: Half a Decade of Blogging
Zoriv has just celebrated [mk] five years of blogging. During that time, he has produced 2,031 post and received 16,793 comments, showing by example that a regular citizen can maintain media presence, persistently braving “the crisis” in the Macedonian blogosphere.
Russia: The Origins of Anti-Clericalism in the Blogosphere
T.Chumakova at portal-credo.ru writes [ru] about anti-clericalism in the LiveJournal communities. She distinguishes 5 types of anti-clerical users and lists the origins of the phenomenon: 1. “Influence of neo-pagans, Old Style Believers, Protestants, and other ‘external agents’,” 2. Lack of religious education, 3. Transformation of the Orthodox church into the ritual...
“Russia For All” Exhibition Sparks Off Discussions On Russian Identity
Bloggers actively discuss [ru] “Russia For All” [ru, .pdf] exhibition. Viktor Bondarenko and Dmitri Gutov, the authors, aim to combat the nationalist slogan “Russia for Russians.” Each painting contains a name of a well-known historical person and his/her ethnic origin. In the numerous discussions around the blogosphere, netizens ask a question,...
Russia: Video Reports From Anti-Seliger, Opposition Summer Camp
Oleg Kozyrev publishes a series of video reports [ru] from Anti-Seliger, a summer camp situated in the endangered Khimki city forest park. “The bloggers’ Woodstock” united digital activists, environmentalists, and opposition politicians.
Macedonia: Pro-Government Media Promote Protest Impostors
On the eve of the big protest against police brutality scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Skopje, several pro-government media outlets tried to manipulate the public by showing an anti-opposition announcement by a fake group of protestors.
Bulgaria: Soviet Army Monument “Keeps Pace With Time”
Bulgarian blogger Peio Popov posted photos [bg] of the Soviet Army monument in Sofia, parts of which have been “updated” by unknown street artists to resemble heroes of American comic books, as well as Santa Claus and Ronald McDonald. Bulgarian newspaper Sega (“Now”) reports [bg] that Sofia city authorities are...
Macedonia: Gathering Prohibited in a Public Space?
Vnukot informs that the Ministry of Culture has forbidden the protesters to gather on a small square behind the memorial house of Mother Teresa, violating their right to free assembly enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia.
Moldova: +1 Vote Campaign Buzz Ahead of Local Elections
Moldova’s capital Chisinau is set to witness another democratic exercise on June 19, when the final round of the local election will decide whether the city will have a liberal or a communist mayor. A group of bloggers has launched an online campaign to mobilize young people to go out and vote.
Macedonia: Protest Achievements So Far
As more people act upon the awareness that the increasing visibility abroad or among foreigners within Macedonia is an important aspect of the ongoing protests, translations and original tweets/blog posts in various languages begin to appear, providing a more comprehensive picture of the developments.
Macedonia: Twitter as a Vehicle for the Protests
NewMediaMk has published an infographic about the use of Twitter by members of the Macedonian protest movement against police brutality.
Macedonia: Concerns Over Anti-Protest Collusion of Facebook and Police
The people currently protesting against police brutality in Macedonia have published an Open Letter to Facebook, expressing concern over “swift deletion policy” of their Facebook pages and events on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior under excuse that they promote violence. This hampers the peaceful demonstrations, which, by definition,...
Russia: Ministry's Online Blunders
Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs has recently started to mobilise on the Internet and in the past weeks two important events have taken place in the Internet world which have drawn attention to Ministry's activities.
Estonia-Latvia-Lithuania: 70th anniversary of deportations
Otto's Random Thoughts commemorates the 70th anniversary of deportations from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania following the June 1940 Soviet occupation of the countries, whereas Itching for Eestimaa reflects upon the political and social legacy of the deportations for Estonia.
Russia: Southstream as a hoax
Streetwise Professor questions whether Russian state gas monopoly Gazprom will actually build the Southstream gas pipeline – the main competitor to the Western-financed Nabucco pipeline.
Russia: Yuri Budanov's Assassination Exposes Deep Wounds of Chechen Wars
The June 10 assassination of Yuri Budanov, the former Russian army colonel convicted of the murder of an 18-year-old Chechen woman during the Second Chechen War, has reignited inter-ethnic tensions both online and offline, and reinforced the feeling of bitter disappointment with what appears to be a permanent state of lawlessness in the country.
Macedonia: Reasons for Protesting
Bloggers from Macedonia consider the historical significance of the current protests against police brutality, in the context of democracy development.
Russia: New Initiative to Enforce TV Morality
An initiative to create a Public Oversight Board for media control in Russia may seem like a passage from Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four but it is a reality in the country, which still struggles to accept the concept of democracy and free speech.
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