· March, 2012

Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from March, 2012

Slovakia: Corruption, Parliamentary Elections, and SMER's Comeback

  18 March 2012

The March 10 victory in the Slovak parliamentary elections is not the first one for the SMER-Social Democracy party. Formerly a communist, now a social democrat, the party's leader Robert Fico has won for the third time in a row already. Tibor Blazko provides background on this year's vote and reviews some of the online reactions.

Belarus: The 2011 Minsk Metro Explosion – A ‘Hall of Mirrors’

RuNet Echo  17 March 2012

Unconfirmed reports suggest that Vladislav Kovalev and Dmitry Konovalov - the men convicted and sentenced to death for their actions surrounding the April 2011 explosion in a Minsk subway station - have been executed despite international appeals to Belarusian President for clemency.

Macedonia: Peace March – Enthusiasm, Controversy

  17 March 2012

The upcoming March for Peace in Skopje has overwhelming support, evident through the positive uproar in social media. Lone voices, however, warn the initiative is used as a PR opportunity by celebrities, and even as a hypocritical alibi for known hatemongers.

Poland: Szczekociny Train Crash, Yet Another Tragedy

  10 March 2012

Polandian writes about the reactions to the March 3 deadly train crash in Szczekociny, Poland: “When the comments were gathered from the prominent politicians, one that stood out was [PM] Donald Tusk saying something like ‘…This is the worst disaster since… the last such tragedy’.”

Ukraine: Eurovision, Gaitana, and Racism

  10 March 2012

Odessablog writes about the Ukrainian far right's reaction to this year's Eurovision nomination – Gaitana, a Ukrainian singer and songwriter of Ukrainian and Congolese descent: “It doesn’t matter that she was born in Kyiv, has lived there all her life, is a Ukrainian citizen, or that her mother is a...

Russia: “The Way Forward”

RuNet Echo  8 March 2012

OpenDemocracy.net posts an English translation of Yuri Saprykin's Lenta.ru text [ru] on the new, post-election goals of Russia's protest movement. (More insight into the March 4 presidential election and the opposition in Russia – from journalist Tikhon Dzyadko and an independent election observer Julia Chegodaikina.)

Macedonia: Blogirame.mk, a New Blog Aggregator

  8 March 2012

A new Macedonian blog aggregator Blogirame.mk (“We blog”) started working on Feb. 29, 2012. Founded by three popular twitterers/bloggers Pipo, Necovski and Iskric, and hailed by the community (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), it invites manual submitting of sites, which can be used as an indicator of the quantity of...

Georgia: The return of Vladimir Putin

time difference comments on the return of Vladimir Putin to power in Russia following this week's election. The blog says that even if much of the world is concerned by the development, the Georgian government must recognize the reality and not alienate itself from its powerful and sometimes mutually antagonistic...

Russia: 11 Areas of Election-Related ICT Innovation

RuNet Echo  6 March 2012

Сrisis can be a fruitful time for innovation. In Russia, post-election protests have given birth to dozens of new web platforms and mobile applications. Gregory Asmolov summarises some of the key areas of innovation.

Russia: Sex, Women, Putin and Videos

RuNet Echo  6 March 2012

Young women calling on co-enthusiasts to rip off their clothes for Putin last summer, seemed to have disappeared from the scene. As the election season draws to a close in Russia, it is worth taking a look back at how that movement evolved, and how it inspired other women - both, for and against Putin - to get creative.

About our Eastern & Central Europe coverage

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

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

Yulia Abibok is the Ukraine editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.


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