Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from October, 2012
Russia: Candidates Drop Out of Opposition Elections
On October 16 two high profile candidates in the opposition's Coordinating Council elections announced they are withdrawing from the campaign. Economist Irina Yasina and writer Liudmila Ulitskaya published a statement [ru] on Yasina's blog, explaining that there are other “younger” and more “active” “young people” involved in the process, and that...
Slovakia: Music Copyright Agency Vs. School Drama Club
The Slovak Performing and Mechanical Rights Society imposes a €975 fine on a high school drama club for a fundraiser ball, which included a raffle and featured songs authored and performed by the club members - but had not been properly registered with the music copyright agency. Tibor Blazko reports.
Macedonia: Fashion and Style Blogs
Skopje Casual blog, run by “3 girls, showing off their daily inspirations and casual fashion from the streets of Skopje,” followed up on their previous work and posted [mk] a new list of Macedonian fashion/style blogs. Some of them, like Diario creativo and Sanja's Burgundy Blog, post original content in...
Controversy over Nobel Peace Prize to European Union
The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union (EU) has sparked a lively debate in the media and on social networks in Europe and the rest of the world.
Russia: Lawmaker Wants to Regulate Social Networks
A few days ago several Russian bloggers were incensed by the idea that a Duma committee responsible for legislating the internet was going to propose a new law requiring passport identification for users of social networks.
Montenegro: General Elections 2012
BalkanInsight's live blog [en] of this past Sunday's parliamentary elections in Montenegro ends its coverage with this summary: […] No surprises in the Montenegro elections, if the preliminary results are confirmed. [Milo Djukanovic] looks set to continue to dominate the political landscape as he has done for more than two...
Serbia: Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2012
Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2012 took place in Belgrade on October 13–14, 2012, and is the first Wikimedia CEE Meeting for Central and Eastern Europe. The primary goal of the event is to intensify cooperation among the Wiki communities, Wikimedia chapters, and other interested groups from Central and Eastern Europe. The...
Czech Republic: Přednádraží Forced Eviction Struggle Continues
The movement against forced evictions of Roma families at Přednádraží has suffered several severe blows over the last month, but as the pressure keeps rising, alliances also continue to grow. Daniela Kantorova reports.
Russia: Getting It Wrong on the Pussy Riot Prisoner's Dilemma
Reactions to the release of Yekaterina Samutsevich have generally been myopic and misleading. The popular "insight" is that the authorities are maneuvering to "divide and conquer" the punk rocker trio. That is undoubtedly part of what's happened, but it isn't the whole story.
Ukraine: “The Babushkas of Chernobyl” Documentary Project
On Kickstarter.com, only a few hours are left to pledge funding for The Babushkas of Chernobyl, a documentary project by Holly Morris and Anne Bogart, which tells stories of “an extraordinary group of women who live in Chernobyl’s post-nuclear disaster ‘Zone of Alienation’ or ‘Dead Zone'”: Time really is of...
Slovakia: Comparing the Income of Roma and Non-Roma Neighbors
Tibor Blazko translates netizens' comments on some of the issues brought up in a recent World Bank report: unemployment, safety nets and the gap in income between Roma and non-Roma families in Slovakia.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Local Elections 2012
An Aussie in Bosnia writes – here and here – about the Oct. 7 local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Related Twitter hashtags [bo, en] are #IzboriBiH and #IzboriBiH_RSE; the latter refers to Radio Slobodna Evropa, which runs this elections liveblog [bo], quoting [bo] Kenan Efendić (@Kenoslaw), among others: The...
Russia: Winners & Losers in Round 1 of the Opposition's Debates
The first stage of the Russian opposition's Coordinating Council debates has ended. So who has advanced to the next round of debates? Who among the candidates is best winning the hearts and minds of the opposition's voters?
Ukraine: Communist MP's Facebook Account Suspended, Then Restored
Maksym Savanevsky of Watcher.com.ua wrote [uk] that the Facebook account [ru] of Yevgeniy Tsarkov, a Ukrainian Communist MP, was blocked on Oct. 5, following Tsarkov's scandalous remarks during a political talk show. Tsarkov said [ru] that the Soviet NKVD had not done enough to get rid of the Ukrainian nationalists....
Russia: Politics of the Nobel Peace Prize Nominations
On September 27th the three imprisoned members of Pussy Riot wrote a letter [ru] which registered their desire to nominate their lawyers for the Nobel Peace Prize. This predictably caused outrage [ru] from pro-government bloggers. One of the lawyers, Mark Feygin, tweeted [ru] that the move was political — a nomination would create a protective...
Russia: Crowdmapping Corruption with Bribr Mobile App
Bribr is a newly-launched iPhone/iPad app that allows anonymous users in Russia to submit the locations and the amounts of the bribes they pay. Later, it will be possible to report on the bribes taken as well.
Russia: The Opposition Coordinating Council's Great Debates, Day 1.0
"What should the next Duma adopt as its first new law?" "Does Russia have any friends?" Just some of the questions thrown at the candidates for the upcoming elections of the first Coordinating Council of the Russian Opposition. Read the debate transcripts here.
Russia: A Schism Between Pussy Riot Member and Defense Team?
One of the imprisoned members of Pussy Riot has decided to change her lawyers and defense strategy. Her lawyers have reacted by claiming she is being pressured.
Hungary: Cycle Chic Summit in Budapest
Representatives of Amsterdam Cycle Chic, Berlin Cycle Chic, Copenhagen Cycle Chic, Vienna Cycle Chic and Vitória Cycle Chic gathered for a mini-summit in Budapest. This cycle chic event, organized by Hungarian Cycle Chic bloggers, was tied to a street fashion show. More photos are available here [hu].
Russia: Apple Logo Branded As Unchristian by Orthodox Activists
Interfax new agency reported [ru] today that a fringe group of Russian Orthodox activists (including some priests) has “on a number of occasions” staged public protests against the maker of the iPhone and iPad, Apple Inc., on the grounds that the company's logo (a monochrome “bitten” apple) constitutes an anti-Christian symbol.
Spain: Ryanair (aka Adventures in Flying)
Ryanair, the low-cost, no-luxury Irish airline is coming under fire once again. This time for the various incidents that have occurred in Spain and other countries in the last few weeks. The issue has not left netizens indifferent.
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