Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from December, 2012
Russian Documentary Filmmakers Abandon YouTube After Police Investigation
On December 12, filmmakers halted the online publication of one of Russia's most curious documentary efforts: "Srok" ("The Term"), a video project hosted on YouTube and LiveJournal, chronicling and capturing the events of the opposition movement. The project's suspension came after federal investigators searched the home of one of its directors.
Sans Permit, Russian Opposition to Converge at Security Headquarters
Their rally at the FSB Headquarters banned, opposition leaders suggest protesters take a "walk" to the center of Moscow. Was their refusal to accept offers of other venues a mistake?
Inappropriate Analogy for Greece-Macedonia Name Dispute
Responding to an assertion by Gerald Knaus… Athens and Skopje face a [prisoner's dilemma]: if neither side believes that a solution is possible, and acts on this, both will lose. …Zarko Trajanoski wrote on Facebook: However, the analogy with “prisoner's dilemma” is not only false, but very offensive: Athens is...
Presenting the Balkan Minorities
Fifteen young journalists from six different countries have produced a series of personal stories about representatives of the minorities (in a broad sense) from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia, and Macedonia. The stories are available in English, German, and French on the Face the Balkans website.
Students Rally All Over Hungary to Save Tuition-Free Education
In Hungary, the once free-for-all education system has always been a subject of heated debates. This week, the debates have grown into student protests that are taking place all over the country.
Russian Web Censorship Got You Down? Fight It With “Counter-Absurdity”!
It has now been more than a month since the blacklist of the Russian Internet went live. One Russian ISP has decided to have its own say in the matter.
Online Tools for People with Disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina
UNDP's Voices From Eurasia writes about the new web-based tools aimed at promoting the rights of people with disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina:
Croatia's EU Negotiation Model: A View From Turkey
At BlogActiv.com, Kader Sevinç shares highlights [en] from her interview [hr] with the Croatian daily Slobodna Dalmacija, in which she talked about Turkey’s accession to the EU and the Croatian model for the EU negotiations – “a multi-party model overcoming deep political fractures over the EU membership target.”
Kallxo.com: Crowdmapping Corruption in Kosovo
Responding to this discussion on the impact of crowdsourced anti-corruption initiatives, Alexis Franke of UNDP's Voices From Eurasia writes about Kallxo.com, “a project that encourages citizens to report cases of corruption in Kosovo via a Ushahidi-based platform.”
Romania's General Election Results “As Expected”
The Economist's Eastern Approaches and Bucharest Life comment on the results of the Dec. 9 parliamentary elections in Romania.
Remembering the Short-Lived Crimean People’s Republic
James Conohan guest-blogs at Greater Surbiton about the Crimean People's Republic, which existed from December 1917 to January 1918 and “was the first attempt in the Muslim world to establish a state that was both democratic and secular”:
Bulgarian PM Takes a Nap at Nobel Peace Prize Event
On his Facebook page, Dimitar Vuchev posts a screenshot [bg] from the livestreaming of today's Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony, featuring the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in what looks like a peaceful nap:
Interview with Maksim Kononenko: Russian Non-Oppositionist Blogging
Kononenko is widely considered to be one of the RuNet’s pioneers, and has worked as a publicist, a columnist, a programmer, and a television host, among other things. He is a self-described "liberal," though his political positions place him squarely outside the Russian opposition.
Russian eDemocracy: There and Back Again
Just like last winter, Russia's opposition leaders are involved in negotiations with Moscow city authorities to determine where an upcoming rally will take place. This time, however, they are asking their online electorate to pitch in.
Regional Bloggers Attend Blogomanija Conference in Serbia
Dozens of bloggers [sr] from Serbia, as well as from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovenia, attended Blogomanija [sr], a regional blogging conference that was held in Serbia on Dec. 7-9. Among other things, they discussed [sr] the impact of blogs and social networks on social and political...
Slovak Government Keeps Paying Millions for Microsoft Products
Every year, the Slovak state pays about 200 Euros per computer for a license allowing the use of the newest Microsoft products and services. Activist Štefan Szilva has collected information [pdf, sk] about 30 percent of the 82,000 ‘state-owned computers’. From it, the IT website dsl.sk has computed this statistics...
Counter of Syrian War Victims Installed in Bulgarian Capital
“Support Syrian bloggers and activists” Facebook page published a photo of the counter of victims and refugees of the war in Syria, which has recently been installed by CommonStep Association in the center of Bulgaria's capital Sofia. The online counter can be found on CommonStep's website.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: “Lost Time”
Amila Bosnae writes about the years “stolen” by the war in the former Yugoslavia: You lose a couple of years once, and twenty years later, you still haven’t caught up. […] Time stopped for us in a way, then. I didn’t even grow at all for the better part of...
Sounding the Alarm on Hungary's New Electoral Law
Hungarian Spectrum posts an English translation of the appeal by the members of the pre-1989 Democracy Movement to organizations of the European Union, in which they share their concerns regarding the new electoral law: If the next Hungarian elections in 2014 were to be held under the recently rammed-through rules,...
Slovenia: “Second Republic (Again)”
Sleeping With Pengovsky explains the current political situation in Slovenia (more – here and here): […] [PM Janez Janša] already controls the parliament. He controls the economy. And as of last Sunday, he also controls the president of the republic. […] The only unknown in this scenario are protests. The...
Besieged and Bickering, Russian Online Portal Begins Anew
As her conflict with authorities came to a head last week, Aksana Panova, editor-in-chief of the embattled Yekaterinburg internet news agency URA.ru, said her last goodbyes on behalf of the website in a Facebook post.
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