Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from July, 2014
This Russian Journalist Fears ‘Spy Scares’ May Migrate North from Tajikistan
It is nearly a month since Global Voices' Alexander Sodiqov was wrongfully arrested by Tajik authorities on espionage charges. This "Tajik precedent" should concern Russians, too, argues journalist Igor Rotar.
Putin Tells Rabbis that Goebbels Was “Talented”
Vladimir Putin recently called Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Minister of Propaganda, as a “talented man” in the meeting with an international delegation of rabbis.
His Country Has Never Made it to the World Cup, But Uzbekistan's Ravshan Irmatov is a FIFA Legend
Uzbek football referee Ravshan Irmatov may not be as well-known internationally as Cristiano Ronaldo, but his record at World Cups is decidedly better.
Russian Web Animation at Its Best
Foreigners are likely to think of Russia's ballet or literature before considering its Web animation, but it’s in this latter field that the RuNet has achieved something brilliant.
A Local Serbian Politician Threatened on Facebook to Hit an Activist With a Shovel for Organizing Protests
An activist's call for protests and demands for better reconstruction efforts met online threats from a Serbian city official.
Russia's Armchair Warrior Turns on Ukraine's Rebel Leader
Russians are finding the humor in one intellectual's rant against the rebel militia commander in eastern Ukraine.
This Project Is Helping France Unlearn Its Stereotypes About Romania
Newsroum is a school project from La Sorbonne journalism school in France that is dedicated to fighting clichés about Romania.
Everything You Need to Know About Russia's Internet Crackdown
To help people keep track of what’s what in Russian cyberspace, we've compiled a list of the most important laws to hit the RuNet in the past two years.
Kiev Kowtows to Washington … on Twitter
Ukraine's new foreign minister, Pavlo Klimkin, is in hot water on the Russian Internet today, where bloggers are drawing attention to his first subscriptions on Twitter. RuNet users have noticed that some of the first accounts Klimkin chose to follow are US politicians John McCain and Mitt Romney, the neoconservative American think...
Andrey Mima on Banning the Internet in Russia
RuNet Echo translates a column by Andrey Mima about a new draft law in Moscow that will require websites to store all Russian users' data inside Russia.
Russia's Cyber Nanny Calls for a Clean RuNet
In the eyes of parliamentarian Yelena Mizulina, the Russian Internet is a pretty scary place. Learn about the Cyber Nanny's latest filtering initiative with this handy breakdown from RuNet Echo.
Australian Activist Jock Palfreeman Is Taking On Bulgaria's Prison System From the Inside
People are calling for a Twitter "Day of Solidarity" with Palfreeman, imprisoned for murder. He says he was defending himself after trying to stop an attack on two Roma boys.
Are Serbia's Dark Days of Media Censorship and Intimidation Making a Comeback?
Serbian Prime Minister Vučić claims to have learned from his past "political mistakes", but he seems to be reverting back to his old censorship habits.
Albanian Activists Condemn ‘Terrorist’ Murder Verdict in Macedonia
Balkan Insight reports that an ethnic Albanian NGO in Macedonia has condemned a recent court verdict convicting six Albanian men for the execution-style murder of five ethnic Macedonians on Christian Orthodox Easter in 2012. The NGO claims that the entire investigation and verdict were politically-motivated and set against the six...
Serbian Artists Create “Neighborly Hanger” for Handouts
The image of the poorest segments of the population rummaging through trash cans has, unfortunately, become a common one in many Balkan countries in the past few years. From some of the 38,000 pensioners who currently receive the minimum monthly pension of barely 120 euro in Serbia, not enough to...
The Perils of the Lunar Putin
Aleksandr Dugin, a controversial Russian scholar, says he's lost his job at Moscow State University, claiming that the President's alter ego—the Lunar Putin—is to blame.
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