Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from May, 2006
Ukraine: Village Life Videos
Ukrainian-American blogger Stefan of Dykun now has a vlog, but he'll be cross-posting Ukraine-related entries to his blog. The first two videos – both shot in Sept. 2005 – have to do with West Ukrainian farming and village life: an old woman feeding fowl in Ternopil region and villagers gathering...
Russia: Pensioners Get Young TV Stars Drafted
Yuri Mamchur of Russia Blog writes that four participants of a Russian reality show might get drafted because of a letter to the Russian minister of defense from a group of angry elderly women: “Mrs. Vrubel has a 17 year old grandson who is due for his mandatory army service...
Russia: A River “Walk”
Raffi Aftandelian of maaskva: nashimi glazami took a “river tram” down the Moskva River, part of the Moscow Cultural Walks initiative, and wrote about it both in English and in Russian: “The boat was just spilling with interesting people. I met a post-production sound man, psychologists, journalists, some delightfully out-there...
Russia, Ukraine: Misspelled Name & Border-Crossing
Stephan of Everybody I Love You writes about his “extreme Russia” adventure: dacha, banya – and problems at the Russian-Ukrainian border caused by a misspelled name on his Russian entry visa.
Russia: “Russophiles and Reality”
Megan Case muses on what it's like to be a female Russophile living in Russia.
Russia: Zhirinovsky Tea
Konstantin Dlutskiy of Russian Marketing Blog post a photo of a curious item he stumbled on recently: Zhirinovsky Tea – named after and made for one of the most notorious Russian politicians, Vladimir Zhirinovsky.
Cuba: Accomodating Cuba
What approach should nations adopt in relation to Cuba? Pondblog crafts an argument from the following ingredients: an article by the director of the Council for Hemispheric Relations (COHA), a US State Department report on state sponsors of terrorism, and a quotation from former Czech leader Vaclav Havel.
Muscovites in Kyiv: Pizza Delivery Fiasco
On weekends, Kyiv teems with tourists from Moscow. Train tickets for overnight Friday and Sunday rides between the two capitals have to be ordered well in advance. The number of Muscovites settling in Kyiv permanently to do business is growing, too. To make the new migrants’ lives easier, a special...
Lithuania: Eurovision Mania
Andy H of Csikszereda Musings writes about the Eurovision Song Contest, which he watched in Lithuania this year: “Lithuania got maximum points from Ireland, in what I thought was testament to the Irish love of a good joke, but was told today that it’s because there are loads of Lithuanians...
Serbia & Montenegro: Karadzic's Hiding Place
Balkan Ghost of Finding Karadzic writes that Montenegrin politicians have succeeded in convincing the world and the world media “that Karadzic was Serbia's problem and not theirs”: “Today, newly independent Montenegro is seen by the world as the “next Croatia,” a country that will quickly become prosperous and European through...
Ukraine: Books on Crimean Tatars
Otto Pohl posts a list of English-language publications on Crimean Tatars.
Russia: Law on National Flag
Oleksa writes about a strange law regulating the way Russia's national flag can be displayed: “t’s illegal in Russia to have the national tricolor displayed permanently unless it’s a government institution. Apparently, one can do it freely only during national holidays. Or, translated from the bureaucratic lingo, the national flag...
Slovakia: Hungarian Detained for Sightseeing
Hungarian tourists were detained by the Slovak police for violating the law that states that “all sightseers in Bratislava must use the guides of the Bratislava Cultural and Information Service,” writes Paul of Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar.
Romania: Mailbox Photos
Romerican posts an amazing collection of mailbox pictures from Braşov, Romania.
Moldova: Internet Connectivity
Peter Myers of Doi Ani de Zile: Adventures in Moldova has examined internet connectivity data for Moldova and other former Soviet republics and is eager to share his findings: “So best of luck to anyone who wants to play around with this data. Whatever you do with it, keep me...
Montenegro: “It Looks Like Europe Has a New Country”
This past Sunday, 55.4 percent of the voters of Montenegro, the smallest of the six former Yugoslav republics (population slightly over 600,000), decided in favor of independence – by a narrow margin of 0.4%, in a heavy turnout. Below are some bloggers’ reactions to the May 21 referendum results. Doug...
Czech Republic: “The Great Czech MD Tussle”
Lemuel of Deleted by Tomorrow writes about and posts a video of an incident that took place during a Czech Dentist Association conference two weeks before the general election: Miroslav Macek, former minister from an opposition party (Civic Democratic), smacked David Rath, health minister from the governing party (Social Democratic),...
Belarus: On Trial for Text-Messaging
Iryna of TOL's Belarus Blog writes about an unprecedented (even for Belarus) trial: “We have become used to the fact that prominent academics and journalists are being sentenced to 15 days in prison for swearing or hooliganism, but last week a student was actually tried for sending a text message...
Belarus: Brief Blogosphere Update
TOL's Belarus Blog reports on the Belarusian blogosphere's lack of interest in such important issues as the EU's initiatives to freeze Aleksandr Lukashenko's assets and boycott an Interpol conference in Minsk. Polina Smolova's very poor performance at this year's Eurovision Song Contest is widely discussed in Belarusian LiveJournals, however.
Belarus: Off the MSM and Bloggers’ Radars
TOL's Belarus Blog cites Google Trends and Technorati to show that Belarus has virtually disappeared “from the radars of mainstream media” and bloggers.
Belarus: Soviet Pioneer Oranization's Anniversary
Ivan Lenin of Rush-Mush marks the 84th anniversary of Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization by retelling one Belarusian bloggers’ story (in Russian) on how he got expelled from this Soviet youth organization “right before his 10th birthday.” TOL's Belarus Blog writes about the Belarusian blogosphere's reaction to the decision to withdraw...
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