Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from September, 2007
Russia: The Pulse of the Blogosphere
Scraps of Moscow tries the Pulse of the Blogosphere, a new feature of the Russian Yandex portal and writes about some of the findings – here and here: “Consider this – the Russian blogosphere has consistently mentioned “porno” and “pornography” fewer times than it has mentioned Putin for most of...
Russia: Media and Blogs on Zubkov
Scraps of Moscow posts a comprehensive review of blog and media coverage of Russia's new prime minister Victor Zubkov.
Russia: More on Ingushetia
David McDuff links to his own translation of a piece on the situation in Ingushetia.
Serbia: Chemical Tolimir's Trial
Srebrenica Genocide Blog reports on the ICTY trial of Zdravko Tolimir, an unrepentant former Serb general charged with “genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of laws and customs of war.”
Serbia: March Against Crime in Kosovo
“After the shooting of the police officer, about 5 000 residents of Prishtina […] marched peacefully through the city to show their disgust at crime in the city,” Prishtine: Independence and Kanun reports and posts photos.
Serbia: A Store in Kosovo's Capital
Prishtine: Independence and Kanun posts pictures of a favorite store in Kosovo's capital: “‘ginger’ … when you have a need to feel suave, intellectual or just plain bourgeoisie, ginger is the place for you — books, music, dvds, couch, dog and all. This store rocks….”
Serbia: Noise
Belgrade 2.0 writes about the noise of turbo folk music: “It is designed to destroy brain cells more effectively than most advanced weapons today, without harming the natural environment, pretty much like the new Russian vacuum bomb.” And about the noise of a military celebration that invlolved MIG planes flying...
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Sarajevo Photos and Museums
Novala, Europa posts pictures from Sarajevo and recommends some of the city's museums.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: “Democratic Exclusion”
TOL's Balkanizer writes about “the fear of democratic exclusion” in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Balkans: Music
The Balkan Yankee writes about Beirut, a band that blends “American Indie roots and the Balkan brass/Gypsy sounds that inspired them,” and about Foltin, a band that mixes “contemporary jazz with traditional Macedonian sounds.”
Latvia: N. Irish Football Fans and Russian Nationalists
All About Latvia writes about an encounter between Northern Irish football fans and Russian nationalists in Riga.
Latvia: Parliament Speaker's Quote
All About Latvia quotes the parliament speaker: “I’m prepared to do what’s best for the country, but I don’t know what that is.”
Poland: Bio Fuel and Price of Bread
The beatroot explains the connection between bio fuel and a doubling in the price of bread in Poland.
Former Soviet Union: Yegor Gaidar's Book
De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis reads Yegor Gaidar's book, in which the Soviet Union's collapse is explained from an economic perspective.
Russia: Moscow's “Unusual People and Peculiar Foods”
BusterPh.D.Candidate of moscowthroughbrowneyes writes about “unusual people and peculiar foods” that make Moscow feel like home.
Free Speech Roundup: Turkey, Russia, Pakistan, India
For the second time in a year, a Turkish court ordered, on Tuesday September 18, to block access to YouTube.com over videos deemed insulting to the country's leaders. In Russia, the 23-year old LiveJournal blogger, who wrote a fictional story on his blog inspired by the Virginia Tech shooting, could face up to three years in prison for "falsely warning of a terror threat." In Pakistan, access to the popular blogging platform blogspot.com has been blocked again. And Mumbai's police are planning to install keystroke loggers in cyber cafes.
Russia: Ingushetia Not Chechnya-II
Window on Eurasia explains why the situation in Ingushetia “is not Chechnya-II but possibly something worse.”
Russia: Demography
Window on Eurasia writes about the lack of improvement in Russia's demographic situation: “…the small rise in the number of births reflects instead a temporary increase in the number of Russian women of child-bearing age.”
Europe: Romani Culture
TOL's Romantic writes about Lojze Podobnik, a Slovenian author whose works focus on Romani culture. Pesha's Blog links to Professor Steve Balkin's compilation of online resources on Romani culture.
Moldova: Transnistria
Douglas Muir of A Fistful of Euros writes about Transnistria, “a sort of post-Communist gangster state”: “Travellers unanimously agree that Transnistria is weirdly fascinating for the first hour or two, then just depressing and boring.”
Czech Rebublic: Reinventing Masaryk
Dr. Sean's Diary writes about Václav Klaus’ multiple views of Czechoslovakia’s first president T.G. Masaryk.
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