Latvia: Musings on Ethnic Homogeny

Among other things, Marginalia muses on the “basic bonds between peoples and their languages, lands, beliefs, cultures and even cuisines” and how it relates to Latvia.

Poland, Ukraine: Euro 2012

20 East writes about Euro 2012, to be hosted by Poland and Ukraine: “As I live in Warsaw, I’ll worry more about the Polish side of things although one general...

Poland: Warsaw; Online Forums

Among other things, Polandian writes about the Warsaw Ghetto in the final installment of “Inside Warsaw.” Also, there's a post on “why Polish people don’t smile” and a review of...

Poland: The President's Homophobia

The beatroot reports that “the Polish Consulate in New York has just apologised to Brendan Fay, the gay guy who complained about use of his image in the recent anti-homo...

Central and Eastern Europe: Easter Roundup

Adventures in Wheelville marks Easter in Slovenia; Polandian writes about the “ingredients” of “the nationwide ‘holiday shuffle'” in Poland, and Kinuk describes her family's Polish holiday feast; Csíkszereda Musings writes...

Ukraine: Construction in Kyiv

Ukrainiana writes about undesirable construction that is changing Kyiv – here and here (with photos and video).

Czech Republic, Slovakia: Whipping Girls and Other Easter Traditions

Easter is a very important celebration both in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, called Velikonoce - from Veliké noci or Great Nights. Although the religious connotations of Easter were suppressed under the communist regime, nowadays Czechs and Slovaks are again aware of the strong Christian background of Easter, although they regard it as mostly fun times. Many traditions are still observed, especially in villages. Several bloggers have been describing some of them.

Russia: Two Dagestani Journalists Killed

Ilyas Shurpaev, a Dagestani TV journalist who worked for a state-owned federal channel, was found dead Friday in Moscow. Later that day, Gadzhi Abashilov, director of Dagestan's state-owned broadcasting company, was shot to death in Makhachkala, the republic's capital. Below are a few bloggers' reactions to the murders, as well as the translation of Shurpaev's last blog post.

Russia: Tandemocracy

Scraps of Moscow reviews the terms used to describe Russia's current political system and its leaders: Tandemocracy, DIMAcracy and more.

LiveJournal: Bloggers Protest Basic Account Cancellation

Yet again, LJ users are in distress. Unlike the previous times, however, the current situation involves both the Russian-language and the English-language segments of LiveJournal. It all began when LiveJournal's management announced that no account created after March 12, 2008, could be turned into a free-of-charge and ad-free Basic Account. Today, some Anglophone and Russophone LJ users protest against this unpopular measure.

De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis writes about Vladimir Vysotsky: “There are some topics I'd like to write about, but as soon as I start, I understand that I just can't....

Czech Republic: Erratic Boulder Awards

The Reference Frame writes about the Erratic Boulder “anti-prizes” awarded by Sisyfos, the Czech scientific skeptics’ club, for “confusing the Czech public and for contributions to the development of muddy...

Czech Republic: Ex-PM Fails Bar Exam

The Czech Daily Word reports that former Czech PM has failed his bar exam and will not be able to get his attorney license.

Croatia: Zagreb's New Synagogue

Balkan Baby writes about the opening of a new synagogue in Zagreb.

Albania: Eagle Mobile

Albanian Blogger comments on the arrival of Albania's “much-awaited” third mobile operator.

Albania: Post-Explosion Protests

Albanian Blogger writes about the protests taking place in Tirana following the explosion.

Poland: Arts, Posters and More

Polandian writes about Polish artists and Polish poster art, and posts another installment of the Inside Warsaw series: Q-U.

Ukraine: “Fortress Kerch”

The Gaws writes about a tour of a fortress in Kerch.

Ukraine: “NATO Naysayers”

Ukrainiana writes about Ukraine's “NATO naysayers” – “local” and foreign.

Ukraine: Kyiv Mayoral Election

Ukrainiana reports on the yet another upcoming election in Ukraine: “It finally happened! In a long-awaited vote, the Verkhovna Rada Tuesday paved the way for new mayoral elections to be...

Ukraine: Protesting Yushchenko's March 8 Address

Natalia Antonova writes about an open letter to president Victor Yushchenko posted in a Ukrainian feminist LJ community: “Basically, people are outraged that on the 8th of March, International Women’s...