Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from April, 2008
Poland: Road Signs
Polish road signs – at Polandian: “All road signs should be taken with a pinch of salt and interpretations read with tongue firmly in cheek.”
U.K.: Macedonian Film Festival
The Macedonian Tendency shares the schedule of the Macedonian Film Festival that will take place in London next week.
Lithuania: Bloggers’ Conference
Babel in Vilnius reports on the second Lithuanian bloggers conference – BLOGin 2008 – held in Vilnius in early April.
Ukraine, Russia: “Hitler Toy” Story
Ukrainiana writes about the “Hitler toy” story that first appeared on the Russian TV and was later picked up by BBC: “To the extent that the Western media often cite Russian sources as an authority on Ukraine, they also partake in this smorgasbord of Soviet-style propaganda.”
Hungary: History
A lively discussion of Hungarian history – at Hungarian Spectrum.
Poland: Warsaw Notes
Scatts writes about Poland's capital at Polandian: “Thanks to either greed, bad planning, ineffective regulations or a combination of all three, Warsaw is slowly becoming a city hidden behind gigantic advertisements.” On 20 East, Scatts posts pictures and describes the route of a “favorite Warsaw walk.” Both entries feature the...
Estonia: Dozor Night Game
AnTyx writes about playing the Dozor Night Game in Estonia, which “[grew] out of games that have been played for centuries; and certainly after the fall of the Soviet Union every young boy (and a surprising share of girls) all over its former territory went crawling around crumbling industrial parks....
Greece, Macedonia: BBC's Mark Mardell's Post and Comments
A post on the Greek-Macedonian relationship – and nearly 800 comments to it – at Mark Mardell's Euroblog (BBC).
Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan: Lenin's Birthday
On April 22, Vladimir Lenin would have turned 138 - and quite a few Russophone bloggers still remember the date.
Russia: Two Articles
Sean's Russia Blog reviews “two must read articles on Russia.”
Slovakia: Unnerved by McCain's Logo Star
Bratislava-based Deleted by Tomorrow finds “that five-pointed star at the top [of John McCain's campaign logo] a bit unnerving.”
Bulgaria: “Options for the Disabled”
Maya Markova of Maya's Corner writes asks for help in finding a suitable institution for one disabled young woman – and describes the overall situation in Bulgaria: “After the BBC exposed the shocking conditions in Bulgarian institutions for abandoned disabled children and our European partners began to exercise much needed...
Serbia: Biljana Srbljanovic
Balkan Baby writes about Biljana Srbljanovic, Belgrade mayoral candidate for the Liberal Democratic Party.
Greece, Macedonia: Boycotts and Bans
Douglas Muir of A Fistful of Euros posts a brief update on the Greek-Macedonian relationship.
Romania: Electoral Reform
Dr. Sean's Diary and Fruits and Votes – on the Romanian electoral reform.
Slovakia: Euro Membership Bid
Edward Hugh of A Fistful of Euros writes in detail on Slovakia’s euro membership bid. (An update is here.)
Albania: “Albanosphere”
Douglas Muir of A Fistful of Euros posts a new installment on the “Greater Albania” – an extensive overview of the myths and facts about the “Albanosphere.”
Uzbekistan, Ukraine: Tashkent Blacksmith and His Children
A monument to an Uzbek family that adopted 15 children during WWII has recently been dismantled in Tashkent. Below is a Ukrainian blogger's moving story of how her father helped one of these adopted children find his biological family.
Russia: Chechnya Photos
LJ user mnog posts photos from Chechnya: Grozny; Terek-CSKA football game (and the first anniversary of Ramzan Kadyrov's inauguration); Shali, Argun, Makhkety.
Russia, China: Ethnic Tension in Vladivostok
Window on Eurasia writes about issues surrounding the recent clash between Chinese and Russian students in Vladivostok.
Russia: “Gensek Putin”; Politkovskaya Case Update
Sean's Russia Blog writes about “Gensek Putin” (48 comments) – and posts an update on the investigation of Anna Politkovskaya's murder.
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