Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from March, 2010
Moldova: Homemade Wine Diary
An expat's homemade wine production diary from Moldova – at Moldovarious.com.
Serbia: Diaspora Serb's Musings on “Serbs, Media, Justice and Me!”
A Diaspora Serb's views on collective blame, collective guilt and other relevant issues – at Balkan Anarchist.
U.S.: Belarusian Diaspora and the 2010 Census
Belarus Digest reports that “the Belarusan-American Association starts a new campaign with compelling slogan ‘Are you proud you’re Belarusian? Identify yourself on the 2010 census form!'”
Russia: Filipina Babysitter and Moscow Police
English Man in Moscow recounts his family's Filipina babysitter's ordeal with the Russian police.
Russia: “Battle for Khimki Forest”
A detailed account of the ongoing “battle for Khimki Forest” – by Yevgeniya Chirikova at OpenDemocracy.net: “The plan to construct a section of the new Moscow-St.Petersburg motorway through the legally-protected Khimki Forest Park will destroy a rare eco-system. Dogged local resistance has turned this into a national, even international issue....
Ukraine: Crimean Tatar Leader Addresses European Parliament
Links related to the March 17 European Parliament hearing with Mustafa Dzhemilev, former Soviet dissident and Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People: Dzhemilev's speech (.pdf file); an overview at Window on Eurasia; an overview at Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO); a written address by MEP Heidi...
Russia: Andrei Loshak's Text on Corruption
Andrei Loshak's much-discussed text about corruption and “the normal functioning of an irrational system” in Russia has been translated into English by OpenDemocracy.net (the Russian-language original is at OpenSpace.ru).
Bosnia: Gay Dutch Soldiers
Kirk Johnson of Americans For Bosnia reacts to retired NATO commander John Sheehan's homophobic comment on the Dutch troops’ performance in Bosnia in 1995: “Regarding the Srebrenica Genocide; there are many things for which we can hold the Dutch military at fault, but allowing gay Dutch citizens to serve their...
Belarus: Blogger Attempts to Run Internet Election Campaign
Information Policy writes about a Belarusian blogger's failed attempt to run for Minsk city council, the use of internet in his campaign – and the new internet regulations that might soon be introduced in Belarus: “Lipkovich noted that his video interview in which he had announces his intention to step...
Russia: Bread
Photos of “how Russian bread is being baked” – at English Russia.
UK: Foreign Office on Ukraine and Belarus
Leigh Turner, UK Ambassador to Ukraine, writes about London's “intense interest in what's going on in Ukraine.” Belarus Digest reports that UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband (whose blog is here) “singled out Belarus in his introduction to the Foreign Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights 2009.”
Ukraine: Fundraising Effort to Help Street Children
Scenes from the Sidewalk announces – here and here – a fundraising effort for CrossRoads Foundation: “If you want to be a part of a group of people who are doing amazing work with street and at risk children in Ukraine, please consider helping us raise money.”
Global: Furs And Fashion
Last month the fashion world went literally “wild” during the unveiling of fall collections. They had models strutting the catwalk in so much fur, it was scary enough to make animal rights activists and environmentalists jump out of their skins.
Slovenia: Minister arrested by police
Sleeping with Pengovsky comments on the recent arrest of Slovenia's minister of agriculture by the country's National Bureau of Investigation.
Ukraine: Differing views of the Orange revolution
The Ivanov Report presents a very critical comment on an essay about the Orange revolution by Keith Gessen in The New Yorker.
Russia: Authorities Shut Down File Sharing Service
ifolder.ru, Russian file sharing service, has been shut down by police, roem.ru reported. This is the second case of the file sharing site being shut down. The first one was the scandalous case of torrents.ru.
Moldova: Constitution and immunity
Zimbru of Morning in Moldova argues against parliamentary immunity as part of a new Moldovan constitution.
Russia: Results of regional elections
Gabriela Ionita of Power&Politics World analyses the results on Russia's recent regional elections and its effects on the country's politics.
Russia: Blogger Criticizes National Post Service
Blogger cyxoupshk published a video (RU with English subs) address criticizing Russian post service. The video is provoked by increasingly bad quality of service as well as recent DHL's shipping suspension.
Macedonia: International Women's Day in the Blogosphere
International Women's Day is not an official public holiday in Macedonia, but is widely observed through interpersonal interactions and at some workplaces. This year, a number of bloggers used the occasion to draw attention to gender issues or to find creative ways to congratulate women online.
Ukraine: Book-Burning and Book-Recycling Rallies
Steve Bandera of Kyiv Scoop writes about a book-burning rally in Crimea – and a book-recycling rally in Lviv. The latter was in protest to the appointment of Ukraine's new minister of education and science, and LEvko of Foreign Notes has more on it.
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