Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from May, 2010
Ukraine: The Plight of the Crimean Tatars
Paul Goble of Window on Eurasia writes about the 66th anniversary of the deportations of the Crimean Tatars and the current plight of those who have returned to their homeland and those who haven't: “But because of the importance of where they live, their difficulties will not be theirs alone.”
Russia: “Is Khodorkovsky a Dissident?”
Vadim Nikitin shares his thoughts on whether Mikhail Khodorkovsky can be considered a dissident.
Poland: Annual flood causes annual problems
Michał of the Polski blog reflects upon the annual spring flood in Poland again submerging tracts of the country, and Polandian posts pictures from Kraków, the country's second city, illustrating the situation.
Moldova: Overaged population problem
Zimbru of Morning in Moldova comments on a recent demographic report about Moldova's ageing population and makes a few suggestions of how to deal with the problem.
Estonia: Green party purges
Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa reflects upon how the Estonian Green Party has just expelled leading members and which consequences this has for the party and the country's political landscape, not least in relation to next year's parliamentary elections.
Russia rises as nuclear exporter
Eberhard Rhein of EU Blogactiv writes about a recent agreement between Russia and Turkey on construction of a nucelar power plant, and how Russia is becoming a leading exporter of nuclear power technology.
Russia: More Victory Day Commentary
A Good Treaty reviews selected blog and media commentary on Victory Day’s 65th anniversary in Russia: “My own feelings on Russia’s WWII past are far from settled, so let me take a moment to express my gratitude to the aforementioned writers, who made an effort to speak coherently about a...
Soviet History: “The False Charges of Treason Against the Crimean Tatars”
J. Otto Pohl writes about his new article (.pdf) – “The False Charges of Treason Against the Crimean Tatars” – which was published at the International Committee for Crimea website on the 66th anniversary of the 1944 deportations.
Russia: Photos of Grozny
LJ user greedyspeedy posts the first installment of photos of Grozny, Chechnya, taken in April, and writes (RUS) in the comments: “This photo report is about the glossy Grozny; I'll show the other, gloomy, side of Grozny in part two. […] Compared to Gudermes, Argun – the largest cities after...
Russia: RT's Gay Pride Coverage
Julia Ioffe writes at True/Slant about RT's coverage of the upcoming gay pride parade in Moscow.
Russia: La Russophobe Interviews Mark Adomanis
La Russophobe interviews True/Slant Russia blogger Mark Adomanis.
Russia: Berkman Center Experts Visit Moscow
Researchers from the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University visited Moscow and met with local journalist and bloggers at the Moscow State University. Lenta.ru writes about the meeting and the research of Russian blogosphere by Harvard University.
Hungary: Reluctant government handover
Eva Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum reflects upon the reluctance of opposing sides in Hungarian politics to deal with each other in the handover of power after the recent parliamentary elections.
Belarus: State sanctioned homophobia
Andrei Khrapavitsky of Belarusan American Blog compares homophobia in Belarus with that in Lithuania after an LGBT-march was quashed in Minsk last weekend while being allowed in Vilnius.
Belarus: Lukashenko grants Bakiyev sanctuary
Yaraslau Kryvoi of Belarus Digest comments on the sanctuary given to ex Kyrgyz president Bakiyev by Belarus president Lukashenko, and the implications this might have in relations between Minsk and Moscow.
Russia: Pictures of Forest Fire
Photoblogger Igor Podgorny posts convincing pictures of the aftermath of the forest fire that is denied by Russian authorities.
Russia: “Novaya Gazeta” Down
The Web site of Russia's independent newspaper “Novaya Gazeta” seems to be down. As the newspaper's blog states, it's not a DDOS-attack but a hosting provider's issue due to the yesterday's rainstorm. However, the sudden blackout might be connected with the events in Kemerovo region.
Russia: Photos Flood in Moscow
Alexey Yushenkov posts pictures of the flood on one of the central streets in Moscow. He also gives pictures of the same situation in 2006. Other pictures of the flood available here and here.
Bulgaria: AC/DC Sofia Concert Videos
Some 60,000 fans attended AC/DC's concert in Sofia, Bulgaria, on May 14, and Ipolitan (BUL) has posted 23 videos from the event.
Hungary: “UEFA Threatens to Bring Euro 2012 Matches to Hungary”
Pestiside.hu reports that UEFA “has threatened to take away the four [Euro 2012] sites from Ukraine, and move two to Poland and two to Germany or yes, Hungary.”
Russia: The Andrei Kolesnikov Mystery
Poemless discovers that the English-language Wikipedia article on Russian journalist Andrey Kolesnikov is misleading, and that there are actually two Russian journalists named Andrey/Andrei Kolesnikov, and both “cover high profile politicos and contribute to widely-read newspapers and other media outlets” – and “[t]hese Andrei Kolesnikovs are like good/evil twins or...
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