Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from April, 2011
Kazakhstan, Russia: Photos of Baikonur
At Russia Blog, Anton Verstakov's photos from Baikonur, a city in Kazakhstan, rented and administered by Russia, home to the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Hungary: More on the New Constitution
More on the new Hungarian constitution – at Hungarian Spectrum and Hungarian Watch.
Macedonia: “Sewing” Video-Clip/Film
On his blog, Daniel Gjurchinovski presented his short film Sewing, “shot and edited in one day.”
Russia: Play on the swansong of the Yeltsin era
British playwright Thomas Hirst guestblogs at Siberian Light, writing about his new play The 17, about the demise of the Yelstin era in Russian politics.
Russia: Pullitzer prize for corruption coverage
Putin Watcher draws attention to two New York Times journalists winning the Pullitzer Prize for their coverage of Russian state corruption.
Russia: Restricting racism
Sean's Russia Blog writes about increasing government intolerance with Russia's racist movements, signified by a court ruling to outlaw an organization against illegal immigration.
Hungary: New constitution passed by parliament
Eva Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum discusses the new Hungarian constitution, last-minute changes, and how major parties boycotted the parliamentary vote.
Russia: Bloggers Stop FSB Initiative To Ban Skype
It was just a stroke of luck that on Friday, April 8, 2011, LiveJournal did actually work; before and after this date it would constantly “crash” or “die” due to hacker attacks for periods ranging from several hours to half a day. But on this particular Friday it worked, and it’s possible that this saved the Russian Internet and all its users from yet another prohibitive initiative from the FSB (Federal Security Service). At least for the time being.
Romania: Literary renaissance
Richard Byrne of Balkans via Bohemia writes about the playwright Lucian Blaga and a renaissance for Romanian 20th century literature and drama.
Ukraine: Kyiv Post Editorial Staff on Strike
Democratist writes about the situation with Kyiv Post, an English-language newspaper whose staff went on strike last week to protest the publisher's decision to fire the editor-in-chief over the publication of an interview with the Ukrainian minister of agriculture.
Hungary: A Medical Doctor on Twitter
Debrecen-based Bertalan Meskó, a medical doctor who tweets under the name @Berci and has more than 6,000 followers, reported on his blog [en] that he was listed among the Top 10 Medical Tweeters on Project IVLine. He wrote this about his Twitter experience: “Whenever I have a question about my...
Ukraine: UkrTelecom's “Shady” Privatisation
Foreign Notes writes – here, here, and here – on last month's sale of “a 92.79 percent stake in Ukraine's telecom monopoly, Ukrtelecom” – apparently, Ukraine's yet “another shady privatisation” deal.
Russia: Art Group “Voina” and Innovation 2010 Prize
RussiaWatchers writes in detail about Art Group Voina, whose “phallus on the Liteiny bridge opposite to St. Petersburg FSB headquarters has been awarded the Innovation 2010 prize for best visual work of art.”
Ukraine: Chernobyl Charity Walk on April 22
On April 22, a group of volunteers from the British and French embassies in Ukraine will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe and fundraise for the Children of Chornobyl Relief and Development Fund (CCRDF) and the British Limbless Ex-Service Men's Association (BLESMA) by walking 63 miles (110 km)...
Russia: Interviews With Miriam Dobson, Thomas de Waal, Christopher Ward
Sean Guillory of Sean's Russia Blog interviews authors Miriam Dobson (“Khrushchev’s Cold Summer: Gulag Returnees, Crime, and the Fate of Reform After Stalin”), Thomas de Waal (“The Caucasus: An Introduction”) and Christopher Ward (“Brezhnev’s Folly: The Building of BAM and Late Soviet Socialism”) for New Books in Russia and Eurasia.
Ukraine: Natural History Museum; Farmers’ Markets
A walk through Kyiv's Natural History Museum – at Uncataloged Museum; a look at Kyiv's farmers’ markets (here and here), as well as a traditional Ukrainian recipe for a viburnum (kalyna) drink, “delicious and nourishing” – at The Pickle Project.
Czech Republic: Presidential pendemonium
Czechmate Diary discusses how the Czech president, Vaclav Klaus, apparently snatches a pen during a state visit to Chile, and how people now are sending him loads of pens so that he will not be left without one.
Russia: Complexities of LiveJournal attack
Putin Watcher tries to contextualize the various interests that may have been behind the recent attacks on Russian blog platform LiveJournal in the complex and fractionalized context of Russian politics.
Ukraine: Photos of presidential palace
Foreign Notes comments on pictures published by Ukrainian daily Segodnya [RU] of Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovich's, new palace on the outskirts of Kiev, and the public outrage this luxurious mansion has provoked.
Libya-Bosnia-Hungary: Origins of Gaddafi's wife
Pestiside.hu reports about uncorroborated rumours that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's wife, Safiya, is from Bosnia with origins in Hungary.
Macedonia: Fast-Track Lawmaking, Privacy Alert
The Macedonian Parliament disbanded itself today, as part of the process of preparation for the June elections. The ruling majority used the previous period to rubber-stamp a huge number of draft-laws submitted by the government, including a new attempt to legalize unconstitutional police surveillance.