Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from December, 2011
Russia: Protests (and Security Forces) in Moscow
Siberian Light, Leopolis, and Mark Adomanis comment on the past week's post-election protests in Moscow. In Moscow's Shadows provides “a quick update as to the security forces available in the capital, not least as a counter to some of the more fanciful suggestions about the imminent victory of people power.”
Russia: Anglophone Bloggers Comment on Election and Protests
Kevin Rothrock of A Good Treaty asks eleven Anglophone Russia bloggers to comment on the Dec. 4 parliamentary electionand its aftermath: “The result, I hope readers will agree, is a fruitful diversity of informed opinion from some of the Web’s most prominent and colorful Russia-watchers.” Kevin's own take on the...
Macedonia, China: Comparing Air Pollution in the Capitals
Anastas Vangeli, а Macedonian studying in Beijing, compared the levels of air pollution and policy measures between that city and his hometown Skopje.
Macedonia: Ajvar, Glorified
Jovana Tozija wrote lovingly about making ajvar, a traditional favorite winter provision in Macedonia and some other post-Ottoman countries.
Russia: Analyzing the Possible Scale of Saturday's Election Protests
As the situation with the Russian election results and the country's detained protesters has not yet been resolved, people in many cities are preparing for demonstrations on Saturday 10 December. Alexey Sidorenko analyzes online group demographics and the possible outcome of the protests.
Russia: Second Day of Post-Election Protests
The intrigue of the second day of post-election protests has centered around several major events: court appearances by bloggers Ilya Yashin and Alexey Navalny, a protest demonstration at Triumfalnaya Square, and discussions regarding the Kremlin's soft-power counter-revolution and various means of cyber warfare.
Russia: Kremlin Removes Re-Tweet From Presidential Account
RuNetizens were surprised to see president Medvededv re-tweet a message [ru] with cursing against bloggers. The re-tweet was removed, but Kremlin published an explanation that “illegal engagement with presidential account has been made” and that “those responsible will be punished.” Vedomosti reminded [ru] that recently Medveved had complained he couldn't respond to...
Russia: Election and the “Other Side of the Panopticon”
The protests of recent days in Moscow were triggered by the common feeling of many Russians that the parliamentary election results are not legitimate. Gregory Asmolov analyzes the role of the Internet in exposure of falsifications and the power change between state and citizens in the new information environment.
Macedonia: Is Skopje Really the Most Polluted City in the World?
Unlike the authorities, social media users are reacting to the empirical information about high levels of pollution in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia. Filip Stojanovski reports.
Ukraine: Public Hospital Pioneers Social Media Usage
Founded in 1798, Dnipropetrovsk Regional Clinical Hospital is one of the oldest hospitals in Ukraine. It is also one of the first state medical institutions to use social media. Tetyana Bohdanova reports.
Macedonia, Greece: Reaction to International Court of Justice Decision
Blogger Effo was the first to comment on the verdict [pdf], in which the Hague International Court of Justice found that the Greek obstruction of Macedonia's NATO entry in 2008 was in violation of the 1995 Interim Accord. He demands [mk] that Macedonia stop the negotiations about the name issue...
Macedonia: Satirical Blog Blames Name Dispute for Greek Bankruptcy
A renowned Macedonian blogger published a satirical article which, in a way, sums up many of the local jokes about the Greek financial problems and the political situation in Macedonia. Filip Stojanovski reports.
Russia: The Revolt of “Net Hamsters”
The day after the elections, Russians got together to rally against election fraud. Even though the United Russia party, according to preliminary results, is to lose some 77 seats compared to the previous Duma, most of the protesters considered the election to be neither fair, nor free.
Ashura Commemorations Around the World
Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, is a period of mourning for Shia Muslims. Events reach a climax on Ashura, the tenth day of the month. Ayesha Saldanha reports on Ashura commemorations around the world.
Egypt: Romanian Netizen Lavinia Dieac Shares her Egyptian Experience
Romania and Egypt are two distant countries. They have many differences and many things in common as well, such as the fact that they both had revolutions against dictatorships. Romanian netizen Lavinia Dieac, who lives in Cairo, tells us more about her life in Egypt, particularly the days of the revolution.
Russia: No Violation of Election Violations
Despite the many independent websites down due to DDoS-alypse, bloggers were able to share information on elections violations. The overall feeling online was expressed [ru] by @yar0slav: Falsification of elections continues without serious violations.
Russia: Election Day DDoS-alypse
The Russian parliamentary election day has come. And with it, DDoS attacks and falsifications. Alexey Sidorenko reports.
Russia: Massive DDoS Attacks Against Independent Websites on the Election Day
An unprecedented wave of DDoS attacks [ru] against independent websites on the election day in Russia: sites affected include thenewtimes.ru, echo.msk.ru, novayagazeta.ru, kommersant.ru, publicpost.ru, slon.ru, Bolshoy Gorod (bg.ru), golos.org, ikso.org, ridus.ru, zaks.ru (Saint Petersburg), pryaniki.org (Tula), crowdsourcing platform “Karta Narusheniy” and the LiveJournal platform. Many media organizations are using Facebook and...
Russia: Last Words Before Pre-Election Silence
Friday, December 2, is the last day when campaigning for the Russian parliamentary elections is legal. Russian bloggers share their views on the upcoming December 4 parliamentary vote - and their voting plans. Alexey Sidorenko reports.
Macedonia: NGOs and Netizens Prevent Undemocratic Youth Law
The withdrawal of the undemocratic Draft Law on Youth from the parliamentary procedure indicates that the otherwise stubborn authorities can be persuaded not to do more harm if the civil society, social media users and international organizations work together. Filip Stojanovski reports.
Slovenia: Dec. 4 Elections Updates
Updates on the upcoming Dec. 4 parliamentary elections – by Dr. Filomena and Sleeping With Pengovsky (here, here, here, and here). Pengovsky concludes: “The way it looks right now, Janša seems poised to win on 4 December. However whether or not he will be able to form a coalition remains...
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