Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from March, 2007
Ukraine: Soviet Currency Places
MoldovAnn discovers a couple places in Kyiv where the Soviet-time currency – rubles and kopeks – still survives.
Latvia: Ukrainian and Russian Folk Music
Dykun posts a video and writes on a Ukrainian and Russian folk music performance in Riga, Latvia: “they performed together a show of russian and ukrainian wedding songs and rituals, with the structure of a ukrainian cossack marrying a russian bride. […] presented are typical wedding songs and a re-enactment...
Russia: Subway Dogs and Manners
Darkness at Noon writes about the Moscow subway – its dogs and the etiquette.
Russia: “Whack the Blogs”
Heribert Schindler of Rossijskaja Federazija “whacks” Russia blogs of a certain category: “My entry ‘Whack the Blogs’ is admittedly inspired by a most rabid and fascinating phenomenon of blogosphere, by a persuasively US based group of spin doctors who vehemently try to convince me of them being one single hateful...
Russia: Politkovskaya's Killers
As the world reads to remember Anna Politkovskaya tonight, La Russophobe posts a translation of a forum thread featuring photos of the Russian journalist's alleged killers following her into the supermarket just off Komsomolsky Prospekt in Moscow.
Russia: Now and Before
What has been written about Russia under Nicholas II sounds much like what could've been written about Putin's Russia. Apricotflan.com draws some conclusions and makes some forecasts.
Slovakia: Language and Linguists
Deleted by Tomorrow reacts to the post about the Slovak language and Slovak linguists over at bulbulovo.
Poland: Junk Food
Traveling Life writes about junk food in Poland; in a comment, the beatroot explains what kind of a political statement he makes when he eats Big Macs.
Poland: Fire Hazard
The Poland Diaries writes about fire safety – or, to be more precise, fire hazard – in Poland.
Poland: Demography
The beatroot writes: “Poland’s population is shrinking faster than any other country in the EU. Strange that, in a country that claims to be 95 percent Catholic, don’t you think?”
Russia: Subway
Russian Beauty tours Moscow subway stations: Mayakovskaya and Park Pobedy.
Global Voices en Français Celebrates Journée Mondiale de la Francophonie
Today is Francophonia Day. About 50 French-speaking countries and territories, some belonging to the Organisation Mondiale de la Francophonie and others not, will reflect on what it means to have French as a language –often alongside others. (Not to worry we will tell you what the bloggers said as soon...
Ukraine, Belarus: A Fence for Bat'ka
Abdymok posts a picture of the preparations to Aleksandr Lukashenko's visit to Ukraine's capital: “Workers on March 19 build a new fence around Belarusian Embassy in Kyiv. The last dictator in Europe is expected any day.”
Romania: Snail Mail, Airport, and the Roma
Blog Bucharest complains about the Romanian postal service, Bucharest's Baneasa Airport, and discrimination against the country's non-Roma population.
Russia: Politics
Darkness at Noon guest-blogs at Sean's Russia Blog on the recent elections and the Russian political culture.
Russia: Freedom of Speech
Vilhelm Konnander fears the Russian state may be preparing another attack on freedom of speech – and on bloggers – in Russia.
Russia: Skiing and Snowboarding
Russia Blog posts pictures of winter sports at Vorobyovy Gory in Moscow. Sochi Travel posts pictures from the skiing and snowboarding competition that took place in Krasnaya Polyana on March 1-3.
Russia: Who is “Maria Ivanova”?
On March 11, the Sunday Times ran a piece by Sarah Baxter and Anna Voutsen on the recent attacks against critics of Vladimir Putin's regime. It opened with the story of a Russian journalist who has allegedly received political asylum in the United States following several attempts on her life,...
Poland: “De-communization Zeal”
The beatroot writes about the Polish government's “de-communization zeal.” Among other things, bloggers might be affected by the new law as well: “All journalists – public or private – born before 1972, must now be vetted for communist era collaboration.” The post has generated 51 comment thus far.
Poland, Russia: Responsibility for Katyn
The beatroot reports that “the Russian NGO Memorial has pledged to pursue all legal means to get Moscow to recognize Soviet responsibility for the deaths of over 20,000 Polish officers in the Katyn massacre of 1940.”
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