· January, 2008

Stories about Serbia from January, 2008

Serbia, Slovenia: Kosovo Independence

  31 January 2008

Dr. Filomena writes on Kosovo's independence and explains why she thinks Slovenia should not be the first to recognize it: “If for no other reason, then for the sake of our investments in Serbia.”

Serbia: Kostunica's Choice

  31 January 2008

A Fistful of Euros explains why PM Kostunica's refusal to endorse either of the candidates is good for Nikolic and bad for Tadic.

Serbia: Choosing Between Tadic and Nikolic

  30 January 2008

Sinisa Boljanovic translates two Serbian bloggers whose views are representative of those who support Boris Tadic and closer relationship between Serbia and the EU, and are opposed to Tomislav Nikolic's nationalist policy.

Serbia: Novak Djokovic Wins Australian Open

  29 January 2008

Novak Djokovic became Serbia's first Grand Slam singles champion, winning the Australian Open on Sunday. According to many people in Serbia, this year's tournament should have been renamed into Serbian Open - because three Serbian players made it into the finals. Sinisa Boljanovic translates a blog post by one happy Serbian fan.

Serbia: Australian Open Finalists

  25 January 2008

Belgrade 2.0 writes poignantly and at length about “a fairytale ending; two Serbian tennis players in the finals of the Australian Open.”

The Balkans: “Jestdej”

  24 January 2008

Sleeping with Pengovsky posts a copy of the Beatles’ ‘Yesterday’ – spelled phonetically by Croatian musicians: “… For all of you native speakers out there – if you ever wondered how English sounds to people from the Balkans – take a look at the above picture. It just doesn’t get...

Slovenia: EU Presidency Update

  23 January 2008

Marko Bucik writes about Slovenia's “overshadowed” EU presidency: “Then comes Kosovo. This will be perhaps the only headline news for the Slovenian Presidency – be it good or bad news.”

Serbia: The Presidential Election

  23 January 2008

The presidential election in Serbia was held on Jan. 20. The Republic's Electoral Commission confirmed that the Serb Radical Party's candidate Tomislav Nikolic beat the other nine candidates. He received 39.4 percent of the votes, followed by Boris Tadic, the current Serbian president, who got 35.42 percent.

Russia, Serbia: Gazprom Buys NIS

  22 January 2008

Robert Amsterdam and A Fistful of Euros write about Gazprom's acquisition of “Serbia's national energy monopoly, NIS, at a knockdown price.”

Serbia: Presidential Election

  21 January 2008

Reluctant Dragon casts his vote in New York and writes somewhat pessimistically about the results of the presidential election in Serbia.

Serbia: “Endorsed by… Bill Gates?”

  21 January 2008

Belgrade 2.0 writes about a Serbian “presidential candidate using Windows desktop wallpaper in his official campaign as well as something at the end of the video which reminds pretty much of some Windows sound.”

Serbia, U.S.: Bobby Fischer

  18 January 2008

East Ethnia writes about the legacy of chess champion Bobby Fischer, who died today: “Maybe there will be an opportunity now to remember him for what he achieved, less so than for what he became.”

Russia, Serbia: Gazprom's “Offer”

  16 January 2008

Streetwise Professor writes about Gazprom's relations with Serbia: “Gazprom/Russia is/are playing smashmouth ball over Serbia’s national oil company. Don Miller and Don Medvedev have presented Serbia with an offer it can’t refuse: to sell Naftna industrija Srbije at a fraction of its true value–and one with an unbelievably short fuse,...

The Balkans: Mismanaged History

  16 January 2008

Greater Surbiton writes on the vanishing historical sites of the Balkans: “Travellers to the former Yugoslavia are advised to remember, that a beautiful historic building or town centre that you visit may, months later, no longer be there.”