Stories about Ukraine from November, 2008
Ukraine: “No Other Home: The Crimean Tatars” – in Romania and Online
Maria Sonevytsky of My Simferopol Home announces the upcoming exhibition of the “No Other Home: The Crimean Tatars” project in Bucharest, Romania, in mid-December, and links to a related story on Crimean Tatars, complete with photos and audio, published in the online magazine Triple Canopy.
Ukraine: Ruthenians
Some background and a translation of an Izvestiya piece on Ukraine's Ruthenians – at Robert Amsterdam's blog.
Ukraine: Taras Kuzio on Yushchenko
Taras Kuzio analyzes “the achievements and failures and unfulfilled expectations of the last four years” in Ukraine – here and here, and also writes that president Yushchenko “had over-focused on the issue [of Holodomor] to the detriment of contemporary political and economic concerns.”
Russia, Ukraine: Party News
The Ivanov Report writes about last week's 10th Congress of the ruling United Russia party: “The victors have suddenly realized that as the ‘leading political force of the country’, it's their job to deal with the crisis and face its inevitably negative political and social consequences.” Taras Kuzio reports that...
Ukraine: “orange revolution” vs “Orange Revolution”
A note on the difference between “orange revolution” and “Orange Revolution” in Ukraine – at Leopolis: “The former represents the current state of politics: disappointment, disillusionment, distrust, financial crisis, brawls in parliament, corruption, broken promises. There is no reason to celebrate the ‘orange revolution.’ But the latter recalls an amorphous...
Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan: Calling Attention to Tragedy
Window on Eurasia writes: “Kyiv’s efforts to call attention to Stalin’s terror famine on the 75th anniversary of that tragedy and especially its moves to gain international recognition of it as a genocide against the Ukrainian people has generated much criticism by Russian officials from President Dmitry Medvedev on down...
Ukraine: Daily Posts on Street Children
A whole month of posts and photos featuring street children in Ukraine – at Scenes From the Sidewalk. Some highlights: a photo report on a visit to a Ukrainian jail; photos of Ukrainian street kids from six years ago – here and here; the ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures from the...
Russia, Ukraine: “Pindostanis at the Gate”
A definition of a derogatory Russian word for “Americans” – at Eternal Remont; a usage context example – at Russian Navy Blog.
Ukraine: Maidan Four Years On
Ukrainiana posts photos from the empty Maidan on the fourth anniversary of the Orange Revolution.
Ukraine: 75th Anniversary of Holodomor
Taras of Ukrainiana posts photos and video from the commemoration of the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Holodomor – here, here, and here. Tetyana Vysotska of What's Up, Ukraine? explains why she chose not to take part in any of the official commemoration events: “We, Ukrainians, have respect for...
Russia-Ukraine: Denying the Great Famine
Finrosforum accounts for President Medvedev's view of Holodomor – the great famine in Ukraine 1932-33 – accusing those who speak about the “so-called Holodomor” of creating a rift between the two Slavic nations.
Ukraine: Interview With A Chernobyl Liquidator
Chernobyl and Eastern Europe Blog posts an interview with a former Chernobyl liquidator – part 1 and part 2 – who now lives in the US and has written a novel in Russian about his experience.
Ukraine: Harm Reduction and Law Enforcement, Part 2
Last month, Ukrainian blogger mazay wrote about his attempt to educate a group of Kyiv police officers on harm reduction programs. Although many in the audience did not seem as interested in this not-yet-popular approach to dealing with drug addiction as they were in obtaining free condoms from the activists, judging from this follow-up post by mazay, the talk did after all bear some positive fruit.
Ukraine, U.S.: Democratic Congressman on Relations With Russia
Ukrainiana critiques a recent statement by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) on relations with Russia.
Russia, Somalia, Ukraine: Hijacked Ships Update
Updates on ships hijacked by Somalian pirates – at The 8th Circle, here and here.
Ukraine: Kyiv Public Transportation
MoldovAnn writes about the mess caused by the Nov. 4 rise of Kyiv public transportation prices – here and here.
Turkey: Crimean Tatar Diaspora
My Simferopol Home writes about the Crimean Tatar diaspora in Turkey.
Ukraine, Libya: Gaddafi in Kyiv
Some photos, video and notes on Muammar al-Gaddafi's visit to Kyiv last week – at Ukrainiana (here and here) and at Abdymok.
Ukraine: Harm Reduction and Law Enforcement
Harm reduction initiatives are gradually taking root in Ukraine, a country with one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics in Europe (e.g., the first methadone substitution therapy programs, still illegal in Russia, were introduced in Ukraine in 2004). But having the government's approval for such programs is not enough for them to succeed: for one thing, general public and law enforcement officials should be aware of the situation and of the efforts to change it for the better. Ukrainian blogger mazay writes about a recent attempt to educate a group of Kyiv police officers.
Ukraine, U.S.: “Khayrli Presidentlerden olsun!”
Maria Sonevytsky of My Simferopol Home clinked glasses filled with tea for Barack Obama with her Crimean Tatar host – and learned how to say “May the President be successful!” in Crimean Tatar: “Khayrli Presidentlerden olsun!”
Central & Eastern Europe, U.S.: “Cloudy Vision”
Leopolis discusses the possible impact of “a McCain or Obama presidency” for Central Europe.
