· February, 2009

Stories about Ukraine from February, 2009

Ukraine: Politics on Twitter

  25 February 2009

Ukrainian president Victor Yushchenko has an official Twitter account; his tweets mirror daily schedule announcements and latest news items that are featured on the official website as well. There is also a Yushchenko impersonator on Twitter. Former speaker Yatsenyuk seems to have a Twitter account, too, but his political movement's press service would not confirm it.

Ukraine: Obstacles and Hope for Museums

  23 February 2009

Linda Norris of The Uncataloged Museum lists legal and other obstacles that Ukrainian museums are facing, but concludes her post on a positive note, writing about some of the museum employees she has met: “They make minimal salaries, work in conditions that are hard to imagine (no heat, for instance,...

Ukraine: Obama's and NATO Membership

  19 February 2009

Ukrainiana notes that Obama seems to no longer support “NATO track for Ukraine” – and posts this comment: “If the Obama administration opts for a ‘Chicken Kiev’ foreign policy, it's not just Ukraine that may get fried.”

Ukraine: Giving the Mayor Away For Free

  19 February 2009

LJ user induktor‘s post (RUS) in the Ukrainian “Will Give Away For Free” LJ community (otdam_darom_ua) has generated three pages of comments: the blogger is giving away Kyiv's mayor Leonid Chernovetsky. (More on Chernovetsky and his policies – at Ukrainiana.)

Former Soviet Union: The Legacy of Afghanistan

  18 February 2009

Window on Eurasia writes that across the former Soviet Union, “a debate is raging between those who believe the Soviet intervention [in Afghanistan] led to the demise of the Soviet Union and those who are convinced that the decision to withdraw [20 years ago] had precisely that effect.”

Ukraine: The Plight of Irina Gavrisheva

  16 February 2009

Jeff Mowatt draws attention to the plight of wheelchair-bound Irina Gavrisheva, who “writes and publishes website appeals and articles about helping sick children of Zaporozhye, on behalf of the Happy Child fund” – and needs money for a surgery herself.

Ukraine: Profile of a Chernobyl Employee

  11 February 2009

Michael Forster Rothbart writes about one of control room shift supervisor at Chernobyl Power Plant, whom he photographed for “a series of panoramic portraits of Chernobyl employees en milieu“: “The photos are equally about the people and the places they inhabit. Daily lives in this unique environment.”

Ukraine: Chernobyl Exhibit in Slavutych

  11 February 2009

Linda Norris writes about Ukraine and Ukraine's museums at The Uncataloged Museum; one of the latest entries is about a Chernobyl exhibit in the town of Slavutych: “I remember much talk at one point in among American museums about collecting the 20th century: Barbie dolls, Tupperware, and more. Those objects–and...

Ukraine: Photographing Chernobyl's 4th Block Control Room

  11 February 2009

Photographer Michael Forster Rothbart is back in Ukraine, writing about a shooting session at the Chernobyl Power Plant's Fourth Block Control Room: “[…] Next comes surprise. We enter. It is dark. One security light high above casts one small pool of light. My first thought is that it doesn't look...

Russia, U.S.: Biden's Remarks in Munich

  11 February 2009

Transatlantic Politics writes: “So Biden has made quite an impact with his “hit the reset button” with Russia remark at the Munich security conference over the week-end. But this comes as bad news for Eastern European countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic or Romania – hailed as “special partners”...

Ukraine: Victor Yushchenko's Popularity Waning

  8 February 2009

According to a poll carried out last month, Ukraine's president Victor Yushchenko “would have won less than 2.9% of the vote if the presidential elections were held in late December 2008 or early January 2009.” Below are some views on the president and other politicians from the Ukrainian blogosphere.