Stories about Ukraine from April, 2011
Ukraine: Memories and Photos of Chernobyl in August 1986
Aleksandr Strannik (LJ user av-strannik) arrived at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in mid-August of 1986, some four months after the April 26 blast at Reactor #4, to assist in the clean-up effort. Twenty-five years later, he is sharing some of his memories and photos from that time.
Ukraine: Stories From the Charity Walk to Chornobyl
Liudmyla Bulychova guestblogs at UK Ambassador Leigh Turner's blog about Charity Walk to Chornobyl, which was held on April 22-23. More stories [en, fr] and photos – here.
Ukraine: “Twenty-five years ago – Chornobyl – Where were you?”
uaMuzik and Nash Holos blog about the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe.
Belarus, Ukraine: “Chernobyl: The First Month”
At OpenDemocracy.net, Barys Piatrovich, a Belarusian writer and journalist, recalls the first month after the Chernobyl catastrophe of April 26, 1986: “It was difficult for me to write this text. I've been working up to it for over twenty years. More than once I have started to write but given...
Ukraine: Politicians As “Folklore Characters”
Good Girl Gone Ukrainian writes that by now many Ukrainians perceive the country's politicians as “some sort of folklore characters,” and offers examples of “jokes, user-generated videos and photo collages circulated on- and offline.”
Russia-Switzerland: New magazine for Russia, Belarus and Ukraine
Gedankenbörsen Blog draws attention to [GER] a new magazine in Switzerland – Echo – about Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
Ukraine: “Chernobyl Tourism: Time to Put an End”
Leopolis writes about the negative effect of “Chernobyl tourism”: “It has been branded as extreme tourism. The only problem is that as opposed to jumping off a cliff, you see the site that caused, and continues to cause, lots and lots of suffering.”
Ukraine: “Crumbs From the Table”
Foreign Notes reports that a Ukrainian MP Rinat Akhmetov has bought a penthouse in London for £136 million ($222 million), and intends to donate $1 million for the construction of the new containment structure at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant; Akhmetov's fellow Party of Regions MP Mykola Lisin died in...
Ukraine: Kyiv Post Editorial Staff on Strike
Democratist writes about the situation with Kyiv Post, an English-language newspaper whose staff went on strike last week to protest the publisher's decision to fire the editor-in-chief over the publication of an interview with the Ukrainian minister of agriculture.
Ukraine: UkrTelecom's “Shady” Privatisation
Foreign Notes writes – here, here, and here – on last month's sale of “a 92.79 percent stake in Ukraine's telecom monopoly, Ukrtelecom” – apparently, Ukraine's yet “another shady privatisation” deal.
Ukraine: Chernobyl Charity Walk on April 22
On April 22, a group of volunteers from the British and French embassies in Ukraine will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe and fundraise for the Children of Chornobyl Relief and Development Fund (CCRDF) and the British Limbless Ex-Service Men's Association (BLESMA) by walking 63 miles (110 km)...
Ukraine: Natural History Museum; Farmers’ Markets
A walk through Kyiv's Natural History Museum – at Uncataloged Museum; a look at Kyiv's farmers’ markets (here and here), as well as a traditional Ukrainian recipe for a viburnum (kalyna) drink, “delicious and nourishing” – at The Pickle Project.
Ukraine: Photos of presidential palace
Foreign Notes comments on pictures published by Ukrainian daily Segodnya [RU] of Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovich's, new palace on the outskirts of Kiev, and the public outrage this luxurious mansion has provoked.
Ukraine: Politicians on Facebook and Twitter
With over a million of Ukrainians using Facebook and over 80,000 users on Twitter, more and more Ukrainian politicians choose to join these services, too. Tetyana Bohdanova highlights some of the findings by a Ukrainian Internet business and social media marketing website Watcher.com.ua, which has recently set up a real-time popularity ranking of politicians’ Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Ukraine: “Stalin” Tea Sparks Controversy
Blurred attitudes toward the recent communist past in Ukraine are being eagerly exploited by manufacturers. Tetyana Bohdanova reports on the ongoing heated discussion among Ukrainian netizens, which was sparked by the promotion of a tea named after Joseph Stalin.
Ukraine: Eyewitness Video of a Racist Attack on Kyiv Metro
Slava Baranskiy witnessed (RUS) the beating of a black African man on a crowded metro train in the center of Kyiv, between Khreshchatyk and Arsenalna stations, on April 2. Baranskiy was in an adjacent train car and recorded the beating on video, which he later gave to the police, who,...
Ukraine: Entrepreneurs, Tax Code and Civic Initiative
GV Author Tetyana Bohdanova of Good Girl Gone Ukrainian sums up the situation with small and medium business in Ukraine in the aftermath of the Tax Code protests of 2010.
Ukraine: How to reform the country
Leigh Turner, British ambassador to Ukraine, recounts expert advise on economic reform in the country.
