Stories about Ukraine from August, 2008
Ukraine: Elton John + Leonid Kuchma = True?
uaMuzik quotes various sources claiming that the British singer Sir Elton John performed in Yalta last Saturday for the 70th birthday of Leonid Kuchma, former president of Ukraine.
Ukraine: Illegal Eavesdropping Continues
Taras Kuzio writes about the continuing use of eavesdropping by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) and how illegally obtained information is used in politics and business.
Georgia, Russia: Cyrillic Bloggers React to the Conflict in South Ossetia
In a brief report sent around noon of Aug. 8 from a hotel basement in Tskhinvali, the beleaguered capital of South Ossetia, Russian journalist Mikhail Romanov wrote this about the nature of the conflict: "The city is under heavy howitzer and mortar fire. An endless cannonade. I've seen many wounded people. Peacekeepers are commenting succinctly: 'This is war.'" Below are more reactions from bloggers in Russia and Ukraine.
Ukraine: Repaying the moral debt of oligarchy
Kiev Ukraine News Blog reports on how Ukrainian – and for that case Russian – oligarchs try to repair their tarnished reputations by charity and “good works.”
Ukraine: Scary orphan statistics
The Gaws reported some really scary statistics on what happens to “post-institutional orphans” in Ukraine.
Ukraine: Questions about NATO-membership
The 8th Circle discusses some questions surrounding the issue of a future NATO-membership for Ukraine.
Ukraine: Hacker Target?
Pawlina of the blog Nash Holos comments on an article about internet hackers in Russian forums hackers calling for a large-scale attack on the computer networks of government institutions in Ukraine because of its NATO aspirations.
Ukraine: Political Optimism After Flood Disaster
Ukrainiana comments on the optimism over flood disaster reconstruction expressed by Ukrainian President Yushchenko and Prime Minister Timoshenko, and interprets it as influenced by the upcoming presidential elections.
Ukraine: Chernobyl
Belatedly, a trip report, photos and video from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, by Darkness at Noon – here and here.
Former Soviet Union: Survey Shows Increasing CIS-Differences
LJ user fobosanddeimos comments upon (RUS) a recent survey by Evraziysky Monitor, showing big differences between post-soviet states, which form an obstacle for prospects of integration.
Russia: Failure of Democratic Youth
El pueblo unido jamás será vencido (Yabloko youth leader Ilya Yashin) posts an article (RUS) on why the democratic youth movement in Russia failed after the 2004 Ukrainian Orange Revolution.
Ukraine: Patriarch Appeals Against the Division of the Church
GUS-News comments on (GER) the appeal of the Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomeus against the division of the Ukrainian Orthodox church on the occasion of the 1020th anniversary of Christianity in Kievan Rus.
Ukraine: ‘Novynar’ Shuts Down
IZO quotes the publisher of a Ukrainian-language news magazine Novynar on the reasons to shut down the publication.
Ukraine: ‘Judas's Kiss’ Stolen in Odesa
IZO reports that “a painting by, or attributed to, Caravaggio, Judas's Kiss […], has been stolen from a museum in Odessa by a thief or thieves who broke in through a window.”
Ukraine: Treatment of Flood Victims
Ukrainiana writes and translates on the treatment of Ukrainian flood victims.
