Stories about Western Europe from November, 2007
Russia: Aleksei Pichugin's Trial Blogger Nominated for the BOBs
For the second year in a row, LJ user sivilia-1 (Russian journalist Vera Vasilieva) is taking part in Deutsche Welle's Best of the Blogs Awards (the BOBs). Her blog is devoted to coverage of the case of Aleksei Pichugin, former security chief of former oil giant Yukos, sentenced to life in prison for involvement in at least three murders; his arrest in 2003 marked the beginning of the Kremlin's attack against Mikhail Khodorkovsky. In the post translated below, sivilia-1 explains to her critics the choice of her blogging subject matter.
Eastern Europe: TOP 100 Russia-Weblogs
Krusenstern posts a new edition of the “TOP 100 Russia-Weblogs” (in German) – which is only “secondly (!) a ranking. First and foremost, this list is an invitation to a journey through a “Terra Incognita” in eastern Europe, which is fifty times bigger than Germany!”
UAE: Justice for Alex
While sexual abuse and rape cases are usually brushed under the carpet in Arab countries and hidden from the prying eyes of local and global media, a recent case to grab the international headlines is making its way back to the UAE blogosphere. It is the unsettling story of a 15-year-old French boy, Alexandre Robert, who was kidnapped and raped in Dubai.
Soviet History: Richard Sorge
ExecutedToday.com writes about Richard Sorge, a spy whose “signal achievement was establishing, as a foreigner in a highly xenophobic Japan, a spy ring that for years penetrated the highest levels of the Japanese government and the German embassy, giving Moscow an inside look at Axis planning” – and who was...
Russia, UK: Sidney Reilly – “Executed Today” – in 1925
ExecutedToday.com – “a blog of history, sociology, biography, criminology, law, and kismet — an unrepresentative but arresting view of the human condition across time and circumstance from the parlous vantage of the scaffold” – writes: “On this date in 1925, legendary British spy — and subsequent James Bond inspiration —...
Blog Carnival Against Gender Violence
Black Looks announces a 16-day blog carnival against gender violence.
Wales: Armenian Genocide Memorial, Protest
Unzipped reports on the unveiling of a monument to commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide at the Temple of Peace in Cardiff. Attending was James in Turkey who expresses concerns with the eviction of Turkish journalists from the event.
Russia: Bloggers’ Perspectives on Xenophobia
Wherever you click in the Russian blogosphere these days, you always seem to end up reading posts on nationalism, ethnicity, xenophobia, ethnic violence and other related subjects. In October, apart from discussing the famous DNA scientist's race comments and the U.S. president's DNA comments, Russian bloggers dealt with at least two xenophobic attacks - one that took place in Spain, and the other one domestic.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Genocide Denier; Dutch Peacekeepers
Srebrenica Genocide Blog writes about Srebrenica genocide denier Milivoje Ivanisevic and the former Dutch peacekeepers visit to Srebrenica.
Europe: Karadzic's Whereabouts
Finding Karadzic posts a translation of an Italian newspaper article on the war criminal's possible whereabouts.
Armenia: Scandinavian Invasion
Armenia and me posts an account and photographs of what is a rare sight indeed — 150 Scandinavian running through Yerevan's Victory Park as part of a World Wide Orienteering Promotion. Arriving in the country from Iran, the blog reports that local onlookers were at first shocked to see so...
Saudi Arabia: King Greeted with Protests in UK
“Cheers to all the Brits who showed up outside the Queen's palace to protest the visit of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia,” writes Or Does it Explode..
