Latest posts by Veronica Khokhlova from December, 2008
Russia: A Muslim Trade Union?
Window on Eurasia writes that Central Asian migrant workers in the Urals are considering forming a “Muslim trade union.”
Ukraine: “A Democratic Question”
Ukrainiana writes about president Yushchenko's answer to the question that got over 85,000 online votes: “A straight question needs a straight answer. Instead, we got a rambling lecture, replete with peripheral thinking.”
Ukraine: Explosion in Yevpatoria
Ukrainiana writes about the explosion in an apartment building in Yevpatoria, Crimea, which has killed at least 27 people.
Serbia: Christmas in January
Belgraded explains the advantages of celebrating Christmas in January.
Russia: The New York Times’ LJ is One Year Old
The New York Times‘ Clifford J. Levy writes on The Lede about the first anniversary of the paper's interactive Russian-language LJ blog: “The results far exceeded my expectations. The blog has received more than 26,000 comments, and has become an important tool for the newspaper to better understand and explain...
Central and Eastern Europe: A Christmas Roundup
A holiday season roundup: Tanja of Czechmatediary recalls family Christmas celebrations of her childhood, writes about the Czech Christmas Mass, and shares a recipe of Vanocka (“Christmas bread”); CzechFolks.com writes about a calorie-free yet mouth-watering way of decorating a holiday table with crocheted Czech Christmas cookies; The Foreigner's Guide to...
Czech Republic: A Politics-Free Roundup
Politics-free posts from the Czech Republic: a charity project to help orphans organized by Czech model Tereza Maxova, bankruptcy of one of the largest Czech glass companies, and Karel Gott's lasting popularity – at CzechFolks.com; the winner of the Bravest Czech of the Year award, and tips on how to...
Ukraine: Hutsuls and Crimean Tatars
My Simferopol Home writes about her dissertation plans to compare histories of exoticism in the Ukrainian Hutsul and Crimean Tatars cultures: “So, why these two groups? While distinct in ethnogenesis, history and territory, Hutsuls, the superstitious, hard-drinking subsistence farmers to Poland and Austro-Hungary’s urban intellectuals, and Crimean Tatars, the perceived...
Romania: Revolution's Anniversary
A note on the anniversary of the 1989 revolution in Romania to overthrow Ceausescu – at Eternal Remont.
Ukraine: Yushchenko's Press Conference
Tetyana Vysotska of What's Up, Ukraine? writes about the Ukrainian president's annual press conference and his response to one of the most popular questions posed to him via the internet: “Mr. President, how much money should the people of Ukraine pay to convince you and other top authorities to leave...
Ukraine: Holiday Season Update
Ukrainian holiday season update: music – at Natalia Antonova's blog; sights – at Greetings from Kyiv; politics – at Ukrainiana.
Moldova: Transnistria Updates
Updates on Transnistria – at Scraps of Moscow and Eternal Remont.
Russia: South Ossetia; Relations With the U.S.; Sheremetyevo Ceiling
Some of the recent posts at Scraps of Moscow: a translation of a part of “a lengthy interview with former Russian army general and former South Ossetian de facto Minister of Defense which puts the region's president, former wrestling champion and phys. ed. teacher Eduard Kokoity, in a rather unflattering...
Bulgaria, Russia: “Open Source AK-47″
Eternal Remont writes: “Apparently, Russia's state-owned arms exporter Rosoboronexport is livid that Bulgaria would violate the sacred principles of intellectual property and trademark protection to produce an, um, we're going to call it an ‘open source AK-47′.”
Russia: Patriarch; Yoshkar-Ola; Stalin's Legacy; Protests
A selection of recent posts from Window on Eurasia: a “Ukrainian” metropolitan who may or may not become Russia's next patriarch; Hungarians react to the Russian authorities’ suggestion to rename Yoshkar-Ola, the capital of Mari El, to Tsaryovokokshaysk, the city's pre-1917 name; some Russian history teachers’ efforts to educate students...
Russia: Gas News
Siberian Light and Robert Amsterdam's blog write about “the annual Russo-Ukrainian gas crisis”; the latter also writes about the fledgling “gas OPEC.”
Russia, Serbia: Gazprom, NIS, and Gas Prices
Streetwise Professor posts an update on Gazprom's “vaporware” in Serbia, which includes a recent resignation of the “anti-Gazprom” Serbian economics minister, Mladan Dinkic (more on that – at Robert Amsterdam's blog). Meanwhile, gas costs $5.80 per gallon in Serbia, according to Bill's Blog: “To put the $5.80 into perspective, the...
Ukraine: A Loud Protest
Ukrainiana writes about and posts video of a very loud protest in Kyiv: “On December 22, at noon, Kyivites honked their horns to protest against rampant government corruption and endless power struggles wrecking the Ukrainian Dream amid the country’s deepest economic crisis since the early ‘90s.”
Russia: LiveJournal and Mass Media Laws
IZO translates LJ user plucer‘s view that the newest LiveJournal addition – this line at the end of the posts: “I hereby give third parties the right to reproduce or disseminate all of my materials as a whole or in part…” – “would mean you were ‘disseminating information’ and mass-media...
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Srebrenica Roundup
A roundup of Srebrenica Genocide Blog‘s recent posts: the process of identification of the victims of the massacre; the ICTY's conclusion on Naser Orić, former senior Bosnian commander in charge of defending the Srebrenica enclave; testimony by Doctors Without Borders representatives delivered at the 2001 French Parliamentary Hearing into the...
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Peter Lippman's Travel Reports
Americans for Bosnia is re-posting journalist Peter Lippman's reports from his travel in Bosnia and Herzegovina: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4.