I'm a Kyiv native; divide my time between Kyiv, Moscow, Istanbul and the Croatian island of Vis; lived in St. Petersburg in 2003-2005; attended Rutgers University in 1993-94, did my master's in journalism at the University of Iowa in 1996-98.
Latest posts by Veronica Khokhlova from June, 2012
Moldova, Transnistria, Gagauzia: “Get to Know Your Neighbor”
On June 30, young social media activists from the cities of Chișinău and Bălți, and from Transnistria and Gagauzia, are meeting for a “get to know your neighbor” event [ro, ru], to discuss issues relevant for young people who grew up separated by geopolitics and the role of social networks...
Belarus: Views From the Ground
Below is a selection of some "views from the ground" - recent posts by Belarusian bloggers about the situation in the country and what it is like for ordinary people to live there.
Caucasus: Photo Reports by a Belarusian Blogger
Ani Wandaryan (@GoldenTent) links to this photo report [ru] from Armenia by Anton Motolko, a photographer, blogger and traveller from Minsk, Belarus (LJ user toxaby, @Motolko). More of his photos [ru] – from Azerbaijan and from Georgia.
Belarus: Parliamentary Elections Set for Sept. 23
Transitions Online (TOL.org, @TransitionsMag) reports that the parliamentary elections in Belarus have been scheduled to take place on September 23 – and tweets this question: “Will they be (un)free and (un)fair?”
Ukraine: Marko Dević's “Ghost Goal”
On Facebook, in the past two hours, over 4,800 users have ‘shared’ and over 2,900 have ‘liked’ the screenshot of the “ghost goal” by Ukraine's Marko Dević in today's Euro 2012 game against England. The screenshot was posted by Korrespondent, a Ukrainian news site and magazine, and over 400 comments...
Latvia: Jackie Chan Blogs About Filming in Jelgava
Facebook page “If you like Latvia, Latvia likes you” highlights movie star Jackie Chan's April 2012 blog post, in which he shared his “impressions about 15 day long filming of movie stunts in Jelgava, Latvia, plus lots of photos. He tells about flying experience in Aerodium vertical wind tunnel, which...
Poland, Ukraine: A Euro 2012 Roundup
Notes and musings on issues related to the Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine: at Polandian – here, here, and here; at Memory at War – here; at Raf Uzar – here; at Politics, Economy, Society – here; at The Pipeline – here.
Ukraine: President Yanukovych's European Assets
On OpenDemocracy.com, Ukrainian journalist Serhij Leschenko writes about President Viktor Yanukovych's “luxury residence and the money trail that leads to London”: “Having completely rejected such European values as human rights and democracy, the Ukrainian president uses Europe as a place to hide his dirty money with impunity. European leaders who...
Ukraine: Obstacles to Having a Visa-Free Regime With the EU
On Causes.com, “Make Europe visa-free for Ukrainians” now has 970 members. Odessablogger explains what some of the obstacles to a visa-free regime are: “The 2015 goal for visa-free with the EU, set by the Ukrainian government, looks likely to be 2017 due to its own inability to legislate for biometrics...
Ukraine: “Friendly” Euro 2012 Grassroots Initiatives
These “friendly” grassroots initiatives are meant for those football fans who are traveling to Ukraine for Euro 2012, which begins today: Friendly Ukraine, an umbrella “community of friendly and hospitable people [who] offer free help to our guests: accommodation, transfers from airport to city, guidance, translation and information services” (RFE/RL...
Ukraine: A Roma Camp Burned Down in Kyiv
On its Facebook page, the Human Rights Information Center posted a photo report [uk] on the demolition of a Roma camp in Kyiv, which was home to some 70 people, most of them children, until May 31, when 15 men showed up and burned the camp down, ordering the residents...
Poland, Ukraine: Euro 2012 and Racism
Football fans across Europe have been presented with quite a list of reasons not to travel to Poland and Ukraine for Euro 2012, which is scheduled to begin in a week. The newest item recently added to this extensive and diverse negative publicity menu is racism.
