Latest posts by Veronica Khokhlova from September, 2012
Ukraine: Protesting the Controversial Defamation Bill
A bill that calls for penalties of up to five years in jail for defamation passed a first reading in the Ukrainian Parliament on Sep. 18. Following the online campaign against the adoption of the bill, its author submitted a request to recall it. The bill isn't history yet, however, and the protest continues.
Ukraine: Localized ‘Yes-butno’ Meme Highlights ‘Most Popular Stereotypes’
The Yes-butno meme "created to break assumptions and stereotypes that everyone makes about various cultures, genders, sexualities, etc", has gone viral on the Ukrainian segment of Facebook, thanks to Lviv-based Rost Tatomyr and his selection of the nine "most popular stereotypes about Ukraine."
Belarus: Early Voting Boosts Turnout Amid Calls to Boycott Elections
The parliamentary election in Belarus is to take place on Sunday, Sep. 23, but the early voting has already begun, and the turnout may end up being high, despite calls to boycott the vote.
Ukraine: United Opposition's Rally in Odessa
Odessablogger writes about the recent rally of the United Opposition's Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Odessa, explaining “why the unpopularity of the Party of Regions has not been reflected in the rising...
Kosovo: Venice Biennale “Newcomer”
Facebook page “Southeast Europe: People and Culture” notes that “Kosovo is one of this year's newcomers to the [Venice Biennale]”: The pavilion allows visitors to share their views on Kosovo's...
Albania: Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival
The Balkans Beyond Borders Short Film Festival 2012 opens in Tirana today. This is the third time that the festival is being held; this year's theme is “TALK TO ME...
Romania: “Church and State”
At OpenDemocracy.net, Luke Dale-Harris writes about the Romanian Orthodox Church's “threatening influence on democracy in the country.”
Serbia: Gastarbeiters’ Houses
Nothing Against Serbia posts photos of the migrant workers’ houses in Eastern Serbia and explains the “Gastarbajterske Kuće” phenomenon: […] the effort to make money in the West (under arduous...
Ukraine: “Ashes of Freedom of Speech”
A few hundred people gathered at Kyiv's Independence Square on Sept. 16 to honor the memory of Georgiy Gongadze, a Ukrainian journalist who disappeared on this day 12 years ago, and of more than 60 other journalists who lost their lives in the years since Ukraine gained independence in 1991.
The Netherlands: Balkan Snapshots Festival 2012
Balkan Buro, a Dutch non-profit “dedicated to providing a platform for artistic and cultural encounters between Western and Southeastern Europe,” announces the Balkan Snapshots Festival 2012, which will take place...
Belarus, Ukraine: No More Gratis UK Visas for Chernobyl Children?
According to this online petition, bringing Belarusian and Ukrainian children affected by the 1986 Chernobyl disaster to the UK for recuperative charity-sponsored visits will soon cost an additional £86 per...
Kosovo: “Cinematic Darkness Knows No Nation”
At Kosovo 2.0 blog, Belgrade-based journalist Dušan Komarčević writes – here and here – about his July 2012 trip to Prizren, Kosovo, to attend the DOKUFEST International Documentary and Short...
Croatia: Promoting Solar Energy at Terraneo Music Festival
UNDP's Voices from Eurasia blog reports on the ecological education program of this year's Terraneo music festival in Šibenik, where guests, among other things, could “test-drive Croatia’s only solar-powered car...
