Latest posts by Sinisa Boljanovic

Serbia: Novak Djokovic Wins Australian Open

Novak Djokovic became Serbia's first Grand Slam singles champion, winning the Australian Open on Sunday. According to many people in Serbia, this year's tournament should have been renamed into Serbian Open - because three Serbian players made it into the finals. Sinisa Boljanovic translates a blog post by one happy Serbian fan.

29 January 2008

Serbia: The Presidential Election

The presidential election in Serbia was held on Jan. 20. The Republic's Electoral Commission confirmed that the Serb Radical Party's candidate Tomislav Nikolic beat the other nine candidates. He received 39.4 percent of the votes, followed by Boris Tadic, the current Serbian president, who got 35.42 percent.

23 January 2008

Serbia: “Elegy For a Swine”

Many Serbs traditionally celebrate Orthodox Christmas by firing rifles and pistols, and consuming lots of homemade plum brandy and pork. Serbian bloggers have been writing about their Jan. 7 feasts for days now, but one of them, instead of composing her own sentences about it, posted an 1887 satirical poem by Serbian poet Vojislav Ilić. The poem is dedicated to the chief victim of Serbian Christmas celebration - a pig.

12 January 2008

Serbia: The Upbringing of Children

The youngest of Serbia's current parents were children themselves when the country was in war just over a decade ago. Many had difficult childhoods and now face problems as parents. Zeljko Markovic, a Serbian blogger, writes about this, and Sinisa Boljanovic translates from the Serbian.

21 July 2007

Croatia: “Feral Tribune” Shuts Down

Last week, Croatian finance ministry froze bank accounts of the region’s legendary political weekly, Feral Tribune, due to 68,000 Euros of tax debt, forcing the publication to close. "The only independent journal on the Balkans has now been silenced," wrote one Serbian blogger. Sinisa Boljanovic has more on the causes and the significance of this loss.

20 June 2007

Serbia: “The Hidden Fascism”

Inspired by the legacy of an African-American activist Audrey Lorde, a Serbian blogger condemns her compatriots' tendency to keep silent about crimes taking place in their own backyard. Sinisa Boljanovic translates an excerpt from this passionate post.

14 June 2007

Serbia: The Lustration Law

Serbia's parliament passed the Lustration Law in 2003 - but it has still not been implemented. The Serbian public knows that the Serbian Radical Party and the Social Party of Serbia are against the implementation of the Lustration Law, while the liberal Democratic Party continues to be in its favor. What the Serbian public does not know is why the Serbian government, which, naturally, has to carry out an order of the parliament, does not put the Lustration Law into effect.

7 June 2007