Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from March, 2009
Ukraine: Yushchenko's Constitution Proposal
Kyiv Scoop and What's Up, Ukraine? comment on the constitutional changes proposed by president Victor Yushchenko.
Russia: Igor Sechin in WSJ
Streetwise Professor and Robert Amsterdam's Blog comment on a WSJ piece based on an interview with Russia's deputy prime minister Igor Sechin.
Russia: The Durnovo Memorandum
A Fistful of Euros writes about a document known as the Durnovo Memorandum: “What’s striking about the memo is how, six months before World War One started, [Pyotr Durnovo] absolutely...
Macedonia: Student Protest Ends in Violence
Recently, the Macedonian government decided to build an Orthodox church with public financing on the main square of Skopje, a decision that the citizens of the city disapproved of. On March 28, a peaceful protest against the construction of the church turned violent when a group of counter-protesters attempted to prevent it. Elena Ignatova reviews the reactions in the Macedonian blogosphere.
Ukraine: Relations With Russia and Romania
Steve Bandera of Kyiv Scoop writes: “While Russian strategists declare Ukraine “a failed state” on the verge of losing its sovereignty, some Romanian officials and media are suggesting that only...
Estonia: Lennart and Arnold Meri
Itching for Eestimaa writes: “One Meri cousin, Lennart, just had an airport named after him to coincide with the annual foreign policy conference that bears his name. […] The other...
Poland: “Krakow's Lost River”
Polandian writes about “Krakow's lost river.”
Hungary: Ferenc Gyurcsány, Part I
“The rise and fall of Ferenc Gyurcsány, Part I” – at Hungarian Spectrum.
Water: One Take International Video Contest
“Is access to clean, safe water for drinking a basic human right? Why? or Why not?”. That is the question One Take is asking for you to answer in your own language, recording it on a video no more than 2 minutes long, uploading it on their site and on DotSub and having it subtitled in at least 1 other language. Just this month, world leaders met in Istambul, Turkey at the World Water Forum to have this discussion, and although they aren't sure what the result will be, it is our chance to show what we believe about this issue, and make our voices heard.
Russia: The Oligarchs’ “Debt-Go-Round”
Copydude writes that Russia's “debt-go-round has become so huge and interwoven that it seems to be taking all the oligarchs down together”: “For the most part though, it’s looking like...
Hungary: Avoiding an Early Election?
Hungary Economy Watch writes that “Gyurcsány plans to use the constructive vote of no-confidence to install another Socialist-led cabinet, and his government […] appears to have resorted to this unusual...
Albania: Snow
A Nevada Yankee in King Zog's Court writes about Albania's high mountain villages isolated by snow.
Germany: Berlin Wall Murals Destroyed
IZO writes about “an act of extraordinary cultural vandalism”: “a section of the Berlin Wall that had been preserved with its post-fall graffiti, including the iconic painting by Dmitri Vrubel...
Ukraine: History of Carpatho-Ukraine
History of the short-lived Carpatho-Ukraine – at Ukrainian Policy Daily.
Russia, Italy: Putin's Namesake Arrested For Shoplifting
Vilhelm Konnander writes about a namesake of Vladimir Putin who was arrested for shoplifting in Italy.
U.S., Russia: “Peregruzka Meets Perestroika”
In a post titled “Peregruzka Meets Perestroika,” Eternal Remont writes about Barack Obama's unscheduled meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev.
Ukraine: Chernobyl Photos
Photos from a 2008 trip to Chernobyl – at GRcade.
UAE: Russian Photoblogs From Burj al-Arab
LJ user sergeydolya posts pictures and shares impressions (RUS) of his stay at Dubai's Burj al-Arab, one of the world's most expensive hotels.
Russia: “Cut-and-Paste” Journalism
Eagle and the Bear writes about “cut-and-paste” TV journalism in Russia: “Over the course of dinner tonight, no less than two stories on the Vesti television news came directly from...
Poland: Justice System
Eternal Remont writes that, according to a study, “only 37 percent of Poles rate their justice system positively.”
The Baltics: Deportations of 1941 and 1949
Eric Dickens guest-blogs at A Step At A Time about the Baltic deportations of 1941 and 1949.
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