Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from October, 2022
YouTuber Wang Jixian continues to tell the story of Odesa to sinophone audiences
Chinese YouTuber Wang Jixian lives in Ukraine in Odesa where he reports on daily life. Yet what he says differs from Beijing's pro-Moscow narrative and he still gets harassed online.
Giant cats on walls: Odesa street art inspired by the war, but not only
A street artist signing with the tag name LBWS is populating the urban landscape of Odesa and other cities with a giant wildcat telling the story of Ukraine.
One of the last Ladino language speakers in Bosnia, Moris Albahari, passed away
Ladino or Judeo-Spanish is an endangered Romance language derived from Old Spanish, used by around 60,000 Sephardic Jews living in the Israel, Turkey, the Balkans, North Africa, and other former parts of Ottoman Empire.
Activists predict homophobic and transphobic violence in Russia, but most avenues of escape are slammed shut
The law on prohibiting "propaganda" from the LGBTQ+ community might trigger homophobic and transphobic violence. Time is running out, and the plea to help needs to be urgently heard.
‘Call them by their names’: Stories of Russian anti-war political prisoners
In March 2022 the Russian parliament passed amendments to the Russian Criminal Code allowing for real prison terms for an anti-war stance. Some people now face up to 10 years in prison.
The love and hate relationship of Hungary's ruling party Fidesz and Facebook
Political analysts argued that the defeat of the opposition resulted from Fidesz’s success in making voters believe that the opposition is serving external interests and would bring Hungary to war.
From ‘forerunner’ to ‘a puppy': How Mongolia got hooked on Russia's ‘Pivot to Asia’
Mongolia tried to benefit from competing interest between Russia and China, the only countries it borders, however, as Russia become more dependent on China after 2014, the possibilities for balancing diminished.
‘The fight for human rights begins in the kitchen': Interview with Czech writer Radka Denemarková
Following a brutal hate murder in Slovakia, Czech author Radka Denemarkova discusses the models of patriarchy that still shape societies in Central Europe.
The struggle to maintain an independent russophone voice in Moldova
In de facto bilingual Moldova, russophone media Newsmaker offers independent coverage as an alternative to pro-Moscow media that influence a large part of the population, including about Ukraine.
Russian social media users now also want to say no to war while not actually saying it
Russians have to revert to language of allusions yet again if they want to continue anti-war resistance.
Murder of two queer people by far-right teen signals worsening plight of Slovakia's LGBTQ+ community
The October 13 shooting took place at a bar that was a rare safe haven for LGBTQ+ people in Slovakia.
Albania's tourism industry is on the rise, increasing risk of child sexual exploitation, warns new report
Albania's first research on the exploitation of children in tourism identified a lack of awareness of the issue as a key concern. Albania received more than 5.6 million foreign visitors in 2021.
Ukrainians and Russians turn to Twitter memes about Elon Musk, but this time the tone is no longer humorous
Ukrainians, disappointed in Musk's "peace" proposal, are posting various, sometimes horrific, war scenes with the previously humorous sign "How do you like this, Elon Musk?"
Digitization of public services in Albania has increased their quality, digital rights analyst claims
Albania’s digital "revolution" started in 2013 when government provided 14 electronic services online; today its government provides 1,225 e-services.
Photographer Aleksandr Yakimchuk recreates Odesa in black-and-white
Photographer Aleksandr Yakimchuk has been portraying the people and streets of Odesa in black-and-white for 12 years, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine has changed the way he approaches photography.
Can music and feminism help heal border conflicts in Central Asia?
Tajik-Russian pop singer Manizha just released a new song about a young rural Kyrgyz woman learning to play ice hockey professionally, a move that empowers her in her community.
“We also speak Russian in Moldova, but don't want to have anything to do with the so-called Russian World”, says Moldovan writer Iulian Ciocan
Moldovan writer Iulian Ciocan explains how his country continues to negotiate its linguistic and literary identity between its neighbors Russia and Romania, as the war in Ukraine intensifies.
Activists speculate on Elon Musk's foreign influence after proposing Ukraine and Taiwan peace deals
Speculation about Elon Musk’s ties with Beijing and the Kremlin have been boiling on Twitter after the world's richest man proposed peace plans for the Ukraine-Russia and Taiwan-China conflicts.
Can citizens of democracies still trust the law? A Global Voices Insights discussion
The flip side of regulating the internet is that this enables the state to mobilise itself and erase the existence of these communities and their identities from popular culture and discussion.
Russians fleeing Putin’s war face long border queues, overpriced flights, fear, and uncertainty
Ticket prices out of Russia are soaring and bordering countries are braced for an influx as an estimated 700,000 young men have left the country since Putin's announcement of mobilization.
Twitter Space: The Ukrainian language and its global significance
Read excerpts from our Twitter space on the Ukrainian language, the best tools for learning Ukrainian, parallels between Ukrainian refugees and other displaced peoples, and more. Find the full audio here.
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