Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from June, 2023
Displaced Ukrainian women's football team carries on while dreaming of returning home
The path they've already made in their home city of Mariupol must be made again by building a new competitive team, step by step.
Disinformation helps weaponize homophobia in the Balkans
After 2013, Moscow has emerged as major generator of homophobic narratives that exploit existing endemic intolerance in the Balkans region.
Russian Nobel laureate Dmitry Muratov: ‘Repression occurs when no one knows who might be targeted tonight’
"So who is opposing this potential junta, these armed people? Paradoxically, only the ability to speak the truth can stand up to armed men vying for power."
Ukrainians flooded social media with memes as Wagner Group marched toward Moscow
"I must give credit to the General Staff," one user wrote in a viral Facebook post. "The counteroffensive started, indeed, in an unexpected place."
‘Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow': Is the comparison valid?
"Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow" is a phrase often heard in Taiwan pointing at the common threats Russia and China represent for both countries. But is that comparison valid?
Chişinău hosted the largest LGBTQ+ march in the history of Moldova
The march this year focused on advocating for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in Moldova to have their marriages legally recognized.
Pride marches challenge endemic homophobia in the Balkans
Pride marches in all Balkan capitals all came with similar demands: stopping hate speech and hate crimes fueled by widespread homophobia and transphobia.
Ukrainian businesses from destroyed cities are fighting for survival — and winning
Some entrepreneurs have lost everything twice, in 2014 and in 2022, but managed to restore their businesses again.
‘Pozor i styd': Russian has two words for shame
Russian often has two words where French has only one. One serves to describe the outer thing, while the other describes the inner thing.
‘Are you rejoicing at the prospect of a decrepit and impotent maniac being swept away by a pack of brutal bloody cannibals?’ Twitter users are divided about the armed coup in Russia
Mercenary troops have reportedly seized control of military infrastructure in both Rostov-on-Don and Voronezh, the two largest cities in the south of Russia.
From Hong-Kong to Central Europe and back: Interview with Prague-based activist Loretta Lau
Central Europe is aware of the situation in China-occupied Tibet, but less so about Hong Kong. Byt one Hong Kong artivism performer is determined to change this.
Unfreedom Monitor Report: Access
Advox research into internet access, shutdowns and interruptions is now in a report. Read an excerpt and download the full pdf.
How do international media portray Taiwan in their coverage?
Global mainstream media often reduce their coverage of a country based on assumed risks for conflict, as is the case for Taiwan. How does the Taiwanese media assess this portrayal?
Turbulent weeks on the streets of Serbia
The protests against the 'culture of violence' in Serbia were triggered by a mass shooting at a Belgrade elementary school, in which nine children and a security guard died.
Rumors blame Ukrainian saboteurs for setting wildfires in Russia
Alexandra Arkhipova, an anthropologist and folklorist, argues that the belief in "Ukrainian saboteurs" is a classic example of a social phenomenon known as "moral panic."
Little Mariupol in exile in Dnipro, Ukraine
The hope of those from occupied Ukrainian lands lies in the people who are ready to rebuild everything — even if it means starting a humanitarian center in another city.
Can poetry in translation reimagine a free Belarusian–Ukrainian bridge?
Belarus is a victim of and a tool for Russia in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Can poetry and translation establish a fragile bridge between Ukraine and free Belarusians?
Residents of Ukrainian town occupied by Russia recount stories from a flooded Oleshky
People on the occupied by Russia left bank of the river Dnipro were abandoned by occupational authorities during the flood. These are their stories.
The counteroffensive has started in Ukraine — or maybe not
"It's time to take back what is ours," the Telegram channel of the Ukrainian supreme commander wrote on May 27 probably signaling the start of the long-anticipated counteroffensive.
Alexey Sidorenko: ‘As we speak, with every new prison sentence, the situation worsens’
Inside Russia there’re still civil society organizations continuing to do very important work even though they haven’t loudly declared themselves anti-war.
How I ended up despising my mother tongue in Ukraine
Attempts to explain our position to war supporters in Russia failed in the first months of 2022, and using Russian now evokes the trauma of that total non-understanding and aggressive denial.
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