Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from April, 2014
VIDEO: Serbian Child Prodigy's Drawings Stun the Art World
Dušan Krtolica is an 11-year-old artist from Belgrade that has taken the local and regional art world by storm with his exquisitely detailed pen and pencil drawings of complex animals,...
The Kremlin’s Internet Annexation
For some reason, lawmakers in Russia today continue to add new powers to the state’s censorship utility-belt, as though the current panoply of Internet controls weren’t enough.
Fans in Skopje Gather to Exchange Football Stickers
Hundreds of people gathered on Sunday afternoon in a downtown park in Skopje to exchange stickers of the official Football FIFA World Cup album on April 28, 2014. In Macedonia,...
From Igor Sechin to Dick Cheney: the End of Russia's Zuckerberg
In February, Vkontakte's CEO joked in public that nothing would reverse Facebook’s “slow death.” What’s died instead, it seems, is Durov’s opposition to the world’s largest social network.
PHOTOS: Forget Selfies, One Artist's Sketched Portraits Have Taken Over Twitter in the Balkans
A Montenegrin artist's ink and pencil drawings have grown so popular that they've begun to replace the headshots and selfies that normally appear on Twitter accounts.
Macedonian Activists Attempt to Break Media Silence on Corruption Scandal
The majority of Macedonian media failed to relay a documented claim by Macedonia's largest opposition party about the prime minister's involvement in a corruption scandal. Social media users stepped in.
Raising the Dead to Fight Ukraine
Sokoloff's conclusion at seeing Lobov in uniform at a Ministry of Defense meeting was that the man had come out retirement, which can only mean one thing.
Ukrainian Artists Cage Russians Like Animals
A group of artists in Kiev has opened a new exhibit that many Russians are calling dangerously xenophobic. Yesterday, April 24, 2014, the “Ukrainian Cultural Front” presented four interactive installations...
LiveJournal Fights Coming Censorship, But Don't Tell Anyone
Some RuNet giants are already fighting back against coming law that may be used to censor opposition bloggers.
USA Makes Kremlin Propaganda Easy, Again
Simply imagine Russia remodeling schools near US Marine Corps fatalities on Okinawa.
How Dmitry Tymchuk Broke the Russian Blogosphere
Rather than acknowledge Moscow's role in promoting blogger Dmitry Tymchuk, some in Russia prefer to blame NATO. Life, after all, is simpler with your head in the sand.
So Long, Mr. Durov, and Thanks for All the Fish
After more than a year of rumors, the stockholders of Russia’s largest online social network, Vkontakte, have finally fired founder and CEO Pavel Durov.
Bad News & Worse News for Russian Internet Users
A Russian initiative to expand regulation over bloggers is still just a bill in the legislature, but it’s already harming the country's Internet freedom.
Facebook Predicts the Outcome of Macedonian Presidential Elections, Again?
Like in the 2009 elections, the support Facebook users in Macedonia are showing for candidates in the 2014 election is uncannily similar to the actual results of voting.
Censorship by Litigation in Russia?
Earlier this month, VKontakte minority shareholder United Capital Partners (UCP), filed a complaint against Durov for breach of VKontakte fiduciary duty for creating the secure messenger Telegram.
Southern Russia's Road Warriors
North Ossetians display a readiness for civil disobedience that has many asking about their willingness to take to the streets (or highways, as it were), when faced with injustice.
Facebook Post Spells Legal Trouble for Russian Charity
Romanenko reported that no less than the governor of Vologodsk had filed a complaint against him with the local prosecutor's office because of the jocular post.
Russia's Largest Social Network Says No to Censorship
Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of Russian social network VKontakte, has once again used his account there as a platform to speak out against Internet censorship.
Uncle Sam's Ukraine Failure in Russia
The violence might be only starting, but an information war between Russia and the West has raged for months now.
Macedonia 2014 Elections Quick Reference Guide
April 2014 is election season in Macedonia, casting votes for a new president and a new parliament. This short article lists the basic information and online resources.
Russia Reconsiders Bitcoin?
A partial exodus from Russia by MasterCard and Visa has inspired some digital currency enthusiasts to propose Bitcoin, the world's leading crypto-currency, as a solution to the country's monetary problems.