Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from August, 2008
Georgia: Unfrozen Conflicts
Marilisa Lorusso's Blog comments on the conflict between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia and says that the military solution has brought the world closer to a new Cold War....
Blogger of the Week: Siniša Boljanović
Siniša Boljanović had never blogged when he volunteered to report on Serbian blogs for Global Voices in 2007. He read an article about Global Voices in a Serbian online magazine and was so hooked on the idea of contributing, he taught himself to write in English and use Wordpress for the first time in spite of one additional obstacle: Siniša is blind.
Georgia: Security in the Caucasus
Security in the Caucasus, a new blog established by a PhD candidate at the London School of Economics currently undertaking field work in the region, says that the recent conflict...
Russia, Georgia, U.S.: Michael Lee White's Passport
LJ user olegpanfilov2 links (RUS) to a newspaper story (ENG) on Michael Lee White, a China-based U.S. citizen whose passport was allegedly stolen “during a flight from Moscow to New...
Russia: New LJ Ads
LJ user tema is one of the many Cyrillic bloggers who are unhappy with how the new LJ ads interrupt the flow of their posts; he shares a screenshot (RUS)...
Georgia: Behind The Poti Lines
Behind the Poti Lines, a blog by Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, reports on the recent visit by the Georgian president to the Russian-occupied port. The blog also notes...
Russia: How to Spell ‘Blogger’ in Russian
There are two ways to spell the word ‘blogger’ in Russian – with two g's or with just one. The former seems to prevail among Russian bloggers, according to LJ...
Georgia: Photographs of Tskhinvali and Gori
Regional Reporters [RU] posts photographs from Tskhinvali, capital of the breakaway region of South Ossetia, and Gori, the strategic town until recently under Russian occupation, in the aftermath of the...
Hungary: A First-Grader's Shopping List
Hungarian Spectrum writes about how much it costs to equip a child for the first year at a Hungarian elementary school.
Russia: Putin on CNN
A discussion of PM Vladimir Putin's CNN interview – at Sean's Russia Blog.
Russia, Georgia: The Balkan Context
LimbicNutrition Weblog writes about the Russian-Georgian conflict in the context of the earlier events in the Balkans.
Slovakia: Top 10 Castles
The Foreigner's Guide to Living in Slovakia posts a list of “the top 10 castles and ruins in Slovakia” (with maps and pictures).
Poland: “Polish Enigma”
MHahn of the Women's International Perspective (WIP) writes on WIP Talk Blog about “the trials and tribulations of life in a transitioning country” – Poland: “It is full of inconsistencies,...
Georgia: Armenian Opposition Leader Claims Genocide
Archuk's blog criticizes the first president of the Republic of Armenia and radical opposition leader, Levon Ter-Petrossian, for claiming that the Russian invasion of Georgia was justifiable in order to...
Jordan: Variety Show
7iber, from Jordan, details a cultural variety show with a difference in this post.
Georgia, Russia, Serbia: The Use (or Abuse) of Some Historical Facts?
Serbian bloggers follow closely the situation in the Caucasus region. Many of them compared and analyzed the Kosovo issue and the newest opportunities in South Ossetia. Some of them were careful to express their own thoughts and mainly cited thoughts of politicians. Here is a post by a Serbian blogger who quoted in his blog some pieces of the last statements by Russia's government officials, who linked military operations in Georgia to certain historical events.
Georgia: Blogging the War
The conflict between Georgia and Russia over the breakway territory of South Ossetia was accompanied by cyber-attacks on several Georgian government and independent media sites. But rather than prevent journalists from utilizing the Internet to report on the war, it achieved the opposite. Many Georgians — media professionals and citizen journalists alike — set up blogs to report or comment on the conflict. Global Voices Online speaks to Giga Paitchadze, a veteran local blogger.
South Ossetia, Russia: Photos From Tskhinvali and Vladikavkaz
Photo reports (RUS) by LJ user photomans: from Tskhinvali – here; from a refugee camp in Vladikavkaz – here.
Russia: Anti-War Music
LJ user marchenk posts a collection of links (RUS) to videos of various anti-war songs in Russian, French, English, Italian, German, Hebrew, Serbian, Spanish, Polish, Arabic and other languages.
Georgia: Recklessness & Recognition
Although noting that Russia oversteppend the mark by invading Georgia, Registan says that Moscow's gambit in the South Caucasus paid off. However, the blog notes, it required a temperamental, reckless...
Georgia: Different Opinions on South Ossetia
Registan responds to a post made by Michael J. Totten on the conflict in South Ossetia. The blog strongly disagrees with the background to the conflict between Russia and Georgia...
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