Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from October, 2023
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, one artist sees people as inspiration, photography as joy
Realizing that photography was her true love, Bosnian artist Aida Redžepagić left her job as a university professor and devoted herself completely to what brings her the most joy.
The president of Georgia beats impeachment proceedings
In her address to parliament during the impeachment session, Zurabishvili denied violating the constitution, and stated that the vote would harm Georgia’s "European future."
Vanishing memory: Commemorative plaques to victims of Soviet era disappear in Russia amid war and new repressions
Plaques commemorating victims of Stalin’s repressions are being taken down in Russian cities. News about vanishing plaques comes amid almost weekly arrests of activists for anti-regime or anti-war stances.
The number of Indigenous people of Sakhalin island in Russia is drastically decreasing
The indigenous people of Sakhalin are now present in small numbers, they are named Nivkhs, Ainu, Uilta. A documentary shows one of the dying villages, Rybnoe, where Nivkhs live.
Montenegrin resting contest ends with new record: 50 days of lying down
For the twelfth time, the annual competition in 'resting' poked fun at the widespread stereotype that Montenegrins are lazy.
Youth in the Balkans should be able to recognize disinformation with malign intent, Slovenian expert says
"We need to be able to communicate with the youth as effectively and as attractively as the adversaries are doing," said Petra Balažič, project manager at the Centеr of European Perspectives from Slovenia.
‘New Bloom': A rare leftist media voice in Taiwan
As Taiwan prepares for presidential and legislative elections, Global Voices spoke to one of the few leftist media operating outside of the Kuomintang/Democratic Progressive Party dichotomy that dominates local media.
The role of AI in Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Interview with expert Anton Tarasyuk
To understand how AI shapes an asymmetric war in Ukraine against a much larger Russian aggressor, Global Voices talked to Anton Tarasyuk, a data and AI expert based in Kyiv.
Yiddish: A language to celebrate also for its hilarious curses
Global Voices spoke to Matthew Katzman, author of "Oy Vey! Yiddish Slang 101," a satirical dictionary that weaves personal family stories with Yiddish expressions to understand the evolution of the language.
Documentary about dying villages in Sakhalin, former territory of Japan in Russia, gets over million views
115 towns and villages in Sakhalin may be subject to administrative removal, since they are considered "not viable," because almost no one lives in them anymore, apart from a few people
While in exile in Lviv, Ukraine, a Crimean Tatar woman promotes her community through cuisine
"It is about the nostalgia of those people who lived in Crimea, visited Crimea, or only dreamed of visiting it."
How Russians fought Putinism: A documentary
It is incorrect to say that the people in Russia did not resist the emergence of Putinism — they resisted, many times and in many ways, albeit unsuccessfully.
Ahead of presidential elections, Russia rewrites history and promotes nationalism at schools
New history books and classes called "Important Conversation" are prompting the new nationalist propaganda discourse across schools in Russia.
The Other Moldova project portrays small towns outside of Chişinău
Residents of Chişinău or people outside Moldova know little about other cities in the country. Local news outlet explores life outside the capital.
Decolonial perspective on race from the post-Yugoslav region
In the post-Yugoslav region, where racialized geopolitical cartography re-emerged after the Cold War, many people tend to deny the existence of racism when asked about it.