Stories about Russian from September, 2008
Belarus: Greens fight for gay rights
LJ user palitekanom reports on [RUS] actions by the Belarus Green Party to defend the rights of the LGBT-community in the country and a proposal to impose sanctionary measures against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.
Russophone Bloggers Discuss the U.S. Presidential Candidates
Last week, Israel-based LJ user avva asked his Russophone readers - some of whom are eligible to vote in the upcoming U.S. election - whether they supported Barack Obama or John McCain, and for what reasons. The post generated over 300 comments from bloggers based in the United States, Israel, Canada and Russia. Below are some of the responses.
Kazakhstan: Who Lives Well in Kazakhstan
As long as Kazakhstan still aspires to enter the top 50 most competitive states of the world (although these efforts have so far resulted in decline of its competitiveness, as the World Economic Forum’s annual reports show), the republic has managed to enter another list of countries, unfortunately, a shameful...
Belarus: Elections without political life
LJ user junkie beatnik comments on [RUS] the absence of political life in Belarus, where neither opposition nor government seem to comment on politics with only a week left until parliamentary elections.
Belarus: Youth activists in strange accident
LJ user toshirskij directs attention to [RUS] a Charta 97 article reporting on an opposition youth activist from the Young Front in a freak car accident. Returning from a meeting in preparation for protests on parliamentary election day 28 September, the wheel of his car fell off at high speed,...
Belarus: Making it in the sausage competition
LJ user luchecon received a phone call [RUS] from his worried grandmother, that Belarus is cutting down the meat content in its sausage production, because it cannot meet the price competition with Russian sausages’ lower meat level. As it turns out, Belarus has a meat deficit, substituting it already with...
Belarus: Lukashenko threatens break with the West
LJ user navigatar writes about [RUS] threats by Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko to break relations with the West, in case the results of Sunday's parliamentary elections are not recognised.
Turkey: “Armenian Istanbul”
Sundry Translations and Other Tangentialia translates Mark Grigorian's LJ entries (RUS – here, here, here) on Istanbul's Armenian dimension.
South Ossetia: A Photojournalist's Musings On the War
Firsthand reports from the conflict zone in the Caucasus continue to appear here and there in the Russophone blogosphere. On Sept. 8, one month since the beginning of the war in South Ossetia and Georgia, Russian photojournalist Oleg Klimov posted his musings on what the war looks like and what it smells like, on the media and propaganda, and on what seems like the universal nature of wartime looting.
Kazakhstan: Fears of aggravation of crisis
Although Kazakhstan, enjoying booming economy fueled by extractive industries, remains the leading state among Central Asian republics, the volatile situation in the country's economy gives grounds for anxiety among bloggers.
Russia: St. Pete Remembers Beslan
A few photos from a Beslan commemoration event in St. Petersburg – by LJ user alter-gregor (RUS).
Abkhazia: Vacation Photos
Vacation photos from Abkhazia, by LJ user zyalt – here, here, here and here.
