Stories from Quick Reads and Montenegro
HRW Research Finds Media Freedom in Western Balkans Under Serious Threat
After almost a year of research in the region and in-depth interviews with over 80 journalists, editors, and independent media owners, Human Rights Watch released a report in July 2015 stating that media freedom in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia are under threat. The report's findings include impunity and lack...
Construction of 1 Billion Euro Resort Begins in Montenegro
Luštica Bay, near Tivat on the Montenegrin coast, is being developed by Swiss Orascom Development into a large-scale resort bay and marina. The resort is a colossal undertaking in the small Adriatic country and will spread across a 6.8 million square meter coastal area. The total value of the project...
Running 1,000 Miles for Europe's Trafficked Children
This month, Rob Martineau, Tom Stancliffe, and Guy Hacking are running 1,000 miles from Odessa to Dubrovnik, via Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Croatia, as part of the Run For Love 1000 campaign, whose aim is to raise funds for Love146, a UK charity that “gives care...
Regional Bloggers Attend Blogomanija Conference in Serbia
Dozens of bloggers [sr] from Serbia, as well as from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovenia, attended Blogomanija [sr], a regional blogging conference that was held in Serbia on Dec. 7-9. Among other things, they discussed [sr] the impact of blogs and social networks on social and political...
Montenegro: General Elections 2012
BalkanInsight's live blog [en] of this past Sunday's parliamentary elections in Montenegro ends its coverage with this summary: […] No surprises in the Montenegro elections, if the preliminary results are confirmed. [Milo Djukanovic] looks set to continue to dominate the political landscape as he has done for more than two...
Montenegro: “Foursquare For Development” Project
UNDP's Voices From Eurasia blog announces and explains the “Foursquare for Development” project, whose goal is to create Foursquare tourist routes in northern Montenegro.
Croatia: 2.8 Million “Inappropriate” Books “Purged” During the 1990s
In “Libricide,” Ante Lešaja has documented the process of “purging” of “unsuitable” books from Croatian schools and public libraries by the right-wing HDZ government in the 1990s. According to a Jutarnji List interview [hr] with Lešaja, the “purging” was based on ideological and ethnic criteria and affected books “written in...
Macedonia: Ajvar, Glorified
Jovana Tozija wrote lovingly about making ajvar, a traditional favorite winter provision in Macedonia and some other post-Ottoman countries.
The Balkans: Travel Blogs
At Balkan Travellers, Sarah Hucal writes about Yugo Yoga performance that took place on a makeshift stage at Belgrade's Museum of Yugoslav History in July 2011; more of Hucal's Balkan travel writing and photos are at her blog, Solo in the Balkans. Jana Orsolic's Istria Week travel photos and journal...
Montenegro: Serbian not spoken here?
M. Bozinovich of Serbianna discusses a recent Montenegro census saying that 20% of Montenegrins no longer speak Serbian, and whether this is an actual result or caused by nationalism.
The Balkans: Most Influential ex-Yu Twitter Users
Dragan Varagić published his analysis of the most influential Twitter users [sr] from Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Montenegro, done through manual selection and consulting ratings services.
The Balkans: Turbo-folk and Rock Mashups
Mashup clips by YouTube user apostolski, which combine video footage of Coldplay, U2 and Queen with Serbian turbo-folk songs are poised to become the next big viral hit among Balkan social media users and bloggers [MKD]. Some have already “spilled over” into traditional media like TV call-in show Jadi burek...
The Balkans: Angelina Jolie's “Directorial Debut”
Gray Falcon and Srebrenica Genocide Blog discuss (from different perspectives) Angelina Jolie's “directorial debut” – “a love story set during the Bosnian war.”
The Balkans: Genocide Denial
Greater Surbiton writes about “the bizarre world of genocide denial.”
The Balkans: Regional Lottery vs Nationalism
Belgraded writes about the planned revival of “the one big regional lottery” in the former Yugoslavia and does not “miss the opportunity to point out just how stupid nationalism is.”
Slovenia: Referendum on the Arbitration Agreement
Sleeping With Pengovsky writes – here and here – about this past Sunday's referendum on the Arbitration Agreement between Slovenia and Croatia; posts Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5 of The Definitive Guide to the Arbitrage Agreement Between Slovenia and Croatia (links to the earlier installments are here); and...
Macedonia: Remnants of the Yugoslav Legacy
Sead Dzigal reminds readers [MKD] that after “the death” of the .yu domain [SER] this past March, the term ‘Yugoslavia’ officially survives on the international scene only in the provisional reference the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the title of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which...
CEE: Facebook Use Stats
Worldwide Facebook statistics – at Facebakers.com: in Central & Eastern Europe, the Czech Republic has most users – 2,634,300 people, the country's overall ranking is #29, penetration is 25.8%. It is followed by Poland (#31), which has 2,604,440 users, with 6.77% penetration. Serbia (#41) is CEE's #3: 1,997,540 users, penetration...
The Balkans: 30th Anniversary of Tito's Death
Sleeping With Pengovsky, Balkan Insight (via Balkan Travellers) and Piran Café write about the 30th anniversary of the death of the Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito.
The Balkans: Thoughts on Slavenka Drakulić's 1993 Book
Filip Stojanovski shares his thoughts on Slavenka Drakulić's 1993 book, How We Survived Communism & Even Laughed.
