Featured stories about Eastern & Central Europe
Air Bus AF 447: Sorrow, lack of information and sensationalism
Blogs around the world have been sending their condolences to the families suffering the wait for any sign of the vanished Air France Airbus AF 447. Much criticism and discussion is also taking place about the disrespectful way in which the media have been covering the loss of the lives of the 228 on board, and the lack of information regarding the disaster.
Russia: Bloggers' Memories of Soviet Maternity Hospitals
Last year, Sinisa Boljanovic translated a number of heartrending childbirth stories, written anonymously by Serbian women and posted on the "Mother Courage" award-winning site, launched and maintained by Serbian blogger Branka Stamenkovic/Krugolina Borup. This month, LJ user germanych, a Russian blogger, asked his readers to share experiences of giving birth in the Soviet Union. While Branka Stamenkovic's "Mother Courage" initiative is an attempt to change the situation for the better, the Russian blogger's goal has been to document a lesser-known chapter of the Soviet history.
Stories
July 3rd, 2009
Belarus: President Pardons Emanuel Zeltser
On June 30, a U.S. Congress delegation visited Minsk to meet with Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko. During this meeting, members of the U.S. delegation asked the president to pardon Emanuel Zeltser, an American lawyer who, in August 2008, was "sentenced to three years in prison on charges of 'attempted industrial espionage' and the use of fake documents." Lukashenko said he could do it and signed the pardon later that day.
July 2nd, 2009
Hungary: Rallying for Iran - and for “Nothing, Never”
Those who were in Hungary during the past few weeks could get quite confused because citizens showed a number of different ways of using rallies as a tool of democracy. Some were rallying for democracy and human rights in Iran, while others gathered for a mock protest to demand "nothing, never."
June 24th, 2009
Serbia: Blogging for Justice and Protection
Stressed by a recent horrific murder that took place in front of social workers, Russell and Jelena made a blog about their struggle with the Serbian legal system to protect Jelena's child from her former drug addict husband.
June 13th, 2009
Russia: “I'm a Russophobe”
A popular Russian blogger known for his often provocative posts on the Russian economy, published this mock manifesto (RUS) on his blog on June 10, noting with irony that those who attempt a critical look at Russia's past and present are frequently labeled Russophobes by those who consider themselves patriots, while in fact the opposite may be said to be true in many cases.
June 11th, 2009
Russia, U.S.: Reactions to WSJ Story on Web-Savvy Homeless
Earlier this month, Russian social networking portal Habrahabr.ru featured photos and some translated text from the May 30 Wall Street Journal piece on the online presence of the U.S. homeless - On the Street and On Facebook: The Homeless Stay Wired. The original English-language story has generated 93 comments. On Habrahabr.ru, there are currently 183 responses - and below are some of them.
June 7th, 2009
Russia: The Fourth Son
A month or so ago, LJ user voinodel (Russian journalist Vadim Rechkalov) started a second LJ blog (voynodel) - for “unhurried posts.” So far, Rechkalov has posted twice on this new blog. The first text is about the funeral of one of the victims of a Moscow police officer who shot at least three people to death at a Moscow supermarket in April; the second one is a sketch about a Chechen family - and below is a translation.
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Moussa Bashir222 posts 
Fabienne Flessel39 posts 
J. Nambiza Tungaraza22 posts 
Njeri Wangari4 posts 
Anas Qtiesh11 posts 
Mathy Kandasamy15 posts 
Winglok Hung6 posts 
Veronica Khokhlova6034 posts 
Renata Avila62 posts 
David Reid58 posts 
Deborah Ann Dilley212 posts 
Michael Castro4 posts
Russia-Poland: History revisionism at large again
- The problem is that the EU does not have a common stance on history.
It would be wonderful to...
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