Global Voices Online

The 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall: How To Marry a Bulgarian hosts a series of readers' personal reflections: Biliana Velkova, Alexandra Grashkina-Hristova, Maria Vassileva; Hungarian Spectrum writes that “for Hungary and the Hungarians the whole thing started much earlier”; Belgraded writes about the upcoming and much-awaited fall of the “visa wall” for Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia; CAFÉ TURCO writes about the anniversaries of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Kristallnacht, and the destruction of Mostar’s Old Bridge;

Foreign Policy Association's Russia blog writes about the results of a Pew Research Center's poll on poverty, wealth and attitudes in Central and Eastern Europe “20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.”

At Th!nk About It, Adela writes about International Black Sea Action Day.

Dumping Grounds for People is a blog devoted to the results “of a four-months long journalistic investigation, conducted mostly undercover in ten institutions for adults with intellectual disabilities or mental illnesses in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia.” A Flickr photo set, by Yana Buhrer Tavanier, is here, along with this note: “Bulgaria and Romania, both EU members since 2007, and Serbia, which seeks the same status, have a grim track record when it comes to institutional care. This investigation suggests that they are still failing to meet international standards.”

Petya of How to Marry a Bulgarian writes about racism in Bulgaria and follows up with a post on the Busmantsi detention center for “illegal immigrants or people whose application for refugee status was rejected and are waiting to be deported” - described by some as “the Bulgarian Guantanamo.”

Maya Markova reports on the case of architect Georgi Yanev, who “is well known in Bulgaria as practically the only ordinary citizen who tried to fight the massive corruption in the country”: “To sum up, what is the result of being a good citizen, speaking out about corruption and helping law enforcement agencies to charge corrupted officials? - A fine of EUR 5,000, the danger of being prosecuted plus the humiliation of a forced apology to a notoriously corrupted minister.”

A Fistful of Euros writes about “the first generation of post-Communist leaders”: “Well, here’s a question: almost 20 years later, how many of them are still running things? Not so many.”

LJ user koltashov turns attention to [RUS] a report claiming that Bulgaria's government fell earlier this year due to the gas crisis between Russia and Ukraine.

Viharg of Blogactiv.eu complains about deficiencies in Bulgaria's judicial system.