Global Voices Online

Stacey of soupy says writes about how different Ulaanbaatar is from other places in Mongolia.

Ataman Rakim argues for a Eurasian Islam that would unite Muslims of the former Soviet Union under a common identity and serve not so much as a formal set of religious and political ideas but instead as a catalyst for social initiatives.

James explores how to explain the happiness of Uzbekistan's citizens despite the host of problems they face. Could it be relatively equal income distribution?

Mark in Mexico has an update on the teacher's union standoff in Oaxaca, noting that “the annual Guelaguetza Festival has been “suspended” but would be re-initiated once the labor problems with the teachers' union is settled.”

TOL's Belarus Blog writes about music and censorship in Belarus, and about an upcoming Belarusian music event - to be held in Poland, “not so far from the border, in ethnically Belarusian territory.”

LJ user plushev is wondering (RUS) who is responsible for the tacky dresses of Putin's wife (photos attached): “I've heard a fantastic version that this is the work of Kremlin's imagemakers - this way they are said to win women's sympathy for Putin: women unconsciously pity the president who's got such a terrible wife. No matter how incredible, I don't see any other, more logical, explanation.”

Yuri Mamchur of Russia Blog writes about “senseless brutality” that keeps occuring in the Russian army: “This time one of the victims is 19-year old Radik Habirov from Kazan, who was brought in to a local hospital weighing only 65 pounds and is now in a coma. This is the worst case of documented abuse in the Army since the case of Pvt. Sychev six months ago.”

Sean Guillory of Sean's Russia Blog reports on results of the G8 Summit and criticizes the coverage of crackdown on protesters: “The methods that are being used in St. Petersburg—preemptive arrests and detention, restricting protests and protesters, caging them in, preventing foreign activists from entering the country—are not new in any way to anti-globalization activists. […] Making Russian actions seem any different, or worse, than protests in the past, whether they were held in Western Europe, the United States, Asia, or Latin America, is laughable. The news coverage of the repression, though welcomed, is rather startling. One suspects that the portrayal of Russia as exception is perhaps a way to mask the rule.”

Sean Guillory of Sean's Russia Blog writes on why Russia hasn't joined the WTO.