Current RSS news Central and eastern Europe
Central and eastern Europe
Silence of statues in Budapest's Memento Park, House of Terror
Budapest’s Park, built shortly after the fall of communism, commemorates the visual iconography of four decades under communist rule in the Hungarian capital. In sharp contrast to its frozen lethargy, the House of Terror bursts with life. Could things have been different for Hungary today if it had a revolution back in 1989?
central and eastern europe, lenin, joseph stalin, cold war, second world war , hungary, reagan
Pan-Slavism, Slovio and Polish the 'status symbol'
The Slavic languages all have their roots in Proto-Slavic. Since the twelfth century, however, they have drifted apart. One of them reached its zenith in the seventeenth century: Polish
central and eastern europe, tower of babel, languages, esperanto, poland, russian federation, slovakia
Double discrimination: roma women in central and eastern Europe
Romania has recently announced plans to evict roma from the northern town of Baia Mare, in a move which could leave hundreds homeless. The move emphasises the continued urgency of the theme ‘roma women in central and eastern Europe’, discussed during the European women's lobby’s conference in Budapest on 7 April this year. The lobby aims to bring the double discrimination that roma women endure to the attention of European decision-makers. Interview with Brigitte Triems, the lobby's president
central and eastern europe, discrimination, hungary, budapest, violence, european commission, roma minorities
Arab spring 2011 and Europe’s fall of communism in 1989
As the Maghreb goes through its transitions, a look at the lessons learned from central and eastern Europe. Opinion from Daniel Novotny, deputy director of the research centre at the association for international affairs in Prague
central and eastern europe, 1989, morocco, sub-saharan africa, conflict, peace, post-soviet states
Ukraine feminists ‘Femen’: topless a political weapon
At first the 300 members of the feminist community came to the streets to protest against the expansion of sex tourism in the Ukraine. The 12, 000 active 'sex pats' are growing under the indifferent gaze of the authorities. Femen has been organising nude performances as a political weapon for three years now. After a run-in at the Italian embassy, Inna Shevechenko vents her anger
central and eastern europe, feminism, censorship, sexuality, sex, silvio berlusconi, italy
Albania-Kosovo mafia, ‘cablegate’ and other cases of blindness
After two years of investigation, the council of Europe has accused the Kosovan prime minister of leading an international network trafficking organs, weapons and heroin with the silent acquiescence of European countries. Will these Wiki-Like revelations destroy public confidence in politics? Here's a little theory on scepticism
central and eastern europe, organ trafficking, corruption, nato, best of cafebabel.com, kosovo, drugs
Alice in Belarus (Wonderland): politician tries to enter local elections
This is the story of Olga Karatch, a Belarusian dissident and 'Nash Dom' human rights activist, and her participation in local elections in Belarus. Those were in May 2010, but Olga’s testimony has lost none of its relevance. Unfortunately, it's all too synonymous with the state of Belarusian politics as a whole, and with elections looming on 19 December
central and eastern europe, censorship, post-soviet states, human rights, minsk, media, alexander lukashenko
Building a mosque in Warsaw: is it all trouble and strife?
Muslims in Poland go back several centuries, beginning with the arrival of tatar settlers in the eastern reaches of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The muslim community in Poland has only recently begun attracting attention, with the building of a mosque financed by a Saudi sponsor in the Warsaw district of Ochota. Not everyone is happy
central and eastern europe, racism, warsaw, islamophobia, extremism, populism, religion
Communism perspectives: 'discontinuous history of art in eastern Europe'
3 October marked twenty years after the fall of the communist regime. One exhibition in Paris this summer asked the central question: is there any value in the question of 'east-west’ opposition today?
central and eastern europe, paris, albania, romania, photography, culture calendar, exposition
Esma Redzepova: 'Roma are cosmopolitan'
A mother of 47, a career spanning 20 albums and 40 years and songs in Serbian, Macedonian and Romany. At the Sin Fronteras festival in France, the Macedonian 'gypsy music queen' brings a bit of Roma culture to a country which is planning to export large numbers of its gypsy population 'back' to Romania and Bulgaria by the end of the month
central and eastern europe, paris, greece, roma, multiculturalism, family, brunch
'Come to Romania': quest to brand Bucharest
Forging a skate culture, redesigning lei banknotes and offering a story to tourists, aside from the palace of parliament hotspot, the result of dictator Ceaucescu's tearing down a third of the city in communist times. These are just some of the ideas to boost the image and GDP of a crisis-riddled country
central and eastern europe, money, advertising, bucharest, centrist, architecture, romania
Bloggers in Romania, hailed by President Terminator
Between fierce entrepreneurs, A-listers, history re-writers and new media journalists, bloggers are thriving in Romania. It's hailed by the president, but not well liked by other media stalwarts. The country, one of three ‘partially free’ medias in the EU (alongside Bulgaria and Italy), ranks a poor 50th on the European press freedom index
central and eastern europe, bucharest, barack obama, censorship, romania, blogs, journalism
Melancholy in Berlin: views of three foreign writer residents
Very loosely, a 19-year-old Klaus Mann saw 1920s Berlin as 'seductive, gray, scabby, peeling, yet vibrant vitality, nervous, shimmering, phosphorescent, animated, full of tensions and promises.' Italian, Croatian and French writers Gianluca Falanga, Maksim Cristan and Maia Mazaurette give us their noughties take
central and eastern europe, labour, economical crisis, germany, berlin, poverty, multiculturalism
To be or to be in Berlin: poor but (creatively) rich
Money and the crisis are not on the agenda for Berliners who can focus on different things, such as art. 'Being poor is not cool, but OK,' is the word on the street. It all looks very promising for someone from Bulgaria, the EU's officially poorest country, where a lack of money, unlike cheap glamour, can never be a virtue
central and eastern europe, labour, economical crisis, germany, berlin, poverty, berlin-kreuzberg
Vilnius, crisis from beginning to end
Does crisis come in twos? There's always a definite serving of anger, often directed against 'the others'. It might come in threes too, because apathy is never far behind, which in the darkest of cases can lead to the deliberative loss of one's own life – why does Lithuania have the highest suicide rate in Europe? Less dramatically, it can force the fresher, younger ones to emigrate for brighter horizons. When six pan-European journalists spent a few days under the watchful eye of an Icelandic volcano in Vilnius in April, they encountered these different facets of the economic crisis (Image: ©Pablo Pecora – PnP!/ Flickr)
Cheese People: 'European' face of Russian music
From the banks of the River Volga just west of the Urals mountains, which mark the geographical border between Europe and Asia, a funky new band is making a big impact on the Russian music scene: an unsigned, energetic female-fronted quartet with a disco-punk sound. We meet backstage in Moscow
central and eastern europe, post-soviet states, european tour, brunch, culture, youth, music
A brief history: döner kebab, fair ambassador to Turkey?
One of the most popular late night snacks in Europe is the flag bearer of Turkish cuisine outside of Turkey. Is this a source of pride or sorrow for the Turks? Plus, a recipe for green beans in olive oil
central and eastern europe, recipe, eat, stamboul, yum nyam, cooking, turkey
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