Life on the edge of Europe
By Irina Belachew These were my first elections in Ukraine, in which I took an active part. Unfortunately I don’t have the right to vote, but I can defend democracy. I can use my experience from being in the opposition in Russia. The polling station where I am registered is in a suburb of Kiev. […]
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by Mikhail Golubev I’m extremely positive about Mikheil Saakashvili’s first months governing the Odessa region. A new Ukrainian citizen, the former Georgian president is doing exactly what was expected of him based on the experience of his Georgian reforms: carrying out a large-scale battle against corruption. Both in words and deeds. We hear big news […]
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by Irina Belachew In the past few days I’ve been seeing friends, Ukrainians of all political stripes, and of course we discussed the latest events outside the Supreme Rada and the passing of amendments to the constitution. I anticipate angry comments: “Russians shouldn’t talk about Ukraine, write about your own Russia.” But I live here, […]
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by Alex Sinodov Nothing remains of the wide spectrum of late perestroika and glasnost-era free radio stations in Russia. Few people remember SNC, Free Russia, Krishnaloga or Pamiat. Other stations, while still keeping their name and frequency, have virtually nothing to do with their parental namesakes. And only Ekho Moskvy claims to be the same […]
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by Daryna & Andrii Miroshnychenko Daryna: Human life is a strange thing. Being not much different from other biological species, we reproduce the same biological patterns of procreation and survival. Despite such optimistic stability, human life has an enormous number of challenges. People have to develop themselves and become something more than just a member […]
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by Irina Belachew This week I was talking to two women from Luhansk. One is about 45, an active participant in the Maidan revolution, and she uses the internet and Facebook. For her the events that have happened in eastern Ukraine are clear. She saw how the riots started in Luhansk after the annexation of […]
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by Alex Sinodov An interesting item of news came my way several days ago, and it concerned Crimea. The Russian consumer rights protection society warned tourists against spending their holidays on the peninsula. It stated that any Russian tourist going there without permission from Ukraine might later encounter problems with obtaining a Schengen visa for EU countries, […]
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by Irina Belachew The summer before last, in 2013, my friends and I went on holiday in Crimea. Unforgettable impressions from the clear sea near Alushta with shiny little jellyfish and huge fish swimming out of pillows of seaweed and coral. A roadside cafe on the way to Feodosia, where we were fed with delicious […]
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by Daryna & Andrii Miroshnychenko Andrii: You know, when I think about Crimea I feel really lost. You could say that I lost it twice. The first time was in the 1990s. My father used to have a flat in Alushta and we spent two full summers there (1995, 1996). What does a small 6-7-year-old […]
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by Natalia Zhadan I was born and grew up in Crimea, in the small resort town of Sudak. After that I left to study in Kiev, and stayed to live in the Ukrainian capital. That was a small digression to let you know the reason for my trip, and also the reason why I don’t […]
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X Soviet Diaries 