 RFE/RL Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova Report 11/20/2009 7:30:46 PM A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova. For more stories on Eastern Europe, please visit and bookmark our Eastern Europe page . |
| Belarus Youth Activists In Belarus Stage 'Orange' Action Youth activists in Minsk have held a so-called "orange" protest against the government of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports. More  'Pragmatic' EU Keeps Belarus Sanctions Suspended The European Union continues what officials in Brussels describe as a "pragmatic" policy of keeping in place a travel ban on top Belarusian officials -- but not enforcing it, as long as Minsk continues to respond to the bloc's overtures. More  Russian Film Director Dies Of Flu Russian film director Maria Solovtsova has died in the Belarus capital, Minsk, after having flu-like symptoms. More Visiting U.S. Diplomat Pledges Support For Moldova A high-ranking U.S. diplomat visiting Chisinau said the White House supports Moldova's democratic process and will stand by it as it makes its foreign policy choices, RFE/RL's Moldovan Service reports. More  Secret Moldovan Remedy For Swine Flu Authorities in Moldova are taking some interesting precautions against swine flu (which is spreading there just as borders are opening), according to Reuters. More  Swine Flu Continues To Spread In Moldova Moldovan health officials say the number of confirmed swine flu cases has risen to nearly 900, with 250 new cases recorded over the weekend, RFE/RL's Moldovan Service reports. More  'Life Not Hell Anymore' Adam Michnik, the editor in chief of Poland's "Gazeta Wyborcza" and a leading member of the Polish democratic opposition from 1968 to 1989, was in Prague this week to attend a conference marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain. He spoke to Irina Lagunina of RFE/RL's Russian Service about Russia, the West, and the post-Soviet letdown felt in the former Eastern bloc countries. More  Moldova Presidential Hopeful Says 'There's Still Time' Moldovan lawmakers this week tried and failed to elect a new president. The Communist opposition boycotted a vote after the ruling Alliance for European Integration nominated Democratic Party leader and former Communist parliament speaker Marian Lupu. Now legislators must make one more attempt to elect a head of state in the next month, and a failure to choose a president would automatically trigger another round of national legislative elections next year -- in the wake of two inconclusive elec More  Moldova Drops Charges Against 'Twitter Revolution' Figure All charges have been officially dropped against Moldovan journalist Natalia Morari, who was accused by the previous government of using social networking websites to organize violent street protests in Chisinau in the spring, RFE/RL's Moldovan Service reports. More  Moldova Keeps Fighting For Attention Regardless of how the current political standoff plays out, the Alliance for European Integration has a window of opportunity to push ahead with real reforms and set Moldova on the path of democratic and economic development. But it needs the active support of the international community to do so. More  Ukraine's Presidential Hopefuls Lay Out Their Programs The 18 candidates who have been registered for Ukraine's presidential election in January can be divided into three tiers. It's interesting to take a look at the domestic- and foreign-policy programs of the first- and second-tier candidates. More  WHO Urges Doctors To Use Antiviral Drugs Sooner The World Health Organization (WHO) says antiviral medicines like Tamiflu should be used much earlier by doctors in order to prevent deaths from swine flu. The UN agency also says it is sending more supplies of antivirals to developing countries most affected by swine flu. Those countries include Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine. More  Before The Autumn Revolutions, The Moscow Spring Before the autumn revolutions in Eastern Europe, there was the Moscow Spring in the Soviet Union. In 1989, Mikhail Gorbachev's reform policies hit their high-water mark, as the USSR held its first competitive elections, press freedom flourished, and civil society awakened. More  Amnesty Urges Ukraine To Release Belarusian 'Prisoner Of Conscience' The rights watchdog Amnesty International is demanding that authorities in Ukraine "immediately and unconditionally" release Belarusian activist Ihar Koktysh. More  Ukraine Reports More Flu Deaths, Infections The number of people in Ukraine who have died from flu and respiratory diseases has reached 174, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports. More  Reactions (And Overreactions) To Virus's Spread As the swine-flu virus continues to spread through the Balkans and the former Soviet Union, the measures taken by some governments range from bizarre and befuddled to seemingly political. More |
