RFE/RL Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova Report
21.05.2013
A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova.
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Belarus
On May 14, Belarusians celebrated the Radunitsa religious festival, during which believers visit the graves of relatives. In the village of New Gramyki, inside the area affected by the Chornobyl nuclear disaster, evacuated residents observed the holiday by visiting a cemetery in the so-called Dead Zone. More In January 1944, 12-year-old Regina Laurynovich was imprisoned by Nazi troops in occupied Soviet Belarus. Along with hundreds of thousands of other Belarusians, she was sent to work in a forced labor camp in Germany, where she spent more than a year. RFE/RL spoke to Laurynovich about her memories of the war. More 
Moldova’s LGBT Festival Seeks To Build On Recent Successes
Moldova’s LGBT community is launching a weeklong festival celebrating sexual minorities in the conservative country. Organizers are optimistic the country has come a long way since a gay march in 2008 was scuttled by rock-throwing counterdemonstrators. More 
Man Held Over Attack On Kyiv Journalists
A man suspected of beating two journalists in Kyiv on May 18 has been arrested. More Pro- and antigovernment protesters square off in rival demonstrations in the Ukrainian capital soon after leaders of the three main opposition factions in the Ukrainian parliament agree to cooperate on backing a single candidate to oppose incumbent Viktor Yanukovych in presidential elections in 2015. More 
Event Marks 69th Anniversary Of Crimean Tatar Deportations
More than 30,000 people took part in a rally in the Crimean city of Simferopol on May 18 to mourn the victims of the deportation of Crimean Tatars at the end of World War II. Organizers conducted a "minute of grief and unity" and a Muslim prayer for those who never returned from the expulsion, ordered by Josef Stalin. There were some calls for Crimean Tatar autonomy at the event. (14 PHOTOS) More Ukraine's lawmakers have postponed a debate over a new antidiscrimination law after demonstrators protested outside the parliament in Kyiv. More 
Interview: EU's Enlargement Chief Finds Many Ways To Say ‘More Work Needed’
Stefan Fuele, the European Union commissioner for enlargement and neighborhood policy, has called on the EU-hopeful countries of the Eastern Partnership and the Western Balkans to do more to prove their commitment to democratic values. Correspondent Daisy Sindelar spoke to Fuele during his visit to RFE/RL headquarters in Prague on May 9. More 
Ex-Soviet Bloc Celebrates Victory Day
On May 9, countries in many parts of Eastern Europe and Central Asia celebrated Victory Day, an annual commemoration marking the official capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union in the Second World War. (24 PHOTOS) More |
