Ukraine: Flu Stats, Panic, Gauze Masks (and Some Lingerie)

Global Voices Online
Tuesday, November 10, 2009

GV's H1N1 Outbreak 2009 special coverage page is here. Last week's coverage of the flu epidemics in Ukraine: Oct. 31; Nov. 1; Nov. 2; Nov. 3; Nov. 4; Nov. 6; Nov. 7.

According to Ukraine's Health Ministry (UKR), 1,031,597 people in Ukraine have fallen ill with "flu, acute respiratory illness and their complications (pneumonia, etc.)" between Oct. 29 and Nov. 9 - and 174 of them have died.

According to World Health Organization, whose experts are currently working in Ukraine, "public health measures recommended by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine across the entire country include: social distancing (school closures and cancellation of mass gatherings); enhancement of surveillance activities; increased respiratory hygiene; and continuation of the vaccination campaign against seasonal influenza targeting at risk groups."

In the Ukrainian blogosphere, much of the discussion of the current medical emergency focuses on whether there are enough reasons to panic or not.

Maryna Reshetnyak, GV's Russian Language Health Editor, has just translated excerpts from one of the most widely read and discussed Ukrainian blog posts of the past week, written by Kharkiv-based pediatrician and author Yevgeny Komarovsky on Nov. 2. In his post (RUS), according to Maryna, Dr. Komarovsky has provided, among other things, "a balanced professional analysis of the flu epidemic" - and "shared his opinion concerning the hysteria surrounding the flu, the irresponsible appeals of politicians and the errors of public health officials." Here is one of Dr. Komarovsky's assessments:

[...] If we double the number of people sick with the swine flu (since no more than half the people with the flu go to a doctor) and compare it with other death rates, we will see that the death rate is even lower than with the regular flu. Pneumonia is the most common cause of death in every country at any time. Pneumonia often accompanies many other diseases and traumas. If each case of pneumonia was reported by the media, nothing good will happen. [...]

On Oct. 29, the day the epidemic was announced by Ukraine's Health Ministry, Lviv-based LJ user orestk carried out similar calculations (UKR) in an attempt to counter the panic:

In 2007, 205 adults died of pneumonia in Lviv region, in 2008 - 182 people. In the first nine months of 2009 - 105 people. There are 92 days in the last three months of the year. For the number of deaths to be no lower than last year, 182-105=77 more people have to die. That is, six people every week. And here we are having a panic attack because of four deaths (of adults, and there is one more - an 11-year-old girl) in the past week. Perhaps it's time to stop panicking? [...]

Two weeks later, Lviv region has 74 flu/acute respiratory illness/pneumonia-related deaths, which makes it the hardest-hit region of Ukraine so far.

On Nov. 5, Natalia Zhuravlova announced (UKR) the launch of an interactive map of flu dynamics in Ukraine, as well as a number of other related widgets, on the blog of the Ukrainian branch of the Russian web portal Yandex. Here is an excerpt from her introductory post:

Because of the epidemic, various scary rumors have been spreading rapidly in Ukraine - that we are having atypical pneumonia, or that we are having lung plague, or that there are more lethal cases due to swine flu than due to regular flu. The data on the dynamics of the disease often varies [significantly].

We at Yandex choose to look at things with calm. Yes, of course, we do not want to fall ill ourselves and are worry a lot about our dear ones. But we get flu epidemics every year, and each time we are told that there hasn't been a more horrible strain, but we are still alive and healthy (knock on wood). The most important thing is that actually the numbers of those sick with flu and acute respiratory infection aren't really high, they haven't reached last year's level yet. Unfortunately, people were dying from these diseases in the previous years, too, only no one was making the statistics public. So we should not panic. And, moreover, we should not trust the unconfirmed data.

So that our users could follow the official statistics of the spread of the disease and knew where to go to for consultation and help, we've developed several useful devices.

[...]

With the help of the map and the widgets, you'll see when the epidemic begins to subside. We hope that this will happen as soon as possible.

Stay healthy! And if you're feeling sick, call the doctor. And everything will be okay.

In a post about the flu info service offered by Yandex (UKR), Ukrainian Watcher - a blog covering "social networks, blogs and internet business" - also mentions Google.org's Flu Trends portal, which "uses aggregated Google search data to estimate flu activity." According to this resource, "flu activity" is currently assessed as "high" in Ukraine, Hungary and Poland, and as "intense" in Russia and Bulgaria.

While Belarus is not being monitored by Google.org's Flu Trends, here is what LJ user budimir wrote (RUS) on Nov. 3 about the situation there in a comments thread on a post by Kyiv-based LJ user kermanich:

[Here] they are using good old methods in their attempts to fight [the flu outbreak] - by hushing it up. They are not allowing any information whatsoever, even the most necessary.

And the panic is raging here already. Maybe even more than in Ukraine.

[...]

EVERYTHING that is even distantly related to the treatment of flu has been swept away from the pharmacies.

And yes, Minsk is wearing masks. No one is explaining to Minsk residents, however, that it is not necessary to wear masks outdoors.

[...]

In my work-related [RSS feed] that I got myself when I started doing reviews of the Belarusian blogosphere, nearly every second post is about swine flu.

There are also plenty of reports from friends and friends' friends, who are saying that "people are burning down like candles."

And there is some first-hand info - from hospitals. [The situation is grave] there, as far as I understand.

[...]

They aren't blogging about Ukraine here, are focused on local matters instead. [...]

But the government, it seems to me, is trying to portray Ukraine as the source of the infection - the first officially confirmed swine flu death of a Belarusian citizen turned out to have its origin [in Ukraine].

But this is a lie - there have been more deaths. Not from flu, of course - because they don't die of it, but of its complications - pneumonia, etc.

[...]

Here's how blogger Ivanko of Fructus temporum described the situation in the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk (pop. 173,700; Donetsk region, where, as of Nov. 8, 48,263 people have been officially confirmed to have flu) in this Oct. 31 entry (UKR):

[...] First of all, lines in pharmacies. Not too long, some ten people on the average, but considering that we have a pharmacy every 20 meters, and sometimes pharmacy kiosks stand right next to each other, it was hard not to notice such a sharp increase in demand.

After my question, "What's happened?", people looked at me as if I... well, they looked at me unkindly.

After I learned the reason of the anxiety, I decided to buy Amizonum and Oxoline ointment [anti-viral drugs popular in Ukraine], because I didn't remember if we had them at home.

But I was too late. Amizonum had been sold out the day before, they've run out of gauze masks today, and bandages were almost gone, too. The pharmacist was dispensing her expert opinion on how to make two gauze masks out of one bandage.

I stopped by at a few more pharmacies - same thing everywhere.

[...]

Today, people were even lining up to buy medicinal herbs from an elderly lady [at the local market].

I don't know, maybe things are really that bad?

Then again, my neighbor still has a sack of overpriced salt that she bought during the latest salt anxiety. [At some point, there were false rumors in Ukraine that salt would disappear from the stores, which urged many people to store up on it in advance.]

And here is what LJ user e_grishkovets (Russian writer Evgeny Grishkovets) wrote on Nov. 5 about Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, where his shows were canceled due to the flu situation:

[...] In general, I can't recall Kyiv ever being in such a gloomy, suppressed and exhausted state. Though, of course, it would have been hard for me to perceive the city differently, considering the problems that have occurred.

[...] Theaters are closed. Ministry of culture has made this decision. But events scheduled to take place in sports facilities have not been canceled... The concert of Todes dance group at some palace of sports hasn't been canceled, a football game took place at a huge stadium yesterday, and today there is Aleksandr Rozenbaum's concert [...], at the Ukraina Palace (4,000 seats). [...] If someone could explain to me why these events are taking place while the theaters are closed... Where is the logic here, where is the truly thoughtful and well-justified fight against the epidemic?... [...]

[...]

On my way to the airport, the driver said that for the fourth day in a row there were no traffic jams in Kyiv, and there are a lot fewer cars and people in the streets. "Everyone looks kind of beaten," the driver said and smiled bitterly. [...]

On a lighter note, Ukrainian women's organization Femen held an "anti-stress" event at Kyiv's Independence Square on Nov. 9: to cheer Kyiv residents up, a group of activists put on self-made gauze lingerie and masks. LJ user drugoi (RUS) has posted three photos from the event, and there are six more photos at Femen's LJ blog (RUS). (Natalia Antonova's Sept. 11 interview with Femen's leader Anna Gutsol is here.)

While the undressing part of Femen's prank may or may not have been an allusion to the Nov. 2 protest against Ukraine's anti-pornography law (WARNING: graphic content), carried out by the Voina radical art group, the masks do seem to be turning into a fashion item in Ukraine: here, for example, is a selection of user-designed masks on sale at one of the Ukrainian online shops. And here's a link to LJ user ellustrator's gauze mask cartoon, which may or may not allude to this photo of PM Yulia Tymoshenko wearing a mask.

Europe: Obama's Upcoming Visit and Quotes

Global Voices Online
Saturday, March 7, 2009

U.S. president Barack Obama is planning to visit Great Britain, France, Germany and the Czech Republic next month, during his first trip to Europe since taking office.

In a post titled "They all want to meet him," P O Neill of A Fistful of Euros writes this about the upcoming visit:

An interesting wrinkle for those who care about summitry: Barack Obama’s visit to Europe in April will include Prague for what is being billed as the annual EU-USA summit.

[...]

Thus it’s going to be a big show, but presumably at the expense of getting much done with 28 heads of state/government and the Commission in attendance. It will get in a lot of “grip and grin” handshake photos for Barack Obama. Is this the format that the Obama team wanted to make worthwhile a visit to a “small” state?

Obama's words about Poland and the Czech Republic have caught attention of Taras of Ukrainiana:

[...] I also remember Obama referring to the Poles and the Czechs as “fledgling democracies.”

But this quote knocked me off my feet:

Russia needs to understand our unflagging commitment to the independence and security of countries like a Poland or a Czech Republic. On the other hand, we have areas of common concern.

[...]

Because I’m a smalltime Ukrainian who lives in a smalltime country that gave up the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal for chicken feed, I view Obama's remarks as a Bittergate. [...]

Obama's mention of Hungary has also ruffled some feathers.

Pestiside.hu wrote:

OMG! OMG! Barack Obama mentioned Hungary - by name. If you don't believe the front page of Index.hu, just go to this transcript of the O-mighty's news conference yesterday and keyword search for, well, duh. Yes, his first public reference to Hungary while in office didn't go exactly the way we might have planned (he basically said we're a bunch of psycho losers who need serious help before we hurt someone). Still, he's knows who we are!

And here's a more serious - as well as economy-focused - take on it by Eva Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum:

[...] Others also blame Barack Obama who after meeting with Gordon Brown, prime minister of the Great Britain, said the following: "One of the things that Prime Minister Brown and I talked about is how can we coordinate so that all the G20 countries, all the major countries around the world, in a coordinated fashion, are stimulating their economies; how can we make sure that there are a common set of principles, in terms of how we're approaching banking, so that problems that exist in emerging markets like Hungary or the Ukraine don't have these enormous ripple effects that wash back onto our shores, and we're providing them with some help in a coordinated international fashion, as well."

Well, that did it in Hungary. How does Obama dare to compare Hungary to Ukraine! No wonder that the forint started to fall even more rapidly after that speech. Moreover, it takes gall, these people say, to talk about problems that "will wash back to our shores." After all, where did this whole mess start? Not in Hungary. Hungary is the victim of irresponsibility in the American banking system. [...]

Hungary: The Roma and the Killing of Marian Cozma

Global Voices Online
Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Marian Cozma, a Romanian handball player, was killed in a nightclub fight in Veszprém, Hungary, on Feb. 8. Here's some of what's been written by bloggers about the circumstances of Cozma's death.

Eva Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum:

Saturday night the members of the Veszprém handball team decided to have a celebratory night out. One of their colleagues, Gergő Iváncsik, and his wife had just had a baby. They picked a bar/disco sometimes called Skorpió, sometimes Patrióta. [...]

The day before a young man from Enying (Fejér county) exchanged some harsh words with F.B., a well known thug in town. This man most likely was Iván Sztojka. Sztojka wanted to retaliate against F.B., this time with a show of force. He enlisted a group of fifteen or twenty friends and relatives who went to Veszprém in search of F.B.

They first went to the bar and ordered drinks, but F.B. wasn't there. For whatever reason, they decided not to pay their tab. The barmaid demanded that they settle up. In response, they grabbed her by the hair and banged her head a couple of times on the counter. According to some reports she broke her jaw. At this point some of the handball players came to the girl's assistance. A fight ensued, during which one of Sztojka's cohorts smashed a chair on the head of Zarko Sesum, a Serbian player. He was the luckiest of the three players. The attacking group either forced two of the players outside or they were foolish enough to follow them, but by then knives were drawn. Marian Cozma, a Romanian player, received a mortal stab wound directly through his heart while Ivan Pesic, a Croatian who tried to help Cozma, was stabbed in the back. As a result, he lost one of his kidneys. Cozma is dead, Sesum and Pesic are in the hospital.

[...]

By this afternoon the police identified two men, both Gypsies, as the alleged perpetrators. [...]

The police might be able to round up the guilty ones but that won't resolve the real problem of the growing anti-Gypsy sentiment. [...]

Andy Hockley of Csíkszereda musings:

[...] I have to confess that one of my first reactions on hearing this tragic story (when all I knew was that a famous Romanian handball star had been killed in Hungary), was to fear that he had been murdered by some crazy Hungarian nationalist intent on somehow getting his own back for Trianon or some such. Not that the manner or motive for the killing would matter to Cozma or his family or friends, but that if it were a hate crime, then it could turn into something more widespread and have long term political ramifications. As far as we know this wasn't the case and the team just got attacked for being in the wrong place at the wrong time while what amounted to a local gang/mafia type grudge was being played out.

However, the case is not without its ramifications and ethnic overtones. The men accused of killing Cozma are, you see, Rroma. So large swathes of the Hungarian press and its right-wing politicians have seized on this as clear evidence that this is an ethnic problem, and that "Gypsies" in general are to blame. A newspaper writer, for example, described gypsies as "not human beings, but animals". [...]

Antal Dániel of Central Europe Activ:

[...]

A little bit of contextualization: The citizens of Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Serbia did not get on very well with each other. All relatively new nation states with a strong nationalistic sentiment that has been surpassed by Communist ‘internationalism’: the past decades have seen a lot of verbal assaults against each other. When the otherwise marginalized Hungarian far-right has set up a uniformed group under the name of ‘Hungarian Guard’ Slovakia cried fool and even accused Hungary for not fulfilling her obligations under the Paris Peace Treaty to wipe out fascist paramilitary groups. But these were just provocations. The Hungarian Guard, now banned by Hungarian law after a proper process in court, was not a paramilitary group, and certainly it had no intention to harass Slovaks or Romanians. It is a new manifestation of racism. The Hungarian Guard has one single activity: to threaten Roma communities within Hungary. [...]

Earlier I noticed that things have changed a lot with the EU accession of the group. Romanian-Hungarian relations are on a historical all-time high. Hungary with Austria are the most firm supporters of Serbia’s and Croatia’s European integration. Slovakia has some extremists in the government coalitions, whose provocations are sometimes verbally met by Hungarian politicians out of mere pride, but I think the people are getting well with each other. Unfortunately, all these nations have found a common enemy: their shared Gypsy minorities, which belong to a number of groups, mostly including the Roma.

[...]



The comments in the YouTube page (and similar pages) are in Hungarian, Romanian, English, Croatians and Serb. They show grief, solidarity and every second calls for revenge on Gypsies.

The different Gypsy groups in all these countries are segregated, discriminated in schools and on the workplace and mainly live on the black market, social benefits and crime. As a visibly different native minority, their chances of assimilation is minimal. It is very ironic, that 20 years ago it could have been impossible that a Romanian sportsman is making a successful career in Hungary and becomes a favorite of his township, or a leading Hungarian professional sports club is a mix of Hungarian, Serb and Romanian players. It is a very sad irony that part of this new-found friendliness lies on a commonly shared racist attitude towards to Roma.

Central & Eastern Europe: Trademark on ;-) and Other Internet News

Global Voices Online
Thursday, December 18, 2008

Below is a selection of recent posts by bloggers from around Central and Eastern Europe on social networking, participatory media, online activism and other related issues.

Eternal Remont writes about Russian businessman Oleg Teterin, who claims to have trademarked the ;-) emoticon:

[...] Seeing that the Russian patent agency will grant a trademark for just about anything these days, Eternal Remont is attempting to trademark "Oleg Teterin," (trademark pending) and will expect payment whenever anyone speaks, writes, prints, or otherwise uses this phrase in all media known to humanity, existing or future. [...]

Streetwise Professor has chosen a different approach:

[...] To Mr. Teterin, I say: ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-)

So sue me.

Russian Blog writes about the Russian Facebook look-alike, vkontakte.ru - which, among other things, appears to be a good language learning tool:

When learning a foreign language communication is crucial. [...] I tell my Russian students of Swedish to join Swedish online communities, and the same advice goes for you who are studying Russian - join a Russian online community! Not only will you find lots of interesting (or uninteresting) clubs as well as people, or be able write to strangers from one sixth of the Earth’s ground (that’s just how big a country this is), but for those of you who are only beginning to study Russian joining in itself will be a challenge. After all - one must join in Russian. [...] There’s a Russian version of Facebook, though it’s completely independent, and in no way connected to Facebook, except for one thing - it is an almost exact copy of the way Facebook used to look before (the old Facebook), translated into Russian. [...]

Siberian Light interviews Dmitry, the owner and manager of Expatriates.ru, a new social networking site with fast-growing membership:

[...] What inspired you to develop expatriates.ru?

During my studies abroad many people asked me a lot of questions about Russia. I decided to create a community where all people will find the answers to their questions about Russia and where they can talk and discuss issues related to Russia. [...]

Siberian Light also discusses some of the challenges that a blogger writing on sensitive geopolitical issues - in this case, Russia - often has to deal with:

[...] Over the past few months, I’ve written posts that have both criticised and praised Russia. I write them because I think that Russia is often right, although it’s also far too often wrong.

And, far too often, I take crap from people. Usually because of what they think I have said, in the context of their tiny little world views, rather than what I have actually said, in the context of an entire blog post, or a series of posts. [...]

Gray Falcon, a blogger focusing on the Balkans, seems to share Siberian Light's frustration:

It has been almost ten years since I started publishing commentary on-line, and it never ceases to amaze me that people seem to possess a remarkable capacity of completely missing the point of entire articles to zero in on one particular sentence or phrase and make a huge deal of it.

[...]

Look, I'm routinely attacked by Albanians because I'm a Serb (it doesn't matter what I say, really - unless I endorse the KLA somehow; then I'm a poster child for what needs to be done). I get grief from Greeks, because I dare say "Macedonia" instead of FYROM or what have you (look, Alexander was a barbarian, OK? Just because he embraced the culture of Hellas and spread it around the known world doesn't make him any more Greek than my Orthodox faith makes me one).

And now I'm marked for malice by Macedonians for daring to point out that hey, today's Macedonia exists within the boundaries of the territory liberated from the Ottoman Empire by the Kingdom of Serbia. [...]

Belgraded writes about the Facebook group celebrating the 1995 Srebrenica massacre (the group is now closed; an earlier GV text on it by Sinisa Boljanovic is here):

[...] What struck me as interesting is that the vast majority of members were not even born when the Yugoslavia breakup wars started and were still in pre-school when it all ended. So where do they get their ‘knowledge’ and information about the past from? Who makes the biggest influence on how they see the past – their parents, media, their friends, the whole society?

[...]

There are no similar hate groups in English, presumably because the facebook admins can react swiftly if they can understand what some group is all about without waiting for numerous people to hit the ‘report’ button and translate ‘Ubij [insert nationality here]’ for them. I know also some would like to blame facebook and other social media for making hate speech so available, but remember – it’s not guns that kill people.

I guess that facebook is still not considered to be so influential or important by mainstream media, at least not in the Balkans. All this despite the fact that both Serbia and Croatia have around 170.ooo members on facebook each, a respectable number which is only going to grow in the future, with Bosnia lagging behind with about 50.000 members. Despite the fact that it’s mostly teenagers. Despite the fact that members post things under their full names with their photos attached – without having any fear or feeling no responsibility that the things they are posting could be dangerous and are wrong. [...]

In another post, Belgraded welcomes a new arrival on Serbia's online magazine scene:

White City magazine is "Belgrade’s first English-language domestic urban magazine. It is written entirely in English, entirely by local Serbian writers for a Serbian readership." Check it out - it looks good, the articles are very well written, hopefully it will survive in this tough competition.

Scraps of Moscow reviews some of the new arrivals in "Moldovasphere":

Moldovaphiles should check out this new website, Moldovarious, which has been set up by a couple of Austrians. Curiously, the guys behind another interesting project related to Moldova (well, related to the PMR) profiled here are also Austrian.

[...]

And, via barabanch, I learned of another newly launched project, this one initiated by Moldovans and called ThinkMoldova (also available in English) [...].

One of the people involved in the project is Barabanov's wife and fellow New Times journalist Natalia Morari. [...]

Hungarian Spectrum writes about the blog of the Hungarian PM Ferenc Gyurcsány:

[...] Quite a few Hungarian politicians decided at one time or another to write a blog but after a few days, or at most after a few weeks, they gave up the ghost. Ferenc Gyurcsány is an exception. He began writing a blog about two and a half years ago, just before the 2006 elections. [...] Even in the midst of a grueling campaign the Hungarian prime minister wrote his blog practically every weekday. Moreover, he didn't stop after the election that he managed to win practically single-handedly. [...] I think one reason that he didn't stop is that the readers of the blog were so enthusiastic and so supportive that he felt it his duty not to disappoint the team that supported him with words and deeds. Eventually Gyurcsány and his readers organized personal meetings where people revealed their pseudonyms, where they met each other as well as the prime minister. The fact is that he is a good blog writer. His notes are interesting. Very often he reveals government plans that the readers of the blog are the first to know. By now the members of the media visit the blog every morning to see what's going on in Gyurcsány's head. [...]

Meglena Kuneva - a Bulgarian politician, the European consumer affairs commissioner, and a blogger - writes this about "the realities of cross-border e-commerce for consumers in Europe":

Some of you have complained through this blog that you cannot buy over the internet from certain stores located in other EU countries. I share your frustration. The Internet has the potential to bring the single European market to a whole new level, and to provide consumers with the chance to buy the very best that is on offer within the EU in terms of choice, price and quality.

But the fact is that although a third of EU citizens already shop on the internet, only 7% shop online from other Member States than their own. [...]

Cyrus Farivar writes this about Estonia's advanced voting practices:

The Estonian parliament [...] has just approved a bill to let Estonian citizens vote via their mobile phone. This makes the country the first country in the world to do so, and comes about 20 months after Estonia held its first nation-wide election where the electorate could cast their ballots online.

[...]

Update (Dec 17.): I spoke with Silver Meikar, an Estonian MP, who told me that this actually isn’t quite mobile phone voting. In fact, this is using Estonia’s digital ID card infrastructure to use your phone as an ID tool instead of your ID card and reader. You still need a computer and an Internet connection to vote online, but you now can just have your phone instead of your ID card. So, not as sexy. [...]

Window on Eurasia reports on what appears to be a move in the opposite direction for Russia:

In the name of fighting extremism, a group of United Russia Duma deputies has proposed new legislation that would allow the government to impose sanctions on those who distribute what Moscow believes are “extremist” materials via the Internet and to close down the sites they post them on.

[...]

And even though the nature of the world wide web is such that Russian government efforts in this area are unlikely to be fully effective, such moves against what many consider to be the last free media space in Russia represent a further act of intimidation by Vladimir Putin and his associates against the embattled members of civil society in that country. [...]

In Latvia, too, the state seems to be taking a proactive approach in its dealings with the online world. Free Speech Emergency in Latvia wrote this last week:

According to unconfirmed reports, the Latvian Security Police have detained Valdis Rošāns, a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi who has been writing his views extensively on the internet (in Latvian) using the nickname FENIKSS.

[...]

By harassing a young neo-Nazi crackpot, the Security Police may be trying to restore their image after their detention of economist Dmitrijs Smirnovs and questioning of musician Valters Frīdenbergs. This caused an international uproar.

I don't think too many people will rally around Valdis Rošāns, but his case should be put on the record. [...]

Earlier this month, Aleks Tapinsh of All About Latvia wrote on GV about Dmitrijs Smirnovs' case and the economic crisis dimension of the freedom of speech situation in Latvia. On his blog, he posted a picture of a t-shirt featuring a mock message to the Latvian security police:

Notice to the security police: I admit that yesterday I withdrew money from my bank. Please don’t arrest me. I did it to buy milk and bread, and not to destabilize Latvia’s financial system.

Hungary, Slovakia: Tense Relationship

Global Voices Online
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008

On Nov. 15, Slovak prime minister Robert Fico and his Hungarian counterpart, Ferenc Gyurcsány, met in the border town of Komárno, Slovakia, in an attempt to ease nationalist tensions that have escalated due to Nov. 1 football game violence in Dunajská Streda, Slovakia.

Eva S. Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum has been blogging a lot recently about the Slovak-Hungarian relations, and here are some of the highlights.

On Nov. 1, Eva provided details and background on the football game incident:

While families made their yearly pilgrimage to cemeteries to place flowers on the graves of relatives about five hundred Hungarian soccer fans went to the southern Slovak town of Dunajská Streda (Dunaszerdahely) to create trouble. The town, situated fairly close to the Slovak-Hungarian border, is predominantly Hungarian. Of the 23,000 inhabitants the Slovak population is no more than about 3,000.

The soccer match between Slovan Bratislava and the locals was unlikely to be a nailbiter. But the stadium, seating 10,000, was filled. One thousand people came from Bratislava and there was a contingent of 500 from Hungary. The Slovak police must have known that trouble was brewing because about 1,000 policemen were ordered to the scene. [...] The Bratislava group was attacked en route: rocks were thrown at them. Some people were arrested at that junction.

The Hungarians called attention to themselves by displaying signs saying: Perseverence (Kitartás). Unfortunately that was the customary greeting of Hungarian Nazis in the late 30's and 40's. The stadium was full about an hour before kickoff, and the two sides spent the time screaming obscenities at each other. Just before the match began the locals and the Hungarian visitors sang the Hungarian national anthem. At last play started, but after eighteen minutes the referee had to stop the match because the people from Bratislava threw a smoke bomb onto the field. [...]

On Nov. 9, Eva noted that it was "difficult to know exactly what happened" when the Slovak police chose to interfere:

[...] Each side has its own story. The Hungarian "fans" claim that there was no disturbance in their sector of the arena and that the Slovak police brutally attacked them without reason. The videos that circulated on the Internet indeed show Slovak policemen using their nightsticks rather indiscriminately on the retreating Hungarians. But I'm a cautious sort, and there is a very good possibility that the video segment we see doesn't tell the whole story. Moreover, the breakdown of arrestees indicates that the Slovak police were not kinder to their own extremists. About the same number of Slovaks and Hungarians were arrested and later released. [...]

In Hungary, people were "outraged" by the presumed actions of the Slovak police:

[...] Yes, they do admit that it was not appropriate to go to Slovakia with pictures of Greater Hungary, a Hungary that included as part of its territory present-day Slovakia, then known as the Upland (Felvidék). And, yes, it was provocative to display irredentist slogans. But, they add, neither justified the use of brutal force. [...]

On Nov. 3, an ultra-nationalist rally was held in Budapest:

[...] They gathered close to 1,000 people in front of the Slovak embassy, burned at least one Slovak flag, and displayed signs demanding "Death to Ján Slota." Ján Slota, head of SNS (Slovak National Party), is not a nice man. Hungarians are high up on his hate list, but Gypsies and homosexuals are not exactly his favorites either. He considers the Hungarian minority in Slovakia "a cancer in the body of the Slovak nation," and a couple of times he alluded to the joy he would feel someday moving into Budapest inside of a tank. Every time Slota says something outrageous all of Hungary listens. Before the current coalition which includes Slota's party came to power in 2006, Hungarian-Slovak relations were cordial. But, of course, then the coalition partner was MKP (Magyar Koalició Pártja/Strana Mad'arsklek Koalícije), a party of the Hungarian minority. [...]

On Nov. 12, Eva wrote pessimistically about the upcoming meeting between the prime ministers of the two sabre-rattling neighbor nations:

At last. After months and months of strained relations between Slovakia and Hungary the two prime ministers agreed to meet. [...]

[...]

What can the meeting between Fico and Gyurcsány achieve? As far as I can see, nothing. [...]

She also commented on the Hungarian politicians' stance:

[...] To wit, the Hungarian government and all the parties condemn the recent actions of the Hungarian extreme right. They are against Hungarian nationalism, they are against extremists entering Slovakia in Nazi uniforms. They are also against these little Nazis marching up and down in Hungary, but what can the Hungarian government do? [...]

There were cases of dissent, however, as Eva pointed out in her Nov. 14 post:

[...] Predictably, Hungarian politicians are not of one mind on the recent incidents in Slovakia. To give only one example. A Fidesz member of parliament, Béla Túri-Kovács, is demanding the resignation of a colleague, Mátyás Eörsi of [SZDSZ], who is the chairman of the parliamentary committee on European affairs. Eörsi went to Slovakia for a meeting with his Slovak counterparts. He said that both sides should accept some blame for the incidents and did a mea culpa on behalf of Hungary. Well, Túri-Kovács sure didn't like this admission of guilt. [...]

The right-wing Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union, mentioned in the passage above, is Hungary's largest opposition party; an earlier GV roundup of Hungarian Spectrum's posts on Fidesz politics is here. Also, in this post, Eva discussed an article on the "managers of populism" - Austria's late Jörg Haider, Hungary's Viktor Orbán, and Slovakia's Robert Fico - written by sociologist Pál Tamás.

In her Nov. 15 post, Eva put part of the blame for the Hungarian government's failure to rein in "small but vocal and active far-right groups" on Fidesz:

[...] One problem is that there is no united political resolve to deal with the extremists. Viktor Orbán and his party, Fidesz, are masters of double-talk which encourages the extremists. If Fidesz doesn't unequivocally support the extremists, the party doesn't condemn them either. Or if they say something negative, they add: "but one can understand their frustration." After all, Orbán needs their votes. The extreme right is much larger than the few hundred people who are ready to go out on the street to demonstrate. According to one recent sociological study, those with extreme right-wing sentiments may be as high as 20% of the population though only 5% are ready to take part in demonstrations that may end in violence. The rest just watch and cheer their friends on. [...]

[...]

The only hope is the force of public opinion. But it surely would be easier if Fidesz openly and without reservation stood alongside the government in condemning these extremists. Alas, that is not in the party's interest at the moment.

As for the meeting between Fico and Gyurcsány, it resulted in a joint statement, in which the two leaders pledged to take steps towards eliminating "any kind of extremism, xenophobia, intolerance, chauvinism, nationalism and every manifestation of violence." Eva commented on the meeting's outcome in her Nov. 16 post:

[...] Let's face it, this is not much, although surely it is better than nothing. As far as I know, the Hungarians wanted to have a satisfactory explanation of "police brutality" at the soccer match as well as assurances of a more balanced treatment of Hungarian history in Hungarian-language schools. They were also unhappy about the ban on Hungarian flags at games [...]. None of these demands was met. Fico didn't arrive with any proof that the Hungarian soccer fans used physical violence prior to the police attack on their ranks. Fico didn't budge on the flag issue. [...] While Gyurcsány complained about the nationalistic, anti-Hungarian rhetoric of the Slovak government, Fico voiced his indignation over the appearance of uniformed Hungarian extremists on Slovak soil. [...]

In her Nov. 18 post, Eva wrote about the media coverage of the meeting:

[...] However, it seems that Robert Fico was dissatisfied with the Slovak reporters who were present at the rather stormy press conference after the Komarno meeting. The same evening he, together with the president of the republic and the speaker of the Slovak parliament, appeared on Slovak public television (STV) and accused the Slovak journalists of having tossed softballs to Gyurcsány; they did not represent the interests of Slovakia. The Hungarian journalists, perhaps not surprisingly, believed that Gyurcsány came out better from the verbal duel. [...]

Commentators whose sympathies lie with the right keep repeating an old Hungarian adage that can be summarized as "nobody understands us." This is usually uttered when it becomes obvious that western reporters can easily grasp that police at violent soccer matches often act violently and that uniformed paramilitary groups have no place anywhere, especially not in a neighboring country. These commentators usually continue that the West simply can't understand the complexities of Slovak-Hungarian relations. [...]

Central & Eastern Europe: Financial Crisis

Global Voices Online
Thursday, October 16, 2008

Below is a roundup of reactions from the Anglophone blogosphere on the ongoing financial crisis in some of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Hungary

Antal Dániel of Central Europe Activ wrote this on Oct. 13:

After major banks and insurance corporations were bailed out by European government, Hungary has become the first member state of the EU the receive a bailout offer from IMF with the support of EU’s Ecofin. Hungary looks to be the most fragile member of the Union in the global financial crisis. [...]

The Hungarian blogger believes that "the current economic situation is a result of a political crisis":

[...] In the 2002 election campaign, both the then-ruling centre-right and the centre-left campaigned with the promise to give back more to the people from Hungary’s economic success between 1989 and 2002. The two major parties, right-wing Fidesz and the Socialist Party have outbid each other with spending promises and tax-cut promises. [...] The Socialist Party has kept much of its incredible promises, driving up budget deficit to a 10% record. Sadly, a similar bidding came in the 2006 elections that the Socialists won narrowly. The Socialist Partly leader, Mr. Gyurcsány has admitted afterwards that his party lied to the voters, which made his later austerity measures rather unwelcome by the Hungarian people. [...]

To overcome the crisis, Dániel concludes, "Hungarian voters [...] will have to force their major parties into more rational public finance promises and policies."

Eva Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum wrote this about the Hungarian opposition's inadequate response to the crisis:

[...] Let's start with the leaders of SZDSZ. Once again, they seem to be out of touch. [...] They talk as if the Hungarian government's most important task would be "reforms." Reforms that ended, according to them. And therefore, isn't it wonderful that they left the coalition? As if today, mid-October 2008, when the whole financial world is teetering on the brink of collapse these so-called reforms will make or break Hungary. [...] Meanwhile, these petty squabbles weaken the government's efforts to keep the country's economy in balance and avoid panic. It's important to pass the budget and move on. Because there's going to be a lot of hard work ahead.

Then there is Fidesz's chief, [Viktor Orbán]. He tried to explain to a group of important business leaders yesterday that Hungary's economic problems would be solved within three months if there were early elections and he became prime minister. He would turn the economy around. Alone, in Hungary. Of course, the problem is that in a global economy no country is an island. One way or another Hungary will be affected. Less so on the front lines than some other European countries because Hungary's banks are not awash in toxic paper and Hungary was not the favorite destination of currency traders and hedge funds. But the first signs are already here. Opel's sales are down, so the Hungarian Opel factory will be closed "for a while." However, Orbán claims that his economic team is ready with all the answers: drastic tax cuts, less bureaucratic handling of tax collection, decrease of bureaucracy and corruption, a smaller parliament, well organized public administration, and better handling of finances. Laughable? No, under the current circumstances this small-mindedness shows a lack of vision.

What is even more worrisome is that Viktor Orbán thinks in black and white when it comes to the root of the current crisis. He is certain that "liberal economic policy" is the cause of the problem and he spoke enthusiastically about those countries where democracy is not exactly in full bloom: China, Russia, some of the Islamic countries. Those are the successful ones, not the liberal democracies in the West. [...]

In a follow-up post on the Hungarian politicians' response to the financial crisis, Eva Balogh wrote about "a seven-point list of demands" put forward by Fidesz - and PM Ferenc Gyurcsány's "twelve-point plan":

[...] The fact that this twelve-point plan has the blessing of the president of the Hungarian National Bank will certainly give it weight. And it includes most of Fidesz's demands. [...]

Will the plan help ease the fallout of the global financial crisis? Who knows? Real damage has been done to the credit markets, and there will undoubtedly be a spillover into the global economy. How deep, how long is anybody's guess.

Edward Hugh of Hungary Economy Watch explained "why Hungary is not the next Iceland":

[...] The longer term financial and economic future of Iceland is rosy, once they weather the present storm, and learn some belated lessons. I wish I could say the same about Hungary. [...]

[...] Iceland is a young country, almost reproducing itself in terms of children, and with a rapidly expanding population of working age. Hungary on the other hand is a comparatively old country, with a rapidly ageing population, where each generation is about two thirds of the size of the previous one, and where the potential workforce and total population are now in long term decline.

This is why Iceland - even though it has gone to a huge excess - can sustain a much higher level of "leveraging" into the future than Hungary can, and why in the longer term Iceland is certainly no Hungary. I do not say any of this to criticise Hungary, or its citizens, but really out of a deep seated concern about the future of a country that I do care about. [...]

At A Fistful of Euros, Edward Hugh wrote about the International Monetary Fund's "readiness to offer financial and technical help to Hungary":

[...] The EU has said it welcomes the intervention. Under the circumstances there really was little else it could do. This would now appear to set a precedent, and the Hungarian case may well be followed by the Baltics, Bulgaria and Romania in pretty short order I would say, looking at the speed with which things are happening. [...]

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania

One day later, Edward Hugh continued his "IMF receivership" roll call at A Fistful of Euros:

[...] Meantime a growing number of countries now seem to be at risk of following Iceland and Hungary into the arms of the IMF, with the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania now looking particularly vulnerable, according to a warning from the International Monetary Fund itself yesterday.

[...]

In my view the threat to the Baltic financial systems is real, as is the threat to the Bulgarian and Romanian ones. Action, of some form or another needs to be taken, and soon. Latvia and Estonia are now in deep recessions, and Lithuania, while still clinging on to growth, can’t be far behind. Basically it is hard to see any revival in domestic demand in the immediate future, which means these countries now need to live from exports. But with the very high inflation they have had it is hard to see how they can restore competitiveness while retaining their currency pegs to the euro. [...] So better get it over and done with now I would say, and take advantage of the shelter offered in the arms of the IMF. [...]

At Latvia Economy Watch, Claus Vistesen provided a thorough analysis of the situation in the Baltic states:

[...] But while the current crisis is pretty much a generalised global one, if there is one region where the crisis is making its presence more acutely than elsewhere, that place is Eastern Europe, and among the ranks of the regional casualties high on the list come the three Baltics countries, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. That this is the case should not really strike us as so strange. On many occasions since the credit crisis went global back in the summer of 2007 many analysts (including yours truly) have been flagging the risk of a hard landing in Eastern Europe. This unfortunate situation has now by and large materialised and the only question which really arises is how hard is "hard" going to be? A couple of recent tentative signs suggest that the big eye of the credit crunch, not unlike Sauron with his glance toward Frodo et al., is fixing Eastern Europe fast in its gaze.

[...]

Ultimately however the immediate challenge for the Baltics at this point in time is damage control and more specifically how to wriggle themselves out of the current vice of dependence on credit inflows at the same time as the economy needs to restore competitiveness. [...]

[...] What is critical for the Baltics at this point is consequently that the current economic downturn is managed in such a way to minimize the risk of a collapse of the financial system as foreign banks shut down operations. Whether this entails the maintaining of the Euro peg is a difficult question to answer. One thing is pretty certain however and this is that the kind of wage and price deflation needed to correct the imbalance would be a disaster for any political leadership.

Of the three economies Latvia clearly seems to be the most vulnerable to a rout, and given the proximity of the economies sudden unexpected events in one country could easily spread to the others. Here is to hoping that it does not come to that. [...]

Ukraine

Next on the "growing list of Eastern European countries" lining up for IMF's support is Ukraine (see this Oct. 14 post at A Fistful of Euros).

As Edward Hugh pointed out in his earlier in-depth review of the political, social and economic situation in the country, Ukraine "is far from being alone in having banking, stock market and credit crunch problems at this point in time (but here, of course, there is no strength or consolation to be found in company)." Below are some of the more general points from Hugh's post:

[...] The current events in Ukraine may well take some observers by surprise, since the general impression has been that the economic performance has been solid and GDP growth has been strong in recent years, and this has given the impression that the underlying reality was sound, which it basically hasn’t been. The country has been bedevilled by constant infighting, while at the same time a combination of strong migration of Ukraine workers to external destinations and very long term low fertility has meant that the country endemically suffers from acute labour shortages as the population both ages and declines comparatively rapidly. Hence, in my view, the absurdly high levels of inflation we have been seeing.

Nevertheless, real GDP has grown by 7.5 percent a year on average since 2000, in line with other CIS countries, and indeed that rate has been higher than in most other transition economies: whether or not this growth was built on sand is what we are now all about to find out. [...]

Peter Byrne of Abdymok began his post on the current "banking mess" in Ukraine with this piece of street wisdom (RUS): "Decent people in Kyiv always have cash on them." He continued:

[...] [National Bank of Ukraine] chief vololdymyr stelmakh said on oct. 10 that it will take at least two weeks to calm the situation in ukraine’s finance and banking sectors.

fat chance. [...]

Serbia

Finally, there is Serbia on the list of "those in the IMF sick ward." Here's yet another one of Edward Hugh's explanations at A Fistful of Euros:

[...] So, to be clear, Serbia is not an “emergency case”, like Hungary for example - although it should be noted that the Hungarian government are stating that they are not an emergency case like Iceland, who are themselves not an emergency case, like Ukraine, for example, who are in no way to be considered as being in need of support in the way in which, let us say, Latvia is. And Latvia according to Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis is not any kind of case at all, and certainly not one to be compared with Serbia.

Well, make of all that what you will, but one thing is for sure, and that is that experts from the International Monetary Fund are going to have a role in drafting Serbia’s 2009 budget. [...]

Hungary: Coverage of Gay Pride and Right-Wing Opposition at Hungarian Spectrum

Global Voices Online
Sunday, August 3, 2008

One year after she launched Hungarian Spectrum, blogger Eva S. Balogh explained that her primary motivation had been dissatisfaction "with political information available in English about Hungary":

[...] Admittedly, there are some English-language internet papers, but I don't know any English-language blog devoted to an analysis of daily political events. Most of the time Google Alerts call my attention to some Hungarian recipe. Or to some girl who was an exchange student and tells the world about her experiences in Hungary. These, of course, are important and have their own audiences, but I thought that there were also people who would like to follow Hungarian politics but either didn't speak the language or just wanted to hear another voice. [...]

Here are some of Eva's general observations about Hungary's political scene, which she shared in the same first-anniversary post:

[...] I have been quite amazed at the political transformation of some people. Formerly very important party cadres like [Imre Pozsgay] or [Mátyás Szűrös] today are enthusiastic followers of a right-wing [Fidesz]. [...] Ordinary party secretaries who were reporting on people in the [János Kádár] regime now teach religion in the local school. People who worked for the secret police are nowadays the most vehement enemies of the old regime. They scream and holler and go to court. One such person is [Katalin Kondor], former head of the Hungarian Radio, who most likely was an informer, but who managed to convince the court that the documents historians claimed were genuine were simply not enough to prove her service to the secret police. [...]

Many of the posts on Hungarian Spectrum are devoted to the politics of Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union, the country's largest opposition party, and its supporters. Below is a roundup of some of the recent entries.

On June 29, Eva wrote about the tense situation in Budapest on the eve of this year's gay pride parade:

[...] While a year ago the anti-gay groups were mostly satisfied with verbal abuse and only at the end was there physical violence, this year at least one attack has already taken place. Not just a few guys bloodying the faces of some of the participants but a very dangerous incident that might have ended in tragedy. What happened is the following. A far-right internet site apparently listed a number of gay bars in Budapest. A few days later, the best-known such establishment received a telephone call asking about their hours. That happened around 2 o'clock in the morning. One of the owners informed the caller that they were still open. The callers appeared and threw some Molotov cocktails into the bar while there were still about a dozen customers inside. Fire broke out. The people inside managed to contain the fire and luckily no one was hurt. So that's where we are at the moment, and there is at least another week before the actual parade. [...]

Ignorance, including that of the politicians, is one of the reasons for intolerance, according to Eva:

[...] Almost fifteen years ago there was a Hungarian-language list on the internet where the topic was discussed. There was a doctor on the list. He claimed that he was a psychiatrist. He came up with the brilliant idea that homosexuality is like smoking: one can get addicted to it. However, a homosexual can quit his homosexuality just as a smoker can overcome his addiction. Not long ago a Catholic bishop offered another fantastic theory: homosexuality has become fashionable so young people decide to become gay. A Fidesz local politician who is a member of the committee on health issues in a Budapest district just announced that he would like to find out whether homosexuality is an illness or not. He knows nothing about it.

Thus one cannot be surprised that guys with an eighth-grade education attack participants of the gay parade or throw Molotov cocktails into a gay bar when the doctor, the bishop, and the politician say such extraordinary things.

On July 5, Eva wrote about the violence that took place during the gay pride parade in Budapest that day (a Blinkx.com video from the scene is here):

This morning I heard one of the right-wing organizers explain that his organization is a peaceful group of concerned citizens. They just want to defend family values. Their only aim is to stop the yearly gay pride parade in Budapest because they consider it a form of advertising for homosexuality. But they will never resort to force. The organization's name is Rendszerváltó Fórum. And what do I see in the online edition of Népszabadság tonight? "The most forceful attack against the demonstrators came from Rendszerváltó Fórum's meeting at Franz Liszt Square." Well, well! The report continues: "On the square the demonstrators tried to break the cordon [the police had erected] and attacked the police, who answered with tear gas." At the far end of Andrássy Street, on Heroes' Square, hooded and often masked demonstrators attacked the policemen, using Molotov cocktails, rocks, eggs, whatever. Here the police used water cannons as well as tear gas. Because of the "battle" on Heroes' Square the police diverted the participants in the parade off the main road. In order to make sure that they were not attacked after the parade was over, as happened last year, the police directed the gays into the old nineteenth-century metro that was closed to the public for the duration. That way they could leave the scene without insults or bodily harm.

[...]

How can this happen? Why is it that until two years ago these gay pride parades went off without any trouble? First and foremost, I blame Fidesz and its leader for encouraging "civil disobedience" against the "illegitimate" government. Fidesz often called people to the streets to express their dissatisfaction with the government. And once a large group of people assembles trouble is near. Especially if there is alcohol involved. And it seems that alcohol is always involved. Yes, but one could say: this attack on the gays wasn't against the government. By the end, however, the slogans were directed against Gyurcsány and his government, and the whole atmosphere reminded the reporters present of the [September-October events of 2006]. One of the favorite slogans was: "Gyurcsány takarodj, vidd a buzi haverod" (Gyurcsány get lost and take your queer crony with you." [...]

Three days later, Eva commented on the sorry state of the Hungarian law enforcement and judicial system:

[...] Ever since September-October 2006 there has been a systematic effort on the part of Fidesz [...] to make the police a useless instrument. I'll bet that if [Viktor Orbán, leader of Fidesz] managed to take over the reins of government tomorrow Hungary would instantly have a police force whose members wouldn't be spat on; no stones, no eggs, no cucumbers or tomatoes would be thrown at them. Or if somebody did any of these things he would be duly and severely punished. [...] For now, however, undermining the police and showing that this government cannot even provide domestic tranquility is part of the opposition's political strategy.

[...]

There is confusion in the heads of the judges when it comes to deciding the limits of freedom of speech, for example. A few months ago the courts decided that throwing eggs at people one doesn't like is perfectly acceptable behavior: it is simply a form of freedom of expression. There were altogether 57 people who were arrested during the disturbances on Saturday and seven of them had to appear today in the Budapest courthouse. They were all accused of throwing eggs. Four were fined and three were acquitted. [...]

In her July 11 post, Eva cited the results of an opinion poll conducted "two days after the the ill-fated gay pride parade in Budapest." Among other things, she noted:

[...] Apparently political sympathy deeply influenced people's answers to the questions posed by the pollsters. To give an example: at least twenty-five percent of Fidesz sympathizers believed that the counterdemonstrators went there to express their opinions while the great majority of [MSZP, the ruling Hungarian Socialist Party] voters were convinced that most of the anti-gay demonstrators simply intended to cause trouble and that their actions had nothing to do with expressing their opinions about anything. [...]

On July 23, Eva compared Hungary's violent past with today's situation:

[...] There is a frightening parallel between right radicalism in the summer and fall of 1920 and Hungary today where groups are targeted and representatives of those groups attacked. In 1920 the primary targets were Jews, today mostly Gypsies and gays (though Jews aren't immune).

To go back in time and flesh out the story a bit. Radical groups comprised of former officers, young no-goods, and university students became especially active after the Treaty of Trianon was signed during the summer of 1920. In July, for example, about 30 right radicals broke into the Café Club and attacked the patrons. One of the victims, a bank director, died as a result of the eight dagger wounds he received. A lawyer who happened to be walking nearby was shot to death. Considering that Café Club was situated on Lipót körút, in the middle of a heavily Jewish district of Pest, it was clear who the targets were. At least the perpetrators were caught a month later and received sentences of more than ten years. However, a few months later another mob attack occurred at the same Café Club. Members of the "patriotic mob" badly beat the customers.

As I was reading about these horrendous stories from 1920 it was hard not to think of the repeated atrocities committed in our time. Then, largely due to the efforts of Teleki and his successor Bethlen, the murderous activities of these radical groups were stopped and the Hungarian radicals were pushed into the background. One can only hope that the same will happen now, but such an outcome would need the active support of the opposition. I'm really curious when Viktor Orbán will realize that it's in his best interest to help put an end to the activities of the extreme right-wing groups. Perhaps at the moment he thinks that the government's inability to act forcefully will help his party. However, today's political advantage might turn into a serious disadvantage later. Most of these radicals are almost as dissatisfied with Viktor Orbán as they are with Ferenc Gyurcsány. They consider him too liberal, too beholden to Israel, the United States, and the multinationals. One day they might turn against him and then what? [...]

Former Soviet Union: Family War Stories

Global Voices Online
Thursday, May 10th, 2007

For three years, LJ user aurinko25 has been collecting links to family war stories posted by Russophone bloggers - May 9, 2005; May 9, 2006; May 9, 2007.

It's an overwhelming collection, full of raw, genuine history, full of life, death and heartbreak.

Trying to pick something for translation turned out to be very difficult: so many of these texts deserve to be showcased - and, at the same time, they have to remain part of a continuous narrative.

I ended up choosing two brief posts that date back to 2004 and 2005 - both written by bloggers who live in the United States now.

LJ user modern-times - May 10, 2004 (RUS):

My father was drafted during his fourth year of medical school. Actually, it was the fifth-year curriculum, because when the war started, they took a quick course, two years in one. He left for the front as a paratrooper medical doctor and reached all the way to Austria.

When they were stationed in Hungary, a local peasant came asking for help. He was trying to explain something, anxiously, and they understood that someone was ill and needed help.

When papa and another doctor arrived at the peasant's house, it turned out that it was his wife who was giving birth. Neither papa, nor his fellow-serviceman have ever assisted during deliveries, but it all went well, a healthy boy was born, everyone drank some [slivovitsa] to the newborn's health, the happy father asked the names of the newly-made obstetricians, and that was it.

Imagine how surprised my parents were when, 23 years later, they received an invitation to this boy's wedding. They went, of course, and they, of course, were allowed [by the authorities to leave the Soviet Union to attend the wedding in Hungary], and they were received nearly as state dignitaries. And this visit was presented as an example of the unbreakable international friendship. But this is irrelevant, because the peasant was crying and embracing [my parents], and his wife was crying and embracing them, and the boy - the groom at the wedding, that is - was named, it turned out, Sandor Veniamin Rudolf - in honor of his grandfather and the two doctors who delivered him.

LJ user wall4 - May 9, 2005 (RUS):

When I was little, I liked to go to [Lviv's] Krakow Market with my grandfather. Grandpa Misha used to buy himself a beer and [kvas] for me, and then we leisurely walked around the aisles with vegetables, homemade cottage cheese, and [...] poultry. Grandpa touched chicken legs fastidiously and paid compliments to the lively old village women who were trading at the market. And on our way home, we discussed soccer news and grandpa was telling me stories of his difficult life.

Here's one of these stories.

During the war, grandpa found himself in the [Stalingrad] meat-grinder. Once, in the midst of a battle, he was wounded in the head with shrapnel. He was between our and the German positions. Everything around was white because of the snow, blood was streaming all over his face and he couldn't see which way to run. And he moved toward the German trenches. Germans were yelling to him with encouragement, thinking that he was a defector; Russians started shooting, thinking the same thing about him. And suddenly the company's commander, a young [lieutenant], understood what was going on and began guiding grandpa back to our position: "Go left, [damn it]! Further left, and now back!"

Anyway, grandpa got back to him company. They wiped the blood off his face, gave him a gulp of alcohol. And the [lietenant] was killed the following day. And this is making me think - and what if he died a day earlier? would there be anyone to save my grandpa?

That young guy's bones lie in the faraway Volga steppe, and my grandpa Misha is buried at a cozy, tidy cemetery in Connecticut. Rest in peace, dear [guys], and happy Victory Day to You!

Hungary: Paprika in Szentes

Global Voices Online
Friday, November 10, 2006


"Some like it hot" - Photo by Kris of Little Town in Hungary, a blog featuring daily photos "from Szentes, a small town located on the southern Great Plain of Hungary."

Kris writes about this photo:

I saw this scene yesterday. Does the owner of this flat like paprika so much? or it is a way to gain additional income? Whatever it is, the sure thing is, these wonderfully garland paprika (paprikafuzer) will ended up as the "ultimate spice" for many kitchens in Szentes.

The photo reminds one reader, Lachezar Karadjov, of his native Bulgaria:

A beautiful image of a very old tradition.

Reminds me of my own country. In autumn they would be all over windows and balconies in big cities, small towns and villages. People would pride themselves of who's paprika (in Bulgarian "liuti chushleta) is the hottest. Mostly they would use them at home but some will sell...

Kris also provides a link to one of her favorite paprika recipes - Hungarian Mushroom Chicken (Gombes Csirke), which is posted at her other blog - Kitchen at no. Nineteen: food junkie finally gets cooking:

Eating out for us means fast food, pizzas, burgers, chinese, Indonesian, Indian [...], etc. We hardly try-out Hungarian food in restaurants. Reason being, we get to eat home-made Hungarian dishes cooked by B's (my partner) parents. Most of them are quite tasty and suit to my taste. [...]

Hungary: PM's Lies and Riots in Budapest

Global Voices Online
Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Several weeks after the general election in April, Hungarian prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsany said this at a closed meeting with members of his parliamentary faction:

I almost died when I had to pretend for one and a half years as if we were governing. Instead we lied in the morning, we lied in the evening. I am through with this. We either do it and then you've got your man, or you pick someone else.

A tape with Gyurcsany's speech - which contains a fair amount of obscenities - was leaked to the media this past Sunday; excerpts were broadcast on state radio; Gyurcsany, a blogger-politician, posted the Hungarian-language transcript on his blog.

On Monday night, thousands of demonstrators gathered by the parliament to demand Gyurcsany's resignation; the non-violent rally turned into a riot when some of them later moved to the state TV (MTV) building and broke through police lines.

Henrik of Hungarian Accent explains why the protesters chose to storm the TV building:

[...] this is an iconic factor dating back to the revolutions of 1956. Ironically enough, even the state TV used this factor a few months ago in its marketing campaign: “If there would be a revolution which TV station would You want to take over?”. I’m sure this was not the answer they were hoping to get.

Henrik also sums up some of the Hungarian bloggers' reactions (links in Hungarian):

En1 writes that if the Prime Minister were a responsible leader, he would step forward and announce his resignation, because for this matter he is the only responsible.

Korbely’s opinion is that these violent mob actions should not be confused with a revolution. Instead these are illegitimate actions for any cause and are much similar to a violent soccer-fan-war than a revolution.

[...]

There are opinions about the media coverage also, especially about an opposition-party-close news TV called HirTV.

Kond is worried about freedom of press. Because HirTV has been banned from the covering. Especially as CNN and BBC has also used their previous coverage about the siege, so they should be treated with respect in protection of freedom of press.

On the other side Bakura writes that the siege coverage of HirTV was in his opinion disgusting as the coverage were cheering for the mob.

Henrik himself hopes for a quick and peaceful resolution of the conflict:

Not long after I started this blog I wrote that it is not easy to chose topics which could be really interesting to an outsider about Hungary. These past weeks have proven me wrong. And I think I’m not very happy about it.

[...]

Still as I write these lines according to news there are more people on the streets and police forces are on a much higher readiness state. God help us to get over this crises soon, without any further extension of violence.

Though in Budapest, Paul of Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar watched the events unfold on TV - just as Henrik did:

[...] From what I could see, the first initial outburst of violence was one blond-haired individual walking directly up to the police lines and clobbering the riot shields with a piece of wood. Again, for some unknown reason, the police didn't just give him a quick kick in the unmentionables and drag him off to the cop shop, but stood back and took his abuse. Stones and rocks then started flying and the more "respectable" (and the HIR TV reporter) protesters started to move away from the front of the building.

At this stage, if I'd been a genuine blogger, I'd have hopped in the first available taxi and started blogging realtime at the square. But my armchair, HIR TV and another glass of Jamesons were more appealing, sorry!

[...]

The main core of rioters last night did not look like the normal right-wing Hungarian political activist (middle-aged, respectable, middle-class, long twirly moustache), more like people who'd taken a night off from bashing heads for Fradi, for a different kind of recreational hooliganism.

The police regrouped and at about 12.15 there were signs of other police reinforcements being brought into the square and things once again seemed to calm down...so I went to er...bed. And missed the eventual invasion of MTV at 1.30am. [...]

For the prime minister, Paul has a recommendation:

Gyurcsany to date (and to my knowledge) has not apologised for lying during the last government. If he is serious about dragging the socialists and Hungarian politics into a new era of integrity and honesty, that's the least he can do.

Budapest-based Pestiside.hu had a regular contributor on the scene, who later posted this "assessment of how the various participants performed, on a one-to-ten scale":

The Police: 2/10
Pathetic in their "defense" of MTV headquarters. Never looked confident or organised and failed to take advantage of their superior firepower. Looked particularly woeful when 150 of them abandoned a water truck and its crew to the rioters. Clearly better training and discipline is in order. Recovered some dignity by eventually clearing the rioters out of the MTV headquarters, but by that time everybody had gone to bed. Poorly equipped, their riot gear only protects them up to their knees, which prompted rioters to throw rocks at their feet.

[...]

Speaker Katalin Szili: 8/10
The surprise package of the night. The speaker of Parliament stayed at her post until the wee hours, and gave the best quote: "This is not the same country this morning as two days ago." Positioned herself as the only person remotely capable of stepping in should Gyurcsány quit.

The Rioters: 7/10
Behaved as rioters should. Ripped up cobblestones to throw at cops, burnt cars and park furniture, committed gratuitous acts of graffiti and other vandalism. Took the fight to the opposition, refusing to be intimidated by water cannon and tear gas. Moved in for the kill when they sensed doubt in the police ranks. As a result, achieved their objective of taking the MTV building, but not of reading their demands on the air à la 1956. Score would be higher were it not for their fashion sense; the Lonsdale gym gear, Fradi shirts and Greater Hungary flags are all a dead giveaway of their extremism.

The author of My Little English Blog, currently in Scotland, knows the neighborhood where the rioting took place very well:

No liveblogging as I'm back in Scotland. In fairness I'm glad. I live next to the MTV (Hungarian Television) Building. My mum says she's fine.

[...]

Why the telly building???

Do people really think there's a chance to repeat 1956? Are we oppressed to such a degree that we have to run around destroying? [...]

Non-Hungarian bloggers are also chiming in.

Russell Mitchell of Publius Pundit sums up the events, analyzes the causes, makes guesses and provides links to updates:

[...] this is NOT a “Color Revolution, Round Two,” although the Hungarians are perfectly justified in being roundly furious at being lied to about tax cuts, again, in order to secure election. (The Hungarians are simply crushed by the tax burden, which continues to chase social programs, which then serve to divide and conquer the population based on what goes to whom.) [...]

Eric Gordy of East Ethnia states the obvious: the Hungarian prime minister is a liar. Seesaw of Sarajevo Photoblog responds:

Honestly I do not understand why all this fuss - they are all liars, Gyurscany only said what most politicians try to hide although they are doing it all the time. Don't tell me you believe them here or there?!? Strange coincidence, 50 years after 1956 uprising, and then the reason were Russian tanks on the streets of Budapest. Pity, it seems Hungary is having problems with economy, like all former communist countries.

Four Bees suggests another possible reason for the riots:

[...] It's actually a Hungarian Tourist Board promotion to get people to go to Budapest for the 50th anniversary of 1956, because nothing else of interest has happened in Budapest in the last 50 years. [...]

Finally, Ilya Yashin, leader of the youth wing of the Yabloko Party, is blogging directly from Budapest (RUS):

[...] It should be noted that there were quite a few young Hungarian fascists and skinheads in the city last night. One of them told me that the Communist government should have been taught a lesson a long time ago, especially since it's headed by a Jew. On the other hand, last night's pogroms will probably scare away the moderate supporters of the right-wind opposition. For example, a cab driver who was taking me to the hotel said that he hoped for an orange revolution in Hungary, similar to the Ukrainian one, but he wouldn't wish to be next to the radicals. [...]

Back home in Russia, some people seem to be overwhelmed by the various coups and riots taking place around the world. Here's the latest post from Yashin (RUS):

=)

A phone call to my cell.

- Ilya? Hi, are you still in Bangkok?
- ??? I'm in Budapest, that's Hungary...
- Oh, we are sorry, we've mixed it all up... The thing is, there's a military coup taking place in Bangkok now, too.

...Well, I've arrived in the city center. I'm on my way to the parliament building, where an opposition rally is to begin soon. There's significantly more police now than yesterday, but there are also many people with flags moving to the center.

Central & Eastern Europe: International Women's Day

Global Voices Online
Wednesday, March 8, 2006

March 8 has been an official day off in Russia and Ukraine, and here are some bloggers' reactions to the holiday - in Russia and Ukraine, as well as elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe.

Scott W. Clark of Foreign Notes, a Kyiv-based blog, is not happy about the universality of the day off:

[...] everyone, or most everyone, has it off including the elevator repairman for our building. Hiking up 13 floors with the littlest Clark in hand is not my idea of the perfect holiday.

Oleksandr, a Ukrainian living in Montreal and writing Messages From Canada, wonders why March 8 is considered an international holiday when it's more of a Soviet holiday and should be treated as such:

Like my sister's friend said: I am not Soviet Union woman ("sovetskaya zhenshyna"), so that I don't celebrate this holiday at all. Me too, I am not Soviet Union man, so that if I met any of my female friends this day in Ukraine, I would say just "have a nice day" ;)

Konstantin Dlutskiy of Russian Marketing Blog and Konstantin of Russian Blog both reproduce Soviet-time March 8 posters: "Down with kitchen slavery" from the former and "[Soviet-Chinese] friendship is unbreakable" from the latter.

Sergey Belyakov of the Novgorod-based RUBLog sends his warmest wishes to the women of the world and reminds the rest of the humankind that it's not too late to buy flowers online, thus revealing yet another aspect of March 8 - as any other holiday, it's very good for commerce:

For mens:

In Russia, it is usual to present flowers on 8th March. You still have time to make it, with Send Flowers or Flowers 2 Russia.

Norvezhskiy Lesnoy (LJ user nl) has created a generic March 8 greeting (RUS) for Moscow's Bolshoi Gorod bloglike website: every year, press services of "presidents, governors, heads of oil corporations, etc." across Russia have to revise their last year's greetings - and often they repeat themselves or each other; by taking it a step further and combining quotes from various official addresses, NL helps those busy men save time and avoid embarrassment.

Olga Sagareva criticizes (RUS) a recent order issued by Chechnya's new prime minister Ramzan Kadyrov: from now on, women in Chechnya are required to wear headscarves in government institutions and on TV.

[...] no one has probably told Kadyrov that March 8 is the day of fighting for women's rights, and this is the reason it was so dear to the Soviet people, and not to them alone.

(A year ago, Kadyrov's March 8 present to the Chechen women was - very inappropriately - the dead body of his main opponent, Aslan Maskhadov.)

Jane Keeler, an American teaching English in Vladimir, notes this in her From Russia With Blog:

I find it fascinating to read about the history of IWD, and it's kind of disappointing to see how it has evolved. On one hand, I got chocolate, cards and potpourri from various people all because I am in possession of a vagina. Easiest chocolate I've ever received.

Becca at the Polish blog Boo mentions the holiday's popularity in Poland and its growing "recognition everywhere," but isn't sure Iowa United Methodist Women's suggested activity for the day has much value:

Right, you'd like women 'wherever' they live, to go into churches and ring the bells 'all day'.

Annabengan of annasblog marks how the meaning of March 8 seems to differ in her native Sweden and in Albania, where she now works:

In Sweden it's not really a "happy event" it's kind of a heavy day full of shame and guilt as we read and hear about inequality concerning salaries of men and women, the ratio women - men in Boards of private enterprises that still exist, gender based violence, women's rights etc etc. I understand zero Albanian so I don't know what's up in the Albanian news papers and media today - maybe it's the same...?

Finally, Pestiside.hu, a Hungarian blog, has forgotten about the holiday: "Honestly, Dear, the Dog Ate Our Flowers" is the title of the relevant post. Last year's entries are offered as compensation, though.

UPDATE:

Konstantin Dlutskiy of Russian Marketing Blog cites some interesting holiday-related statistics:

1. Prices on flowers rose on average 170%.
2. L'Oreal Paris made 40% of its planned sales of perfume on one day only.
3. Tables at Moscow restaurants were all booked 2 weeks before the day.

Stephan Clark of Everybody I Love You reports on how he combined his Russian lesson with a little celebration with his teacher, and also notes that the mobile network in Kharkiv, Ukraine, was overloaded on March 8:

[...] My tutor had received roses and tulips before getting my flowers, and her daughter was all dressed up and entertaining guests when I came over for my thrice-weekly lesson. Others I know measure the day in text messages -- and if one woman got sixteen, I'm sure every other woman in the country got four, or seven, or twelve or twenty-two. Just trying to send a text-message today was hard. [...]

Lyndon of Scraps of Moscow recounts what he did on March 8 as a kid in the Soviet Union in the mid-80s and links to his last year's March 8 post, which dealt almost exclusively with the TV coverage of Aslan Maskhadov's death:

[...] I am sure that appetites at more than one 8th of March feast were spoiled by the extensive footage of Maskhadov's body (turns out that "destroyed" is a polite way of saying "killed" - his body was very much intact, although pretty beaten up), in a pool of blood, from every conceivable angle. [...]

Katerina, a Russian co-blogger at The Accidental Russophile, writes about the reasons people still celebrate this Soviet holiday and describes what an ideal March 8 should be like and how it normally goes.

LJ user yellow-reporter posts an AFP picture of Moscow feminists protesting next to a huge panties-shaped poster with this message (RUS) on it:

"Flowers - today, shackles - everyday?"

One commenter calls this "fanatism," the other describes the protesters as "losers" (RUS).

Rachel of Pustolovina: adventure in Serbian describes a very eventful day in Belgrade, filled with protest, activism as well as some "very stereotypically feminine" activities. She concludes:

I enjoyed all of those tasks & I suppose that's what International Women's Day, feminism, etc. is all about: doing tasks because you want to do them, not because they're expected of you.

UPDATE 2:

Having forgotten to celebrate the International Women's Day, Gazing into the Abyss writes about how the holiday is perceived in the Czech Republic now:

[...] If I brought flowers home yesterday - well, I could; there is no such thing as too many flowers. But if I brought flowers with congratulations on International Women's Day, oh my! - it would mean that either I am completely crazy after all, or I make tasteless jokes. That's what remains of a once high-minded idea: a tasteless joke.

Most of us here in the West's East would like to forget about the past, just as I have forgotten about the Woman's Day. But the past won't forget about us.