Read this article in other languages: no translations
The idea behind this weekly column is to explore the six Eastern Partnership countries “beyond the Kremlin” (so, beyond Lukashenka, beyond Saakashvili…). Too often, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine are presented one-dimensionally or distorted by the western media. Eastern Notebook juxtaposes Culture with culture, and brings together reflections from inside and outside the region.
After the media wars against Ukraine during the Euro 2012 football championship, this article by Dr Rory Finnin is timelier than ever. Dr Finnin is an academic at Cambridge University and a leading promoter of Ukrainian literature in the United Kingdom. For him, this distortion resulted from a lack of knowledge, as Ukraine remains “Europe’s Terra Malecognita”. He argues:
What Euro 2012 has revealed is a real and immediate need for us to study Ukraine on its own terms and to engage the country more directly as an object of knowledge, if only to see how its problems are dwarfed by its hard-won achievements and promising possibilities.
Speaking of Ukraine… Or not speaking: in Lviv (in western Ukraine), activists taped over the mouths of six statues of famous Ukrainians. This was an imaginative protest against the language law passed by the parliament on 3 July (video above).
The Globe Theatre, London, UK, author: paulafunnell, source: flickr
Shakespeare in Armenian and Georgian? Yes, at the Globe to Globe festival in London, which brought together 37 plays in 37 languages. Many can be watched online for free (with English subtitles), including a performance of King Lear by the Belarus Free Theatre.
Adjika, author: olgucz, source: flickr
On a spicier note: coverage of the Caucasus focuses too much on war, and too little on its culinary traditions. In a recent article, British reporter Oliver Bullough tries the Abkhaz sauce adjika. This “bottled sunshine” is made from a mysterious mix of red peppers, garlic and spices. I have been following Bullough’s writing ever since his book Let Our Fame Be Great (2010), on the peoples of the North Caucasus, past and present.
aaa
The presence…
@Caspian_Watch: Is Armenia really ready to sign Karabakh peace principles?
@geysar: Azeri Refugees and IDPs from Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia living in Azerbaijan
@armenialiberty: Baku Sees Stronger Push For Karabakh Peace After Azeri Vote
…and some history
@anitsa35: The geopolitics of armed conflict settlement:
How did Russia affect the settlement of the 1991-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh war?
The List of Officially Concerned about the results of the Eurovision song contest is growing – alphabetically that would be Ilham Aliyev, Alexander Lukashenko, Sergey Lavrov…
Who paid whom for what & who should have voted differently…”why? because!” – read also on RFE/RL: Eurovision Vote Theft Claims Roil Russia, Azerbaijan.
And the famous Azerbaijani song before it fades away from the memory of avid Eurovision fans:
Belarus Digest tackles the issue of perceiving the Belarusian higher education system (within the country as well as “outside”…):
How Belarusian Is The Belarusian University In Exile?
Four Western Myths About Belarusian Higher Education
After the Krakow meeting of foreign ministers from V4 & EaP countries:
“If Ukraine and the EU do not sign the agreement, what is Plan B?”
There is no Plan B, answer Adam Reichardt & Giacomo Manca on New Eastern Europe.
Meanwhile, “Alexei Pushkov, head of the Russian State Duma’s International Affairs Committee, has said he is skeptical about the prospects for the signing of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement”. (Interfax)
Aşıq Nargile, an ethnic Azeri Ashiq, performs ”Borçalı Poem”:
Learn more about the The Sayat Nova Project & the traditional music of the Caucasus.
Photo gallery by Onnik Krikorian
OSCE: the final report on the Presidential election Armenia, February 2013
&
(for desserts):
END OF THE CAROUSEL. Hardly fought election for Yerevan City Council consolidates President Sargsyan’s hold on power
by the Caucasus Elections Watch
1. The published comments are private opinions of the users. Eastbook.eu does not take responsibility for the contents of the opinions.
2. Eastbook.eu editorial staff reserves the right to delete a comment in the following situations:
3. Triple contravention of the rules listed in point 2 results in a one-month ban.
lawissues
2012-12-22 20:15:33
Comment from version: en
Reply