Category archives: balkans
Pirates in the Balkans!
Now at last I can hold my head up high on International Talk Like A PIrate Day, because it’s now official. Pirates from Serbia attack Bulgarian ships on the Danube: About 40 unstaffed ship convoys were attacked and robbed in… continue reading »
Canute in Bosnia
Following through on yesterday’s post on Paddy, I turned to his recent Guardian editorial A Bosnian Powder Keg, co-written with Richard Holbrooke. It’s fair to say that these two have been amongst the most visibly influential people involved in the… continue reading »
the road to eurovision
I will always remember the things of the past and I have no need to bow down to the golden calves of the future which sleep in the cattle wagon on the road to the new Europe and its abattoirs… continue reading »
Post-election euphoria in Montenegro
Whoop-di-do. That’s about the level of euphoria I can muster. As of 11pm this evening, Filip Vujanovic had cleared the 50% threshold required to keep him in the Montenegrin presidency – which of course means that Milo Djukanovic is still… continue reading »
Balkan politics / Kanye lyrics: Ramush Walks!
The bad news about Ramush Haradinaj being acquitted at ICTY: Serbia is naturally outraged, I tell you, outraged, and it seems likely that there was a fair amount of witness intimidation going on, which doesn’t speak too well for the… continue reading »
Selling Balkan History Short
Transitions Online runs an interesting story on that most familiar of Balkan melodies, the rewriting of history. With its independence last year, Montenegro now has to somehow drag itself out from the shadow of big brother Serbia while making too… continue reading »
Happy Independence Day!
Well, technically that was yesterday, but my internet connection has been out since the middle of last week, and obviously time stops when the internet goes down. It feels strangely anti-climactic to watch an independent Kosovo paraded on-screen – a… continue reading »