MetaFilter posts tagged with ukraine

The Last Nazi trial?

brina — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:53:21 -0800

Germany is, for the first time, trying a non-citizen for crimes committed as part of the Holocaust. John Demjanjuk, originally from Ukraine, is an 89-year-old man, retired US auto factory worker, and former US citizen who has been deported and charged with 27,900 murders for the part he may have played in World War II. This is the second time Demjanjuk has been tried. In 1988 Demanjujk, then believed to be "Ivan the Terrible" of Treblinka, was convicted in Israel and sentenced to death. Israeli judges later found that, although there was evidence that Demanjujk served as an SS guard, he was not in fact the man known as "Ivan the Terrible." Now German prosecutors say Demanjujk worked as a guard at the death camp of Sobibor in Poland in 1943, after he was captured by the Nazis. Some fear that the German government is setting a frightening precedent with this trial, deflecting responsibility to a man whom Nazis would have seen as an Untermensch, or sub-human, and who claims he is not a perpetrator but a victim. Others say the trial is "too little, too late" and fear that, because Demanjujk is in poor health and had to be wheeled into the courtroom on a gurney Monday afternoon, he will become an object of pity.

Técső Banda tear it up.

flapjax at midnite — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:13:31 -0800

Fiddle, accordion, and a singing drummer. Seven minutes and fifty seven seconds of Gypsy music from Ukraine, live in Budapest. The real thing. Totally wailing. Kickass. Técső Banda at Kertem.

Storytelling in sand.

dmd — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:02:23 -0800

Drawing and storytelling in sand.

Ukrainian art is all over the place

lysdexic — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 08:31:10 -0800

Ukrainian art is widely varied: easter eggs, body art(some pics nsfw). Painting, folk art, and religious art.

The Forbidden Railway - a train trip to Pyongyang

dunkadunc — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 08:56:35 -0800

In September of 2008, two Austrians traveled 13,000km by rail from Vienna to Pyongyang - without asking permission and going through the official Koran travel agency. Travelling via Slovakia, Ukraine and Russia, they chatted up North Korean border officials, were invited to eat lunch by North Koreans on the train, spent 36 hours without a guide, reaching areas not normally accessible to tourists. Travelogue with photos: Vienna-Moscow : Moscow-Barnaul : Barnaul-Irkutsk : Irkutsk-Skovorodino Skovorodino-Khabarovsk : Russia-DPRK : Tumangan Kilchu-Pyongyang 1 : Kilchu-Pyongyang 2 : Pyongyang & Mt. Myohyang Arirang Games, &c. : The Demilitarized Zone

Return of the Amazons

Brandon Blatcher — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 07:40:11 -0800

It is said that the Amazons were tribes of women warriors in the East of Ukraine, in the Donesk area. They are back nowadays in the Carpathian mountains. (via)

"blue eyes that had seen Franz Josef in his glory at the Court Opera in 1908 close upon a view of rusty bed frames and cracked concrete walls."

orthogonality — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 04:05:41 -0800

"Habsburg! A vile being, heir to an illustrious name, born to a fortune, to honours, to soldiers, to prestige, and who finished as the lowest of Montmartre pimps, living from the money of a poor and unstable girl whom he sent to commit his foul deeds in his place!"

That was after this Polish scion of the most famous family in Europe and commander of a soi disant "Ukrainian Legion" failed to finagle the crown as a Socialist king of The Ukraine, and became instead a patron of the rent boys of Paris who "handled women by necessity and men for pleasure". And all that before he turned successively a Nazi sympathizer, a British spy, and finally came, for the first and last time, to Ukraine's capital Kiev as a victim of Stalin and the Twentieth Century.

Russia stops all gas supply to Europe via Ukraine

b. — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:13:11 -0800

Newsfilter: It's that time of the year again, though now it seems to be more serious. Russia stopped all gas supply to Europe via Ukraine on Wednesday, January 7, 2009. The EU depends on Russia for about a quarter of its total gas supplies, some 80% of which is pumped through Ukraine. At least seventeen countries are affected, many of them severely as Russia is their primary or only source of gas. While similar disputes between Russia and Ukraine already happened before, this is the first time it starts to directly affect people in other countries. In Bulgaria central heating shuts down in several towns, many schools are closed. Some factories had to stop production in Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia. Bulgaria and Slovakia are considering restarting their old nuclear power plants to get the extra energy. EU has called in the heads of the Russian and Ukrainian gas companies for emergency talks in Brussels.

Do you know these children?

Asparagirl — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 12:32:10 -0800

Do you, or an older relative of yours, recognize any of these children? More than 70 children separated from their families during WWII, now all elderly men and women, are using the Internet to try to find some answers about their pasts, their families, and sometimes even their own names. They are soliciting help and suggestions in the comments sections on each story. Sadly typical story: "The infant was hungry and crying, so her mother asked for milk from a Polish couple that happened to be on the train station. The Polish man brought milk for the baby. Then the Jewish mother asked if they would want to take the baby as their own because she could not keep it. This couple did not have any children, so after some consideration, they agreed. They asked the Jewish mother who she was, but she told them that it was better for them and for the baby not to know who she was. She then gave her newborn baby girl, who was probably one month old, to the Polish couple. The Polish couple raised the girl as if she was their biological daughter and never told her how she had come into the family. The girl grew up, married and had a son. It is this son who wants to find his Jewish roots..."

Commemorating the Holodomor

sien — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:57:01 -0800

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Holodomor. The Holodomor was the starvation of millions of Ukranians at the hands of the Soviets. The Ukranian government is using this year to push for greater recognition for the genocide. Ukranian communities in Australia, Canada and all over the globe are holding events all year in the lead up to this years Holodomor day on November 25.

Bush the Dissident

Avenger — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 23:39:26 -0800

Bush the Dissident. (WaPo) Background (and previously) here here here here and here.

Gypsy Punk

homunculus — Thu, 31 May 2007 21:30:09 -0800

Gogol Bordello describe their music as "Gypsy Punk." Formerly the Bela Bartoks, singer Eugene Hutz was in the movie Everything Is Illuminated, as was their song Start Wearing Purple.

Cossacks, Balalaikas, and Martial Arts

StrikeTheViol — Wed, 23 May 2007 22:21:06 -0800

The Cossacks, a proud people with a long history, are famous nowadays for their dancing, whether of the mass spectacle variety, or the slightly lower-key celebration of actual Cossacks. They have some pretty famous music, too, often featuring balalaikas. (Behold, the real lyrics to "Tetris") But dancing and singing is not enough for some, apparently, who seek to refine Cossack martial arts.

She's got my vote.

flapjax at midnite — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 03:04:15 -0800

You've all no doubt been wondering who will represent Ukraine in this year's Euro vision Song Contest. Well, she's a drag queen, and if that wasn't enough to piss off the Ukrainian nationalists, she's also an environmentalist ("All of us have heard that nuclear waste from the whole world is planned to be brought into Ukraine. It is horribly!"). Oh, and the Rus sians are ticked off, too. Introducing... Verka Serdyuchka! [last 2 links to YouTube]

Graffiti murals in the Ukraine

Burhanistan — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 14:19:57 -0800

Graffiti murals seen in the Ukraine.

Hey, Joe...

Mayor Curley — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:50:06 -0800

Ukraine doesn't like Stalin in advertising. An energy company in Ukraine displayed billboard ads featuring Joey Bananas. For some reason a lot of people object to this.

The Forgotten Holocaust

jonson — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 07:41:05 -0800

The largely forgotten holocaust of the Ukrainian people began when Stalin imposed collectivism upon the farms, sealing state borders & refusing any seed grain until ficticious and unattainable production goals were met. The Ukrainian upper class were executed, the peasantry left to starve to death. In all, seven million people died, one out of every four citizens. At this Ukranian art site, a collection of stamps commemorating the event & a gallery of "genocide art" continue to speak for the dead.

The Serpent's Wall

tellurian — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 18:19:18 -0800

Ancient walls built as a defence against marauders provide a rich source of pickings for relic hunters (a photo essay).

On the great Ukrainian bride hunt.

soiled cowboy — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 12:46:26 -0800

On the great Ukrainian bride hunt. "These are not American women, our guide was telling us. They do not care about your age, looks, or money. And you are not going to have to talk to them for half an hour and then have your testicles handed back to you! Let me tell you: over here, you're the commodity; you're the piece of meat. Ive lived in St. Petersburg for two years, and I wouldnt date an American woman right now if you paid me!"

Ukraine is divided on the issue of Russian

gregb1007 — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 20:41:56 -0800

Ukraine is divided on the issue of Russian: The Russian speaking population from the eastern part of the country has increasingly attempted to make Russian into an official language only, provoking bitter opposition from the Ukranian speaking majority in the western part. [More inside]

East Europe IV Drug Use Images

peacay — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 23:45:26 -0800

Be Warned: some very disturbing and NSFW intravenous drug abuse images from Eastern Europe. [More Inside]

Gone to underground

cenoxo — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 22:12:40 -0800

The real Jewish Underground — During the Nazi occupation of World War II, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian Jews were killed or transported to Nazi concentration camps. In 1942 and 1943, thirty-eight men, women, and children aged 4 to 74 years survived by living underground in two caves for nearly two years (their 344 day stay in Priest's Grotto beat Michel Siffre's 1972 NASA research study.) Emerging at night to cut firewood and steal food, these unwilling troglodytes returned to the cave before dawn to avoid capture. Spelunker Chris Nicola first discovered their survival story (PDF, pp. 6-12) in 1993.

Russia reduces gas export to Ukraine

elpapacito — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 15:02:20 -0800

Newsfilter: Russian Government (by market control of Gazprom company) reduces flow of natural gas to Ukraine. According to a NYT article "Russia is now asking for $220 to $230 per 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas, up from $50 now" ending soviet-era years of subsidized price. Yet Russia is still subsidizing other countries (selectively applying free market ?) while Pravda blames Ukraine politicians rhetoric. Pay or not paying, Gazprom accuses Ukraine of tapping into some of the gaslines (apparently 80% of Russian gas export pass trough pipes in Ukraine). Europe doesn't like not having is gas shipped as Ukraine agreed to the Energy Charter Treaty. Why should we care ? Shock waves in free market have global effects, meaning you'remore likely to pay energy more...and it's winter.

Just when you thought it was safe outside.

mystyk — Thu, 14 Jul 2005 13:56:08 -0800

"A vampire has been arrested in Ukraine after luring street children into her home for their blood. Diana Semenuha, 29, believed that drinking blood could fend off a muscle-wasting condition."

Ummm...WTF? It appears to be real, even if all the news outlets seem to have cookie-cutter stories. (Although wiccan sites appear to be tracking it too.) I'm well aware that there are practicing witches all over the world, but vampires are usually just an item of historical lore or science-fiction/fantasy. How often do stories like this really happen? (via)

Poyarkov

Wolfdog — Sun, 20 Feb 2005 09:16:34 -0800

Balance of Contradictions and Flawless Imperfection (caution: slow-loading images in the latter), two galleries of Ukrainian surrealist Sergey Poyarkov, whose name I stumbled across via this amusingly Ukraine-centric map.