Section: The Guardian (The United Kingdom)
Ukraine to rewrite Soviet history with controversial ‘decommunisation’ laws
President set to sign measures that ban Communist symbols and offer public recognition and payouts for fighters in militias implicated in atrocities In Kiev, a Soviet memorial to the second world war stands at one end of Shevchenko boulevard, which is named after the poet who formulated Ukrainian language and literature as distinct from...
Kharkiv’s Derzhprom: Europe’s first skyscraper complex – a history of cities in 50 buildings, day 19
Opened in 1928, this underappreciated Soviet masterpiece was a precursor to brutalism – three decades before the term was coinedDerzhprom, the House of State Industry, is a large governmental building at the centre of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. It is also arguably the most interesting – and one of the least known – buildings of...
Norway asks Moscow to explain visit from banned minister
Dmitry Rogozin posted pictures of himself on Svalbard island, despite being on list of people banned after Russia annexed Crimea from UkraineNorway has sought an explanation from Moscow for a visit to a Norwegian island by Russia’s deputy prime minister, who is banned from Norway in keeping with international sanctions against him over...
The 20 photographs of the week
Shipwrecked immigrants arrive in Europe, xenophobic violence in South Africa, the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp – the best photography in news, culture and sport from around the world this week … …read more Source: The...
‘Words are our weapon’: video mocking Ukrainian separatists goes viral
An art group satirising the anthems of fighters in eastern Ukraine say they are countering Russian propaganda about the conflict, RFE/RL report A Ukrainian group is making waves online with satirical musical parodies decrying Russia’s support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. The group, which goes by the name of Mirko Sablic, was created...
Pro-Russian journalist shot and killed in Kiev
Oles Buzyna, a former editor-in-chief and one-time parliamentary candidate, was killed on Thursday by shots from a passing carA Ukrainian journalist known for his pro-Russian views has been gunned down in Kiev.The Ukrainian interior minister, Anton Herashchenko, said in a Facebook post that Oles Buzyna, who was editor-in-chief of a leading daily...
Ousted Ukraine president’s ally found shot dead in Kiev home
Oleg Kalashnikov was a member of Viktor Yanukovych’s parliamentSix Yanukovych-era government officials have died over last two monthsA former ally of deposed Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych has been found shot to death in his home in Kiev. Related: Ukraine’s former ruling party hit by spate of apparent suicides …...
German politicians criticise 65-year-old woman pregnant with quadruplets
Annegret Raunigk, who had IVF treatment in Ukraine after being refused in Germany, is deemed ‘a questionable case’ as she becomes a national talking pointMedical experts and politicians have strongly rounded on a 65-year-old German woman who is pregnant with quadruplets, calling her decision “irresponsible” and “inadvisable”, and warned...
Ukraine film industry in crisis after major budget cuts
The Ukraine National Film Agency is unable to fund new projects after the country’s conflict with Russia monopolised resourcesThe Ukrainian film industry is in crisis after a national funding agency exhausted its resources in the wake of the country’s conflict with Russia.Kiev reduced the Ukraine National Film Agency budget last year...
To absent friends: Moscow defiant as Europe boycotts Victory Day parade
Putin to rub shoulders with autocrats like Kim Jong-un on 9 May, as EU leaders decide to avoid 70th anniversary spectacle because of Russia’s actions in UkraineAbout 16,000 soldiers, 200 armoured vehicles and 150 planes and helicopters will take part in a Moscow parade for Victory Day on 9 May, dubbed Russia’s “biggest holiday” by...
