AvalancheMaster
Not the face of mercy.
PLEASE NOTE:
Before you even post, make sure to read Camikaze's warning. We don't need another thread derailment.
First, let me clarify the topic of this thread:
For those of you who do not know, currently two countries in Eastern Europe are undergoing a deep political crisis with protests that include clashes with the police that bear a strong resemblance. After the coalition government of Plamen Oresharski chose a shady media mogul Peevski for head of the National Security Agency (DANS), Bulgaria entered the second mass protests this year (the previous being against energy providers, ending with the resignation of the previous government). Peevski's nomination was withdrawn but protests continued claiming the government serves both the mafia and Russian power circles, and demanding its resignation. Situation worsened when supporters of the far-right party Attack (part of the coalition government) started attacking Syrian asylum seekers and foreigners in general on the streets of Bulgaria's capital Sofia. Currently protests in Bulgaria have calmed down after on 12th November (after 150 days of protesting) police used force to disperse protesters but a new wave of mass protests is expected later this month.
Many people believe that current protests in Ukraine are extremely similar to those in Bulgaria. After years of negotiating, Ukrainian government suspended preparations for signing an EU association agreement. This started a wave of mass-protests that were at least 100,000 people strong. Yesterday police forces stormed Independence Square, where almost all protesters were located.
Obvious similarities include that both protests are pro-European (and pro-European Union) in nature, and both demand the resignation of the current government. Other similarities include that both Bulgarians and Ukrainians suspect Russian external interests to be involved in the recent government decisions, and label Putin as a warmongering imperialist.
The title of this thread refers to the hashtags that protesters have used in social networks - #DANSwithme for Bulgaria, and #Euromaydan for Ukraine.
Since I have taken part in DANSwithme while I was back home in Bulgaria this summer, it would be best to take note that my viewpoint on the issues might not be neutral. With that said, a healthy discussion on this forum would surely be enjoyable, and beneficial to those who have heard almost nothing about those protests.
My main question that I wish to discuss is - do you think that those protests can start a wave of strong anti-Russian protests, similar to the Arab Spring? While Bulgaria and Ukraine are the only two Eastern European countries to have widespread protests, other countries have had their own recent events - in Poland, nationalists attacked the Russian Embassy on Poland's national holiday, while in the Czech Republic artist David Cerny erected a huge pink middle finger statue days before government elections which addressed the fact that Czech Communist Party is most likely to receive power after winning 15% at the elections.
Before you even post, make sure to read Camikaze's warning. We don't need another thread derailment.
Moderator Action:
Thread reopened, and please try sticking to the topic.
First, let me clarify the topic of this thread:
For those of you who do not know, currently two countries in Eastern Europe are undergoing a deep political crisis with protests that include clashes with the police that bear a strong resemblance. After the coalition government of Plamen Oresharski chose a shady media mogul Peevski for head of the National Security Agency (DANS), Bulgaria entered the second mass protests this year (the previous being against energy providers, ending with the resignation of the previous government). Peevski's nomination was withdrawn but protests continued claiming the government serves both the mafia and Russian power circles, and demanding its resignation. Situation worsened when supporters of the far-right party Attack (part of the coalition government) started attacking Syrian asylum seekers and foreigners in general on the streets of Bulgaria's capital Sofia. Currently protests in Bulgaria have calmed down after on 12th November (after 150 days of protesting) police used force to disperse protesters but a new wave of mass protests is expected later this month.
Many people believe that current protests in Ukraine are extremely similar to those in Bulgaria. After years of negotiating, Ukrainian government suspended preparations for signing an EU association agreement. This started a wave of mass-protests that were at least 100,000 people strong. Yesterday police forces stormed Independence Square, where almost all protesters were located.
Obvious similarities include that both protests are pro-European (and pro-European Union) in nature, and both demand the resignation of the current government. Other similarities include that both Bulgarians and Ukrainians suspect Russian external interests to be involved in the recent government decisions, and label Putin as a warmongering imperialist.
The title of this thread refers to the hashtags that protesters have used in social networks - #DANSwithme for Bulgaria, and #Euromaydan for Ukraine.
Since I have taken part in DANSwithme while I was back home in Bulgaria this summer, it would be best to take note that my viewpoint on the issues might not be neutral. With that said, a healthy discussion on this forum would surely be enjoyable, and beneficial to those who have heard almost nothing about those protests.
My main question that I wish to discuss is - do you think that those protests can start a wave of strong anti-Russian protests, similar to the Arab Spring? While Bulgaria and Ukraine are the only two Eastern European countries to have widespread protests, other countries have had their own recent events - in Poland, nationalists attacked the Russian Embassy on Poland's national holiday, while in the Czech Republic artist David Cerny erected a huge pink middle finger statue days before government elections which addressed the fact that Czech Communist Party is most likely to receive power after winning 15% at the elections.