Travel Archives - Page 11 of 31 - Blog Bellew

Train to Ternopil

Time for an update from the field. Wednesday and Thursday were all day briefings in a conference centre in Kiev. The content was similar to the briefings in Moldova last month, but there was some material specific to Ukraine and, of course, some observers were on their first mission.

A Brief History of Ukraine

Russian colonisation of Ukraine intensified throughout the 19th century with a ban on the use of the Ukrainian language in schools and publications. Yet, a cultural revival spread in the late 1800s from Galicia, with secret educational groups ( hromadas) infiltrating Russian Ukraine and increasing calls for Ukrainian independence.

A Brief History of Ukraine

Present-day Ukraine was initially inhabited by Scythian tribes from Central Asia who were displaced by Sarmatians and nomadic invaders, namely Goths, Huns and Avars that overran the Ukrainian steppe nearly two millennia ago.

And Quiet Flows the Dnieper

The Dnieper is the fourth longest river in Europe, rising in Russia near Smolensk and flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea; a journey of 1,400 miles.

St Patrick’s Day

The Today programme has a habit of sending its presenters off on location. Recently Martha Kearney has been in a refugee camp in Lebanon and on the edge of the Arctic Circle. This morning Blog Bellew has dipped into its meagre travel budget.

Walkers

Gladwyn Jebb was a distinguished civil servant, diplomat and politician. References to him abound in Kenneth Rose’s Journals and, to a lesser extent, in Harold Nicolson’s Diaries. Curiously Chips Channon only mentions Gladwyn once in his Diaries.

Moldovan Holiday

It was a little disappointing to remain in Chisinau all week and not see more of what is a largely rural country but it did have advantages.

Out for the Count

An unusual feature of voting in Moldova is the mobile voting box. Voters may request that the ballot box comes to them if they are bed-ridden or in prison, for example.

A Day in the Field

F and I got to our first polling station at 6.25 am – thirty-five minutes before opening time. All the election staff were there making preparations.

Culture in Chisinau

I bet you are bored with Election Observation protocol, so I will reward your patience with what really happens in the field.