PONOMAREV: Today's visitor in today's news

In preparation for our visit with Lev Ponomarev this afternoon, I found this article in the Wall Street Journal about him this morning: "Putin's Torture Colonies".

Here's a picture of him in action - link.

The Lion of Russian Human Rights Defenders: LEV PONOMAREV

Tomorrow we're hosting a remarkable human rights activist in the CEERES office - Lev Ponomarev. He's on a visiting tour of the US, and has agreed to stop by the CEERES office for an informal chat with us about the current state of democracy and human rights in Russia. I can promise that it will be interesting, if bleak... Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 3:30 PM. in the CEERES suite, Judd Hall 319-323, 5835 S. Kimbark Ave.

Briefly,Lev Ponomarev is the founder and executive director of the All Russian Movement for Human Rights, which receives support from the MacArthur Foundation, George Soros and NED. Lev is also a political activist, declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty in 2006 when he was arrested for organizing what the Kremlin viewed as an anti-government Beslan memorial event. While in the U.S., Lev will discuss the general state of human rights in Russia, prison conditions, political prisoners, the recent Duma elections and upcoming Presidential election in Russia. Robert Amsterdam, who appeared at CEERES last September (audio), calls Ponomarev "the lion of Russian human rights defenders."

On Wednesday, Feb. 13, Lev will be interviewed on WBEZ Chicago Public Radio's Worldview program. I'm not sure whether the interview will actually be broadcast Wednesday, but when it is, I'll be sure to post a link. Here's link to Worldview - http://www.wbez.org/Program_WV.aspx.

For more information on Pononmarev, here's a couple links:
Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Ponomarev
Transcript of appearance at Harvard in 2001: here

Roma recyclers in Kosovo?

If you're not interested in metal scrap, I assure you that you will be if you read down and check out these sources.

Here at the U of C, I have a colleague Brian Ashby who's been producing a documentary on local scavengers of scrap metal. They have a website - http://www.scrappersmovie.com/.

This apparently feeds into a growing and formalizing global metal recycling industry. I read a great article about it in The New Yorker by Jonathan Seabrook, "American Scrap", 1/14/08 http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/01/14/080114fa_fact_seabrook

What does this have to do with the CEERES region? Brian sent me this fascinating documentary about a culture of Roma recyclers in Kosovo.

It's called "Pretty Dyana - A Gypsy recycling saga"
by Boris Mitic

An intimate look at Gypsy refugees in a Belgrade suburb who make a living by transforming Citroen's classic 2cv and Dyana cars into Mad Max-like recycling vehicles, with which they collect cardboard, bottles and scrap metal. These modern horses are much more efficient than the cart-pushing competition, but more important - they also mean freedom, hope and style for their crafty owners. Even the car batteries are used as power generators in order to get some light, watch tv and recharge mobiles! Almost an alchemist's dream come true! But the police doesn't always find these strange vehicles funny...

The whole movie (45min) is posted on google video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2181669920911563723

A Week of Russian Folk Concerts at UChicago

Sadly, the snowy weather has ruined our plans at CEERES to host an academic workshop on Islam, Modernity, Eurasia. As this clears up, our community still has a shot at experiencing some great Russian folk music over the next week.

This Sunday, February 3, at 6pm in Ida Noyes Hall Theatre (1212 East 59th Street, Chicago IL), a talented and prolific trio named Zolotoj Plyos will perform. Zolotoi Plyos consists of 3 musicians (Alexander Solovov, Elena Sadina, Sergeui Gratchev) who met at the conservatory in Saratov and who now are students of the Royal Carillon Academy in Mechelen, Belgium. They perform authentic Russian folk music, from the villages, in costume, both a capella and with instrumental accompaniment on over 20 authentic folk instruments (dutki, treshchetki, lozhki, balalaiki, garmoshki, etc.). The name of the group refers to a stretch on the Volga River. This concert is free.

On the following weekend, The University of Chicago will hold its annual Folk Festival. Golosa, the University of Chicago Russian Choir, will perform at 3:00 pm on Saturday, February 9, in the third floor theater of Ida Noyes Hall, located at the corner of Woodlawn Ave. and 59th street on the U of C campus. Admission to the Golosa workshop, and all of the daytime workshops, is free.

More information about the Folk Festival can be found at:

http://www.uofcfolk.org/2008/home.html

Golosa will also be joining forces with the Rockefeller Chapel Choir for an evening
of sacred Russian works by Chesnokov, Kalinnikov, Grechaninov, and Rachmaninov.

The concert will be the February installment of the Chapel's new and very
popular evensong series, and will take place at 5:00 on the evening of Sunday,
February 10. There is no charge for admisssion.

More information about the Rockefeller Chapel performance can be found at:

https://events.uchicago.edu/campusevents/eventdetail.phtml?eventid=58154&Month=1


A map of Hyde Park is here:
(exit 53rd or 57th street from Lake Shore Drive)

http://maps.uchicago.edu/hydepark.shtml


A map with the location of Ida Noyes Hall is here:

http://maps.uchicago.edu/eastquad/idanoyes.html


A map with the location Rockefeller Chapel is here:

http://maps.uchicago.edu/eastquad/rockefel.html


We hope to see you there!

Cinema Croatia

Another treat for Chicagoans in winter is the upcoming Croatian cinema series at the Gene Siskel Film Center. 6 Croatian features from 1970 to 2007 will be playing from February 3 to March 6. There aren't many places in this country with the means and will to put on these series, so let's hear it for the Siskel. You can find a full run-down of the month of Croatian films at the Siskel website - http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/ - you'll have to navigate to upcoming February shows.

Here's a list of the titles and directors"
ALL FOR FREE
(SVE DZABA)
2006, Antonio Nuic

ARMIN
2007, Ognjen Svilicic

HERE
(TU)
2003, Zrinko Ogresta

HOW THE WAR STARTED ON MY ISLAND
(KAKO JE PACEO RAT NA MOM OTOKU)
1996, Vinko Bresan

Light Drawings: The Zagreb School of Animation
1958-78, Various directors

ONE SONG A DAY TAKES MISCHIEF AWAY
(TKO PJEVA ZLO NE MISLI)
1970, Kresimir Golik

A VILLAGE PERFORMANCE OF HAMLET
(PREDSTAVA HAMLETA U MRDUSI DONJOJ)
1973, Krsto Papic

It's cold. Stay home and watch a film. From Romania.

It's officially cold now in Chicago. The city that is full of cultural festivals and life on the streets in the summer is keeping warm indoors. There is, of course, always a vibrant film life in the theaters. But if it gets even a bit too cold to go out at all, there's plenty of films to find for yourself.

I just saw an interesting multimedia showcase of the current crop of outstanding Romanian films, on the New York Times website, by A.O. Scott. The review is a great introduction to some of the better international films being produced. Check it out here: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/01/18/magazine/20080120_ROMANIAN_FEATURE.html#