Word: ukrainians
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...only Ukrainian sensibilities that Brüno has managed to upset. Universal Pictures has decided to release a toned-down version of the film in Britain, after cutting out some of the more explicit scenes in the hope of taking it from an 18 rating (meaning only those over...
...Baron Cohen's comedy may be raking it in at the U.S. box office, but the Ukrainian Culture Ministry has failed to see the funny side. It has decided that Brüno's edgy parody of homophobia, with its numerous risqué sex scenes, is too much for Ukrainian citizens to handle and has nixed the film's distribution. Maksym Rostotskiy, a member of the Ministry of Culture's Expert Commission on Film Distribution, says he felt obliged to ban the film "as a psychologist and a lawyer," adding that it contains "scenes of homosexual relations with elements...
...Critics have lambasted the ban, saying it reeks of moral censorship. "It's a very worrying sign if the Ukrainian authorities say they are banning the film because of homosexual scenes," says Evhen Minko, chief editor of media-watchdog magazine Telekritika. Given the way the film lampoons intolerant attitudes toward homosexuality, the joke seems to be on them. "They didn't understand it," says Minko. "The commission's interpretation of the film is a parody in itself...
Moscow is particularly unhappy about the E.U.'s offer to include Belarus - traditionally a staunch Moscow ally - in the Eastern Partnership, albeit on the condition that Minsk improve its shoddy human-rights record. When the E.U. recently offered a multibillion-dollar loan to help modernize the Ukrainian pipeline system - conduit for 70% of Russian gas sales to Europe - Russian leaders were furious. Moscow has also tried to foil European attempts to build stronger energy links with Azerbaijan. Potential for conflict exists in Georgia, where E.U. observers are the only ones left after Russia forced Organization for Security and Cooperation...
...industry underground, where it will be even harder to control. One casino director, who asked not to be named, says he knows of two places that have continued operating illegally since the ban took effect. "If they know your face, they'll let you in," he says. And a Ukrainian government official who works closely on the issue tells TIME that he expects some sites to begin opening their doors to a "select few" in the coming weeks...