Valeriya Safronova

Valeriya Safronova

Valeriya Safronova is a Vienna-based reporter covering the arts, gender and news

‘Anonymous grumbles and farts’: How a media firestorm has engulfed the Austrian Green party’s lead candidate
06 Jun EU Institutions
‘Anonymous grumbles and farts’: How a media firestorm has engulfed the Austrian Green party’s lead candidate
Lena Schilling, a 23-year-old a former climate activist, has found herself at the center of a weeks-long assault by the Austrian news media as the EU elections get under way.
'Green Border': A politically charged film about Poland’s migrant crisis
14 Feb Culture & Arts
"Green Border": A politically charged film about Poland’s migrant crisis
Agnieszka Holland’s latest work has sparked a political backlash in Poland, but this thought-provoking film highlights the harrowing realities of life along the Polish-Belarusian border.
Group Therapy: Processing the trauma of the pandemic through fiction
08 Feb Culture & Arts
Group Therapy: Processing the trauma of the pandemic through fiction
A star-studded cast of writers has collaborated on an entertaining novel set on a New York rooftop during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Kitchen diplomacy: how governments use food as a soft power
24 Jan Culture & Arts
Kitchen diplomacy: how governments use food as a soft power
When it comes to promoting their image to the world, many nations have found the best way to win hearts and minds is through the stomach
Engelbert Dollfuss: how curators dismantle a controversial museum in Austria
04 Jan Culture & Arts
Engelbert Dollfuss: how curators dismantle a controversial museum in Austria
Engelbert Dollfuss ruled Austria in the 1930s, modelling his regime on Mussolini's principles. Valeriya Safronova discovers how a controversial museum in his honour is entering its next phase
Good heavens: How light pollution is threatening our sky
03 Oct Energy & Environment
Good heavens: How light pollution is threatening our sky
The swarms of satellites in low-Earth orbit are causing light and noise pollution, which is in turn creating ecological chaos
Paradise lost: How overtourism is changing Europe's holiday destinations
29 Jun Culture & Arts
Paradise lost: How overtourism is changing Europe's holiday destinations
Europe’s beauty spots are buckling under mass tourism – so some popular destinations are fighting back. Venice has blocked cruise ships and Amsterdam has launched ‘stay away’ ads aimed at badly behaved Brits. But the trade-off between quality of life and much-needed revenue is a tricky one
The rise of gender mainstreaming in urban design
03 May Culture & Arts
The rise of gender mainstreaming in urban design
With the growing understanding that a person’s gender, age, ethnicity and other factors can shape their experience of a city, planners are applying new techniques to make urban spaces suitable for all 
Clytemnestra finally gets her own voice
11 Apr Culture & Arts
Clytemnestra finally gets her own voice
Greek mythology dismisses Clytemnestra as an evil husband-killer. But this reimagining allows Helen of Troy’s sister to step into the spotlight and tell her story of tragedy and revenge
Royal drama: a new novel revels in the eccentricities of cousins Sisi and Ludwig
20 Mar Culture & Arts
Royal drama: a new novel revels in the eccentricities of cousins Sisi and Ludwig
In Empty Theatre, Jac Jemc blends fact and fiction to create a witty and imaginative rendition of the lives of royal cousins Ludwig II of Bavaria and Empress Elisabeth of Austria