Stories about Russian from December, 2009
Russia: Yeltsin's Daughter Blogs About Oligarch

Tatyana Yumasheva (LJ user t_yumasheva), daughter of the former Russian President Boris Yeltsin , recollects [Google Translation in EN] on her blog the early years of Roman Abramovich, Russian oligarch...
Kazakhstan: Journalist murdered, professional motives excluded
Sayat Shulembayev, 28, journalist of the news video-portal “Stan” was brutally murdered in Almaty. As “Stan” producer Michael Pak says, Sayat rented a room in the house near bus station....
Russia: Role of Stalin Debated on RuNet

Heated discussions on RuNet in the wake of the 130th anniversary of Joseph Stalin showed how divided people are regarding his role in Russian history.
Uzbekistan: Bloggers stand for Umida Akhmedova
GV has already covered a story of the Uzbek documentary photographer Umida Akhmedova, accused of insult and slander against Uzbek people and traditions. This fact caused indignation among local and...
Russia: Blogger Calls For Open Technical Standards

LJ user bablaw wrote an open letter [Google translation – ENG] to the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev calling him to veto amendments to the Civil Code that would make technical...
Russia, U.S.: Brittany Murphy in Moscow on Dec. 19?

LJ user becky_sharpe (Bozhena Rynska, Gazeta.ru‘s gossip columnist) claims (RUS) that actress Brittany Murphy, who died on Dec. 20 in Los Angeles, was a guest at a private party in...
Russia: Popular Blogger Would Be Glad If Russian Authorities Restrict Internet

Popular Russian blogger and activist Roman Dobrokhotov talks to GVO about the Internet and online activism in the country.
Russia: Yegor Gaidar, Russia's Economic Reformer, Dies at 53

Yegor Gaidar, a Russian economist and politician who initiated the 1992 "shock therapy" reforms, died in Moscow on Dec. 16 at the age of 53. Russian bloggers' responses serve as a vivid reflection of how divided people still are on Gaidar's legacy and on the direction the country has taken since the demise of the Soviet Union.
Russian Rock Star Talks About His Social Network

Ikra.tv is a pioneer of music social networks in Russia. It currently consists of about 6,500 members and offers various forms of communications for fans including blogs, forums and different options to share music, pictures and videos.
Russia: A Third of Russians Use Internet

There are 42 million Internet users (29,6% of total population) in Russia according to the latest Public Opinion Foundation research [Google Translation ENG]. This is 2 million more compared to...
Russian Programmer Community Hacks Super-Earth Name Vote

After The Wired magazine opened a vote [ENG] to name a newly discovered “most Earth-like” planet, Russian Habrahabr-user khekkly started a flashmob[Google Translation – ENG] urging Russian programmers to name it “Siberia.” This...
Russia: Two Stories of Space Blogging

Blogging from and about space gains popularity and recognition among professional space travelers and regular bloggers. Russia is no exception. While the latest fashion for NASA astronauts is space twittering...
Russia: Google Bus Stop Ads Hacked

While Russia and the U.S. were holding meetings on cyber warfare, Russian activists took the process of hacking from virtual space to real bus stops in Moscow where they slightly altered original Google ads.
Russia: Government News Agency Reporter Detained by Police

A photo correspondent of RIA-Novosty, Russian government news agency, was detained by the police [RUS] when he was covering a recent opposition rally in Moscow.
Russia: Domain “блог.рф” (blog.rf) Registered By Security Service

Domain “блог.рф” (“blog.rf”) was registered by the Russia Special Communications and Information Service (formerly known as FAPSI [ENG], part of the Federal Security Service [ENG]), LJ-user di09en reports [RUS] citing...
Denmark: Ukrainian Blogger's Photos of Mass Arrests
Sergey Kovalyov (LJ user skovalyov; #skovalyov on Twitter) posts seven photos of mass arrests of protesters on Amagerbrogade in Copenhagen and writes (RUS) about it on his blog.
Russia: Two Travellers To Reach Pole Of Cold On Motorcycle

Two Krasnoyarsk [ENG] adventurers will travel to Oymyakon village [ENG] (known as the Northern Pole of Cold with winter temperature -78°C) on a home-made motorcycle in January 2010, says their...
Russian Constitutional Court Ready For Internet

The Chairman of the Russian Constitutional Court Valery Zorkin announced that the Court was ready to broadcast all its public hearings via the Internet, Russian news agency Prime-Tass reported [RUS].
Ukraine: Bureaucracy and Incompetence at Defense Ministry

Sergei Maximishin, an award-winning Russian photographer, has recently tried to get the Ukrainian defense ministry's assistance in doing a photo story on the Ukrainian navy and army for a German magazine. He ended up defeated by the Ukrainian bureaucratic monster, but posted a detailed account of the ordeal on his blog.
Ukraine: Emotions and Politics
Emotionally charged Ukrainian politics – at Ukrainiana: a “shocktivist” women's movement FEMEN on a popular TV talk show; and a televised quarrel between the Ukrainian president and the interior minister.
Russia: Kremlin Plans To Create ‘Party of Bloggers’

The Kremlin will create a new “Party of Bloggers”, reports [RUS] luberblog.ru. The party will function on the basis of electronic signatures and forums. This initiative shows the virtuality of...