The Surreality of Russian eDemocracy

The Coordinating Council of the Russian Opposition met for second time on November 24, 2012. In keeping with the its online origins, participants and audience members actively tweeted updates and excerpts from the four-hour-long meeting. RuNet Echo has translated an excerpt of the minutes, featuring eDemocracy in action.

Tajikistan Blocks Popular News Website

The higher the walls they are building, cutting people off from the outside world, the more willing people are to destroy the walls and bury those who build them under the bricks.

Tajik Official Blocks Facebook and Summons its CEO

The chief of the state-run telecommunications service in Tajikistan has ordered Facebook blocked and asked the social network's CEO to travel to the Central Asian country and meet with him. Tajik internet users now ridicule the official.

Ten Years after Attempt on Ex-President's Life, Rumors Linger in Turkmenistan

In November 2002, the then Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov survived an assassination attempt that was blamed on Russian-supported opposition. Ten years after the incident, in the country starved of reliable information, many people still don't trust the official version of the event.

In Russia, Fake News Sounds Real

A Russian version of The Onion wreaks havoc on unsuspecting bloggers. Could it be a Kremlin plot? That's probably a hoax!

Ukrainian Football Fans Rally in Support of the Pavlichenko Family

Dmytro Pavlichenko and his son Serhiy, fans of FC Dynamo Kyiv, were found guilty of the murder of a Kyiv judge. In the past few months, Ukrainian and European football fans have organized a series of unprecedented actions in their support.

Waving Banners “Help Us Please,” Russian Prisoners Revolt

Over the weekend at a prison in Kopeysk, roughly 250 inmates began a protest on the roof of a prison building, waving banners that begged "help us please," while complaining of torture and extortion.

Top Russian Journalist, Oleg Kashin, Fired from Print Newspaper, Moves to Online Journal

Earlier today, Kommersant newspaper announced that it has fired columnist Oleg Kashin, one of Russia's best known journalists. In comments to Lenta.ru, Kommersant's chief editor, Mikhail Mikhailin, explained [ru] that Kashin's...

United Russia MPs Object to Online Satire

United Russia MPs threaten to take humorous website to court for libel. The outrage, however, was likely provoked by an internet tabloid.

Time to Change Tajikistan's Flag?

Thousands of flags are flown across Tajikistan today as the Central Asian republic celebrates the Flag Day. Meanwhile, some bloggers suggest that it might be time to change the country's flag.

Russia: Attempted Hijacking of Regional News Website

When internet domains are hijacked, the theft is usually facilitated by hackers. A stolen email password, a virus, or compromised server can wreak havoc on the ability of owners to...

Russia, Tajikistan: Who is Insulted by the Migrant Worker's Guide?

The youth wing of the ruling People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan has condemned the 'Migrant Worker's Guide' published in Russia. However, a blogger thinks that Russia is doing more for Tajikistan's migrant workers than their home country.

YouTube Temporarily Lands on Russia's Internet Blacklist

Thanks to a temporary glitch [ru], the Russian federal government briefly banned the entirety of YouTube earlier today. This comes shortly after Google's IP address [ru] also temporarily appeared on the state's...

A Dying Putin Shakes Up Russia's Defense Ministry to Promote An Heir?

Earlier this month, as Americans prepared to re-elect President Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin fired his long-time ally Anatoly Serdyukov, the man who's served as Russia's Defense Minister since 2007. Russian netizens are now busy speculating about his replacement, Sergei Shoigu, and whether or not he's meant to replace a rumored-to-be-ailing Putin.

Renaming Villages, Streets in Tajikistan

This is just another attempt to rewrite history and build a myth that since the ancient period, the territory of contemporary Tajikistan has been settled by ethnic Tajiks and there...

Misreading Magnitsky & Congress From Russia

Russian opposition bloggers were ecstatic on Saturday, after the United States House of Representatives passed the so-called Magnitsky Act with bipartisan support. Unfortunately for supporters of the Act, it is still far from becoming law.

Traveling Across ‘The Roof of the World’

Lurkmore or Lurkless? The Russian Internet Blacklist In Action

A new Russian law that threatens Internet censorship came into effect on November 1. This week, netizen outrage followed the blocking of one particularly popular website by Russian ISPs. The site in question was Lurkmore, a Wikipedia-like compendium of articles on Internet culture and memes, written in an irreverent style with heavy use of Internet jargon.

New Hard Times for Russian Journalism

This week, one of the RuNet's biggest bloggers, Rustem Adagamov, posted a letter from Yevgenia Albats, the chief editor of The New Times, one of Russia's most prominent weekly magazines. In her letter, Albats announced a new subscriptions initiative, the fate of which will decide the journal's future, and set an important precedent for political journalism in Russia.

Lenin in Tajikistan: ‘Better Hitler’ or ‘Real Hero'?

Since independence, Tajikistan's authorities have taken down almost all Soviet-erected statues of Vladimir Lenin across the country. The removal of these monuments is quite controversial in Tajikistan, where some bloggers call Lenin a 'better Hitler' while others consider him a 'real hero'.

“Self-Defence is No Offence”: Nigerian Student on Trial in Ukraine

On Nov. 5, 2011, Olaolu Femi, a Nigerian student in Ukraine, was attacked by a group of young people in the city of Luhansk; he was detained the next day,...