Featured stories from RuNet Echo
Stories from RuNet Echo
What can we expect from Russia at COP26?
As COP26 continues, Open Democracy asks experts whether the Kremlin’s latest moves on climate, including its 2060 net-zero target, heralds genuine change or more greenwash.
Publishing house removes section on transgender individuals from Russian translation of teen health book
Eastern & Central Europe27 October 2021According to the publisher, Belaya Vorona, making the book available to Russian teenagers was more important that "preserving the deleted information".
Ahead of September elections, Russia tightens grip on remaining online freedoms
Eastern & Central Europe16 September 2021Ahead of Russia's parliamentary elections on September 17-19, the state's crackdown on opposition groups, circumvention tools and internet infrastructure has escalated to a fever pitch.
Investigative journalism group OCCRP says it will no longer work in Russia
Eastern & Central Europe15 September 2021Drew Sullivan, OCCRP's co-founder and editor-in-chief, said their work in Russia at the moment would do local reporters "more harm than good."
Russia blocks popular website for worker complaints
Eastern & Central Europe14 September 2021Antijob, an online database of anonymous complaints about Russian employers, has been blocked by censors following a defamation case brought by a Moscow real estate firm.
Russian court issues bigger fines to social media companies for breaching data localization rules
Eastern & Central Europe26 August 2021The data localization law, adopted in 2015, requires all internet companies processing Russian users' data to store such data on servers physically located inside Russia.
More independent media added to Russia's “foreign agent” roster
Eastern & Central Europe20 August 2021"As for the list of foreign agents, by now it has so many decent people and publications on it that not to be on this list is simply indecent."
Russian authorities declare independent election monitor Golos a “foreign agent”
Golos has vowed to continue training Russian citizens as observers and commissioners at polling stations, and said it believes independent citizen observation is key to ensuring a transparent election.
Russian internet censor blocks Team Navalny websites
Eastern & Central Europe26 July 2021Navalny's main website, navalny.com, as well as over 40 other webpages for Navalny's national network of campaign offices were added to Roskomnadzor's state registry for blocked websites.
Team 29, Russia's most prominent legal defense group, shuts down under state pressure
Eastern & Central Europe21 July 2021On July 19, after its website was blocked, Team 29 announced it was shutting down its operations in order to protect its staff and clients from possible criminal prosecution.
Organiser of online map protest in Russia fined for crowdsourced obscenities
Eastern & Central Europe15 June 2021Unlike street protests, which require prior authorisation from local authorities, online rallies aren't technically subject to the same restrictions.
Russian feminist activist Yulia Tsvetkova announces hunger strike
Eastern & Central Europe5 May 2021Demanding a swift trial, Tsvetkova wrote: "Let’s stop waiting for people being persecuted to be heroes. We don’t need heroes. We need to prevent the persecution of the innocent."
Feminist activist in Russia faces prison term for ‘body-positive’ drawings
Eastern & Central Europe18 April 2021Human rights groups have labeled Yulia Tsvetkova a prisoner of conscience and have called on Russia to remove all charges and to "stop targeting feminist, LGBTI and other activists."
Russian authorities crack down on student journalism outlet over protest explainer video
Eastern & Central Europe17 April 2021Supporters of DOXA journal have called the charges against its editors "preposterous" and demanded that "all harassment of students immediately cease."
Israeli phone hacking firm stops sales to Belarus and Russia
Eastern & Central Europe5 April 2021Cellebrite, an Israeli software company known for making tools used to extract data from smartphones, has announced it will halt sales to Russian and Belarus state bodies and law enforcement.
Can the Eurovision Song Contest change Russia's views on migrants from Central Asia?
Russia has nominated Tajik-Russian singer Manizha as its representative for the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest. But many Russians reject her as the chosen face of their country at the international event.
The watchtower on the mountain of Dagestan's indigenous languages
Eastern & Central Europe28 March 2021Kaitag, a language variant of the Dargwa family, is spoken in Dagestan's mountainous villages, but has a limited digital presence. Digital activists like Magomed Magomedov are working to change this.
Twitter could be fully blocked in Russia within the next month
Eastern & Central Europe17 March 2021Russian internet regulator Roskomnadzor says it is prepared to block Twitter completely if the platform continues to ignore its requests to take down content flagged as illegal.
Russian internet regulator Roskomnadzor throttles Twitter loading speeds
Eastern & Central Europe10 March 2021Twitter has a small audience in Russia, but more popular platforms such as Facebook and YouTube could also see slower loading speeds if they fail to address state takedown requests.
‘Pandemic Big Brother': Highlighting impact of COVID-19 restrictions on digital freedoms in Eastern Europe
Digital rights activists fear that digital surveillance has become so normalized during the pandemic that it may be hard to roll these measures back once it's over.
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