Stories from RuNet Echo
Russian LGBTQ+ activist attended the Pride march in Moldova
According to the organizers, it was the largest march in Moldova's history, with over 800 participants
Russian series on Perestroika-era youth gangs breaks popularity records, defying attempts to ban it
Russian streaming services premiered the series "Slovo Patsana. Krov’ na asphalte" (The Boy’s Word: Blood on the Asphalt). Within just a month, it was breaking popularity records in Russia.
Museum of Russian anti-war street art opens online
Russian anthropologist Alexandra Arkhipova and her colleagues have been collecting examples of anti-war street-art — stickers, graffiti, leaflets, and complex installations — for 1.5 years, from 48 Russian cities.
Police immediately raids LGBTQ+ clubs in Moscow after Russia bans ‘International LGBTQ+ movement’
LGBTQ+ people in Russia say that they are afraid that anyone identifying as LGBTQ+ could now be announced as "extremist" and criminally punished.
Why some parents are accused of abandoning their disabled children in special schools in Nigeria
"The World Bank Group’s assessment highlighted that Nigeria, the most populated country in West Africa, recorded 29 million persons with disabilities in 2018."
Casual racism in Russia's everyday life: ‘Even though you are Buryat, you are still one of us’
Hurtful stereotypes can create actual barriers between people, fuel division and animosity. Stereotypes about an ethnic minority living in Russia, Buryats, are a vivid example of these negative social processes
Yelena Trifonova: ‘In Siberia, calling someone “Muscovite” is almost an insult’
"Independent journalism will persist as long as there's a demand for it in Russia. We cannot abandon people; because it’s the same as abandoning hostages," says the editor of Baikal People.
Vanishing memory: Commemorative plaques to victims of Soviet era disappear in Russia amid war and new repressions
Plaques commemorating victims of Stalin’s repressions are being taken down in Russian cities. News about vanishing plaques comes amid almost weekly arrests of activists for anti-regime or anti-war stances.
The number of Indigenous people of Sakhalin island in Russia is drastically decreasing
The indigenous people of Sakhalin are now present in small numbers, they are named Nivkhs, Ainu, Uilta. A documentary shows one of the dying villages, Rybnoe, where Nivkhs live.
Documentary about dying villages in Sakhalin, former territory of Japan in Russia, gets over million views
115 towns and villages in Sakhalin may be subject to administrative removal, since they are considered "not viable," because almost no one lives in them anymore, apart from a few people
How Russians fought Putinism: A documentary
It is incorrect to say that the people in Russia did not resist the emergence of Putinism — they resisted, many times and in many ways, albeit unsuccessfully.
In Russia, it's the state against the internet
What a sovereign Runet is, no one still really understands. In the view of the Russian authorities, it apparently means destroying all the bad guys and rewarding all ‘our guys’.
‘Please hate the terrorist state’: Trans people and allies speak up against a transphobic law in Russia
A group of anonymous activists who call themselves The Ural Queer Republic, from the Russian city of Ekaterinburg, announced an action and launched Twitter and Telegram channels before the approval of the law.
‘Pozor i styd': Russian has two words for shame
Russian often has two words where French has only one. One serves to describe the outer thing, while the other describes the inner thing.
‘Are you rejoicing at the prospect of a decrepit and impotent maniac being swept away by a pack of brutal bloody cannibals?’ Twitter users are divided about the armed coup in Russia
Mercenary troops have reportedly seized control of military infrastructure in both Rostov-on-Don and Voronezh, the two largest cities in the south of Russia.
Alexey Sidorenko: ‘As we speak, with every new prison sentence, the situation worsens’
Inside Russia there’re still civil society organizations continuing to do very important work even though they haven’t loudly declared themselves anti-war.
‘History of love in the country of hatred': influencers detained in Russia for LGBTQ+ ‘propaganda’
Apart from widespread censorship, the Russian "anti- LGBT propaganda" law leads to unprecedented pressure on LGBTQ+ people and the organizations helping them.
Weathering Russian xenophobia in everyday life
In recent months, there has been more talk about "Russophobia" — anti-Russian sentiment. What they face is nothing compared to what national minorities face in Russia.
A Russian girl drew anti-war picture. Now she is in a children's shelter and her dad is under arrest
One year ago, a fifth-grade student, Masha Moskaleva, drew an anti-war picture. Now, her father faces up to three years in prison and Masha may be sent to an orphanage.
Members of the Russian diaspora join global protests marking the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine
As the world marks the first anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, exiled Russians opposing Putin organize and join public demonstrations around the world, including in Berlin and Prague.
‘You'd better not wake up!': How Twitter users remember the day of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Global Voices translated some of the responses about the memories of the day of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 24th 2022
