Featured stories from RuNet Echo
Stories from RuNet Echo
15 August 2017
A Viral Rap Battle Has Everyone in Russia—Including Business Journalists and Politicians—Talking
Even opposition leader Alexey Navalny weighed in, saying despite the profanity, the raps are "100 times more cultural than any comedy show or song contest you see on state television."
31 July 2017
Why Are Russians Indifferent to the Syrian Conflict?
"At a minimum, the numerous problems with rights and freedoms in Russia suck up a lot of time...which doesn’t leave energy for problems taking place far from Russia."
26 June 2017
Is the End Near for Telegram in Russia?
Blocking Telegram in Russia would surely decrease its popularity, but there is no guarantee that it will help stifle communication among violent extremist groups.
19 June 2017
‘Who Has the Most Selfies?’ Council of Bloggers Meets for First Time in Russian Parliament
"I have more than ten thousand [selfies]," firebrand politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky joked. "Who has more than me? No one!"
11 June 2017
Hackers Troll Prosecutor's Office In Advance of Russia Day Protests
On the eve of tomorrow's nationwide anti-corruption protests, hackers broke into the Yaroslavl Region Prosecutor's Office's website and posted a message.
9 June 2017
Russian Parliament Moves Ahead With Banning Anonymity on Messenger Apps
The Duma’s Information and Technology Committee has approved controversial draft legislation that would ban anonymity on online messengers, recommending the draft law for consideration in its first reading.
8 June 2017
Russia Might Ditch Its Failed ‘Bloggers’ Registry’
Russian lawmakers in the State Duma have introduced legislation that would abolish the so-called “Bloggers’ Registry” created in 2014, which saddles popular bloggers with special regulations.
6 June 2017
Russia's Biggest Social Network Now Allows Political Ads, But Not For Everyone
Vkontakte, Russia’s most popular social network, has lifted a ban on political advertisements, albeit with strict limitations that are likely to benefit the country’s political establishment.
5 June 2017
Digital Guerrillas Bring Down Russian State Censor's Website
How hackers tricked Internet service providers into blocking the state censor's website.
2 June 2017
Inside Russia’s National Liberation Movement With Pavel Merzlikin
Lincoln Pigman translates Pavel Merzlikin's opus on how he joined and escaped Russia’s far-right National Liberation Movement.
1 June 2017
Global Voices Seeks New Editor for RuNet Echo
Global Voices seeks a part-time Project Editor to oversee our ongoing coverage of Russia, analyzing the Russian-language Internet, online speech, and social networks.
31 May 2017
Russia's Internet Censor Asked for a PornHub Premium Subscription. PornHub Gave It 10
PornHub has given Russia's Internet watchdog 10 free premium subscriptions, half of which it is giving away "for charitable purposes."
26 May 2017
An Interview With Anna Veduta, Russian Activist, Expert, and Feminist
RuNet Echo speaks to Anna Veduta about her work for Russia’s anti-corruption crusader, her relocation to the United States, and her experience as a regional expert and feminist.
24 May 2017
A Russian University Wanted to Award Duterte an Honorary Doctorate, but He Flew Home Too Soon
One of Russia’s most prestigious universities planned to award controversial Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte an honorary doctorate, but he left the country before the ceremony could take place, Russian media...
22 May 2017
Russia's State Duma Invites a YouTube Star to Speak
A woman who once submerged herself in a bathtub filled with potato chips for her 5 million YouTube subscribers, Sasha Spilberg addressed the State Duma this Monday.
Russian Crooner Joins Effort to Attract Tourists to War-Torn Eastern Ukraine
Nearly three years into the war in eastern Ukraine, the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics are making a renewed attempt to attract foreign tourists to their Russian-backed statelets.
17 May 2017
The Russian State Media: Champion of Internet Freedom. (From Now On.)
With millions of Ukrainians now at risk of losing their beloved online services, Russia's state media did what it often does in unexpected geopolitical situations: it suddenly changed sides.
16 May 2017
Ukraine Sanctions VKontakte, Other Russian Social Media Websites
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed an order instructing the country's Internet providers to block several major Russian social media websites.
12 May 2017
Diversity, Interrupted: Anti-Gay Crusades Mar Ukraine’s Tolerant Facade
As this year’s Eurovision Song Contest enters its final weekend, a half-painted rainbow arch meant to symbolize the event’s slogan, “Celebrate Diversity,” hovers ominously over the center of Kyiv.
11 May 2017
The Russian Journalist Responsible for the Trump-Lavrov Photo Speaks Out
TASS photojournalist Alexandr Scherbak, the man who took Wednesday's controversial pictures in the Oval Office, accuses the U.S. government and media of “hysteria.”
