Stories from RuNet Echo from December, 2011
Russia: AIDS Epidemic – “Shame Russia Shame”
International organizations are taking notice of Russia's AIDS epidemic and the hurdles the country faces in combating it. Recent international attention has been directed toward Russia's healthcare system, the stigma attached to those infected, and Russia's drug policies. Donna Welles reports.
Russia: Moscow Election Committee Calls to Prosecute Popular Blogger
Moscow Election Committee had issued an official letter to the Prosecutor's office and the police to start an investigation of probable defamation against Oleg Kozyrev, one of the top Russian bloggers, blogger reports [ru]. The letter is the reply to Kozyrev's complaint letter he had sent to the Committee earlier.
Russia: Social Network In-Between Security Services and Free Market
As social networks in Russia like Vkontakte play an ever increasing role in communication between post-election protesters, so too grows the interest of the security services to limit them. This conflict leads to a hard choice: whether Vkontakte should respond to security service requests, or allow its users uncontrolled protest activity.
Russia: The Opposition in St. Petersburg Fails to Reach Understanding
December 2011 post-election protest events consist of two elements: 'professional oppositioners' and concerned citizens. In Moscow those two elements managed to get together. In St. Petersburg, however, the meeting was let down by one of the parties. Citizens responded with confusion and disdain.
Russia: Opposition Faces Online Communication Problems
The ability to broadcast the events of December 2011 in Russia live online, has made people around the world and in the country the spectators of a truly historical event – the December 22 gathering of some 100-150 opposition activists, who represented thousands of the netizens and millions of not-connected Russians.
Russia: Phone Hacking Case Unites Opposition
The leaking of private phone conversations of a prominent Russian opposition leader to the media has given rise to many issues and left a lot of questions unanswered. Dmitry Davidov reports.
Russia: Alexey Navalny Released From Jail
“Everyone's waiting for Navalny ) 5 more minutes! pic.twitter.com/3BRHiuGa,” tweeted [ru] @varlamov a short while ago, posting a picture of the crowd waiting outside a Moscow prison for activist Alexey Navalny‘s release. @plushev tweeted [ru]: “Absolutely fantastic numbers. In the middle of the night, some 5,000 people are viewing [the...
Russia: Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the 2012 Presidential Election
Incarcerated since 2003, Mikhail Khodorkovsky is once again in Russia's political spotlight as presidential candidate Mikhail Prokhorov vows to pardon him if he's elected next spring. Donna Welles reports.
Russia: December 10 Opposition Rally in St. Petersburg
Russia hasn’t seen such a mass political rally in almost twenty years. On Dec. 10, thousands of Russians all over the country hit the bricks to participate in peaceful demonstrations. Maria Lelyuk reports from St. Petersburg.
Russia: Post-Election Protest in Vladivostok on December 10
Prior to the national protests that took place on December 10 in various Russian cities, Vladivostok internet community has been actively discussing the necessity to protest. Masha Egupova reported the events and discussion.
Russia: Gregory Shvedov on Braving the Putin Regime Online
The wave of popular, peaceful and nationwide protests in Russia has spread hopes of piecemeal reform. Gregory Shvedov, who heads the online news agency Caucasian Knot, is optimistic—but state pressure on his organization is far from easing.
Russia: Holy Relic Visits Nation Emerging From State-Sponsored Atheism
People from across Russia traveled great distances and endured hardships in order to view the Virgin Mary's belt - a relic believed to promote fertility. In the decades since the fall of the USSR, religion has been reinventing itself in Russia.
Russia: 13 Protest Tweets, 6 Photos “Storified” (Updated)
“Tens of thousands protest Russian election” – 13 tweets, 6 photos from the Dec. 10 rally in Moscow, “storified” on Storify.com by Colleen Kelly. (Update: A Storify compilation by GV's Asteris Masouras – “Russia: Post-election protests against Putin” – is here.)
Russia: “Why Are Russians Protesting Now?”
On Saturday, the world watched the biggest show of political activism seen in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union. This is hardly the first time Putin's Russia has been accused of undemocratic policies, so the question is, "Why are Russians protesting now?"
Russia: An “Ethical Revolution”
Photographer Oleg Klimov posts photos from the Dec. 10 rally in Moscow and describes it [ru] as an “ethical revolution”: “The issue at stake wasn't that of social justice, but of ethics. The regime has violated the universal laws of human ethics with its political technologies, and this is what...
Russia: Interview With an “Overseas Filipino Worker”
English Dad in Moscow interviews a woman from the Philippines who works as a cleaner and babysitter in Moscow: “I wanted to know how hard is to move here as an economic migrant, also known as a “OFW” (Overseas Filipino Worker) as I find it amazing that they move to...
Russia: Ukrainian Blogger's Photos From the Moscow Rally
Kyiv-based blogger Oleksandr Arhat (LJ user olarhat) posts a photo report [uk] from the Dec. 10 post-election rally in Moscow, which reminded him of the 2004 post-election protests in Kyiv: “Unbought people, protesting [not in order to get a piece of bread in return]. Doesn't happen every day, especially in...
Russia: English-Language Tweets From the Moscow Rally
@MiriamElder, @ioffeinmoscow, @shaunwalker7, @A_Osborn, @oflynnkevin, @agent_Alka, @courtneymoscow, @PeterGOliver_RT, @mschwirtz, @markmackinnon, @tonyhalpin, @Amiefr_Reuters, @RolandOliphant, @niktwick are tweeting live in English from the big protest rally that is taking place at Bolotnaya Square in Moscow right now; @agoodtreaty is monitoring Russian-language Twitter coverage of the protests in Moscow and elsewhere in Russia.
Russia: Anglophone Bloggers’ In-Depth Analyses of Dec. 4 Elections
In-depth Anglophone blog commentary on the results of the Dec. 4 parliamentary elections in Russia: OpenDemocracy.net – here and here; Sean Guillory of Sean's Russia Blog on Al Jazeera – here; Siberian Light – here, here, and here; Sublime Oblivion – here; The Kremlin Stooge – here; Mark Adomanis –...
Russia: Protests (and Security Forces) in Moscow
Siberian Light, Leopolis, and Mark Adomanis comment on the past week's post-election protests in Moscow. In Moscow's Shadows provides “a quick update as to the security forces available in the capital, not least as a counter to some of the more fanciful suggestions about the imminent victory of people power.”
Russia: Anglophone Bloggers Comment on Election and Protests
Kevin Rothrock of A Good Treaty asks eleven Anglophone Russia bloggers to comment on the Dec. 4 parliamentary electionand its aftermath: “The result, I hope readers will agree, is a fruitful diversity of informed opinion from some of the Web’s most prominent and colorful Russia-watchers.” Kevin's own take on the...
