Stories from RuNet Echo from March, 2017
Russian Web Censor Cracks Down Ahead of Next Anti-Corruption Protests
In the wake of the largest opposition protests since 2011-12, Russia's prosecutor general is cracking down on the organizers of demonstrations planned for April 2.
Russia's Youngster Uprising
Russian youths have invigorated Alexey Navalny's anti-corruption campaign by challenging educators in classrooms and sharing footage of teachers and administrators trying to indoctrinate students against political activism.
RuPaul on the RuNet: ‘Drag Race’ Catches on in Russia
It’s dramatic, it’s campy, it’s gay, and it comes with Russian subtitles: meet the translators bringing RuPaul's Drag Race to the Russian-language Internet.
‘Zelyonka': the Anti-Putin Antiseptic
"Brilliant green" is becoming the unofficial color of Russia’s opposition movement.
Russian Opposition Leader Offers European Court Shield to Thousands
Citing his group's past success, Alexey Navalny implies that coming out to demonstrate against corruption could net as much as 10,000 euros for each person wrongly detained and fined.
Don’t Make Russia’s Anti-Kremlin Opposition Angry. You Wouldn’t Like It When It’s Angry.
What started out as a playful response to an attack on Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny quickly turned into an online protest.
This Is How a Russian School Principal Talked to Her Students About Patriotism
Leaked audiotape reveals how a Russian school principal insulted her students, saying they lack patriotism, after they challenged her criticisms of opposition leader Alexey Navalny.
A Visit to a Moscow Mental Health Center
Vera Shengelia, a Russian journalist and a mental health activist, recently visited a young man at a residential care center for adults in Moscow. The experience shook her.
The Amazing, Endearing PSAs of the Belarusian Ministry of Emergencies
The Belarusian ministry in charge of managing disasters and national emergencies has produced a cartoon show. The series features animals in Looney-Toons-style misadventures, and teaches children how to stay safe.
St. Petersburg Investigators Agree to Review Ballot Stuffing Allegations
It doesn't happen often in Russia, but police have agreed to investigate a case of potential voter fraud from last September's elections in St. Petersburg.
Remembering Soviet Pop: the USSR's Vocal-Instrumental Ensembles
While the West twisted, discoed, and boogied, the people of the Soviet Union were treated to a bland but charming, state-censored version of Western music: the so-called vocal-instrumental ensembles (VIAs).
‘Riot Cops in a Kindergarten’: Russia's War on Religious Minorities Escalates
As a new law designed to fight terrorism takes effect in Russia, missionary work by minority Christian groups is becoming a gamble with the police.
Russia Adds First-Ever Foreign Messaging App to Federal Registry
For the first time ever, Russia’s federal censor, Roskomnadzor, has added a foreign online messenger to its “Registry of Information-Dissemination Organizers,” targeting the Swiss company Threema.
We the Governors of the Russian Federation Would Like to Wish You a Happy International Women's Day
According to sources in the Kremlin, the order came from the very top: Russian governors were to celebrate International Women's Day "creatively."
Russian Socialists Celebrate International Women's Day With Guerilla Ads on the Subway
A group of socialist activists in St. Petersburg is using guerilla advertising to show the city a different way to acknowledge International Women's Day.
A 3-Year-Old Girl Is Reportedly Dying in Russia Because Her Mom Doesn't Believe in AIDS
About 1,300 miles east of Moscow, there’s reportedly a three-year-old girl dying of AIDS. Unfortunately for the child, her mother denies the existence of the human immunodeficiency virus.
Ukraine Will Blacklist Websites That ‘Undermine Ukrainian Sovereignty’
The list, like Ukraine's new Information Security Doctrine, is directed at countering the dissemination of pro-separatist and pro-Russian information.
Russian Ex-Mayor Campaigns to Create ‘Putin–Superhero’ Art Show
An ex-mayor ousted by one of Vladimir Putin’s close allies is now looking to crowdfund the creation of a museum called “Putin-Superhero.”
