Stories from RuNet Echo from January, 2023
First victims of anti-LGBTQ+ law in Russia are trans persons and books
Openly trans Tiktokers, a publishing house, movies and TV shows feel the weight of the Russian anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda law.
‘We are asking for forgiveness that we know we will never receive': In Russia, people are bringing flowers to monuments of Ukrainians
In at least 17 cities of Russia, people are bringing flowers and photos of the destroyed house in Dnipro, Ukraine, hit by a Russian missile on January 14, 2023, to spontaneous memorials.
In Russia, video games are unsafe for kids. But not for the usual reasons
Nikita Uvarov, a teenager from Siberia, is serving a five-year jail sentence for planning to build the FSB building and blow it up in Minecraft.
“I will forever be the enemy of the Russian regime” says TikToker in Moldova
This is the first case of a TikToker formerly based in Russia openly standing against the Russian regime and supporting Ukraine.
Relatives of drafted soldiers in Russia do not know if they are dead or alive
In the Russian region of Samara, a petition to publish names of mobilized soldiers who died after the shelling of Makeevka on the 31st of December, 2022, gathered 50,000 signatures. The army officials refused.
Infrastructural content moderation: the case of Mariupol
In addition to the obvious humanitarian consequences that internet shutdowns in a war zone bring, infrastructural content moderation is a potent and dangerous approach to spreading disinformation.
Will a yurt in Ukraine cause a diplomatic row between Kazakhstan and Russia?
Kazakh yurts offering humanitarian help are popping up in Ukraine. Perceiving this as official support of Kyiv, Moscow is reacting by putting pressure on the Kazakh authorities.
Rights organization OVD-Info gives an overview of repression in Russia in 2022
In 2022 in Russia, there were more than 21,000 arrests and at least 370 defendants in criminal cases for anti-war statements and speeches. More than 200,000 Internet resources have been blocked including 11 sentences in cases of state treason.
Popular Russian singer answers ‘Glory to Ukraine’. Now they want to revoke his citizenship
Singer Valerii Meladze has been openly against the war since February 2022. Now he may face harsh consequences for the words he said off-the-record in Dubai in support of Ukraine.
