Stories from RuNet Echo
3 March 2019
Russian rocket Soyuz launches the first OneWeb satellites, tethered to the ground by restrictive legislation
Russians' hopes for censorship-free online access crashed and burned after the authorities imposed strict regulations and full government control of the pioneering satellite Internet program.
27 February 2019
USCYBERCOM attack gives Russian legislators new justification for tighter internet controls
Both pro-Kremlin experts and their opponents see the USCYBERCOM's attack on the "troll factory" as ammunition for isolationist policies.
26 February 2019
Russian cathedral choir's performance of a song about US nuclear annihilation shows that parody doesn't quite work in 2019
As Russian state TV regularly airs segments simulating total or partial nuclear destruction of the United States, this was bound to raise a few eyebrows.
22 February 2019
As Putin preaches ‘sovereignty’ and tech modernization, experts lament loss of online freedoms
As Vladimir Putin promises Russians a faster, more reliable internet, two reports by independent expert groups paint an unrelentingly bleak picture of more crackdowns on online freedom of speech.
17 February 2019
Russian public sector workers ordered to ‘like’ social media posts promoting the 2019 Winter Universiade
This is not the first instance of Russian public officials acting as "human bots" to promote the government's agenda online.
3 February 2019
Russian ‘anti-fake news’ bill rushed through parliament despite vocal opposition
Both the "anti-fake news" bill and its twin initiative against offending the authorities use Germany and other Western countries' laws as inspiration.
26 January 2019
Russia's isolationist ‘sovereign internet’ bill worries experts and users alike
Experts have pointed to the colossal costs associated with building the infrastructure required, and lamented that this would only lead to further monopolization of the Russian internet provider market.
23 January 2019
Local radio station in Russia cancels interview with LGBT activists after threats to editor
Homophobic abuse online didn't put the editor off, but anonymous calls threatening violence against her guests did.
10 January 2019
Russian feminists flip the script on classic Soviet films
The generation of Russians now in their mid-30s is finding their parents' TV and film role models disappointing by the modern standards of relationships and gender equality.
14 December 2018
Russian reporter who faked his own murder named a ‘person of the year’ by TIME magazine
TIME ignored the murder of three journalists while including a staged one. Why couldn’t both be included?
6 December 2018
New internet laws in Russia — and US tech giants’ acquiescence — spell trouble for dissenting voices
These new laws and rules, along with other laws regulating the collection of online user data, makes it difficult to use online platforms to voice discontent in Russia.
27 November 2018
Russian rapper arrested and unexpectedly released after alleged Kremlin intervention
Husky is no liberal minstrel, but fellow rappers rushed to his support when he was arrested. Then a state TV executive bragged about the Kremlin's efforts to release him.
9 November 2018
Russia’s most progressive media outlet finds itself on the wrong side of #MeToo
Kolpakov is the first-ever man to publicly resign over sexual assault accusations in Russia. And he's a #metoo supporter.
5 November 2018
Suicide attack against Russia's domestic intelligence agency spells more trouble for activists
A suicide bomber's attack against a local intelligence agency's office in Russia, allegedly an extreme reaction to violent persecution of leftist activists, generates yet more trouble for the latter.
26 October 2018
Death by bureaucracy? Russian regulators slap independent news site with sky-high fine
"It obviously means bankruptcy and imminent closure for the magazine."
18 October 2018
Six red carnations and one severed ram’s head: Deadly threats sent to Russian independent newspaper
The recipient of these grisly messages, the independent investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta, holds the record for the most of its reporters murdered on the job: six, including Anna Politkovskaya.
25 September 2018
Chat bot lets Russians detained at protests request legal assistance
A Russian NGO tracking police brutality developed a chatbot on the popular Telegram messenger that allows people detained at rallies report their arrests and request legal assistance.
8 September 2018
Google caves in to Russian demands, censors videos promoting a protest rally
This latest scandal is unfolding as Google is in the middle of an existential crisis, with its employees revolting against what they see as embracing censorship by their company.
30 August 2018
Is Russian social media giant VKontakte sidestepping the GDPR? One user is trying to find out.
Russia's largest social network VKontakte is in hot water again for playing fast and loose with their users' privacy — this time allegedly violating the GDPR regulations.
24 August 2018
Russian social media giant evades hard questions about privacy failures
One user challenged Vkontakte: "How many times have you challenged the security services in court over their demands to hand over user information? You have that right."
About our RuNet Echo coverage
Alexey Kovalev is the RuNet Echo editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.
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