Stories from RuNet Echo from February, 2011
Russia: Artyom Charukhin's Truth-Telling Case
The Power Vertical reports on the case of a Moscow police officer who admitted in a courtroom that he had forged a police report on the arrest of opposition activist Ilya Yashin.
Russia: Citizen Bloggers of 2010
After a decade in the wilderness, Russian civil society is finding a powerful voice online. Alexey Sidorenko and Oliver Carroll profile seven citizen bloggers who are leading this charge. A co-publication with openDemocracy Russia
Russia: Analyst on How Social Networks Change Russian Media Environment
“Twitter is faster than FSB,” argues Marina Litvinovich in her recent op-ed on social media in Russia [RUS]. Besides already observed effects of information de-monopolization she notes several new features of the country's media space: growth of mobile Internet and Facebook/Twitter. “[Facebook] like-er and re-poster – are the main heroes of...
Russia: Vkontakte Social Network as a Unique Video Clip Environment
“Kid-hop,” a genre of lo-fi hip-hop videos shot by teenagers from the Russian regions, has become a unique phenomena that blossomed in Vkontakte social network, Alexander Gorbachov writes [RUS] supporting his argument with several dozens of music videos.
Russia: Review of the Environmental Blogosphere in January 2011
Russian environmental blogosphere is a mixed bag of negative forecasts and positive initiatives, Bellona.ru reports [RUS] in its January digest. While Alexey Yablokov, famous environmentalist and blogger, forecasts [RUS] several catastrophes (including one nuclear), Russian Environmental Movement publishes funny movie clips [RUS] agitating to save the planet.
Russia: Bloggers React, Reflect On Egypt Protests
As protesters surged to the streets in Tunisia and Egypt at the end of January, Russian bloggers began to rehash the news, and some reflected on how the uprisings in these Northern African countries could effect Russia and Russian stifled opposition movement.
Russia: Bloggers React To Threatened University Stipends
After an aid to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said [RUS] on January 19 that Russia should do away with stipends for university students, bloggers, parents, and university rectors began furiously posting appeals for the government not to cut back on university funding. The aid, Arkady Dvorkovich, who is often described...
Russia: The Law on the Police
A detailed analysis of Russia's Law on the Police – at A Good Treaty: “The law’s opponents sometimes downplay it as nothing more than a change of two letters (from militsiia to politsiia) […].” LJ user tapirr‘s take on the renaming (RUS): “A man named Vasya lived in a small...
Russia: Wikileaks Reveals Russian Game in Tajikistan
Russia oppositional weekly Novaya Gazeta that also serves as an official partner of Wikileaks in the country reported on diplomatic cables from Tajikistan outlining a dirty geopolitical game that Russia allegedly plays in that post-Soviet republic.
Russia: Woman Sentenced For Hacking Social Network Accounts
A businesswoman who worked for one of Russian tourist firms has been sentenced to probationary ten months of imprisonment for hacking the accounts of several users of popular Russian social network Vkontakte.ru, news portal Lenta.ru reported.
Russia: Blogger Navalny Starts Anticorruption Fundraising
Alexey Navalny, Russian anticorruption blogger, started [RUS] fundraising for his website rospil.info. Within first three hours Navalny had collected [RUS] more than $5,300 in donations which is a record for online anticorruption iniatives in Russia.
Russia: Perm Blogger On Using LiveJournal as a Political Resource
Perm-based blogger Anton Tolmachev (LJ-user legart) tells [RUS] his (unsuccessful) story of trying to use to his LiveJournal as a tool for collecting signatures in order to run for the Perm city legislative assembly. He asked his LiveJournal friends help him to run for the mayor, however, the authorities had...
Russia: Opposition Politician's Facebook Account Suspended
Facebook account of Vladimir Milov, Russian opposition politician, has been suspended, Milov reported [RUS]. As in the case of the suspension of Mikhail Khodorkovsky's account, the suspension was due to anonymous information of account misuse.
Russia: Online Freedom of Expression in 2010
In 2010, as the Internet became an increasingly important medium of communication for Russians—which a 40 percent spike in RuNet’s daily audience (RuMetrica) indicates—the issue of freedom of expression online gained in prominence. To a greater extent than ever before, Russians have begun to use the Internet as a channel for political activism and mobilization, a development that Russian leadership has found unnerving, as evidenced by its efforts to clamp down on cyberspace activity.
