Stories from RuNet Echo from May, 2011
Russia: Quantitative Research Proves Blogs Set an Alternative News Agenda
Bruce Etling, Berkman Center scholar and one of the authors of the “Mapping of the Russian Blogosphere” research, posts the initial results of the Russian online media content analysis. While the “Russian TV channels and newspapers (traditional and Web native) cover topics similar to each other and to the Russian government,”...
Russia: Opposition Blogger's Trial Starts After a Year of Detention
Caucasian Knot reports on [ru] Alauddin (Aleksey) Dudko's trial that started only on May 10, 2011, year after his arrest. Dudko (LJ-user ingushetiya_ru), opposition blogger, had been charged with drug and explosives possession. Dudko's lawyers claim, police set him up in order to prevent his blogging activity. According to the...
Russia: North Caucasian Website DDoS-attacked and Hacked
Caucasian Knot reports [ru] a hacker attack on golosingushetii.ru (Voice of Ingushetia), an independent North Caucasian website. In March 2011, the website was subject to a DDoS attack. This time the online offenders managed to hack the website and delete its content. The content has been backed up and now the...
Ukraine: The Untold Story of the Victory Day Clashes in Lvov
Russian television footage this week showed hooded young Ukrainians attacking World War II veterans, giving Nazi salutes, and chanting nationalist slogans. As they ripped St. George ribbons from people's shirts, it seemed that Ukrainian youth had forgotten the terrible sacrifices made by the Soviet Union to defeat Germany. Will Partlett reports on what the Russian press is not saying about the May 9 clashes in Lvov, Ukraine.
Russia: New Online Electoral Statistics Database Launched
Russian domestic election monitoring group Golos.org has launched an on-line database of electoral statistics stat.golos.org [ru] that contains official data from more than 36 thousand elections of different levels held in Russia since 2003. Golos members noted [ru] that the database greatly eases the access to Russian electoral statistics.
Russia: President Medvedev Meets Russian Internet Community
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met leaders of the Russian Internet community for three hours of discussion about Internet regulation. Gregory Asmolov, who took part in the meeting, shares his impression and analysis of the President's approach to the regulation of the Internet.
Russia: A Third of Russian Internet Users Enjoy Broadband Internet Access
Almost 18 million of Russians now browse the Web using broadband connection, Rumetrika.ru reported. It is 34 percent of all Russia's Internet users.
Russia Opens Its First “Creative Commons” Portal
Russian Institute of the Information Society created “Creative Commons Russia,” the first Internet portal in the country working under Creative Commons licenses, Russian collaborative blog Habrahabr.ru reported.
Russia: “United Russia” Party Targets Social Networks
Pro-government party “United Russia” plans to increase its presence on social networks, popular newspaper Kommersant reported. The party will create a separate group responsible for working with potential voters on social networks.
Russia: Video Shows Journalist Being Beaten in Khimki Forest
LJ user Oleg Kozyrev posted a video showing journalist Yuri Samsonov being beaten by a private security service employee in Kimki forest.
Russia: Bloggers React With Cynicism to Bin Laden's Death
The death of Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2, 2011, has provoked condemnation and talk of conspiracy theories among Russian bloggers. Quickly becoming one of the hottest topics of the Russian Internet, the death of Bin Laden did not divide netizens. In a rare instance of unity, Russian bloggers revealed their cynicism toward one of the most important events of this year.
Russia: Victory Day and Politics
Blogger Dmitry Sokolov-Mitrich recollects [ru] his feelings over the media coverage of the Victory Day. Due to over-politicisation and excessive advertisement through the media, the feeling of the national unity of the holiday faints, blogger claims. “I will not watch the parade this year, even on TV. But I will...
Russia: Photos and Videos of the Victory Day Parade
Blogger polyakovv publishes [ru] pictures and videos of the Victory Day Parade, a celebration of the end of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945 section of the World War II). Twitterers use hashtags #parad [ru], #pobeda [ru], and #9may [ru] to share their pictures and recollections of the holiday.
Russia: ‘Online Superman’ Navalny Has Bloggers Divided
Alexey Navalny is much more than a blogger. He exploded onto the Russian Internet with scandalous revelations, often against political figures, and quickly grew into the country's "online Superman," fighting what seems to be an unwinnable war against corruption and an army of human bots. Not all bloggers are diehard fans though; many still deeply distrust Navalny.
Russia: Livejournal Blocks Navalny's Post
Livejournal.com, the most popular blogging platform in Russia, blocked the post of one of the famous bloggers Alexey Navalny for violating the Livejournal terms. Navalny attempted to publish a screenshot from the Russian social network Vkontakte.ru that allegedly contained personal information of the person connected to the recent anti-corruption donors...
Russia: Problematic leniency towards corruption
LJ user SPbChel discusses [RU] governmental leniency towards corrupt officials as explanation of the failure of Russia's anti-corruption campaign.
Russia: Individual political funding
Vladimir Kara-Murza at World Affairs writes about the rise of individual citizen contributions to oppositional parties and organizations, and how the interests holding power in Russia relate and react to this.
Russia: Bureaucracy and corruption
Sean's Russia Blog presents reflections on Russian bureaucracy and corruption from current and historical perspectives.
Russia: Anti-Corruption Donor Details Leaked
In the middle of April 2011, donors to the Russian anti-corruption, whistle-blowing website Rospil.info [ru] began to report that they had received strange calls and emails from unknown people, some claiming to be journalists, asking about their donations to Rospil and why they support the website’s founder, popular Russian blogger Alexey Navalny.
Russia: E-Gov Blogger Discusses Technology and Transparency (Video)
Yekaterina Aksyonova, creator of gov-gov.ru, one of the most informative blogs about e-government in Russia, met with Global Voices at Central Asian BarCamp recently and answered several questions on the role of technology and transparency.
Russia: Who is Restricting the Russian Internet?
Russia's position in American non-profit organisation Freedom House's report "Freedom on the Net 2011" ratings has dropped from the previous findings in 2009. The report analyses freedom of access to the Internet in 2009-2010 in 37 countries. According to author Marina Litvinovich, to "liberate" the Internet and raise Russia's position in Freedom House's ratings, the Russian community must turn its attention to Article 282 and start a campaign to have it repealed.
