Stories from RuNet Echo from August, 2010
Russia: Do Authorities Conceal Rate of Death Caused by Smog?
Blogger molitva-i-post writes [RUS] that Moscow medical services failed to evacuate the body of her grandfather who died of heat and smog. Hospitals and morgues are filled with the dead, blogger reported. Despite numerous similar cases, the Ministry of Health denied [RUS] the increase in death rate caused by high temperatures.
Russia: Wildfire News Website Suspected to Be Attacked
LJ-user irka-knopkina writes [RUS] about a Vyksa city website [RUS] that is allegedly DDoS'ed for posting information about wildfires. Administration of a local factory prohibited access to the website to its employees, blogger added. Vyksa and surrounding areas were hit by severe wildfires recently.
Russia: Musicians Sign Petition for Detained Rapper
Ivan Alexeev (aka Noize MC ), a Volgograd-based rapper famous for its politically charged songs [EN], had been detained for 10 days after a concert where he sang an anti-police song. Blogger Norlink published [RUS] a petition for his defense that had been signed by the Russian rock-musicians.
Russia: New Bill to Rename Russian Police
Bloggers discuss [RUS] the Russian President's draft of police reforms bill published online at this website [RUS]. Proposed change of the name from “militsiya” [RUS] to “police,” one of the main symbolic changes in the draft, will alienate policemen even more, LJ user semen_serpent writes [RUS].
Russia: a Blogger That Wrote to Putin about Wildfires Regrets Writing
Alexander Pochkov (aka LJ user top-lap), shares [RUS] his regrets about writing to Russian Prime Minister [EN] Vladimir Putin. He claims he may lose his job and Putin's response made him a joke in the blogosphere. It would be better, he says, if he avoided writing and went to fight the...
Russia: Fires, Rynda and Putin Create Internet Meme
The coverage of Russian fires on the blogosphere took a different turn when notorious Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin replied to one of the posts on LiveJournal, popular blogging platform in the country, and, inadvertently, created a new Internet meme called "rynda."
Russia: Pro-Kremlin Youth Movements Allegedly Forge Photos
Blogger mr-bison posted a research [RUS] of photos published by two pro-Kremlin youth movements (“Nashi” and “Molodaya Gvardia“). He points out that all the photos of the pro-Kremlin activists where they “were fighting with wild fires” are forged.
Russia: Leader of Khimki Forest Defenders Detained
Yevgenia Chirikova, a civil rights activist and leader of the Khimki forest park defenders [EN] has been detained, infox.ru reported [EN]. More than 30 policemen came to detain her after she gave a press-conference in the Independent Press-Center.
Russia: Violence, Drinks and Love on Airborne Forces Day
LJ user zyalt decided to take a walk with a photo camera around Gorky Park in Moscow on the Airborne Forces Day (August 3). Here is his photo report.
Russia: Crowdsourcing assistance for victims of wildfires
Severe wildfires in Russia have continued to spread since last week, displacing thousands of citizens. A new website using Ushahidi software, Russian-fires.Ru, is mapping not the fires themselves, but citizens who need help and those who wish to offer help.
Russia: Pictures of Village Destroyed by Wild Fires
LJ user photomans posts [RUS] compelling pictures of Verkhnyaya Vereya, one of the villages destroyed by fires in Russia.
Russia: Ushahidi-based Project to Help Victims of Severe Fires
GV “RuNet Echo” team together with volunteers from different parts of Russia has launched “Russian Fires.ru” [RUS], an Ushahidi-based crisis crowd sourcing website. The project is aimed to bridge volunteers and the victims of wild fires that hit central part of Russia [EN].
Russia: Photos from Opposition Rally in Moscow
LJ user zyalt published the pictures [RUS] from the opposition rally in Moscow that happened on July 31.
Russia: Influential Internet Company Plans to Go Public
Digital Sky Technologies, an influential Russian Internet company that recently bought ICQ from AOL, plans to start selling 25 percent of its shares to the public in 2011. This can create a precedent for other Russian Internet firms that remain mostly private, The Moscow Times reports [ENG].
Russia: Towns and Villages on Fire
Hundreds of forest and peat fires are raging across central Russia. The organization of the firefighting effort has been inadequate in many cases, and local residents often choose to self-mobilize and defend nearby towns and villages with whatever means they happen to have at their disposal.
