Stories from Quick Reads and Russia
Anti-war Russians find a new home in Turkey
It is not entirely clear how many Russians have arrived thus far to Turkey since Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Relatives of Russian drafted soldiers weep: ‘They were abandoned, like dogs…’
Relatives testify that recently drafted soldiers do not have food or water, cannot go back from a battle through Russian block posts, and cannot refuse to go to the front.
Lives, interrupted: The human cost of resistance in Belarus
Hanna Liubakova, an associated member of the Atlantic Council, journalist and media trainer, posted a Twitter thread about the most recent and most shocking cases of political prisoners in Belarus
‘Call them by their names’: Stories of Russian anti-war political prisoners
In March 2022 the Russian parliament passed amendments to the Russian Criminal Code allowing for real prison terms for an anti-war stance. Some people now face up to 10 years in prison.
Turkish football fans chant ‘Vladimir Putin’ during match against Kyiv
Aggravated Turkish football fans chanted "Vladimir Putin" during a match again the Ukrainian Dynamo Kyiv team, in a reference to Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. International scandal followed.
Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders take tentative steps toward peace
The EU's Charles Michel said the leaders focused on "the situation in the South Caucasus and the development of EU relations with both countries as well as the broader region.”
How Russians are protesting the war in Ukraine from a totalitarian state
Russian citizens have drawn graffiti, left objects on the streets, and found creative ways to voice their dissent under the constant threat of punishment.
Families struggle to help Azerbaijanis in a besieged Ukrainian town
Attempts to evacuate residents were largely unsuccessful, until March 14, when more than 160 private cars finally left the city.
Name calling, nukes, and Interpol: The latest on Azerbaijan-Russia tensions
Three days after Delyagin's remarks on Russia's television channel, the prosecutor's office in Baku filed a criminal lawsuit against him and asked Interpol to issue a search warrant.
Has Turkey dodged its sunflower oil crisis?
In recent months, Turkey has been rocked by a handful of crises - financial, political, environmental, diplomatic but now it is grappling with a new one - the sunflower oil shortage.
Do we live in a news bubble of our own making?
We are able to follow news in multiple languages and make conclusions, choose what we share and what we label as misinformation.
Georgians rally in support of Ukraine as MPs scramble for response
Thousands of people have taken to the streets of the Georgian capital Tbilisi to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russian peacekeepers promise to oversee return of all Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan
While both parties pledged to return all prisoners as part of the ceasefire signed on November 9, 2020, the number of Armenian POWs still in Azerbaijan remains unknown.
Pro-Russian Videos Get Fake Views With Help From Malware
A group of unknown hackers have been infecting Internet users' computers with malware, using them to inflate views on a handful of pro-Russian videos.
Russia's Internet Ombudsman Advocates for Storing User Data Abroad
Internet Ombudsman Dmitry Marinichev has proposed allowing foreign Internet companies to store Russians’ personal data abroad with the permission of the owners.
Russian Journalist Crowdfunding New Media Project on Kickstarter
The project's description on Yakovlev's Kickstarter page claims the goal is to create a media outlet to counteract the Russian "state propaganda machine" and help “turn zombies back into people.”
Epic Car Chase in Moscow's Red Square Caught on Video
A towing truck chased by police drove through the Red Square in the heart of Moscow—and went viral on the RuNet.
Hijacked Printers in Eastern Ukraine and Russia Print Pro-Ukraine Messages
Ukrainian hackers are fighting the Russian-led occupation of Donbas and Crimea by occupying security cameras and hijacking networked printers in Eastern Ukraine and Russia.
Russian Government IP Address Caught Editing German Wikipedia MH17 Article
IP addresses inside the Russian government continue to be active on Wikipedia, where a computer at the Russian Secret Service, the FSO, revised the German entry for Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, changing the word “separatists” into “rebels.” The Twitter bot @RuGovEdits, which automatically logs all Wikipedia edits made from Russian government IP...
Kiev Kowtows to Washington … on Twitter
Ukraine's new foreign minister, Pavlo Klimkin, is in hot water on the Russian Internet today, where bloggers are drawing attention to his first subscriptions on Twitter. RuNet users have noticed that some of the first accounts Klimkin chose to follow are US politicians John McCain and Mitt Romney, the neoconservative American think...
Celebrating Russian Crimea with a Candy
A Russian chocolate company in Novosibirsk has released a new candy bar called “The Crimea” with the slogan, “Just try to grab it!” A product announcement shared with the press features a super-hero character wearing the colors of the Russian flag, standing before a map of Crimea, with the following...