Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from January, 2011
Russia: Students Launch Online Map of Illegal Gambling
Students of Saratov University of Technology launched gdecasino.ru, a crowd-sourcing website dedicated to map illegal gambling sites. A representative of Russian police said [RUS] to “Komsomolskaya pravda” newspaper that the website has already helped to close few illegal casinos.
Russia: Internet Industry Stays at Home
Emma Barnett, digital media editor at “The Telegraph“, summarized reflections from her recent trip to Russia and explained “Why the Russian Internet doesn't need the West.” According to Barnett, the Russian Internet industry is “self-contained and self-sufficient” and it has no “ambition for the foreseeable future to expand internationally.”
Russia, Ukraine: Playwright Anna Yablonskaya Killed at Domodedovo
“Playwright Anna Yablonskaya is among the dead at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport today,” writes Natalia Antonova. “We heard it from her family.”
Russia: First Twitter Reports of Domodedovo Suicide Bombing
A deadly explosion killed at least 35, and wounded as many as 70 people in the Moscow airport Domodedovo. Early reports assert (ru) that the attack was a suicide bomb. Information has been coming in from many sources. Twitter is experiencing an explosion of tweets with the hashtag #Domodedovo.
Russia: Domodedovo Airport Blast
A bomb exploded at Moscow's Domodedovo airport, at least ten casualties reported. An avalanche of Twitter items here (RUS) and here (RUS, ENG). @ann_mint, who works at Domodedovo, was one of the first Twitter users to report on the blast; “There're victums in #domodedovo Pray for us,” she wrote (ENG)...
Russia: Bloggers Choose RuNet Events of 2010
LiveJournal administration published [RUS] list of the most memorable events and personalities of 2010 chosen by bloggers. The winners: Wikileaks, Moscow mayor's resignation, wildfires, riots on Manezhnaya square, investigation of corruption in Russian pipeline company “Transneft”. Ilya Varlamov (Zyalt) has been chosen as the best blogger, and the photo of the year...
Russia: Why Skype Worries The FSB?
While Russian President Dmitry Medvedev urges government officials to get hip to technology, Russia’s Security Service, the FSB, has begun to clamp down on officials’ use of email and Skype, in a measure some are arguing is meant to stop possible ‘leaks’ of governmental information.
Russia: Will Russian Language Be More Popular Online?
Blogger oleg-kozyrev writes [RUS] about the future of Russian language online initiating discussion in blog comments. The blogger concludes that the future of Russian language is strongly connected to the future of Russia's influence in the world.
Haiti: Aid From Slovakia Blocked by Customs for Ten Months
A container with the second shipment of humanitarian aid from Slovakia has been blocked by the customs in Haiti for nearly ten months. Tibor Blazko translates some of the Slovak netizens' views on the problem.
Tunisia: Serbian Tourists Refuse to Return Home
Eleven Serbian tourists spending their holidays in Tunisian resort towns of Sousse and Hammamet have categorically refused to leave this North African country before the end of their tour arrangement. Sasa Milosevic reviews some of the online reactions of these Serbian tourists' compatriots.
Russia: Putin's Palace Exposed on Ruleaks
The Russian Wikileaks website published photos [RUS] of what is allegedly known as Vladimir Putin's $1 billion-worth palace on the shore of Black Sea . The story of the secret construction has been exposed [ENG] by Vedomosti newspaper few weeks ago.
Russia: Bloggers Discuss Possible Website of Collaborators of Authorities
Blogger welgar contemplates about how useful it could be to create a website that would list all collaborators of Russian authorities who try to compromise the action of the opposition.
Russia: Analyzing Websites of Regional Administrations
A group of volunteers analyzes [RUS] websites of regional administrative offices for openness and availability of information according to 16 criteria developed by the volunteers themselves.
Russia: Social Network User Accused of Piracy
Russian Ministry of Interior reported [RUS] of the first criminal case against a user of the most popular Russian social network Vkontakte.ru. The user allegedly shared several copyrighted materials on Vkontakte.ru.
Poland: More Reactions to IAC Report – on Microblogs and via Cartoons
The Interstate Aviation Committee's report on last April's Smolensk plane crash has provoked many insightful posts from bloggers, but microblogging platforms - Twitter and Blip.pl - have also become good spaces for Poles to express their opinions, and quite a few of visuals criticising the report have appeared online as well.
Macedonia: Recognition by Bolivia and Zimbabwe
Within the context of the Macedonia name dispute with Greece, I, Macedonian thanks * Bolivia and Zimbabwe for recognizing Macedonia under its constitutional name.
Poland: Initial Reactions to Russian Report on Polish Air Force One Plane Crash
The Interstate Aviation Committee's report on the crash of TU-154M airplane near Smolensk on April 10, 2010, has generated an outburst of strong opinions about the validity and objectivity of the document, as well as the effect it might have on the Polish politics in 2011. Most discussions in various social media are highly negative of the document's content, but gradually bloggers are beginning to elaborate on the topic.
Russia: Toxic River Caused by Sochi Olympics Development
YouTube-user Volf1959 posted a video [RUS] of a small river Dzyhra next to Sochi that is now covered with toxic layer because of the development of one of the infrastructure for the Sochi 2014 Olympics .
Russia: Bloggers on Lessons of Tunisian Revolution
The outcome of the Tunisian protests has provoked people worldwide to think about political change. One of the major questions discussed by Russian bloggers is whether the possibility of similar scenario in Russia exists.
Russia: Blogger Tests if $88 per Month is Enough to Survive
Volunteer project minproduct.ru launched by a 17-year-old Muscovite examines the state-defined monthly living wage (around $88 per month). Many Russians retirees have nothing but this amount to live on. Vitaliy, an author of the blog, shares recipes and pictures of his humble daily diet.
Russia: HimkiLeaks Project Launches Campaign Against Corrupt Mayor
LJ account HimkiLeaks [RUS] published several reports exposing Vladimir Strelchenko, ill-famed mayor of Khimki city. Previously, Strelchenko's name has been connected with such drastic events as repressions against environmentalists, assaults on journalists Konstantin Fetisov, Oleg Kashin, Mikhail Beketov, etc.