· November, 2012

Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from November, 2012

Lurkmore or Lurkless? The Russian Internet Blacklist In Action

RuNet Echo

A new Russian law that threatens Internet censorship came into effect on November 1. This week, netizen outrage followed the blocking of one particularly popular website by Russian ISPs. The site in question was Lurkmore, a Wikipedia-like compendium of articles on Internet culture and memes, written in an irreverent style with heavy use of Internet jargon.

14 November 2012

New Hard Times for Russian Journalism

RuNet Echo

This week, one of the RuNet's biggest bloggers, Rustem Adagamov, posted a letter from Yevgenia Albats, the chief editor of The New Times, one of Russia's most prominent weekly magazines. In her letter, Albats announced a new subscriptions initiative, the fate of which will decide the journal's future, and set an important precedent for political journalism in Russia.

14 November 2012

The Trouble With Russian Nationalism

RuNet Echo

This year, Unity Day lived up to its name, though in a rather unexpected way. In 46 towns and cities across Russia, including Moscow, roughly 30 thousand people took part in far-right extremist rallies. While this is an infinitesimally small fraction of the country's total population, Unity Day's far-right groups have managed to attract supporters all over Russia.

12 November 2012

Russia's Volunteer Aid Capacity, On Vivid Display in Krymsk, Is Absent in Dagestan

RuNet Echo

In the aftermath of flood in Krymsk, Russia saw an outpouring of volunteer efforts, with civil society and representatives of different political fractions coming together to aid Krymsk's citizens. Perhaps the indifference about Derbent's suffering lies in the fact that Dagestan is a republic plagued by radical Islamist insurgency, where violence and death occurs daily.

9 November 2012

Racism in European Football: Will New Rules Help?

October 2012 has seen racism rear its ugly head again, mainly in the European Leagues, especially in England affecting both the Premier League clubs and players as well as the national team. Many have wondered whether the major football bodies UEFA and FIFA will act as some have been trying to do like the Football Association (FA) in England.

8 November 2012

Russians React to Obama's Reelection

RuNet Echo

With America's presidential elections finally over, Russians are reacting to Barack Obama's reelection, voicing fears and hopes about topics ranging from the Reset to America's waning global hegemony. Politicians and netizens have already begun weighing in.

8 November 2012

The Latest LiveJournal Sensation, Courtesy of the Russian Special Forces

RuNet Echo

The anonymous LJ blog hardingush was created on September 15. Now, less than two months later, the blog, subtitled "Ingush Special Forces, is number 425th in LJ's general user rating. Netizens have left over 4,000 comments on its various posts. Four of these posts also made it into the October top-25 list of North Caucasus bloggers. But who's behind the account?

4 November 2012

What Ever Happened to Russian Nationalism?

RuNet Echo

Just two years ago, Russians' capacity for street protests seemed limited to soccer hooligans and race riots. This, it appeared at the time, was the most the world could expect from Russia's struggling civil society, a ramshackle patchwork of decidedly unpopular liberals and apparently bloodthirsty nationalists. After last winter's protests, what's changed?

4 November 2012

About our Eastern & Central Europe coverage

Filip Stojanovski
Filip Stojanovski is the Central Europe editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.

Daria Dergacheva
Daria Dergacheva is the Eastern Europe editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.