Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from February, 2011
Russia: “Danilkingate” – or “Parfyonov/Volochkova Syndrome”
Power Vertical reports on Natalya Vasilyeva, “Russia's latest whistleblower” – who “[revealed] that the judge in Mikhail Khodorkovsky's recent fraud trial was pressured from on high […].” LJ user stas-kucher calls (RUS) the scandal “Danilkingate” (after Viktor Danilkin, the judge). Journalist Andrey Loshak notes (RUS) on the “Parfyonov/Volochkova syndrome,” referring...
Russia: 2011 State Budget Funding for Media Companies
LJ user sart posts info (RUS) from the Russian Federation's 2011 budget (RUS, .zip, 322MB) on the state funding allotted to media companies: e.g., VGTRK gets nearly 19 billion rubles (approx. $628 million), and TV-Novosti, a company that owns RT (Russia Today), gets over 11 billion rubles (nearly $380 million).
Russia: Government Officials Dismissed for Compromising Online Photos
Government officials in Russia start to feel the pressure of ‘Privacy 2.0.’ 2 policemen have been dismissed [RUS] in Chita after anonymous commenter published pictures [RUS] of them drunk at a local forum. Almost simultaneously in Buryatia, Irina Levandovskaya, a regional judge, has been dismissed for compromising photos [RUS] found by...
Russia: Reactions to the “Safe Internet League”
Radio Free Europe writes about the “Safe Internet League”, a new initiative that would use volunteer cyber squads to monitor and report ‘dangerous content.’ Reacting to the news, Jeffrey Carr at Forbes notes that “security services have masked a variety of oppressive actions under the more acceptable umbrella of cleaning...
Russia: Old and New Media Censorship Tactics
In its yearly report Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) analyzes situation with Post-Soviet online expression, noting that online censorship in the region has become more subtle without losing efficiency. “Accidents befall Web servers, just as mysterious, unsolved crimes of violence silence the region's online journalists.”
Macedonia: Violent Inter-Ethnic Incident on Skopje Fortress
Two large groups clashed around the old Skopje Fortress around noon on Sunday. The police failed to effectively separate an ethnic Macedonian and an ethnic Albanian mobs, which came to protest for and against construction of a church-like building that the government claims would become a museum. Some of the results include 6 injured civilians, 2 injured policemen, and alarmingly high levels of general fear and hate speech on-line.
Russia: Blogger Detained for Spreading Bombing Rumors
Masha Egupova analyzes the cases of Ilya Korol, Far East blogger who got detained for a terroristic act rumor, and the new government initiatives that are aimed to monitor and control such "dangerous content."
Slovakia: Deaflympics 2011 Controversy
Slovakia may fail to hold a successful Deaflympics this month, due to problems with funding and unfinished facilities, which were known to exist as far back as last spring - and still remain today. Tibor Blazko reports on the Slovak netizens' frustration with the situation.
Ukraine: Netizens Criticize Chaotic Construction in the Nation’s Capital
Tetyana Bohdanova reviews online and offline debates and initiatives inspired by the chaotic construction in Kyiv’s historical center.
Ukraine: Facebook's Popularity Grows
Maksym Savanevsky of Watcher.com.ua reports (UKR) on Facebook's increasing popularity in Ukraine: the number of users has grown by 400% in 2010; monthly growth rate is about 14%; some 1,161,000 people (or 2.5% of Ukraine's population) have Facebook accounts, and, if growth continues at the same rate, 4 million Ukrainians...
Belarus: 2,600 People Vouch for Political Prisoners
Gomel-based activist Pyotr Kuznetsov is one of 2,600 Belarusians who have publicly vouched for those who remain jailed after the Dec. 19 presidential election protests. He addresses (RUS) the Belarusian president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, among others: “[…] [Is he] prepared to accuse 2,600 people of a conspiracy to change the constitutional...
Belarus: House Arrest, with KGB Officers Stationed Inside
According to LJ user ng68 (RUS) and to this RFE/RL story (ENG), KGB officers are stationed inside – not outside – the homes of former presidential candidate Uladzimer Nyaklyaeu and journalist Iryna Khalip, who were released from jail on Jan. 29 but placed under house arrest.
The Balkans: Turbo-folk and Rock Mashups
Mashup clips by YouTube user apostolski, which combine video footage of Coldplay, U2 and Queen with Serbian turbo-folk songs are poised to become the next big viral hit among Balkan social media users and bloggers [MKD]. Some have already “spilled over” into traditional media like TV call-in show Jadi burek...
Belarus: Photos of Turau and Other Locations
Photos from the town of Turau and other locations in Belarus – by LJ user xadnight (RUS, ENG)
Russia: Artyom Charukhin's Truth-Telling Case
The Power Vertical reports on the case of a Moscow police officer who admitted in a courtroom that he had forged a police report on the arrest of opposition activist Ilya Yashin.
Russia: Guardian's Luke Harding Expelled From Russia
Julia Ioffe, Sean Guillory and Anatoly Karlin write about the expulsion of Guardian's Moscow correspondent Luke Harding from Russia.
Russia: Doku Umarov's Belated Statement on Domodedovo
In Moscow's Shadows analyzes Doku Umarov's belated statement, in which he claimed responsibility for the Jan. 24 Domodedovo Airport suicide attack.
Russia: Citizen Bloggers of 2010
After a decade in the wilderness, Russian civil society is finding a powerful voice online. Alexey Sidorenko and Oliver Carroll profile seven citizen bloggers who are leading this charge. A co-publication with openDemocracy Russia
Russia: Analyst on How Social Networks Change Russian Media Environment
“Twitter is faster than FSB,” argues Marina Litvinovich in her recent op-ed on social media in Russia [RUS]. Besides already observed effects of information de-monopolization she notes several new features of the country's media space: growth of mobile Internet and Facebook/Twitter. “[Facebook] like-er and re-poster – are the main heroes of...
Russia: Vkontakte Social Network as a Unique Video Clip Environment
“Kid-hop,” a genre of lo-fi hip-hop videos shot by teenagers from the Russian regions, has become a unique phenomena that blossomed in Vkontakte social network, Alexander Gorbachov writes [RUS] supporting his argument with several dozens of music videos.
Russia: Review of the Environmental Blogosphere in January 2011
Russian environmental blogosphere is a mixed bag of negative forecasts and positive initiatives, Bellona.ru reports [RUS] in its January digest. While Alexey Yablokov, famous environmentalist and blogger, forecasts [RUS] several catastrophes (including one nuclear), Russian Environmental Movement publishes funny movie clips [RUS] agitating to save the planet.
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