Stories about Russia from October, 2009
Russia: “Twitter Against Tyrants”
Oleg Kozlovsky links to and quotes from the text of a briefing held by US Helsinki Commission/Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which included “a few recent examples of how we utilized Web 2.0 to spread information about electoral fraud” in Russia.
Russia: Riot Police vs “Senior Citizens”
Oleg Kozlovsky reports on a scandal that broke out after riot police used – during a drill – “water cannons, shock grenades, and tear gas” to disperse “a group of senior citizens that protested social injustice and blocked a federal highway.”
Russia: Nokia In and Out of LJ
Profy reports on the demise of Nokia's LiveJournal community: “But unfortunately for everyone (Nokia, the editorial team, and the overall corporate usage of social media) the community only existed for 25 days and was closed last week with the PR representative citing the fact that many bloggers used the community...
Russia: Khodorkovsky's Case, 6 Years On
In The Huffington Post, Robert Amsterdam writes about Mikhail Khodorkovsky's case, six years on.
Russia: Struggling with democracy
Robert Amsterdam draws attention to an interview on Russian democracy with Kremlin Grey Cardinal Vladislav Surkov.
Russia-Georgia: Tagliavini report reviewed
Greater Surbiton discusses the recent EU-report by the Tagliavini Commission on the 2008 Russo-Georgian war, and argues that it – with few exceptions – mostly sides with the Georgians.
Russia: Medvedev's critical questions
CrisisCrunch comments on some critical issues about Russia raised by the country's president, Dmitry Medvedev, in a recent article.
Pregnancy and Prisons: Women's Health and Rights Behind Bars
It is still a struggle to ensure human rights for pregnant women worldwide, and it seems that in the process, pregnant women in prison are many times overlooked. What have been some of the steps made to ensure that they are also treated humanely, with respect to the life they carry?
Russia: Soviet Legacy and Street Names
A few weeks ago, it seemed as if every single Russian blogger took the time to write something about the re-naming of Anti-Soviet Shish Kebab Restaurant in Moscow, a dissident journalist's protest article and a pro-Kremlin youth movement's counter-protest activities. One blogger alluded to the scandal in a post about street names that kept on preserving the questionable Soviet legacy.
Russia: Kindle
Profy reports on Amazon Kindle's “international expansion”: “This decision is obviously good at least because I personally don’t like any limitations and opening yet another window to the huge Russian market is hopefully a wise decision for Amazon. […] At the same time I myself suspect that the vast majority...
Russia: Stalin's Grandson vs Novaya Gazeta
Foreign Policy's Passport reports on a lawsuit brought against Novaya Gazeta by Josef Stalin's grandson, Yevgeny Dzhugashvili.
UK: Russian Film Festival
Siberian Light writes about the 3rd Russian Film Festival, which begins on Oct. 30 in London.
Serbia: Preparations for Medvedev's Visit
Belatedly, a mock review of the preparations for president Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Belgrade – at Belgraded: “He already was in Serbia once last year, but this time there’s a lot more fuss about his visit, presumably because we need to suck up to the East at least as much...
Russia, Ukraine: A Georgian Politician's View
Window on Eurasia highlights a Georgian politician's view on the relations between Russia and Ukraine.
Russia: Polina Zherebtsova's 1999 Chechen Diary
Jost A Mon translates the intro and excerpts from Polina Zherebtsova’s 1999 Chechen Diary that were published in Bolshoi Gorod (RUS) in Sept. 2009.
Russia: More on the Recent Election
A discussion of last Sunday's local elections in Russia – at Sean's Russia Blog.
Russia: Election Fraud and Blogging
Reports of vote-rigging in the local elections, which took place in 75 of Russia’s 83 regions on Oct. 11, spurred protests by citizens and politicians in Moscow - and quite an outrage among some of the country's bloggers.
Russia: Photos From Yaponchik's Funeral
LJ user ssmirnoff posts a selection of photos and video (RUS) from the funeral of Russian mafia boss Vyacheslav Ivankov (aka Yaponchik), which took place on Oct. 13 in Moscow.
Russia: Protest Against Voter Fraud
LJ user avmalgin posts footage from and writes this (RUS) about the rally against voter fraud in Moscow, following the governing party's victory in local election: “On Pushkin Sq., it turns out, someone was going to protest against something. Naive people. It's like coming out of the theater and holding...
Serbia: Moja Rusija/My Russia Party
Belgraded writes about a new Serbian party – the Moja Rusija (My Russia) Party: “As it usually happens, the best kind of comedy is the non-intentional kind.”
Russia: Yamal Peninsula Photos
LJ user drugoi highlights (RUS) Denis Sinyakov's photo report from the Yamal Peninsula.
