Stories about Russia from June, 2011
Belarus: Report from Another Non-Violent Protest Event
Belarus Partizan publishes [ru] a detailed report (with photos and videos) on another non-violent protest action (#2906v1900 [ru/by]) in Belarus that took place on June 29, 2011. Police assisted by 3 buses...
Russia: Propagandist Videos Against Alexey Navalny Flood RuNet
Anti-corruption blogger Alexey Navalny publishes [ru] examples of propagandist videos against him. One video claims [ru] (150,000 views) Navalny is mentally ill and needs help from a Dr Kurpatov, famous...
Russia / Afghanistan: Photos From A School in Kabul
Photoblogger zyalt publishes [ru] pictures from a school in Kabul, Afghanistan. Schools have neither electricity nor water. Students are forced to get into classrooms after breaks by class monitors. Despite...
Russia: New Research Shows Almost No Gender Difference in Web Search Patterns
‘Search activity of men and women is almost the same,’ says [ru] the new research of web search behavior by Yandex. Women search online a little more, add to search...
Russia: ‘Nerds On Yachts’ Photo Session
Talented photoblogger Tanya Zommer publishes [ru] another photo session with ‘nerds,’ this time with Mediterranean scenery.
Russia/Moldova: Eduard Bagirov, Internet Hooligan, Arrested in Moldova
Bloggers discuss [ru] the 30-day arrest [ru] of Eduard Bagirov [ru], writer and a blogger close to pro-Kremlin propagandists, in Moldova. Oleg Kozyrev says [ru], Bagirov's arrest is connected with his...
Video: Celebrating the Solstice
The celebrations for Summer and Winter Solstices were full of lanterns, dances, flowers and bonfires. Lets tour around the world to check out the different celebrations: Solstice at Stonehenge, Feast of Saint John's bonfires in Spain, Inti Raymi in Peru, we tripantu in Chile and Kupala Day in Russia or Midsummer's night in Poland.
Russia: Deciphering Covert “Bath Salt” Drug Advertisements
LJ-user re3 writes [ru] about covert drug graffiti (e.g. “Aromatic salt – call center 24 hours”). Graffiti look like regular guerrilla ads air sprayed on the building walls. They, however, advertise fast delivery of the so...
Russia: Actors Accuse Yuri Lyubimov, Taganka's Lead Director, of Greed and Lack of Respect
LJ-user tanjakaverzina brings up [ru] the dialogue of Yuri Lyubimov, Russian theater director who had recently declared he quits Taganka theater, with the actors. The actors claim [ru] the reason of the conflict...
Russia: Rodric Braithwaite's “Afgantsy”
In Moscow's Shadows writes about Rodric Braithwaite's Afgantsy: The Russians in Afghanistan, 1979-89, a “new study of the Soviet war on Afghanistan.” OpenDemocracy.net published exclusive excerpts from the book in...
Russia: Yelena Bonner, Andrei Sakharov's Widow, Dies
Vladimir Kara-Murza of World Affairs‘ Spotlight on Russia and Vadim Nikitin of Foreign Policy Association‘s Russia blog write about Andrei Sakharov's widow Yelena Bonner, who died in the United States...
Russia: Fire at Toxic Waste Disposal Site Near St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg-based LJ user timoha-spb and Twitter users @Zak_r2 and @theproof are among those who are posting photos [ru] of smoke from the fire at the Krasnyi Bor toxic waste...
Russia: The Origins of Anti-Clericalism in the Blogosphere
T.Chumakova at portal-credo.ru writes [ru] about anti-clericalism in the LiveJournal communities. She distinguishes 5 types of anti-clerical users and lists the origins of the phenomenon: 1. “Influence of neo-pagans, Old Style...
“Russia For All” Exhibition Sparks Off Discussions On Russian Identity
Bloggers actively discuss [ru] “Russia For All” [ru, .pdf] exhibition. Viktor Bondarenko and Dmitri Gutov, the authors, aim to combat the nationalist slogan “Russia for Russians.” Each painting contains a name...
Russia: Video Reports From Anti-Seliger, Opposition Summer Camp
Oleg Kozyrev publishes a series of video reports [ru] from Anti-Seliger, a summer camp situated in the endangered Khimki city forest park. “The bloggers’ Woodstock” united digital activists, environmentalists, and...
Russia: Ministry's Online Blunders
Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs has recently started to mobilise on the Internet and in the past weeks two important events have taken place in the Internet world which have drawn attention to Ministry's activities.
Estonia-Latvia-Lithuania: 70th anniversary of deportations
Otto's Random Thoughts commemorates the 70th anniversary of deportations from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania following the June 1940 Soviet occupation of the countries, whereas Itching for Eestimaa reflects upon the...
Russia: Southstream as a hoax
Streetwise Professor questions whether Russian state gas monopoly Gazprom will actually build the Southstream gas pipeline – the main competitor to the Western-financed Nabucco pipeline.
Russia: Yuri Budanov's Assassination Exposes Deep Wounds of Chechen Wars
The June 10 assassination of Yuri Budanov, the former Russian army colonel convicted of the murder of an 18-year-old Chechen woman during the Second Chechen War, has reignited inter-ethnic tensions both online and offline, and reinforced the feeling of bitter disappointment with what appears to be a permanent state of lawlessness in the country.
Macedonia: Reasons for Protesting
Bloggers from Macedonia consider the historical significance of the current protests against police brutality, in the context of democracy development.
Russia: New Initiative to Enforce TV Morality
An initiative to create a Public Oversight Board for media control in Russia may seem like a passage from Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four but it is a reality in the country, which still struggles to accept the concept of democracy and free speech.
