Stories about Russia from August, 2011
Russia: Chamber of Accounts’ Leak Exposes Significant Financial Violations
Anti-corruption blogger ipasserby had analyzed [ru] over 100 classified documents of the Russian Chamber of Accounts that had accidentally leaked to the Web in July 2011. According to the blogger, Chamber of Accounts knowingly concealed serious significant violations worth of millions of dollars.
Russia: Why We Are Leaving Our Country Behind
Recent months have seen a new spin on the topic of emigration that seems to be ever-present in the Russian online space. Several powerful blog posts written by people from different social groups have become a platform for expressing one's take on the present and future of the country and people's place in it.
Russia: Bloggers React to the Storming of Tripoli
Compared to April 2011, when Global Voices first analyzed Russian reactions on the conflict, opinions seem to be more polarised now; bloggers had divided into two distinctive groups of supporters and opponents of Colonel Gaddafi. Alexey Sidorenko investigates.
Russia: Content Analysis of Party Manifestos
LJ-user schegloff analyses [ru] party manifestos of the Russian parties using Wordle word clouds. “Opposition can be identified by the word “must,” patriots by the word “Russia,” ruling party by the word “Unity,” concludes the blogger, speaking of the word frequency in each document.
North Korea Plans to Buy Military Jets from Russia?
GI Korea from ROK Drop blog commented on latest allegations that North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il's recent visit to Russia was to buy new fighter jets.
Russia: Shark Attacks in Vladivostok
Russia is not known for sharks attacks, but this summer a number of incidents have occurred. Masha Egupova reports, and examines the blogosphere's response to the recent spate of shark attacks in the Russian Far East.
Russia: HIV Activists Protest Against Medicine Shortages
Vitaliy Ragulin posts pictures [ru] of HIV activists rallying in front of the President's Staff office. The activists accused the Ministry of Health care in poor HIV/AIDS politics, and, more importantly, of shortage of medicines needed for HIV treatment.
Russia: Cigarettes Branded for Young Women Spark Controversy
A recent advertising campaign and carton redesign by one of Russia’s largest tobacco manufacturers has riled Russan bloggers and sparked a debate on responsible marketing and advertising. Ashley Cleek looks into the issue.
Russia: Court Rules Out to Block An Undisclosed LiveJournal Account
Samara city court had ordered a local ISP to block an undisclosed blog at LiveJournal platform that ‘incites hatred towards an ethnic and social (professional) group,’ the website of Samara Prosecutor's Office reports [ru]. The ‘extremist’ website was found ‘during the monitoring of the Internet,’ the report says.
Russia: Kim Jong Il's Visit
Suzanne Merkelson writes on FP's Passport blog about North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's visit to Russia.
Russia: “Russia Today and YouTube”
Democratist is wondering about the validity of Russia Today's YouTube viewer stats.
Russia: Intoxicating Economics
Streetwise Professor argues against the bad economics of promoting Russian wine production to turn consumption patterns from stronger to weaker alcoholic beverages in order to fight the country's rampant alcoholism.
Russia: Memories of 1991
Kim Green of The Greenery shares her memories of living in Russia in 1991 as a student, right after the August Coup 20 years ago.
Russia, Libya: RT's Coverage of the Conflict
Democratist writes about Russia Today's coverage of the situation in Libya.
Russia: Police Refused To Start the Criminal Prosecution Against LiveJournal DDoS Attackers
Russian police acknowledged the DDoS-attacks against LiveJournal blogging platform in April 2011, but refused to start a criminal prosecution against the attackers, gazeta.ru reported [ru]. Police wrote to the source that it was ‘unable to identify attackers.’ Aside from paralyzing the Russian blogosphere, DDoS attacks against LiveJournal led to nearly...
Russia: “Democracy Without Balls”
Oleg Klimov writes [ru] that Mikhail Gorbachev, speaking on the 20th anniversary of the Soviet Union's collapse, said that “Putin is no dictator – he has just castrated democracy by depriving citizens of the democratic right to choose.”
Russia: State News Agency Calls PM Putin “Increasingly Autocratic”
Siberian Light notes that RIA Novosti, a Russian state-owned news agency, has called the Russian PM Vladimir Putin “increasingly autocratic” in an article on the visit of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-il to Russia.
North Korea: Speculation Looms over Kim Jong-il's Visit to Russia
Net user 100gf from Politics and Computers blog posted a brief summary on North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's visit to Russia, a rare official visit for the first time in nine years. As Kim is expected to hold talks with President Dmitry Medvedev regarding energy and denuclearization issues, speculations have...
Russia: Bloggers Remember 20th Anniversary of August Coup
On August 19, Russians commemorate 20 years since the "August Putsch," a failed coup d'etat conducted by a number of KGB officers and military units who were opposed to Gorbachev's reform program and decentralisation of power to the Soviet republics. Citizens took to the streets to defend democracy, and bloggers are remembering their efforts.
Russia: Ex-UK Ambassador's Diary of 5 Days in August 1991
OpenDemocracy.net publishes – here, here and here – excerpts from the August 1991 diary of Rodric Braithwaite, who was the British Ambassador in the Soviet Union back then.
Russia: Alcohol Consumption Down
Russland in der Krise! notes [ger] that alcohol consumption in Russia has decreased from 18 to 15 litres of alcohol, and attributes the decrease to a change in consumer habits and less availability.
