· September, 2011

Stories about Russia from September, 2011

Russia: A New Online Game Might Change Offline Moscow

RuNet Echo  27 September 2011

A graduate of Strelka Institute Andrey Goncharov gave an interview about his final project an online game “Crowdsourced Moscow 2012″. According to the interview the game  can contibute to real democracy and allow people to participate in reshaping the offline public space of their city through online.

Russia: Pro-Kremlin Youth Movement Leader Seeks New Internet ‘Activists’

RuNet Echo  27 September 2011

A journalist  from “Afisha” magazine had succeded to attend a secret meeting in the underground Moscow bunker dedicated to the training of a new generation of pro-Kremlin Internet activists organized by a leader of “Nashi” youth movement Vasiliy Yakemenko. Yakemenko demanded from pariticipants to initiate citizen Internet-based campaigns and argued that the main goal...

Russia: Expert Analyzes RuNet's Role Under Putin's Presidency

RuNet Echo  26 September 2011

Nikolay Kononov, a columnist of Russian “Forbes,” says [ru] that the Internet will be the only space where real politics will take place in the era of new Putin's presidency. In an article “12 Years in the Internet” [ru] he predicts that the virtual politics will be able to penetrate to...

Russia: Racial Propaganda in the State-Owned Media

RuNet Echo  23 September 2011

Drawing on a rich tradition of "political technology" honed under both the Tsarist and Soviet police states, the Russian media are now rife with paid stories planted to advance specific agendas. Will Partlett examines what appears to be a recent example of this practice.

Russia: Controlled Media Support Party Hijacking

RuNet Echo  23 September 2011

With Russia’s parliamentary and presidential elections quickly approaching, political battles are becoming an almost daily occurrence. The latest scandal has reminded many bloggers that political celebrities can be discredited as fast as they're pushed into the spotlight.

Russia: Cyber Security Code of Conduct?

RuNet Echo  23 September 2011

The Russian government is attempting to spread the system of Internet controls abroad. Russian bloggers are interpreting these attempts as either the current regime's basic self-preservation instinct, or, even more troublesome, as inadequate thinking about the Internet.

Global: Reflections on Peace Day 2011

  21 September 2011

To mark the International Day of Peace, celebrated on September 21, female bloggers from The SunFlower Post share their perspectives on world peace by reflecting on the realities of their lives in Mexico, China, Turkey, Russia and Latvia.

Russia: Unjustly Convicted Businessman-Blogger Released From Jail

RuNet Echo  20 September 2011

Alexey Kozlov, businessman and a former millionaire, who was imprisoned in 2007 under trumped-up accusations, has been released from jail, rian.ru reported [ru]. Kozlov received online popularity for his “Butyrka [name of Moscow prison] blog [ru].” The blog was set up by Olga Romanova, Kozlov's wife and a renowned journalist....

Russia: Governor's Death Rumors Provoke Harsh Reaction Among Authorities

RuNet Echo  20 September 2011

Alexander Mikhelson, head of “United Russia” fraction at Kemerovo regional Duma, has proposed [ru] a new draft bill that implies stricter responsibility for online libel. The action followed the appearance of the rumors [ru] that Aman Tuleyev, governor of the Kemerovo region, was found dead. Previously, local police had set up a task force...

Russia: A 2007 Paper on HIV/AIDS

  16 September 2011

Donna Welles posts her 2007 paper on “how the peculiarities of the Russian culture, government, economy, etc. all make the country extremely vulnerable to the AIDS epidemic.”

Ukraine: Photographing the TB Epidemic

RuNet Echo  14 September 2011

Ukrainian photographer Maxim Dondyuk (@dondyuk) is documenting the TB epidemic in Ukraine: “Each day 30 people die. Each year takes more than 10,000 lives.” Dondyuk's powerful, heartbreaking photographs of TB patients can be viewed online on his Tumblr blog [ru], his website, and on Lightstalkers.com [en]. On Sep. 15, an...

Russia: Connecting Neighbors, Saving Lives

  12 September 2011

The creators of a website that enabled Russians to help each other during wildfires in 2010 have now redesigned the site to enable citizens to assist each other in new ways - including mapping willing blood donors in locations across the country.