Stories about Russia from November, 2009
Slovenia, Russia: Thoughts on Blogging
Dr. Filomena and Profy are musing on what it means to be a blogger.
Russia: Quarantine in Yekaterinburg
Russian Blog reports that Yekaterinburg authorities have announced a flu-related quarantine from Nov. 13 to Nov. 20.
Russia: 1999 Chechen Diary, Part 4
The final part (part 4) of Polina Zherebtsova’s 1999 Chechen Diary – at Sundry Translations and Other Tangentialia. (More links: intro, part 1, part 2, part 3, Russian-language original.)
CEE: Recycling & Bicycles, Energy Consumption, and More
At Th!nk About It, a climate change blogging competition, Adela reports on the construction of a highway in Romania, which will go through a national park, endangering “the only virgin forest on our good old continent”, and also writes about the Recicleta project in Bucharest, and one Romanian man's roof...
U.S., Europe: Immigrant Writing; Diaspora Mentality
Maud Newton writes about a newly-published anthology of immigrant writing, “Becoming Americans.” Sublime Oblivion examines the views of “Russian political analyst & nationalist Konstantin Krylov” on “international diasporas” and “the diaspora mentality.”
Russia: Luzhkov vs NYTimes; “Destruction of Old Moscow”
IZO posts a translation of an open letter to president Medvedev “about the destruction of old Moscow under Mayor Luzhkov,” written by urbanism scholar Yuri Bocharov. Russia! reports on the defamation lawsuit against the New York Times, filed and won by the Moscow mayor.
U.S.: Redesign Of Vladimir Nabokov's Book Covers
At Design Observer, John Gall writes about the redesign of Vladimir Nabokov's book covers: “All twenty-one of them.” (Link via Maud Newton.)
Russia: Videos of Ulyanovsk Arms Depot Blasts
LJ user oleg_kozyrev posts six YouTube videos of Ulyanovsk arms depot blasts, shot by Russian video bloggers.
Russia: Article On Social Network
The Daily Telegraph published an article “Social-media and networking websites booming in Russia” [ENG] by Denis Terekhov, one of the marketing specialists in Russian social networks.
Russia: Bird's Eye View Photos of Central Part of the Country
Russian landscapes from the board of a small plane. LJ-user Makarena [RUS] shared some breathtaking photos here.
Russia: Flashmobbers Connect With Each Other Via USB (photo)
About three dozen of Moscow flashmobbers got together to participate in a 7-minute flashmob act they called "USB global connect". Each actor held a USB cable to connect to the others.
Ukraine: Flu Stats, Panic, Gauze Masks (and Some Lingerie)
According to Ukraine's Health Ministry, 1,031,597 people in Ukraine have fallen ill with "flu, acute respiratory illness and their complications (pneumonia, etc.)" between Oct. 29 and Nov. 9 - and 174 of them have died. In the Ukrainian blogosphere, much of the discussion of the current medical emergency focuses on whether there are enough reasons to panic or not.
Russia: Bloggers Discuss 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall
Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall just a handful of Russian bloggers mention what some call "the most important event in the history of the 20th century." Some use the date to remind readers about the current political situation, others practice their cynicism, but most ask themselves: "Why no one talks about this date? Why is it not publicly celebrated?"
Russia: Officer Exposes Police Corruption Using the Web
On November 6, a police officer at the Department of Internal Affairs in Novorossiysk used his personal Web site to address Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and talk about numerous problems police officers face in Russia.
Russia: Major Search Engine Closes Its Blog Rating
Yandex.ru, Russian most popular search engine, announced on November 3 that it would close its blog ranking service Yandex Blogs Top (YBT) [RUS] by the end of the month.
Russia: Markelov's Alleged Killers Arrested
Russia Blog reports on the arrest of the alleged killers of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasiya Baburova.
Russia: Calling Abkhazia Via Russia
Eternal Remont reports that “as of November 16, Abkhazia will adopt Russian area codes for telephone service. This means than everyone trying to reach Uncle Bagrat in Gagra will have to call Russia and not Georgia.”
CEE: Social Networks and the Media
Information Policy links to a BusinessWeek/TOL article on social networks and the media in Central and Eastern Europe.
CEE: “20 Years After the Fall of the Berlin Wall” – a Poll
Foreign Policy Association's Russia blog writes about the results of a Pew Research Center's poll on poverty, wealth and attitudes in Central and Eastern Europe “20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.”
Russia, U.S.: Abramovich Pays $47,221 for Dinner
A discussion of Roman Abramovich's $47,221 dinner tab from a NYC restaurant – at Eternal Remont.
Russia: Drug Abuse and Alcoholism
OpenDemocracy.net writes about Russia's drug abuse problems. The NYTimes’ The Lede and Eternal Remont write about the Russian government's attempts to fight alcoholism.