Stories about Russia from April, 2010
Russia: Eyewitness Story Of Polish Plane Crash in Smolensk
LJ user elena-pushistay shares [RUS] an eyewitness story about the Polish plane crash near Smolensk, told to her by a local woman named Lyudmila, who lives just 3 km from the military airport where the tragedy took place.
Poland: Online Grief After 10.04.2010
Sylwia Presley reports that all major Polish online news portals, social media services, governmental websites and portals of Polish organizations abroad have changed their color palettes to gray, black and white to express unity with the nation's grief.
Russia: Reactions to the Polish Tragedy
April 10, 2010, the day that should have started a new era in the Russian-Polish relations, brought tragic news instead. Airplane with the highest Polish establishment on board crashed in the Smolensk forest. The reaction of the Russian blogosphere was divided as usual when it comes to the Russian-Polish relations.
Poland: Video Reactions to the Deadly Plane Crash
Following the shocking news of the death of President Lech Kaczyński and 95 other officials, Poland starts the official week of mourning. Next to an enormous amount of reactions in various online venues, video messages present themselves as a very powerful tool to express the feelings of the nation.
Poland: R.I.P. Black Saturday 10.04.2010
As we live through the first 24 hours of the tragedy of the Polish nation, social media in Poland present various reactions to this morning's events, when the country lost its President and 95 other important personalities.
Russia: Bloggers Discuss Andrzej Wajda's “Katyń” Movie
For the first time in Russian history, Andrzej Wajda's “Katyń” (2007) has been aired on Russian public television channel “Kultura” -- thus leading to online discussions on Stalin regime, historical truth, humanism and Russian-Poland relations.
Poland: President Kaczyński is Killed in Plane Crash in Russia – Initial Reactions
Sylwia Presley reports on the initial reactions of the Polish social media users to the shocking news of the plane crash, which killed the Polish president and many other top officials in Western Russia this morning.
Russia: Expat Bloggers List
Ru_travel community tries to make a list of expat bloggers who live in the most distant parts of the world. Russophone bloggers found in New Zealand, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia and even Antarctica.
Russian Government to Develop National Search Engine
Why would the Russian government try to develop its own search engine? Bloggers and Internet experts in the country attempt to come up with explanations and possible implications of that ambitious plan.
Russia: War Reporter Blogs on Trauma and Politics of the Subway Attacks
Olga Allenova is a special correspondent for the Kommersant daily, author of Chechnya is Close: War Through the Eyes of a Woman, a collection of the 1999-2007 war reportage from the North Caucasus. In the post below, she writes about the March 29 subway bombings, the subsequent pain and trauma, and the resulting political and media responses.
Russia: Reflections on the Subway Bombings and Politics
It's been a week since the March 29 Moscow subway bombings, which killed 40 people and left over 100 injured. Below is a sampling from an ongoing discussion by Russophone bloggers.
Russia: April Fool's Online Pranks
Although the beginning of the week has been marked by the disaster and grief, Russian bloggers and computer geeks tried to leave some place in their lives for a smile. Below are few of the pranks proposed by bloggers and several software companies.
Russia: Subway Bombings Rap
LJ user abstract2001 posts audio and lyrics (RUS) of Dino MC 47's new rap song about the March 29 Moscow subway attacks. A YouTube video is here (via LJ user oleg-kozyrev).
Russia: Muscovites Use Blogs to Avoid Riding Metro
Podvezu_msk Livejournal community, which opened after the recent bombings in Moscow, is used by drivers-bloggers to offer a ride to those who don't want to use a subway. It also developed a special sign for cars with drivers willing to help for free. RIA Novosty tells a story of new...
Russia: Mainstream and Citizen Media Coverage
Lengthy discussions of the mainstream and citizen media coverage of the March 29 Moscow subway attacks: Minding Russia – here and here, FPA's Russia blog – here and here, and Global Voices Online – here.
Russia: Anglophone Commentary on Subway Attacks
More Anglophone discussions of the March 29 Moscow subway bombings, the politics around it and the commentary it has generated: Sean's Russia Blog – here and here; FPA's Russia blog; A Good Treaty – here and here; Dzutsev's Weblog; DI's Russia Blog; A Step At A Time – here, here...
Russia: “Moscow Calm – Before the Storm”
At GlobalPost, Miriam Elder reports from Moscow on the March 29 subway attacks: “It's this lack of information that helps breed the conspiracy theories that are so rife. In the U.S., we're used to nonstop programming when the slightest (or largest) thing goes wrong. Here, state-run television ran its regular...
Russia: “Technology Failed Many”
Svetlana Gladkova of Profy writes about her failed attempts to locate a Moscow friend via various popular communication tools following the March 29 subway attacks: “In this tightly interconnected world we all depend a lot on communication tools like cell phones, email, IMs, and social networks and when such tools...
Russia: “A Perfect Target”
Irina Filatova writes at the Guardian's Comment is Free that the tough measures and increased xenophobia that are likely to follow the March 29 Moscow subway bombings will not “make Moscow underground safer.”
Russia: “March Elegy”
Anna Akhmatova's poem and some memories of the Moscow subway and the Park Kultury station where the second of the two March 29 blasts occurred – at Poemless: “In the Metro, you could buy a puppy and take the puppy to the vet, have its prescriptions filled, buy some lingerie...
Russia: “Russian Roulette” Metro
English Man In Moscow reacts to the March 29 subway blasts: “For the love of god, is no where safe from terrorists? Today, many people were killed. I certainly won't be taking my child on the metro anywhere, ever again for the rest of my time here in Moscow.”
