· May, 2010

Stories about Russia from May, 2010

Armenia-Azerbaijan: Mafia & Society

Fatalin's Blog informs its readers about Mafia, a group game where some participants take on the role of the mafiosa and kill those who represent citizens while both sides deceive each other. Invented in Russia, and alluding to societies in both countries, the blog notes that the game is especially...

Russia: Hacking of Women's Community Raises Gender, Ethical and Privacy Dilemmas

RuNet Echo  23 May 2010

The legendary Russian women blog community "girls_only" with the most sensitive and private discussions was hacked by anonymous hacker and uploaded to a mirror site. The scandal raised a lot of legal, ethical and online security dilemmas. It also showed that men and women are creatures that live on different Internet planets and inspired online discussions about the gender differences.

Russia: Video of Vibrating Bridge Over Volga River

RuNet Echo  21 May 2010

User hrom252 posts a link to almost unbelievable video of the newly built bridge over Volga river that is vibrating under heavy wind like it's made of rubber. As blogger alliruk notes, the bridge was finished six months ago and now traffic in the city is paralyzed.

Russia: Provider “Accidentally” Blocks Opposition Web Site

RuNet Echo  20 May 2010

Web site sineevedro.ru dedicated to “Little Blue Buckets Society” (online community against law nihilism on the roads) has been shut down along with other resources at the Moscow-based hosting, ru_vederko reported. The incident might be connected to another recent road accident involving high officials.

Russia: Another Web site Closed For Extremism

RuNet Echo  20 May 2010

Alleng.ru, one of the largest educational portals in Russia, has been turned off by the provider Peterhost due to the hosting of the electronic copy of the book “Basics of the Muslim Creed,” which is acknowledged by the Orenburg city court as “extremist,” blogger r_li reported.

Russia rises as nuclear exporter

RuNet Echo  19 May 2010

Eberhard Rhein of EU Blogactiv writes about a recent agreement between Russia and Turkey on construction of a nucelar power plant, and how Russia is becoming a leading exporter of nuclear power technology.

Russia: More Victory Day Commentary

RuNet Echo  19 May 2010

A Good Treaty reviews selected blog and media commentary on Victory Day’s 65th anniversary in Russia: “My own feelings on Russia’s WWII past are far from settled, so let me take a moment to express my gratitude to the aforementioned writers, who made an effort to speak coherently about a...

Russia: Photos of Grozny

RuNet Echo  19 May 2010

LJ user greedyspeedy posts the first installment of photos of Grozny, Chechnya, taken in April, and writes (RUS) in the comments: “This photo report is about the glossy Grozny; I'll show the other, gloomy, side of Grozny in part two. […] Compared to Gudermes, Argun – the largest cities after...

Russia: Berkman Center Experts Visit Moscow

RuNet Echo  18 May 2010

Researchers from the Berkman Center for Internet  and Society at Harvard University visited Moscow and met with local journalist and bloggers at the Moscow State University. Lenta.ru writes about the meeting and the research of Russian blogosphere by Harvard University.

Belarus: Lukashenko grants Bakiyev sanctuary

  18 May 2010

Yaraslau Kryvoi of Belarus Digest comments on the sanctuary given to ex Kyrgyz president Bakiyev by Belarus president Lukashenko, and the implications this might have in relations between Minsk and Moscow.

Russia: “Novaya Gazeta” Down

RuNet Echo  17 May 2010

The Web site of Russia's independent newspaper “Novaya Gazeta” seems to be down. As the newspaper's blog states, it's not a DDOS-attack but a hosting provider's issue due to the yesterday's rainstorm. However, the sudden blackout might be connected with the events in Kemerovo region.

Russia: Photos Flood in Moscow

RuNet Echo  17 May 2010

Alexey Yushenkov posts pictures of the flood on one of the central streets in Moscow. He also gives pictures of the same situation in 2006. Other pictures of the flood available here and here.

Russia: The Andrei Kolesnikov Mystery

RuNet Echo  17 May 2010

Poemless discovers that the English-language Wikipedia article on Russian journalist Andrey Kolesnikov is misleading, and that there are actually two Russian journalists named Andrey/Andrei Kolesnikov, and both “cover high profile politicos and contribute to widely-read newspapers and other media outlets” – and “[t]hese Andrei Kolesnikovs are like good/evil twins or...