Stories about Russia from August, 2010
Russia: Bloggers Accuse Pro-Kremlin Youth Leader in Minor Abuse
Vasiliy Yakemenko [RUS], a leader of “Nashi” and director of the Federal Youth Agency, has been accused [RUS] by bloggers of having sex with a 17-year-old female activist of the movement, Noviy Region reports [RUS]. The main evidence is a screenshot [RUS] of the LiveJournal conversation, where Yakemenko acknowledges the...
Russia: LiveJournal Communities as a Transparency Tool
Alexey Sidorenko explores how LiveJournal communities are being used to promote transparency and accountability in Russia.
Russian Internet Surveillance Allegedly Hacked
Bloggers discuss alleged hack-attack [RUS] on the government surveillance system (SORM [EN]) that traces government e-mails. The Russian Federal Security Service acknowledged the attack but denied any rumors that sensitive data had been stolen although some Internet users published [RUS] screenshots of the hacked system. LJ user leicacit suggested [RUS]...
Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan risky countries to surf the Net
Writing on the AVG blog, the anti-virus company's chief research officer says that Armenia and Azerbaijan are the third and fourth most risky places to surf the web. Although the full list of 144 countries hasn't been released, The two most risky, Turkey and Russia, also border the Caucasus region...
Russia: More Bloggers Join Discussion on Russian Nationalism
Paul Goble mentions [EN] the article of Valery Solovey on nazdem.info that predicts [RUS] the rise of new type of Russian nationalism tied to democratic ideas. LJ user ammosov says [RUS] that “Russians should re-invent themselves,” which will result in forming several Russian nations in different parts of the country.
Russia: Bloggers Defend Opposition Artist from Discreditation
LJ users _o_tets [RUS] and crazymozart [RUS] disprove the series of discrediting materials against famous opposition musician Yuri Shevchuk [EN]. After Shevchuk got engaged in the political debates at the beginning of 2010, a number of online publications [RUS] accused the musician of alcoholism and mental sickness.
Russia: Mass Manifestations In Defense of the Khimki Forest Park
Photobloggers nl [RUS], bb-mos [RUS], zyalt [RUS] share pictures of today's concert in defense of the Khimki Forest Park. The concert, that gathered from 1,000 to 5,000 people in the center of Moscow, transformed into a political rally of people protesting against the government.
Russia: Bloggers Expose Death Rate Increase
Until the emergence of Web 2.0, the Russian government had enjoyed a monopoly on death rate information and could manipulate it. Gregory Asmolov investigates how the Russian bloggers have changed the situation.
Russia: Shocking Pictures of Russian Neo-Nazis
Bigpicture.ru posts Guillaume Herbaut‘s [FR] photos of the “Slavic Union” [RUS], a neo-Nazi group aimed to establish National-socialist reign in Russia. In April 2010, the group's activity had been prohibited.
Russia: Wildfires Victims Sorry They Fought For Their Houses
The aftermath of the recent wildfires in Russia is on the agenda of the main media channels. Reports on and interviews with victims, volunteers, humanitarian aid workers and government officials are covering mainly positive developments: new houses are being built for the victims, financial compensations are being paid to the...
Russia: 19 Years Since Coup d'Etat Attempt
Bloggers share recollections [RUS] of the 1991 events [EN] in Russia when a group of Soviet generals tried to seize the control over the country. User s01101 posts pictures [RUS] of the commemoration of the events in Saint-Petersburg. Oleg Kozlovsky asks [RUS] his readers, what if coup d'etat would succeed. “We'd be...
Russia: Anglophone Bloggers Discuss Social and Political Aspects of the Wildfires
Anglophone Russia bloggers have been discussing social and political aspects of the catastrophic wildfires and the ongoing firefighting efforts in central Russia since early August. Here is a selection of their views.
U.S.A.: Russophone Students Blog About Work and Travel Program
Every summer thousands of college students from Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet countries come to the United States to take part in the Work and Travel USA program. Many blog about their experiences and impressions.
Russia: Independent Regional News Portal Blocked by Internet Provider
“Center-Telekom,” the state-controlled Internet provider in the Tula region [EN] blocked “Tulskiye Pryaniki” [RUS], an independent website known for its critical articles towards regional authorities, blogger publikator-s reported [RUS]. The website had already launched a mirror at blogger.com [RUS].
Russia: TorrentReactor Village; $17,000 in Roaming Charges
Svetlana Gladkova of Profy shares two stories much discussed in the Russian blogosphere now: how a “Russian village almost got named after a torrent website in a publicity stunt,” and how a Russian woman received a $17,000 roaming charges bill after her son had spent some four hours playing games...
Soviet History: “What Stalin Said About Hiroshima”
“What Stalin said about Hiroshima” to the U.S. Ambassador to the USSR on August 8, 1945 – at De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis (via LJ user oboguev, RUS).
Russia: “67” – New Flashmob in the Defense of Khimki Forest
LJ user May_Antiwar posts pictures of people with number “67” written on their faces. The number, May_Antiwar explains, represents the share of Khimki, a city in Moscow region, citizens who voted in the recent poll against the new speedway that will divide the Khimki forest park.
Russia: Fight With Fire in Ryazan Region
Blogger chistoprudov features more photos on his blog related to the latest efforts to put out wild fires in Ryazan region, Russia.
Macedonia: Political Parties Obsess Over Facebook ‘Likes,’ Myth-Making
Macedonian bloggers comment on the attempts of political parties to show off their ratings via social networks, while the communication they offer remains devoid of substance.
Russia: Photos of Altai Krai Taken From Helicopter
Simon Pavlyuk, a traveller and blogger, posts [RUS] stunning pictures of Altai Krai [EN] taken during a helicopter trip.
Russia: Blogger Accredited for 2010 Youth Olympics
Madina Kucheryavenko (aka LJ user ilgirino [RUS]) will become the first Russian blogger officially accredited for 2010 Youth Olympic Games [EN] after she won the special contest [RUS].
