Stories about Russia from October, 2010
Russia, U.S.: Schwarzenegger in Moscow
More on Arnold Schwarzenegger's recent visit to Moscow – at The Putin State Chronicles, The Russia Monitor, Robert Amsterdam's blog, and Russia! (here, here, and here).
Russia: Center of Moscow in Photographs
LJ user varandej posts pictures of conventional houses and apartment complexes in the center of Moscow.
Russia: Blogger Calls for Help to Expose Corruption in Public Procurement
Blogger Navalny calls [RUS] IT-specialists for help in exposing corruption in online projects of different government structures. The last case led by Navalny helped prevent stealing over $1,8M from the government's budget. He presents screenshots of 9 similar projects worth $17,7M at the state procurement website zakupki.gov.ru.
Russia: The Twitter Craze. This Time, It's a Worm…
Russian officials in a tweet-o-drama over... a worm.
Russia: Review of Online Record Labels
Habrahabr-user frony posts [RUS] a review of Russian indie netlabels, online record labels that publish songs with Creative Commons license. Genres include hip-hop, alternative, as well as classical music.
Russia: Photos of Russian SWAT training
Blogger artemgorbachev posts photos from a training of the Russian Special Purpose Police Unit (OMON).
Russia: Music Battle Over the Khimki Forest
Masha Egupova writes about the Khimki Forest dispute and the role that some popular Russian musicians play in it.
Russia: President Medvedev Welcomes Schwarzenegger Via Twitter
Right after landing in Russia, Arnold Schwarzenegger shared his picture in Moscow with his Twitter followers. Russian President Medvedev replied to the twit by writing: “Welcome to Russia!” The two extensively cover their interactions on Twitter (here and here).
Russia: Moscow Mayor's Dismissal and Some “Kremlinology”
The dismissal of Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov on Sept. 28 inspired Anglophone Russia bloggers to write about Putin, Medvedev, Sechin, the 2012 presidential election, Luzhkov's wife and her business, and even Chicago mayor Richard Daley.
Russia: Erotic Vs. Political. Battle of Calendars.
When young female journalism students decided to openly express their admiration for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, “objectivity” and “impartiality” were overshadowed by sexual innuendo and erotic lingerie.
Russia: Another Calendar – and Questions – for PM Putin
The Moscow Diaries writes about another calendar for Vladimir Putin, which was created in response to the “boobies-for-Puties calendar” by a different group of female students of MGU's journalism department and features some tough questions for Russia's PM.
Russia: Bloggers Meet With Iranian Ambassador, Avoid Sensitive Topics
The meeting of Russia's top-bloggers with the Iranian Ambassador in Moscow three days after Hossein Derakhshan had been sentenced to 19.5 years of imprisonment for "anti-government propaganda" highlighted the clumsy attempts of the Iranian online diplomacy in Russia. It also showed commercialization and excessive cynicism of some of the popular Russian bloggers.
Russia: Recent Flash Mob Leaves Male Users Guessing
Recent flash mob on Vkontakte.ru, the most popular Russian social network, consisted of female users changing their online statuses to what would start with “And I love doing it on…” and adding the places where they usually leave their bags. The double meaning of this sentence immediately attracted the attention...
Russia: Blogger's Car Vandalized after Youtube Video
Dgudkov tells about threats he received and, as an evidence, supplies [RUS] a picture of his car vandalized by the unknown. The threats, he says, are connected with the recently published video [RUS] named “Our Mexican Bay” that depicts oil spill authorities refuse to acknowledge.
Russia: Vladivostok's Golden Horn Bay Bridge Controversy
Masha Egupova reviews bloggers' reactions to the construction of the Golden Horn Bay bridge in Vladivostok, a project compromised by corruption scandals and lack of accountability.
Russia: Putin Turns 58, Gets Erotic Calendar as Birthday Present
The Moscow Diaries writes about an erotic calendar – allegedly featuring female students of MGU's journalism department – that was created as a present for PM Vladimir Putin on his 58th birthday.
Russia: Police Proposes Internet Traffic Control
Internet news portal Cnews writes [RUS] about the latest proposal by the IT-department of the Russian police to require Internet providers to block (on court demand) “illegal traffic.” If the proposal is put into legal form and approved, a number of law enforcement units (police, special services, prosecutor's office) will...
Russian Officials Push the Balance in Internet Governance
Nezavisimaya Gazeta [RUS] and CircleID blog present two opposite viewpoints on the Russia's proposition to transform Internet governance process at ITU conference, that would allow the International Telecommunications Union veto ICANN decisions. While the former source considers it an effort to “de-Americanize” the Internet, the latter believes this is an attempt to bureaucratize the...
Russia: Acoustic System of President
Bloggers chibis and yarosh analyze the acoustic system that appeared on the latest photos taken at the Russian president's residence. The cost of the system is around $200,000, the bloggers say, but it is not the most advanced or expensive acoustic system.
Russia: Medvedev Addresses the People of Belarus via Video Blog
Two weeks ago, Belarus' current leader and future presidential hopeful (yet again) bashed the Russian President's blog. Medvedev responded by sending a video blog message to the people of Belarus. Yelena Osipova looks at the details of this exchange.
Iran: Russians bloggers in the Embassy of Iran
According to a Russian blogger last Thursday at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran held a meeting of Iranian and Russian bloggers in Moscow. During the conversation, bloggers discussed the prospects for Russian-Iranian relations at the present stage. Watch the photo here.
