Stories about Russia from November, 2011
Russia/Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan Airlines Refuse to Check-In Russian Citizen with Armenian Surname
LJ-user dimulenka re-publishes [ru] the closed post [ru] of Sergey Gurdzian, “Avtovaz” export director, who writes about a case of ethnic discrimination by Azerbaijan Airlines. Airline representative at the Domodedovo airport refused to check-in Gurdzian on the flight to Baku referring to his Armenian surname and some ‘security instructions.’
Russia: Hidden Political Messages in Well-Done YouTube Videos
RuNet witnesses a new competition of high quality YouTube videos. The first video [ru] is called “Half-Dead Bloggers in DeadJournal” and mocks top-bloggers exposing them as neo-Nazis, drug addicts, unstable personalities, etc. The other video [ru] made by popular illustrator Zhgun, on the contrary, tells that unless you want to stay...
Russia: Reactions to Arms Smuggler Viktor Bout's Conviction
Many citizen media outlets from around the world have captured the controversy surrounding the November 2 conviction of the Russian arms smuggler Viktor Bout by an American jury. Donna Welles reports.
Russia: November 4th – a Day of Marches
Ridus.ru, citizen media platform, provides an extensive coverage (photos, reports, streaming videos) of 4 marches: “Russian march” [ru] (anti-government, nationalist; ~6,000 participants), “Russian imperial march” [ru] (pro-government, nationalist; ~300 participants), Anti-fascist march [ru] (anti-nationalism, anti-capitalist; ~200 participants), “United Russia” march dedicated to the Day of Peoples Unity (pro-government, ~10,000 participants)....
Russia/Georgia: The Dilemma of Politics Blogging for Cash
One well-known Georgian political blogger writes of his dilemma in being approached for payment for a blog post. Blogging for cash is a recent shady public relations phenomenon in Russia and former Soviet Republic countries. Dmitry Davidov reports.
Russia: Gazeta.ru, Popular Semi-Independent Portal Launches English Version
Gazeta.ru, a popular news portal that often publishes quite critical news and op-eds, launches its English version.
Russia: Pavlovo Environmental Catastrophe
At OpenDemocracy.net, Roman Yushkov writes about the 1997 ecological disaster in Pavlovo, a village in the oil-rich Perm region, and the local residents’ long fight to get LUKOIL and the local authorities to resettle the village.
Russia: Bike Lane Parking at Moscow State University
The Village links [ru] to a new Tumblr blog [ru] that posts photos of cars parked in the bike lane at the Moscow State University (MGU) campus. The anonymous blogger introduces [ru] the blog – itsagoddamnbikelane.tumblr.com – this way: “I work at MGU's chemistry department, and I'm proud that a...
Russia: Measuring Radiation with a Smartphone
Profy reports that on Russian scientists’ plans to “manufacture a device that will enable iOS, Android and Windows 7 mobile devices to measure radiation and inform the user of normal or elevated levels.”
Russia: “Enough Feeding the Caucasus!” and Debate on Nationalism
A Good Treaty writes about the “Enough Feeding the Caucasus!” rally, which took place in Moscow last week, and the ongoing debate on nationalism. In Russia's Far East, the blogger notes, “[…] Enough feeding Moscow! […] and […] Enough paying tribute to Moscow! […] are far timelier slogans for the...
Russia: Navalny's Leaked Emails
A Good Treaty writes about the leaked emails of anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny (RuNet Echo's text on this scandal is here).
Russia, U.S.: Arms Dealer Viktor Bout Indicted
In Moscow's Shadows comments on today's guilty verdict in the arms dealer Viktor Bout trial.
Russia: Another Paid Discreditation Campaign Exposed
Yevgeniy Roizman, popular blogger and anti-drugs activist, publishes [ru] a job offer posted at one of the freelance websites. The offer describes in detail the discreditation campaign against Roizman and offers ~8 US dollars for 100 short comments that would contribute to the black mouthing of the activist.
Russia: Blogger from the Moscow Region Under Police Pressure
Novaya Gazeta publishes [ru] the story of Vladimir Pronin, a commenter from the Moscow region, who was publishing online materials that exposed corruption in Odintsovo city police. He was first accused of libel but during the search that was conducted in his house, police allegedly planted the ammunition. The court, however, dismissed...
Russia: Super Babushka Competition
Kyle Keeton of Windows to Russia writes about the 2011 Moscow Super Babushka Competition, and how it is a way for local authorities to shed light upon the important social role of the babushka (grandmother) in Russian society.
