I am always online, and always catching up on everything Russia, so I hope to bring you a bit of what I find along the way.
Latest posts by Christopher Moldes
26 January 2019
Russia's isolationist ‘sovereign internet’ bill worries experts and users alike
Experts have pointed to the colossal costs associated with building the infrastructure required, and lamented that this would only lead to further monopolization of the Russian internet provider market.
14 December 2018
Russian reporter who faked his own murder named a ‘person of the year’ by TIME magazine
TIME ignored the murder of three journalists while including a staged one. Why couldn’t both be included?
6 December 2018
New internet laws in Russia — and US tech giants’ acquiescence — spell trouble for dissenting voices
These new laws and rules, along with other laws regulating the collection of online user data, makes it difficult to use online platforms to voice discontent in Russia.
5 November 2018
Suicide attack against Russia's domestic intelligence agency spells more trouble for activists
A suicide bomber's attack against a local intelligence agency's office in Russia, allegedly an extreme reaction to violent persecution of leftist activists, generates yet more trouble for the latter.
25 September 2018
Chat bot lets Russians detained at protests request legal assistance
A Russian NGO tracking police brutality developed a chatbot on the popular Telegram messenger that allows people detained at rallies report their arrests and request legal assistance.
30 August 2018
Is Russian social media giant VKontakte sidestepping the GDPR? One user is trying to find out.
Russia's largest social network VKontakte is in hot water again for playing fast and loose with their users' privacy — this time allegedly violating the GDPR regulations.
24 August 2018
Russian social media giant evades hard questions about privacy failures
One user challenged Vkontakte: "How many times have you challenged the security services in court over their demands to hand over user information? You have that right."
9 August 2018
Russians are facing criminal prosecution for sharing memes online, thanks to anti-extremism laws
Repressive laws and cumbersome bureaucracy are putting hundreds of Russians behind bars for sharing memes online.
16 July 2018
World Cup out, pension reform protests in: Russia's economic woes take the front seat again
"Football is just a ball, a game. Pensions and taxes are our life. While you're playing with the ball, the thief is emptying your pockets… Keep playing the ball."
17 June 2018
Russians thrilled by World Cup's kick off, despite looming pension and tax reforms
With the effect of soft power on display for the rest of the world to see, how have Russians been reacting to the influx of large, eager crowds of foreigners?
29 May 2018
‘We'll find you and hang you': Russian bloggers threatened for their efforts at doxxing pro-government Cossacks
"It all started with some attempts at hacking the Telegram bot, and then some pretty real threats started pouring in."
9 May 2018
As Russia's government effort to ban Telegram falters, digital activists are pranking the censorship agency
Tech-savvy Russians are having fun at the censorship agency's expense while it's attempting to ban their favorite messenger.
28 March 2018
In the Wake of a Fatal Fire in Russia, Official Numbness and Online Trolling Stoke Outrage
The tragic Kemerovo incident exposed not only the Russian officials' numbness to grief and poor crisis management skills, but also the society's susceptibility to online trolling, both state-sponsored and external.
16 February 2018
Social Media Giants Are at the Center of a Censorship Scandal in Russia — Again
The latest manifestation of online platforms being targeted for censorship by government entities
31 January 2018
‘Buy a New SIM Card’ and Await Further Interrogation: Russia's Security Services Detain and Question a Reporter
Russia's FSB security services searched journalist Pavel Nikulin's apartment and seized laptops, documents and copies of his independent magazine.
Russians are Baffled by the United States Treasury's Latest Sanctions List
Russia’s political elite registered a collective smirk at the seemingly toothless report.
23 January 2018
What is More Convincing for World Cup 2018 Fans? Russia's Edgy New Tourism Logo or Their Governments’ Dire Warnings?
With the World Cup fast approaching, will Russia live up to its new “The Whole World Within Russia” tourism brand campaign?
16 January 2018
Why Wait? Wikipedia and Google Accidentally Declare Putin the Winner of March 2018 Presidential Elections
Whether the error was intended as a joke, or as a political move, is unknown.
4 January 2018
Did a Wiener Dog That Suffered for Science Really Go Home With Russia's Deputy Prime Minister?
The Russian-speaking web has its doubts.
5 December 2017
Russian Atomic Regulator's Foray into Meme-Making Fails to Quench Rumors of Nuclear Leaks
"No one is chastising Ruthemium, or even Ruthenium-106. They’re chastising Rosatom for contradictory information and for jokes like this instead of a serious investigation into the accident."
