Former RuNet Echo co-editor. Writer and editor based in Kyiv, Ukraine. Former Fulbright Fellow in Ukraine and Junior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. MA from Stanford, BA from Washington and Lee. Follow me on Twitter @isaacdwebb.
Latest posts by Isaac Webb
Russia's Parliament Went on a Censorship Binge Today
The Kremlin is cracking down on online anonymity. Again.
Saying Goodbye to Anton Nossik, Godfather of the Russian Internet
RuNet pioneer Anton Nossik died in his sleep on June 9 at the age of 51.
Is the End Near for Telegram in Russia?
Blocking Telegram in Russia would surely decrease its popularity, but there is no guarantee that it will help stifle communication among violent extremist groups.
‘Who Has the Most Selfies?’ Council of Bloggers Meets for First Time in Russian Parliament
"I have more than ten thousand [selfies]," firebrand politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky joked. "Who has more than me? No one!"
Digital Guerrillas Bring Down Russian State Censor's Website
How hackers tricked Internet service providers into blocking the state censor's website.
Russian Crooner Joins Effort to Attract Tourists to War-Torn Eastern Ukraine
Nearly three years into the war in eastern Ukraine, the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics are making a renewed attempt to attract foreign tourists to their Russian-backed statelets.
Ukraine Sanctions VKontakte, Other Russian Social Media Websites
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed an order instructing the country's Internet providers to block several major Russian social media websites.
Who's Paying for the Meme War Against Alexey Navalny?
The scheme comes in the wake of news about a major mudslingling campaign that the Kremlin was reportedly planning against Navalny.
Nyetflix and Dill: Putin Signs Law Regulating Foreign Online Streaming Services
Netflix and chill is looking more like Nyetflix and dill in Russia after Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill that restricts foreign streaming services' access to the Russian market.
The Kremlin Is Worried Attacks on Opposition Leaders Are Making Them More Popular
Days after Alexei Navalny was again doused with green antiseptic, the news website Gazeta.ru reported that the Kremlin had instructed regional authorities to crack down such attacks in the future.
Russia Blocks Walkie-Talkie App Zello As Truckers Strike
Russia's media regulator has announced plans to block Zello, a mobile push-to-talk app that Russia's long-haul truckers are using to organize protests—including to coordinate an ongoing three-week strike.
Facebook Among First 100 Companies to Pay Russia's ‘Google Tax’
On Sunday, the Russian newspaper Vedemosti reported that Facebook will pay the so-called "Google tax," an 18 percent value added tax (VAT) on foreign companies selling electronic content.
Russian Web Censor Cracks Down Ahead of Next Anti-Corruption Protests
In the wake of the largest opposition protests since 2011-12, Russia's prosecutor general is cracking down on the organizers of demonstrations planned for April 2.
Don’t Make Russia’s Anti-Kremlin Opposition Angry. You Wouldn’t Like It When It’s Angry.
What started out as a playful response to an attack on Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny quickly turned into an online protest.
We the Governors of the Russian Federation Would Like to Wish You a Happy International Women's Day
According to sources in the Kremlin, the order came from the very top: Russian governors were to celebrate International Women's Day "creatively."
Ukraine Will Blacklist Websites That ‘Undermine Ukrainian Sovereignty’
The list, like Ukraine's new Information Security Doctrine, is directed at countering the dissemination of pro-separatist and pro-Russian information.
Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Watchdog Catches MPs Casting Multiple Votes, Again
Knopkodavstvo, or button pushing, as the tactic is known, has plagued voting in Ukraine's parliament for years.
Ukrainian Social Media Users Get Five Years in Prison For ‘Supporting Separatism’
The two men were sentenced to five years in prison by a Sloviansk city court for threatening the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Russia Says No to Political Crowdfunding by Individuals
Russia's version of PayPal is shutting down the transfer of money to individuals collecting funds for political purposes—a decision that will undermine one presidential bid to challenge Putin in 2018.
Moscow's Top Cancer Hospital Under Pressure Amidst Drive for Health Care Privatization
Critics worry Moscow's Oncology Hospital No. 62 will close as part of a broader movement towards the privatization of the Russian health care system.
Website That Published ‘Yanukovych Blog’ Says It Was Fake
Little more than two weeks after first appearing on the news website Korrespondent, a blog purportedly written by former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has been deleted by the publication's editors.
