Latest posts by Kevin Rothrock from February, 2013
God Exists and He Serves the Kremlin
Though the Pussy Riot trial is over, the culture war it launched in Russia drags on unabated. Pope Benedict's abdication sparked the latest conflagration, when political analyst Stanislav Belkovsky addressed the Catholic leader's decision, calling it a path the Orthodox Patriarch ought to follow. In response, Parliament members have asked federal investigators to consider a criminal case against Belkovsky.
Russian Opposition, What Are You Doing? Stahp.
The Coordinating Council of the Russian Opposition has been a fascinating eDemocracy experiment, conducted in the shadow of Russia's competitive authoritarian status quo. Yet, a recent decision not to nominate candidates for any elections—local or regional—has intensified doubts about the KSO, making it a target for one of the RuNet's more vicious attack memes.
For Russia's Comics, it's Raining Meteors
Although the shock wave from the Chelyabinsk meteorite injured hundreds of people, RuNet users have been more eager than ever to crack jokes and spread memes.
Blood on the Russian Tracks
Earlier today, the Russian Railways concluded its official investigation into the death of Elena Soboleva, who died on January 18 crossing the tracks at the Saltykovskaia train platform [ru], located just east of Moscow. The Railways (or RZhD, as it's known in Russian) determined [ru] that Ms. Soboleva was responsible for her...
“Pedophile's Guide” Lands Russian Blogging Platform on Blacklist
Russia's Federal communications monitors have tagged blog-hosting portal lj.rossia.org as illegal, after discovering an account that publishes translations of the American book "The Pedophilia's Guide to Love and Pleasure" by Phillip Greaves.
Escaping Russia's “Vulgar, Primitive” Secularism
Vladimir Putin has given another speech in defense of Russian Orthodox values, this time calling on the Church to study the lessons of the twentieth century. "We must avoid a vulgar, primitive understanding of secularism," he told the Bishops' Council, a massive gathering of Orthodox clergy. Putin's comments are hard to divorce from several conservative legislative efforts in the last year.
Human Rights Group Maps Russian Internet Censorship
On February 1, the Russian human rights group Agora released a report [ru] on RuNet censorship in 2012, titled “Russia As a Global Threat to a Free Internet,” documenting various limitations on Internet usage in Russia, including violence, administrative pressure, and other forms of intimidation and punishment used against netizens by...
The End of Russia's Thaw Hurts Medvedev, Navalny, & Friends
Earlier this week, Russia's lone liberal governor, Medvedev appointee Nikita Belykh, had his offices searched by federal investigators. The move indicates a new low for fortunes of a "thaw" instigated by Russia's former president, and adds a fourth criminal probe to the legal troubles of anti-corruption netizen and political oppositionist Alexey Navalny.
