Latest posts by Kevin Rothrock
Syrian Women Thank Russian Soldiers in New Sexy Calendar Funded by the Kremlin
Thanks to Kremlin grants, there's now a glossy calendar featuring a dozen beautiful Syrian women, posing beside flirty captions that praise Moscow’s armed intervention in the Middle East.
Russian State-Run TV Network Refuses to Give Former U.S. Ambassador His Own Show
This Sunday, Michael McFaul proposed a novel idea: he reached out to the chief editor of Russia Today, offering to host his own television show on the network.
Russian Journalists Fired for Reporting About a Children's Art Project That Ended at the Dump
If reports about children finding their homemade New Year's tree ornaments at the dump aren’t enough to rob you of your holiday cheer, perhaps this next detail will...
Political Satire Returns to Russian TV, Neutered As Ever
Political parody is a perilous thing in Russia, where the last unbridled satire to grace the small screen came and went more than a decade ago.
A Peek Behind the Curtains at Russian Esquire Reveals Debate on Putin Coverage
In a public exchange, Esquire's chief editor asked not to “burden” readers with politics, after an editor made a recent remark by Vladimir Putin the “quote of the day” online.
The World According to Russian Stereotypes
RuNet Echo explores popular stereotypes about foreigners gleaned from autocomplete suggestions generated by the website Yandex, Russia’s most popular Internet search engine.
Putin's Adversaries in Russia Wonder How Much Worse Things Will Be Thanks to Trump
“America really did a lot for the development of democracy around the world, but everything changes like inside a kaleidoscope with a leader like this,” Vladimir Milov says of Trump.
Trump Supporters Have Made This Russian Propaganda Chief the Happiest Person on Twitter
As the world reels today from Donald Trump’s stunning upset, Russians look to America with newfound confidence that years of battling the Western liberal media’s dominance have finally paid off.
Russian ‘Sex Evangelist’ Wants Women to Be Honest About Faking Orgasms
Built around the hashtag #честныйоргазм (“#HonestOrgasm”), the new campaign by “sex evangelist” Elena Rydkina encourages women to share life stories about times they faked orgasms to please partners.
Yet Another Scandal for Russia's Orthodox Church as Clergyman Is Spotted Wearing $40K Rolex
The Russian Orthodox Church has another scandal on its hands, or rather on the wrist of one of its top clergyman in St. Petersburg.
Russia Is Reportedly Banning LinkedIn
LinkedIn, the world’s largest online professional network, is at risk of being blocked in Russia, where federal censors have convinced a Moscow court to outlaw the network.
Russian City Cuts Fuel to WWII Eternal Flame So Locals Won't Cook on It
Taganrog’s eternal flame isn’t burning today, and a local gas company official says it’s because he can’t guarantee that locals won’t roast sausages over the fire.
What Did Russia's Leading News Agency Tweet During the Final U.S. Presidential Debate?
RuNet Echo recaps the debate-night tweets by one of Russia's biggest national news agencies to get an idea of what resonated in Moscow.
Google Warns More Than a Dozen Russian Journalists and Activists About ‘Government-Backed Attackers’
More than a dozen Russian journalists and activists received a strange warning from Google earlier today, notifying them that “government-backed attackers” may be “trying to steal” their passwords.
Russian Politician Wants Journalists Prosecuted for Sharing Footage of His Ricky Martin Dance
A city councilman in Orlov has filed a police report against local journalists for sharing video footage of him dancing to Ricky Martin’s “Livin la Vida Loca.”
Russian TV Airs ‘Separatist Coca-Cola’ Prank Video As Real News Footage
A practical joke published on YouTube has made it to network television in Russia, where it was aired as real footage of ethnic tension in Ukraine.
How an ‘American Spy’ May Have Exposed Russian Election Fraud
Depending on how you interpret the numbers, it’s possible that a journalist from Reuters managed to reveal what real elections in Russia last Sunday would have looked like.
Life in Russia After Porn
A week after Russian censors banned two of the most popular pornography websites around, ordinary Web users are firing back with an online flashmob that mixes satire and protest.
Vladimir Putin and the Fake Brides of Red Square
Last holiday weekend, Moscow wasn't the only thing being celebrated: part of the spectacle appears to have been arranged to remind Russians that their president is a virile, red-blooded man.
Russia's Pokemon-Go-Playing Atheist Outlaw Has Some Powerful Enemies
Out of respect for the blogger, the church says it won't “force Christian forgiveness” or “Christian love,” explaining that he hasn't asked for the former and rejects the latter.
Russia's Pokemon Gulag
Ruslan Sokolovksy’s alleged crime was filming himself playing Pokemon Go inside a Russian Orthodox cathedral. If convicted of the charges, he could go to prison for up to five years.