Latest posts by RuNet Echo
What does Russia's new “hostage-taking” law mean for social media companies?
The new law imposes new obligations on popular foreign websites and social media platforms with over half a million daily Russian users, asking them to register legal entities in Russia.
Navalny documentary sweeps up awards at Sundance Film Festival
The film tells the story of how Navalny survived the August 2020 poisoning and then worked with his allies and Bellingcat investigators to piece together who was behind the attack.
Russia blocks access to Tor browser website
The push for greater online censorship is part of the country's "sovereign internet" strategy which seeks to cement centralised state control over internet infrastructure and online spaces.
Publishing house removes section on transgender individuals from Russian translation of teen health book
According to the publisher, Belaya Vorona, making the book available to Russian teenagers was more important that "preserving the deleted information".
Armenia's PM calls for early elections in June in bid to de-escalate crisis
The president has faced increasing calls to resign since November when he signed a peace deal ending the six-week war over Nagorno-Karabakh, which many Armenians say disproportionally favored Azerbaijan.
In unrecognized Transnistria, a retiree faces criminal charges for ‘anti-Russian’ rhetoric
A 70-year-old Transnistria citizen faces a five-year prison term for critical statements about Russian peacekeeping forces in the breakaway Moldova region.
A conversation with Udmurt language digital activist Artyom Malykh
"My primary motivation is to keep the language of my community alive. Udmurt must be used in as wide a variety of spaces as possible in order to ensure that it lives on."
In Russia's far east, a feminist theatre director comes under attack
Yulia Tsvetkova was building a community in her hometown in Russia's far east — until she was targeted by violent homophobes and a hostile police.
No coronavirus cases in Donetsk and Luhansk, say separatist authorities
As usual, much is unclear in eastern Ukraine. Can separatist officials' claims that there are no confirmed cases be believed? Have they really acquired coronavirus testing kits, and from whom?
Russian pranksters target Bernie Sanders
Notorious Russian pranksters posing as Greta Thunberg and her father claim that they have called up Bernie Sanders to offer an endorsement. Then their conversation went downhill, fast.
New report makes grim predictions for ‘Fortress RuNet’
The most recent annual report by Russian NGOs Agora and Roskomsvoboda draws some troubling conclusions about what lies in store for the RuNet in years to come.
In Russia, individuals can now be branded ‘foreign agents’
The latest amendments expand the definition of "foreign agent" to individuals, at the discretion of the Ministry of Justice, which already maintains online lists of "foreign agent" media outlets and NGOs.
Chechen leader suggests killing users who ‘insult honour’ online
For several years, human rights defenders have consistently cited Chechnya as one of Russia's most repressive regions, citing widespread torture, disappearances, and a complete intolerance of dissent.
A Crimean Tatar journalist's defiant last words in court
"I am a citizen of Ukraine, a Crimean Tatar, a Muslim. I am a journalist, a father, a husband, and a son. With the grace of God, these will not be my last words."
Russia: Kommersant staff walk out in protest of censorship, triggering journalism ethics debate
The entire politics desk of Kommersant, several dozen people in total, has since resigned out of solidarity with their colleagues.
CEO of carpooling service disinvited from interview on Russian state media after producer found out she was a woman
Russia still has a long way to go in terms of gender equality.
As a comedian wins Ukraine's presidency by a landslide, Russians watch with awe and envy
Russians have been glued to their screens as they watched a rare show: unpredictable elections where an incumbent can hold debates with an outsider, lose the vote, and concede peacefully.
Moscow human rights activists sue a Russian far eastern republic over ban on migrant workers
Human rights activists will have to fight Yasen Nikolayev’s act on purely legalistic grounds, arguing that regulating the local labor market in Yakutia is not actually required.
Russians rejoice as their favorite Ukrainian presidential hopeful, a comedian with no political experience, wins first round
Ukraine’s presidential elections attracted intense attention from neighboring Russia, with state television channels -- usually extremely hostile to post-Maidan Ukraine -- attempting to paint a picture of chaos and disarray.
Russian regulators ask VPNs to block blacklisted websites, but most have refused
This defeats the purpose of a VPN, a technology used primarily to help people access censored websites.
‘Blood feud’ against Chechen blogger is the culmination of a months-long, unusually frank conversation about a buried past
Heated exchanges provide a rare glimpse into painful and conflicted issues that are burning hot in today’s Chechnya, ten years after the official conclusion of the Second Chechen War.
