Born in Uzbekistan, I got my MA in Journalism in the U.S. in 2002. That year I came back to Central Asia to work for different local and international organizations. I was fortunate to travel all around the world perfecting my reporting skills and falling in love with complexity and diversity of global culture. I currently teach journalism at the Roy H. Park School of Communication at Ithaca College in the U.S.
Latest posts by Vadim Isakov
Russia: Kremlin Critics Threatened With Travel Ban
On July 6, 2011, leading political opposition activists Boris Nemtsov and Vladimir Milov suddenly found themselves banned from leaving Russia by the country's Federal Bailiff Service. The concept of a travel ban has a special place in the hearts of people who lived during the Soviet Union.
Russia: Infamous ‘Vanishing’ Charity Foundation Resurfaces
The heartwarming performance of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin playing the piano and singing the song "Blueberry Hill" at a charity concert, was darkened by the scandal surrounding the 'Federaciya' (Federation) foundation that allegedly tried to disappear with the money raised by the event. The charity has recently resurfaced, with plans for another concert underway.
Russia: New Initiative to Enforce TV Morality
An initiative to create a Public Oversight Board for media control in Russia may seem like a passage from Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four but it is a reality in the country, which still struggles to accept the concept of democracy and free speech.
Russia: Reporters’ Open Letter Highlights TV Censorship Concerns
Censorship on the majority of Russian television channels has been around forever, but a recent open letter by REN TV reporters showed how even remaining small islands of media freedom could get washed away.
Russia: Most Users of Popular Social Network Are Russian Orthodox
Ten million users of the most popular social network in Russian Vkontakte.ru consider themselves Russian Orthodox, news agency Interfax reported. It is the most popular religion on Vkontakte.ru followed by Islam (1.5 million users) and Buddhism (363 thousand users).
Russia: Senator Calls for Civilized Political Discussion Online
Senator from pro-Kremlin “United Russia” party Robert Shlegel urged opposition leaders to join him in developing the rules of civilized political discussion online, Lenta.ru reported [ru]. The senator said the opposition often uses “lies, accusations and provocations” online.
Russia: FSB Blocks Access to LiveJournal in Ulyanovsk City
A user of Internet portal Habrahabr wrote [ru] that on May 17, 2011 an Internet provider company in Russian city Ulyanovsk blocked access to the blog of Aleksey Navalny, a famous online personality on RuNet, following the order of FSB, Russian security service. It was later reported [ru] by GTZ.ru that the...
Russia: Internet Economy To Reach 4 Percent of GDP by 2015
Russian Internet economy will more than double within the next four years and rich four percent of the country's GDP by 2015, reported [ru] Lenta.ru citing the latest research by The Boston Consulting Group.
Russia: Mobile Users Search and Socialize Online
Russian mobile users utilize their phones for searching, browsing social networks and downloading musics, Rumetrika reported [ru]. Half of Russians own own mobile phones. The majority of people using mobile Internet are younger than 24 years old.
Russia: Pictures of Skolkovo Center Design Projects
Popular photoblogger Ilya Varlamov (zyalt) posted pictures of design proposals for Skolkovo research center, Russian equivalent of Silicon Valley. English Russia has English translation of zyalt's post.
Russia: Blogger Continues to Fight for Right to Photograph
Popular photoblogger Ilya Varlamov (zyalt) continues to report on the violations of his constitutional rights to freely photograph in any public place. Varlamov's latest attempts to take pictures in the Moscow-City, a business district of Moscow, led, as always, to confrontation with private security services.
Russia: A Third of Russian Internet Users Enjoy Broadband Internet Access
Almost 18 million of Russians now browse the Web using broadband connection, Rumetrika.ru reported. It is 34 percent of all Russia's Internet users.
Russia Opens Its First “Creative Commons” Portal
Russian Institute of the Information Society created “Creative Commons Russia,” the first Internet portal in the country working under Creative Commons licenses, Russian collaborative blog Habrahabr.ru reported.
Russia: “United Russia” Party Targets Social Networks
Pro-government party “United Russia” plans to increase its presence on social networks, popular newspaper Kommersant reported. The party will create a separate group responsible for working with potential voters on social networks.
Russia: Video Shows Journalist Being Beaten in Khimki Forest
LJ user Oleg Kozyrev posted a video showing journalist Yuri Samsonov being beaten by a private security service employee in Kimki forest.
Russia: ‘Online Superman’ Navalny Has Bloggers Divided
Alexey Navalny is much more than a blogger. He exploded onto the Russian Internet with scandalous revelations, often against political figures, and quickly grew into the country's "online Superman," fighting what seems to be an unwinnable war against corruption and an army of human bots. Not all bloggers are diehard fans though; many still deeply distrust Navalny.
Russia: Livejournal Blocks Navalny's Post
Livejournal.com, the most popular blogging platform in Russia, blocked the post of one of the famous bloggers Alexey Navalny for violating the Livejournal terms. Navalny attempted to publish a screenshot from the Russian social network Vkontakte.ru that allegedly contained personal information of the person connected to the recent anti-corruption donors...
Russia: Photoblogger Defends His Constitutional Rights
Popular photoblogger Ilya Varlamov continues to fight the common and unconstitutional ban on taking pictures in supermarkets. He posted a photo essay on his misadventures in Evropeysky, a large supermarket in Moscow, where he was prevented from taking photos.
Russia: Drug Agency to Monitor Blogosphere
Russian Federal Service for Drug Control plans to monitor the blogosphere to analyze the situation with drugs in the country, Lenta.ru reported.
Russia: Eco-bloggers and Journalists Learn to Solve Environmental Problems
The first international forum of eco-bloggers and journalists took place in Moscow on April 18-19. The forum aimed to create an international community of people writing about environmental issues and deploy the power of new media to help overcome the challenges in the field.
Russia: Two Bloggers Sentenced for Extremism
The Ufa city court in Bashkortostan sentenced bloggers Robert Zagreev and Ayrat Dilmikhametov to three and six years in prison for extremist activities “with the use of media,” Russian news agency Interfax reported. The bloggers pleaded not guilty.
