Stories from RuNet Echo from April, 2011
Estonia: Security police report hits documentary filmer
Gedanken über Estland reports [GER] that the Estonian documentary filmer, Oleg Besedin, is accused of anti-Estonian propaganda in the 2010 annual report of Estonia's security police, KaPo.
Belarus: Human Rights defenders arrested after Minsk bomb
LJ user anei_aka_kirian reports [RU] that authorities in Belarus have arrested a number of human rights defenders, among others prominent activist Pavel Levinov, accused of involvement in the recent bombing...
Russia: Play on the swansong of the Yeltsin era
British playwright Thomas Hirst guestblogs at Siberian Light, writing about his new play The 17, about the demise of the Yelstin era in Russian politics.
Russia: Pullitzer prize for corruption coverage
Putin Watcher draws attention to two New York Times journalists winning the Pullitzer Prize for their coverage of Russian state corruption.
Russia: Restricting racism
Sean's Russia Blog writes about increasing government intolerance with Russia's racist movements, signified by a court ruling to outlaw an organization against illegal immigration.
Russia: Bloggers Stop FSB Initiative To Ban Skype
It was just a stroke of luck that on Friday, April 8, 2011, LiveJournal did actually work; before and after this date it would constantly “crash” or “die” due to hacker attacks for periods ranging from several hours to half a day. But on this particular Friday it worked, and it’s possible that this saved the Russian Internet and all its users from yet another prohibitive initiative from the FSB (Federal Security Service). At least for the time being.
Russia: Interviews With Miriam Dobson, Thomas de Waal, Christopher Ward
Sean Guillory of Sean's Russia Blog interviews authors Miriam Dobson (“Khrushchev’s Cold Summer: Gulag Returnees, Crime, and the Fate of Reform After Stalin”), Thomas de Waal (“The Caucasus: An Introduction”)...
Russia: Complexities of LiveJournal attack
Putin Watcher tries to contextualize the various interests that may have been behind the recent attacks on Russian blog platform LiveJournal in the complex and fractionalized context of Russian politics.
Russia: Regional FSB Tries to Prosecute Blogger for Anti-Putin Photo
Kasparov.ru writes [ru] about the case of Georgiy Sarkisyan, leader of Orel city United Civil Front. Sarkisyan had posted a photo [ru] with a slogan “Putin – pid…z” (an offensive...
Belarus: Beyond Bomb or Blast
Even before the smoke from Monday's Minsk Metro blast dispersed, the dual question of: "What is to be done? - Who is to blame?" arose in the Belarusian blogosphere. Two major strands of thought dominate, blaming either President Lukashenko or the political opposition, although a deeper sentiment of sympathy for the victims seems to unite the people of Minsk.
Belarus: Reactions to Subway Explosion
A bomb blast inside the Oktyabrskaya station of the Minsk metro has so far left 11 dead and wounded hundreds. Ashley Cleek had been collecting information and bloggers' reactions in the chaos that followed the event.
Russia: Two Projects Win The BOBs People's Choice Awards
Two Russian projects win The Best of Blogs People's Choice Awards. They are: rospil.info, crowdsourcing anti-corruption community in the nomination “The Best Use of Technology for Social Good,” and the...
Russia: Hacker Explaines Why He Broke Website of “Zenith” Soccer Team
Nikita Volgin, a man who hacked the website of Russian soccer team Zenith, writes why he did it. Upset with the lack of criticism of Saint Petersburg administration in media,...
Russian Security Forces Ready to “Crash” Internet
Radio Echo Moskvy refers to an interview in “The New Times” magazine with an officer of Federal Security Service who said that FSS was ready to “crash” the Internet in...
Russian Silicon Valley Has Unusually Expensive Website
Users and web designers on one of the most popular collaborative blogs Habrahabr.ru discuss the unrealistically high budget cost for creating and promoting the website of “Skolkovo” Innovation Foundation (Russian...
Russian Bloggers Plan Flashmob Against Federal Tax Service
After Russian Federal Tax Service sent an audit invitation to long-deceased popular Russian writer Vasily Aksenov, bloggers planned a flashmob when people are encouraged to call the FTS and demand...
Russia: Bloggers Debate Military Operation in Libya
The situation in Libya, especially after the start of military operations by Western countries, has become one of the main topics of discussion in the Russian blogosphere. Marina Litvinovich analyzes the reactions and trends surrounding the issue.
Belarus: Bombings in the Minsk Subway
Belarus twitterers share information on the latest bombings in the Minsk subway via 3 main Twitter hashtags: #minsk, #minskblast, #twiby. Notolerance-cp publishes first pictures [ru] from the scene of event...
Russia: Environmentalist Sousveillance Project to Watch Over Water Reservoirs
Russian environmental organization “Open Shore” [ru] has launched a sousveillance map [ru] of “occupied shores of Russian water reservoirs.” Activists map properties that were built illegally close to the water...
Russia: Analysis of the Latest DDoS Attacks By Security Expert
Andrei Soldatov, Russian security expert, analyses latest attacks on LiveJournal and other websites. According to Soldatov, “Kremlin did not have to use FSB resources to attack objectionable Web sites; it...
Russia: “Political Schizophrenia”
A Good Treaty writes about “Russia’s bastard democracy” – which “drives most anyone to a sort of civic manic depression” – and journalist Oleg Kashin's political “mood swings.”
