Stories about Russian from October, 2013
Young People Revel In Halloween Fun in Kyrgyzstan
While debates over the appropriateness of participating in Halloween fun rage in Tajikistan, young people in the neighboring Kyrgyzstan revel in Halloween festivities. The country's most popular blogging platform has published [ru] a map of all venues organizing Halloween festivities in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan's capital. Dozens of people dressed up in zombie...
Halloween in Tajikistan: Devil Worship or Innocent Fun?
In Tajikistan where most people have not even heard about Halloween, even rare Halloween fun raises eyebrows.
Kazakhstanis Divided on Whether Home Is Really Best
A debate about why some Kazakhstanis stay in their country while others choose to emigrate has unfolded online. It started after Daniyar posted his “What Is Keeping You in Kazakhstan?” [ru] on yvizion.kz. The blogger identified seven main reasons why he preferred to stay in the country: #1. Великая история… #2....
Russia's Demagogues Just Can't Get Along
Nationalist MP Vladimir Zhirinovsky ranted about natives of the North Caucasus on the popular debate show “The Duel” - Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov took offence.
A Muslim Schoolgirl and the Volgograd Suicide Bombing
In the wake of the Volgograd bus bombing, a Muslim girl wrote a letter to the anonymous blogger hardingush. We chose to translate it in its entirety.
Wearing Putin's Insult as the Badge of Honor
The Greenpeace activists locked up in Murmansk may be suffering the worst luck of anyone in the ongoing scandal surrounding Russia's Arctic drilling, but they aren't the only ones hurting.
Central Asia's Presidents: Political Stalwarts and Musical Softies
Some presidents in Central Asian countries sing, dance, and play musical instruments. When they fail to impress their populations, however, people sing against them.
Kazakhstan's Soviet Mosaics: “Ghosts of an Epoch Gone By”
In a post titled “The Walls Are Crying”, a blogger reflects [ru] on Kazakhstan's slowly disappearing Soviet artistic mosaics that once adorned housing blocks and industrial facilities across the country: Many of these works of art died along with the buildings which they adorned. Some are being destroyed. But many mosaics...
Tajik Official Plagiarizes Story Extolling President
Social media users in Tajikistan have caught an education official-cum-ardent supporter of the incumbent president plagiarizing. In his recent article “Why I Am Voting for [President] Emomali Rahmon” [ru] Ilkhomjon Khamidov extolled the country's veteran president who is seeking to secure a re-election in the November 6 vote. After the article...
The Suspended Martyrdom of Russia's Alexey Navalny
After his tumultuous guilty verdict and five-year prison sentence last July, a court recently suspended Alexey Navalny's sentence, leaving the Russian opposition's most prominent leader on probation but free.
In Wake of Suicide Bombing Russians Question Their Security
An explosion aboard a Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad) commuter bus caused a stir in Russia’s blogosphere on Monday.
“Let Russians Sweep Their Own Streets”: Minorities Ponder Ethnic Violence
Non-ethnic Russians have been keen to express their views on the Biryulyovo riots online, using the language common to many of them - Russian.
Race Riots Remind Russians About Political Divide
This week’s reactions to a riot that took place outside Moscow are a reminder that the subject of ethnic nationalism deeply divides Russians.
After a Fatal Car Crash, Tajik President is Told to “Get His House in Order”
A relative of the Tajik president has left the country after causing a fatal accident. Netizens now scorn at police and urge the president to keep his family in check.
Tajikistan Introduces Controversial “Ethics Code” For Internet Users
As Tajikistan adopts ethical guidelines for the users of internet services and personal electronic devices, netizens fear that he authorities might use the document to control free expression.
Russian Muslim Websites Defaced by Hackers During Eid
On Eid al-Adha (Kurban-Bairam in Russian), several websites of the Russian Muslim community were defaced with a photo of a severed pig's head holding the Koran in its mouth.
Can the Kremlin Control Moscow Ethnic Violence?
A poverty-stricken industrial Moscow neighborhood has erupted in ethnic violence last week, after a local man named Egor Sherbakov was stabbed to death by an alleged "migrant."
The Kremlin's Internet Takeover: A Surefire Flop
When it comes to technology, the Russian government makes up in ambition for what it lacks in competence. Earlier this week, state-controlled telecom Rostelecom announced a government-sponsored Internet search engine.
United Russia MP Scorned for Public Debauch
A United Russia deputy and his aide were thrown off an Aeroflot flight, accused of being intoxicated, threatening the crew, and delaying the flight.
‘Politics is a Men-Only Game': Female Candidate Quits Presidential Race in Tajikistan
Saddened by the failure of Tajikistan's female presidential candidate to enter the race, netizens are pessimistic about the country's future. Some say they will boycott the vote and emigrate.
Russians Remember “The Day Democracy Died”
20 years after Russia's constitutional crisis, many bloggers criticizes Yeltsin's decision to fire on the Supreme Soviet, characterizing the moment in post-Soviet history as a turn for the worse.