Stories from Quick Reads and RuNet Echo
Lotteries, dressed-up figures, and other peculiar entertainment at the Putin's sham elections
Current regime needs people to come to the polls in order to show the regime's legitimacy inside the country. Authorities find ways of 'entertainment' that would attract people to vote.
Police immediately raids LGBTQ+ clubs in Moscow after Russia bans ‘International LGBTQ+ movement’
LGBTQ+ people in Russia say that they are afraid that anyone identifying as LGBTQ+ could now be announced as "extremist" and criminally punished.
The number of Indigenous people of Sakhalin island in Russia is drastically decreasing
The indigenous people of Sakhalin are now present in small numbers, they are named Nivkhs, Ainu, Uilta. A documentary shows one of the dying villages, Rybnoe, where Nivkhs live.
How Russians fought Putinism: A documentary
It is incorrect to say that the people in Russia did not resist the emergence of Putinism — they resisted, many times and in many ways, albeit unsuccessfully.
‘History of love in the country of hatred': influencers detained in Russia for LGBTQ+ ‘propaganda’
Apart from widespread censorship, the Russian "anti- LGBT propaganda" law leads to unprecedented pressure on LGBTQ+ people and the organizations helping them.
Those who are in these coffins will no longer hear Putin's chatter about ‘everything is going according to plan’
Global Voices gathered some of the social media commentary in Russian with reactions to Putin's speech.
In Russia, video games are unsafe for kids. But not for the usual reasons
Nikita Uvarov, a teenager from Siberia, is serving a five-year jail sentence for planning to build the FSB building and blow it up in Minecraft.
Popular Russian singer answers ‘Glory to Ukraine’. Now they want to revoke his citizenship
Singer Valerii Meladze has been openly against the war since February 2022. Now he may face harsh consequences for the words he said off-the-record in Dubai in support of Ukraine.
For school New Year's Eve parties in Moscow, some music is apparently deemed inappropriate
The list includes 29 artists. Some of them, such as Little Big and Manizha, represented Russia at Eurovideo contest. All of them have explicitely condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
‘How the fuck is it possible?': Russian rapper releases anti-war album
Vladi, a lead singer of popular rap music group, now prohibited in Russia, released a new album, “February Lasts and Lasts.” It describes how incomprehensible and horrifying the Russian invasion of Ukraine is.
Twitter account “No Context Russia” is sad yet hilarious
A Twitter account shows images from Russia without context, portraying the country in sad and ironic tones.
Shallow grave: Putin’s dictatorship is slowly killing Russia's main opposition leader Navalny
Putin’s main critic and the Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, has survived an assassination attempt, but now the regime is slowly killing him by harshening prison conditions.
‘Call them by their names’: Stories of Russian anti-war political prisoners
In March 2022 the Russian parliament passed amendments to the Russian Criminal Code allowing for real prison terms for an anti-war stance. Some people now face up to 10 years in prison.
How Russians are protesting the war in Ukraine from a totalitarian state
Russian citizens have drawn graffiti, left objects on the streets, and found creative ways to voice their dissent under the constant threat of punishment.
Pro-Russian Videos Get Fake Views With Help From Malware
A group of unknown hackers have been infecting Internet users' computers with malware, using them to inflate views on a handful of pro-Russian videos.
Google Art Project Now Features Ukrainian Street Art
Ukrainian graffiti and street art, previously visible mostly to Ukrainians and tourists walking the streets of Ukrainian cities, is now available to Internet users across the globe.
Russia's Internet Ombudsman Advocates for Storing User Data Abroad
Internet Ombudsman Dmitry Marinichev has proposed allowing foreign Internet companies to store Russians’ personal data abroad with the permission of the owners.
Russian Journalist Crowdfunding New Media Project on Kickstarter
The project's description on Yakovlev's Kickstarter page claims the goal is to create a media outlet to counteract the Russian "state propaganda machine" and help “turn zombies back into people.”
Epic Car Chase in Moscow's Red Square Caught on Video
A towing truck chased by police drove through the Red Square in the heart of Moscow—and went viral on the RuNet.
Hijacked Printers in Eastern Ukraine and Russia Print Pro-Ukraine Messages
Ukrainian hackers are fighting the Russian-led occupation of Donbas and Crimea by occupying security cameras and hijacking networked printers in Eastern Ukraine and Russia.
Russian Government IP Address Caught Editing German Wikipedia MH17 Article
IP addresses inside the Russian government continue to be active on Wikipedia, where a computer at the Russian Secret Service, the FSO, revised the German entry for Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, changing the word “separatists” into “rebels.” The Twitter bot @RuGovEdits, which automatically logs all Wikipedia edits made from Russian government IP...