Stories about Russia from January, 2012
Russia, Syria: Anti- and Pro-Assad Facebook Comment Attack
Facebook pages of some Russian media outlets (e.g., Afisha, Bolshoi Gorod, Esquire Russia, Channel 1, MTV Russia) were deluged with copy-pasted comments [ru, ar] from users who appeared to be supporters of the Syrian opposition earlier today. An excerpt from a typical comment [ru, ar]: “Syria's regime is killing people...
US, Russia: The Flying Balalaika Brothers Bridge Cultural Gaps in Texas
Like many of their compatriots, musicians Zhenya Kolykhanov and Sergey Vaschenko emigrated from Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s and have since established themselves in Austin, Texas. Through their band, The Flying Balalaika Brothers, and a non-profit called Musical Connections, they work to bridge cultural gaps by exposing Texans to international art.
Russia: Community of Election Observers Launched
Creators of popular citizen crowdsourcing projects RosYama and RosPil Alexey Navalny and Georgiy Alburov launch a new project RosVybory [ru], a community of election observers. Users submit their data to the website, then project moderators apply for the necessary observer documents and send registered users to the nearby voting ballots.
Russia: “Mikhail Dmitrievich Prokhorov: An Unpredictable Kremlin Project”
Although some believe the 2012 Russian presidential election's outcome to be pre-scripted, the complexities surrounding Mikhail Prokhorov's candidacy should not be overlooked. Donna Welles reports.
“Russia Without Fools,” a Crowdsourced Feedback Portal Launched
A committee of supporters of president Dmitry Medvedev had launched a crowdsourcing citizens-to-government feedback portal “Russia Without Fools” [ru] that allows to submit cases of officials’ stupidity or abuse. So far, the cases can be submitted freely and censorship hasn't been reported. Dmitry Ternovskiy, popular photoblogger, however, notes [ru] that...
Russia: Security Services Put Pressure on Parents of the Protest Group Moderator
Ilya Klishin, creator of the Facebook groups that organized Russians to participate in Bolotnaya [ru] and Sakharov protest demonstrations, wrote [ru] that his mother had received a call from FSB (Federal Security Services) and his father was summoned to the local police department. Later he added [ru] that he might...
Russia: Echo of Moscow Under Fire
Streetwise Professor discusses Putin's recent critique against the Russian independent radio station Echo of Moscow.
Russia-US: Reviewing the Jackson-Vanik Act
Edward Lozansky at Russia Blog argues that the US Jackson-Vanik Act – denying Russia Most Favoured Nation trade status – should be aborted in view of Russian accession to the World Trade Organization.
Russia: Mafia State Review
Kelly Hignett of The View East reviews Luke Harding's Russia-critical book Mafia State on his dire experiences as a foreign correspondent in Russia.
Russia-US: Receiving A New US Ambassador
Eric of The Pipeline summarizes comments on the reception in Moscow of new US Ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul.
Russia: Line to a Drug Dealer in Novosibirsk
YouTube user Pepsick80 publishes a video [ru] of a drug dealer's selling point in Novosibirsk (city in Siberia). Several tens of cars and drug users standing in the line to buy drugs can be seen on the video. The voice behind the camera is utterly surprised and angry that there's...
Russia: Oligarchs Day in Court
John Helmer of Dances With Bears accounts for the legal battle over business interests between Russian business tycoons Boris Berezovsky and Roman Abramovich, which is about to be finalised by the London High Court.
Russia-US: Protest Against the SOPA/PIPA Bills
Windows to Russia writes about the Russian Pirate Party's protest demonstration yesterday against the US SOPA/PIPA-bills outside the US Embassy in Moscow, and how they argue that this might affect Russian Internet freedom.
Russia: Underwater Fire
Dmitry Gorenburg of Russian Military Reform notes yet another fire onboard a Russian submarine, putting naval safety procedures further in question.
Russia: Kremlin Crisis Management
Ania Viver of Foreign Policy Blogs posts an interesting analysis on the Kremlin's attempts at calming down popular protests against the Russian leadership, and tries to explain why they fail in their crisis management.
Russia: Foreign Ministry Critique of Human Rights Violations
Finrosforum argues against a report from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which criticizes neighbouring countries for human rights violations.
Russia: Obama's McFaul Sworn in as U.S. Ambassador
President Obama's closest adviser on affairs of state of the Former Soviet Union and architect of the 'reset' in the U.S.-Russia relations, Michael McFaul, has officially replaced President Bush's appointment as the United States' Ambassador to Russia.
Russia: Moscow Population Cuts
Kyle Keeton of Windows to Russia reports that the Moscow government is planning to reduce the number of people residing in over-crowded central Moscow, hoping for people moving to suburbs and surrounding cities.
Russia: Making A Run For It
Andy Young of Siberian Light reports that opposition politicians Mikhail Prokhorov and Grigory Yavlinsky have now collected the two million signatures needed for running for Russia's presidency in the upcoming 4 March elections, and portrays the complexities of collecting signatures in support of a candidacy.
Russia: Twitter Clone Launched
Mail.ru group (owner of Blogs.mail.ru and a significant share of Vkontakte social network) had launched today futubra.com, a social network ‘inspired’ by Twitter.
Russia: Rooftop Krasnoyarsk Pictures
Raskalov_vit shares mind-blowing rooftop pictures of snowy Krasnoyarsk, city in Siberia. On the pictures: bridges, snow and heating steam, multi-storey houses mixed with industrial landscapes.
