Global Voices Online

Window on Eurasia writes on the voting patterns of Russia's Muslims: “Muslims voted for United Russia and thus endorsed Putin, according to Abdulla Rinat Mukhametov, the head of Islam.ru’s research department, in order to demonstrate that they are ‘for a strong, united and socially oriented state' and thus put to rest all charges that Muslims are linked to 'separatism, extremism, and the like'.”

Recent Links also in Eastern & Central Europe

The Russian Railroads company announced [RUS] today that free wi-fi hotspots would be installed at every passenger terminal in Moscow by December 7, 2009. The company expects around 1,500 wi-fi users per day but many Russian bloggers think the figure will be much larger.

Alexander Batalov, a former administrator of the official Web site for the town of Irbit, faces libel charges for anonymous comments left by someone else on the site. Batalov is accused of allowing unapropriate comments online and, if found guilty, will be required to pay $8,000 penalty. The full story is here [RUS] and Batalov's interpretation of the case is here [RUS].

The Russian president's mansion became a topic of discussions on the Internet when people found a bidding offers invitation for services at the government Web site [RUS] dealing with different types of tenders. Giving the coordinates identical with the ones of the most important residency in the country, the government was seeking a company capable of providing services for a mansion with a church, golf and mini-golf courses, four swimming pools, three fountains, two saunas, a VIP-restaurant and stables.