Stories about Russian from August, 2009
Russia: Photos and Drawings of Opposition Rally
Photos from the Aug. 31 opposition rally in Moscow – by LJ user mnog (RUS); drawings and an observation – by LJ user pshevelev (RUS): “A few people are chanting ‘Shame!’ and are being seized [by the police], and the other 60 are taking photos and keeping silent. If you're...
Georgia: Bicycle Trip from Poti to Batumi
LJ user jhwe posts over 130 photos (RUS) taken during an 85-kilometer bicycle journey from Poti to Batumi, Georgia.
Russia: Satellite Pics of Traffic Jam Caused by Officials
LJ user travel_hunter (RUS) re-posts images of Yandex.ru maps showing an impressive amount of cars forced to wait until some high-ranking Russian officials pass an intersection in Moscow. LJ user dolboeb posts these images, too, and writes (RUS): “When you just get stuck in traffic caused by the passing of...
Russia: Two Photos of Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam
LJ user drugoi visits Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric dam, posts two photos and writes (RUS) about the colossal damage done to the facility on Aug. 17: “It seems that it's easier to build a new power plant than to clear up the huge amount of deformed metal and restore the turbine hall.”
Russia: Stalin at Renovated Kurskaya
LJ user russos posts photos (RUS) of the newly renovated Kurskaya-Koltsevaya metro station in Moscow, which now sports this line from the 1944 version of the Soviet anthem: “Stalin brought us up – on loyalty to the people, he inspired us to labor and to heroism!” The post has so...
Russia: August 1991 – 18 Years On
Scraps of Moscow writes about the August 1991 coup and how it is remembered 18 years later.
Kazakhstan: On the Efficacy of Government
How professional is the government? Is it rigorous enough in performing its functions? How often does it interfere in matters beyond its competence? These are among the most popular questions discussed in the Kazakh blogosphere. Izhanov writes a gloomy, ironic post on the “sensitive” subject of bidding in the process...
Ukraine, Russia: Reaction to Medvedev's Statement
Foreign Notes translates one Ukrainian editor's take on president Medvedev's Ukraine address.
Russia: Flag Day Rally
LJ users daria_mas and alter-gregor post photos (RUS) from the opposition rally that took place in Moscow on Russia's Flag Day and ended with riot police detaining some of the activists.
Ukraine: In Chinese, Yanukovych is Yushchenko?
Evgeny Morozov of Foreign Policy's Net.Effect writes: “It turns out that when you use Google Translate to translate (from Chinese to Russian) the expression “Vote for Yanukovych” (Yanukovych was Kremlin's favorite candidate), Google gives you “Vote for Yushenko” in the translated version. Global conspiracy orchestrated by Google!”
Russia: Xenia Larina on RFE/RL
Anatoly Karlin of Sublime Oblivion translates LJ user xlarina‘s post (RUS) about “her husband’s unpleasant experiences” with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Russia, Ukraine: Music vs Politics
LJ user oleg_kozyrev asks (RUS) Ukrainians not to get offended at Russia because of president Medvedev's address and suggests that fellow-bloggers post “something Ukrainian today,” ending his post with a YouTube video of Vopli Vidoplyasova‘s Vesna (“Spring”) song.
Russia, Ukraine: Medvedev's Address
Foreign Policy's Passport links to the vlog post with president Medvedev's Ukraine address and the English-language translation of the transcript. Eternal Remont comments on some of Medvedev's statements: “[…] ‘The leadership in Kiev took an openly anti-Russian stand after the Georgia War.’ This is not allowed under Section 6 of...
Russia: Moscow High-Rise on Fire
Photos of a fire at one of Moscow's newly-built high-rise apartment buildings last week – by LJ user drugoi (RUS).
Georgia, Russia: Cyber Attacks on Blogger ‘Cyxymu’
In 2008, the Russo-Georgian war coincided with the Beijing Olympics, diverting some of the public attention from the peaceful sporting event. This week, cyber attacks on LJ, Twitter and Facebook, targeting Tbilisi-based blogger cyxymu, have added an extra dimension to the coverage of the war's first anniversary.
Kazakhstan: Economics and blogs
Megakhuimyak talks about the models of social behavior of the Kazakhstani citizens… [ru]: People of the Third World countries specifically like to spend their money to show off, especially, when wedding parties are concerned. A couple has just married, but tens of thousands of dollars are already spent. Then they...
Russia: The Meaning of “Avos'”
Russian Blog explains the notion of “avos'”: “One of the most exciting things that are ‘really Russian’ because they work only in Russia.”
