Russian Internet Culture
This site provides an overview of what's going on the rapidly
evolving Russian internet, and reflects the preferences and biases of
its over-worked, solo
webmaster, Michael Gorham.
Even in its current, beta version, it may be interest to
non-specialists, teachers and students of the Russian internet. Primary
sources are mostly in Russian, but ample news items and analysis can
also be found in English. The most frequently updated content appears
in the "In the News" section below.
Comments and suggestions welcome!
"Russian Media Culture" (the course): Fall 2012!
course flyer // course homepage
In the News....
- Alexey Sidorenko, "The Fake Political Twitter Phenomenon," Global Voices (25 January 2012). Great overview of some of the more popular political satire on Twitter.
- "The number of Internet users in Russia to reach 90 mln in 2013," ITAR-TASS (5 January 2012). Official data on current and projected usage.
- Gregory Asmolov, "Social Network In-Between Security Services and Free Market," Global Voices (28 December 2011). An
excellent analysis of recent pressure applied by state security
agencies to Russia's largest social networking platform, Vkontakte, to
close certain oppositional groups, and the business rationale of its
founder, Pavel Durov, to resist such pressure.
- Ivan Shadrin, "Кибербезопасность в 2011 году: охота за деньгами и секретами," digit -- proekt RIA Novosti (27 December 2011). A discussion of trends in Russian cybercrime.
- Ol'ga Fedina, "Русскоязычная аудитория Twitter увеличилась вдвое за четыре месяца" (The Russian-language Twitter audience has doubled in number in four months), digit -- proekt RIA Novosti (23 December 2011).
- Rina Soloveiychik and Kevin O'Flynn, "Twitter Becomes Key for Moscow Protests," The Moscow Times (23 December 2011). Includes list of some of more influential Twitter feeds on both sides of the political spectrum.
- Евгений Касперский, "Ддос страшный и ужасный" ("DDoS is frightening and horrible"), Nota Bene (Blog Evgeniia Kasperskogo) (21 December 2011). Good RL description of the nature and frequency of DDoS attacks in RuNet.
- "Tai Adelaja, "Virtually Helping," Russia Profile.org (21 December 2012). Yandex .dengi, one of Russia's biggest online payment systems, sets up mechanism allowing citizens to contribute donations online -- including to protest organizations.
- Future of the Media (Special Report), Russia Profile.org (14 December 2011). 7 articles offer a fresh analysis of the state and fate of all branches of the mass media in Russia today.
- Victoria Soukhareva, "Heard It on the Radio," Russia Profile.org (14 December 2011). Part of the Special Report listed above; good overview of the state of the Russian radio market.
- "FACEBOOK РЕВОЛЮЦИЯ: интернет против телеведения" ("FACEBOOK REVOLUTION: internet vs. television"), "Arkheologiia," Finam.fm (14 December 2011) [podcast]. With guests Andrei Miroshnichenko and Ivan Zassoursky, ost of the weekly show "Archeology," Sergei Medvedev, discusses the impact of the internet and social networking on Russian politics in light of recent post-election protests.
- Alexis Madrigal, "Pro-Kremlin Forces Don't Silence Dissent, They Drown
It Out," The Atlantic.com (9
December 2011). On the use of bots
to overwhelm oppositional sites and feeds.
- Andrew Roth, "Virtual Opposition," Russia Profile.org (8 December
2011). Attacks on Oppositionist Web
Sites Continue, but Oppositionists Have Learned to Hedge Their Bets.
- Gregory Asmolov, "Election and the 'Other Side of Panopticon'," GlobalVoices.org (7 December 2011).
Excellent
discussion of the manner in which the internet can (and did) influence
election results -- not by changing them but rather documenting
falsification to the extent that their legitimacy is seriously
questioned.
- Andrei Zolotov and Andrew Roth,
"The Internet's Watching," Russia
Profile.org (5 December 2011). On the impact of internet-based
(oppositional) reporting on election day.
- ""Эти ваши интернеты": Колесников рассказал, кто
зачистит рунет" ("'These internets of yours': Kolesnikov explains
who will clean up runet"), digit.ru (29 November 2011). Interview
with Andrei Kolesnikov, Director of the Coordination Center of the
National .RF Domain on "stop lists" and other lexical restrictions on
national web domains.
- Михаил Аскетов, "Граждане www.россия.рф" ("Citizens of www.rossiia.rf"), Особая Буква (15 November 2011). Essay on the internet's role as a final bastion of free speech in Russia.
- Irina Filatova, "Russia Has the Most Web Users in Europe," The Moscow Times 17 November
2011). Although broadband and
penetration of any kind in the country's regions are still lagging.
- Dmitrii Davidov, "Russia/Georgia: The Dilemma of Politics Blogging for
Cash" Global Voices (4 November 2011). A
popular Georgian political blogger considers the ethics of accepting an
invitation and fee of $300 (from Russian sources) to write "black PR"
blogs against President Saakashvili.
- Stephen Ennis, "Russia satirists use YouTube to challenge Kremlin," BBC Monitoring (3 November 2011). An overview of some of the recent viral anti-Kremlin postings (including Navalnyi and "Mr. Freeman") on RuNet and its potential as an oppositional tool.
- "Media to be controlled with ever more sophisticated technical means," ITAR-TASS (3 November 2011). An English-language story on the censorship accusations directed toward "Roskomnadzor."
- "Прямая демократия на пике моды" ("Direct
Democracy is at the Peak of Fashion"), Nezavisimaia (28 October 2011). A cynical interpretation of Russian
"direct demcracy" as an election-year political PR tool.
- "Выборы начались? В «Фейсбуке» растет активность
политических ботов" ("Elections have Begun? The activity of
political bots rises in Facebook"), Slon.ru (12.X.2011). On use by pro-Kremlin groups of 'bots' to
generate support.
- Ellen Barry, "Social Media Raise Curtain on Staged Event in Moscow,"
New York Times (21
October 2011). Twitter coverage
reveals Medevev appearance at Moscow
State University as staged event that involved few students from the
University.
- Зарплата
большого брата.
("Big Brother's Salary"), Kommersant-Den'gi
(24 October 2011). Story
on plans for Russian federal monitoring
agency, Роскомнадзор, to moniter web-based news media sites 24/7,
beginning December 2011.
- Росагит. A platform for agitational literature inspired by blogger Aleksei Naval'nyi's campaign against the United Russia Party (or "The Party of Swindlers and Theives").
- "12 лет в интернете" ("12 Years on the Internet"),
Forbes.ru (25 September
2011).
- "Интернет на замке" ("Internet under Lock and
Key"), Polit.ru (25 September 2011).
- "Sponge Bob Boes to War," Sean's Russia Blog (13 September 2011)
- "10 Charts: Everything You Need to Know About Mobile," The Atlantic (13 September 2011).
- Alexey Sidorenko, "Crowdsourced Map of Electoral Violations Launched," Global Voices (8 September 2011).
- "Первый городской -- Роднополисы/chё" (1 September 2011). A viral videoclip produced by Kirov film studio promoting life in provincial cities.
- Dmitry Davidov, "Why We Are Leaving Our Country Behind," Global Voices (31 August 2011).
- Svetlana Kononova, "The Death of a Journal. Who is Cracking Down on LiveJournal?" Russia Profile.org (8 August 2011).
- Tai Adelaja, "Curbing
Extreme Freedoms," Russia
Profile.org (4 August 2011).
