Russia’s Top Social Network Under Fire

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Tom Balmforth – MOSCOW – May 28, 2013) When Vkontakte.ru briefly appeared on a government blacklist of banned websites last week, it raised eyebrows. Russia’s leading social network isn’t just a place where friends connect, make plans, and share experiences. It’s also one of the main platforms the opposition has used to organize its activities across […]

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60% of Russians wish to bar children from social networks – poll

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(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 16, 2013) Some 57% of Russians polled by the Superjob.ru portal support the idea of banning children younger than 13 from social networks. Another 17% expressed their support but said the age limit should be higher (49% stand for 16 years and 21% for 18). Fourteen percent were against and 12% could not answer the question. […]

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Senior Russian investigations official warns of dangers posed by social media

Vladimir Markin file photo

(Interfax – Anapa, May 15, 2013) Destructive forces, including foreign ones, use the absence of controls over on-line publications for information wars aimed at undermining people’s trust in the country’s leadership and law-enforcement bodies, official Investigation Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin has said. “Today, social networks and major blog services comprise hundreds of thousands of independent users who are subjected to […]

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Russian Deputy PM Lends Support To Social Networking Site

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(RIA Novosti – London, May 2, 2013)(Dateline as received) Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov hopes that social network VKontakte will continue despite the problems surrounding its founder, Pavel Durov. Social network VKontakte has recently found itself at the centre of several scandals. Information has appeared in the media about Durov’s involvement in a high-profile road accident in central St […]

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Medvedev’s Online Followers Told Not to Get Too Familiar

File Photo Dmitry Medvedev at Desk with Laptop Computer

MOSCOW, March 28 (RIA Novosti) ­ You may be able to “friend” Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Facebook, but that’s no excuse to get familiar. That was the message coming out of Medvedev’s office on Thursday in response to some web-users’ impudently using a diminutive version of the premier’s name. “I don’t get people who write on Facebook, for […]

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At Putin’s Order, FSB Now Using Social Networks to Target Opposition

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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, March 12, 2013 – http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/03/window-on-eurasia-at-putins-order-fsb.html) At the direction of President Vladimir Putin, the FSB is not only monitoring social networks but using one of their features to create problems for those opponents of the regime who use them by posting statements on their sites and then invoking the appearance of those materials […]

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Social networks should not be allowed to be used to damage U.S., Russia – McFaul

Ambassador Michael McFaul file photo

MOSCOW. March 11 (Interfax) – The United States and Russia share the opinion that common rules of guaranteeing cyber security must be worked out, U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said in an interview published by Kommersant.Vesti magazine on Monday. However, there is one moment on which our points of view coincide with the Russian authorities. The issue is cyber […]

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Putin’s War on Three Fronts

Duma Session file photo

(Institute of Modern Russia – www.imrussia.org – Tatiana Stanovaya – February 25, 2013 – click here for original posting of article) Two important tendencies have marked Russian political life during the past few months. The first is the Kremlin’s attempt to control officials’ and lawmakers’ foreign accounts and real estate holdings. The second is the growing activity of independent bloggers […]

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Russian Foreign Ministry opens Facebook account

Russian Foreign Ministry Building Tower file photo

(Interfax – Moscow, February 21, 2013) The Russian Foreign Ministry has opened an official account in the social network Facebook, says a report published on the ministry’s website today. “Topical information about the Russian foreign policy, archive materials about the history of the Russian diplomatic service, helpful information for countrymen and Russians staying abroad will be posted there. We expect […]

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State Recommends Schoolchildren Watch 100 Films

Movie Theater file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky – January 18,  2013) The culture and education ministers on Thursday presented a list of 100 Soviet and Russian films that schools will be advised to show students to strengthen their cultural values and to build bonds with their parents and teachers from older generations. “This is not a list of the best […]

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Protests, Political Pressure on Media Behind Rise of ‘New Russian Journalists’

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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, January 8, 2013 – http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2013/01/window-on-eurasia-protests-political.html) The rise of a new generation of independent journalists in Russia who use technology to report directly to their audience and who are not shy about declaring their interest in promoting civil society is an entirely natural response to the increasing government restrictions on the official media […]

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@Russia Stands Silent on Twitter

File Photo of Little Girl at Computer Next to Globe

Follow @JohnsonRussiaLi (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – November 15, 2012) Russia doesn’t have an active Twitter handle, and it’s not even clear whether the coveted @Russia account is the government’s property, according to a study released Thursday. The study places @Russia in a group of 30 accounts named after countries ­ out of 193 ones that the study looked at […]

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Facebook Flirts With Local Geeks in Battle for Russia

File Photo of Mark Zuckerberg Gesturing

Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Marie Mawad and Ilya Khrennikov – October 5, 2012 Looking for a public bathroom in Moscow? Facebook Inc. (FB) has you covered. Still a dwarf in Russia, the world’s largest social network is courting local geeks to build apps tailor-made for their home market. Its goal is to win over users in Europe’s most populous country […]

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Zuckerberg Visit Sparks Brain-Drain Debate in Russia

File Photo of Mark Zuckerberg Gesturing

Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky – October 3, 2012 – Leonid Bershidsky, an editor and novelist, is Moscow and Kiev correspondent for World View. For Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s visit to Moscow was a great photo opportunity. Some of Russia’s technology entrepreneurs, though, saw it as the latest salvo in a global battle for the […]

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The Tao of Mark Zuckerberg

File Photo of Mark Zuckerberg Gesturing

RIA Novosti – Natalia Antonova – October 1, 2012 Natalia Antonova is the deputy editor of The Moscow News. I never thought that there would come a day when I would unabashedly cheer on Mark Zuckerberg. After all, even among hardcore Facebook users such as myself, it is much more fashionable to poke fun at the guy, gently or otherwise. […]

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PACE Report Strongly Criticizes Russia

Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

RFE/RL – October 2, 2012 A report debated on October 2 by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe strongly criticized Russia, highlighting limitations on free speech, political meddling in the judiciary, and multiple violations of human rights. The report was the first produced by the Strasbourg-based body to address Russia’s obligations and commitments to the Council of Europe […]

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NEWSLINK: Facebook’s Zuckerberg to meet Russian PM

Facebook’s Zuckerberg to meet Russian PM – AFP – September 28, 2012 click here to read original article AFP covers plans for Facebook social network founder Mark Zuckerberg to visit Russia and meet with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.  Facebook is holding an event in Moscow, and already has ties to Russian IT. “Zuckerberg will be visiting Russia at a […]

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