Blogging is important in Russia. More important than in many other countries. For one that is, because this is such a large country and the Internet and Blogs provide a cheap way to communicate, get together and read each others opinions and comments of whats daily life of the Russian youngsters (16-30). Many young Russians have their own Live Journal site, where they write about themselves, the things they do or what they have seen. Their readers are not only their friends, but also a lot of other Live Journal users and the general audience. If something special happens (may it be a storm or another Beslan), the news spread fast via emails and links. Many of the photos or videos you can find on my blog, were found on a Russian Live Journal before and sent to me by Russian friends (most of them run their own Live Journals).
A recently struck deal between Six Apart, the company who runs the Livejournals and SUP, an Russian Internet company, owned by Aleksandr Mamut, a Russian “oligarch,� and Andrew Paulson, an American entrepreneur, outrages the Russian blogsphere. Blogs are being closed down by their owners, others move to foreign free blog services and many fear control, censorship and even worse, that their personal data will be handed to the Russian security services (such as the feared FSB).
Russian blogging is also important, because the new generation Russians still have the old Soviet times in mind. Some of them were growing up in these times, others were to young to remember, but they still feel the vibe from their parents. It doesn’t matter, wether freedom of speech or freedom of the press are true or surpressed in Russia these days. It matters that the youth and young generation has a free tool, easy to use, which enables THEM to talk and to write about their views of the current Russia. This is much more important to them than TV or any other media. I doubt the government and especially the FSB understands the importance of this media at the time being. I also doubt they screen these journals, but it may as well be possible that these organizations run some “Echelon” type filters and robots to screen the RUNET (as they call the Russian Internet here) for relevant content and keywords. A regime critic blogger or extrememist (out of either political corner) may get on their radar. In any case the FSB (former KGB) and other government organizations have some of the best hackers of the world and I am sure, they’d not need an oligarch to give them the personal data of a blogger. What is dangerous though, is the self implied censorship these Oligarchs are putting on their media, no matter, if they are pro or contra Putin. It seems to me that with this deal, the Russian Internet lost a bit more of its freedom, but I am sure the bloggers will find alternatives to Live Journal. They are young, ambitious and they are long infected with the blogging virus, that’s all what counts.
Read more about the Russian Blog Wars and some translated opinions on Havards: Global Voices Online. Thank you for looking into this and providing us Expats and foreign readers with translations. A special thanks to Veronica Khokhlova for her great work there.
The FIRST snow this year.
Oktyberskaya at 8:30 AM, transferring from the orange to the brown ring line on a weekday.
Coming back from my meeting at 10:20 AM I pass the same point again. This time from the other side.