In this educational piece the author describes the neoteny exhibited by the political species
Is it possible to challenge censors without losing your livelihood? Polina Bykhovskaya interviews the men and women who wanted to change the world but ended up in the business of job preservation (their's and Putin's)
Russia’s 9 time zones are often exploited by TV management to pull controversial programmes, but the internet has changed the rules of the game. A recent film about kidnap victims in Chechnya was shown in the Far East, but not in European Russia. The ensuing outcry and internet activity show that
A new series on openDemocracy Russia
Alla Pugacheva has ruled Russian pop for more than 40 years, surviving criticism and change while endearing herself to ordinary Russians. Her recent foray into politics, supporting the billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov and ‘Just Cause’ was less successful, but she will rise above the problems, just as
In Donetsk, Eastern Ukraine, ‘proper’ journalism means asking few questions and communicating few answers. Those who choose not to follow these Soviet rules of thumb are by consequence ‘improper’ journalists, who risk redress for the errors of their ways. In Aleksey Matsuka’s case, this has meant
Last Sunday, unknown arsonists attempted to torch the apartment of oD author and investigative journalist Aleksey Matsuka in Donetsk, Eastern Ukraine. Despite the seriousness of the crime, the reaction from the police and investigating authorities has been woefully inadequate.
The recent arrest and detention of a group of photojournalists on apparently trumped-up charges continues to be a subject of heated discussion and protest in Georgia. The evidence and the so-called confessions contain a mass of contradictions and are a cause for serious concern about the real moti
Self-censorship was an important feature of Soviet life, but old habits, it seems, die hard. Mikhail Loginov reports on the return of “unwritten rules” to the Russian regional press
The degree of press freedom in Russia has fluctuated violently over the 20 years since the fall of communism. The situation in the Orenburg region, as everywhere, is a balancing act between principles and funding. And it’s always more difficult to rebuild what has been lost, laments Elena Strelnik
