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Tag: Russia

  • Apple Threatens to Leave Russia in 2020, Citing Russian Software Demands

    Apple Threatens to Leave Russia in 2020, Citing Russian Software Demands

    The International Business Times (IBT) is reporting that Apple may leave the Russian market next year in response to a new law requiring Russian software alternatives be installed on electronic devices.

    The new law, which Putin signed on December 5, goes into effect on July 1, 2020. The law requires all computers, smartphones and smart TVs to have Russian applications pre-installed. As Reuters reports, electronic companies are pushing back on the law, although few as much as Apple.

    Apple has said the Russian law would require the equivalent of jailbreaking its software, something it has refused to do in the past. While the law’s proposed purpose is to allow local companies to better compete with the software that comes loaded on devices, critics believe any software the Russian government would insist be installed could, and likely would, be used to spy on people.

    According to IBT, “an unnamed Apple source allegedly informed Kommersant Business Daily that a mandate to include third-party applications to Apple’s ecosystem would be synonymous with jailbreaking. The Apple source also said that it might pose a security threat, and Apple would not tolerate such kind of risk. The Russian government will come up with a list of software and apps which tech firms are required to pre-install, as well as the list of devices covered by this new law, reports The Moscow Times.”

    For Apple, the stakes are far greater that just the Russian market. The company has made a name for itself as a staunch protector of privacy, going head-to-head with the FBI to fight attempts to force it to create backdoors in its software. If it gives in to Russia, it will set a dangerous precedent that other governments will no doubt seize upon.

  • Google Loses Antitrust Appeal

    Google Loses Antitrust Appeal

    Google has reportedly lost an appeal in an antitrust related to Android in Russia.

    The complaint was lodged last year by Yandex, and in September, Russian antitrust authority The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service ruled that Google mustn’t require device manufacturers using Android to pre-install Google services.

    Google appealed, and according to reports, the appeal was just rejected by the Moscow Arbitration court. Reuters reports:

    The company now has to amend its contracts with smartphone manufacturers in order to comply with the ruling, and pay a fine.

    TechCrunch shares this statement from Yandex:

    “After careful consideration of all the facts in the case against Google’s anticompetitive practices, the court has upheld FAS’s judgement. We are satisfied with the court’s decision to uphold FAS’s judgement in the case against Google.”

    Google isn’t really commenting so far.

    Image via Google

  • Russia Bans Wikipedia Over Drug Article, Promptly Reverses Course After Edits

    Russia Bans Wikipedia Over Drug Article, Promptly Reverses Course After Edits

    Roskomnadzor, Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (basically its internet watchdog) has been in the news quite a bit lately. The regulatory body seems to be scouring the web, looking to block certain sites of content it deems harmful – which as of late has all related to drugs.

    Now, over the past couple of days, the Russian agency directed Internet Service Providers to block a certain Wikipedia page, ISPs responded by doing what they could do (which was block all of Wikipedia for a brief time), and Roskomnadzor then lifted the ban after significant editing to the specific article.

    Roskomnadzor was upset over a Wikipedia article about hashish. On Monday, it sent out a decree instructing ISPs to block access to the article. To comply with the order, ISPs were forced to block the entirety of Wikipedia because its “secure communication protocol doesn’t allow the blocking of individual articles,” according to Roskomnadzor.

    But after edits to the article of which Roskomnadzor found satisfactory, the ban was lifted.

    “Unexpectedly, confirmation has arrived from Roskomnadzor that the entry on Charas has been excluded from the register of banned sites,” Wikimedia Russia executive director Stas Kozlovsky said.

    This isn’t the first time in recent memory the Russian watchdog has blocked access to major sites over drug content.

    Roskomnadzor sent out the order to block reddit on August 12th. The government was upset over a post about the “cultivation of narcotic plants” – more specifically mushrooms. Officials said they had been trying to get in touch with reddit about removing the offending thread – but didn’t hear back. So they blocked reddit.

    But reddit soon complied with the request to block the “offending” post and Russia authorities unblocked the site. This led to the revelation that reddit will, in practice, block content in certain countries to “preserve the existence of reddit in those regions.”

  • Reddit Will Block Content in Certain Countries, Has Already Done So in Germany and Russia

    Reddit Will Block Content in Certain Countries, Has Already Done So in Germany and Russia

    Reddit has confirmed that it will locally block content if it receives a “valid request from and authorized entity.”

    The policy confirmation comes after the company blocked a specific thread about growing psychoactive mushrooms in Russia. The country’s Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, Roskomnadzor, temporarily banned reddit earlier in the week. Blocking the specific post was required of reddit in order to get the entire site unblocked.

    Reddit also revealed that it has blocked the entire r/WatchPeopleDie subreddit in Germany.

    According to the company, it censored the specific content in Germany and Russia in order to “preserve the existence of reddit in those regions.”

    It’s clear that in reddit’s mind, having most of the site available is better than taking a stand and winding up having no reddit in some countries.

    Here’s the full statement from reddit:

    This week, Reddit received valid legal requests from Germany and Russia requesting the takedown of content that violated local law. As a result, /r/watchpeopledie was blocked from German IPs, and a post in /r/rudrugs was blocked from Russian IP’s in order to preserve the existence of reddit in those regions. We want to ensure our services are available to users everywhere, but if we receive a valid request from an authorized entity, we reserve the right to restrict content in a particular country. We will work to find ways to make this process more transparent and streamlined as Reddit continues to grow globally.

    Of course, reddit is far from the only tech company than institutes regional bans on content. Google does it. Twitter does it. Facebook does it. But that doesn’t mean reddit users are going to be happy about this. When it comes to any form of censorship – no matter the circumstance – you can expect a pretty loud pushback from at least some of the site’s population.

  • Russia Unblocks Reddit After Dustup over Shroom Post

    Russia Unblocks Reddit After Dustup over Shroom Post

    On Wednesday afternoon, Russia added reddit to its registry of blocked sites.

    And as of early Thursday morning, reddit has been removed from the blocked sites list.

    After warning that it was considering it, Roskomnadzor, Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, sent out the order to block reddit on August 12th. The government was upset over a post about the “cultivation of narcotic plants” – more specifically mushrooms. Officials said they had been trying to get in touch with reddit about removing the offending thread – but didn’t hear back. So they blocked reddit.

    Apparently, reddit complied with the request to block the “offending” post and Russia authorities have unblocked the site. Unless you’re in Russia, you can check out the specific post here. It’s two years old.

    Here’s what Roskomnadzor had to say on Russian social network VKontakte:

    We thank all who by their activity on the Web has prompted administrators to listen to reddit Roskomnadzor. Aug. 13 on the administration of the resource on the “hot line” of the Federal Service received a letter, which reported on the termination of access to the territory of Russia to the forbidden information. The requirement Roskomnadzor validated inspection. In connection with this page removed from the Register of illegal information. Given that this illegal article two years ago to notify Roskomnadzor has removed one of the pages on reddit, and then appeared on the other hand, we expect that the administration of resources will continue to listen to the demands of regulatory authorities Russia in the interests of large Russian audience.

    According to redditors on the r/russia subreddit, reddit it fully accessible in Russia – except for the page in question.

    The user responsible for the mushroom-tutorial recently posted in reddit’s popular r/TIFU (Today I Fucked Up) subreddit, saying TIFU by getting Reddit banned in Russia.

    “In Russia, there is a law which allow Roskomnadzor, Russian censorship agency, to block any website without court rulling. Two years ago I tested how RKN react to abuse on popular websites/crazy abuses. On of that websites was Reddit,” they say.

    “One thing I learned is that RKN doesn’t want to block popular websites. They respond me that this content is illegal and they blocked it, but they weren’t. It was on 05/21/2013. On 10st Aug 2015 they posted a call to help them contact Reddit administration to official VK page. Funny thing, but they called Psilocybe a plant. Several hours ago they reported that Reddit is blocked in Russia. Seems like things changed.”

  • Reddit Is Now Banned in Russia

    Reddit Is Now Banned in Russia

    Well, it looks like they weren’t lying.

    After warning that it was considering it, Roskomnadzor, Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, has sent out the order to block reddit.

    Apparently, the government is upset over a post about the “cultivation of narcotic plants.”

    Officials said they had been trying to get in touch with reddit about removing the offending thread – but didn’t hear back.

    Now, according to a tweet from Roskomnadzor, the site is banned:

    From a redditor on r/russia, here’s what they see when they attempt to access reddit via ISP Seven Sky:

    Screen Shot 2015-08-12 at 4.17.43 PM

    Here’s what Roskomnadzor’s original complaint said, via Google translate:

    At the request of Federal Drug Control Service is ready to make the registry page of the site reddit, which posted an article on the cultivation of narcotic plants. Notifications to the requirement to remove the information sent to multiple addresses resource, but no response is still not forthcoming, although earlier treatment from us in the administration treated full. We assume that during the August holidays someone is too relaxed, but this should not be a reason to venture readership. Those who have contacts with the administration – ask them to check your mail for letters from Roskomnadzor otherwise due the technical features of a number of operators may block the entire site.

    it was assumed that the Russian regulatory agency was referring to a post about pot, but Meduza reports that the thread was actually titled “Minimal and Reliable Methods for Growing Psilocybe [Mushrooms].”

  • Russia Threatens to Block Reddit over Drug Post

    Russia Threatens to Block Reddit over Drug Post

    Russia, which has a history of threatening to block access to certain sites over seemingly ridiculous reasons, is now considering a ban on reddit.

    The news comes from Roskomnadzor, Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, which posted an update on Russian social media site VKontakte.

    Apparently, the government is upset over a post about the “cultivation of narcotic plants.”

    Officials have apparently been trying to get in touch with reddit about removing the offending thread – but have yet to hear back.

    If we’re just talking about a thread on growing pot, it’s unlikely reddit will take any action to remove it.

    Here’s the post, translated by Google:

    At the request of Federal Drug Control Service is ready to make the registry page of the site reddit, which posted an article on the cultivation of narcotic plants. Notifications to the requirement to remove the information sent to multiple addresses resource, but no response is still not forthcoming, although earlier treatment from us in the administration treated full. We assume that during the August holidays someone is too relaxed, but this should not be a reason to venture readership. Those who have contacts with the administration – ask them to check your mail for letters from Roskomnadzor otherwise due the technical features of a number of operators may block the entire site.

    Last month, a Russian senator kicked off an investigation into Facebook and its allowance of “gay emoji.”

  • Russia Is Thinking About Blocking Facebook Over Gay Emoji

    A little while back Apple and many other platforms adopted a new Unicode standard for emojis that included, among other thing, emojis featuring same sex couples. More specifically, emoji featuring two men and a heart, two women and a heart, and gay families (two men or two women with children). Normal people saw this as a nice, inclusionary move. We all moved on.

    Leave it to Russia however, to find something wrong with a gay emoji.

    Russia, which we all know isn’t the most LGBT-tolerant country in the world to say the least, is reportedly looking into whether these gay emoji break its laws against promoting homosexuality.

    The “investigation” was kicked off at the behest of a Senator named Mikhail Marchenko. From TIME:

    In his written appeal to The Federal Service For Supervision of Communication, Information Technology and Mass Media, which is known in Russia as Roskomnadzor, the senator from the region of Bryansk called for an investigation into whether the emojis violate Russia’s controversial 2013 law against “homosexual propaganda” among minors.

     

    “These emojis of non-traditional sexual orientation are seen by all users of the social network, a large portion of whom are minors,” said Senator Marchenko. “But propaganda of homosexuality is banned under the laws and under the pillars of tradition that exist here in our country.”

    Social network? That’s right, Russia is looking into whether or not it should ban Facebook, as it allows said gay emojis on its platform.

    Russian law allows it to block websites if they promote homosexuality to minors.

    “In the response, which was written by the deputy head of The Federal Service For Supervision of Communication, Information Technology and Mass Media, Maxim Ksenzov, the agency says it is prepared to ‘take reactive measures’ against the emojis if they are found to constitute a threat to Russian children.”

    Taking reactive measures against emoji. Welcome to the future, folks.

  • Apple’s U2 Album Giveaway Turned Kids Gay, Say Russian Wingnuts

    Apple’s U2 Album Giveaway Turned Kids Gay, Say Russian Wingnuts

    According to some right-wing Russians, this is probably going to turn your kid gay:

    That’s the cover of U2’s most recent album, Songs of Innocence. You might remember it as “that album my iPhone kept playing whenever I accidentally opened up iTunes.”

    The Guardian reports that a member of Russia’s Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) is raising hell over the album, blaming Apple for “spamming youths with illegal content” – more specifically distributing “gay propaganda” to kids. He wants an investigation from the top legal authority in the country.

    You may recall that last September, Apple did everyone the favor of giving out U2’s new album to every iTunes user. During Apple’s big press event for the iPhone 6 launch, CEO Tim Cook gave Songs of Innocence to hundreds of millions of people for free. But here’s the thing – instead of just allowing users to download the album for free if they wanted to do so, Apple pushed the album to everyone. It was mandatory U2.

    This led to lots of people waking up in a why the fuck is there U2 on my phone stupor, followed by a pretty significant backlash. It was so intense that Apple had to make a dedicated page with the sole purpose of helping people remove the album from their libraries with one click.

    U2 called the whole stunt “incredibly subversive”, “really disruptive”, and totally “punk rock”, as U2 would.

    Apparently, it wasn’t just the music that pissed off Mr. Starovoitov.

    The photo, of U2’s drummer Larry Mullen Jr hugging his son, is supposed to represent “how holding on to your own innocence is a lot harder than holding on to someone else’s”

    But to anti-gay Russians, it’s a dangerous promotion of gay sex.

    According to a Russian newspaper, there’s already talk of taking legal action against Apple.

    Look, homophobic Russian dudes – U2 isn’t trying to make anyone gay. Apple isn’t trying to make anyone gay. You can’t make anyone gay. It doesn’t work like that. You can make someone’s ears bleed, and they may be responsible for that – but that’s about as far as it goes.

    Apple and Russia have a history when it comes to homophobia. Bigoted politicians have tried to ban Tim Cook from the country, and iPhone statues have been removed just days after Tim Cook came out.

    Even Siri is homophobic in Russia.

    Image via Helge Øverås, Wikimedia Commons

  • Anna Duritskaya, Girlfriend Of Murdered Putin Critic, In Hiding And Fearing For Her Life

    Anna Duritskaya was standing right next to Russian opposition leader Boris Y. Nemtsov when he was gunned down just steps from the Kremlin.

    In fact, Anna Duritskaya and Nemtsov were walking home after a dinner out.

    Anna Duritskaya reportedly called her mother from the grisly scene.

    Her mother said, “She was crying and saying that Boris had been killed. I was shocked. I think I told her to wait for the police and to answer their questions.”

    State-run media have also been trying to lay the blame on everyone from terrorists to a rival love interest, and have even stated that Anna Duritskaya‘s “role” needs to be “clarified”.

    It has been revealed that Anna Duritskaya had an abortion in Switzerland, paid for by Nemtsov, and has been suggested, without any proof, that the couple may have fought recently.

    However, that abortion was a long time ago, in 2013 to be exact.

    Many citizens and others around the world are speculating that Vladimir Putin or his supporters may have had a hand in Boris Nemtsov’s murder.

    He was highly vocal in his opposition to Putin’s policies and his handling of the situation in Ukraine.

    He once said, “People are tired of corruption, tired of criminals, tired of Putin’s brutality and stupid remarks.”

    Nemtsov encouraged peaceful protests, saying that it would be what separates the people from Putin.

    But, the Kremlin denies that Nemtsov was worth killing, as a threat.

    “With all respect to Boris Nemtsov, he did not pose any threat in the political sphere… for the Russian authorities or for Vladimir Putin,” said a spokesman. “If we compare his popularity ratings with the government’s… Nemtsov was quite an average citizen.”

    Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko sees it a little differently, though. Nemtsov was a big influence on the people, and since he and Anna Duritskaya split their time between Moscow and her home country of Ukraine, Poroshenko thinks Nemtsov was killed for being a “bridge” between Moscow and Ukraine.

    There are some suspicious circumstances, like cameras being switched off just before the murder.

    Anna Duritskaya, after days of relentless interrogation, immediately went to her mother’s house in Ukraine where the two of them escaped secretly from under the watchful eye of the media.

    Anna Duritskaya remains in hiding as the smoke clears from her boyfriend’s murder.

    What are your thoughts on this spy novel-type situation involving Anna Duritskaya?

  • Google Facing Another Antitrust Probe – in Russia

    Google is facing another antitrust investigation, as Russian search company Yandex has asked the country’s Federal Anti-Monopoly Service to take a look at Google’s practices – specifically relating to Android.

    Yandex is upset by Google’s bundling of its search engine, as well as other apps in with its Android operating system – which comes equipped on 86 percent of smartphones sold in Russia.

    Yandex has issued a statement on the request:

    Google’s practices relating to Android have been the subject of investigations and lawsuits in many jurisdictions around the world. Google is the owner of Android, the dominant global mobile operating system. Many believe that Android is an open platform. In reality, manufacturers of Android-powered devices are locked into the proprietary Google Play application store and closed APIs. In order to install Google Play on their devices, device manufacturers are required to preinstall the entire suite of Google GMS services, and set Google as the default search. In addition to that, device manufacturers are increasingly prohibited from installing any services from Google’s competitors on their devices.

    A Yandex spokesperson elaborated on that, saying,

    “We believe that device manufacturers should have a choice as to which search provider to set as the default or which services to have preinstalled on the device. Google should not prevent manufacturers from preinstalling competitor apps. This is why we are talking about the need to unbundle Google’s Android operating system from Google Search and its other end-user services.”

    If these claims sounds familiar, it’s because Google is already facing this sort of challenge elsewhere. The European Union has been after Google on this front for years, with its focus on Android ramping up recently. Recently, the European Parliament approved a breakup of the company – but that doesn’t mean it’s a done deal. The European Commission are the regulators with that authority, and it’s still debating the issue.

    Read more: Should Google Be Broken Up?

    Image via YouTube

  • Hitler Beauty Pageant in Russia Gets Shut Down

    In a move that is at least as historically confused as Kirk Cameron’s Halloween revisionism, Russian women were queuing up to compete in what has been called a “Miss Hitler” beauty contest.

    On the website VKontakte, which has been described as “Russia’s Facebook”, and has an interface very similar to the old classic Facebook wall, an “Adolf Hitler” appreciation group page was recently accepting uploads from beautiful Russian women. These pictures were being voted upon by other group members. The theme was “Miss Ostland 2014”.

    Ostland was an occupied area in the Baltic states, Poland, and Belarus set up by Nazi Germany in 1941. It was an area intended as “Lebensraum” or “living space” that the Nazis felt they could expand into and live once the rest of the world was conquered.

    The “Adolf Hitler” group on VKontakte has over 7,000 members. It was started by someone using the name “Aleksandr Anderson”. Women who upload pictures to the group for the “contest” sometimes wear Nazi attire or memorabilia. They are asked to also include a quote with their photo about why they “love and revere the Third Reich of Adolf Hitler”.

    Some contestants quotes include praise for Hitler for being “willing to experiment on people”. Another said Hitler was “our eternal race; He has been given eternal life”.

    Notions of racial purity and the supposed superiority of the Aryan race, as well as derision for Jews, is the theme of the day.

    For most people living in the region, the idea of glorifying Hitler is shocking and offensive. The Nazi regime and Hitler’s troops inflicted more damage and death on the Russians than on any other nationality during World War II. In the Western world, we think of British and American troops marching to face down the Nazi threat. The heroism and price paid by the Russians is less familiar. But the toll exacted in Russia can still be seen today.

    Not long after the “pageant” was reported on in the U.S., word got out that the whole thing was being shut down. Apparently VKontakte did not want to be seen as harboring such hate-filled activities. They issued a statement that their terms of service prohibits “loading, storing, publishing, disseminating, making available or otherwise using any information which: propagandizes and/or contributes to racial, religious, ethnic hatred or hostility, propagandizes fascism or racial superiority.”

  • Oil Prices Could Weaken Vladimir Putin’s Resolve

    Oil prices stand at a three year low of $81 per barrel. That’s significantly less than the $100 per barrel that was in place when Vladimir Putin first invaded Ukraine.

    While falling oil prices are good news for American consumers, it is bad news for Vladimir Putin.

    Half of Russia’s budget depends on oil and gas trading.

    Despite having a large and comfortable international currency reserve of $450 billion, the Russian stock market has been down 6% in the last three months.

    Also, the Ruble is 20% below the dollar in value this year.

    Add to that a projected Russian economic growth of just 0.5% in 2014 and 0.3% in 2015 and a feared recession, and things just don’t look great for Vladimir Putin.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5LEIsWcC7M

    “We’re probably getting closer to the point of pain,” said Phil Flynn, an energy analyst at the Price Futures Group. “It’s definitely putting the squeeze on their balance sheet.”

    Vladimir Putin is writing some ambitious checks that his budget may not be able to support. Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported that Putin wanted to expand military spending by 21% next year, but Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov says that Russia simply can’t afford it.

    So, while Vladimir Putin and Russia’s government may feel the squeeze of dropping oil prices, will it affect Russian citizens?

    Michael Fitzpatrick, a former energy analyst with the Kilduff Report, says it likely won’t. Unless things get substantially worse.

    He says of falling oil prices,

    “I don’t think you’re looking at any political or social unrest unless prices go considerably lower.”

    However, Russia isn’t the only country to be somewhat deflated by dropping oil prices.

    The countries of Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Iraq have also been wounded. Nigeria, Venezuela, and Iran are also feeling deeper budget deficits due to falling oil prices. So much so, that the government of Venezuela has called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC.

    Falling oil prices remain a good thing for the general population, though.

    “In the short term, oversupply and lower oil prices clearly have some positive impacts,” said a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “They are good for economies and consumers, helpful for sanctions efforts against rogue states, and serve as buffers against continued political unrest and supply disruptions.”

    “But, they also carry the seeds for future troubles, including under-investment in efficiency and alternative energy forms as well as in future oil and gas projects, and can have mixed climatic impacts, and eventually lead to higher prices.”

    What do you think of falling oil prices? Good thing or bad thing?

  • Fish With “Human Teeth”? You Won’t Believe The Explanation

    A fish with HUMAN teeth? This is what a fisherman in Russia claimed to have captured after reeling in a most peculiar sea animal.

    Aleks Korobov was fishing at Arkhangelsk Oblast district’s Northern Dvina River when he caught the creature.

    At first the 50-year-old was convinced he’d hooked an ordinary bream.

    Said Korobov, “I opened its gills which were nice and red, but I noticed the mouth wasn’t right for a bream. [W]hen I opened [the mouth], I nearly dropped the thing in surprise.”

    The fisherman found that his fish had human-like teeth.

    It was such a bizarre find that when the startled man tried to convince his friends what he’d captured, none of them believed him.

    “We know Aleks can tell some tall tales but when he came in and said he had a fish with human teeth we thought he’d certainly been drinking,” quipped Ppal Anton Efimov, one of Korobov’s good friends.

    “But then he got it out and we were totally shocked! None of us had ever seen anything like it in our lives.”

    So did Korobov capture some mutated fish or reveal the existence of a cryptid?

    While the discovery is an unusual one, scientists have weighed in with a less than extraordinary explanation.

    An autopsy of the fish was performed at the Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography. There it was confirmed that the animal was indeed not a bream fish as initially thought.

    Instead, the experts agree that the fish is a “member of the Piranha family”.

    Before you run screaming into the night, you should know that it’s not THAT kind of a piranha.

    The scientists have identified the fish as an herbivore. “[It’s] not one of the meat-eating ones you see in films,” explained industry expert Gennady Dvorykankin.

    Yes, there are vegetarian piranhas:

    As for this particiular fish, experts believe it’s probably a pacu.

    The pacu is a fish that originally hails from the tropical waters of South America that’s slightly larger than your average piranha and with differing teeth.

    With the fish identified, that leaves the question of how the heck a South American tropical fish ended up all the way in Russia.

    “It is very unlikely that it made its way from its natural tropical waters to our Arctic and then into the river,” Dvorykankin said.

    “We can only assume it was dumped by an owner of exotic fish.”

  • World War 3: Has Vladimir Putin Been Planning to Instigate Major War?

    According to a former advisor of Vladimir Putin, the Russian president has been planning to spark a major conflict in the Baltic region for the past decade.

    Andrey Illarionov, a former advisor to Putin, said the Russian leader has been planning for a major war since at least 2003. His accusation came during a conference in Lithuania.

    According to the Inquisitr, Illarionov referenced a 2008 article from Russian Journal that apparently laid out a plan for Russia to attack Crimea before moving on to capture the city of Kiev.

    “As we see, not only were they preparing, they were publishing it,” Illarionov said.

    Illarionov said Putin does not believe Ukraine is a real nation, but rather a state that belongs to Russia, and believes the same for Hungary, Poland, and Romania. He remarked that the latest conflict in the region began when Putin began referring to a “Russian world” during a ceremony honoring Slavic groups.

    The Lithuanian Tribune reported that Putin may have plans to invade nations beyond Ukraine, creating a major conflict that could equate to World War 3.

    “According to the former presidential adviser, Russian laws essentially define four categories of ‘Russians’: ethnic Russians, irrespective of whether they reside in or outside Russia; Russian-speakers, irrespective of their nationality; all former citizens of the Soviet Union and their offspring living in the territories formerly covered by the USSR; and former citizens of the Russian Empire (pre-1917) and their offspring living in the territories once covered by the Russian Empire,” reported the newspaper.

    “‘Such a legal base allows the Russian army to protect all the Russians listed in the law. Therefore, for the Russian side, such actions of the Russian army beyond Russian borders might seem completely legitimate,’ Illarionov says.”

    There have been other reports that Putin plans to instigate a wide conflict, including threats to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine if the fight continues. Sources allegedly say Putin claimed that Russia could reach Kiev in two weeks if they so desired.

  • Millions Of Gmail Passwords Leaked

    Millions Of Gmail Passwords Leaked

    According to various reports, starting with Russia’s CNews, nearly five million Gmail usernames and passwords were leaked, and published to a Russia Bitcoin forum.

    You can see the original report in Russian here, but The Daily Dot recaps:

    Much of the information is old and potentially out-of-date, Google representatives told Russian media, so the so-called “leak” may be more accurately described as a collection of phished and hacked credentials collected over years. In fact, many of the accounts have long been suspended or are matched with very old passwords.

    …

    The file contains information on English-, Russian-, and Spanish-speaking users of Google services, such as Gmail and Google Plus. In addition to Google, the leak includes thousands of user credentials for Yandex, the largest search engine in Russia. Google and Yandex representatives told CNews that while the credentials were stolen through years of phishing and hacking against individuals, their own systems were never compromised.

    TheNextWeb provides further comment from Google:

    “The security of our users’ information is a top priority for us,” a Google spokesperson told TNW. “We have no evidence that our systems have been compromised, but whenever we become aware that accounts may have been, we take steps to help those users secure their accounts.”

    There’s a very good possibility this won’t affect you at all, but it might not be a bad idea to change your password to be on the safe side.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Mickey Rourke Loves His Vladimir Putin T-Shirt, But Hates Politics

    Mickey Rourke is a fan of Vladimir Putin. In fact, on Monday, the actor was so much a fan that he decided to buy a t-shirt depicting Russian President. The scene took place right in Moscow’s Red Square, according to The Independent, right at the launch of the t-shirt brand.

    “If I didn’t like him, I wouldn’t buy the T-shirt believe me. I met him a couple of times and he was a real gentleman, a very cool regular guy, looked me right in the eye. I think he is a good guy. If I didn’t, believe I wouldn’t wear the T-shirt,” Rourke said, all the while professing his love for Putin, “I have a Russian girlfriend, that’s all I care about. Her father is a good person, her mother’s great, her babushka’s wonderful. To me it’s all about family. I don’t give a f**k about the politics. That’s not my department.”

    Speaking of wearing the shirt, Rourke put it on right away.

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rourke paid 1200 rubles for the shirt, or roughly $33.41 in American currency.

    Asia One News reported that the brand uses the slogan “the most polite of men”, which is derived from the Russian slang “polite men” describing the invasion of Russian troops in Crimea. The brand was specifically geared to glorify Russia’s actions in Crimea.

    Despite the connection to Russian politics, Rourke said he bought the t-shirt for completely apolitical purposes, wishing “for peace all over.”

    “Me and politics are like night and day. I never understand it, that’s why I’m an artist/actor,” he said according to Page Six. He added, “I like Russia, but I love USA.”

    Image via RT America, YouTube

  • Edward Snowden Granted More Time in Russia

    Edward Snowden is likely staying in Russia for the foreseeable future.

    The 31-year-old former NSA analyst, who famously leaked (and continues to leak) documents and anecdotes about the US government’s massive surveillance initiative, has been granted a three-year residence permit in Russia, according to the AFP.

    Shortly after The Guardian published leaked documents obtained by Snowden during his stint as a contractor with the National Security Agency, Snowden found himself in a Russian airport, awaiting asylum. He had applied to over a dozen countries, but Russia was the only one to grant his request. In August, Snowden was granted temporary asylum in Russia – meaning that he had a year to live freely in the country.

    Now, a year has passed, and Snowden has been given extra time. The new residence permit will allow Snowden to move “about freely and travel abroad,” according to his lawyer. “In the future Edward will have to decide whether to continue to live in Russia and become a citizen or to return to the United States,” he said.

    Though Snowden is technically lying low in Russia, he is still influencing national debate (and sparking national outrage) with his frequent revelations about the NSA and its surveillance overreach. Most recently, in an interview with The Guardian, Snowden revealed that the NSA was pretty much getting off on people’s sexts.

    As far as coming home, Snowden is clearly hesitant as long as the US government considers him an outlaw.

    “I’m not going to give myself a parade…But neither am I going to walk into a jail cell and serve as a bad example for other people in government who see something happening…and think they need to say something about it,” Snowden said in an interview a couple of months ago.

    And a jail cell is likely what he’d find if he stepped foot in the US. He currently faces charges of ‘Theft of Government Property’, ‘Unauthorized Communications on National Defense Information’ and ‘Willful Communication of Classified Information to an Unauthorized Person’. Though the American public is somewhat undecided on whether Snowden is a patriot or a traitor, the US government has no such ambiguity in its position.

    Image via The Guardian, YouTube screenshot

  • David Duchovny Defends Russian Beer Ad

    David Duchovny Defends Russian Beer Ad

    Actor David Duchovny recently defended a controversial Russian beer commercial he stars in, telling TMZ that he does not support Russian policy of late, especially the invasion of Ukraine.

    In the Sibirskaia Korona ad, which runs over two minutes long, Duchovny muses about how his life might have turned out if he was born in Russia instead of the United States. “This is the country where I was born and raised,” Duchovny says at the start of the rather epic video, adding, “But there is another country, where I got my family name from. And sometimes I wonder: What if things turned out differently? What if I were Russian?”

    Various little vignettes depict the actor as a ballet coach, a cosmonaut, a mullet-wearing bassist in a pop rock band and a hockey player missing a tooth.

    Yet, fans became a bit riled over the ad, especially after the recent downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 by pro-Russia separatists. Duchovny commented, “I am proud of my Russian, Ukrainian, Scottish and Polish heritage as I am proud of my American heritage.”

    The Sibirskaia Korona commercial spot:

    Duchovny adds, “But being proud of one’s ancestry is not a political statement on any current government or public policies.”

    The reaction to the commercial has been mixed on Twitter:

    Duchovny insists the beer commercial is not a political statement – “In retrospect, and in light of recent tragic events, I can now see the potential for misunderstanding and hope people will understand.”

    The former X-Files star recently completed a seven-season run on the Showtime hit dramedy Californication, and will appear in the new NBC police drama Aquarius. Duchovny will play a 1960s police sergeant investigating budding cult leader Charles Manson.

    Image via YouTube

  • Steven Seagal’s Estonia Blues Gig Canceled

    Concert organizers for the Tallinn, Estonia “Augustibluus” summer blues festival axed action star Steven Seagal’s time slot due to his pro-Russia/Vladimir Putin leanings.

    Back in March while filming a movie in Romania, actor, film producer, screenwriter, director, martial artist, musician and reserve deputy sheriff Seagal did an interview with the state-run Russian newspaper Rossiskaya Gazeta, in which he’d expressed that Vladimir Putin’s actions against Crimea are “highly reasonable.”

    The 7th-dan black belt in Aikido commented that Putin’s “desire to protect the Russian-speaking people of Crimea, his assets, and the Russian Black Sea military base in Sevastopol … is very reasonable,” and added that the U.S. policy on Ukraine was “idiotic.”

    Estonian rock star Tonis Magi, the Augustibluus headliner, called for a boycott of the Tallinn event if Seagal was allowed to perform.

    Rock stars in Estonia do things a tad differently, as seen in a Tonis Magi video for a song called Mägi Ruja Rockooperis:

    While confirming Seagal’s set was cancelled, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet commented, “this situation has been solved. The festival organizers have made changes in the program.”

    Paet added, “Steven Seagal has tried to actively participate in politics during the past few months and has done it in a way which is unacceptable to the majority of the world that respects democracy and the rule of law – Just like we can’t accept the partial occupation of our neighboring country, we also can’t accept mindless praise of it.”

    Republican Seagal, a close friend of Putin’s, reportedly because they both share a keen interest in the martial arts, called the Russian president “one of the great living world leaders,” and remarked that he “would like to consider him as a brother.” In early March, the straight-to-video action star helped Putin relaunch a national physical fitness program that had been axed after the fall of the Soviet Union.

    Here is a taste of what Estonia will be missing:

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Massive Crater Discovered in Siberia

    A huge crater has mysteriously formed in a region of Siberia commonly known as the “end of the world.”

    After a video of the 260-foot-wide crater surfaced online, Russian scientists mobilized, and were set to appear in the area today to attempt to assess its origins.

    So far, a government spokesperson in the Yamal peninsula has commented that the crater is not the result of a meteor strike, as no meteor large enough to have caused such a crater would have gone unnoticed by the oil workers or indigenous Nenets reindeer herders who inhabit the peninsula. Researchers have likewise assured conspiracy theorists that the hole is not a landing site of an alien spacecraft, or a result of weapons testing.

    One geologic theory is that warming temperatures caused permafrost to melt and release natural gas, akin to a cork shooting out of a bottle of champagne. The crater is situated roughly 20 miles from Russia’s Bovanenkovo gas field, so the theory is plausible.

    Here is a clip of the mystery hole:

    Some have called the clip of the crater, which was discovered by Mi-8 transport helicopter pilots, a hoax.

    Another possibility surrounds mounds that regularly form beneath the tundra during the summer, as the pressure of meltwater from the thaw builds up beneath the surface. When the internal pressure becomes too great, the mounds can explode with such a force to where earth and debris are ejected a considerable distance.

    A pingo, also called a hydrolaccolith, is a mound of earth-covered ice found in the Arctic and subarctic that can reach up to 230 feet in height and up to 2,000 feet in diameter.

    Scientists will know more after arriving at the Siberian site.

    Image via Youtube