A NOTE: Our Russia-Ukraine Resources are updated weekly - if you're accessing the page three or more weeks past the below date, pieces mentioned in this post may have been removed to make room for up-to-date resources.
To receive our weekly updates on this conflict directly to your inbox, join our mailing list by providing your contact information under 'Join Us' at the bottom of this page.
Updated Resources - August 28, 2024
A protester wears a sign that reads "HEY, PEOPLE, COME ON, BEFORE THEY SHUT IT DOWN!" (Translated using DeepL) at the rally against the isolation of Runet, the Russian Internet. 10 March 2019. (DonSimon, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Kyiv Independent: Newsfeed
Novaya Gazeta Europe: Newsfeed
The Insider: Newsfeed
The Telegraph via Apple Podcasts - Ukraine: The Latest
A demonstrator holds a painting depicting Telegram founder, Pavel Durov, as a holy figure at the the rally against the isolation of Runet, the Russian Internet. 10 March 2019. (DonSimon, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)
WHAT'S ON OUR MIND
In addition to our weekly resource update, today we also offer an updated collection of pieces on the Israeli-Hamas war.
Just as the battlefield in Kursk and Eastern Ukraine bore dramatic shifts in recent weeks, so too has the digital landscape. This week, following a spate of consequential developments in Russia’s digital space, we explore the implications of recent online service shutdowns, high profile arrests, the state of Russia’s Internet, and the double-edged sword of these technologies as both weapons and tools in Russia and Ukraine. Find these topics - along with the latest Kursk incursion coverage and analysis and Ukraine’s recent Independence Day - in today’s resource update.
We begin with the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov and last week’s web service outages in Russia. For those unfamiliar, The Guardian provides a helpful explainer on the popular messaging app Telegram and its founder’s arrest by French authorities. Meduza and RT each catalogue the reactions of prominent Russians to Durov’s arrest; the two articles - despite some overlap - offer a comprehensive round-up across ideological lines. In a separate piece, Meduza delves into last week’s Russian web service outages, for which Moscow blamed a DDoS attack and digital rights activists blamed authorities; in another piece, the publication refutes the Kremlin’s official explanation. RT offers the perspective that anti-Russian sentiments in the EU have informed the bloc’s regulation of Telegram and resulted in Durov’s arrest.
These outages come alongside Russian media regulator, Roskomnadzor, throttling YouTube playback in Russia at the beginning of the month. The Insider provides background on this de facto blocking of the vital streaming resource. The Center for European Policy Analysis contemplates the ‘threat’ of YouTube’s cultural impact, detailing Kremlin censorship efforts towards the platform in recent years. The video hosting site’s value as a refuge for anti-war activists and oppositionists amid the Kremlin’s tightening grip is examined in Novaya Gazeta Europe. In Meduza, everyday Russians share firsthand how they’re handling the loss of the platform. In another piece, Meduza continues coverage of this response that saw Russians canceling contracts with local ISPs and organizing protests as authorities place blame on the allegedly aging infrastructure of YouTube’s parent company, Google.
For context on the broader online ecosystem, two older pieces from Russia.Post shed light on the challenges and risks that would accompany a Kremlin move towards digital isolationism. A piece from The Moscow Times from earlier this year provides insights into what could transpire if Moscow blocks VPNs - the method by which Russians circumvent internet censorship - in the country. A podcast from Meduza examines the ‘science’ of Russian internet censorship.
Another high profile arrest in the Russian digital space in July - that of internet pioneer Alexey Soldatov - and its implications are covered by CircleID.
Next, we examine digital’s potential as both a weapon and as a tool. Novaya Gazeta Europes reports that earlier this month, Putin signed legislation banning soldiers on the front from using smartphones. Meduza covers a data exchange system in development that would aid the FSB in catching conscripts attempting to flee the country. The government’s digital attacks on Russian dissidents abroad, aimed at discouragement and limitation of influence, is dicussed in Russia.Post. Wired reveals how Russia-linked malware was used to cut heat to 600 Ukrainian buildings last winter. Meanwhile, The Kyiv Independent reports that this past weekend, Ukrainian hackers launched a large scale attack on Russian ISPs and blocked ‘dozens’ of online platforms for industrial facilities involved in the Russian war effort.
Across the border in Ukraine, The Brookings Institution reveals how the government’s embrace of digital has aided the country’s resilience. Wired Magazine showcases two friends in their early 20's who harnessed public data to power a live tracker of the war’s frontline via an open access map. Further innovation is revealed in a piece from The Kyiv Independent, chronicling the digital space’s impact on everything from security to one of life’s biggest milestones: marriage.
In the overview, a case for a holistic governmental approach to managing global threats. In videos, journalists for The Kyiv Independent come face-to-face with Russian residents in Kursk, as well as a firsthand account of the YouTube shutdown from a 21-year-old Russian content creator now living in Georgia. In the arts, Ukraine’s soldier-poets spark a literary revival, the artistic director of a revered Berlin opera house discusses wartime collaboration with Russian creatives, the pianist who died while on hunger strike against the war, and an Independence Day playlist honors the musicians who defend Ukraine.
Visit today’s Russia-Ukraine resource page for these stories and more!
For resources on recent developments and analysis of the Israel-Hamas War, as well as the latest reflections from our network on the ground, visit our Blog.
STATEMENT