Boris Yeltsin’s death became the most discussed news in the Russian Internet since the beginning of 2007.
Photo: Yury Martyanov
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Funeral March of Protest
// Funerals and disorders became top news in the Internet
Unlike previous ratings, the rating of most discussed April news in the Russian Internet is topped by the news item considered the main one not only by Internet users.
Statistics proves that no news item in April, and even in the entire 2007, stirred the Internet community stronger than the news about the death of the first Russian President Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin. However, not all Russian Internet users adhered to the principle "De mortuis aut bene, aut nihil". Yet, we shall respect this principle, quoting only positive comments about Yeltsin. User with Ara Magedon avatar on udaff.com writes: “Thank you, Boris Nikolayevich. We thank you that we live not so bad now. Thank you for freedom of speech. Thank you for democracy. Thank you for open borders. Although much shit drains through these borders, many good things come too. Good clothes that we wear, tasty food that we didn’t try in Soviet times, and good cars that we drive. And thank you, man, that those ..., who will now put shit on what I say, go on vacation to Turkey and Egypt every year, drink almost free whisky, and feel they are free people when cursing you [here and after, sources are quoted with precision – Kommersant].”
User mva 772 at the forum of Channel 4 TV company of Ekaterinburg initiated the discussion of the idea to rename Ekaterinburg into Yeltsinburg or Yeltsingrad. The idea, suggested by a certain initiative group of residents of the city called Sverdlovsk until recently, did not receive mass support at the forum. However, many agreed to renaming one of the streets, for instance Estonskaya, due to recent events.
The news about events in Tallinn shares the second position in the rating with the news about Mstislav Rostropovich’s death. Here, the Internet lets all those interested read testimonies of numerous witnesses. Blogger Drive Allien writes: “It was late. It was getting dark. I noticed at once who came to the protest rally. I haven’t seen so many trashy people since long ago, or actually never. Groups of teenagers brought alcohol and were tipsy. Right, it’s more fun to protect the Soldier when you have a bottle of vodka with you. Especially when you are 16. These people were different from those with flowers during the day. These were youths, hooligans with their girls, and common gapers like me...
Police forces were drawn to the Bronze Soldier. So, there was no one to guard the city. Crowds of teenagers began smashing shop-windows... Defenders of the monument began looting stores. Alcohol departments were especially popular. Someone stole Hugo Boss jeans. The jeans had to be sacrificed in honor of Soviet soldiers. After getting loaded and sloshed to their hearts’ content, the pigs began knifing one another... Strange as it may seem, but next morning the police said that one third of the looters were Estonians. Yet, Estonian TV channels are not very interested in hearing this. Estonian channels are busy screaming: Russians rout Tallinn!”
Another blogger, kaire_tallinn, writes: “The entire street is damaged – all expensive stores, Hugo Boss is smashed up... dummies lie about the street like dead bodies... legs arms heads... then I felt really scared, the city is like after bombing... it’s like war – near me, a drunken Russian yells to a drunken Estonian – Fascists!!, and the latter yells back – Go to Russia!! ... a fight begins... a woman is walking past – ‘Here! Here! they wanted THIS???!’ ... nearby policemen batter a soaker... they are numerous and they walk in groups of 20 people in pairs... but I feel sorry for them too, they can’t stop anything... we walk on... Euronews is filming how we are trying to set free some enchained guys... it seems one guy is not breathing... we are pressed away... a doctor shouts ‘he’s dying’”... One day later, the blogger adds that the Russian citizen who died ‘of knife injury’ and the man battered by police and enchained to a lamp-post, whom no one wanted to take to hospital, might be one and the same person.
News about the Russian Orthodox Easter have the fourth position in the rating. Not only the celebrations, but also the discussions. For instance, the forum of Deacon Andrei Kuraev’s missionary site heatedly discussed the origin of the Holy Fire.
News about Kurt Vonnegut’s death come fifth in the rating. The writer had many admirers among the Russian Internet users. A great number of bloggers copied and inserted to their blogs Vonnegut’s last essays or extracts from them.
News #6 is the decision to hold the 2012 European soccer championship in Ukraine and Poland. Some Russian Internet users interested in soccer failed to understand the UEFA’s decision. Let me quote Nikolai Novichkov’s blog: “Brilliant decision! Great! Super! The best gift for Russian fans! Let’s hope that Ukraine will simply not live up to 2012, and that the European championship, FOR THE FIRST TIME, will be held on the territory of three, four, five, or six (etc.) countries! Let’s also hold the world hockey championship in Georgia!” User Gaudi writes in his blog: “The first that came to mind, -- the Netherlands’ national team will win there. In the orange country.”
The next in the rating come comments about the protest marches in Moscow and St. Petersburg, that took place and were scattered by the police. User fedor-x2 from St. Petersburg was there where the march took place, on April 15. His blog says: “Two policemen covered me up, apparently so that no one could see me, or take photos of me, and two other policemen bent my arms behind, and bent me down so that my back was parallel to the ground, and then someone of them hit me into the neck, so that it became hard to breathe. I kept silence, afraid to provoke them. Yet, they thought I didn’t get enough, took me by the neck, so that I don’t jerk my head, and hit me in the face, in the nose, with a knee. I lost sight for a moment, blood began flowing. They led me to another bus. In despair, I began shouting and asking not to hit me... I was pushed into the bus, told to move to the back, there was a vacant seat, and I sat down keeping my head back trying to stop the blood, and I felt so offended as I’ve never felt before.”
The Internet community was a priori interested in the MTV Russia Film Awards ceremony, due to the presence of Pamela Anderson. Yet, the scandal of Vladimir Menshov’s refusing to give the award to Svolochi occupied the bloggers’ attention for three days. Blogger Bolshoi Gryz writes: “Menshov acted like a man, and not like a prostitute. He expressed his opinion in public, and was not afraid to do so.” User zaxxon has a different opinion: “Film director and actor Vladimir Menshov greatly advertised Svolochi.”
Dissolution of the Supreme Rada of Ukraine and disorders at the Roma-Manchester United match also entered the top ten news of April.
Most discussed news of April. Top 10
| Position in the rating |
Date |
News |
Points |
| 1 |
April 23-26 |
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin died |
49 |
| 2-3 |
April 27 |
Mstislav Rostropovich died |
33 |
| 2-3 |
April 28-30 |
Disorders in Tallinn |
33 |
| 4 |
April 8-9 |
the Russian Orthodox Easter |
24 |
| 5 |
April 12 |
Kurt Vonnegut died |
20 |
| 6 |
April 18-19 |
the 2012 European soccer championship to be held in Ukraine and Poland |
15 |
| 7 |
April 14-17 |
Moscow and St. Petersburg hosted protest marches |
14 |
| 8 |
April 20-22 |
Scandal at the MTV Russia Film Awards ceremony |
11 |
| 9 |
April 3-4 |
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko dissolved the Supreme Rada |
10 |
| 10 |
April 5 |
Fans of Roma and Manchester United soccer clubs made disorders |
8 |
The rating included news that became most popular in a certain day of the month (or were popular for several days). The popularity of a news item was determined by the number of comments in blogs, according to the Yandex.ru searching service. One point is equal to 100 opinions. In case if points were equal, news items were rated according to the date (beginning from the earlier).
Alexei Alexeev
All the Article in Russian as of May 02, 2007
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