Compared to Western Europe, the blogosphere in Russia is vibrant and blogging there is pervasive. Authorship differs, too. Most active bloggers are intellectuals who write in the evenings what they cannot say at work during the day. The mostly state-controlled mass media offer no outlet, so blogging is their alternative. 

The opportunities bloggers have - and the powerful impact they can exercise on popular opinion - are now well known by governments, too. But easy use and the low distribution costs also entail problems in Russia. "Anyone and everyone can blog" - can that qualify as serious reporting? Do blogs in Russia pose an adequate opportunity to bypass censorship? What impact do they have on potential political upheaval and crises? And how far is their reach?

Hosted by n-ost 

Presenter: 

Christian Mihr, Senior Editor, n-ost

Panelists:

 Eugene Gorny, Director, Russian Virtual Library

Markus Beckedahl, Entrepreneur and blogger

Friday, 5 June 2009, 11:30 a.m., Annex