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Overview

Russia (Росси́я), formally known as theRussian Federation, is a Eurasian country that spans from the Slavic regions in Eastern Europe and across the entirety of North East Asia. Since the rise of the Russian Empire in the 18th century, Russia has firmly established itself as a military andpolitical superpower on the international stage, which culminated with a decades-long nuclear arms race against the United States of America after the end of theWorld War II. TheInternet in Russia is comprised of more than 108 million users (76.4% of the total population); The Russian-speaking internet, colloquially known asRuNet, is the second largest community by language in the world.

Online History

The history of computers in Russia stretches back to the 1940s with network computing following shortly after. In 1952, the Institute of Precision Mechanics and Computer Engineering used a computer network to calculate radar date on test missiles. Mass usage of the internet, however, did no start until Octover 1990 when the first Russian FidoNet launched. The following year, the National Science Foundation began allowing the Eastern Bloc countries to use TCP/IP networks, and by the mid-90s internet-ready computer networks became commonplace in post-Soviet states.^[1] As of 2013, internet service provider Rostelecom accounted for more than 38% of all residential internet service.

Websites

The most popular websites in Russia are the Russian-based social media site VK.com, the search engine Yandex andGoogle. The top-ranking news sites include Yandex, Rambler and Gismeteo. Finally, the top-ranking social media sites include VK, OK andInstagram.^[3]

Usage

As of 2010, there were more than 40 million Internet users in Russia. In March 2013, it was announced that Russian is the second most used language on the Internet. Three years later, in July 2016, more than 100 million people were internet users (76^ of the country's population).^[2]

Highlights

2011 Russian Protests

The 2011 Russian protests is an ongoing, nationwide demonstration that began in response to the Russian legislative election results which many in the media, political activists considered to be rigged by the ruling party United Russia and its leaderVladimir Putin. Russian social networking site VKontakte,Twitter andFacebook played a vital role in mobilizing the protests, according to the media.

2013 Russian Meteor Exploision

2013 Russian Meteor Explosion refers to the meteorite impact event that took place over the Chelyabinsk region in Siberia, Russia on February 15th, 2013. The spectacle of the meteor streaking across the sky before exploding in mid-air was recorded on cameras from multiple vantage points near the impact site, the footage of which were subsequently uploaded toYouTube later that same day.

2014 Winter Olympics

The 2014 Winter Olympics (XXII Olympic Winter Games) was a major international multi-sport event held in Sochi, Russia between February 7th and February 23rd, 2014, followed byThe 2014 Winter Paralympics, a similar competitive event for athletes with physical disabilities, between March 7th and March 16th.

Russian Anti-Meme Law

The Russian Anti-Meme Law refers to the Russian government’s ban on impersonating or sharing doctored images of public figures that are deemed out-of-context in relation to their personality or reputation in real life. The policy was introduced in early April 2015 as a direct result of a court decision in Moscow which ruled the unauthorized use of Russian singer Valeri Syutkin’s images as an internet meme to be an infringement of his privacy. However in other areas of the world, the ban showed aStreisand Effect as satire and memeification towards Russia’s President Vladimir Putin showed an increase.

Russia's 2018 Winter Olympics Ban

Russia's 2018 Winter Olympics Ban refer to the controversy surrounding the Russia's state-run doping program that was implemented during the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Following more than a year of investigation, the International Olympic Committee banned Russia from participating in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Thus, any Russian athlete will appear in a neutral uniform, the Russian flag will not be flown and the record books will forever show that Russia won zero medals. In addition, a number of medals won at Sochi will be revoked.

Assassination of Andrey Karlov

Andrey Karlov was a Russian diplomat who served as the ambassador toNorth Korea and Turkey on behalf of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In late December 2016, Karlov was assassinated while giving a speech at an art gallery in Ankara, Turkey by off-duty Turkish policeman Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş in protest of Russian involvement in the Syrian Civil War. Following the shooting, various photos and videos of the incident were widely circulated online, spawning numerousphotoshops of a picture of Altıntaş standing over Karlov’s body.

Russian Interference in the 2016 United States Presidential Election

Russian Interference in the 2016 United States Presidential Election, sometimes referred to as the2016 United States Presidential Election Hack, is an ongoing dispute between the United States and Russian governments in the wake of the U.S. intelligence community's allegations of Russian cyber-espionage and interference in the2016 United States election aimed at swaying the outcome in favor of Republican candidateDonald Trump.

Russiagate

Russiagate refers to the ongoing political scandal surrounding a series of allegations regarding President Donald Trump’s ties to the Russian government, including speculation of collusion between the Trump Presidential campaign and the Russian hack of the DNC email server.

Related Memes

In Soviet Russia

In Soviet Russia or “the Russian Reversal” is a type of joke created by stand-up comedian Yakov Smirnoff. The joke was extremely popular in the late 80’s, fell out of vogue in the 90’s, and has been given new life among various online communities.

Become One With Russia

Become One With Russia is an expression referenced by fans of the character Russia (a.k.a. Ivan Braginski) from the Japanesewebcomic andanime seriesAxis Powers Hetalia. The phrase is typically paired withfan art illustrations and animations of the character.

Stoned Fox (Упоротая лиса)

Stoned Fox is a Russian photoshop meme in which a cutout image of a stuffed fox is superimposed into different base images of various humorous contexts. The nickname has been approximately translated as "Stoned Fox" and "Autistic Fox."

Tololo Guy

Trololo is a video of the nationally-honored Russian singer Eduard Khil (AKA Edward Khill, Edward Hill) performing the Soviet-era pop song "I am Glad, 'cause I'm Finally Returning Back Home" (Russian: Я очень рад, ведь я, наконец, возвращаюсь домой). The video is often used as abait-and-switch prank, in similar vein to the practice ofRickrolling.

Search Interest

External References

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