Anton Troianovski, The New York Times; Russia Takes Censorship to New Extremes, Stifling War Coverage
"Mr. Putin signed a law that effectively criminalizes any public opposition to or independent news reporting about the war against Ukraine. Taking effect as soon as Saturday, the law could make it a crime to simply call the war a “war” — the Kremlin says it is a “special military operation” — on social media or in a news article or broadcast."
, Info Docket, Library Journal; Statements of Solidarity with Colleagues in Ukraine by Archive, Library, and Other Organizations
"Statements of Solidarity and Support (Latest Entries in Bold)Harriet Sherwood, Dan Milmo and agencies, The Guardian; BBC, CNN and other global news outlets suspend reporting in Russia
"The new law, passed on Friday, makes intentionally spreading “fake” or “false” news about the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine a criminal offence. President Valdimir Putin approved the new law on Friday evening, according to the Tass state news agency.
It came after the Kremlin accused the BBC of playing a “determined role in undermining the Russian stability and security”.
Davie said: “This legislation appears to criminalise the process of independent journalism. It leaves us no other option than to temporarily suspend the work of all BBC News journalists and their support staff within the Russian Federation while we assess the full implications of this unwelcome development.
“Our BBC News service in Russian will continue to operate from outside Russia.
“The safety of our staff is paramount and we are not prepared to expose them to the risk of criminal prosecution simply for doing their jobs. I’d like to pay tribute to all of them, for their bravery, determination and professionalism.
“We remain committed to making accurate, independent information available to audiences around the world, including the millions of Russians who use our news services. Our journalists in Ukraine and around the world will continue to report on the invasion of Ukraine.”"
Yuval Noah Harari, The Guardian; Why Vladimir Putin has already lost this war
"Nations are ultimately built on stories. Each passing day adds more stories that Ukrainians will tell not only in the dark days ahead, but in the decades and generations to come. The president who refused to flee the capital, telling the US that he needs ammunition, not a ride; the soldiers from Snake Island who told a Russian warship to “go fuck yourself”; the civilians who tried to stop Russian tanks by sitting in their path. This is the stuff nations are built from. In the long run, these stories count for more than tanks."
Heather Kelly, The Washington Post ; How to avoid falling for and spreading misinformation about Ukraine
"Anyone with a phone and an Internet connection is able to watch the war in Ukraine unfold live online, or at least some version of it. Across social media, posts are flying up faster than most fact-checkers and moderators can handle, and they’re an unpredictable mix of true, fake, out of context and outright propaganda messages.
How do you know what to trust, what not to share and what to report? Tech companies have said they’re trying to do more to help users spot misinformation about Ukraine, with labels and fact checking. On Saturday, Facebook parent company Meta announced it was adding more fact-checkers in the region dedicated to posts about the war. It’s also warning users who attempt to share war-related photo when they’re more than a year old — a common type of misinformation.
Here are some basic tools everyone should use when consuming breaking news online."
Opinion by Frida Ghitis, CNN ; Putin's war was launched on a runway of lies
"In the end, Putin did exactly what President Biden told the world he would do: He invaded Ukraine on a runway of lies.
In Russia, where most people get their news from government-controlled media, many believed Putin's claims of a nefarious threat from Ukraine. But the rest of the world saw the propaganda fall flat in real time.
"Orwellian" doesn't begin to describe the falsehoods. Putin announced he was sending "peacekeepers," as he ordered his military machine to move into Ukrainian territory. His soldiers went into Ukraine to supposedly "de-Nazify" -- smearing the Nazi label on a country that is a democracy, though a flawed one, whose president happens to be Jewish. Putin claimed Moscow needed to move in to defend Ukraine's Russian speakers from a nonexistent "genocide" by Ukrainians (a tactic made infamous of World War II).
Washington succeeded in thoroughly delegitimizing not only the phony Russian justification for war, but Putin's own credibility before the entire world. It may take some time for the Russian people, too, to grasp the depth of the deception, but eventually they will."
BILL SCHACKNER, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE; At Pitt, war or not, Russian and Ukrainian cultures share a bond
Immigrants who helped build the 'Steel city' are part of famed Nationality Rooms
[Kip Currier: An uplifting, poignant article, amidst the wrenching scenes emanating from an under-siege Ukraine.
The Nationality Rooms (more aptly, Classrooms) are one of the United States' truly singular treasures -- at the nexus of cultures and education -- and are my favorite place to take visitors, having had the privilege of serving as a Quo Vadis student organization volunteer tour guide for these architectural marvels during my undergraduate years at Pitt.]
"The Russian room, dedicated in 1938, and the Ukrainian room, dating to 1990, are historical treasures. But just as important, they are functioning classrooms at the University of Pittsburgh — part of the Cathedral of Learning's 31 famed Nationality Rooms.
Built on ethnic pride and donations, the rooms honor immigrants whose labor in the steel mills helped make Pittsburgh what it is today. In that, the two Eastern European communities share a deep bond.
Only now, Russia has invaded Ukraine and the countries are at war. Pitt undergraduates who routinely sit in these rooms taking classes that have nothing to do with geopolitics find themselves surrounded by trappings of cultures now locked in bloody conflict.
Time will tell if Pitt can turn all that into a teachable moment.
The rooms, like the people whose contributions built them, have always been about advancing understanding globally across cultures, said Kati Csoman, director of Pitt’s Nationality Rooms.
"They are intended to be spaces of, really, timelessness and cultural values," she said. "These are volunteers who have worked hard to raise funds for scholarships."
The Nationality Rooms are located on the first and third floors of the Cathedral, one of the world’s tallest classroom buildings, 42 stories high, its summit visible for miles beyond the sprawling Oakland campus. The massive Indiana limestone structure was opened in 1936 after a decade of construction.
Then-Chancellor John Bowman wanted to harness the enthusiasm of immigrant mill workers by establishing classrooms that would honor their traditions and inspire their children to seek a college education. That idea became the Nationality Rooms."
Emma Graham-Harrison , The Guardian; Ukraine’s capital is caught between normality and horror in shadow of war
"“Russia’s reason to invade us is not about language, or economy or protecting Russian speakers. It’s because they know a free, democratic and economically successful Ukraine is a dangerous model for the Russian people. It shows them there are other possibilities,” said Hurin."
Editorial Board, The Washington Post; Opinion: Putin is trying to wipe out the work of his strongest opponent. He won’t succeed.
"Dictatorship has a body language, a way of conveying grievance, grudge and vulnerability. Mr. Putin has once again revealed his acute anxiety about Mr. Navalny and all that he stands for. On Tuesday, the Russian censor, Roskomnadzor, instructed five Russian news media outlets — television, radio and online — to remove articles and broadcasts based on Mr. Navalny’s investigations of Mr. Putin and his inner circle within 24 hours — just in time for the anniversary of his sentencing. The radio station Echo of Moscow was ordered to delete 34 items; television channel TV Rain six items; the news websites Znak, 13 items, Meduza, 17 items and Svobodnye Novosti, nine. Some of them said they would comply.
What’s so offensive? Svobodnye Novosti was ordered to remove material about “Putin’s Palace,” the sprawling Black Sea pleasure palace that Mr. Navalny exposed as having been secretly constructed for Mr. Putin. The other eight items, published between 2018 and 2021, all stemmed from Mr. Navalny’s anti-corruption probes, including revelations about how Mr. Putin’s coterie accumulated expensive real estate, fancy cars and lavish clothing. The television channel said it was ordered to remove reports about an investigation of secret residences held by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin among other items."
Shaun Walker, The Guardian; ‘Everyone was freaking out’: Navalny novichok film made in secret premieres at Sundance
Director Daniel Roher tells of panic after team recorded Alexei Navalny pranking one of his Russian poisoners into confessing
"At the end of the film, Navalny answers a request from the director to record a message for the eventuality that he were killed on his return. “I’ve got something very obvious to tell you: don’t give up, you’re not allowed. If they decided to kill me, it means we are incredibly strong, and we need to use this power,” he said."
