OVER the past year, a group of political bloggers purporting to have access to inside information have offered insight into the workings of the Russian state. They can be found on the messaging app Telegram, which has a “channels” feature that allows readers to subscribe to a feed but not to respond. The bloggers, often anonymous, serve up news spliced with cutting commentary and the whisperings of the Russian elite. The most popular, with some 26,000 subscribers, is Nezygar, or “Not Zygar”—a reference to Mikhail Zygar, a former editor-in-chief of the independent television network Dozhd (“Rain”). (Some think Nezygar is a Kremlin project.) Messages arrive on users’ smartphones alongside conversations with friends, creating a sensation akin to having a Kremlin insider on speed dial.
The channels’ popularity says less about the quality of their information than it does about the lack of other sources. “If Russia had lots of worthwhile political analysts, lively political journalism and strong independent media, there would be no ‘Nezygar’ phenomenon,” writes Oleg Kashin, a columnist. “But when there’s dirty, rusty water...Continue reading
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