September 22, 2021

What's Worse: Unsympathetic Aliens or Interfering AI?


What's Worse: Unsympathetic Aliens or Interfering AI?

“The App Store portal: who regulates it? Artificial intelligence, people from Mars?”

– Andrei Klimov, Russian representative of the executive authority of the Perm territory

In a bid to protect Russia’s sovereignty during this week’s State Duma elections, Senator Andrei Klimov questioned Apple representative Daria Yermolina about the App Store’s regulations. The Russian government summoned both Apple and Google to the Temporary Commission of the Federation Council for the protection of state sovereignty. The government claimed that Apple and Google’s refusal to remove the “Navalny” and “Smart Voting” applications from the App Store and the Google Play digital store amounted to interference in Russia’s elections. The “Smart Voting” application listed State Duma candidates likely to win against state-backed contenders.

Following the committee hearing, both Apple and Google removed the applications from their stores.

 

 

You Might Also Like

Aiming for RuNet
  • May 01, 2021

Aiming for RuNet

Russia’s crackdown on internet freedoms reached a fever pitch this spring as the government attempted to slow Twitter traffic in response to the microblogging platform’s alleged refusal to delete banned content.
A Can-ny Campaign Strategy
  • September 01, 2021

A Can-ny Campaign Strategy

“Lids are very relevant seasonal paraphernalia for many. Everyone accepted the gifts, even adherents of other political views.” – Local news from gorbatka.ru, on United Russia’s election campaign strategy.
Sports, Sleep, and the State Duma
  • February 04, 2021

Sports, Sleep, and the State Duma

This week's Odder News features Russian athletes making international news, low-tax sports gear, and more opportunity for restful shut-eye.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955