The sweeping 70% victory of President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party in the recent Russian elections sucked the air out of the opposition’s attempt to gain even one seat in parliament.Now Russians could have less of an independent voice in cyberspace. LiveJournal, the U.S.-based blogging service more Russians use than any other, was acquired on Monday by Russian media holding company SUP–another sign that Russians are losing outlets for personal opinions.Twenty-eight percent of the traffic on LiveJournal is generated by Russian speakers. So there’s a certain logic for LiveJournal’s parent, San Francisco-based Six Apart, to sell the site to the Russians.
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/12/04/russia-blog-livejournal-tech-cz_hb_1204russianblog.html