Alexander Serebryanikov comes from the Russian mining town Apatity. He now lives in Murmansk, where he runs his blog, and lives of the possibilities of Internet based entrepreneurship.
He writes about those who claim that not everything is right in Russia. By sharing news through his blog, he hopes to contribute to a change.
His sources are often anonymous people with special insight, and people he trusts. He also covers demonstrations, accidents, happenings he finds important. He believes it is vital to grant anonymity to the contributors, as there is so many problems a whistleblower could face in today’s Russia.
“The Internet is like the discovery of a new continent: A continent without borders.”
His blog is widely read in the region of Murmansk. Due to its popularity he also gets advertisements on the blog, which makes it profitable.
The blog got known to an international audience when the nuclear submarine ”Yekaterinburg” caught fire at the naval yard Roslyakova north of Murmansk in December of 2011.
Alexander didn’t find the official information about the incident credible, and decided to find out as much as he could on his own. Sources sent him photos and information, he published this on the blog, and thus people had a new source of information. This was then reported broadly in Norway, which takes a huge interest in Russian news regarding nuclear incidents.
He believes Internet to be a vital source for the Russian public, and an important means to gather and publicize information. It is immediate, and people are allowed to express their own viewpoints, to ask their own questions.
This has also gotten him into trouble with authorities, as he expresses concern for in this film.
The story was first published in 2013.
