Russia
“Hello everyone! I'm on Twitter, and this is my first tweet.” Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has put the Kremlin on Twitter sending his first tweet from Twitter headquarters on 23 June 2010. In November 2010 the @KremlinRussia account was renamed to @MedvedevRussia and a new institutional Kremlin account was set up for presidential news. The institutional account is now run by the social media team of President Vladimir Putin, not known for his penchant for social media. Both accounts are available in real time English translations @KremlinRussia_E and @MedvedevRussiaE.
Peer connections (as of 1 July 2012)
- follows unilaterally (0)
- followed unilaterally by (1)
- follows mutually (0)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has a personal Twitter account which was set up by his campaign staff at the end of January 2012. Vladimir Putin does not tweet himself nor has he signed any tweet. The account merely broadcasts official news in Russian from the Kremlin’s website. His most popular tweet is a quote from his last election rally when he said: “I cannot hug each of you and shake hands with each of you. But I see it all, thank you. Yes, we'll win.” The account of Vladimir Putin isn’t very well connected with other world leaders probably because he doesn’t follow any other Twitter user. There is no engagement with his followers since the account hasn’t sent any @reply or @mention.
Tweet analytics (as of 1 July 2012)
| Tweets: | 288 |
| Following: | 0 |
| Followers: | 45,433 |
| Joined Twitter: | 12/16/2011 |
| Language: | Russian |
| Status: | Active |
| Tweets/day: | 1.85 |
| % Retweets: | 0% |
| Mentions/Tweet: | 0 |
| Replies/Tweet: | 0% |
| % Tweets retweeted: | 99% |
| Total of retweets: | 3,692 |
Peer connections (as of 1 July 2012)
- follows unilaterally (3)
- followed unilaterally by (4)
- follows mutually (3)
The Twitter stream of the @KremlinRussia account is clearly dominated by official news about former president Dmitry Medvedev. While the tweets mentioned other Twitter users including @BarackObama the tweets have become more official since Vladimir Putin took office in May 2012 broadcasting his daily meetings and the latest laws that have been signed. The Kremlin accounts don’t engage into any conversation via @replies. The most popular tweet sent from the English account was Dmitry Medvedev’s offer to help after the Japan earthquake in 2011: “Russia is ready to offer Japan disaster relief assistance following the earthquake” he tweeted.
Tweet analytics (as of 1 July 2012)
| Tweets: | 1,873 | |
| Following: | 27 | |
| Followers: | 509,951 | |
| Joined Twitter: | 06/23/2010 | |
| Language: | Russian | |
| Status: | Active | |
| Tweets/day: | 3.22 | |
| % Retweets: | 2% | |
| Mentions/Tweet: | 0.02 | |
| Replies/Tweet: | 0% | |
| % Tweets retweeted: | 98% | |
| Total of retweets: | 35,957 | |
| Most mentioned | ||
| @i_Russia (18), @KremlinRussia (5), @Rogozin (3), @RT_com (2), @KanalPIK (2). | ||
Peer connections (as of 1 July 2012)
- follows unilaterally (1)
- followed unilaterally by (6)
- follows mutually (7)
Russian Premier Dmitry Medvedev has been dubbed “iPhonechik” for his use of social media channels and tools. A passionate amateur photographer, his Twitpics and Instagram snapshots are shared on his personal account. During the anti-government protests in December 2011 in Moscow a rogue retweet (immediately deleted) was sent from his account. A few days later he struck a conciliatory note: “I propose comprehensive reforms for our political system. I hear those who call for change, and I understand them,” he tweeted. Medvedev is one of the most connected world leaders mutually following seven others and unilaterally followed by 17 peers. His public Twitter chat with former California governor Arnold @Schwarzenegger has become famous and his most popular tweet was a Twitpic of his lunch with Barack Obama in a burger joint during his visit to the US.
Tweet analytics (as of 1 July 2012)
| Tweets: | 573 | |
| Following: | 54 | |
| Followers: | 1,300,809 | |
| Joined Twitter: | 06/09/2010 | |
| Language: | Russian | |
| Status: | Active | |
| Tweets/day: | 0.77 | |
| % Retweets: | 8% | |
| Mentions/Tweet: | 0.07 | |
| Replies/Tweet: | 5% | |
| % Tweets retweeted: | 92% | |
| Total of retweets: | 101,091 | |
| Most mentioned | ||
| @Schwarzenegger (4), @advorkovich (3), @MedvedevRussia (2), @dashystik (1), @premiaruneta (1). | ||
