The Real Russia. Today. A Russian company unveils a new service for parents to spy on their kids; Moscow issues a warning to CNN over a “trivial” violation; and a mother loses her adopted kids after a double mastectomy

Story of the day

On September 27, a Russian company called SocialDataHub launched “Parental Control,” a new service that allows parents to monitor their children’s activity on social media. At just 150 rubles ($2.50) a month, the service analyzes children’s likes, subscriptions, photos, and comments, sending notifications to parents when a child shows a strong interest in “radical ideas” or starts “planning criminal activity,” or when an adult Internet user directs threatening behavior at the child. “Parental Control” will also notify parents when the child has started watching pornography, suggesting that perhaps it’s time to discuss the birds and the bees. Meduza’s Pavel Merzlikin learned more about this new service. Read the story in English.

Russia's “trivial” issue with an American 📺 giant

With all the bad blood between America and Russia over media outlets these days, it was probably only a matter of time before officials in Moscow targeted their least favorite U.S. cable news network: the Cable News Network. This Friday, Russian censor Roskomnadzor issued a formal warning to CNN, accusing it of broadcasting incorrect masthead information. But don’t write off CNN in Russia just yet. Roskomnadzor’s head, Alexander Zharov, insists that it’s just a “trivial violation,” and the maximum fine is just $170. The U.S. Justice Department may be pushing ahead with an effort to register RT’s local contractor as a foreign agent, but CNN appears to be safe from retaliatory measures, for now. Read the full story in English.

Those flashmobbing Russians

Do the words “Russian social media flashmob” drive fear into your heart? Does the thought of Russians coordinating a Twitter campaign cause you to fear for the safety of your democracy? Well the website 1like1fact.ru is no cause for such alarm, as it features a large collection of tweets from one of this summer’s biggest RuNet flashmobs: the “one like, one fact” movement, where users supplied readers with one fact for every “like” received on a post. It was always more fun to write the facts than read them, but now the latest is at least slightly easier.

The people's champ

Vladimir Putin reminded Russians on Friday that he never misses an opportunity to play the people’s hero, ordering two Tupolev Tu-214 aircraft from the Kremlin’s Special Flight Squad to join the effort to transport passengers booked on VIM Airlines, as the company faces a financial crisis. Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency is compensating substitute carriers to carry passengers with VIM tickets, while 30,000 VIM ticket holders are still stranded abroad.

• Two days earlier, on September 27, Putin gave a public dressing-down to Russian Transportation Minister Maxim Sokolov and Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich (who oversees the government’s transportation issues), criticizing both officials for mishandling Russia’s air travel industry and allowing the VIM tickets crisis.
• On Friday, September 29, Russian police charged VIM Airlines CEO Alexander Kochnev with fraud, a day after detaining him. Investigators say the airline sold tickets on flights despite known jetfuel shortfalls.

The “Angelina Jolie of the Urals”

Russian television is calling her the “Angelina Jolie of the Urals,” but Julia Savinovskih is no movie star. Earlier this month, social workers in Yekaterinburg seized her two adopted children, after Savinovskih had an elective double mastectomy. State officials reportedly based their decision in part on concerns that she is a transsexual and therefore “mentally unbalanced.” Savinovskih vows to take the matter to court, but she’s already lost her first lawsuit. Read the story here in English.

He makes it 🌧 and ain't ashamed

Alexey Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation published documents this week revealing the property holdings of pro-Kremlin television pundit Vladimir Solovyov. Information about his Moscow apartments, his cabin outside the city in Peredelkino, and his villa in Italy was already public, but this time Navalny’s group also posted drone footage of Solovyov’s Italian villa. The TV pundit responded almost immediately, claiming that there’s nothing objectionable about his homes, insofar as he is not a state official. Solovyov hosts several programs on Rossiya-1, a state-owned TV network that belongs to the All-Russia State Television and Radio Company (VGTRK) holding company.