Russian President has huge followers in Twitter

Moscow, Jul 16: Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has a long list of followers on microblogging site Twitter.

"The blogosphere has become very popular because the president takes it seriously. That's why other officials decided to follow his example," said blogger Alex Exler.

Medvedev, who represents himself as a young and technologically savvy leader, registered on Twitter in Jun 2010 and also had a blog on LiveJournal and an account on YouTube.

More than 25 senior Russian officials opened accounts on Twitter after the President opened his account on Twitter.

Most officials report on the business meetings and conferences they have attended and upload news links in their blogs.

Tver region governor suggested in May 2010 that the region's main municipalities create Twitter accounts.

"When Yeltsin played tennis, everyone else played tennis. Putin took up judo, and everyone began to do the same.
Medvedev started a blog and officials started developing the Russian internet space," said Marat Guelman, the Gallery owner and political consultant.

But at the same time some people like Anton Nosik, an internet expert said that officials are only blogging because they "want to please the president."

OneIndia News