Maslenitsa is an ancient Slavic holiday with numerous customs that have survived through the centuries to the present day. It is celebrated during the week leading up to Great Lent. In 2025, Maslenitsa celebrations will begin on February 24 and continue until March 2.
Maslenitsa is a joyful farewell to winter, illuminated by the happy anticipation of the warm weather and the spring renewal of nature. The main attributes of the holiday traditionally include — the Maslenitsa effigy, games, sleigh rides, festivities, and of course, blini — round, golden, and hot. In the past, blini held ritual significance as they symbolized the sun, which grew brighter and extended the days.
Maslenitsa is an ancient Slavic holiday with numerous customs that have survived through the centuries to the present day. It is celebrated during the week leading up to Great Lent. In 2025, Maslenitsa celebrations will begin on February 24 and continue until March 2.
Maslenitsa is a joyful farewell to winter, illuminated by the happy anticipation of the warm weather and the spring renewal of nature. The main attributes of the holiday traditionally include — the Maslenitsa effigy, games, sleigh rides, festivities, and of course, blini — round, golden, and hot. In the past, blini held ritual significance as they symbolized the sun, which grew brighter and extended the days.
Telegram boasts 500 million users, who share information individually and in groups in relative security. But Telegram's use as a one-way broadcast channel — which followers can join but not reply to — means content from inauthentic accounts can easily reach large, captive and eager audiences. As the war in Ukraine rages, the messaging app Telegram has emerged as the go-to place for unfiltered live war updates for both Ukrainian refugees and increasingly isolated Russians alike. This ability to mix the public and the private, as well as the ability to use bots to engage with users has proved to be problematic. In early 2021, a database selling phone numbers pulled from Facebook was selling numbers for $20 per lookup. Similarly, security researchers found a network of deepfake bots on the platform that were generating images of people submitted by users to create non-consensual imagery, some of which involved children. For Oleksandra Tsekhanovska, head of the Hybrid Warfare Analytical Group at the Kyiv-based Ukraine Crisis Media Center, the effects are both near- and far-reaching. What distinguishes the app from competitors is its use of what's known as channels: Public or private feeds of photos and videos that can be set up by one person or an organization. The channels have become popular with on-the-ground journalists, aid workers and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who broadcasts on a Telegram channel. The channels can be followed by an unlimited number of people. Unlike Facebook, Twitter and other popular social networks, there is no advertising on Telegram and the flow of information is not driven by an algorithm.
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