In a recent video, recorded by a passer-by, the ombudsman’s black BMW crosses into the oncoming traffic lane, makes a u-turn, and finally parks on the pavement.

The official’s driver claimed he could not park the car anywhere else since there was no space for it, and he then denied breaking traffic laws.

Another example of this kind is a daring stunt campaigning against VIP cars that use flashing blue lights to dodge traffic laws. The video shows a man, armed with only a bucket on his head, climbing on top of one such car that supposedly belongs to Russia’s Federal Security Guard Service.

Leonid Nikolaev was arrested and now he is waiting trial on charge of damaging property. The Federal Security Services warned against anyone trying the same thing, but the damages have already been done: the film has gone viral.

These stories highlight the wave of online support in Russia for those who want to complain. The Internet is the first place where many turn to make their point.

Mikhail logged on after troubles at the Domodedovo airport car parking lot. The toll booth did not take his ticket and there was no attendant. Mikhail drove through when the barrier was up, but he was aggressively pursued by airport security that tried to block the road. Starving for justice, the angry customer posted the photos online.

“I though it will be of use for a lot of people if I made the story public. At least for those who might end up in the same situation – so that they would know what to expect. For me, it’s a most available mass media to inform a large number of people,” Mikhail told RT.

Mikhail has been on Livejournal for years and he is a big man in the blogosphere. His story spread quickly and received 5,000 comments in one day.

“I thought that those who travel a lot and fly from Domodedovo would react to these. It turned out many have already had different kinds of problems in this parking lot. People were trying to accept bribes or cheating. You can read all these in Livejournal,” Mikhail said.

Large-scale citizen journalism clicked in Russia in November 2009 after a YouTube police scandal. Police officer Aleksey Dymovsky posted a video address in which he accused his superiors of corruption. The video was viewed more than one million times. Dymovsky’s star fell when he was arrested on suspicion of fraud and corruption himself, but he managed to get the cameras rolling.

In March 2009, Pavel Sukhodoev posted a video about how Russia’s custom service failed to deliver a parcel to him worth US$13,000. Over 500 viewers have commented on similar worries.

The appeal was ultimately successful: the postal system employed extra staff around the clock to clear the growing backlog.

“It’s probably one of few ways to be heard,” blogger Andrey Podshibyakin told RT. “No one reads newspapers anymore. Fewer people watch TV every day. So first, it’s a premier platform for self-expression in Russia, and secondly, it’s a working mechanism for getting yourself heard.”

Moreover, it is not just Russians listening – The New York Times recently invited whistle blowers to post their videos on its site. This opens up an international audience of potentially millions of those Russians who want to speak up online.