Sharing Too Much: Russian Students Use Social Media and Time Zones to Cheat

In 2011, Medvedev cancelled daylight-savings time for Russia, saying that turning the clocks back to winter time disrupts the "biorhythm" of people and confuses milk cows. Photographer: Marcel ter Bekke/Getty Images

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By Ilya Khrennikov

June 3, 2013 at 9:40 AM UTC

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Sharing is the cornerstone of any social network, but users of Vkontakte, Russia's version of Facebook, went too far.

Last week, Russia's government asked the social network to block groups totaling 1.6 million users for reasons having nothing to do with political dissent. Rather, high-school students were sharing questions and answers on the Unified State Exam that determines which university -- if any -- they're admitted to.