Issue and Opponent: Citizens of Yekaterinburg, Russia have complained about the quality of their roads to local authorities, yet these Russian officials were not heeding their complaints.
Dilemma Action: URA.RU, a local blog that documents life in the city, took it into its own hands to remind authorities it is their responsibility to repair the roads. Knowing that the politicians care more about their own public opinion than fixing real issues in the city, members from the blog took to the streets to associate potholes with specific politicians. Under the cover of nightfall, they picked three unsightly potholes and drew the governor, the mayor, and the vice mayor around them to shame these officials into action. Below each portrait was the text of false promises made by these politicians.
Outcomes: Website traffic for URA.RU doubled, and the news about this action was released to more than 300 media venues. The government officials finally took action and repaired the potholes quickly, washing away the pictures of themselves as caricatures. Police detained the artist, Vikenty Belikov, but he said it was apolitical and that an activist associated with the Liberal Democratic Party paid him 10,000 roubles to do the job.