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KREMLIN MAY TIGHTEN UP INTERNET USE IN RUSSIA
Iron grip on media does not extend to internet, but authorities' attitude to
censorship could be changing
Luke Harding in Moscow
guardian.co.uk,
Tuesday 30 June 2009 16.16 BST
Russia is not China. And so far there has been no attempt by the
Kremlin to crack down on the web, which is the last remaining source
of free information for ordinary Russians in an otherwise controlled
media landscape.
The authorities keep an iron grip on television, ensure that most
newspapers toe a pro-government line, and keep critics off the
airwaves.
Recently, however, there are signs that the Russian government
is reconsidering its laissez-faire attitude towards the internet,
especially in the wake of Iran's web-driven "green revolution".
Several Russian bloggers who have posted critical articles have found
themselves charged with extremism. One is in jail. Another was arrested
after comparing Russia's prime minister Vladimir Putin to a penis.
The Kremlin also uses other darker strategies for getting its PR
message out, employing dozens of young, patriotic bloggers to flood
chatrooms with a pro-Kremlin message, and to attack its enemies.
Writing in last week's Moscow Times, the economist Yevgeny Gontmakher
revealed how he came under "massive attack" from government bloggers
after criticising Vladislav Surkov, the Kremlin's chief ideologue.
He concluded: "The modern Russian propaganda machine permeates nearly
every major media outlet and even extends to the blogosphere." As
well as the Russian language blogosphere, bloggers are also active
in the western press, including the Guardian.
Overall the picture is fairly dismal. "Today's Russia is an
authoritarian state where a corrupt and illiberal ruling elite
maintains its power through media manipulation and the subversion of
the democratic process," the US-funded watchdog Freedom House said
in a report this month.
Still, the situation in Russia is better than in former Soviet
central Asia.
According to Oleg Panfilov, director of Moscow's Centre for Journalism
in Extreme Situations, former Soviet countries can be divided into
three categories.
The first includes Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and probably
Azerbaijan, where the internet is absolutely free. The next includes
Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, where the web is
largely or partly free. In the last category are Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan, Central Asia's most repressive, and generally paranoid,
republics. Here, there is severe censorship. In Uzbekistan even
the BBC's website is banned, although you can watch BBC World TV in
upmarket Tashkent hotels.
The country's secret police maintain a vigilant watch on net use,
and have arrested users in internet cafes. There are ominous signs
that more countries across the region are beginning to follow the
Uzbek example.
Journalists, human rights groups and the Organisation for Security
and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) have all decried recent proposals
by Kazakhstan to introduce a new law on the internet. Under the law
the government will be able to regulate forums, chats, blogs, and
even online shops. Eight months ago Kazakhstan banned LiveJournal,
the most popular social networking website among Russian-speakers,
as well as a dozen opposition sites.
The restrictions have spilled over into neighbouring Kyrgyzstan,
which uses the same web servers. Enterprising Kazakhs are getting
round these restrictions by using proxies, but the overall picture
is not an encouraging one.
Iron grip on media does not extend to internet, but authorities' attitude to
censorship could be changing
Luke Harding in Moscow
guardian.co.uk,
Tuesday 30 June 2009 16.16 BST
Russia is not China. And so far there has been no attempt by the
Kremlin to crack down on the web, which is the last remaining source
of free information for ordinary Russians in an otherwise controlled
media landscape.
The authorities keep an iron grip on television, ensure that most
newspapers toe a pro-government line, and keep critics off the
airwaves.
Recently, however, there are signs that the Russian government
is reconsidering its laissez-faire attitude towards the internet,
especially in the wake of Iran's web-driven "green revolution".
Several Russian bloggers who have posted critical articles have found
themselves charged with extremism. One is in jail. Another was arrested
after comparing Russia's prime minister Vladimir Putin to a penis.
The Kremlin also uses other darker strategies for getting its PR
message out, employing dozens of young, patriotic bloggers to flood
chatrooms with a pro-Kremlin message, and to attack its enemies.
Writing in last week's Moscow Times, the economist Yevgeny Gontmakher
revealed how he came under "massive attack" from government bloggers
after criticising Vladislav Surkov, the Kremlin's chief ideologue.
He concluded: "The modern Russian propaganda machine permeates nearly
every major media outlet and even extends to the blogosphere." As
well as the Russian language blogosphere, bloggers are also active
in the western press, including the Guardian.
Overall the picture is fairly dismal. "Today's Russia is an
authoritarian state where a corrupt and illiberal ruling elite
maintains its power through media manipulation and the subversion of
the democratic process," the US-funded watchdog Freedom House said
in a report this month.
Still, the situation in Russia is better than in former Soviet
central Asia.
According to Oleg Panfilov, director of Moscow's Centre for Journalism
in Extreme Situations, former Soviet countries can be divided into
three categories.
The first includes Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and probably
Azerbaijan, where the internet is absolutely free. The next includes
Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, where the web is
largely or partly free. In the last category are Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan, Central Asia's most repressive, and generally paranoid,
republics. Here, there is severe censorship. In Uzbekistan even
the BBC's website is banned, although you can watch BBC World TV in
upmarket Tashkent hotels.
The country's secret police maintain a vigilant watch on net use,
and have arrested users in internet cafes. There are ominous signs
that more countries across the region are beginning to follow the
Uzbek example.
Journalists, human rights groups and the Organisation for Security
and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) have all decried recent proposals
by Kazakhstan to introduce a new law on the internet. Under the law
the government will be able to regulate forums, chats, blogs, and
even online shops. Eight months ago Kazakhstan banned LiveJournal,
the most popular social networking website among Russian-speakers,
as well as a dozen opposition sites.
The restrictions have spilled over into neighbouring Kyrgyzstan,
which uses the same web servers. Enterprising Kazakhs are getting
round these restrictions by using proxies, but the overall picture
is not an encouraging one.