MOSCOW – So much for the democratization of Russia. According to a report in the Washington Post, the Kremlin is on the verge of a massive crackdown on free expression in cyberspace.The new efforts might not be recognized easily by the Old Guard, though: They’re much more user-friendly, taking the form of newly established pro-government “news” and pop-culture websites. Supporters of President Vladimir Putin also have begun to purchase “old reliable” news outlets known for their independence and to cultivate bloggers who can be used to disseminate propaganda on demand.
Russian authorities also have begun to discuss creating their own internet, separate from the World Wide Web and easier for the government to control, possibly based on some of the censorship concepts pioneered by China.
As might be expected, Putin in October publicly denied the allegations, saying “In the Russian Federation, no control is being exercised over the World Wide Web, over the Russian segment of the internet. Naturally, in this sphere, as in other spheres, we should be thinking about adhering to Russian laws, about making sure that child pornography is not distributed, that financial crimes are not committed. But that is a task for the law enforcement agencies. Total control and the work of the law enforcement agencies are two different things.”
Part of the reason for the Kremlin’s seemingly sudden interest in the Web — which it hardly seemed to know existed a scant five years ago — is that internet access is enjoying remarkably higher penetration in the former Soviet Socialist Republic. In 2002, only 8 percent of Russian adults had access to the Web; in 2007, the figure stood at 25 percent, according to a Washington Post report. Some observers point to 2004 as a turning point, when blogs and other Web-based publications played a major role in a Ukraine uprising precipitated by the official declaration of a pro-Kremlin candidate as the winner of a hotly contested presidential election.
Thank goodness nothing like that ever happens in the more enlightened West.
When days of street demonstrations subsided, a new vote in Ukraine reversed the original decision, ensconcing a pro-West candidate in office.
The same thing is not likely to happen again, thanks to the government’s recruitment of a phalanx of young bloggers who, when linked online, are able to drown out the “noise” generated by the voices of the opposition.
Pro-Putin authorities acknowledge the internet represents a challenge for a ruling class accustomed to using state-controlled media to influence the minds and hearts of the proletariat. One way authorities are countering that is to ally the government with privately run online spaces that are unashamedly pro-Putin while presenting an idealized picture of what life in Russia could be. Media like Vzglyad (“View”), a two-year-old e-zine that mixes party political messages with blatant consumerism consistently are ranked among Russia’s most-visited sites. Funding for the site was organized by Putin’s domestic political advisor, and its 28-year-old founder, Konstantin Rykov, was elected to parliament on the pro-Kremlin United Russia Party ticket in December.
Kremlin officials deny any involvement in any of Rykov’s activities.
Perhaps most striking about what is happening in Russia is that, for the first time, the government is competing on equal terms with its detractors — and that’s a good thing, according to all sides.
“What is happening on the Web vis-à-vis the authorities is very good,” political consultant and former Kremlin insider Marat Guelman told the Washington Post. “That is, they’re trying to play the game.”
Marina Litvinovich, a blogger who works for chess champion and political opposition leader Gary Kasparov’s United Civil Front, told the paper she was satisfied with the way things are shaking out, “because it forces Putin’s allies to respond to criticism rather than simply ignore it.”
