Russian Internet Remains an Island of Free Speech and Civil Society

Author(s): Dmitry Vinogradov
Editor(s): Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic, Heiko Pleines, Hans-Henning Schröder
Series: Russian Analytical Digest (RAD)
Issue: 9
Pages: 12-15
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen
Publication Year: 2006

With freedom of the press under pressure in the traditional media, the poorly developed party system, and the authorities' desire to block street demonstrations and other public acts, the Internet remains a small island of political freedom and freedom of speech and self-expression. Now the authorities are thinking about how to exert their control over this sphere of Russian life. In part, they are justifiably worried about the growth of extremist tendencies among Internet users and the fact that radicals are actively using the Internet for propagandizing their ideas and attracting new supporters.

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