Back in the USSR?

Although China has been the main focus of debates on Internet censorship, it does not stand alone. There are many countries currently employing and exploring censorship of the World Wide Web and they offer many excuses to rationalize this infringement on basic human rights.

Rumors of Russian censorship of the Internet started back in 2000, when Vladimir Putin became the acting president of the newly democratic country. This article from early 2000 describes Putin’s use of secret service to monitor the Web, complete with the “stopping crime and corruption” excuse given for the crack-down. A Freedom House article also from 2000, talks of the Russian government’s apparent restriction of Internet use in the name of protecting the public. In 2002, Johnson’s Russia List portrayed a denial issued by the Russian Interior Ministry in response to an article about censorship published in a Russian daily. The author of the Russian article stands by his source and story and describes it as a “warning sign” of impending abuse. As the years go by, the censorship rumors have not waned. 2005 brought with it numerous articles on the debate, ranging from Russian newspaper Pravda to Radio Free Europe, both regarding censorship as a problem for the country.

But the biggest concern comes out of an article published in 2007 on the Russian News and Information Agency website. This short article quotes President Putin as he denies Internet censorship in Russia, but then explains that law enforcement officers should monitor the Internet to make sure laws are observed and crimes not committed. This glaring contradiction is the root of the censorship problem. Governments consistently declare that censorship is an act of protecting its citizens, and refuse to refer to it as censorship, per se. As in Putin’s case, he sugar-coats the problem by describing it as a “law enforcement” issue. Just last month, a Russian blog compared its Internet censorship to that of China; earlier this month, another blogger was quoted on Radio Free Europe as saying he believed censorship would continue into Medvedev’s term.

The problem with censorship is obvious: it undermines people’s rights in an undemocratic way. But Russia’s case goes deeper than that. Two decades have not yet passed since the end of Communist rule in the country, and democracy is still fresh in the land. This censorship, however, reminds the world of what Russian government is capable of doing. During Communism, censorship ran rampant and this new democracy doesn’t seem to be doing anything to stop that. It almost seems that little by little, Russia is reverting back to a time of oppression and unconstitutional rule. If its government wants to earn respect as a democratic nation, it should start by opening up channels of communication. Even the slightest bit of censorship reminds the world of what once was. In Russia’s case then, its censorship is hurting more than just its citizens, but what can be done to stop it in the face of great excuses reminiscent of the Big Lie?