Russia extends state control of the media

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 02 Jan 2021 by Alex Teddy
On December 31 Putin signed an array of laws empowering the government to restrict or block social and media networks if they ''discriminate'' against Russia. Moscow dislikes Twitter dubbing some Russian outlets ''state affiliated''. Russia therefore perceives this as a discriminatory. Media companies that fail to take down forbidden content can be fined up to 20% of their Russian turnover. The media will not be allowed to report favorably on demonstrations. The media is now banned from publishing personal information of security officials. Such information has been used by investigative journalists to prove that two Russian intelligence officers were in Salisbury the day that the Skripals were poisoned and to publish a phone call wherein an FSB officer gave a very detailed account of how the FSB poisoned Alexey Navalny.Libel shall be punishable by two years in jail. Dissidents say that these laws have abolished the little remaining media freedom. Protests funded by foreign agents can be banned. These so-called foreign agents can be Russian if they receive foreign money. Any Russian dubbed a foreign agent faces 5 years in jail for not disclosing all their activities. Russia covets China's sovereign internet. Russia has been building towards this for a few years. Why is the government becoming ever more fixated with censoriousness? United Russia (the ruling party) is down to a 29% approval rating. Putin's personal rating is not much higher. The economy was hardly growing even before coronavirus. Only 38% of Russians say they will take the Sputnik V vaccine. 2021 looks to be almost as hard as 2020 for the government. Therefore, it is more vital than ever for the governme...

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