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| Some expect Moscow will tighten control of web media |
The
Internet has proven instrumental in challenging the Kremlin and mobilizing
demonstrators to rally in protest of voting irregularities and accusing the
government of election fraud.
With
estimated tens of thousands taking to Moscow's streets in protest, the Internet
has played a vital role in helping create a Russian protest movement since
December 4 parliamentary elections that were marked by fraud.
"Without
the Internet, there would have been no protests at all," said Russian
blogger Alexander Plushev.
"These
days it's enough to upload a video you've taken with your mobile phone to
YouTube and to sends friends a link. They send it on to others, it reaches
bloggers and a mass audience," the Echo of Moscow radio journalist said.
That's
precisely what took place during Russia's parliamentary elections. According to
official results, the ruling United Russia party won an absolute majority of
votes. Yet independent observers noted numerous irregularities, and inflated
results for United Russia.
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| Plushev doesn't expect Moscow to block Interent sites |
"For
the first time in the history of elections in Russia, there weren't just
reports of offenses, but the offenses were documented and made readily
accessible," said Johann Birr of Reporters Without Borders, referring to
the independent Russian election observation organization Golos, which provided
a website where citizens could post reports of abuse quickly and anonymously.
Russia's
new media
Social
networks serve as an instrument for mobilization. Over 30,000 Russians have
announced their participation in the rally, showing that the Internet is no
longer a marginal phenomenon in Russia.
According
to a survey conducted by the polling center FOM, 48 percent of Russians are
online. Of Russians 12 to 24 years in ago, some 90 percent said they regularly
surfed the Net.
"Most
traditional media in Russia are under state control, so that real political
debates have shifted to the Internet," said Bihr.
In contrast
to state-controlled media, he added that the Internet remains a
"relatively free information space" in Russia, where "it's easy
to find critical content."
A thorn in
the Kremlin's side
Whether the
Internet will remain so free in Russia remains to be seen. The Web has long
been a thorn in the side of the Kremlin and Russian security authorities, and
current protests against voting fraud in parliamentary elections could even
strengthen the arguments for stricter state-imposed control.
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| The Russian blogosphere still enjoys freedoms traditional media do not have |
"I
would say that the Internet currently poses a big danger to the political elite
in the Kremlin," said Florian Töpfl, a scholar at Munich's Ludwig
Maximilian University.
According
to Töpfl, who studies the Internet's role in Russia, there are signs that
Russian leaders have already recognized the danger. One high-ranking police
authority suggested this week "reducing the anonymity of the
Internet."
The
suggestion stoked fears that Russian police want all Internet users registered
- and prompted critique from human rights activists. Interior Minister Rashid
Nurgaliyev responded to assuage fears, saying they were silly and that "no
one plans on doing that."
Moscow is
no Beijing
Yet there
are discussions in Russia as to how long the Kremlin and the security
authorities will continue to tolerate free Internet.
"Of
course they will try to tighten the screws on," said Alexei Sochnev,
editor of news website Besttoday.ru. "But it won't be so easy."
Sochnev
said he does not think Moscow will gain the kind of control over Internet
access that Beijing has.
Plushev of
Echo of Moscow radio agreed.
"I
think that many people in the Kremlin quite understand that that's a boundary
that must not be crossed – as is the case in China," he said. Internet
blocks would challenge Russia's G8 membership as well as its relationship with
Western powers.
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| Hundreds have been arrested since protests began |
Töpfl
meanwhile said he sees Russian authorities taking a different path. Instead of
blocking websites reports critical of the Kremlin could be stopped by simpler
means as many Russian websites belong to state-owned firms or Kremlin-loyal
business people.
All it
would take is for the Kremlin "to give the reigns a light tug," he
said.
Even in the
digital age there is still an analog method to put a stop to protests: Since
the beginning of the protests, hundreds of demonstrators have been arrested in
Moscow alone, many of them bloggers and Internet activists.
Author: Roman Goncharenko / dl
Editor: Sean Sinico
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