On 25 July, the Russian house approves a new censorship law, which introduces the fine to any person, which is officially to discover or access materials as “extremists”. The law will be implemented by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Comprehensive law does not stop there – it imposes punishment for promoting VPN servicesMany tools to bypass the government’s sensorship and reach outstanding information.
After Russia’s lower House, the state Duma supported the law on 22 July, a small group of people outside Russia’s Parliament for the first time. One of the signs “read for a Russia without censorship. Orwell wrote a diastopia, not a manual.” The police quickly took the person into custody.
The classic diastopian novel novel nineteen-four-four, widely explained as a warning against the totalitarian regime, published in 1949, inspired by government harassment that the author was seen in Nazism and Stalinism by the author.
Another protesting was Boris Nadezin, who was expected to be the only liberal candidate in the 2024 presidential election. At that time, the Election Commission refused to record its candidature.
“The first phase was banning the website. Now they are banning people from finding the internet. It is already close to Thoutcrime,” Nadezin told DW, for the same novel of Orwell, and his central theme of citizens punished him to think differently than the state.
What is ‘extremist’ content in Russia?
The new law stands among dozens of censorship laws in the state Duma before and after the entire -scale invasion of Russia in Ukraine in 2022. According to the bill, just the so -called “online will be considered, now to search with punishment with punishment, equal to punishment, punishment.
What matters as extremist content is defined by the list placed by the Ministry of Justice of Russia. It currently has more than 5,000 entries. Officers and MPs claim that the law targets those who systematically seek banned materials, not average citizens, but have not offered clarification on formation of systematic discoveries.
The registry has flyers, pamphlets, books, newspapers, movies, video clips, visual art work and songs. In theory, it is meant to include the material that provokes interventional hatred, as well as writing by the party of the national socialist workers of Germany and the leaders of the Fascist Party of Italy.
In fact, the list of works criticizing the government, or a list of speaking against the officials. One of them is a 2002 book by Russian Defactor and former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer Alexander Litinenko. Title Lubyanka Criminal Group, how this nonfiction work details The Russian security services allegedly banned the other terrorist act in an attempt to help the residential buildings bombing and growing power in Moscow in 1999.
Religious Movement Blacklists, including the contents of Jehovah’s witnesses, nominated by Russia as extremists in 2017.
In 2023, Journalists of Independent Russia News Outlet 7×7 Informed The list of “extremist” content is growing from hundreds of new entries every year. Between 2011 and 2022, about 15,500 administrative matters were opened for the distribution of “extremist” materials. It is an average of 1.300 cases per year, most of which results in a fine of up to € 50 as a result of which.
Increasing number of ‘extremists’ in Russia
The law has increased widespread public resentment, even the pro-order-line figures post important messages on social media. For example, Margharita Simonian, Editor of Russian state-controlled broadcaster RT, complained that the new law would prevent them from investigating and “shaming” the extremist organization.
Since the onset of Russia’s full -scale invasion in Ukraine, the authorities have added dozens of major Russians and organizations to the list of extremists and terrorists. The subject includes writer, musicians, journalists and popular bloggers, for example, author Boris Akunin, or TV host Alexander Nevzorov.
Behind the Meta, Facebook and Instagram, the extremist was declared in March 2022, after announcing that the company would allow positions supporting the killing of Russian soldiers on its platforms, which Russia said “Rasofia”.
State Duma’s Deputy Head Sergei Barsky, Conservatives from the ruling United Russia party, to Rasur citizens from Sauud, claiming whether to use the social network of Meta, or to search for the materials created by the people, was declared to the extremists. According to him, the penalty must only have to be officially discovered as an official extremist.
In fact, it is difficult to estimate how the Russian policy will implement the new law. “Everything will depend on the particular person in uniform who has been given the power to interpret your crime,” said Dimitri Zare-Back, head of Human Rights Legal Pro Pervi Otel.
According to him, it is likely that, as already happening, Russian phone will be rapidly examined during the limit inspection.
Belarious landscape
There will be another possible landscape if Russia adopted a child of policing exercises used in neighboring Belarus. There, platforms such as Instagram, X, and YouTube, which are blocked in Russia, are accessible. However, membership for restricted channels on thesis platforms is prohibited.
,Censorship in Belarus Physical is present in space. Police are asking to check the phone of citizens on vehicles and students in Dormitory. It is almost impossible to deny, “Dimitri Nawasha, co-founder of the International Online Sports Publisher Tribuna.com, said that her website was not in Belarus, but the site was labeled as extremists, when Navish spoke against the violent crackdown of the Belarusian Stronger Alexander Luakshinko and security forces.
As a result of extremism label, visitors Online game site Just punish to see its content.
At least 10,000 political prisoners
Since the onset of Ukraine’s full -scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has taunted severe restrictions on free speech, such as banning the spread of “false information” about war, and to harass the “foreign agent” for outlets and organizations.
In the spring, the Russian Search Committee’s anti-corruption agency, reported that 605 cases were opened under two new articles of Criminal Code Sion 2022 to spread “fake news” about the Russian army, and another for “infamous” to the armed forces.
Under the thesis laws, Russian citizens have been fined or imprisoned to call Russia’s functions in Ukraine instead of a “special military operation”, as well as a search of citizens by Russian soldiers in Ukrainian city Bucha as a search about incidents about posting on social media.
At the end of 2024, the Human Rights Organization Memorial reported that at least 10,000 political prisoners were detained across Russia. When Russian President Vladimir Putin signs this new law, the number of people punished for practicing free speech may increase significantly.
Edited by: M. Cousin
