Moscow Faces Online Opposition
Morgan Lorraine Roach /
As the Internet is used increasingly in Russia, the Kremlin is fighting to maintain control of Russia’s new media.
According to a poll conducted by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM) one in four Russians go online daily and nearly half of these web users go online for the purpose of checking the daily news. According to Eurasian studies expert, Paul Goble, access to the Internet reduces the ability of the Russian powers-that-be to control the messages the citizenry receives. Therefore, Moscow is considering adopting draconian measures to limit access to the Internet, or at least to intimidate users so that they will not make use of it for accessing the news.