16.10.08

Article by Tatyana Stanovaya: "The Internet -- the Eternal Target of the Siloviki"

The General Prosecutor's Office has come forward with large-scale initiatives to introduce control over the Internet. This became known during a speech by Deputy General Prosecutor Viktor Grin in the State Duma. He described the Internet as one of the causes of the spread of extremism in and racial intolerance in Russia. The Russian organs of power periodically attempt to tighten control over the Internet, but until now they have not been supported at the political level. The Internet remains one of the freest areas of the exchange of information. This time, all the signs suggest, the Prosecutor's Office's plans are far more serious: Without political support the new initiatives would hardly have been made public.

The speech in the State Duma was devoted to the problems of combating extremism. "At the present time, there are more than 500 Internet sites in the country that incite the fomentation of ethnic hatred," Grin stated. "On the net specific information is posted on the preparation and perpetration of crimes on the grounds of ethnic and sectarian discord," he added. The General Prosecutor's Office representative pointed out that Internet sites describe not only methods of manufacturing explosive substances but also techniques for planting explosive devices to blow up residential buildings and other facilities. He claims that these were the materials used by criminals who have carried out explosions in several Russian cities, and the files in criminal proceedings attest to this.

In sum, Grin stressed the need to regulate Internet activity through legislation in order to scotch decisively the use of the latest technological achievements to propagate the ideology of terrorism and racial hatred. In addition, the Prosecutor's Office proposes the creation of a single federal executive organ to regulate questions of interethnic relations and counteract manifestations of extremist behavior in the Russian Federation. Grin pointed to evidence from prosecution service audits which has shown that the work of the federal executive and local government organs in Russia in this sphere is still insufficiently effective. Moreover, preventive work in the regions to counteract interethnic strife and manifestations of extremism are often of a purely formal character. In Grin's words, it is also possible to invest the already existing federal executive organ with these powers. In that case, it would be expedient "to set up under it a federal service with territorial subdepartments, investing it with monitoring and coordinating functions in the given sphere," the deputy general prosecutor believes.

In recent times, a great deal has been written in the mass media about the decision, currently in preparation, to abolish the General Prosecutor's Office: Its functions could be transferred to the Ministry of Justice, so that a powerful federal investigations service would be created on the basis of the Investigations Committee, incorporating the investigative committees currently attached to the main enforcement agencies. Conceivably, it is in the context of these plans that the General Prosecutor's Office leadership is thinking about looking for new jobs, and the creation of a new structure (a single federal agency or service) here is more than justified. In that case, Grin himself might aspire to the position of leader, as might his direct boss -- Yuriy Chayka. At the same time, it is very important to note that it was not the general prosecutor himself who put forward this fairly major initiative, but his deputy. That is a pretty reliable indication that no such solution has yet been approved in the Kremlin, although it is highly likely that it is being energetically discussed there.

The attempt to take control of the Internet is itself far from new. It has been discussed in Russia for many years already. In 2004 it even became the subject of a heated debate in a government session. On that occasion, it was Education Minister Aleksandr Fursenko who expressed himself in favor of regulation, stating that "access to network resources is far too easy, and that means dangerous for ordinary citizens." Then Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed his support for regulating the Internet, citing the problem of active Chechen terrorist websites. Culture Minister Aleksandr Sokolov on that occasion also stated that "the Internet is a hundred-headed hydra that is getting out of control; it is a septic tank, but also a very powerful communications resource." "We discussed for a long time whether the Internet is a mass information medium or not, and concluded that is not a mass information medium, but a broader concept," he noted.

As can be seen, such initiatives usually originated with functionaries. They received no support at the highest political level. At a traditional press conference for the Russian and foreign mass media in 2006, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his opposition to Internet regulation. However, virtually the entire ruling elite is in favor of the introduction of some regulations in this sphere. The main obstacle to the adoption of more stringent legislation is the lack of cooperation between the lobbyists: The siloviki are primarily interested in the problem of the spread of extremism, the activity of Chechen separatists, child pornography, and issues related to the production of dangerous substances or weaponry. The Kremlin administration has always seen the Internet as a source of uncontrolled dissemination of information about the activity of the radical opposition. Attempts to combat this opposition by intensifying the battle against extremism are not particularly effective: The Internet continues to remain uncontrolled, as is shown also by the fate of the Ingushetia opposition's Ingushetiya.ru website, which is constantly being closed down. Sector departments also lobby enthusiastically for control over the Internet.

The most recent person to raise the question of introducing control over Internet mass media was senator Vladimir Slutsker. It was proposed that only those websites whose daily traffic exceeds 1,000 hits should be registered as mass media outlets. Exceptions would be made for search engines and blogs. The initiative provoked huge feedback: The amendments were seen as a Kremlin attempt to establish political control over the Internet. However, the amendments did not get beyond the Federation Council.

The problem is that to control the Internet is pretty difficult technically, although such attempts are currently becoming increasingly energetic. For example, the public Prosecutor's Office could direct an Internet provider to restrict access to various resources on the grounds that the site's contents contravene Russian legislation. Such measures are usually used energetically against radical oppositionists, especially in the North Caucasus. Unofficial methods of combat are also used -- for example DDOS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks. As a rule, this becomes particularly widespread with regard to major and authoritative federal-level resources. There are also attempts to close websites (as in the case of Ingushetiya.ru), but they are not particularly effective. Finally, the most important success for the siloviki in this vein was the conviction of the blogger Savva Terentyev for insulting the police. All these efforts are of an uncoordinated nature, and the Internet on the whole so far remains the one medium in which the opposition achieves parity with the pro-establishment structures. This continues to concern the Kremlin, and the siloviki continue to take advantage of this fact.

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Source: Politkom.ru