Porn, Facebook, sexual minorities, powder, chess, BBC and drugs.
That’s only a fraction of the things that it’s useless to search for on the Russian network, i.e. Runet.
In the second week of December, Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor blocked access to more than 14,000 websites, according to an independent online publication Meduza (you will switch to another service).
On average, the agency has blocked around 1,000–5,000 web pages per week this year. The list of banned websites has grown rapidly since Russia started a war of aggression in Ukraine.
Currently, more than 600,000 websites are blocked in Russia, says someone who follows the Russian digital environment Roskomsvoboda organization (you switch to another service).
The holy trinity of Russian online censorship
The Roskomsvoboda organization has been listing banned websites since 2012. At that time in Russia the law was enacted (you switch to another service)whose purpose was to protect children from harmful information.
According to Roskomsvoboda, the lower house of the Russian parliament, the Duma, did not pass the law to protect children, but to control online traffic.
Since 2012, the authorities have blacklisted more than one million websites. At the same time, Russian censorship legislation has been expanded and punishments have been toughened.
A law has been enacted alongside the Act on the Protection of Minors from foreign agents (you switch to another service) and information about the Russian army law (you switch to another service). They form the core of Russian online censorship, on the basis of which online traffic, opposition activities and Western media products are restricted on the internet.
For example, the human rights organizations Memorial, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have been defined as foreign agents, and therefore their websites cannot be accessed in Russia.
Wartime censorship limited the transmission of information and gossip
The war of aggression started by Russia in February 2022 has led to extensive war censorship on the Russian internet.
Since the start of the war, the online writing of citizens has also started to be more closely monitored. Roskomsvobodan by (you switch to another service) statements about the war increasingly lead to investigations and even prison sentences.
Between February and October, Russian authorities blocked access to more than 8,000 websites because their information on events in Ukraine differed from the Kremlin’s official line. In Russia, more than 600 Ukrainian media, 175 Russian media and the operations of nine countries’ broadcasting companies have also been blocked.
Offensive warfare also affects the Russian network in a special way.
Due to the war in Russia, for example, access to the world’s most popular chess website, Chess.com, has been blocked. The website had to be banned in Russia, among other things, because it published an article about Ukrainian chess players.
The list of banned websites is also growing with sites that share tips on how to nibble and sell food.
Russian online censorship for example, did not pass (you switch to another service) three web pages that presented instructions on how to pick a hammer. According to the Russian authorities, the sites shared information about the manufacture of weapons, which is prohibited in Russia.
Roskmonadzor has also had to close online grocery stores if they violate Russian sanctions legislation.
Since 2019, the District Court of St. Petersburg has ordered repeatedly (you switch to another service) to the list of prohibited sites, a web address where, among other things, Finnish Oltermanni cheese and Spanish hams have been sold.
The online grocery store selling foreign foodstuffs has every time established a new website and continued its operations.
The authority knows what is harmful to children
In 2012, the Russian Duma banned pornography and content related to drugs, suicides and sexual minorities based on the law protecting children from harmful information.
Because of the decision, many anime series (you switch to another service)art websites and image banks are under threat in Russia, because they can contain material that, according to the Russian authorities, can be harmful to children.
Again, the definition of porn in the law is so vague that one can be guilty of spreading pornographic material online, for example, by publishing abstract watercolor works depicting a woman’s genitals.
In 2015, Maxim, a Russian men’s magazine with an erotic touch received from Roskomnadzor (you switch to another service) order to remove content from the network. The magazine is known for pictures of scantily clad female celebrities, but the official’s notice was not due to the nude photos, but to an interview that contained swear words.
According to the Russian authorities, the use of profanity online harms young people and children, so websites whose content contains profanity can be closed based on the authority’s decision.
Roskomnadzor has also defined explosives, sexual minorities and drugs as topics that harm the development of young people.
Russia has blocked (you switch to another service) in its area more than 700 Wikipedia articles about drugs and chemical formulas.
Websites that provide information about replacement therapy have also been taken down.
Roskomnadzor also supervises the dissemination of suicide-related material online.
Due to censorship, information about suicides or services that can provide help for mental health problems are practically blocked on the Russian network, because the sharing of information can be interpreted as incitement to suicide.
Music streaming services and online shopping service Amazon have been fined again in Russia for publishing music and products on their platforms that can be interpreted as encouraging suicide.
In November the Duma decided (you will switch to another service)that video games can harm young people, so it banned games that contain violence, sex, drugs and profanity, or deal with sexual minorities, under threat of a fine.
For example, playing the Sims 3 game in Russia can result in a fine of 6,000 euros because the game portrays sexual minorities in a positive light
In Russia, children are also protected from social media services. This year Russia has blocked access (you will switch to another service) for example to Instagram and Facebook.
In March, Roskomonadzor stated (you switch to another service)that the decision to restrict social media is based on minors to protect mental health (you move to another service). In the same decision, the authority stated that the Russian version of Facebook, VK, operates in Russia, which is not restricted and whose use is recommended.
The Meta company that owns Facebook and Instagram, on the other hand, lbecame a father in October (you move to another service) to the list of terrorist organizations The list also includes, for example, Jehovah’s Witnesses and the leader of the opposition To Alexei Navalny organization.
In order to protect children and young people from terrorist content, Russia announced in 2021, (you switch to another service) that it will start restricting the Tor dark network as well.
The Kremlin plans to isolate Runet
The Kremlin continues to develop new laws to increase online surveillance and disconnect Russia from the global network.
For example, the music platform Soundcloud, the sponsorship service Patreon, the proofreading program Grammarly and the news aggregation service True Story have been blocked because According to Russia (you will switch to another service) the numerous fake accounts of the services threaten Russia’s security.
Published by Roskomsvoboda and Human Constanta In the Pandemic Big Brother report (you go to another service) it is noted that due to the corona pandemic, access to information online was significantly restricted in Russia.
This year, Russia has ordered, for example from presets of official programs to smart devices (you switch to another service)blocking network encryption protocols and network traffic filtering systems for platform administrators.
In Russia, there have also been attempts to block VPN services that the user can use to protect their privacy online. So far, the Kremlin has not succeeded in its goal, and 40 million Russians (you switch to another service) can still browse Instagram.