Russia
The absence of overt state-mandated
Internet filtering in Russia has led
some observers to conclude that the
Russian Internet represents an open
and uncontested space. In fact, the
opposite is true. The Russian government actively competes in Russian
cyberspace employing second- and
third-generation strategies as a means
to shape the national information
space and promote pro-government political messages and strategies. This
approach is consistent with the government’s strategic view of cyberspace that is
articulated in strategies such as the doctrine of information security. The DoS
attacks against Estonia (May 2007) and Georgia (August 2008) may be an indication of the government’s active interest in mobilizing and shaping activities in
Russian cyberspace.
Background
Under Vladimir Putin, the federal government of the Russian Federation (RF) has consolidated its power, stripping regional government representatives of some of their
RESULTS AT A GLANCE
Filtering
No Evidence
of Filtering
Suspected
Filtering
Selective
Filtering
Substantial
Filtering
Pervasive
Filtering
Political
Social
Conflict and security
Internet tools
Other Factors
Low
Medium
High
Not
Applicable
Transparency
Consistency