ideological and organizational principles. These
principles emphasized a centralized and administered form of governance where the state rather
than the market decided issues of economic and
social production and where overarching leadership was vested in the Communist Party, whose
rule was substantiated by ideological precepts
that did not allow for dissention or opposition.
Despite this complex multinationalism, the
former Soviet Union was dominated by Russia,
which endowed the region with a common language (Russian) and popular culture, as well as
defined trade, political, and even social ties
(including the creation of substantial Russian
minorities in some states, which persist to the
present day). Even following the USSR’s dissolution and the newly independent states’ adoption
of national languages and scripts (in Azerbaijan,
Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and others), CIS countries
retained strong ties with Russia. Transportation,
communications, and energy routes continue to
bind the region together. Russia is currently a
major energy supplier to many CIS states, giving
it considerable political muscle in the region
(which it has not been shy to flex, when needed).
The region’s shared political heritage, and
the fact that many present-day leaders in the CIS
governments and economies were also in positions of authority during the Soviet era, means
that a great deal of formal and informal coordination exists among and between member states,
despite political differences that are at times difficult. Furthermore, the loose, informal coordination among officials is helped along by the fact
that most countries share the same legal codes
and procedures, as well as similar organizational
characteristics of the security forces and the distribution of powers among the judiciary, executive, and legislative branches of government.
The Internet in the CIS: Access and
political significance
Internet penetration rates in the CIS region are
relatively low and clustered among the urban
youth—both male and female, perhaps reflecting
the “equality” between sexes of the Soviet period. 3 Income levels in the CIS are generally low,
while the costs of computers and connectivity are
relatively high. This means that Internet use is
lower than would be expected. Overall, Internet
penetration in Russia lags behind that of other
industrialized nations (15 percent as of 2005), 4
and is relatively high only in large cities (particularly Moscow and St. Petersburg). Among the CIS
countries, Belarus has the highest Internet penetration rate of 30 percent; Ukraine and Moldova
lag behind with less than 10 percent penetration
rate, while the states of Central Asia have the lowest Internet penetration rates. Azerbaijan and
Kazakhstan lead this latter subgroup with around
8 percent, followed by Kyrgyzstan. The least connected countries are Uzbekistan (3 percent for
2004) and Tajikistan, where only 1 percent of the
population has access to the Internet.
However, in all cases these figures may be
misleading. Most Internet users rely on shared
Internet access, through their places of work or
study, as well as via Internet cafés, whose use is
very high in some countries, (for example,
Internet cafés users account for over 50 percent
of all users in Kyrgyzstan). 5 This shared use—
and in some cases the creative use of networks
such as Fidonet to route traffic to and from the
Internet—may result in considerable underestimation of the actual number of users. 6
The importance of the Internet to political life
varies from low in Tajikistan to high in Uzbekistan.
In Russia the relevance of the Internet as a
source of news is reported as low; however, this
estimation is changing as the Internet remains
one of the few outlets for direct criticism of the
government. Moreover, an important aspect of
the Internet’s political significance—as a personto-person backchannel for communications and
social networking essential to daily life in Russia
(where personal contacts and an “informal economy of favors” remains a key to “getting
ahead”)—remains understudied. 7 In this sense, it
Regional Overviews
179
principles emphasized a centralized and administered form of governance where the state rather
than the market decided issues of economic and
social production and where overarching leadership was vested in the Communist Party, whose
rule was substantiated by ideological precepts
that did not allow for dissention or opposition.
Despite this complex multinationalism, the
former Soviet Union was dominated by Russia,
which endowed the region with a common language (Russian) and popular culture, as well as
defined trade, political, and even social ties
(including the creation of substantial Russian
minorities in some states, which persist to the
present day). Even following the USSR’s dissolution and the newly independent states’ adoption
of national languages and scripts (in Azerbaijan,
Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and others), CIS countries
retained strong ties with Russia. Transportation,
communications, and energy routes continue to
bind the region together. Russia is currently a
major energy supplier to many CIS states, giving
it considerable political muscle in the region
(which it has not been shy to flex, when needed).
The region’s shared political heritage, and
the fact that many present-day leaders in the CIS
governments and economies were also in positions of authority during the Soviet era, means
that a great deal of formal and informal coordination exists among and between member states,
despite political differences that are at times difficult. Furthermore, the loose, informal coordination among officials is helped along by the fact
that most countries share the same legal codes
and procedures, as well as similar organizational
characteristics of the security forces and the distribution of powers among the judiciary, executive, and legislative branches of government.
The Internet in the CIS: Access and
political significance
Internet penetration rates in the CIS region are
relatively low and clustered among the urban
youth—both male and female, perhaps reflecting
the “equality” between sexes of the Soviet period. 3 Income levels in the CIS are generally low,
while the costs of computers and connectivity are
relatively high. This means that Internet use is
lower than would be expected. Overall, Internet
penetration in Russia lags behind that of other
industrialized nations (15 percent as of 2005), 4
and is relatively high only in large cities (particularly Moscow and St. Petersburg). Among the CIS
countries, Belarus has the highest Internet penetration rate of 30 percent; Ukraine and Moldova
lag behind with less than 10 percent penetration
rate, while the states of Central Asia have the lowest Internet penetration rates. Azerbaijan and
Kazakhstan lead this latter subgroup with around
8 percent, followed by Kyrgyzstan. The least connected countries are Uzbekistan (3 percent for
2004) and Tajikistan, where only 1 percent of the
population has access to the Internet.
However, in all cases these figures may be
misleading. Most Internet users rely on shared
Internet access, through their places of work or
study, as well as via Internet cafés, whose use is
very high in some countries, (for example,
Internet cafés users account for over 50 percent
of all users in Kyrgyzstan). 5 This shared use—
and in some cases the creative use of networks
such as Fidonet to route traffic to and from the
Internet—may result in considerable underestimation of the actual number of users. 6
The importance of the Internet to political life
varies from low in Tajikistan to high in Uzbekistan.
In Russia the relevance of the Internet as a
source of news is reported as low; however, this
estimation is changing as the Internet remains
one of the few outlets for direct criticism of the
government. Moreover, an important aspect of
the Internet’s political significance—as a personto-person backchannel for communications and
social networking essential to daily life in Russia
(where personal contacts and an “informal economy of favors” remains a key to “getting
ahead”)—remains understudied. 7 In this sense, it
Regional Overviews
179