The State of Affairs in Russia

[The Brain]

Especially after the recent breakup of the US it's hard to see America waging a secret war against Russia.

[Syt]

http://rt.com/politics/177248-russia-bloggers-law-restrictions/

Legislative restrictions on popular bloggers come into force in Russia

As of August 1 all blogs having 3,000 daily readers or more will have to follow many of the rules that exist in conventional mass media, such as tougher control on published information or the ban on use of explicit language.

The set of amendments to the Administrative Code, the Law on Information and the Law on Communications , dubbed by reporters as the 'Bill on Bloggers', was signed into force by President Putin in early May this year.

The draft introduced the definition of a popular blogger as someone whose internet page attracts at least 3,000 readers every day (earlier this week the authorities announced that these should be unique visitors, not just page hits). Such authors will now have to register with the state watchdog Roskomnadzor, disclose their real identity and follow the same rules as journalists working in conventional state-registered mass media.

The restrictions include the demand to verify information before publishing it and abstain from releasing reports containing slander, hate speech, extremist calls or other banned information such as, for example, advice on suicide. Also, the law bans popular bloggers from using obscene language, drawing heavy criticism and mockery from the online crowd.

Roskomnadzor representatives have noted in press comments that the physical location of the web authors makes no difference for them – everyone writing in Russian and targeting Russian audience must comply with the rules or the access to their content would be blocked on the Russian territory.

Individuals who violate the law can be fined between 10,000 and 30,000 rubles (US$285-$855) and in cases when popular blogs are maintained by legal entities fines can reach 500,000 rubles ($14,285).

Russian internet companies have protested against the additional responsibilities and limitations and even have taken some measures to bypass the new law. For example Yandex Corporation stopped publishing the statistics on blogs and the major blogging platform LiveJournal has altered the presentation of readers' statistics making the top figure '2500+'. To this the state officials noted that they had own tools for counting visitors and promised that the law would be enforced properly and in time. In early June, Yandex closed its own blogging service that was not very popular anyway.

On August 1, the Izvestia daily quoted its sources in Roskomnadzor as saying that the agency had already prepared the list of six people who fall under the definition of popular blogger. They are comedian and actor Mikhail Galustyan, photographer Sergey Dolya, journalist Dmitry Chernyshev, writer and leftist politician Eduard Limonov and writer Boris Akunin, who also uses his blog for spreading liberal opposition views.

The pro-Kremlin blogosphere is represented by Ashot Gabrelyanov – the head and owner of the NewsMedia corporation, which is known for pushing the official line despite technically being in private hands.

On August 1 Roskomnadzor was considering 83 more applications from bloggers who wanted to be recognized as popular, the agency's spokesman told the press.

Independent web counter LiveInternet estimates the number of independent Russian bloggers with audience exceeding 3,000 unique daily visitors at about 500. As far as social networks are concerned, LiveInternet owner German Knimenko has told the RBC news agency that he personally thought that about 1,500 Russian-speaking Facebook users had audience of 3,000 readers or more.

[DGuller]

Meh, Russians deserve what they get.  You can't be a fascist and have your liberty too.

[Tamas]

Orban wanted to do that in Hungary around 2011 or so but the EU didn't let him.

[KRonn]

Wow, and Russia keeps up the march to solidify it's authoritarian government. Putin probably expects to be leader for life, and he has plans to keep expanding the nation's territory, while preventing the expansion of citizen liberties.

[Valmy]

Orban wanted to do that in Hungary around 2011 or so but the EU didn't let him.

Well maybe when the Minsk Pact forms he can join that.

[Grinning_Colossus]

Meh, Russians deserve what they get.  You can't be a fascist and have your liberty too.

That's not really fair. I've found the inveterately unpopular, ineffectual, and now oppressed liberal intelligentsia to be generally decent people, if a bit haughty. This isn't targeting knuckle-dragging gopniks.

[crazy canuck]

Russia continues to play an important role of informing the West of what can go wrong.

[Syt]

What I find interesting is that if you check the news sites of en.ria.ru and en.itar-tass.com, how many of their news are about the military (modernizing equipment, holding contests and maneuvers etc.). As these are in English language they're obviously meant for foreign consumption.

But you don't see anything like it in Western state media (like BBC, or ARD/ZDF in Germany).

[Syt]

Also, Russian celebrates "We love the king day":

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140805/191747499/Poll-Shows-Happiness-Index-in-Russia-Remains-High.html

Poll Shows Happiness Index in Russia Remains High

MOSCOW, August 5 (RIA Novosti) – Happiness index in Russia has remained at 78 points for the past three months despite the increasing sanctions burden, according to the country's opinion research agency VCIOM.

A public opinion poll conducted by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) showed Tuesday that the "satisfaction with life" index has remained unchanged at 78 points since July.

According to the early August poll, the social optimism index is flat at 77 points, while welfare standards assessments have been on the rise since May, climbing to 76 points.

The survey, which polled 1,600 Russians across 42 regions, shows that the nation's overall assessment of the country's economy rose by six points to 69 points following a slump in June.

The economic sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union over the crisis in Ukraine seem to have little effect on Russians. According to the polls, Russians are now far less concerned about the future of their country than they were last year.

Twenty-three percent of Russians have not ruled out the possibility of a war with neighboring countries, up from just 10 percent last year. However, those concerned about a Western military threat has held steady at 13 percent for the past eight years.

[Syt]

http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/743661

Russia to further examine provocative interview on BBC website

The examination is aimed at confirming an apparent violation of the law, the agency's press service said

MOSCOW, August 05. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian telecommunications regulator Roskomnadzor will examine once more a provocative interview with a Siberian activist who called on people to attend an unsanctioned protest, published by on BBC's local website.

The examination is aimed at confirming an apparent violation of the law, the agency's press service said on Tuesday, adding that it was premature to talk about any possible measures against the BBC Russian Service until the investigation was completed.

In the BBC interview with Artem Loskutov last week the activist urged people to attend a so-called "March for a Federal Siberia" in support of giving the Siberia region more rights within Russia.

Roskomnadzor said in a statement that the general prosecutor's office had earlier asked it to stem the flow of information about the proposed event.

The regulator said it had "repeatedly sent" notices to the BBC Russian Service and accused its website of purposely ignoring state orders. "If the editorial staff of the BBC Russian Service, unlike most other Russian media, continues assuming an unconstructive stance, Roskomnadzor will have no alternative... but to block the BBC Russian Service website," it added.

BBC Russian Service's acting head, Artyom Liss, said in a blog post earlier that in response to a Roskomnadzor request to remove the material considered "extremist" editors had added an introduction to the interview featuring the artist's own description of the event as nothing more than a "parody" that in no way promoted Siberia's independence from Moscow.

Obviously federalization and freedom of assembly/speech is only good if it happens to other people.

[DGuller]

What I find interesting is that if you check the news sites of en.ria.ru and en.itar-tass.com, how many of their news are about the military (modernizing equipment, holding contests and maneuvers etc.). As these are in English language they're obviously meant for foreign consumption.

But you don't see anything like it in Western state media (like BBC, or ARD/ZDF in Germany).

Not too long ago they had a show where tank crews from different military districts competed with each other.  I think you can Youtube it somewhere.  It had a very distinct Soviet feel, with all the Soviet military bigwigs with oversized officer caps watching on.

[Syt]

Well, they're currently proudly hosting an international tank biathlon, and want to found a federation for it.

[Tamas]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Able_Archer_83

Makes you think how easy it is for powerplays and distrust to get out of hand and destroy us all.

[jimmy olsen]

Polish PM says the risk of Russian intervention is rising.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/06/russia-ukraine-military-intervention-risk-rise-donald-tusk-poland

Risk of Russian military deployment in Ukraine has risen, says Polish PM
Donald Tusk's warning about troop buildup comes as Kiev government forces advance on rebel strongholds in the east

 
    Alec Luhn in Moscow
    theguardian.com, Wednesday 6 August 2014 13.15 BST   



The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, has said that the possibility of Russia deploying military forces in Ukraine has risen, as western officials said Moscow has begun a new troop buildup on its border.

"We have reasons to suspect – we have been receiving such information in the last several hours – that the risk of a direct intervention is higher than it was several days ago," Tusk told a press conference on Wednesday.

The deployments came as Ukrainian government forces advanced on rebel strongholds in the east.

Russia's defence ministry has announced large-scale war games near its border with Ukraine that will involve about 100 fighter jets, helicopters and bombers, further heightening tensions in the region.

The Polish foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, said on Tuesday that Russia had concentrated troops and military hardware on Ukraine's border "to exert pressure or to enter", and the Pentagon spokesman, Rear Admiral John Kirby, said the forces were "very capable and very ready" for an invasion.

Nato officials said 20,000 Russian troops were gathered on the border, with 8,000 deployed in the last week. A Ukrainian military spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, put the figure higher, at 45,000 soldiers accompanied by tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery and rocket launchers.

Kiev's "anti-terrorist operation" has been pressing ahead with its offensive against the pro-Russia rebels. Ukraine's president, Petro Poroshenko, said on Tuesday that his forces had retaken three-quarters of previously contested territory over the last two months. At least 1,500 civilians and fighters have been killed.

Ukrainian troops are currently trying to retake the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, and residents reported hearing air strikes overnight.

Fighting has been ongoing elsewhere in eastern Ukraine, and as a result the international team investigating the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was only able to work at the crash site for two hours on Tuesday.

This spring, Russia massed about 40,000 troops on Ukraine's border before Vladimir Putin announced a withdrawal in May. Kiev has claimed its forces have regularly come under fire from Russian territory, although shells have also reportedly landed on the Russian side.

The independent defence analyst Pavel Felgenhauer said Russia had supplied more serious weapons to the rebels and trained its own special forces near the border in response to the Ukrainian advance. Russian media reports have suggested the rebels now have TOS-1 tank-mounted rocket launchers, which can shoot two dozen fuel bombs in quick succession.

"Right now Russia's introducing powerful weapons that can cause mass casualties and destruction of Ukrainian troops, hoping that will stop the Ukrainian offensive," Felgenhauer said. "If the fall of Donetsk and Lugansk and Novorossiya seems imminent, then Russia could intervene covertly, with special forces and air support and more powerful weapons. I would believe that's right now in the cards." Novorossiya or "New Russia" is a term used by supporters of Moscow for the regions in southern and eastern Ukraine.

A large-scale troop intervention would be a last resort, Felgenhauer said.

On Monday, 438 Ukrainian troops entered Russian territory, where some have been put up in a tent camp. Moscow said the troops had sought asylum, while Kiev said they were forced to flee into Russian territory after running out of ammunition.