Native son of the San Francisco Bay Area. Masters from UC Berkeley in Soviet History. Between 2009 and 2011, I worked with Leon Aron in Washington, DC, at the American Enterprise Institute. Since 2010, I've blogged at ‘A Good Treaty‘ and tweeted at @KevinRothrock. I also cohost the New Books in Russian and Eurasian Studies podcast with Sean Guillory on the New Books Network. Doctoral student in Political Science at UConn.
Latest posts by Kevin Rothrock
The Russian State Media: Champion of Internet Freedom?
With millions of Ukrainians now at risk of losing their beloved online services, Russia's state media did what it often does in unexpected geopolitical situations: it suddenly changed sides.
Russian Authorities Want Easy Access to Online Dating Logs
Do you hope to find love in Russia? If so, and you’re planning to use the Internet to meet people, the pursuit could be less private than you maybe hoped.
Pick Your Poison? Russian Orthodoxy or Banishment From Social Media
Critics of Vitaly Milonov, perhaps the most reactionary social conservative in the Russian parliament, have vowed to get him banned from Vkontakte, where his “online status” features an “illegal expression.”
Russian Lawmakers Want to Ban Kids From Social Media, Require ‘Real Name’ Registration
Lawmakers in the St. Petersburg area want to purge online social media of all children under the age of 14, and eliminate Internet anonymity.
After Moving Servers to Russia, LiveJournal Bans ‘Political Solicitation’
LiveJournal releases a new user agreement, revealing what steps it's taking to adjust to its new existence as a blogging platform in full compliance with Russia’s stifling Internet laws
Russian Web Censor Cracks Down Ahead of Next Anti-Corruption Protests
In the wake of the largest opposition protests since 2011-12, Russia's prosecutor general is cracking down on the organizers of demonstrations planned for April 2.
Russia Adds First-Ever Foreign Messaging App to Federal Registry
For the first time ever, Russia’s federal censor, Roskomnadzor, has added a foreign online messenger to its “Registry of Information-Dissemination Organizers,” targeting the Swiss company Threema.
Russia's Censor Suddenly Wants to Know More About Channels on Telegram
With help from a Putin-launched political movement, Russia's federal censor met on Tuesday behind closed doors with the authors of several popular Telegram channels. And nobody knows why.
Russian Police Lose an Easy Way to Trap ‘Internet Extremists’
On Tuesday, by revising one of its default privacy settings, the Russian social network Vkontakte significantly reduced the number of shared photographs publicly visible on individual account pages.
Russia Is Reportedly Banning LinkedIn
LinkedIn, the world’s largest online professional network, is at risk of being blocked in Russia, where federal censors have convinced a Moscow court to outlaw the network.
Google Warns More Than a Dozen Russian Journalists and Activists About ‘Government-Backed Attackers’
More than a dozen Russian journalists and activists received a strange warning from Google earlier today, notifying them that “government-backed attackers” may be “trying to steal” their passwords.
Russia's Pokemon-Go-Playing Atheist Outlaw Has Some Powerful Enemies
Out of respect for the blogger, the church says it won't “force Christian forgiveness” or “Christian love,” explaining that he hasn't asked for the former and rejects the latter.
Russia's Pokemon Gulag
Ruslan Sokolovksy’s alleged crime was filming himself playing Pokemon Go inside a Russian Orthodox cathedral. If convicted of the charges, he could go to prison for up to five years.
Swastikas and Porn or: How Russian Cops Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Internet Crackdown
According to a Rostov court, Detective Eliseev wanted to advance his career and win bonus pay by faking “time-consuming inspection work” and framing a man for extremism.
Telegram Bug Leaks Russian TV News Station's Internal Chats to Random User
Telegram's known security flaws do not explain why Anna Gorbacheva, whose device never belonged to anyone associated with TV Rain, suddenly began receiving notifications of the team's private messages.
Malaysia Will Likely Force ‘Political Blogs’ and News Websites to Register With the Government
Human rights groups and media freedom advocates denounced the proposal as a curtailment of free speech, adding that the move reverses Malaysia's earlier stated commitment to promoting Internet freedom.
Facial Recognition Service Becomes a Weapon Against Russian Porn Actresses
Users of the Russian imageboard “Dvach” (2chan) have launched a campaign to deanonymize Russian actresses who appear in pornography, utilizing a controversial new service called “FindFace.”
The Russian Art of Meta-Stalking
Russian photographer Egor Tsvetkov says his work exposes how “digital narcissism” often “provokes online stalking.” But is his latest project doing the same thing?
ISPs Take Kremlin to Court Over Online Surveillance
“We’ve found a couple of brave providers that are ready to come with us on a crusade against SORM,” announced Leonid Volkov, co-founder of the Society for Defending the Internet.
Arrrrrr! Putin's New Internet Advisor Tied to Online Piracy
Vladimir Putin's new Internet advisor is known as a hardliner against foreign online resources that break Russian law. Now German Klimenko has been tied to a questionable torrent tracker.
