Stories about Russia
Russian regulators ask VPNs to block blacklisted websites, but most have refused
This defeats the purpose of a VPN, a technology used primarily to help people access censored websites.
With elections just days away, Ukraine faces disinformation, cyber attacks and further Russian interference
Ukraine may be home to “the most globally advanced case of computational propaganda.” How will this affect the presidential election?
Russian journalist forced to resign for Telegram channel critical of St. Petersburg authorities
Journalist Maria Karpenko says her editor confronted her about co-running a Telegram channel critical of St. Petersburg authorities.
‘Blood feud’ against Chechen blogger is the culmination of a months-long, unusually frank conversation about a buried past
Heated exchanges provide a rare glimpse into painful and conflicted issues that are burning hot in today’s Chechnya, ten years after the official conclusion of the Second Chechen War.
Teen theatre production banned by Russian authorities for promoting ‘non-traditional family relations’
Russia has recently passed a series of socially conservative laws targeting activists, advocacy groups and online media for anything that can be construed as "promoting homosexuality to minors."
Russia’s latest ‘anti-fake news law’ is so bad even Kremlin pranksters hate it
Provisions of the new law make it clear that its real target are the online news outlets still not fully controlled by the state or its subsidiaries.
Russian rocket Soyuz launches the first OneWeb satellites, tethered to the ground by restrictive legislation
Russians' hopes for censorship-free online access crashed and burned after the authorities imposed strict regulations and full government control of the pioneering satellite Internet program.
USCYBERCOM attack gives Russian legislators new justification for tighter internet controls
Both pro-Kremlin experts and their opponents see the USCYBERCOM's attack on the "troll factory" as ammunition for isolationist policies.
As Putin preaches ‘sovereignty’ and tech modernization, experts lament loss of online freedoms
As Vladimir Putin promises Russians a faster, more reliable internet, two reports by independent expert groups paint an unrelentingly bleak picture of more crackdowns on online freedom of speech.
Russian ‘anti-fake news’ bill rushed through parliament despite vocal opposition
Both the "anti-fake news" bill and its twin initiative against offending the authorities use Germany and other Western countries' laws as inspiration.
